Purdue University Northwest > Faculty Senate > News > Senate Meeting Minutes > Faculty Senate Minutes – Friday, October 13, 2017

Faculty Senate Minutes – Friday, October 13, 2017

October 13, 2017

Portage Meeting Facility

Voting Members Present:

A. Alavizadeh, A. Angriawan, C. Boiarsky, R. Brusca-Vega, R. Calix, C. Chandramouli, N. Desai, D. Detmer, T. Dobrowski, J. Duzinkiewicz, A. Elmendorf, J. Garwood, R. Hallock, P. Hecht, J. Kuhn, Y. Lee, S. Mo, S. Nakayama, D. Nalbone, L. Pelter, J. Pula, V. Quinn, S. Rezak, A. Schooley, G. Schultz, S. Smithson, J. Spores, P. Stompor, J. Thomas, S. Trekles, F. Wang, D. Whitten, D. Wilbur, L. Yang

Voting Members Absent:

M. Block, K, Donah, M. Lantis, C. Roper, K. Scipes, S. Trekles, Y. Zhang

Non-voting Members Present:

R. Biddings-Muro, S. Lerner, R. Mueller, C. Panlilio, S. Turner, M. Watson, D. Williams

Others present:

J. Colwell, K. Falzone, L. Hopp, B. Law, N. Nemeth, K. Parli, P. Riesmeyer, D. Robinson, R. Stankowski

  1. Determination of quorumA quorum was declared at 10:00 A.M.
  2. Call to OrderThe meeting was called to order by Chair G. Schultz.
  3. Approval of the AgendaG. Schultz moved to approve the agenda. T. Elmendorf approved and C. Boiarsky seconded. T. Elmendorf moved to amend the agenda by moving document FSD 17-06 Staggered Terms from Action to Discussion and F. Wang seconded. Agenda approved unanimously by voice vote.
  4. Approval of the Minutes of the September 8, 2017 meetingC. Boiarsky moved to approve the minutes and it was seconded. J. Duzinkiewicz commented about the clarification of his comments at the previous senate meeting and minutes were amended. Minutes approved unanimously by voice vote.
  5. Remarks by the ChairG. Schultz and D. Wilbur attend the athletics committee meeting. Concerns were raised regarding the attendance policy for athletes missing class. Some faculty are not approving students to be absent due to their games. There is a concern that we need to be on the same page as a faculty group. T. Elmendorf states there is lack of clarity on the form from the Academic Affairs office is part of the problem. C. Boiarsky asked what are the criteria. F. Wang states the policy is under no obligation to grant the requested absence. Schultz and Wilbur will attend the next SAC meeting to discuss further.

    G. Schultz and D. Wilbur have been invited to be on the Founders Day Committee. The event will be held on Friday, March 2. A resolution is needed to approve a change to the calendar which does not indicate the March 2nd celebration. C. Boiarsky would like the name to be changed to Unification Day or something similar. She discussed the importance of preserving our history with J. Pula in agreement. A resolution is up for discussion.

  6. Remarks by the Chancellor or Invited GuestsVice Chancellor Turner gave his budget update. There was a significant decline in the general budget due to a 4.5% enrollment decline and $3 million recurring deficit. They are looking at a second early retirement possibility. This needs to be remedied by the end of the calendar year. C. Boiarsky asks if this will level off. Turner says there is a Budget Advisory Group Meeting on October 20. Discussion will include the impact of banded tuition for the Fall of 2018, a three-tier tuition structure. This is a 150% price point for out-of-state domestic students starting Fall 2018. T. Elmendorf asks if there is a plan to recover from the budget shortfall due to the dropping tuition for out-of state students. VC Turner says that with newly enrolled incoming students and transfers, we can recover in a two-year period. S. Lerner asks if banded tuition will effect graduate students. VC Turners responded that graduate tuition and summer school won’t be effected. Mr. Williams, SGA President, asked how effective was the banded tuition change in the IU system. Turner says that it ran very smoothly and was a non-event. This is used at the West Lafayette campus.

    VC Turner said that the three-tier tuition will promote growth outside our area. C. Boiarksy wondered about reciprocal agreements with other schools. The Midwest Exchange has a reciprocity agreement at 150%. Vice Chancellor Panlilio stated that the most out-of-state applications we receive is from Cook County, Illinois, and that the 150% out-of-state tuition is about equal to in-state Illinois tuition. The Board of Trustees approved the three-tiered structure. VC Turner encourage the formation of the Senate Budget Committee where he wishes to share budget information regularly.

    This budget report will be located on the R drive.

  7. Unfinished Business
    1. FSD 17-11 Approval of the Senate Committee Membership
      T. Elmendorf motioned to move this to action, F. Wang seconded. Approved unanimously by voice vote. J. Duzinkiewicz asked about a Budget Committee. The Budget Committee is a subordinate committee and will be formed after today. The document was approved unanimously by voice vote.
    2. Brief Remarks from the Chair Nominees
      • James Pula
      • Paul Hecht
      • David Detmer
      • Feng-Song Wang – withdrew his nomination
    3. FSD 17-02 Election of Chair 2018-2019
      Dr. D. Detmer won the chair-elect position for 2018-2019.
  8. New Business
    • None.
    1. Curriculum Document Approval
      • None
    2. Senate Documents For Action
      • FSD 16-31 Evaluation of Academic Administrators (Faculty AffairsR. Brusca-Vega introduced this resolution as a discussion item last year. Faculty would like a consistent way to evaluate administrators on a regular basis. T. Elmendorf motioned to approve. Seconded by G. Schultz. Provost Mueller sent out a directive on September 25 to Deans and Department Heads. It will be a 360° process and done every five years. T. Elmendorf states that faculty want input on the policies and R. Brusca-Vega would like annual feedback. Provost Mueller reiterated the reviews are five-year and not annual. J. Pula discussed a process not competing with the Provost evaluations but as complimentary. T. Elmendorf said the Senate document does not say anything about annual review. D. Wilbur questions if we need to revise the language of the document. T. Elmendorf said it was not necessary. Provost Mueller said there is no such thing as faculty “evaluation” of administrators. These evaluations are done by direct reports. R. Brusca-Vega would like to change the word “evaluation” to “feedback”. G. Schultz called the question. The document was approved by unanimous voice vote.
      • FSD 17-05 Promotion and Tenure Committee Make-Up (Faculty Affairs).J. Pula presented and says that since the Promotion and Tenure process has already begun, we cannot legally change anything. The current process is that the deans serve on the committee with voting privileges. He motioned to withdraw this document and is seconded by F. Wang. G. Schultz called to the question. The document was withdrawn by unanimous voice vote.
    3. Senate Documents for Discussion
      • FSD 17-06 Staggered Terms for Elected Senators (Executive).T. Elmendorf states that in the current Constitution, there is a bias towards the initial three-year terms and will result in excess turnover once the terms end. D. Wilbur thanked T. Elmendorf for working on this document. Resolution moves for action at the next meeting.
      • FSD 17-03 Dept. Reimbursement for Faculty Release to Administration (Executive).D. Nalbone asked for full-reimbursement to departments for faculty released for partial or full-time administrative appointment outside the academic unit. G. Schultz says the burden is still being carried by the academic department in some cases. Provost Mueller understands the issue, but the Dean’s are in charge of their area and will need to examine shared salary relationships. D. Wilbur would like to table this to get more information. G. Schultz says the Chancellor is willing to sit down and have discussion. The resolution moves for action at our next meeting.
      • FSD 17-08 Founders Day (Ed Policy).F. Wang states that this impacts classroom instruction. J. Pula questions the start time and asks if Founders Day should begin at 12:15 and not 12:00. C. Boiarsky reiterates the need for a name change to Unification Day. Provost Mueller thanks Vice Chancellor Biddings-Muro for last years’ event. F. Wang says the letter from the Chancellor states “Founders Day” and that Senate should establish the calendar and put this event on the calendar. The resolution moves for action at next meeting.
      • FSD 17-09 General Education and Experiential Designation Procedures and Application Form (Gen Ed/Assessment)P. Hecht said that HLC cited a weakness for PNW in the areas of General Education and Assessment. The Core 30 Gen Ed courses are from both campuses and now need a process to add courses and a system to assess those courses. The GE/EL Form to be uploaded to the Faculty Senate website. He proposes a deadline this year of December 1st for any additions, etc., but would like November 1st for following years.J. Duzinkiewicz wants to be sure that the departments are in charge of assessing only their courses, the answer is yes. S. Lerner questions that Gen Ed requirements may change year to year; do you anticipate an annual evaluation. J. Duzinkiewicz asks about the effective of the core as a whole. P. Hecht is discussing and looking at this. D. Whitten asks if you can only submit once a year for a course that has been resubmitted with revisions. Courses that receive “not recommended” won’t be on a list for Gen Ed for Senate approval. We have LEAP outcomes, but no university learning outcomes.

        C. Boiarsky says that the EL courses are not connected to Gen Ed, but to a specific area. In the form, drop down boxes will appear for your choice of a Gen Ed course or EL course. There will be a subordinate committee for EL. Provost Mueller thanks everyone and Becky Stankowski for addressing this and we need to start collecting data in the spring. The resolution moves for action at next meeting.

      • FSD 17-10 Ad Hoc EL Committee (Gen Ed/Assessment).P. Hecht reiterates that there will be an ad hoc committee to establish procedures for the approval of new Experiential Learning courses and the revalidation of existing EL courses for PNW. The resolution moves for action at next meeting.
  9. Documents and Reports for Information
    • None
  10. Remarks by the Representative(s) of the Student Government(s)Mr. Williams said that SGA attends meetings at both campuses and it is going very well. They would like suggestion boxes at each campus, and they are having monthly open forums between SGA and the students. They need to fill two positions for Engineering and Nursing at Hammond. They are collaborating with Ivy Tech SGA. J. Duzinkiewicz asked if SGA was considering a “Rate Your Professor” system. They are considering such a system, but it’s in the developing stages right now. J. Duzinkiewicz heard of other databases of student opinions.
  11. Remarks by the University Senate/Intercampus Faculty Council Representative(s)No University Senate Meetings have occurred yet.
  12. Open DiscussionJ. Pula mentioned honoring the pledge prior to unification that faculty would not be asked to drive to the other campus to teach a class. Provost Mueller mentioned that in all new teaching contracts it states the possibility of covering both campuses. There are enrollment challenges; assign faculty with adequately enrolled classes. If there are not enough courses in your area to teach, you can teach a course not in your area or bank a course for the next semester. J. Duzinkiewicz mentions it is a matter of trust and integrity in honoring the pledge. J. Spores states that our priority is to the students and there are advantages of faculty who teach on both campuses.
  13. AdjournmentF. Wang motioned to adjourn and D. Wilbur seconded. Meeting adjourned at 12:00 P.M.