Tuesday, 17 April 2007

2:00 p.m., EB 162

Meeting 2007-08

 

Roll Call
 
Approval of March minutes
 
Individual Reports

1. ChancellorÕs report
 
2. PresidentÕs report

¥RTP Appeal Revision: Steering Committee will present revisions in the fall.

¥Autonomous Committees elections update
            
¥Senate officers for 2007-2008
 
¥Perceived lack of academic challenge in freshman courses
Responses on last yearÕs Admitted Student Questionnaire indicated that prior to enrollment, our admitted studentsÕ perceptions of the Òacademic reputation,Ó Òacademic challenge,Ó and Òintellectual emphasisÓ of UNCW were relatively low. Even before that, we knew from the National Survey of Student Engagement that our freshmen say they donÕt write as much or spend as much time studying as students at some of our peer institutions. To the extent that this is an issue, it seems to be a lower-division issue: our seniors report levels of academic challenge very similar to what students report at peer institutions.
 
How do faculty members who teach freshman-level courses perceive the rigor of those courses? Are faculty members able to challenge freshmen as much as they would like to?  If not, what factors interfere with their ability to offer challenging courses?

Committee reports
1. Steering Committee

 

Steering Committee offers the following motion [Motion 07-08-29]: That the Senate approve the following additions to the Format of the Application for RTP

[Explanatory note: the additions proposed below are logically necessary as a result of previously approved changes in the RTP ÒProcessÓ and ÒInstructionsÓ documents.]

VIII.  Certification

The evaluating officer shall:

  1. Certify the names of senior faculty who were assembled and consulted for this recommendation and report the numerical results of the vote of the senior faculty.
  2. State the department's current definition of "senior faculty" as determined by the chair and members of the department in consultation with the dean (a copy of which must be on file in the dean's office).
  3. If the senior faculty have prepared a separate, elaborated recommendation, insert that recommendation prior to forwarding the dossier to the dean.  That recommendation should follow the same guidelines for content as that of the chair.



2. Ad-Hoc committee on [Motion 07-06-25] (Kathleen Berkeley, Denise DiPuccio, Ken Gurganus (chair), Stephen Meinhold, Carol Pilgrim)

The committee recommends the version of [Motion 07-06-25] below for Senate consideration. Only the last three paragraphs are modifications of the original motion.

 

Motion 07-06-25 revised

Whereas faculty governance is a vital component of the nature of the university; and
 
Whereas the faculty as a whole benefit from having faculty members serve in various administrative roles as they bring the perceptions, values and appreciation of the academy and the intellectual mission into the core operations of the university; and
 
Whereas a faculty memberÕs service in an administrative role is generally of short duration in that personÕs academic career; and
 
Whereas a faculty member in an administrative role has a vested interest in the life of the academy, the department and the college or school; and
 
Whereas a faculty administrator generally maintains some teaching duties and other responsibilities in the home department;
 
Therefore be it resolved that the Faculty Senate of the University of North Carolina Wilmington recognizes and supports the rights and responsibilities of faculty members that derive from The Code of the University of North Carolina.  Among these are the substantive rights to participate in curriculum development and, depending upon departmental tenure and rank, to participate in departmental Promotion, Reappointment, and Tenure discussions and recommendations.
 
Furthermore, be it resolved that the Faculty Senate recognizes that all these rights and responsibilities are retained by a faculty member serving the university community in an administrative role unless the letter of appointment (required by UNC Policy 300.1.1 Section III.A.5) specifies otherwise.  The Faculty Senate also recommends that the letter of appointment reference any departmental policy that affects the substantive or procedural rights of a departmental faculty member serving in an administrative role.
 
Finally, be it resolved that the Faculty Senate recommends the following policy found in Recommended Institutional Regulations on Academic Freedom and Tenure of AAUP Section 1.a:  ÒAny subsequent extensions or modifications of an appointment, and any special understandings, or any notices incumbent upon either party to provide, will be stated or confirmed in writing and a copy will be given to the faculty member.Ó
 
 
3. UCC
¥UCC offers the following motion [Motion 07-08-30]:
That the Senate approve the re-designation of the Theatre Program to the Department of Theatre.

 

¥UCC Applied Learning Sub-Committee offers the following motion [Motion 07-08-31]: That the senate endorse the Applied Learning CAS requirement for all graduates of the CAS initiative put forward by The College of Arts and Sciences Dean in the terms outlined in a and b below:


a) that voluntary departmental responses to the initiative from all CAS departments are advanced to the CAS Curriculum Committee for review/approval, and that before any requirement be instituted, the CAS Curriculum Committee must review and approve ALL the plans in relation to b below:
 
b) that the requirement to which departments are responding is the definition of Applied Learning put forward by the DeanÕs Applied Learning Committee on 2/28/06 (appended to our report), supplemented by the following, Òa draft addition to the CAS descriptive statement in the Undergraduate Catalogue (p.117)Ó provided at the University Curriculum CommitteeÕs request, to the UCC by Dean Cordle on 4/11/2007:
 
The College of Arts and Sciences is committed to providing hands-on, integrative, applied learning experiences such as internships, research projects, field experiences, and service learning projects.  All undergraduate majors offered by the College require specific applied learning experiences.  These requirements are listed below by program.

 

¥UCC Applied Learning Sub-Committee offers the following motion [Motion 07-08-32]: That the Senate recommend that all initiatives likely to affect curriculum be undertaken only after they are approved by responsible curriculum committees having the potential to lead to substantial improvement in the quality of the student academic experience.
 


4. Budget Committee

Ed Graham reporting.

 


5. Research Committee

Click here for link.
 

 


Old Business:
The Department of Geography and Geology offers the following motion [Motion 07-06-26]

 

That the Dean of StudentsÕ Office require the Wellness Center to provide written verification of the time and date of student visits to the Wellness Center, upon request by the individual students.

 

 

Announcements

Adjournment