Tuesday, 12 December 2006


2:00 p.m., EB 162


Meeting 2007-04

Roll call

Special order of the day: Election of the Senate President. Vice President Pullum presiding

Approval of November and October minutes

Individual Reports:

1.                       1. ChancellorÕs report

2.                       2. PresidentÕs report:

¥Steering committee views Associate Deans and ÒAcademic DirectorsÓ as administrators and therefore subject to eligibility and service restrictions placed on administrators by senate by-laws.  Does Senate agree with this view?

¥At the suggestion of GA, our Post-Tenure Review Timetable (Faculty Handbook) will be modified with the following addition (underscored):

2.      A period when a faculty member is on leave from professional duties shall not be included as part of the five years between mandatory review events; in such cases, the maximum interval shall be extended accordingly.  Reassigned time shall count toward mandatory review events.

¥At the suggestion of GA, our Mediation policy (passed by Senate Jan 2004 as part of RTP revisions) will be modified as follows with additions (underscored) and deletions (struck through):

V. Mediation of Faculty Grievances

The university encourages faculty to resolve grievances in an amicable fashion whenever possible. As a result, the university provides faculty the opportunity to participate in mediation conducted by trained mediators. In order to learn more about the mediation services and to access those services, a faculty member should contact the Provost, the president of the Faculty Senate, the chair of the Faculty Professional Relations Committee, or the chair of the Faculty Hearings Panel for the name of a contact person at the approved mediation company that the university has contracted with to perform such services Director of Human Resources or his/her designee. Upon the filing of a grievance, the chair of the Faculty Professional Relations Committee, or in the case of a request to review a nonreappointment decision, the chair of the Faculty Hearings Panel shall determine whether the faculty member has considered mediation as an alternative dispute-resolution process and provide information about this process for the faculty member to consider. Entering into mediation will suspend the time limitations for the filing and/or the formal resolution of the grievance or a hearing for the duration of a mediation being conducted.

¥In accordance with the Senate provisions for expedited curricular review, the Senate President and UCC Chair have agreed to the following curricular actions, which are herewith reported to the Senate:

--an increase in degree requirements for a variety of CSC programsÉ

--an acceptance of PED 359 as the PE oral competency course.

--a change in course description for a computer-competency listed course (ENG 204 Introduction to Professional Writing)

--a removal of the pre-requisites for these basic studies courses:

ENG 209(CLA 209): Classical Lit in Translation

ENG 210 (CLA 210): Mythology

ENG 211, 212: British Lit to 1800, British Lit since 1800

ENG 223, 224: American Lit to 1870, American Lit since 1870

ENG 225, 225: World Lit to 1600, World Lit since 1600

ENG 232: African American Literature

ENG 233: The Bible as Literature

ENG 290: Themes in Literature

--an approval of the addition of Non Licensure Option in Watson School of Education

 

Committee reports

1. Evaluation Committee:

0.                          The Senate Evaluation Committee anticipates completing the planned validation study of the revised SPOT during the spring 2007 semester. Data for each semester since the implementation during the fall 2004 semester, including summer sessions, will be included in the analyses.  The preliminary analyses will be conducted by UNCW statistics faculty and will parallel the original SPOT validation study from the late 1990s. Subsequent analyses are planned, pending the results of these initial analyses.

0.                         

0.                        The Evaluation Committee plans to conduct a series of data collection procedures, including online surveys and focus group/community meetings, about teaching evaluation procedures used at UNCW.  The initial survey is under development, and the Committee anticipates implementation early in the spring semester. Subsequent focus group/community meetings will occur after the survey results have been analyzed. Please be looking for the initial survey to become available in January.

0.                         

Academic Standards Committee offers the following motion  [Motion 07-04-20]

That the senate approve the following additions (underscored) and deletions (struck through) to the last paragraph of the WITHDRAWAL POLICY FOR UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS, pg 84 of the 2006-2007 Undergraduate Catalogue:

It is the studentÕs responsibility to initiate an appeal for this change by submitting a written request and supporting documentation.  In the case of late withdrawal, the student must initiate the appeal in the office of the dean or director as stipulated in the above procedure for university withdrawal.  The dean or director may approve or deny this request for a ÒW.Ó  In cases where the request is denied by the dean or director, the student may submit, within ten regular class days of the deanÕs or directorÕs decision, a written request for consideration with supporting documentation to the Committee on Withdrawal Appeals.  Grounds for appeals are limited to substantive new evidence or material procedural irregularity.  All decisions made by the Committee on Withdrawal Appeals are final.  The written request with supporting documentation must be made by the last day of classes in the semester prior to the end of the semester following the one for which the withdrawal is requested.  A grade of ÒWFÓ that is not appealed successfully remains a permanent part of the studentÕs academic record.

Steering Committee offers the following motion [Motion 07-04-21]:
That the following language be included in the Faculty Handbook (Effective date:  August 1, 2007)

Policy on Lecturers [1]

The initial term of appointment for a lecturer shall be one year. Before the end of the lecturerÕs first year, the department chairperson and the dean, after reviewing the evidence provided by the evaluation process and taking into consideration the departmentÕs curriculum needs, shall determine whether the lecturer is to be (1) reappointed or (2) not reappointed. After a lecturer has been reappointed at least twice, the department chairperson and the dean, after consulting with the assembled senior faculty members in the department or school, shall determine whether the lecturer is to be given (1) a three-year contract, or (2) a one-year contract.  The department chairperson may subsequently reappoint a person as a lecturer on a one or three- year contract indefinitely and without further consultation dependent upon the needs of the academic unit and the availability of the position.

Senior lecturer

A lecturer given a three-year contract may be considered at the completion of that contract for promotion to Senior Lecturer. This promotion is based on the departmentÕs desire to recognize superior performance and service to the department and is awarded by the department chairperson and the dean, after consulting with the assembled senior faculty members in the department or school. Senior lecturers receive three-year contracts.  Such a designation does not guarantee further reappointment.   

[1]This policy does not apply to lecturers employed in Randall Library.

2. Research Committee
The Research Committee offers the following motion [Motion 07-04-22]:

That the Senate approve a revised Research Misconduct policy. Link.