Faculty Senate	Minutes	Senate home | Comments
Tuesday, 10 September 2003   See Agenda   Meeting 04-01

Roll call

Absent: Byington (Faculty Welfare Committee), Clements (Psychology), Errante (Admissions Committee), Evans (Sociology), Feng (Mathematics), Galbraith (Financial Aid Committee), Perko (HAHS), Reeves (Chemistry), Shay (Information Technology Committee), Sizemore (Evaluation Committee), Walker (Curricular Studies), Weber (Public Service Committee), Webster (Biology), White (Creative Writing)

Approval of minutes

April minutes were approved as posted.

Special order of the day

1. Senate officers were elected for 2003-2004:
   • Vice-president: Mark Spaulding, History
   • Secretary: Richard Veit, English
   • Steering committee:
     • Susannah Benedetti, Library
     • Reid Counts, Criminal Justice
     • Steven Dworkin, Psychology
     • Rick Olsen, Communication Studies
2. Two candidates were nominated for Faculty Assembly delegate:
   • Steven Dworkin, Psychology
   • James Reeves, Chemistry

Individual reports

1. Chancellor Rosemary DePaolo reported as follows:
   • Governance: Her review of recent Senate minutes has shown her that shared governance is healthy on this campus; she applauds the faculty for a process that functions well.
   • Faculty: Our faculty have impressed her as both active and serious about teaching. She will work to remedy factors causing morale problems.
   • Financial issues: Lack of resources caused by our 13% budget cut is a major concern. We must look to increase revenues. We are assembling "compelling data" in an effort to change the equity funding model, which disadvantages UNCW compared to other UNC schools. We hope to include rewards for performance, such as retention and graduation rates, which would benefit us. We also seek to raise the 18% cap on out-of-state students in areas such as nursing and education, where the state faces shortages.
   • Diversity: Although we have increased African-American faculty and students this year, we need still greater diversity. She will appoint a Diversity Council charged to devise a strategic plan. [In response to a question, she stated that diversity should include a range of minorities, including Hispanics.]
   • Curriculum: Basic Studies have not had a comprehensive review in many years. We must ask why we are educating students and what skills, knowledge, and abilities we want them to have. She hopes we will look at structures as well as courses: for example, should Basic Studies be spread out over four years instead of two? She is also creating an International Task Force to expose more students to an international perspective.
   • The student experience: She has charged Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Patricia Leonard to review the entire student experience. In addition, she has asked Vice Chancellors Leonard and Hosier to examine the first-year experience.
   • Administration: We are searching for two administrators: a Vice Chancellor of Business Affairs with broad experience and an open, collegial style; and a Vice Chancellor for Public Service and Continuing Studies.
   • Benchmarking: We are comparing ourselves to comparable institutions by collecting data from 33 schools (with focus on six) in 114 categories. Two open forums will be held for us to examine the numbers and discuss our core values, issues, goals, strategies, and required resources. Dates: September 24 and October 13, from 3-5 p.m. in the Warwick Center Ballroom.
   • A physical master plan will be created with as much involvement as possible from university constituents
      
2. Senate President Daniel Noland reported as follows:
   • UNCW has a strong tradition of shared governance. We are responsible for the university's curriculum. Any changes to Basic Studies and policies of reappointment, promotion, and tenure come before the Senate and require our approval.
   • Election results for autonomous committees (Hearings, HPRC, RPT) will soon be announced.
      
3. Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Rebecca Porterfield reported as follows:
   • New hurricane policy: When a voluntary evacuation of the beaches is declared, students cannot be penalized for missing classes. When a mandatory evacuation is declared, classes will be cancelled and the university shut down.

Committee reports

1. Richard Veit of the Faculty Handbook Committee reported as follows:
   • The Senate's Steering Committee appointed him editor charged with drafting a revised Faculty Handbook. The revision was to bring the Handbook up to date and to be in a form appropriate for a web document. His additional goals were to make it as helpful as possible to new faculty in orienting them to the university and to make it as informative, accessible, and convenient as possible for all faculty.
   • He presented the revision that he produced. The Senate will be asked to approve it as the official Faculty Handbook at its October meeting. In the meantime, he urges all faculty and administrators to review the new Handbook and provide feedback.
   • Links: Current Faculty Handbook; proposed revised Faculty Handbook; comments to Richard Veit.
      
2. The following motions of the Academic Standards Committee were approved:
   
   1. (Motion 04-01-01; revise "Degrees with Distinction"; carried as revised)

   That the section Degrees with Distinction on page 66 of the 2003-2004 Undergraduate Catalogue be revised as follows [addition is underlined]:

   Three degrees with distinction are granted to graduating students based on all work attempted in meeting requirements for the degree as follows:

   Cum Laude for an overall average of 3.50
   Magna Cum Laude for an overall average of 3.70
   Summa Cum Laude for an overall average of 3.90

   Degrees with distinction are granted to transfer students under the following conditions:

   (1) The student must have the required overall average on all work attempted (including all transfer courses attempted).
   (2) The student must have the required average on work attempted at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.

   Grades issued by a foreign institution are not calculated into the UNCW grade point average in determining degrees with distinction.

   Students who complete the Departmental Honors Program satisfactorily will be graduated "With Honors" in the discipline in which the special work is undertaken.

   Students who complete the University Honors Program will have the additional designation "University Honors."

   [Note: The wording of the new sentence was changed via a motion.]

2. (Motion 04-01-02; institute pass/fail courses; carried)
    
   That the following section be added to the Enrichment Courses and Programs section on pages 96-101 of the 2003-2004 Undergraduate Catalogue:

PASS/FAIL COURSES

Students who have a cumulative grade point average of 2.0 or higher and who have successfully completed 45 hours, with at least 12 hours at UNCW, may take up to 9 hours of elective courses on a pass/fail basis.  The intent of this option is to encourage students to explore areas of interest beyond their major or minor without concern about compromising their academic record.  Students should be selective in choosing such courses.  A change of major might mean that a course taken on a pass/fail basis must later be retaken for a grade.  In addition, graduate and professional schools and future employers may evaluate such course work differently from graded courses. The following restrictions apply. 

• A student may enroll in a course on a pass/fail basis only with the permission of the instructor.
• No more than one course may be taken on a pass/fail basis in a semester or summer session. 
• Courses used to fulfill Basic Studies requirements or the requirements of the student’s major, minor, or certificate program may not be taken on a pass/fail basis. Courses repeated to replace a grade may not be taken on a pass/fail basis.
• Students may not change the designation (from graded to pass/fail or from pass/fail to graded) after the drop/add period.
• Pass/fail students are required to complete all course work and examinations and are graded as if they were taking the course for a grade. Students who achieve a passing average receive a grade of “P” for the course.
• Credit hours in courses for which a student has earned a “P” are counted toward the hours required for graduation but are excluded in the computation of the student’s grade point average. Grades of “F” are included in the computation of the grade point average.

Adjournment

Minutes by Richard Veit, Senate Secretary