MINUTES OF MEETING NUMBER 74
OF The
sENATE OF mICHIGAN tECHNOLOGical university

30 January 1974

(Senate Minute pages: 902--914)

Meeting No. 74 was called to order on Wednesday, January 30, 1974 at 7:00 p.m. in the Faculty Lounge by President V.L. Doane.

The roll was called by the Secretary. Twenty-nine members or alternates were present. Absent were DelliQuadri (AL) and Gerdeen (AL).

 

The Minutes of Meeting No. 73 were approved as distributed.


Senate President's Report - President Doane's report is included here as Appendix A (Available by Request from the Senate Office).

Upon completion of President Doane's report, Horvath moved that the Senate consider Proposal 5-74, Semester System, before any other business as a courtesy to Professor MacInnes who was present to answer questions concerning this proposal. The motion was seconded and carried.

Senator Kapp then moved the adoption of proposal 5-74. Following a second of the motion, Horvath moved that the proposal be referred to an ad hoc committee created for the purpose of studying the academic structure, i.e. quarters versus semester system. The motion to refer was seconded.

During the lengthy discussion which followed, concern was expressed over the results of the proposed change. Several people pointed out that most of the problems described in the proposal could be resolved by a return to the older quarter calendar.

In response to a query by Spain as to whether any group was already studying the problem, President Smith restated the position he had taken when the original calendar was changed; namely, we should keep the new calendar for two years and then study the situation. He felt that it was too early to start a study now.

In response to a question concerning deadlines and how soon any change could become effective, Kapp stated that the Physical Education Department in preparing the proposal had determined that in order to make a change effective in the 1976-77 school year, the decision must be made by March 1975. President Smith said that minor changes could still be made until the proofs came in, which would be about August 1975.

Horvath then moved to amend his previous motion to expand the charge to the committee. The new charge would be: to study both the academic calendar and the academic structure (including all possible alternatives). The amendment carried by a vote of 18 Yes, 4 No. The original motion to refer Proposal 5-74 to the ad hoc committee then carried by a vote of 19 Yes, 3 No.

Stebler then moved to include in the charge a request for a final recommendation not later than the second Senate meeting of the winter quarter of 1974-75. This motion carried by a show of hands.

President Doane then returned the meeting to the original agenda.



Report on Meetings of the Academic Council and Board of Control

  1. Hodek was not present to read his report. It was accepted by President Doane and is included here as Appendix B (Available by Request from the Senate Office).

  2. Doane reported that no Board of Control meetings had been held since the last Senate meeting.

 

Committee Reports

A. Curricular Policy

Spain reported that the recent work of the committee has been devoted to three items:
  1. A policy statement on the method of generating the approved list of HU-SS courses.
  2. The external degree program
  3. A revision of Proposal 2-73, Course Change Policy

The committee had completed its work on Item 3, and Spain distributed copies of the version. It is included here in Appendix C as Proposal 6-74, Course Change Policy. Spain stated that he would move its adoption at the next meeting.

B. Instructional Policy

In Hodek's absence Baillod moved the adoption of Proposal 2-74, Amendment to Evening Examination Policy. The motion was approved by a vote of 21 Yes, 0 No.

C. Audio-Visual Instructional Material - No Report.

D. Curricular Impact - Miller reported that a number of meetings had been held but had no further report.

E. Elections - No report.

F. Elections Procedure - No report.

G. Institutional Evaluation

Quinones reported on several recent meetings of the committee. His report is included here as Appendix D (Available by Request from the Senate Office).

H. Promotion Policy Review

Crowther's report is included here as Appendix E (Available by Request from the Senate Office).
 

Old Business - None

 

New Business and Voluntary Remarks

Horvath read the following prepared statement:

"I have received documentary evidence that a person other than the instructor in a course caused the grade card for one student to be pulled from the deck. Subsequently another instructor in the department inserted a grade and signed the card. This card was then added to the remaining cards after the regular course instructor had completed his grading. The regular instructor was unaware of this sequence of events and assumed that the student had dropped the course. It was not until the final grade list was distributed this quarter that he became aware of what had happened.

Although the Faculty Handbook (p. 42) states (concerning change of grade):

'When a final grade . . . has been delivered . . . no one is authorized to change it except as follows:

. . . b. If there was an identifiable error in reporting the final grade, the instructor may submit a signed and dated correction . . .'

The instructor was unable to change the grade because of a requirement of the department head's signature.

I intend to bring this matter to the attention of the Instructional Policy Committee (omitting any details as to the individuals involved) and request that the committee frame a grading policy which will be strong enough to prevent any repetition of such a deplorable incident. I will further request the committee to determine whether the department head's signature is necessary or desirable on a change of grade card."

In the discussion that followed, several Senators agreed that such occurrences must be stopped but that any policy limiting the grading process to the instructor of the course must also provide due safeguards and provisions for extenuating circumstances.

Crowther then reported the dissatisfaction on the part of members of his department with the fact that the Senate observer has often missed meetings of the Academic Council and/or the Board of Control. President Doane asked whether the Senate would pay her fare to the meetings down State. President Smith promised to see that the Senate observer had transportation available to attend these meetings.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:35 p.m.

 

Ralph S. Horvath
Secretary