Purdue University Northwest > Faculty Senate > News > Senate Meeting Minutes > Faculty Senate Minutes June 5, 2020

Faculty Senate Minutes June 5, 2020

June 15, 2020

Purdue Northwest Faculty Senate

Executive Committee, in lieu of the Senate

June 5, 2020, via Zoom

Present: 

Artz, A. Elmendorf, O. Farook, L. Pelter, M. Pelter, D. Pratt, K. Scipes, A. Sindone, D. Underwood

Absent: 

L. Taylor

  1. Determination of quorum.
  2. Call to order.
  3. Approval of the agenda. Approved
  4. Approval of the minutes from 04-24-20 and 05-15-20. Approved
  5. Curriculum documents and other curriculum issues (Curriculum). No report.
  6. Documents from other committees (EPC, FAC, GE&A, SAC, N&A) not addressed below.
    • Faculty Affairs met and the results of the survey of administrator performance was distributed. Two members of the FA committee were dismayed that the results of the chancellor’s survey was given at the previous senate meeting.  The FA committee will decide how the reports on the dean/director of each college or school will be distributed to them and to their superiors, and how the faculty of the college/school will receive the reports.  Artz pointed out that the Executive committee, not the chair of FA, voted unanimously at the last executive meeting to release the report on the Chancellor at the last senate meeting.  Artz and Scipes both stated that the reports on the chancellor and provost should be distributed to all faculty.  Elmendorf stated that this was consistent with what had been done in the previous year.  Artz stated that the BOT should know the results of the survey on the chancellor.  Sindone suggested that there could be folders on the R: drive help with distribution.
  7. FSD 19-22: Electronic communication policy, for action (EPC and FAC) Moved and Seconded for approval No discussion.  Approved: 5 Abstention 1
  8. FSD 19-24: Student evaluations for spring 2020, for action (SAC) Moved and Seconded for Approval. Approved: 6/0
  9. Report on the Back to Work Task Force (Libbie Pelter)
    • There are 4 types of course experiences—Type 1: Fully Remote, Type 2: Fully Remote with Live Lecture, Type 3: Hybrid (scheduled with face-to-face time), Type 4:  Face-to-Face.  Better descriptions are still needed
    • Expected protocols will be in place. Hand sanitizers will be throughout the campus. Plexiglass in registration and other offices
    • Capacity for every class has been determined
    • 20 @ $1,200 each– plexiglass shields will be built for faculty who want them.
    • Facemasks for all faculty.
    • Foggers will be brought in. Classrooms cleaned once a day.  Responsibility of Faculty and students to clean classroom when they walked in to it
    • Flu shots suggested. All students and staff in housing will be required.
    • One directional traffic. No use of the elevators except for those who have to use them.  Only one person in elevator at one time
    • Everybody will be required to do online training
    • We will have contact tracing apps. and self-reporting.
    • The executive committee suggested using term “scheduled online classroom” to describe a Type 2 course.
  10. FSD 19-25 Resolution on faculty option for remote instruction in Fall 2020 (Elmendorf)
    • Sindone questioned how the courses would be coded in Banner. Sindone and Pratt said that students need to know ASAP if the course is going to be remote or not.  Time limit on notification should be “no later than July 13, 2020”.
    • Not clear if this resolution would be acceptable to the administration. It will be presented to the Chancellor and Provost next week.
  11. Proposal to merge the College of Technology with the College of Engineering and Sciences (EPC)
    • Scipes asked Provost Holford about this. Holford stated that this is in the earliest stages. Nothing will come up before Fall.  Holford also said that it would go through senate processes
  12. FSD 19-26 Endorsement of Purdue Fort Wayne resolution on shared governance. For discussion (Elmendorf).  Artz suggested language to be added that states that nothing in this document suggests that PNW Faculty gives up our existing rights and responsibilities under our own shared governance.  Elmendorf thought this document strengthened our current documents.  Elmendorf was not ready to move this to action. It is taken back under advisement.
  13. Budget question about furloughs for only 12-month contract employees.
    • At the last senate meeting, N. Parashar asked Turner to figure out how many furlough days 12-month employees would need to take so that faculty would not need to take any furlough days. There has been no response yet about this request.
  14. Discussion of Senate budget priorities (Artz)
    • Proposed Faculty Qualtrics Survey. Artz argued that the priorities should be on reducing the budget on the administrative side before cutting the faculty.  For example, there could be administrative restructuring, administrative furloughs, and reductions in fixed costs.  Artz proposed a Faculty survey and a Student survey about budget priorities and distributed several survey questions to the executive committee.  Sindone mentioned that Clinical Faculty were not mentioned in Artz’s survey and suggested that be added.  Scipes pointed out there was no definition of “well-enrolled classes”.  Scipes stated that students might not have an opinion about this issue.  Artz wanted to look at proposals for a budget that didn’t look at layoffs first.  Artz also stated that student opinion has merit.  Sindone said that he would work with SGA president Oriana White on a student survey.
  15. FSD 19- 27 Resolution for Increased Aid for Public Higher Education. (Artz) Scipes moved it for action. Vote: 6-0. Moved for approval.  6-0.  This resolution will be shared by Elmendorf, Pelter, and Scipes with the chancellor this week.
  16. Question on “global studies” identifier on PNW courses (Scipes)
    • Office of Global Engagement and the American Council on Education would like to identify courses with global content and mark them similar to those marked with Experiential Learning. They want to know the procedures for going forward.  How do we do this on a transcript?  Pelter suggested developing a Certificate in Global Learning.  This issue was sent to the Curriculum Committee.
  17. Question about programs to address concerns of and about students, faculty, and staff of color (Scipes)
    • This is a result of the protest that was supposed to be held on campus. Pelter stated that we need hard data to see if budget cuts have disproportionally impacted underrepresented groups.  We also need to do a deep dive into our retention and graduation rates.  We need to make sure that the programs that we have in place are impacting all students in those groups.  If we look at undeclared students, we need to know if we are disproportionally losing students in underrepresented groups. This issue will be brought up with the meeting with the chancellor.  Artz stated that since he came here 10 years ago, he believes that we have seen a decline in the number of Black students.  The university should initiate and/or bolster programs that help Black students.
  18. FSD 20-01 Proposed revision to the bylaws to change the term in office of the Chair and Vice-Chair (Elmendorf) Elmendorf proposed to change the start date of the Chair and the VC from August to the preceding May.  It would make it easier for the incoming chair to transition into the role. Elmendorf will send this proposal out to the executive committee.
  19. Adjournment