2008 Minutes

September 12, 2008

PRESENT (voting): Charles Bray (ENGR), Sutton Flynt (ICL), Wade Jackson (Faculty Senate), Robert Koch, (NURS), Mercedes Langford (for Carol Danehower), Jim Lukawitz (ACCT), Broderick Nichols (UNIV), Susan Popham (ENGL), Laurie Snyder (CFA), Barbara Taller (BIOL), Joseph Ventimiglia (SOCI), Paul Wright (HSS)

PRESENT (ex officio): Shannon Blanton (VPUP, Chair), Carl Chando (AAC), Kay Cunningham (Library), Tom Nenon (VPAIRR), Dan Poje (AA), Melinda Jones (Honors), Cathy Serex (AA), Donna Van Canneyt (Registrar)

ABSENT: Joel Bumgardner (BIOM), Carol Danehower (B&E), Ginny Reed (Recorder), Will Thompson (A&S)

The meeting was called to order by Shannon Blanton at 1:05 p.m. when a quorum was achieved.

Welcome and Introduction of Members: Shannon Blanton welcomed new and returning members.

UUC By Laws Revisions: Shannon Blanton presented the changes to the By Laws, which reflect the number of voting members and the changes in members' job titles. Jim Lukawitz moved (2/Wade Jackson) to accept the revisions. Motion passed by acclamation.

Dean's List Policy: There was much discussion on how to count an "S/U" grade toward the GPA Dean's List requirement. Donna Van Canneyt will research how Banner computes GPA, and report back to the Council. The issue was tabled until the next meeting.

Academic Status and Retention Revised Policy: Through discussion, it seems that the policy that was presented is not the final version. More information will be gathered and presented to the Council at the next meeting.

Fresh Connections Learning Communities: Dan Poje and Cathy Serex announced that for Fall 2008, there are 10 Fresh Connections with 228 students.

Fresh Connections Assessment: Dan Poje distributed the assessment data based on 2006 and 2007 Fresh Connections students and a matched control group. In most of the assessment items, students in Fresh Connections scored higher than both the control group and the national norms. Dan also distributed learning community examples from Kennesaw State University, and asked that the Council members go back to their departments with the information. He asked for departments to propose future Fresh Connections learning communities.

Other Items: Tom Nenon stated that the 2007-08 retention rate is 74.9%, which is up from the previous year.

The meeting adjourned at 1:45 p.m.

The next meeting will be on October 10, 2008.

Respectfully submitted,

Cathy Serex

November 14, 2008

PRESENT (voting): Charles Bray (ENGR), Joel Bumgardner (BIOM), Carol Danehower (MGMT), Linda Finch (for Robert Koch, NURS), Sutton Flynt (ICL), Wade Jackson (Faculty Senate), Walt Kirkpatrick (COMM), Broderick Nichols (UNIV), Susan Popham (ENGL), Barbara Taller (BIOL), Will Thompson (A&S), Joseph Ventimiglia (SOCI),

PRESENT (ex officio): Shannon Blanton (VPUP, Chair), Carl Chando (AAC), Kay Cunningham (Library), Melinda Jones (Honors), Tom Nenon (VPAIRR), Cathy Serex (AA), Donna Van Canneyt (Registrar)

ABSENT: Jim Lukawitz (ACCT), Dan Poje (AA), Ginny Reed (Recorder), Laurie Snyder (CFA), Paul Wright (HSS)

The meeting was called to order by Shannon Blanton at 1:05 p.m. when a quorum was achieved.

The September 2008 minutes were approved (Thompson/Bumgardner).

Dean's List: Several scenarios were discussed regarding students who were enrolled in classes graded S/U, who earned an "S" and have been on the Dean's List for several previous semesters. Exceptions can be used to add these students to the Dean's List when the graduation analysts have determined the caliber of the students who may deserve the Dean's List. The revised catalog text was approved:

The Dean's List is composed of those students who have 12 or more earned hours in the fall or spring semesters with a minimum grade point average of 3.5.

Pilot Program for MATH 1420 and 1710: It has been found that students can be successful in MATH 1420 if they have successfully completed DSPM 0800. Therefore, DSPM 0850 will not be offered beginning Spring 2009. Students who need the content of DSPM 0850 will be advised to take MATH 1710 combo sections. There is only one section of MATH 1420 combo that will be offered Spring 2009. This pilot program is only for Spring 2009, after which time assessment will be conducted.

As a side point: the Math department is going to institute ALEKS, which is a diagnostic for math placement. This will help to place students into the correct classes.

International Baccalaureate: Shannon Blanton said that Germantown High School is presently offering classes for college credit, and Ridgeway High is developing a program. She is getting inquiries from parents and students about which classes will be accepted by the UofM for college credit. Will Thompson said that the IB program is similar to AP, but much more elaborate. The courses cover general education, studio based courses (CCFA), and business courses. The scores range from 1-7, and the student can earn up to 18 hours college credit. By Spring 2009, some guidelines will be in place to come before this body for discussion and approval. In addition to Shannon and Will, Laurie Snyder, Gloria Moore, and Carl Chando are serving on this committee.

Residence Requirement: Shannon Blanton pointed out that the Residence Requirement is not readily accessible, and is only in the Undergraduate Catalog. She is concerned that students are not being told that 60 hours of their program must be taken at a senior level institution. She suggested that it needs to be more prominent to students, and would like to see it on all degree sheets given to students. She also said that she will ask the Office of Academic Transition to put the Residence Requirement on the website and all documents given to students, including the Transfer Credit Request (TCR).

Donna Van Canneyt said that a report is being written to determine how many hours students are taking at two-year institutions. This report will identify the most common two-year institutions that UofM students attend.

Other Members' Items: Will Thompson brought up the issue of the course titles in the Undergraduate Catalog are, in some cases, abbreviated to 30 characters, and may not be very descriptive. Cathy Serex explained the 30 character limit on Banner, but also suggested a few options that can be used:

A more descriptive course title can be entered with the course description.
Some of the course titles are too long, and perhaps the departments can look at them and suggest a more succinct title.
Some course titles are not using the allotted 30 characters, and if those are identified, then they can be expanded.
There is a place in Banner that long course titles can be manually loaded, but a program would need to be written to pull the long titles into the catalog. This may be a project for the future.

The meeting adjourned at 2:00 p.m.

The next meeting will be on December 12, 2008, at which curriculum requests will be presented.

Respectfully submitted,

Cathy Serex

December 12, 2008

PRESENT (voting): William Thompson (FLL), Laurie Snyder (CFA), Charles Bray (ENG), Robert Koch (Nursing), Joseph Ventimiglia (SOCI), Jim Lukawitz (ACCT), Joel Bumgardner (BIOM), Carol Danehower (FCBE), Sutton Flynt (ICL), Susan Popham (ENGL), Barbara Taller (BIOL), Paul Wright (HSS), Broderick Nichols (UNIV), Wade Jackson (Faculty Sen)

PRESENT (ex officio): Dan Poje (VPAA), Carl Chando (AAC), Tom Nenon (VP, AIRR), Cathy Serex (Curr), Kay Cunningham (LIBR), Melinda Jones (Honors),
ABSENT: Donna Van Canneyt (Registrar), Walt Kirkpatrick (COMM)
GUESTS: Rick Bloomer (HSS), Sherry Bryan (ARCH), Michael Hagge (ARCH), Sheila Hall (NURS).
The meeting was called to order by Shannon Blanton, Chair at 1:05 p.m. when a quorum was achieved.
Approval of November 2008 minutes: Moved by Will Thompson, seconded by Jim Lukawitz and approved.
College of Education, Health and Human Sciences: Rick Bloomer presented the proposal for the admission and retention requirements to the Exercise and Sport Sciences concentration. The rationale for raising the GPA requirement was to prepare students for Graduate School, where a higher GPA is required, and to only allow those students who successfully maintain the GPA requirement in the courses to progress through the concentration. Currently, there are no accreditation requirements for licensure. It was noted that they have not as yet looked at other schools for best practices. Tom Nenon pointed out that faculty need to be aware that when a program is made better but smaller, the number of faculty will be affected. He also said that perhaps they should think about ways to move ahead those students. Representatives from the college reported that out of 90 students, only about 20% would have been excluded under their proposal. Carl Chando questioned where students who fall below the GPA range would be advised. They will return to the Academic Advising Center, but how should they be advised? They will need to have Anatomy and Physiology before they are transferred to department/major. The suggestion was made that perhaps Health Promotion would be an appropriate major for those students who fall below the proposed GPA. This proposal was tabled until January so that the faculty could consult with the new incoming dean.
Sutton Flynt presented "Teaching All Learners" major. This revised Special Education major would allow students to have dual licensure in K6 and Special Ed.
Will Thompson asked about students' repeating PHED courses for credit and whether that is appropriate, rather than requiring that they enroll in an intermediate course following the successful completion of the beginning course. It was decided that they should be permitted to enroll in the same course twice.
Sutton also presented other program and course revision requests.
The motion for approval was made by Robert Koch and seconded by Jim Lukawitz.
College of Communication and Fine Arts: Michael Hagge discussed the proposal to move the Interior Design concentration in the Art department to an Interior Design major in the Architecture department. He said that the state licensure board advised the college to do this. If the decision is made to go forward with this, CCFA will revise the curriculum and add a few more courses to the concentration.
Susan Popham asked for discussion as to the appropriateness of the title of COMM 4014 Communication on the Internet. She will discuss overlap of this course with the English department faculty. The motion was made to table the discussion until January.
Laurie Snyder also presented other program and course revision requests.
The motion for approval was made by Will Thompson and seconded by Jim Lukawitz.
College of Engineering: Charlie Bray presented new admission requirements to each of the Engineering majors, Biomedical, Civil, Computer, Electrical, and Mechanical. There was discussion about making them similar. Charlie will go back to the department for revisions.
Engineering Technology proposed the termination of the three of the majors, Computer Engineering Technology, Electronics Engineering Technology, and Manufacturing Engineering, and to combine them into one major, Engineering Technology. Pending TBR approval, revised admission requirements will be presented at the January meeting.
Charlie also presented other program and course revision requests.
The motion for approval was made by Jim Lukawitz and seconded by Laurie Synder.
School of Nursing: In addition to course revisions, Robert Koch presented revised admissions requirements.
The motion for approval was made by Joel Bumgardner and seconded by Jim Lukawitz.

The meeting adjourned at 3:10 p.m.
The next meeting will be on January 9, 2009.
Respectfully submitted,
Barbara Kyker

January 9, 2009

PRESENT (voting): William Thompson (FLL), Laurie Snyder (CFA), Charles Bray (ENG), Robert Koch (Nursing), Joseph Ventimiglia (SOCI), Jim Lukawitz (ACCT), Joel Bumgardner (BIOM), Carol Danehower (FCBE), Sutton Flynt (ICL), Barbara Taller (BIOL), Paul Wright (HSS), Broderick Nichols (UNIV), Wade Jackson (Faculty Sen)

PRESENT (ex officio): Dan Poje (VPAA), Carl Chando (AAC), Cathy Serex (Curr), Kay Cunningham (LIBR), Melinda Jones (Honors),
ABSENT: Tom Nenon (VP, AIRR), Donna Van Canneyt (Registrar), Walt Kirkpatrick (COMM)
GUESTS: Marla Stafford (MKTG), Terry Wright (HPRM)
The meeting was called to order by Shannon Blanton, Chair at 1:05 p.m. when a quorum was achieved.
Arts & Sciences: Will Thompson presented the curriculum requests. There was a question concerning HIST 4386 Introduction to Museums, which is crosslisted with ARTH 4386. The Art History course carries a course fee, which the History course does not. Will said that he would check on this.
Carl Chando brought up the issue of ESCI 1040 and the required Field Trip. He said that students need to know of this requirement before they register for the class. Another concern with the requirement was those students who are unable to attend a Saturday class. Would they have an alternate option for the requirement? Will said that he would check and get back to the committee with an answer.
The motion for approval was made by Jim Lukawitz and seconded by Robert Koch.
CCFA: Laurie Snyder said that the issue raised by Susan Popham concerning the appropriateness of the title of COMM 4014, is no longer a problem. The motion for approval was made by Jim Lukawitz and Will Thompson seconded.
Education: Sutton Flynt said that Heath and Human Performance has rescinded the GPA requirement request for the Exercise and Sport Sciences concentration, and will re-visit the issue from a different perspective.
The motion for approval was made by Robert Koch and seconded by Jim Lukawitz.
ENGR: Charlie Bray presented the revised Admission requirements for the Engineering majors. With the exception of Mechanical Engineering, all the other programs with have the same requirements. There was discussion about how this requirement was determined. A point was made by Charlie that by adopting the requirement, students who are not successful would be encouraged and advised to pursue other majors. Laurie Snyder noted that her college has experienced similar situations. Shannon Blanton reminded the group that a drop in enrollment would have negative implications, but Charlie Bray assured the group that they would not allow the department to "be killed."
Robert Koch reminded the committee that, in general, decisions should be more fact and evidence based and analytical, rather than anecdotal. Charlie Bray said that he had tracked students for two years before coming to this conclusion.
The motion for approval was made by Jim Lukawitz and seconded by Robert Koch.
University College: Broderick Nichols proposed changing the name of Individual Studies for both the B.P.S. and B.L.S. to Professional Studies and Liberal Studies respectively. Changes to the Paralegal program- it was also agreed that students should not receive credit for both UNIV 3401/3402 and LEGL 3485/3430.
The motion for approval was made by Jim Lukawitz and seconded by Robert Koch.
Honors Program: Melinda Jones said that due to staffing issues, they will no longer require students to complete both UNIV 1101 and 1102. Either one will satisfy the requirement. The motion to approve was made by Will Thompson and Jim Lukawitz seconded.
INDP Programs: Shannon Blanton announced the creation of a new one hour course ACAD 2200 – Academic Recovery Seminar – for students referred by the ASR office as being at risk. Carl Chando said that perhaps a more positive name such as Academic Success Seminar might be more appropriate. There was also discussion as to whether this should be a 2000 level course, and if the course should be pass/fail rather than a graded course. It was suggested that the course should be ACAD 1200 Academic Success Seminar.
Will Thompson made the motion to approve and it was seconded by Jim Lukawitz.
Business and Economics. Terry Wright presented the Hospitality and Resort Management requests. Marla Stafford presented the Marketing requests. Carol Danehower presented the other requests, including the termination of the Sales major.
The motion to approve was made by Carol Danehower and was seconded by Jim Lukawitz.

The meeting adjourned at 2:50 p.m.
The next meeting will be on February 13, 2009.
Respectfully submitted,
Barbara Kyker