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Page 4571 Minutes of Senate Meeting 218 7 Sept 1994
THE SENATE OF MICHIGAN TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY
Minutes of Meeting No. 218
7 Sept 1994
Synopsis: The Senate
(1) Approved the minutes of Meetings 215, 216 and 217;
(2) Approved the meeting dates for AY 1994-95;
(3) Discussed problems in locating prospective committee members.
(4) Reconsidered Proposal 27-94: Mid-Term Grade Report Policy, and
returned it to the Instructional Policy Committee for a
recommendation;
(5) Learned that the University administration had accepted ten Senate
proposals.
_______________________________________
1. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL
President Bornhorst called the meeting to order at 5:30 pm on Wednesday, 7
September 1994, in Room B37 of the Electrical Energy Resources Center.
Secretary Jobst called the roll. Thirty senators or alternates were
present, with three liaison members. Senators or alternate
representatives from Chem Eng, EE, and AF ROTC were absent. Absent
liaison members: Dean of Engineering, Dean of Sciences and Arts, and Staff
Council. Absent Senators-at-large: David Reed.
2. RECOGNITION OF VISITORS
Recognized visitors included F. Dobney (Provost & Executive Vice
President) and M. Goodrich (Tech Topics). President Bornhorst introduced
the new officers for AY 1994-95: Ted Bornhorst, President; Janice Glime,
Vice President; and Jack Jobst, Secretary. President Bornhorst welcomed
the new Senate Assistant, Jeanne Meyers, and said that Ms. Meyers would
staff the Senate Office in M & M 321, 8:30 am - 3:00 pm, Monday through
Friday.
3. AGENDA ADJUSTMENTS
Bornhorst referred to the published agenda [Appendix A of these minutes]
and scratched Item 6.a.(2) "Athletic Council," replacing it with
"Presidential Commission for Women" and proposed moving ahead Item 8, "New
Business, Proposed Meeting Dates" after Item 4, "Approval of Minutes."
Bornhorst called for agenda adjustments from the floor; there were
none. Bornhorst asked for objections to the proposed adjustments. There
were no objections, and Bornhorst declared the agenda APPROVED as amended.
4. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Bornhorst referred to the Minutes of Meeting 215 attached to the agenda
sent to senators, and called for corrections; there were none. Vanek
MOVED to approve the minutes; Mroz seconded. The motion PASSED without
dissent in a voice vote.
Bornhorst referred to the Minutes of Meeting 216 attached to the
agenda sent to senators and, called for corrections; there were none.
Mroz MOVED to approve the minutes; McKimpson seconded. The motion PASSED
without dissent in a voice vote.
Bornhorst referred to the Minutes of Meeting 217 attached to the
agenda sent to senators, and called for corrections; there were none.
Carstens MOVED to approve the minutes; Arici seconded. The motion PASSED
without dissent in a voice vote.
5. NEW BUSINESS
-Proposed Meeting Dates
Bornhorst referred to the Proposed Meeting Dates attached to the
agenda sent to Senators [Appendix B] and asked for discussion from the
floor; there was none, and Bornhorst declared the meeting schedule for AY
1994-95 would stand as proposed.
6. REPORT FROM SENATE PRESIDENT
Bornhorst's comments:
A. The Senate should expect considerable business this year as part of the
process of working on the Faculty Handbook. Of the many issues would be a
revision of the Tenure and Promotion Policy. The Senate officers decided
to change the agenda format: no section for announcements; senators and
constituents wishing to address the Senate should arrange to be scheduled
on the agenda. The policy of recognizing visitors will continue.
B. Bornhorst reported on various meetings between Provost Dobney and old\
new officers: (1) Participants discussed the status of various senate
proposals, such as Academic Code of Ethics, Examination Policy, and the
Student Integrity and Honesty Policy. (2) Sung Lee discussed changes to
the Research Excellence Fund (REF) operation. Deans will now make the
first cut in proposals. (3) Expect some minor operational changes in the
Optional Furlough Program; these will be brought forward to the Senate.
(4) The University Direction and Planning Committee has recommended the
creation of a Department of Education in the College of Sciences and Arts.
The Provost (via memo) has asked Dean Seel to prepare a proposal for
review by the University Senate [Appendix C of these minutes].
C. Bornhorst identified proposals which have been submitted to the
administration for approval.
18-94: Ph.D. Program in Computational Science and Engineering
[Appendix D].
23-94: Scientific Misconduct Policy [Appendix E].
24-94: Faculty Grievance Policy & Procedures [Appendix F].
25-94: Course Grades [Appendix G].
26-94: Release of Grades- -Right to Privacy [Appendix H].
28-94: Rescission of Policy on Distribution of Grading Practices
[Appendix I].
29-94: Academic Calendar for 1994-95 [Appendix J].
30-94: Record of Course Drops [Appendix K].
D. Bornhorst reported that over the summer President Tompkins approved ten
Senate proposals.
16-94: Smoke Free Campus, policy stated per Provost memo dated August 11,
1994, effective September 1, 1994. Not exactly what the Senate
passed but fairly close [Appendix L].
18-94: PhD Program in Computational Science and Engineering [Appendix M].
19-94: Policy on Class Attendance [Appendix N].
20-94: Optional Retirement Furlough Program [Appendix O].
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Page 4572 Minutes of Senate Meeting 218 7 Sept 1994
22-94: University Senate Administrative Evaluation Procedure approved with
the proviso that the support for the work of the commission
(travel, secretarial assistance, postage, etc.) be financed by the
University Senate [Appendix P].
23-94: Scientific Misconduct Policy [Appendix Q].
26-94: Release of Grades - Right to Privacy [Appendix R].
28-94: Rescission of Policy on Distribution of Grading Practices
[Appendix S].
29-94: Academic Calendar for 1994-95 [Appendix T].
30-94: Record of Course Drops. Needs Board of Control approval (See
Board Policy 17.2.2. Grading System) [Appendix U].
E. Bornhorst reported that on September 1, 1994, he made a short
presentation to the new faculty regarding the University Senate and its
role in shared governance on campus and received many favorable comments.
7. COMMITTEE BUSINESS REPORTS
A. BOARD OF CONTROL RELATIONS COMMITTEE. Bornhorst reported that the
Senate now enjoys regular representation at the Board of Control meetings
as part of the Academic Report by the Provost. Bornhorst gave brief
reports at the May 20, 1994, and August 6, 1994, meetings. Senator Leifer
asked about future breakfasts or other meetings with the Board; Bornhorst
says these are often difficult to arrange in the short amount of time
available to the Board members, but they should occur when possible.
B. CAMPUS SPACE COMMITTEE. The committee has eight members, with
Bornhorst as the Senate representative. The committee met several times
over the summer. VP Dobney commented that "space belongs to the
University and not to departments." A senator asked if departments might
be in danger of losing, say, lab space, and Dobney replied that the
committee was not going to reassign space being used, but would focus
instead on underused space.
C. AD HOC UNIVERSITY CLOSURE COMMITTEE. The committee has met and will
meet again this week. A policy statement will be sent to the Provost and
then to the Senate for review. It will be a simple statement with a few
controversial elements that the Senate will want to consider closely.
D. ESTABLISHING AN AD HOC COMMITTEE ON TEACHING. Senators were reminded
of Bill Predebon's presentation from a previous meeting at which he
discussed the need to oversee the Distinguished Teaching Award, Teaching
Evaluations, the Center for Teaching Excellence and other issues related
to teaching. Officers, in consultation with the Provost, recommend an ad
hoc committee be established to deal with such issues. Proposals from
this ad hoc committee would be forwarded to the Instructional Policy
Committee, then the Senate. The Senate agreed with this course of action.
E. UNIVERSITY COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP. Bornhorst reported the difficulties
he experiences locating Senate representatives to serve on committees, and
he asked the Senate for suggestions.
It was suggested that a commission independent of the Senate, perhaps
something akin to a Committee on Committees, or the current Elections
committee, obtain a file of nominations from each department and various
units. That is, every unit would be responsible for supplying names. The
Senate could select the needed committee members from this list of
nominations. The Senate constitution, however, designated the Executive
Committee to deal with committees.
Bornhorst reported that the University President was disbanding the
Athletic Council. One senator asked whether that was within the power of
the president, and whether the committee was mentioned in the Senate
constitution. Bornhorst said he would check into it.
F. PROPOSED 1994-95 AY SENATE COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP. Bornhorst distributed
a handout (Appendix V of these minutes) identifying proposed AY 1994-95
Senate Committee Membership. Bornhorst directed the committee interim
chairs to attempt scheduling a meeting prior to the 21 September 1994
Senate meeting. Any requests for changes in committee memberships should
be forwarded to the Senate Office by Monday, September 12, 1994.
8. OLD BUSINESS
PROPOSAL 27-94: MID TERM GRADE REPORT POLICY. This proposal continues the
use of midterm grade reports. In the past, few faculty have actually
submitted grades, and last year, with the problems of implementing a new
computer system, the Registrar's Office did not distribute forms to
faculty. Keen MOVED to amend the proposal by striking all wording through
the first word of the last sentence, the entire proposal to read "It is
strongly recommended that instructors inform all students in their classes
about their midterm grade status by the end of the fifth week of the
quarter." Bulleit seconded the motion.
In the discussion that followed, Senators argued that midterm grades
notify students they are in trouble, and they help academic counselors
working with students in academic difficulty. Others argued that few
faculty use the system, and students usually know when they are in
trouble. Galetto said the cost for the midterm grading system is not high
since most grades are mailed to campus addresses.
Fynewever MOVED to refer the proposal back to the Instructional
Policy Committee for further review. Heyman seconded the motion. After
discussion ended, the motion PASSED on a voice vote.
9. ADJOURNMENT
Mroz MOVED and Arici seconded that the meeting be adjourned. Motion
PASSED. Bornhorst declared the meeting adjourned at 7:10 pm.
Submitted by Jack Jobst
Secretary of the University Senate
.