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Faculty Senate Minutes

University of North Carolina at Wilmington

President Richard Veit called the meeting to order at 2:30 p.m.

Roll Call

Absent were: Ainsley (Stud. Aff. Cmte.) Appleton (A&BL), Baker (Budget Cmte.), Bartolome (Curr. Stud.), Bennett (HPER), Buttino (Comm. Stud.), Combs (Univ. Curr. Cmte.), Dodd (BIO), Dunn (BIO), Earney (A&BL), Hackney (BIO), Jones (CHM), Leutze (Chancellor), McCarthy (HIS), Meinhold (PLS), Moore (Pub. Serv. Cmte.),  Parish (Bookstore Ctme.), Ragon (HPER), Robinson (E&F), Rockness (BA), Smith (ERS), Walker (Admiss. Ctme.), and Wray (P&DS).

Approval of Minutes

The December minutes were approved as amended in the agenda.

Special Order of the Day

1. Executive session: honorary degree consideration.
   Senators voted on a nomination for the honorary degree.
2. Election of the Senate President-Elect:
   The current President, Richard Veit, informed the Senate that he has been appointed Acting Chair of the English Department and must decline the previous election as President for next year.  Nominated from the floor were: John Williams (Psychology), Lynn Snowden (Sociology & Anthropology).  Lynn Snowden was elected as President-Elect.

Individual Reports:

1. President of the Faculty Senate Richard Veit has invited the new Vice Chancellor for Instructional Technology, Bob Tyndall, to speak at the next Senate meeting.
2. Faculty Assembly Delegate Dan Noland called for faculty input on system-wide issues to be discussed with President Broad in Chapel Hill this Friday. Two issues were mentioned from the floor:
   • Graduate tuition remissions
   • Increase in health insurance rates

Committee Reports:

1. The following motion from the Evaluation Committee carried:

   That the present Annual Faculty Evaluation of Administrators be administered over the internet instead of through campus mail, with the following provisions:

   1. That the questionnaire not change in content.
   2. That the Director of Institutional Research be responsible for verifying to the Evaluation Committee that the questionnaire responses are confidential and that no effort is made to trace the input source.
   3. That to administer the questionnaire, letters (one for each faculty member within the department) be sent to the departmental secretaries for distribution to faculty mailboxes. These letters will contain instructions for accessing the questionnaire on the internet. Each letter also will include a randomly generated number within the sealed envelope. These numbers will be used to identify the department of the respondent but only the individual faculty members will know their personal access numbers and will use the number when they complete the questionnaire.
   4. That faculty can only enter their response once.
   5. That faculty who are still concerned about the security of the questionnaire have the option of:
      1. entering their responses from a computer in a computer lab or office; or
      2. using a paper copy of the questionnaire which they can obtain from the Institutional Research office.

      (Motion 99-6-16, carried without dissent)

   Discussion of the motion pointed to savings in resources, time and effort in tabulation of results, and the general improvement of the process.

2. The following motion offered by The Academic Standards Committee was defeated:
   
   That the following policy be adopted to replace the current "Three-Year Rule" (Undergraduate Catalogue Supplement, p. 10):

   The Five-Year Rule
   Although the traditional policy for re-admission is the norm, the University recognizes that individuals can gain personal and intellectual maturity over a period of years.   Hence any former UNCW student whose quality point average was below the current Retention standard may apply for re-admission under the Five-Year Rule provided the student has been out of school for a minimum of five years and has not attended any other institution since leaving UNCW.  The Five-Year Rule must be exercised at the time of application for re-admission and is irreversible.  Degree requirements for the student granted admission under the Five-Year Rule will be those in effect at the time the student re-enrolls.  The student's original academic record will not be altered, and the student will receive academic credit only for past courses in which a grade of at least 2.00 was attained.  The student's quality point average will be calculated only for those courses taken subsequent to re-enrollment.  Failure to maintain an overall 2.00 quality point average after re-admission will result in dismissal from the University.  The Five-Year Rule can be invoked by a student only once. 

   (Motion 99-6-17, defeated)

   Discussion brought forth the fact that the success rate of students currently admitted under the three-year rule is high, indicating that the current policy that is successful. Another issue of concern was the exclusion of students from other institutions or the fact that former UNCW students who took classes successfully at another institution would not be allowed admission under the proposed revision. There was support for the idea of holding the students to an "overall 2.00"  instead of the current policy which requires a minimum 2.00 in each semester, and a future motion incorporating that revision is anticipated.

Old Business

New Business

1. The motion offered by Film Studies Coordinator Ellen Walters and Associate CAS Dean Steve Pullum carried:
   
       Whereas several non-UNCW students inquire each semester about the possibility of obtaining a film studies internship in Wilmington through UNCW; and
       Whereas UNCW students already have a difficult time obtaining a film studies internship due to the small number offered relative to the large number of UNCW film studies students,
       Therefore, be it resolved that the following statement be place in the UNCW catalog:

    Unless there is an official student internship exchange agreement with another college film program in the film studies office, film  studies internships at UNCW are limited solely to UNCW degree-seeking students.

(Motion 99-6-18, carried without dissent)

2. Lee Schweninger of the English Department introduced the following motion, which was seconded and will appear on the next agenda:

    Whereas, the current drop/add policy allows a student to enroll in a class a full week after classes have begun (in some cases, after missing as many as four class meetings); and Whereas, such a student may start a course already having missed more classes than an instructor might permit under the class attendance policy; and
    Whereas, the first classes may be so essential to the course that a student who has missed them has a deficit that cannot be overcome; therefore,
    Be it resolved that the drop/add policy be changed so that enrollment after a class has had its first meeting shall require the consent of the instructor.   (Motion 99-6-19, new business)

Announcements: none

The meeting was adjourned at 3:30 p.m.
Submitted by:  Raymond L. Burt