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Call to Order and Announcements

The University Senate was called to order at 3:50 p.m., in Room 111, Harrison Hall, Oxford Campus, on Monday, September 24, 2018. Members absent:  Michele Dickey, Dawn Fahner, Austin Hall, Jannie Kamara, Elizabeth Maurer, Benedict Njoku, Molly O’Donnell, Vince Smith, and Steven Tuck.

1. Announcements and Remarks by the Chair of University Senate, Phyllis Callahan
   1. The President’s reception for Senators will be held on October 22, 2018, immediately following the Senate meeting.
   2. The President’s Address will be on October 4, 2018 from 4:15-5:15 in the Wilks Theatre, Armstrong Student Center. He will be discussing the upcoming strategic planning.  Bob Applebaum and Julia Guichard are co-chairs of the committee.  The full committee will be assigned by the end of the week.

Approval of University Senate Minutes

2. The minutes were not approved as written. There was discussion that the minutes did not completely reflect the discussion of senators playing a more active role in Senate. This led to a discussion about how minutes are taken. Senators were reminded that the decision to move away from recorded/transcribed minutes was approved by Senate three years ago.  Provost Callahan indicated that this issue will be discussed in Senate Executive Committee.

Consent Calendar

3. The following items were received on the Consent Calendar without debate: 
   1. Center for Teaching Excellence Annual Report
   2. Fiscal Priorities Annual Report
   3. Curriculum Consent

New Business

4. Open Education Resources – Carla Myers, University Libraries; Jennifer Bazeley, University Libraries; and, Carolyn Haynes, Associate Provost

   1. Textbook affordability has been an initiative over the past few years. The national average cost of textbooks is $1,200 per year. A Florida textbook survey indicated how the cost of textbooks is affecting students. The survey found that 66.5% of students simply did not purchase the required textbook.

   2. It was explained that textbooks are so expensive because it is not a normal market and there are few checks and balances. Open Educational Resources are designed to reduce the cost of instructional materials—using library materials or materials that can be disseminated via Canvas.

   3. There are several OER programs offered. OER Explore is a workshop to learn more about affordability issues. A $200 stipend is offered to faculty completing the requirements.  The OER Adopt program supports faculty in replacing their current textbook with an OER.  Lastly, the OER Create program allows the faculty member to create a textbook alternative.

   4. A Senator asked what the cost of the OER is.  It is either free or reduced cost. 

   5. A concern was raised that a 3^rd party vendor taking a syllabus and finding OERs to fit with the syllabus and then charging students to use it. 

5. Academic Program Review Committee Update – Jim Oris, Chair

   1. Dean Oris explained that reviews used to be based on past performance. The focus of the report now is to indicate not only what you have done, but also what you what you need to do to reach future goals. The department is reviewed by both internal and external reviewers and one report is written.

   2. The Associate Provost for Research and Scholarship is responsible for the review process and leads a workshop in May for departments doing a review in the next 18 months. Departments that undergo accreditation use the accreditation team as the external reviewer. Department chairs also can use the BI tool and Faculty 180 for data collection.

   3. The term of service on the Academic Program Review Committee is three years, which was recently changed from two years.  The first year of a member’s term is used for shadowing.

6. Attendance Policy – Brent Shock, VP Student Enrollment Services and Mandy Euen, Interim University Registrar

   1. The reporting of a student’s attendance in a course is a new policy and is in compliance with federal guidelines. The reporting is one time only and is done through the photo roster. The previous method of reporting attendance relied on earned grades at the end of the semester. Institutions were starting to get fined for not appropriately reporting.

   2. Additionally this fall, an Add Policy was initiated. Students used to be able to add courses throughout the term and departments had their own process for adding. The Add Policy enforces a one-week timeframe in which a student can add a class and standardizes the force-add process. The add deadline addresses concerns about students coming in to the class too late as well as issues centering around financial dispersements. The policy was approved in February 2018 and there will be flexibility this fall and spring as situations get worked out.

      • Several issues with submitting including the fact that the program does not let you to go back. Faculty were asked to contact the Registrar’s Office if a mistake was made.
      • A notification process is being developed.
      • A concern was regarding the regional campuses and how students who were bursar-cancelled would be affected by the Add Policy. The policy would not affect them because they would have already started the class before being cancelled. A concern was voiced that one week timeframe seems narrow.

7. Report by the Chair of the Executive Committee of University Senate, Terri Barr

   1. Senator Barr addressed several issues that were raised at the August 27, 2018, meeting.  It was noted that the number of meetings that were cancelled last year was three, occurring on September 11, 2017, November 20, 2017, and January 29, 2018.  The LCPL/TCPL issues were discussed at six meetings, beginning at the March 12, 2018 meeting.
   2. SR 18-12, which calls for the development of an ad-hoc committee, is being discussed at Executive Committee. Executive Committee has met with a member of the faculty group that drafted the resolution to get clarification before the charge can be written. Executive Committee is also working with Faculty Rights & Responsibilities as well as the Faculty Welfare Committee.
   3. Twenty-two senators responded to the survey sent out asking for feedback on issues to be discussed at Senate. The results will be further discussed at the October 8, 2018, meeting.

Adjournment

8. A motion was received, seconded, and carried to adjourn the Regular Session of University Senate.