MINUTES-FACULTY SENATE

UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-SUPERIOR

February 24, 2009 

RSC 111,  3:00 p.m.

 

 

CALL TO ORDER

Chair Sipress called the meeting to order at 3:00 p.m.

 

Present:   Christensen, Cleary, Crow, Faerber, Notton (for Fank), Griffith, Jacobs, Kronzer, Lynch, Marciniec, Robinson, Schmude, Sherman, Simpson, Sipress, Sloboda, Starratt, Waxman, Wright, Markwood.

Excused:  Fank, Erlenbach

Guest:  Hudelson, McCauley, Schrenker, Campa, Teacher Ed Faculty

 

APPROVAL OF MINUTES        January 27, 2009

Motion (Robinson/Griffith) to approve minutes dated January 27, 2009.  Motion carried.

 

 

Receive Executive Minutes  February 10, 2009

Motion (Marciniec/Kronzer) to receive Executive minutes dated February 10, 2009. Motion carried.

    

REPORT OF THE CHANCELLOR        

REPORT OF THE PROVOST 

The Governor has addressed his budget goals for the upcoming biennium.  The projected deficit for is 5.7 billion dollars.  Some of his priorities included higher education and health care.  Funding for higher education will be up, specifically, financial aid for students, a 12 million dollar increase for need based aid and 24 million fund for higher education.  The governor will try to limit any impact of tuition increases.  There will be zero pay plan for the upcoming biennium.  No specifics on tuition or how system will address the shortfall. 

Recruitment for three positions is in progress.  1) Associate Dean of International Programs, Provost Markwood welcomes any input that model. 2) Academic Service Learning Coordinator (.5 position) has been passed through HR and should be advertised in March.  3) Initial consultation with HR for Freshman Seminar Coordinator has been completed, approval within the next few weeks.

Summer schedule working draft has been released.  Department chairs will be discussing and finalizing.  There will be enrollment and revenue expectations.  The goal is to have summer school contracts out in March. 

AQIP-discussion on hold. 

 

REPORTS

Chair    (attachment)

Written report provided.  Chair Sipress has been contacted by the ASL advisory group.  They are ready to move forward with on the search for the ASL Coordinator. A search and screen committee is in the process of being constituted, two faculty members.  The advisory group is asking senate toappoint the faculty tothe search committee.  Motion (Faerber/Waxman) that Executive Committee send out an open call for volunteers and have the Executive Committee appoint two faculty to the search committee for Academic Service Learning Coordinator. Motion carried.

 

Secretary -   Administrator evaluations will be arriving soon.

 

Faculty Representative    - Meeting on Friday.  Star Fund and textbook rentals are on the agenda.  Written report to be provided at the next meeting.

 

Academic Program Review Council   - No report             

Planning and Budgetary Review Council – No report

Personnel Council  - Personnel rules have been received and are being reviewed.  The council ismeetingregularly.

Undergraduate Academic Affairs Council   Report to Senate with attachments

Motion (Marciniec/Robinson) to approve the Gogebic Community College Articulation Agreement. No discussion.Motion carries.

Advisement

Dick Hudelson – The Senate asked UAAC to come up with a proposal for assessment of advisement on our campus.  The proposal has been accepted by UAAC.  If effective advisement is to be done, the learning outcomes must be identified. The first part of the document lists these goals.  These should be campus wide learning outcomes.  Discussion ensued.

 Motion (Lynch/Griffith) to approve the seven Advisement and Learning Goals (page one) of Advisement and Learning Goals Assessment Plan. No further discussion.  Motion carried.

 

Motion (Lynch/Griffith) to approve the assessment surveys with the stipulation that the surveys are to be deployed once per semester for the next 3 years and that the survey information is to be collect unanimously between the advisement period and the end of the semester.

Discussion.  The advisement office will be administering the survey electronically.  Discussion of the rating scale, the 1 to 10 scale is a bit broad.  The proposal for assessment applies to undergraduate advisement at this time.  Discussion of other methods of assessment ensued.  Motion (Simpson/Cleary) to table Learning Goals Assessment Plan.  Motion tabled.

 

Graduate Council  - No report

Student Senate

Academic Staff Senate  No report

 

OLD BUSINESS

I.    AQIP for Accreditation

Remove from old business until further notice.

 

II.   Advisement Proposal   (attachment)

Dick Hudelson – The fundamental purpose of this proposal is to give better advisement to undeclared students.   Retention has been an issue.  The Bus and Econ department supports advisement of the PreBus students by the advisement office.  Discussion ensued.

Motion (Cleary/Jacobs) to approve proposal for First Semester Undeclared and PreBus students.  Discussion. Two opposed. Motion carries.

 

III.  Salary Issues Update

Lynch - A graphic representation of chronic compression has been created.  A strategy has been developed to address compression.  A meeting including the Provost, Vice Chancellor Hanson, and Chair Sipress will be held March 3, 2009.  Looking for feedback on the idea of a faculty forum addressing compression which would be a holistic comprehensive approach looking at compression.

Motion (Faerber/Robinson ) that Faculty Senate sponsor a forum on salary compression along the lines suggested by Shaun Lynch. Cleary recommends Kronzer be a member of the panel.  Motion carries.

     

NEW BUSINESS

I.   WITC Update   (attachment)

Update provided by Chair Sipress.  Several meetings between UWS and WITC have taken place to work on issues between the two, primarily transfer issues.  The importance of having direct academic to academic communication is of high importance.

The existing articulation agreement for general education transfer credits has not been reviewed for a long time and is incomplete.  A suggestion has been made to establish a joint committee to take a comprehensive look at the transfer of general education courses from WITC to UWS.  Discussion.

Motion (Starratt/Waxman) to establish a joint committee with WITC to take a comprehensive look at general education transfer issues to include Hensrud and two faculty members to be identified by the Executive Committee in consultation with UAAC. Motion carries.  

 

II.  WITC Early Child Education Articulation Agreement (attachment)  (attachment)

This item was unanimously recommended by UAAC last year but not approved by Senate. The Teacher Education Department is asking that Senate reconsider that decision.  Cecilia Schrenker spoke on behalf of the TED. The department is in favor of the articulation agreement.  The agreement will be reviewed every two years.  The courses will meet only part of the minor. The students will have to meet all the other requirements.  Motion (Griffith/Faerber) approval of the WITC Early Childhood Articulation Agreement.  Discussion.  Motion carries.

 

III. Textbook Costs

Logan Campa, is representing two groups, the Student Government Association and a community organization called ‘The Bookies”.  The SGA has gone over the reports and analysis completed by the bookstore completed last year.  The UW-Superior bookstore is giving students a good rate for books which is below retail and are giving a higher percentage for buyback than the national average.  The SGA recommends that the faculty members look at the cost of books before purchase, if the books are required, please, use all books for the class, continue to use old editions as long as the bookstore can continue to supply them.   A written report of the SGA recommendations will be provided.   Provost Markwood added that early adoption of textbooks helps with costs.   A new law goes into effect in 2010-11 that requires ISBN numbers be identified for all courses that require books.

 

IV.  Star Fund Resolution  (attachment)

Introduced by Gloria Toivola.  This is a resolution that has already been passed by the Faculty Senate-Platteville.  This fund can only be used for very specific purposes. The Star Fund is handled totally at the discretion of administrators. Last year UWS received.  $21,000 and was used for incoming faculty.  Faculty lack control over the distribution of the funds.  This is an effort to get senates to make a statement that this is not an appropriate fund for salaries.

Motion (Starratt/Wright) to accept the Star Fund Resolution.  Discussion.  Motion carried.

 

V.   Voluntary System of Accountability (VSA)   (attachment)

A pilot will be implanted Fall 2009 of the three instruments that are under consideration for the system wide VSA. The implementation of the pilot will be the responsibility of the Office of Institutional Research.   Motion (Robinson/Cleary) to appoint P. Marciniec, J. Geidner, G. Sherman, B. Simpson as the advisory committee.  Motion carried.

ADJOURNMENT

 

Motion to adjourn 4:15 p.m.

Respectfully submitted on this 4^th day of March 2009 by Linda Sharp, Faculty Senate Clerical Assistant.