Faculty Senate Minutes - 10/19/2000
FACULTY SENATE MINUTES
October 19, 2000
Call to order
President Mikkelsen called the meeting to order at 4:02 p.m.
Senators present
Aschermann, Bargar, Cadden, Caldwell, Fowler, Greiert, Hamzaee,
Klostermeyer, McLear, Mikkelsen, Nelson, Noynaert, Radmacher, Roberts,
Williams
Senators absent
Tapia
Ex-officio
James McCarthy, interim president, Missouri Western State College
Guests present
Larry Andrews, professor of criminal justice
Judy Grimes, director of student success programs
Kathyrne Mueller, administrative associate to the vice president for
academic affairs
Minutes of the previous meeting
The minutes of the October 5 meeting were approved with one correction
the deletion of the attendance of Kathyrne Mueller, administrative
associate of vice president for academic affairs (McLear/Nelson)
Meeting agenda
The proposed agenda for today's meeting was approved with the addition of
a report from the faculty senate grievance committee.
Report from the interim college president
MWSC interim President James McCarthy reported on the computer fee
issue. He said that James Roever, vice president for academic affairs,
and Martin Johnson, dean of the division of liberal arts and sciences,
will make a report to the student government association on Monday,
October 23. They will explain more money is needed in order to add more
resources to computer labs on campus.
McCarthy also announced that the student government association was now
considering an increase in the student activity fee. If that proposal
passes in the student government association, it will then proceed to the
president's cabinet. If it receives approval there, the proposal will
then be voted upon by the students of the college. If the proposal is not
approved by the student government associaton, it will go nowhere.
McCarthy stated that a public memorial service for the late Governor Mel
Carnahan will be held on Friday, October 20, in Jefferson City. McCarthy
will lead a delegation, including staff and students, who will represent
MWSC at that service. He noted the significant impact the late governor
had had on this college, especially through his endeavors to promote a
guaranteed student loan program and scholarships, which had doubled during
his administration. Mikkelsen corroborated this assessment of Carnahan's
commitment to higher education in the state, including the growth of MWSC.
Report from the vice president for academic affairs
James Roever, vice president for academic affairs, was unable to attend
this faculty senate meeting because of another commitment out of
town. Kathyrne Mueller, administrative associate to the vice president
for academic affairs, attended in his place. She said that there was
nothing new to report at this time.
Report from the faculty senate executive committee
President Mark Mikkelsen reported once again on the presidential search
process. The Presidential Screening Committee is continuing to meet. He
expressed hope that an announcement on the process of the search would be
forthcoming soon.
Mikkelsen said the faculty senate executive committee had recently met
with Judy Grimes, director of student success programs at MWSC, to discuss
issues that she might wish to address in her report to the faculty senate
in today's meeting. Mikkelsen noted that the faculty senate executive
committee had also met yesterday with McCarthy with whom it had conversed
about the following issues: 1) parking fees; 2) internal communication on
campus as a general issue; and 3) appointment of a faculty representative
to the MWSC Board of Regents. At that time, McCarthy had reiterated that
the parking fee issue had definitely been rescinded pending further
research. He had also discussed various avenues for maintaining open and
accurate internal communication on campus. Lastly, he indicated that he
fully supported the appointment of a faculty representative to the MWSC
Board of Regents.
Mikkelsen explained that the faculty senate executive committee had
contacted two faculty senate committee chairpersons to clarify what would
be included in the reports that each of them would present today to the
faculty senate. Those chairpersons were, respectively, Betty Sawin, chair
of the faculty senate academic regulations and standards committee, and
Larry Andrews, chair of the faculty senate grievance committee.
Mikkelsen distributed a written statement from Evelyn Brooks, with her
approval, outlining information collected by the food service committee
regarding negotiations for changes in food service on campus. Her
statement is dated October 18, 2000. (See Attachment A)
Mikkelsen also distributed copies of the most recent budget statement for
the faculty senate. Its funds totaling $2100 come out of the office of
academic affairs. The remaining balance listed on the faculty senate
budget statement dated October 13, 2000, is $1669.78. Thus far,
expenditures have been made for the following: 1) food for
meetings; 2) binders for faculty senators' minutes and reports; and
3) faculty senators' trips to MAFS meetings.
Mikkelsen announced agenda items for the faculty senate meeting on
November 2, 2000. They included: 1) a report by Rick Gilmore from the ad
hoc committee on outside employment; and 2) a report by David Bennett on
the work of the faculty senate general studies committee.
Vice president Barry Nelson interjected that faculty senate liaisons
should remind their respective committees to submit committee reports on
diskettes.
Report from director of student success programs
Judy Grimes, director of student success programs, thanked the faculty for
their cooperation with her office during the five years she has been on
campus. She indicated that she was hoping to eradicate misconceptions
that may have arisen about the Access Plus Program. She provided each
senator with a booklet containing an overview of the program in general as
well as its various components. Grimes defined Access Plus as a program
designed to enhance the mission of MWSC. The college needed a way to
provide more faculty to meet the demands of growth. Charles McClain, a
former head of the CBHE, was a driving force behind connecting this
program with MWSC. The expressed purposes of Access Plus are: 1) to
increase retention rates of students between their freshman and sophomore
years; 2) to improve graduation rates; 3) to help students navigate
academic and curricular matters; and 4) to help students meet the academic
standards required by specialized programs. Strengthening the orientation
program at MWSC is one way the college has sought to accomplish these
purposes. Access Plus has led to summer orientation programs, the Griffon
Edge breakout sessions, and Freshman Interest Groups (FIGs). During the
last four years, largely because of the Access Plus program, twenty-eight
new fulltime faculty positions have been justified and filled. A fulltime
researcher was hired specifically to provide as much statistical
information as possible regarding all variables in student recruiting,
student retention, and student graduation at MWSC. A freshman seminar
course
COL 101
has placed much greater emphasis for students on issues such as 1) the
rigors of college academic work, 2) time management skills, 3) ability to
handle stress, and 4) note-taking skills. The recruitment of 150
volunteer freshman advisors from both academic divisions and their
intensive training in academic advising through Access Plus during the
summer have improved the chances that students at MWSC will be able to
succeed at a higher rate in their undergraduate education. The emergence
of the new name for this program
"student success"
has been widely approved by students at the college.
Other components emerging from the student success program at MWSC
include: 1) the center for excellence in teaching; 2) developmental
mathematics and English courses; 3) technological support for instruction
in "smart" classrooms; 4) $100,000 appropriated through the academic
computer fund for faculty computers; 5) a special needs coordinator to
assist students facing unusual circumstances in their classroom
testing; 6) a unity services center focusing on issues of diversity on
campus; and 7) a NCAA CHAMPS/life skills program, including mentors for
students. Statistics compiled by the college researcher indicate that
improvements have already occurred at the college in retention. The
freshman/sophomore retention rate is up ten percentage points from 54% to
64% (@ 100 students). The number of freshman who have taken at least
twenty-four credits and earned a GPA of at least 2.0 has risen to
54%. The target in this matter is 55% (compared to the former goal of
70%).
Grimes stated that an item of top priority on her agenda is to visit
academic departments on campus to learn first-hand from faculty what their
goals are regarding student instruction at MWSC. Senator Radmacher
interjected at this point that she had recently learned about one idea
that seems to be working well at other open admission colleges
the concept of establishing a "floor" ACT score of 16 for students
admitted during summer sessions and providing them with assistance through
advising so that they might be more academically successful. Grimes is
seeking information on the "best" students and the "worst" students to
determine what would help the greatest number to succeed. She noted that
"underprepared" students without the high school core curriculum and with
ACT scores below 18 are going to have a very difficult time succeeding in
college. But retention of "underprepared" students at MWSC has increased
from 27% to 47.5% in three years. She credited her freshman advisors with
intervening from the very first week of each semester as one way for the
college to realize a higher retention rate among its freshmen. She also
praised the Noel-Levitz instrument, which establishes a college student
inventory, as an excellent predictor for student success. Proper use of
that instrument has assisted the college in decreasing probation rates and
increasing retention rates.
Radmacher asked how freshman advisees are distributed among freshman
advisors. For that information Grimes referred her to the office of
Kathyrne Mueller, administrative associate to the vice president for
academic affairs.
Grimes concluded her remarks with the following statistics. After four
years of data collection under Access Plus at MWSC the graduation rate of
students seeking two-year associate degrees has risen from 25% to
38%. Currently, the graduation rate of students seeking four-year
baccalaureate degrees at MWSC is below 30%. The target is currently
45%. (The "state goal" is that graduation and time-to-completion rates
for first-time, full-time degree-seeking freshmen will equal or exceed 45%
after six years at open enrollment four-year institutions.)
Report from FS grievance committee
Larry Andrews, chairperson of the faculty senate grievance committee,
stated that the current grievance process is a good one and constitutes a
tremendous benefit for faculty. At the same time, he emphasized that, if
refined, the process could be even better. Andrews put forth several
suggestions that members of his committee and he thought would be
advantageous for all parties concerned in this process:
1. Clarify definitions of certain terms in the policy that are
awkward for the committee chairperson and the three-member executive
subcommittee. In particular, he cited the definition of
"respondent." Currently, the person designated as the "respondent" is the
vice president for academic affairs. Is this the appropriate person to
designate as "respondent" in this process? On one hand, this
administrator represents the college in the hearing, and, on the other
hand, this same official also discusses grievance procedure with the
grievance committee
a very awkward and precarious position since the academic vice president
thus essentially "wears two hats." Does this not constitute a conflict of
interest? Who should determine whether or not a grievance should go
forward
the academic vice president or the grievance committee? Andrews
maintained that he was certain it should be the committee, and yet this
remains a nagging question.
2. Another concern was the membership of the grievance committee
itself. This is a difficult committee for any faculty member to serve
unless that person is a tenured full professor. Anyone else might find
her/his own tenure or promotion decision to be jeopardized by alienating
administrative officials on campus. Conversely, Andrews said that the
dean of professional studies had told him it would be especially difficult
to find a sufficient number of faculty to serve on this committee if its
membership was limited to tenured full professors.
3. The hearing procedure itself varies from year to year,
depending upon how aggressive attorneys representing either the college or
the grieved faculty member become in handling the case. Should the
attorneys function more as legal advisors to each side or as legal
interrogators similar to their roles in court? It is altogether possible
for the respective attorneys essentially to "run" the hearings.
4. Can and/or should members of the grievance committee retain
legal representation for themselves in order to ask "legal
questions"? The current executive subcommittee was denied that
"mechanism" in what its members perceived to be a very legalistic
process. Faculty members of this committee thus occupy a very awkward
position because some might be lawyers themselves, while most of them are
not lawyers. Furthermore, it would be very expensive for any faculty
member to retain an attorney under any circumstance. It is becoming
exceedingly difficult for anyone without legal expertise to serve as
chairperson of this committee or one of its subcommittees.
5. Formal rules of evidence do not apply in these grievance
hearings, yet it is a very
litigious process involving attorneys or mediators.
Consequently, Andrews requested that an ad hoc committee be formed to
investigate these recommendations to clarify and polish the faculty
grievance process at MWSC. Mikkelsen invited approval to form such a
committee and said that the faculty senate executive committee will
definitely look into this matter. Senator Greiert stated that it would be
unwise for any faculty member to bypass the grievance procedure and take
the matter directly to court because a judge would insist upon "a point of
law" before accepting such a case and that courts insist upon faculty
first exhausting all instruments on campus pertaining to grievance
procedures before undertaking litigation. Senator Klostermeyer noted that
the key legal issue in every instance of a grievance procedure would be
"due process." The report from the faculty senate grievance committee was
received by the faculty senate.
Report from FS academic standards and regulations committee
Elizabeth Latosi-Sawin, chairperson of the faculty senate academic
standards and regulations committee, was unable to attend this faculty
senate meeting. However, she submitted a written report outlining
recommendations from her committee involving these
issues: 1) "consideration;" and 2) the current mid-term grade policy at
MWSC. This written report was received by the faculty senate. (See
Attachment B)
Old Business
None.
New Business
(SB 00-01.01) (Bargar/Roberts): To change the wording in the 2000-2001
MWSC Policy Guide (ABSENCES AND MAKE-UP WORK FOR STUDENTS, p. 45) from the
current policy:
"Regular class attendance is considered an essential part of the
student's educational experience and a requirement for an adequate
evaluation of student academic progress. Each instructor will determine
and make known to the class the requirement for attendance. When an
announced examination falls on the day a student is absent, instructors
are not required to prepare or give a make-up test. Consideration will be
given to students in the case of genuine illness, emergency, or when
acting as a representative of MWSC. It shall be the responsibility of the
student to notify the class instructor prior to the absence and, if
possible, meet the instructor upon the student's return to discuss the
material missed."
to the proposed policy:
"Regular class attendance is considered an essential part of the
student's educational experience and a requirement for an adequate
evaluation of student academic progress. It shall be the responsibility
of the student to get information missed in class because of any
absence. When an announced examination or significant graded assignment
falls on the day a student is absent, instructors are not required to
prepare a make-up test or to give an alternative assignment unless the
student sufficiently documents an illness, an emergency, or a scheduled,
formal event at which the student is representing Missouri Western State
College. A student representing MWSC needs to notify the
instructor before the event."
(SB 00-01.02) (Roberts/Cadden): To change the wording in the 2000-2001
MWSC Policy Guide (MIDTERM DEFICIENCY GRADE REPORTS, p. 49) from the
current policy:
"Grades must be turned in to the Records Office at midterm for all
students. Refer to the
Academic Calendar published in this Policy Guide for the exact
date midterm grades are
due. (July 1992)"
to the proposed policy:
"Grades must be turned in to the Records Office at midterm as a
warning for those students whose performance at that point in the semester
is minimal (D) or failing (F). Refer to the Academic Calendar published
in this Policy Guide for the exact date midterm grades are due."
Other
Senator Noynaert reported that he and others from MWSC had recently
attended a meeting of the Missouri Association of Faculty Senates
(MAFS). That organization had updated its constitution and by-laws. At
this meeting Ken Jacob, a state senator of Missouri advocating faculty
representation on the Boards of Regents at all state universities and
colleges in the state, had stressed the need for political action in order
to bring pressure on state legislators. In its meeting in February 2001
the state legislature will address legislation on this issue. Currently,
there are no groups in the state who are advocates for faculty, other than
the state AAUP and MAFS.
Mikkelsen shared with the faculty senate data on ACT score distributions
for the last two years among MWSC students. He expressed the hope that
this data will be taken up by the Enrollment Management Focus Group of the
Master Plan Committee at the college. (See Attachment C)
Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 5:47 p.m. (Roberts/Bargar).
Respectfully submitted,
Steven Greiert
Secretary
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