Minutes of Faculty Assembly

March 18, 2004

 

  1. R. Serianz called the meeting to order at 3:15 and led the Assembly in a prayer.
  2. R. Serianz asked for approval of the February 12th minutes.  G. Bailey so moved.  S. Cassady seconded motion.  Motion passed.
  3. T. Burns gave an Information technology update.  A handout was given out that was also put on email.  If there are any questions contact Irene Kramer or T. Burns.
  4. N. Schlueter presented information about the Liberal Arts Faculty Forum.  The next forum will be Friday April 2nd, from 12-1:30 in Cosgrove Seminar Room.  The topic will be “Jobs or Jungles?  Can human beings and nature be friends?  Presenters will be Fr. Bud and Dr. Chris Lee.  Faculty and students are encouraged to attend.  Nathan explained that the Liberal Arts Friday Forums originated with discussions that he had with students during class.  The students felt that it would be a good idea for faculty and students from multiple disciplines to interact on various topics.  At the first forum there was a prepared lecture for 20 minutes and then discussion and questions.  This is not a debate.  February was successful, with participation of both faculty and students.  Nathan asked the whether faculty felt that this should be formalized into a committee.  Faculty stated that they like the way things are handled now.  A suggestion was made to have a suggestion box for topics or emails with suggestions could be sent to Nathan.  It was also asked whether the forums could be held at a different time.  It was suggested that for the future maybe the college could designate a specific time for meetings such as this, when no classes would be scheduled.
  5. R. Serianz reviewed the policy for electing a Faculty Assembly Nominating Committee. Three people agreed to serve on the committee:  Kathy Leon, Chris Sharp, and Michael Hustedde.  George Bailey will be alternate.  Everyone was also instructed to designate nominations for Chair Elect on their way out today or to send names of nominees to Ryan Dye.
  6. Military Leave Policy – 2nd reading.  G. Bailey reviewed the policy.  A motion was make by K. Kelly to accept the policy for the 2nd reading.  A. Preston seconded the motion.  Motion passed.
  7. Educational Policies Committee Proposal – 1st reading. A copy of the revised policy was handed out with the expanded description.  A motion was made to accept the proposal by G. Bailey.  It was seconded by T. Burns.  N. Schleuter made a friendly amendment to change the word major to majors.  Motion passed.
  8. Academic Support Committee revisions for handbook – 1st reading.  A copy of the revised policy was handed out.  A motion was made by T. Schlabach to accept the 1st reading.  Motion seconded by G. Bailey.  Motion passed.  T. Burns wanted to express his thanks to the EPC committee.
  9. J. Stauff presented a discussion of the Bachelor of Elected Studies.  Currently, The BES Committee is a standing committee of Faculty Assembly.  EPC also reviews the BES program every five years.  The argument has been made that the BES committee is redundant.   A motion was made by A. Preston that the BES committee be disbanded and that the administration create a process for faculty oversight of the BES degree.  N. Schlueter seconded.  Motion approved for 1st reading.
  10. M. Hustedde discussed a proposal for revision of the writing intensive guidelines.  A handout was given for the tentative proposal.  It was explained that the new guidelines were to allow for growth in writing intensive courses, and to allow for new courses and faculty from various backgrounds to get involved.  He explained that there would be less emphasis on credit hours.  It was stated that there are few WI courses offered in the fall and that more courses are needed for students to select.  There was some discussion as to whether more writing intensive courses should be offered.  It was asked if the existing WI courses are accomplishing the intended goals.  M. Hustedde stated that only 40% of current WI courses follow the guidelines.  It was emphasized that faculty need to rethink the ways they present material, and not feel that they would be sacrificing content if they made courses writing intensive.  Courses would need to be capped, possibly at 20 or 25.  Concerns were raised about so many part-time faculty teaching writing intensive courses and the need for more 200 level courses.  The next step is that the proposed guidelines will be sent to the EPC in April and, if accepted, would begin implementation in fall of 2004.  If anyone has any further comments or suggestions, please send them to M. Hustedde or any other members of the committee.
  11. Meeting was adjourned at 4:30 pm.

 

 

Respectfully submitted,

R. Harroun