ACADEMIC SENATE MINUTES

(Approved)

April 4, 2001

Volume XXXII, No. 13

Call to Order

Chairperson Curt White called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.

Roll Call

Senator Crothers called the roll and declared a quorum.

Approval of Minutes of March 21, 2001:

Motion XXXII-114: by Senator Poling, second by Senator Noyes, to approve the Senate minutes of March 21, 2001. The minutes were unanimously approved.

Chairperson's Remarks

Senator White: The proposed group of senate chairpersons of Illinois public universities will meet on April 5, 2001 at 10:00 a.m. in the University Club Room. Any Senate member is welcome to attend.

Senator Chang: How many schools will be represented at the meeting tomorrow for

senate chairs of Illinois public universities?

Senator White: As of today, seven of the eleven senate chairs or their representatives have confirmed that they will attend the meeting. Of the four remaining, two have expressed their regrets at being unable to attend and two have not responded.

Vice Chairperson's Remarks

Senator Brown: Welcomed the new Student Body President, Scott Kording, to the Senate.

Student Government Association President’s Remarks

Senator Kording: Welcomed the new student senators and SGA Executive Committee members, who were observing the Senate meeting.

Administrators' Remarks:

· President Vic Boschini: Reported that he had attended the budget hearings in the Illinois Senate. He asked at that time that Schroeder Hall renovations be included in the budget.

President Boschini gave a report on the Capital Campaign. He stated that he was encouraged by the early reactions to our requests for funds. Currently, we are in the quiet or nonpublic phase. In this early phase, they are cultivating the base prospects for pace setting leadership gifts. The participation rate of all the groups that have been approached so far has been very high. He stated that his goal was to have a 100% participation rate of all groups on campus as well as for alumni. The public kickoff of the campaign is in March 2002. President Boschini stated that he would continue giving periodic reports at the Senate meetings.

Senator Campbell: What percentage of faculty currently donate to the Foundation?

President Boschini: A very small percentage, I believe approximately 21%. We need to increase that to at least 50%. One of the first questions that donors ask is what percentage of your faculty gives.

Senator Howard: It is my understanding that we can specify to which area our donations apply.

President Boschini: Yes, I would prefer your gift to be nonspecific, but most gifts that come in are specified.

Senator Crothers: Thank you President Boschini for bringing this information to us. Senator Howard's question is exactly why we need to have this public conversation because the money does tend to be donated to certain components and that has profound academic consequences.

Senator Razaki: Donations may be sent directly to the President or to the Foundation Board. Checks should be made payable to the ISU Foundation. Faculty and staff donations can also be automatically deducted from their payroll checks.

· Provost Al Goldfarb: We are in the process of finalizing the search committees' recommendations for the Dean of the College of Education and for the Director of the University College. We need to congratulate two Bone Scholars, Senators Brown and Kording. They have received the highest honor that this institution bestows on its students. It is an honor that is not only based on academic accomplishments, but also an honor based on work that is done outside of the classroom.

· Vice President of Student Affairs: Excused Absence

· Vice President of Finance and Planning:

Senator Bragg: Our Senate appropriations meeting yesterday was very positive. We received compliments from the Senate on our commitment to stay the course on deferred maintenance and hold the line on staffing. I would also like to express my appreciation to those who have been participating in the Master Plan planning sessions. It has been very helpful and we are coming up with a lot of ideas for updating the Plan. Dick Runner will be at the May 2 meeting to give us an overview of where we are in the process. We are conducting a search in our area that I would appreciate any help on. We are looking for a new director of our Administrative Information Systems (formerly Academic Computing). I have job descriptions for this position and you may contact my office if you know of anyone interested in this area.

Committee Reports

· Academic Affairs Committee

Senator Meckstroth: The Academic Affairs Committee met this evening and discussed several issues before it. It met jointly with the Student Affairs Committee; the chairperson of that committee will give a report on the committees' joint activities.

Administrative Affairs Committee:

Senator Meier: We submitted our final report tonight on commentary that was collected on the President's performance during the last year. We have several items that we would like to have placed on the agenda for the April 18 meeting, two department name changes and one school designation and name change, as well as the 2004-2005 Academic Calendar.

Senator White: We will consider those at the next Executive Committee meeting. I am becoming more concerned about the size of the next meeting agenda. Will you be sending a representative to the next Executive Committee to discuss the commentary on President's performance?

Senator Meier: We will try to do that.

· Budget Committee:

Senator Howard: The Budget Committee met this evening to look at information from a budget perspective on the different name changes from school to department. From a budgetary standpoint, there appears to be no objection.

· Faculty Affairs Committee

Senator El-Zanati: Faculty Affairs Committee met tonight jointly with the Student Affairs Committee. Senator Kowalski will report on our meeting. We also met separately and discussed the non-tenure track report.

· Rules Committee

Senator Razaki: The Rules Committee met last week and we are going to be bringing forward a number of information items later in the meeting.

· Student Affairs Committee:

Senator Kowalski: The committee met with the Faculty Affairs Committee concerning the Term Paper Sales Policy revisions. We will be sending it to the Executive Committee. We also talked about the treatment of protestors. Because of the upcoming change of senators and the possible elimination of both the Faculty Affairs and Student Affairs Committees, we decided to send it back to the Executive Committee. We would like for the SGA and Faculty Assembly, which may replace the Student and Faculty Affairs Committees, to take up the issue. We met with the Academic Affairs Committee to talk about the mission statement. Senator Tolone can tell you more about that.

Senator Tolone: At our last meeting we said that we would send out the current draft of the Mission Statement. Several people sent back suggestions to our subcommittee. We worked those suggestions into the revised draft. Academic Affairs and Student Affairs then met tonight jointly. We discussed those changes and revisions. We are going to make a couple of more changes and then hopefully before the end of this semester we will be able to circulate it to a larger audience on campus and get even greater feedback.

IBHE-FAC Report

Senator Crothers: The Illinois Board of Higher Education FAC meeting was held in Macomb this month. The meeting was largely about budget matters. FAC passed its budget context statement document. We spoke with Deb Smitley, IBHE staff member, about the kind of things that are going on at the State level. An issue that we need to think about in the long term is the State's continuing concern about teacher training and workforce shortage questions. The State wants to put a great deal of money into these kinds of efforts. For me the most new and interesting information was that if the State is required to make a substantial donation to SURS, there may be little money available for new initiatives in FY03. I asked Ms. Smitley about appropriations for Schroeder Hall renovations. I got a sense that if we don't get it this year, we would more than likely get it next year. All of the deferred maintenance money is an all or nothing bid. We called for a formula where there could be a more systematic allocation of at least of part of the money so that the universities can do some long term planning.

It was Ms. Smitley's position that 3+2+1 would likely survive, that it was generally being received positively. We did make an appeal that they begin to consider the prospect of promoting this program in the absence of a full 1% match or no match. She indicated that negotiations on that question were beginning. There were also questions about the 30 and out retirement. The IBHE supports this notion, but no action will occur this year in the legislature.

We also talked a lot about the notion that the IBHE has that it is our job to provide degree completion programs on community college campuses, particularly in the high demand fields. At the December meeting, Director Sanders indicated that they were coming up with 4 million dollars for the 12 public universities to create degree completion programs on community college campuses around the state. I don't know how many community colleges we have, but I believe quite a lot and 4 million dollars for such completion programs would certainly not be adequate. We also discussed high school students taking courses in high school classes for which they receive college credit. The State pays the high school and the community college for that student's course. We passed a document that laid out a number of conditions that such courses must meet, for example, they must be proper college courses with proper college materials. Our next meeting will be in Bellville, Illinois.

Senator Reid: Can you explain the 30 and out. Is that 30 and out with 8%?

Senator Bragg: The current legislation allows a staff person who has accrued 30 years of service to retire without a reduced annuity, but you would still only get 2.2% times the highest 48 months.

Senator Crothers' entire report can be found at http://www.academicsenate.ilstu.edu/Committees/IBHE-FAC/010330IBHE-FAC.htm. The Budget Context Statement is appended to his report.

Action Items:

03.16.01.01 English Placement Test Proposal (Academic Affairs Committee)

Senator Meckstroth: We brought this proposal before you as an information item two weeks ago. As a preliminary to making my motion, what we are proposing is a change in wording in the catalog in relationship to the English Placement Test. This is not a change in the requirement, but a change in the procedure for administering the requirement.

Motion XXXII-115: By Senator Meckstroth, second by Senator Poling, that the language be replaced in the catalog under Language and Composition 101 with the following: "Students with an ACT English subscore of 20 and below are required to take the English Placement Exam before registration. Students with a subscore of 21 and above are required to take the Exam after registration. Writing skills of all students will be assessed."

Students with subscores of 21 or above are almost never placed in English 101.10 based on the data we have. Of those with a subscore of 20 and below, most are placed in English 101.10, but some are placed in English 101. All students in English 101 will write an essay on the first day of class that will be evaluated. This writing sample will therefore serve as a Placement Test for those who have not taken the test earlier (the Placement Test during Preview is also an essay), and it will also serve as a sample of each student's writing that can be used by the English Department for some assessment projects (for example, the possibility of comparing this essay with one written by a student later in their college career). All incoming freshman will write an

essay on the first day of class.

Senator Brown: I have been going to a number of groups to get feedback on this and the main objection is that splitting the two groups like this creates a lot of unfairness, especially for the students who will have to take it before Preview. They will have to take the extra time out to get that done. The Student Government Association unanimously voted it down. I also talked with peer advisors, who also strongly object to this.

Dr. Thomas: What we are talking about is a procedural thing, when the students will take the test. I don't know why the procedural issue would be such a problem.

Senator Brown: The main objection, from what I understood last time, is that students that have a score of 20 and below would take the test the day before Preview.

Dr. Thomas: No, they will take it during Preview, which is the way it is normally done now. Part of the consideration is that there is very limited amount of time to complete all of the activities on the Preview schedule. So to go ahead and place students in 101, for which the impact of the English Placement Test is very minimal, would eliminate some of the scheduling problems.

Dr. Fortune: What we are doing this summer is inviting students to come and take the placement essay before Preview. We are doing that this summer, because by the time we arrived at some consensus on this, it was too late to identify testing centers throughout the dtate at community colleges at which students could take this exam. After this summer, we would allow students to go those test taking centers, take the test there and we would get the results. I think that minimizes the concerns you have now.

Senator Brown: What do you mean by invited? Were they told they have to come?

Dr. Fortune: Yes, we have told them that this is a requirement for them. When we have more planning time, we can make some arrangement with the testing centers.

Senator McNaught: As this proposal was presented to the SGA, students would be required to come to take the test on the day before Preview begins. I think that is why the assembly members voted against it. I think that is a way to make Preview a more enjoyable experience for the students.

Senator Howard: If you get a writing sample on the first day of class, even though it won't affect many students, how quickly can those be graded so that disruption to students that are affected is minimized?

Dr. Fortune: We can get a turnaround quickly enough so we minimize the kind of anxiety and problems to which you are referring.

Senator Meckstroth: We are anticipating based on our data, perhaps five students. We are trying to make this better for students.

Friendly Amendment: by Senator Howard to add the reference "or equivalent SAT" to the proposal. Senators Meckstroth and Poling accepted the amendment.

Senator Sass: What percentage of students will be taking this test when they come to Preview?

Dr. Thomas: We can only rely on the past trends. In 1998, two-thirds or 66% of our students had an ACT of 21 or higher.

Senator Bathauer: If there are students who can not make it early, will there be accommodations for them to take it either during the day during Preview or along with the other students during the first day of class?

Dr. Thomas: In those instances when there are unusual circumstances, the University College or Preview staff will accommodate those students.

Senator Brown: When I did go to the different student groups, I tried to not have any biases. Everyone got a copy of the proposal that was brought forward. There was a misunderstanding in the last meeting--that in the future students would have to come early to take the test. But it does seem that at least that is happening this year. The other objection that was brought up by students was like the one that Senator Howard brought up about the unfairness to the students that will have to switch classes.

Senator El-Zanati: What is the number of people that have a score of 20 or below who are placed in 101?

Dr. Fortune: I don't know if I can give you a fraction. I know that we offer about 20 to 25 sections of 101.10 each fall for 18 to 20 students per session.

Senator Kowalski: If this does not work out for the benefit of the students, can we change it?

Senator White: We can always change it.

The Senate voted unanimously to approve the motion to change the procedure for the administration of the English Placement Test. Students with an ACT English subscore of 20 and below will be required to take the English Placement Exam before registration. Students with a subscore of 21 and above will be required to take the Exam after registration. Writing skills of all students will be assessed.

Information Items:

Academic Senate Internal Committee Structure Proposal (Rules Committee)

Senator Razaki: The major change in the current internal committee structure is Student Affairs Committee would be replaced by the Student Government Association and the current Faculty Affairs Committee would be replaced by a Faculty Assembly. Prior to this point, SGA had certain duties that were independent of the Senate, issues that were not brought to the Senate before, and those issues will not be brought to the Senate under the proposed structure. The duties performed by the Student Affairs Committee will still be brought before the Senate. All of the current duties performed by the Faculty Affairs Committee would be performed by the Faculty Assembly, except in regards to the Appointment, Salary, Promotion and Tenure process. Any changes in the ASPT were previously brought before the Senate. Under the proposed structure, ASPT process will be exclusively dealt with by the Faculty Assembly, which would present its recommendations to the President and Board of Trustees. The second important issue is that the proposed membership: Mennonite College of Nursing and each academic department would have one representative on the Faculty Assembly. Those academic departments who do not have a representative on the Senate will have a member on the Faculty Assembly. The role of the Budget Committee will be expanded and the committee would be renamed the Planning and Budget Committee. It would be a very powerful committee in the sense that it could play a very significant role; for example, it would make recommendations on all programs, procedures and policies having a budgetary impact. In the past, the Senate did not participate actively in many of the proposed duties of this committee.

Senator White: Educating Illinois will become a part of the Academic Plan, so implementation of Educating Illinois would also be a primary responsibility of the Planning and Budget Committee.

Senator Reid: On the Faculty Assembly, we are only going to allow one vote per department.

Senator White: There was a discussion at the last Rules Committee that all faculty members on the Senate would maintain a vote on the Faculty Assembly and then departments that were not represented would be added.

Senator Crothers: I have a real big problem with this. By eliminating the Faculty Affairs and yet giving the Faculty Assembly all of the same responsibilities of the Faculty Affairs Committee, you have given all of the faculty members of the Senate and all the members from each department another committee to serve on. How did the committee conceptualize the distribution of the workload?

Senator Razaki: We already have a faculty caucus and we are reshaping that into a Faculty Assembly. Yes, I do agree that there is greater work involved, but I don't see a way around it.

Senator Crothers: The faculty caucus does not have to be formalized. The faculty caucus as it now serves is an advisory ad hoc, issue-specific body. What is the logic of adding an additional formal body on top of the structure in place?

Senator Razaki: What came out of the different ad hoc governance committees was the idea of creating a body before which the Provost and President could speak to the faculty.

Senator Reid: The majority of the Rules Committee felt that the Assembly should meet at least once a month, not just when an issue came up. This would give more faculty unity. I strongly support the idea of having a monthly meeting for the Faculty Assembly. The Faculty Affairs Committee has to meet deadlines for meetings every two weeks. I don't think that we want everybody in the Faculty Assembly having to work on the issues of Faculty Affairs. I don't think we want that to be the center of what the Faculty Assembly does.

Senator Fowles: I am looking at the difference between Administrative Affairs and the Planning and Budget Committees. It seems like a lot of the responsibilities related to facilities planning is done by the Administrative Affairs Committee. There seems to be a great deal of overlap between the two committees.

Senator Razaki: Administrative Affairs and the Planning and Budget Committee would both be involved in facilities planning.

Senator Fowles: I find it very confusing when two committees are doing the same thing.

Senator Reid: I don't think that the idea was for there to be overlap. The idea was that the Planning and Budget Committee would for the first time look beyond student and academic affairs and look at overall institutional planning. In that case, they would have to take into account some of the issues that other committees deal with. The idea is that you take care of many of the specifics, but the Planning and Budget Committee would look at the overall picture of the university on general budget issues.

Senator White: The capital budget, which is involved in facilities planning, is basically shorter and the Master Plan is long term, so those could be separated out without any problem.

Senator El-Zanati: Who will do the duties of the Faculty Affairs Committee? As a member of the Senate, I am automatically on the Faculty Assembly. Does that mean I am exempt from other internal committees?

Senator Razaki: The Faculty Assembly is an additional group, so you will have another internal committee assignment as well as be a member the Faculty Assembly.

Senator El-Zanati: So a special committee within the Faculty Assembly would do the work of the current Faculty Affairs Committee?

Senator Razaki: We have not thought it through to the point as to how the Faculty Assembly will be organized. But you are right, there may be subcommittees of the Faculty Assembly.

Senator Reid: One group of people might have as their only committee assignment a subcommittee of the Faculty Assembly.

Senator Kording: It was stated that the committee would be willing to explain some other dissenting positions. Would you do that?

Senator Razaki: Senator Brown and Senator Kording had an objection about the proposed du