Synopsis: The Senate
(1) approved Proposal 17-02, Late Course Add Policy.
(2) approved Proposal 18-02, Amendments to Proposal 27-95, Academic Integrity Policy.
(3) approved Proposal 19-02, 2002-2003 Academic Calendar.
Secretary Craig Waddell called roll. Absent were At-large Senators Tony Rogers and Don Beck and representatives from Chemistry, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Mining and Materials Processing Engineering, Physics, Keweenaw Research Center, Enrollment Management, and Student Affairs and Educational Opportunity. Liaisons in attendance were Michelle Trim (GSC), Dennis Taylor (USG), and Becky Christianson (Staff Council).
2. RECOGNITION OF VISITORS
Visitors included Sharron Paris (OSRR) and
Marcia Goodrich (Tech Topics).
3. APPROVAL OF AGENDA
Keen presented the agenda and asked for
amendments. There were no amendments or
objections to the agenda as presented. [Appendix
A. NOTE: Only official senate and library archival
copies of the minutes will contain a full complement
of appendices.]
4. APPROVAL OF MINUTES FROM MEETING 363
Keen presented the minutes from meeting 363
and asked for corrections or amendments. One
correction was noted, and the minutes were
approved as corrected.
5. PRESIDENT'S REPORT
Keen sent Provost Wray two memos requesting
administrative approval of Proposal 15-02,
Procedures for a Financial Crisis, and Proposal 16-02, Procedures for Periods of Financial Stress.
[Appendices B-C]
The Task Force to Revise Tenure Policy and Procedures submitted a draft report to Provost Wray for his review.
On behalf of the senate, Senate Alternate Sharon Haapala (Finance and Advancement) attended a meeting on mental health issues sponsored by the Office of Human Resources. The meeting has thus far resulted in no policies for the senate's consideration.
Senate officers met with the provost on January 29 and discussed several issues that might need to be addressed by the Instructional Policy Committee and other senate committees. Proposals will be submitted to the senate after these issues have been deliberated within the appropriate committees.
6. COMMITTEE BUSINESS/REPORTS
University Committee Elections
Keen said that nominees were still needed for
various university committees. He said that Gary
Campbell (School of Business and Economics),
Barbara Lide (Humanities), and Blair Orr (School of
Forestry and Wood Products) were nominees for the
Sabbatical Leave Committee. Keen said that each
senator will be allowed to vote for three persons on
the list of all persons nominated. Names of the
three persons receiving the largest number of votes
will be sent to President Curt Tompkins as
candidates for a vacancy on this committee.
Tompkins will select one of the three to fill this
vacancy. The committee currently consists of the
following members: Ann Maclean, Mohan Rao,
Gopal Jayaraman, Sandra Boschetto-Sandoval, and
John Lowther. Keen opened the floor for additional
nominees. There were none. There were no
objections to closing nominations and approval of
the slate of candidates. The slate will be forwarded
to President Tompkins.
Keen urged senators to solicit nominees for the following committees: Conflict of Interest Committee, Faculty Distinguished Service Award Committee, and Inquiry Committee (Scientific Misconduct).
7. UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Proposal 13-02, Enterprise Minor [See minutes, page
9455, for a copy of this proposal.]
Senator Bruce Barna said that the proposal is
still under review by the Senate Finance Committee.
8. NEW BUSINESS
A. Proposal 17-02, Late Course Add Policy
[Appendix D]
Senator Bill Yarroch said that the Senate
Instructional Policy Committee was surprised to
learn that there is no late-add policy at Michigan
Tech. Board of Control Policy 9.6, Late
Registration, refers only to late enrollment in the
university, not to late registration for a given course.
The Instructional Policy Committee is concerned
with students who want to add a class after the
first week of classes. The committee tried to draft
Proposal 17-02 to reflect current practice for
addressing late registration for courses. Under this
policy, students will be free to add and drop through
the first five instructional days of the semester; to
add a course during the next five instructional days,
students must obtain the signature of the course
instructor and of their academic advisor; after the
tenth day of instruction, students may not add a
course except under specific circumstances defined
in Proposal 17-02.
Keen called for a motion to approve Proposal 17-02.
Senator Kelly Strong MOVED and Senator Carol MacLennan seconded the motion to approve Proposal 17-02.
Keen called for discussion.
Senator Bruce Barna asked if the senate could vote on new business.
Keen said that the senate could because the proposal had been circulated more than ten days prior to the meeting.
Yarroch said that one reason to expedite the proposal was that if it is approved, it will affect the academic calendar, which will be included in the catalog, which is under preparation.
There was no further discussion. The motion to approve PASSED on a unanimous voice vote of the academic senators.
B. Proposal 18-02, Amendments to Proposal 27-95,
Academic Integrity Policy [Appendix E]
Yarroch said that the proposal was submitted
to the Senate Instructional Policy Committee in late
September. It resulted from a six-year review of the
1985 Academic Integrity Policy, conducted by the
Office of Academic Affairs. The Instructional Policy
Committee received a number of comments on the
proposed amendments from the Graduate School.
Hence, the committee returned the proposal to the
Office of Academic Affairs with the suggestion that
they work with the Graduate School on a revised
proposal. Yarroch said that Vice Provost and Dean
of Student Affairs Marty Janners and Dean of the
Graduate School Bruce Rafert have approved the
revised proposal.
Keen called for a motion to approve Proposal 18-02.
Senator Jim Pickens MOVED and Senator Steve Seidel seconded the motion to approve Proposal 18-02.
Keen called for discussion.
Senator Dana Johnson asked if the proposal would be included in the catalog.
Yarroch said that it would be included in the undergraduate catalog and also provided to graduate students.
There was no further discussion. The motion to approve PASSED on a unanimous voice vote of the academic senators.
C. Proposal 19-02, 2002-2003 Academic Calendar
[Appendix F]
Yarroch said that the proposed 2002-2003
calendar is similar to the 2001-2002 calendar
except that--due to conflicts with athletic
scheduling--Winter Carnival will be held during the
fifth week of the Spring 2003 semester rather than
during the fourth week.
Keen said that in 1992, the Board of Control defined in the senate's charter/constitution the academic calendar as being within the senate's purview. At that time, Keen urged the president to make approval of the calendar a routine item for the senate, even though it would be rubber-stamping what the administration would produce. Keen said that the former senate president was persuaded to do otherwise, with consequences that the senate is aware of.
Keen called for a motion to approve Proposal 19-02.
Senator Lee Oberto MOVED and Senator Scott Pollins seconded the motion to approve Proposal 19-02.
Keen called for discussion.
Senator Bill Gregg asked if the newly approved late-add policy would be automatically integrated into this calendar.
Yarroch said that it would be.
Sharron Paris, director of the Office of Student Records and Registration, said that the week-five Winter Carnival will go back to week four in future years.
Graduate Student Council Liaison Michelle Trim said that when there are two Friday holidays in the same semester (such as K-Day and Homecoming), it makes it difficult for instructors teaching on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays to catch up on lost class time.
Keen said that this was the best compromise in the transition to semesters.
MacLennan asked if the university would be considering a 14-week calendar.
Keen said that he was making progress on that.
MacLennan said that if the senate approves the calendar as submitted, the university would have a 15-week calendar next year.
Keen said that at this point, it would not be possible to convert to a 14-week calendar for next year.
Senator Dieter Adolphs said that the committee had done the best that it could with the calendar given the constraints under which it was working. However, he suggested that significant changes be made in the next academic calendar, especially with K-Day and the Thanksgiving break.
Senator Dana Johnson asked why there were three rather than two weeks between the fall and spring semesters. She said that this results in only one week between the end of spring semester and the beginning of the summer term. She said that it would also be advantageous for students to complete spring semester one week earlier so that they could begin their summer jobs.
Senator Susan Martin said that she believed that in the first year of the transition to semesters, the administration wanted an extra week to address any Y2K problems that might occur.
Paris said that the third week was also needed to process grades.
Barna said that the 15-week calendar runs close to Christmas. Hence, it would be difficult to process grades in just two weeks.
Gregg asked how the senate could address the issue of on which day the spring semester should begin.
Keen said that the senate could move to forward a recommendation to the administration that the spring semester begin on any particular day.
Gregg asked if it was too late to do that for this year.
Keen asked Paris to respond.
Paris said that if the break between fall and spring semesters was cut from three weeks to two weeks, faculty would have to submit final grades to the Office of Student Records and Registration by December 24.
Keen said that final exams end on Friday, December 20.
Senator Debra Bruch said that this issue is connected to the issue of a 14-week calendar.
Barna said that faculty who grade design reports could not finish this work by December 24.
Trim said that the three-week break between fall and spring semesters is the only time many international students have to visit family.
Keen asked if there was any further discussion. There was none. The motion to approve PASSED on a unanimous voice vote of the academic senators.
9. ADJOURNMENT
Oberto MOVED and Bruch seconded the motion
to adjourn. The meeting adjourned at 6:01 p.m.
Respectfully submitted by Craig Waddell
Secretary of the University Senate