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Faculty Senate Minutes

University of North Carolina at Wilmington

President Lynne Snowden called the meeting to order at 2:30.

Roll Call

Absent: Ainsley (Earth Sciences) Buttino (UAC), Byington (Fac. Welfare), Cavanaugh (Provost), Clark (Dean, Business), Denny (Soc. Wrk.), Dutka (Lib.), Errants (Admissions), Evans (Soc.&Anth.), Friarson (IT Cmte.), Garris (Info Syst.), Kasala (Math & Stats), Kiddle (Research), Lawson (Accountancy), Leutze (Chancellor), McKay (Psych.), Roscher (Accountancy), Sargent (Arts/Theater), Scheuring (Nursing), Sigler (Econ.), Sizemore (Evaluation), Smith (Earth Sciences).

Approval of Minutes

The October minutes were approved.

Individual Reports:

1. President of the Senate Lynne Snowden made the following report:

1. The Provost notified the Faculty Senate Steering Committee that raises directly linked to promotions had been increased to $1800 from assistant to associate, $2400 from associate to full professor. Associate Provost McLaurin added that these increases will go up annually with cost of living increments. 
2. The request for a gender breakdown on the salary survey (Motion 01-1-2) has been posted. 
3. The Committee review process is going well, with the exception of the Bookstore Committee, and President Snowden requests a volunteer to chair that committee. The Senate also seeks volunteers for the RPT committee, but she has held off from contacting specific individuals for this semester, on account of SACS. The committees are working on revisions of their mission statements.

2. Faculty Assembly Delegate Ken Gurganus noted that the Faculty Assembly will meet this Friday. If faculty members have concerns, they should email them to him or to Dick Veit. Ken added that he has served in this position for two terms, six years, and that at the next meeting of the Faculty Senate, we will have to nominate two people (!) to replace him. 

Committee Reports:

1. In response to Dean Hadley's request, a vote on the following motion from the Faculty Senate Steering Committee concerning Faculty Governance was postponed until the December meeting, awaiting clarification of the relationship between the Faculty Senate and the Graduate Council: 

Whereas, the Faculty Governance Document assigns to the faculty primary responsibility and authority for establishing curriculum and reviewing proposed new academic programs:

            Section 4. The Faculty is accountable for the quality of instruction and scholarship at this university and accepts the responsibility and authority, both primary and shared, for developing, monitoring, and modifying policies affecting the academic environment, including but not limited to:

            …c. establishing curricula; reviewing existing programs, including auxiliary academic programs (e.g. continuing education); deleting programs; developing and reviewing proposed new programs;

And whereas, the Faculty Governance Document delegates this authority to the Faculty Senate and, by extension, to the committees it establishes:

            Section 6. The Faculty shall delegate to the Faculty Senate all of the duties and responsibilities listed in Sections 4 and 5.

Therefore, be it resolved, that it shall be the role and responsibility of the Faculty Senate to review and approve or disapprove recommendations for significant changes to the university’s curriculum, which shall include Basic Studies requirements; the establishment, dissolution, division or consolidation of academic departments or other degree-granting entities; and the establishment or revision of academic degrees, including majors, minors, and certificate programs.

And that the Senate shall assign initial review of these proposals to the University Curriculum Committee, which shall forward such proposals, with the Committee's recommendations, to the Senate for action.

And that the provisions of this motion shall be effective January 1, 2001. (Motion 01-3-4)

There was considerable discussion of this motion, led by Senator Richard Veit, who spoke for the Steering Committee during discussion, and who stated that the proposal had the approval of Provost Cavanaugh. Among the points made in the discussion were the following: Faculty review degree programs on many campuses (e.g. ECU, NCSU), but this has not been the case at UNCW, where Faculty Senate review has been limited to Basic Studies courses. It is not clear at this time what mechanism exists for the Faculty review of degree program or departmental changes; this motion would address that issue, by reviewing such proposals through the UCC. It would not do away with the college curriculum committees, or their review of particular courses; it would deal only with "significant" changes. It would include review of all program proposals, including graduate proposals. This raised the question of the relationship between the Faculty Senate and the Graduate Council, and occasioned Dean Hadley's request that the inclusion of graduate programs be postponed until the December meeting, at which time the Provost might be present. A question also arose as to whether proposals that were rejected at the college level might be presented to the UCC; Senator Veit suggested they might be. Would there not have to be clarification of what "significant" meant? This could be worked out over time. If the Faculty Senate disapproved a proposal, would it stop there? Not necessarily, but it would be expected that the Faculty have primary responsibility for curricular matters. 

An amendment to limit the amendment to review of the university's "undergraduate" curriculum failed. 

2. The University Curriculum Committee offered a number of motions (Motions 01-3-6 through 01-3-16, and additional motions from the floor 01-3-20 through 01-3-27), which were consolodated as amended into the following motion, which passed (Motion 01-3-5):
1. In the area of Basic Studies,

a. that THR 226 "History and Appreciation of Film: Sound" be approved (pending CAS Curriculum Committee approval) as a basic studies course in area D, Fine Arts.

b. that THR 225 "History and Appreciation of Film: Silent" continue to be approved (pending CAS Curriculum Committee approval) as a basic studies course in area D, Fine Arts.

              2.    In the area of Oral Competency,

a. that MUS 496 be designated as meeting the oral communication competency for music majors.

b. that MUS 285 "Basic Conducting I" be designated as meeting the oral communication competency for music majors.

c. that MUS 495 "Senior Seminar in Music" be deleted from the list of currently approved oral communication intensive courses.

   3.   In the area of Computer Competency,

a. that CSC 121 "Introduction to Computer Science I" be designated as a computer competency course for computer science majors.

b. that REC 266 " Applications of Computers in Health and Recreation Management" be designated as a computer competency course for student pursuing the B.A. degrees in Therapeutic Recreation and Parks and Recreation Management.

c. that MUS 110 "Introduction to Music Technology" be approved as computer competency course for music majors. 

d. that PED 266 "Applications of Computers in Physical Education and Health" (and HEA 266 pending CAS Curriculum Committee approval) be designated as a computer competency course for student pursuing the B.A. degree in Physical Education and Health with concentrations in exercise science and health education.

e. that EDN 303 "Instructional Technology"  be designated as a computer competency course for students pursuing the B.A. degree in Physical Education and Health (K-12). 

f. that EDN 303 "Instructional Technology" be designated as a computer competency course for education majors. 

g. that PAR 400 "Colloquium for Majors" be designated as a computer competency course for philosophy and religion majors. 

h. that GGY 320 "Introduction to Cartography" be designated as a computer competency course for geography majors.

i. that GLY 201 "Mineralogy" be designated as a computer competency course for geology majors.

j. that SPN 305 or 309 or 311 or 312 be designated as a computer competency course for Spanish majors.

k.that FRN 301 or 306 or 311 be designated as a computer competency course for French majors.

l. that SOC 301 "Sociological Data Analysis and Interpretation" be designated as a computer competency course for sociology and criminal justice majors.

m. that HST 290 "The Practice of History" be designated as a computer competency course for history majors.

n. that CHM 255 "Introduction to Computer Applications and Chemical Literature" be designated as a computer competency course for chemistry majors. 

o. that ENG 204 and 205, "Introduction to Technical Writing" and "Approaches to the Study of Literature," be designated as computer competency courses for English majors.

p. that TEC 101 "Technology Seminar" be designated as a computer competency course for environmental science majors.

q. that COM 200 and COM 490, "Research Methods" and "Discipline Capstone," be designated as computer competency courses for communications majors.

r. that PHY 400 "Advanced Laboratory" be designated as a computer competency course for physics and physical oceanography majors.

s. that PSY 355 "Introduction to Experimental Psychology" be designated as a computer competency course for psychology majors. (Motion 01-3-5).

3. The Academic Standards Committee offered the following motions, each of which passed as amended:

1.      On the Overload Policy:

That the section under Registration on page 67 in the Undergraduate Catelogue be revised as follows, "Students who have a cumulative grade point average of 3.50 or higher may be allowed, with special permission of the appropriate dean, to carry more than 18 semester hours up to 21 semester hours.” (Motion 01-3-6)

2.      On the Cancellation of Course Registration for Non Attendance Policy:

That the first paragraph on p. 59 under Cancellation of Course Registration Policy in the University Catalogue be revised to read as follows: “An instructor of any course A department chairperson, upon recommendation of the instructor, may cancel a student's registration in their any course, offered in that department if the registered student fails to attend the first class meeting of the term and fails to notify the instructor department office of their desire to remain enrolled within 24 hours of the class meeting time. This cancellation action will only take place when a course is fully enrolled and additional students are waiting to enroll. Student appeals, resulting from emergencies or other extenuating circumstances, will be considered on a case by case basis in the appropriate Dean's office. Students who wish to drop or withdraw from a class should not assume they have done so by not attending the first class or subsequent classes. , but They should follow the normal drop/add procedures, which are printed in the semester schedule of classes.” (Motion 01-3-7)  

3.      On the Honorary Degree Policy:

That Appendix O of the Faculty Handbook be revised as follows (italicized line added): “Honorary degrees are granted by the faculty and trustees of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington and may be granted at commencements or special events.  Current honorary degrees awarded are Doctors of Humanities, of Letters, of Fine Arts, of Science, and of Laws.  Other honorary degrees can be recommended by the Academic Standards Committee (ASC).  An honorary degree is the highest accolade the university can bestow on an individual who is not currently employed as a member of its faculty or staff.  It is given to honor an individual who possesses outstanding qualities and talents, who has made exceptional contributions to the field of his or her endeavor, and who exemplifies the highest standards of personal integrity and civic responsibility. The individual may not be an employee of the university at the time the degree is awarded.  There are three basic reasons for awarding honorary degrees from the university.  A person may be recommended for an honorary degree for any one of the following reasons: (1) Academic excellence in the individual's field of endeavor. (2) Appreciation of time, energy, and financial resources spent in behalf of the university and for its sake. (3) Excellence in fields other than those which would normally be called academic, i.e., the contributions which have enhanced society and its quality of life.” (Motion 01-3-8)

Old Business

New Business

Announcements

 The meeting was adjourned at 4:10 p.m.