UNIVERSITY
COUNCIL
Minutes No. 3
2002-2003
Thursday, February 20, 2003
I. CALL TO ORDER AND
ATTENDANCE: The James Madison
University Council met electronically on Thursday, February 20,
2003.
PRESENT: Mr.
Ralph Alberico, Dr. Jerry Benson, Dr. David Brakke, Dr. Doug Brown,
Dr. Michael Busing, Dr. Steve Frysinger, Mr. Christopher Gatesman,
Dr. Linda Halpern, Ms. Donna Harper, Mr. John Horigan, Mr. Charles
King, Dr. Sharon Lovell, Dr. Ramon Mata-Toledo, Dr. Robert Reid,
Dr. Lin Rose, Dr. Kathy Stafford, Dr. Mark Warner, Dr. Richard
Whitman, Ms. Emily Wyman, and Dr. David Zimmerman
ABSENT:
Dr. Patricia Brady, Ms. Andrea Fischetti,
Dr. Karen Forcht, Dr. Michael Smilowitz, Mr. Levar Stoney, and Dr.
William Walker.
II.
COMMISSION/COUNCIL REPORTS:
Committee on Academic
Programs:
Dr. Steve Frysinger, Chair,
reported that the Committee had met on 11/22/02, 12/6/02 and
1/24/03.
November 22, 2002
A. BA/BS
Degree Requirements
The CAP agreed to the following process for
developing the BA/BS degree requirement course listing:
• Teresa Gonzalez
will contact Sherry Hood to come up with a list of courses that are
currently meeting BA/BS requirements.
• The list will
then go to the College C&I chairs committee group for
review.
• This group will
develop a process for reviewing the list with their department
C&I chairs.
• After the
initial list is developed any additions or deletions will be made
through the regular C&I process.
• The C&I
forms will be changed to indicate whether a proposed course could
fulfill a BA or BS degree requirement.
• If there are any
disputes, the CAP will review on a case-by-case basis. Teresa Gonzalez will also review the SACS
requirements for degrees.
Implementation date:
no later than the 2004-05 catalog.
Teresa will work with the C&I Committee chairs committee to
facilitate efficient and thoughtful responses. If necessary, we will change current catalog to
refer to a website for details.
December 6, 2002
A. BA/BS
Degree Requirements
Until the
permanent process is put into place, the
Dean's office of each college that has the most ownership in a
course will handle the decision/evaluation for the degree
requirement course substitution.
Departments should put in a C&I request to
include courses to meet the BA/BS degree requirements. The C&I
committees will come up with a list of courses that will meet the
requirements. The additions and deletions will go through the
regular C&I process. Any unresolved disputes would be brought
before the CAP for a decision.
The CAP endorsed the use of the degree requirements
definitions that were stated in the BA/BS task force's report
(1999).
B. Grading
Scale for the Graduate School
The committee approved the change in the grading
scale to include two additional grades, "A-" and "B-". The plus and
minus grades are at the discretion of the instructor. The graduate
faculty felt strongly about having better grading options. The new
university regulations require that this issue come to the CAP for
approval. It was moved, seconded, discussed, and approved the
proposed changes. The changes will take effect with the 2003-04
catalog.
C. The
Ability of Students to Major and Minor in the Same
Area
Teresa Gonzalez will bring this issue to the
Nomenclature Committee that is working on definitions as required
by SACS.
D. Enrollment
Management and Interdisciplinary Education
The CAP needs to address the problem of enrollment
management and interdisciplinary education. This institutional
problem is more than a staffing issue; it is about permitting
students to diversify their education by taking courses outside of
their major. Many departments have had to delete their minors in
the past several years. This severely restricts student choice (and
possibly success) and puts more pressure on GenEd to provide the
electives students need to graduate, even beyond the GenEd program
requirements. The committee continued discussion of this issue at
its January 24, 2003 meeting.
January 24, 2003
A. General
Education Restructuring of Cluster I
Violet
Allain gave an overview on the restructuring changes being made to
the General Education Cluster I. Detailed information was posted to
the blackboard site for review by the committee. The issue will then be discussed in detail at
the next CAP meeting on February 28, 2003.
B. College of Business
Curriculum and Instruction Changes
The COB proposes to modify the Accounting
program description and requirements. The
CAP approved.
C. Enrollment Management and
Interdisciplinary Education
The CAP continued discussion of this issue (started
in the previous meeting). The discussion included admissions
policies as a possible tool to restrict the number of majors in
order to permit other students to minor or complete certificates
(or even just take electives) in a given area. Business has been
the exemplary program, given that many students in other majors
would benefit from a Business minor, but the committee acknowledges
that the issue arises in other programs as well. We will attempt to
gather data about the issue (both within JMU and from other
universities), and to seek a process by which this issue can be
addressed as broadly as possible. Our ultimate goal is to present a
proposal regarding this issue to Drs. Rose and Brown.
Graduate
Council:
Dr. N. William Walker, Dean, reported that the
Graduate Council had met as scheduled for the months of November
and December 2002 and met electronically for January 2003. The following actions were reported.
• Twenty-five
electronic faculty/instructor approvals.
• Forty electronic
course approval/changes approved.
• Revised program
in Computer Science to add concentration in Secure Software
Engineering approved.
• New program of
Occupational Therapy approved by Graduate Council with degree of
Master's of Occupational Therapy (M.O.T.). This program must now be approved by the BOV
and SCHEV.
• Program Change
in Secondary Education Master of Arts in Teaching to rearrange
curriculum approved.
Old Business: Admission testing requirements for the Master
of Fine Arts program for applicant entry criteria to agree with
what is being commonly done in the field was approved.
New Business:
New policies adopted:
Issue: The graduate
grading policy be changed to add A- and B- options to give faculty
and students a more accurate assessment.
Action: Grading
policy will change with a target date for Fall 2003 to include A-
and B- in the existing graduate grading policy.
Issues suggested for discussion:
The following suggestions and comments were made by
Council members:
-create
electronic boards for discussion;
-submit
ideas as motion in meeting and then tweak during discussion;
-colleges
should apply the "Criteria for Graduate Programs of Distinction" to
the program proposal before it comes to the Council;
-Graduate
Council needs strong/rigorous standards and criteria; and to
develop 5-year plan and strong mission statement.
Updates:
• Graduate Student
Representative, Stephanie Dupal, reported that the Graduate Student
Association is developing well. She
thanked the group for nominations of graduate students to the GSA
but needs additional nominations in order to complete the GSA
council. She announced that workshops facilitated by graduate
students for graduate students have been scheduled to start in
January. The schedule of workshops
can be downloaded from the GSA web site.
• Stephanie Dupal
is the graduate student representative appointed to serve on the
Committee for Academic Programs.
• Starting in
January, the Graduate Council will meet alternately on each side of
the campus. Meetings are scheduled for Thursdays from 2:00 p.m.-
3:30 p.m.
• The College of
Graduate and Professional Programs out-reach/entrepreneurial
advisory board for the professional programs side of the College is
in place.
• Dr. Walker
announced that mandatory continuous enrollment would begin in Fall
2003 semester. A CGAPP one-credit
course has been approved for students not enrolled in other
courses. Until then, graduate
coordinators should strongly encourage all graduate students to
register to maintain graduate standing and to get an accurate
student count. Requests for
exceptions to the Continuous Enrollment Policy should be submitted
to Dr. Walker.
• The Graduate
Fair was held November 14.
Attendance doubled over last year's Fair. The Fair will be presented again next year and
we will invite other institutions to participate. It was suggested that we change the time to
11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. The time change would allow students to
visit the fair during lunch and accommodate travel time for the
other institutions.
• SACS-A committee
was appointed to examine the language in the Graduate catalog as to
how we ensure significant differences between undergrad and grad
programming.
• Dr. Walker
explained the need to change wording in the Graduate Catalog so the
catalog does not imply that it is a legal contract between the
student and program. Please be sure
not to imply contract status of statements in the catalog. All programs should check program
literature to be sure there are no implied contract
statements.
Commission on Community:
Mr. Christopher Gatesman, reported that he and
co-chair Renee Staton are currently meeting with all past chairs of
the Commission. New commission
members have been notified and all have agreed to serve. The first meeting will be held March
7.
III. REPORT OF
THE FACULTY SENATE
Dr. Michael
Smilowitz forwarded the following
report:
A. Standing
Committees
Academic Policies
• The Senate
endorsed the "Academic Advising Initiative" contingent upon some
minor revisions.
• Committee is
continuing its analysis of grade distribution data to determine the
need for Senate recommendations.
• The Committee is
examining the feasibility/desirability of revising the academic
calendar to provide for an entire week of "Thanksgiving
Holiday."
Faculty Concerns Committee
• The Committee
has nearly completed collecting survey data from faculty with RTA
appointments and is preparing to begin its analysis.
• The Committee
has made arrangements to provide gifts to retiring
faculty.
• The Committee is
determining what steps should be taken to provide part-time faculty
with access to the Library and UREC during summer.
Student/Faculty Relations
The Committee is exploring possibilities for the
Senate to annually recognize the leadership contributions of a
member of Student Government.
B. Ad Hoc
Committees
Day Care
Initiative
The Committee endorsed the report of the ad hoc
committee on Day Care. The text of
the full report is available at:
http://web.jmu.edu/facultysenate/Documents/fp%20daycare%20report.htm
.
Faculty Emeriti
Initiative
The Committee remains in its
winter hibernation. All appears
well, and they are poised to present their recommendations at
spring's thaw.
"Expanding Horizons"
Project
The first activity is scheduled for March
1st. Professor O'Meara
will attempt to convince the 12 year-old participants that
questions about the meaning of life are indeed meaningful. Fortunately, the participants will be
provided lunch!
C. Other
Business
• The Senate
completed the "Computer Lottery." For the first time, the lottery was
conducted entirely on the web, including submission of entries and
notification of winners.
• The Senate
resolved to request that the search for the Dean of Education be
conducted according the prescriptions of the Faculty Handbook. The Senate further resolved to
request the Handbook Committee to clarify the language in sections
III.C.5 and III.C.6 to delineate clearly those deans that are
administrative and professional faculty positions in the Office of
the Vice-President for Academic Affairs.
IV. REPORT OF THE
STUDENT GOVERNMENT ASSOCIATION
Mr. Levar Stoney, SGA President, forwarded the attached
report.
Elections Reform Policy Adopted
After a
semester of deliberation and debate, the Election Reform Ad hoc
Committee led by Senator Lauren Newman was able to propose a new
and improved election policy to guide the SGA through future
elections. In the policy the
committee included more defined and objective guidelines for
campaigning that the past regulations lacked. The policy also included a new method on which
students will now elect their leaders. Beginning this spring SGA elections will now be
held online. It is our hope this
will increase student participation and interest in the SGA
elections process.
Safe Rides
Vice
President of Student Affairs Lyndsey Walther-Thomas has begun to
diligently lay the foundation for a Safe Rides program to begin
operations for the next academic year. Safe Rides would provide a safe ride home for
JMU students during the weekend and protect against the hidden
alternative to drunk driving that may occur on the streets of
Harrisonburg. VPSA Walther-Thomas is
currently going through the process of verifying the program's
recognition as an independent organization.
Front End Budgeting (FEB) Review
In addition to hearing contingency
requests from non-FEB funded organizations, the Finance Committee
completed its biannual review of the FEB status of all nine FEB
organizations. Approval of seven of
the nine FEB groups was granted in committee, while two groups
(NAACP and BSA) were not given approval within committee. The decision on both groups were brought
to the Senate and overturned by overwhelming votes. Each organization will continue with its FEB
status for the next two years. A FEB
Reform Ad hoc committee was formed to review the SGA's policy on
front end budgeting.
Student Senate Focus: Student Services
The Student Services committee has focused their
efforts on organizing the creation of free and informative student
planners for incoming freshmen for Fall Semester 2003. The
committee also is working to develop an online events calendar for
student organizations to better publicize their programming and to offer
easier access to such information for all students at
JMU.
V.
REPORT OF THE HONOR COUNCIL
Mr. John Horigan, Honor Council
President, provided the following information.
Informal
Resolutions: agreements
between a faculty member and a student accused of violating the
Honor Code. The agreement is
essentially a contract between the instructor and the student
regarding the violation, generally including an admission of guilt,
and the sanction for that violation.
The maximum sanction that may be imposed by this course of action
is failure of the course without the option to repeat/forgive. Average number of Informal Resolutions
for any academic year is highly variable.
As of 2/19/03 for '02- '03: 47
Formal
Resolutions: hearings
granted to a student accused of violating the code for any of the
following reasons: First, the accused refuses to sign an Informal
Resolution, or denies guilt. Second,
the faculty member involved deems the violation too serious to be
dealt with by only one faculty member. Third, the student has one or two prior
violations, whether informal or formal. A Formal Resolution requires that a hearing
panel be convened with four students (three Honor Council
Representatives and the Council Vice President), and three faculty
representatives as the deliberations panel. The decision of guilt is made before intent and
sanctioning. Only after a decision
regarding guilt is made is the panel informed of any prior
violations. Minimum sanctions that
apply are as follows: for a first violation there is no minimum
sanction. For a second violation
suspension for one academic semester and failure of the course
without the option to repeat forgive. Lastly, for a third violation the minimum
sanction is expulsion. In past years
the average number of Formal Resolutions per year has fluctuated
around two.
As of 2/19/03 for Fall Semester '02: 2
As of 2/19/03 for Fall Semester '02: 3 under investigation (resulting from fall
violations)
There is currently one appeal
going before an appeals panel.
Representatives
New Representatives are added to the council at the
start of each semester. Any full-
time student, undergraduate or graduate may apply. We are currently conducting interviews for new
representative applicants.
Interviews will be completed by the 21st.
Student Education Committee
The Student Education Committee has begun Residence
Hall presentations on the topic of the Honor Code in an effort to
increase awareness of the importance and value of academic
integrity at JMU. The committee also
does classroom presentations in the Fall semester.
Faculty Relations Committee
The Faculty Relations Committee is currently working
on preparing two tri-fold pamphlets for faculty members on how to
report violations as well as how to get involved in the
Council.
Publicity Committee
The Publicity Committee has been working on
organizing a panel discussion to be held in April to focus on the
importance of integrity in an academic community.
Honor Advisory
Board
The Honor Advisory Board met on November 17,
2002. Several amendments were passed
to revise procedures. Debate was
opened on altering the Second sanction of the Honor Code to include
a notation on the student's transcript. All members of the Board agreed that there will
be no vote on the issue until further research has been
completed. Katie Ferguson, Head
Investigator, has undertaken large parts of the research and will
present her findings in a proposal to the Board.
Center for Academic Integrity
John Horigan has accepted a nomination for a
one-year term on the Board of Directors of the Center for Academic
Integrity.
VI. REPORT OF
UPB
No report was received from
UPB.
NOTE:
The next meeting
is scheduled to meet Thursday, April 10,
2003.
Linwood H. Rose,
President
Donna E. Burch,
Secretary
