Faculty Senate Minutes - 11/21/2002

Missouri Western State College
Faculty Senate Minutes

November 21, 2002


Call to order:

The meeting was called to order by President Greiert at 4 p.m.


Senators present:

Larry Andrews, Brenda Blessing, Ben Caldwell, Bill Church, Steven Greiert,
Susan Hennessy, Bob Klostermeyer, Barry Nelson, Michael Ottinger, Keith Rhodes,
Mike Smith, John Tapia, Randye Williams, Carolyn Windsor


Senators absent:

Richard Cluff, Marilyn Hunt, Mark Mikkelsen


Guests present:

Vice President David Arnold, Teddi Deka, Jon Euchner, Cindy Heider, Ken Lee,
President James Scanlon, Dan Trifan


Approval of minutes:

Minutes of the November 7, 2002 meeting were approved (Blessing/Caldwell).


Approval of the agenda:

Greiert requested the agenda be amended to allow the report from the Grievance Committee to precede the report from the General Studies Committee.
The agenda was approved as amended (Klostermeyer/Tapia).






Report from Grievance Committee:

Teddi Deka, Chair, submitted the Grievance Committee Report 2002 (Attachment A)
Motion made to receive the report (Nelson/Tapia). John Tapia asked a question about the location of the grievance form in the policy guide. Teddi Deka responded that the form should be in the policy guide as well as on a disk which will remain with the chair of the Grievance Committee.
Greiert recommended the Grievance Committee Report be submitted to CGAC with no objections noted from senators. Senators commended the committee for their work during 2002.


Report from General Studies Committee:

Cindy Heider, Chair, submitted a written report dated November 21, 2002 (Attachment B). The report contained four items with one through three addressing those activities accomplished by the committee during 2002. A summary of the first activity, the review of all General Studies course syllabi, was presented to and approved by the CGAC in the spring 2002. The second activity, which involved a language change in the description of the General Studies Program in the policy guide, was presented and approved by the Senate in the spring 2002. The third activity, the review of curriculum proposals related to General Studies which were either new courses or changes to existing courses, was concluded in the spring 2002. Heider requested she present the committee’s review of proposals to CGAC in December, 2002. No objections emanated from the senators.
The committee’s fourth activity, described in the written report, focused on the discussion these issues: 1) changing the time frame for meeting from every third calendar year to every third academic year, which could allow for improved coordination of proposal review with the Curriculum Committee; 2) disbanding the General Studies Committee and having its responsibilities subsumed into a subcommittee of the Curriculum Committee; and 3) ensuring that future appointments to the committee allow for retention of some members whose knowledge and experience could facilitate continuity. Discussion among senators ensued about these three issues and concluded with a request to continue discussion at a future date. Senator Blessing commended the committee for activities accomplished in 2002.


Report from college president:

President Scanlon reported on the following:

1) Missouri Western was recognized at the annual Mayor’s Thanksgiving Dinner and received a Humanitarian Award from the city;
2) The Coordinating Board for Higher Education has now approved the two Associate Degree programs requested by Missouri Western. There were no formal objections to the requested programs in Electronics and Computer Engineering Technology and EMT;
3) A 5%-10% budget withholding is expected in December. Dr. Scanlon assured the senate that the college’s current plan will allow for this. Senator Church asked whether this would be a core cut, and Dr. Scanlon indicated that it would not. Senator Blessing asked whether employees may be laid off, and Dr. Scanlon indicated he does not anticipate laying off employees in 2003 or 2004.


Report from vice president for academic and student affairs:

Vice President Arnold reported on the following:
1) At-risk students (those who are deficient by ACT score or core courses) will receive letters Fall semester 2002 requesting them to start their studies at Missouri Western in the Summer 2003 with incentives offered. Students registering in the Fall would be those who are not at-risk;
2) Strategic planning proposals have been submitted and recommendations by the review committee will be made in December 2002. Dr. Arnold indicated he will be only funding meritorious proposals;
3) The Director for Grants position will be posted after Thanksgiving and a search committee has been formed;
1) Two reports have been submitted to the Faculty Senate Executive Committee:
Dual Credit at Western, developed by Judy Fields (Attachment C); and the University of Missouri System’s Institutional Draft Report on Dual Credit (Attachment D).


Report from faculty senate executive committee:

Greiert reported on the following:
1) The Executive Committee met with Dr. Arnold on October 1, 2002;
2) A request was made that the ad hoc Grievance Committee report be delayed until February, 2003 because of delays in communication with the college attorney.


Nominees for institutional committees:

A ballot was distributed to senators for nominations for the Cultural Diversity Committee, the Parking Committee, and the Network Services Committee. Vote was taken, and results were tabulated. Senator Nelson reported the results:
Cultural Diversity Committee: Dawn Terrick, Nader Vargha, Sharon Vestal,
Victoria Wacek
Parking Committee: Larry Andrews, Deborah Bogle, Don Vestal
Network Services Committee: Evan Noynaert

Motion made by Nelson to accept the results of the vote. Seconded by Williams.
Motion passed unanimously.


Report from faculty senate promotion and tenure committee:

Greiert requested the committee present a brief report and allow for the identification of issues of concern from the committee and senators. He further asked that the full report with discussion opportunities for senators occur in January 2003.

Jon Euchner, Chair of the committee, asked Ken Lee to present the committee’s report from 2002 (Attachment E). The recommendations presented in the report are as follows:
1) MWSC alter its tenure policy so that tenure review is mandatory in the fifth year of full-time service at MWSC; and failure to attain tenure by the end of the seventh probationary year will result in the issuance of a terminal contract for the next academic year;
2) The report also stated recommendations for changing the Policy Guide to reflect
the above recommendations and for clarifying that the recommendations do not necessarily apply to current faculty;
3) The committee did not have any recommendations regarding the creation of different classes of faculty positions.
Senators raised the following issues of concern and questions about the committee’s recommendations:1) Do all departments want “tenure” positions?
2) When would the “clock start”?
3) Is MWSC an “up-or-out” institution and advertised as such?
4) Shouldn’t each department be asked to describe what it wants as far as “meritorious service”?
1) What is “professional development”? Is research a part of this?
2) What is the goal/intent of “up-or-out”?
3) What happens to current faculty?
4) What about chairpersons of departments who currently do not have tenure?
5) Why not hire faculty on a year-to-year basis?
6) What about some of the tenured faculty who are not doing their jobs?
7) Should we toughen up the annual evaluation process by chairpersons?
8) Is the definition of “tenure” similar among institutions of higher education?
9) What are the advantages of affiliation with AUUP? The AUUP website might be helpful.
10) Should there be a Promotion and Tenure Committee which includes nontenured persons?
At the conclusion of the discussion, Greiert asked senators to talk with faculty and solicit information for discussion in January.




Old Business

None was brought forward.


New Business


Greiert asked senators about the feasibility of a meeting on December 5, 2002 in light of the coinciding final exam week. Senators indicated unanimously they would prefer to cancel the December meeting. Greiert agreed and noted the next meeting would be January 16, 2003.


Adjournment

Meeting adjourned at 6 p.m. (Blessing/Church).



Respectfully submitted,



Carolyn Windsor
Faculty Senate Secretary