COLLEGE SENATE BULLETIN

advertisement
COLLEGE SENATE BULLETIN
State University of New York at Geneseo
College of Arts and Sciences
Bulletin Vol. 60, No. 04
Pages 26-39
4 November 2015
Contents
Topic
Page
Agenda, College Senate Meeting
10 November 2015
27
Approved Minutes, Undergraduate Academic Policies Committee
22 September 2015
29
Approved Minutes, Faculty Affairs Committee
29 September 2015
30
Approved Minutes, Executive Committee
6 October 15
32
Draft Minutes, All-College Faculty Meeting
20 October 2015
34
Draft Minutes, College Senate Meeting
20 October 2015
35
Report of the University Faculty Senator
22-24 October 2015
37
Draft Minutes, Undergraduate Curriculum Committee
27 October 2015
38
Correspondence: senate@geneseo.edu (James McLean, 245-5897)
Back issues available at http://www.geneseo.edu/senate/bulletin
Page 26
Agenda, College Senate Meeting
10 November 2015
Call to Order
4:05 pm Newton 204
Adoption of the Agenda
Approval of Minutes
Minutes of the Senate Meeting of 20 Oct 2015 (CSB v. 60 no. 4)
Senate Reports
President
Denise Battles
(Provost out of town)
Carol Long
Chair
James McLean
Vice Chair
Meg Stolee
Recognition of Excellence Committee members and supporters
Past-Chair
Gregg Hartvigsen
Secretary
Christina Agostinelli-Fucile
Treasurer
Kodjo Adabra
University Faculty Senator
Dennis Showers
Report from University Faculty Senate Plenary of 23–24 October
Vice President, Student Assoc.
Michael Baranowski
Reports of the Standing Committees of the Senate
Undergraduate Curricula
Bill Harrison
(full proposals can be found at: https://boxes.geneseo.edu/DeanofCollege/doc/UCC/)
UCC Proposes for Second Reading:
New Courses
HPE 240: Varsity Equestrian
PHYS 385: Optics
Revised Courses
BIOL 342: Parasitology
BIOL 361: Plant Physiology
Revised Programs
Minor in Dance
Minor in Medieval Studies
UCC Proposes for First Reading:
New Courses
INTD 130: Oral English: Public Speaking, Vocabulary and Idioms
SOCL 396: Teaching of Sociology Practicum
New Program
Minor in Sociomedical Sciences
Revised Program
Concentration in Geography for Early Childhood-Childhood, and Childhood-Special Education
programs
Undergraduate Policies
Amy Sheldon
(full proposals can be found at: https://boxes.geneseo.edu/DeanofCollege/doc/Policy/)
UCC Proposes for First Reading:
Insert with a new heading between “Full Time Load” and “Grades,” Undergraduate Bulletin p. 38:
Credit Restrictions
Of the 120 total credits required to graduate, students may apply no more than 20 credits combined from Directed
Studies, undergraduate teaching assistantships, EMT/EMS training, ROTC, and H&PE. The limits for each
Correspondence: senate@geneseo.edu (James McLean, 245-5897)
Back issues available at http://www.geneseo.edu/senate/bulletin
Page 27
individual program are: Directed Studies 12 credits, teaching assistantships 6 credits, EMT/EMS 6 credits, ROTC 8
credits, and H&PE 10 credits of which no more than 4 credits canbe from 100-level activity courses. Undergraduate
teaching assistantships, H&PE activity courses, andsome internships and EMT/EMS courses have the S/U grading
option only and, therefore, will not be counted toward students’ cumulative GPA.
Graduate Academic Affairs
Student Affairs
Faculty Affairs
Susan Salmon
Travis Bailey
Rick Gifford
New Business
Adjournment
Correspondence: senate@geneseo.edu (James McLean, 245-5897)
Back issues available at http://www.geneseo.edu/senate/bulletin
Page 28
Approved Minutes, Undergraduate Academic Policies Committee
22 September 2015
Present: S. Argentieri, L. Bernard, L. Bosch-Burroughs, K. Colberg, P. Corrigan, R. Hayes, K. Fletcher, S.
Longbotham, M. Masci, J. Over, J. Peterson, A. Sheldon, S. Stubblefield, A. Tajima.
Guests:
Excused:
Chair Amy Sheldon called this regular meeting to order at 4:01 PM
New Business:
The Executive Committee, near the conclusion of the spring 2014 semester, requested that Policy consider
whether the College should adopt grades of D+. A discuss ensued regarding offering D+ grades. While the idea
sounds appealing, the consequences of offering D+ grades are likely to have an overall negative impact on
students. Grade distribution data for 5 years was provided by the Dean’s Office, which excluded performancebased courses. That data shows that 2% of the grades earned were D and 3% were C-. (When performancebased courses, such as Directed Studies and music/art performances, are included, these percentages decrease.)
Some of the D+ grades would be assigned from each of these pools, resulting in either a 0.3 increase (D to D+)
or 0.4 decrease (C- to D+) in GPA. Given the greater number of C- grades compared to D grades, the net impact
is likely to be an overall lowering of student GPAs as a result of offering D+ grades. Even if only one-third of
the C- grades became D+, the impact would be greater than half of the D grades boosting to D+. A separate
argument was made that a grade of D+ does not help students achieve the minimum GPA requirement. The
suggestion was made that if the College seeks to introduce D+ grades, then we should also consider grades of
A+. The committee determined that introducing grades of D+ is not in the best interest of students at SUNY
Geneseo.
The Executive Committee requested that Policy take into consideration the disparities that exist across the
campus pertaining to the use of Teaching Assistantships. A discussion ensued about the various ways in which
TAs are utilized, the course levels offered (2xx, 3xx), credits earned, graded versus paid positions, and the
grading practices. Most departments utilize INTD x99 for TAs, which is S/U graded. Students can have an
unlimited number of INTD Teaching Assistantships for credit because they receive an S/U grade. A few
departments provide graded Teaching Assistantships through SUBJ courses, and at multiple levels (1xx, 2xx,
3xx). TA positions are sometimes not obvious because the SUBJ course titles use differing terminology, but the
course descriptions are similar to the common student responsibilities associated with TA positions. While
some departments limit the number of TA credits that can be applied for the major, there is no universal policy
for the College. At present, a student can take any number of graded TA credits and apply it towards graduation.
The committee recognizes the need for flexibility in the descriptions and responsibilities of TAs to meet the
needs of a wide range of disciplines across the College. The Committee offers the following recommendations:
1.) the College require that all TAs receive FERPA training; 2.) the economic impact of utilizing TAs be
considered if significant changes in the practice of utilizing TAs are to be proposed; and 3.) that credit for all
TA positions should be limited to 5% of the 120 credits required to graduate. The committee agreed to craft a
proposal for a new policy that would address the third recommendation. Chair A. Sheldon will meet with P.
Corrigan to craft the policy proposal to be presented for discussion at the next committee meeting.
The meeting adjourned at 4:59 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
A. Sheldon
Correspondence: senate@geneseo.edu (James McLean, 245-5897)
Back issues available at http://www.geneseo.edu/senate/bulletin
Page 29
Approved Minutes, Faculty Affairs Committee
29 September 2015
Present: R. Gifford (chair), J. Allen, A. Buttice, D. Farthing, T. Hon, E. Kang, C. Kelleher, M. Lee, A. Pellerin, K.
Yokoyama
Guests: Provost Long, Associate Provost Gordon
Excused: L. Adelson, C. Larkin, C. Merrilees, T. Kenney
New Business:
Provost Long and Associate Provost Gordon discussed four projects they would like the Faculty Affairs Committee
to consider during 2015/2016. Descriptions of the four projects are presented in more detail in the meeting agenda.
1. Academic Assessment Committee Results – The Committee is charged with summarizing the results of the
study for the full faculty.
 Provost Long discussed various formats for the report. She believes that in addition to the
Committee’s summary of the results, the Provost should respond with a discussion and any
corrective action. We need to determine if we will issue a joint report or whether the reports will be
separate, but simultaneous. The Committee report needs to be completed on a timely basis.
 Provost Long also asked we consider providing feedback/guidance for going forward. The feedback
should consider input from other administrative offices subject to review and feedback from faculty
regarding the scope and timing of the reviews and type of questions.
2.
3.
4.
Personnel Forms – Last year, the Provost requested the Committee review personnel forms that were
developed for adjuncts, visiting faculty and lecturers.
 Associate Provost Gordon discussed the forms and indicated they are being developed because the
Provost’s office has no formal mechanism to evaluate these individuals when their contracts come
up for renewal. The forms are currently being used by some departments so the project needs to be
finalized in the near future.
 The question was raised as to whether the Committee should devote resources to this issue given
that we have no obligation to rehire these individuals. R. Gifford noted that Ken Kallio, Interim
Associate Provost, in a separate conversation stated we were asked to look at it as part of Geneseo’s
shared governance philosophy. R. Gifford noted that Ken Kallio has tentatively agreed to meet with
the Committee at the next meeting to discuss the forms.
Faculty Handbook – James McLean, Senate Chair, charged the Committee with developing a list of items
that should be in a faculty handbook.
 Both Provost Long and Associate Provost Gordon indicated the handbook is needed to support
Geneseo’s Middle States Association application for reaccreditation.
SOFI –Provost Long has concerns that the current SOFI is not meeting the needs of the College and has
asked the Committee to look at the form.
 Provost Long indicated concerns with the current SOFI relating to the adequacy of student feedback
regarding pedagogies, when and how to administer the SOFI, and its ability to adequately consider
current and changing pedagogies.
 Provost Long requested we consider improvements to the form at the conceptual level. Topics we
should consider include streamlining the SOFI and making it more relevant and flexible to capture
student feedback that instructors can use to evaluate their teaching.
 FAC members expressed concerns about how to get good feedback from students, timing of the
SOFI, what represents an adequate student sample, and previous faculty efforts did not lead to
Correspondence: senate@geneseo.edu (James McLean, 245-5897)
Back issues available at http://www.geneseo.edu/senate/bulletin
Page 30

5.
meaningful changes. Provost Long acknowledged the difficulties and noted that the actual
operationalization of any modifications would be done by another body at a later time.
As a point of reference, Provost Long noted that the IDEA form is not a viable option at this time.
Other potential topics
 Provost Long indicated that as the strategic planning process begins, the Committee may be asked
to undertake other projects.
 Committee members suggested we consider issues relating to hiring more faculty and investigate
the ratio of faculty to administrative hires and adjunct pay.
R. Gifford asked that each Committee member review the information for the projects on Google Docs. At the next
meeting, the Committee will decide how and when to approach each of the charges. The next meeting is scheduled
for Tuesday, October 27 at 4:00 PM.
The meeting adjourned at 5:00 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Richard Gifford
Correspondence: senate@geneseo.edu (James McLean, 245-5897)
Back issues available at http://www.geneseo.edu/senate/bulletin
Page 31
Approved Minutes, Executive Committee
6 October 15
Present: K. Adabra, C. Agostinelli-Fucile, T. Bailey, M. Baranowski, D. Battles, R. Gifford, B. Harrison, G.
Hartvigsen, J. McLean, S. Salmon, A. Sheldon, D. Showers, M. Stolee
Guests: D. Gordon, J. Rowe
Chair James McLean called this regular meeting to order at 4:00 PM.
The minutes from the meeting of 15 September, 2015 were approved with the addition of an attendance list.
Reports

Update on Performance Improvement Plan: Four proposals will be submitted to SUNY Excels. We are
trying to increase degrees through various avenues including helping more of our students graduate and by
increasing certificate programs.

Presidents Report: Will discuss at the Senate meeting SUNY Excels, Scola Brevis sessions, Alumni
Organization initiative, SUNY Diversity Policy, and plans for 2015-2016 recruitment of senior leadership
positions on campus.

Chair’s Report: Vacant seat on the Strategic Planning group for a student representative.

Vice Chair’s Report: Starting to review nominations for Excellence Awards. She is working on finding and
compiling a complete list of past winners.

Treasurer’s Report: We still owe $102.68 and the treasurer has called for donations to the Senate.

University Faculty Senator’s Report: Meeting later this month.

Student Association Report: Students have been placed on committees. SA wants to discuss the end of
Perkin’s loans.

Undergraduate Policy Committee Report: Discussed the possibility of adding D+ to grades, but it was
decided against. Need to determine a limit for number of credits that can part of a student’s GPA for
Teaching Assistantships.

Graduate Affairs Committee Report: Have not had a meeting yet.

Student Affairs Committee Report: Determining their priorities for this school year and will meet again on
27 October, 2015.

Faculty Affairs Committee Report: Need to look again at Assessment project. Wrap up forms for adjunct
faculty (project started last year). List of items that should be included in a faculty handbook. Look into
SOFI and how to streamline it.
Unfinished Business

Request from President Battles, establish Cmte on honorary degrees and campus-level speakers. The intent
is to do a pilot this year so this year we will have an adhoc committee in order to make changes before
formalizing the committee and writing it into the constitution. President Battles will decide if the
committee should be a College Committee.

Administrative Feedback system: Will have a meeting between FAC and the adhoc committee to refine the
direction for the future.
New Business

ad hoc Governance Cmte. Meg, Christina and James will form a subcommittee to discuss the process of
the approval of meeting minutes. Motion passed to form subcommittee.
Correspondence: senate@geneseo.edu (James McLean, 245-5897)
Back issues available at http://www.geneseo.edu/senate/bulletin
Page 32

Review of new advisement procedures and increased advisement workload. James will report back on some
questions we have about these procedures.

Proposal to shift 1st Senate meeting in default calendar one week later to accommodate Student Association
senator selection process. Motion to change default calendar passed.
The meeting adjourned at 5:30 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Christina Agostinelli-Fucile
Correspondence: senate@geneseo.edu (James McLean, 245-5897)
Back issues available at http://www.geneseo.edu/senate/bulletin
Page 33
Draft Minutes, All-College Faculty Meeting
20 October 2015
Present: K. Adabra, C. Agostinelli-Fucile, J. Albers, J. Allen, S. Argentieri, T. Bailey,
D. Baldwin, J. Bennett, Y. Bilgic, S. Brainard, R. Coloccia, P. Corrigan, D. Farthing,
K. Fletcher, E. Froome, L. Gao, R. Gifford, B. Harrison, T. Hon, C. Kelleher, T. Kenney,
J. King, P. Kurau, M. Lee, B. Lofquist, M. Masci, K. Matthews, J. McLean, M. Medeiros,
C. Merrilees, J. Morse, J. Over, A. Pellerin, J. Peterson, S. Salmon, H. Savage, D. Scott,
A. Sheldon, D. Showers, R. Spear, M. Stolee, S. Stubblefield, A. Tajima, G. Towsley,
R. Vasiliev, M.C. Wight, K. Yokoyama
Guests: M. Arena, L. Bamburoski, M. Baranowski, D. Battles, A. Buttice, Y. Collins,
A. Dantzler, J. Fischer, T. Hayat, S. Iyer, C. Larkin, C. Long, S. Longbotham, C. Martin,
J. Milroy, A. Taber, E. Topping
Chair James McLean called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m.
Reports:
President
 Dr. Battles defers to Senate Meeting.
Denise Battles
Presiding Officer of the Faculty
James McLean
 The Executive Meeting has formed a Governance Subcommittee (Christina Agostinelli-Fucile, Meg Stolee
and James McLean). The first task will be to figure out how to properly handle the minutes which need to
be published in draft form; other constitutional questions will follow.
Committee on Nominations and Elections
Faculty Personnel Committee Candidates:
 Ken Asher
English
 Doug Baldwin
Mathematics
 Beverly Evans
Languages & Literatures
 Scott Giorgis
Geological Sciences
 Meredith Harrigan
Communication
 Avan Jassawalla
Business
 Beth McCoy
English
 Rose McEwen
Languages & Literatures
 Michael Oberg
History
 Kazushige Yokoyama
Chemistry
Gary Towsley
Full Professor
Full Professor
Full Professor
Full Professor
Associate Professor
Full Professor
Distinguished Teaching Professor
Associate Professor
Distinguished Teaching Professor
Full Professor
Adjournment:
The meeting was adjourned at 4:05 p.m.
Correspondence: senate@geneseo.edu (James McLean, 245-5897)
Back issues available at http://www.geneseo.edu/senate/bulletin
Page 34
Draft Minutes, College Senate Meeting
20 October 2015
Present: K. Adabra, C. Agostinelli-Fucile, J. Albers, J. Allen, M. Arena, S. Argentieri, T. Bailey, D. Baldwin,
L. Bamburoski, M. Baranowski, D. Battles, J. Bennett, Y. Bilgic, S. Brainard, A. Buttice, Y. Collins, R. Coloccia,
P. Corrigan, A. Dantzler, D. Farthing, J. Fischer, K. Fletcher, E. Froome, L. Gao, R. Gifford, B. Harrison, T. Hayat,
T. Hon, S. Iyer, C. Kelleher, T. Kenney, J. King, P. Kurau, C. Larkin, M. Lee, B. Lofquist, C. Long, S. Longbotham,
C. Martin, M. Masci, K. Matthews, J. McLean, M. Medeiros, C. Merrilees, J. Milroy, J. Morse, J. Over, A. Pellerin,
J. Peterson, S. Salmon, H. Savage, D. Scott, A. Sheldon, D. Showers, R. Spear, M. Stolee, S. Stubblefield, A. Taber,
A. Tajima, E. Topping, R. Vasiliev, K. Yokoyama
Guest List:
G. Towsley, M.C. Wight
Chair James McLean called the meeting to order at 4:05 p.m.
The minutes of the September 15, 2015 meeting were approved without objection.
Senate Reports:
President
Denise Battles
For a complete listing of Inauguration events, please visit: https://www.geneseo.edu/inauguration/schedule
There was a great deal of participation in the nine Listening Tour sessions.
The Alumni Association and Alumni Council are being brought together as “one”, and a committee has been
formed. Debbie Hill is the Chair of the Committee.
SUNY Excels is submitting performance proposal plans.
Provost
Carol Long
For information on the SUNY Excels Performance Improvement Plan (PIP), please visit the Provost’s homepage at:
http://www.geneseo.edu/provost
Chair
James McLean
The Executive Committee is soliciting volunteers for an Honorary Degree and Speakers Committee. This
committee is being formed by President Battles.
The SUNY Provost’s Advisory Council on Applied Learning formed this fall, and David Parfitt is representing our
campus, as well as chairing the local committee on that topic. These committees are implementing the push for
applied learning required by the 2015-2016 state budget. The process is supposed to end in spring 2017, with a
thoroughly considered decision and report on whether it would be feasible to make an applied learning experience a
graduation requirement for Geneseo. (In questions afterwards: Applied Learning is being defined in a very broad
way to include things like service learning).
Vice Chair
Work is still being done on the Excellence Committee.
Meg Stolee
Christina Agostinelli-Fucile
Please be sure the minutes are clear when they are sent.
Secretary
Reports of the Standing Committees of the Senate
Undergraduate Curricula
(Full proposals can be found at: https://boxes.geneseo.edu/DeanofCollege/doc/UCC/)
Correspondence: senate@geneseo.edu (James McLean, 245-5897)
Back issues available at http://www.geneseo.edu/senate/bulletin
Bill Harrison
Page 35
UCC Proposes for First Reading:
New Courses: HPE 240: Varsity Equestrian; PHYS 385: Optics
Revised Courses: BIOL 361: Plant Physiology; BIOL 342: Parasitology
Revised Programs: Minor in Dance; Minor in Medieval Studies
All proposals were voted on and approved.
Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 4:35 p.m.
Correspondence: senate@geneseo.edu (James McLean, 245-5897)
Back issues available at http://www.geneseo.edu/senate/bulletin
Page 36
Report of the University Faculty Senator
22-24 October 2015
Fall UFS Plenary
Buffalo State College
As an element of a new communications plan for the University Faculty Senate, a detailed report of the Plenary
sessions is available shortly after the event. The report for the Fall Plenary is available at:
http://system.suny.edu/media/suny/content-assets/documents/faculty-senate/plenary/buffalostateplenary.pdf
Highlights of the report include:
President Knuepher’s report emphasizing discussions of the Applied Learning mandate that first appeared in the
Governor’s 2015 Budget Statement.
Carlos Medina’s session with the Senate to discuss efforts on diversity.
The Chancellor’s report emphasizing her plan for initiatives addressing 1. SUNY as an economic driver for New
York, the efforts to alleviate the $70 million SUNY spends in remediation coursework, the START-UP New York
initiatives, SUNY’s goal of access, completion and success, and diversity and inclusion.
Povost Alex Cartwright met with the Senate and the conversation was dominated by the recently-revealed plan to
increase “completions” of SUNY programs from about 90,000 per year to 150,000 per year. Part of the discussion
was around the definition of “completions” to include degrees, credentials and “micro-credentials.”
Two resolutions of note include the “Resolution on Academic Freedom” calling on every campus to have a
discussion of the concept including review of documents attached to the resolution and “Resolution Requesting
Modification of Family Medical Leave Policy” calling on SUNY Administration to work with UUP to develop fair
and consistent policies on FMLA that support employee retention and satisfaction.
In addition to the events of the Plenary, the Comprehensive College Sector (which includes Genese0) met and
agreed to ask the Chancellor to meet with representatives of the sector at her convenience to discuss how our
institutions can support the declared SUNY goals. At issue are especially activities around having more workable
goals under SUNY Excels and the competition between our sector and the other sectors of SUNY around
recruitment of students and OPEN SUNY.
Respectfully submitted,
Dennis Showers
University Faculty Senator
Correspondence: senate@geneseo.edu (James McLean, 245-5897)
Back issues available at http://www.geneseo.edu/senate/bulletin
Page 37
Draft Minutes, Undergraduate Curriculum Committee
27 October 2015
Undergraduate Curricula Committee Meeting #2
27 October 2015, 4:00 PM, Welles 138
Chair: B. Harrison, English. Committee: R. Bosko, Alumni Relations; Y. Bilgic, Mathematics; Y. Collins, SA; A.
Dantzler, SA; E. Falk, Education; J. Fischer, SA; E. Froome, International Programs; J. King, Education; P. Kurau,
Music; G. McClure, English; H. Savage, Philosophy; R. Vasiliev, Geography.
Guests: I. Belyakov-Goodman, English; S. Iyer, Dean's Office; M. Medeiros, Anthropology; D. Scott, Sociology.
Excused: J. Albers, Business; S. Brainard, Library.
The chair called this meeting to order at 4:05 PM.
4:11pm Dean arrives, McClure arrives.
I. Reports and Preliminary Business
•
•
•
•
•
•
Approval of minutes, 9/29/15 meeting. Approved.
Our next meeting is scheduled for 4PM Tuesday, 17 November 2015, Welles 138.
Welcome new member: Ronna Bosko, Alumni Relations
Meeting secretary: Emily Froome.
Late Arrival: Glenn McClure (teaches until 410PM).
Excused: Sue Ann Brainard and Judy Albers. Motion: Harrison. Unanimous approval.
II. Review of Proposals
(Following committee procedure, the proposals are listed by department or program. When introduced to the
Senate, the courses will be grouped by type of proposal.)
Department: English
New Course
INTD 130: Oral English: Public Speaking, Vocabulary and Idioms
Discussion: Belyakov and Harrison settled question concerning course materials. Motion to vote: Harrison. Second:
King. Proposal approved: unanimous vote.
Department: Anthropology
New Program
Minor in Sociomedical Sciences
Discussion: Contact: M. Medeiros. Vasiliev questioned the wording of the rationale; Madeiros clarified. Harrison
questioned the number of required credits hours: 21 listed, but pre-requisites could require as much as 30. Medeiros
says that the multi-disciplinary minor is meant to attract students from outside of social sciences, including BIOL,
who will already have many of the pre-reqs. Students likely won’t choose to take classes that have a lot of pre-reqs
(most courses that require pre-reqs are BIOL), and there are clear alternatives. Vasiliev wondered how the minor
may affect enrollment in the ANTH and SOCL capstone courses. Given current enrollments, Medeiros did not
predict any issues. The Dean also had concerns about the pre-req for ANTH 302: it needed to be listed in the
program description. Medeiros offered to revise the requirement to “ANTH 302 OR ANTH 202”—the latter doesn’t
have a pre-req. A discussion concerning the elective status of ANTH 202, which the Dean resolved with boilerplate
prohibiting courses fulfilling more than one minor requirement. Motion to vote, pending addition of ANTH 202 and
inclusion of boilerplate: Harrison. Second: Kurau. Proposal approved: unanimous vote.
Correspondence: senate@geneseo.edu (James McLean, 245-5897)
Back issues available at http://www.geneseo.edu/senate/bulletin
Page 38
Department: Sociology
New Course
SOCL 396: Teaching of Sociology Practicum
Discussion: Contact: D. Scott. [Proposal tabled until Dean arrives. Brought to discussion at 4:22pm.] Proposal
lacks credit hour information. Scott says it should list 3 (3-0) credit hours.
A lengthy discussion concerning the status of the course ensued. 396 is essentially a Teaching Assistantship: the
Dean’s Office is very concerned about the grading standards for the academic content of the course. If there is not a
clear sense of the difference between letter-grade performances, then the course should be taught as an S/U. The
sample syllabus did not articulate detailed grading standards. Scott reaffirmed the demands of the course and asked
that students be able to receive a letter grade. This was later modified to allow faculty the choice to assign either
letter grades OR S/U grades. The Dean agreed. Iyer suggested that the department commit to appropriate grading
standards and wording in all syllabi; individual instances of this course will not be approved without it.
Vasiliev asked if 396 is a capstone requirement; Scott said no. Harrison asked whether students can take 396 more
than once for major credit. Scott said present practice allows students to take the course only once for elective credit,
but also allows repeat enrollment. Iyer noted that this means that the SOCL major program description now needs
revision to clarify the course’s repeat enrollment policy. [The Dean’s Office and UCC request the proposal’s
submission during this academic year.]
Harrison requested pre-requisite clarification: proposal reads “SOCL 100,” while other SOCL courses offer different
pre-reqs, including “any 100-level SOCL “ or “SOCL 100, 102, or 105.” Scott replied that only SOCL 100 need be
the pre req. Harrison asked if the other models weren’t more flexible for students. Collins revealed that she is
SOCL TA, neither a major nor a minor, and took SOCL 105, not 100. Iyer confirmed following changes/additions:
offered by individual arrangement, credits 3, normal graded or SU, and pre reqs are SOCL 100, 102, or 105. Motion
to vote, pending changes listed by Iyer: Harrison. Second: Faulk. Proposal approved: unanimous vote.
Department: School of Education and Department of Geography
Revised Program
Concentration in Geography for Early Childhood-Childhood, and Childhood-Special Education programs
Discussion: Contact: Vasiliev. Harrison noted typographical corrections communicated by GEOG. Vasiliev noted
proposal inconsistency concerning interdepartmental. Iyer noted it was an issue with the new proposal form and that
she would correct. Motion to vote: Harrison. Second: Vasiliev. Proposal approved: unanimous vote.
III. Unfinished Business
New Course Proposal Form feedback
The Chair solicited feedback concerning the new course proposal form. Vasiliev noted that the old form had type of
proposal (new; revision; deletion) listed right at the top; new form is unclear about what sort of change is going on.
Harrison agreed. Iyer will consider revisions to the new form.
IV. Announcements
Full proposals can be found at https://boxes.geneseo.edu/DeanofCollege/doc
The meeting adjourned at 4:50PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Emily Froome, acting secretary, and
Bill Harrison, chair
Correspondence: senate@geneseo.edu (James McLean, 245-5897)
Back issues available at http://www.geneseo.edu/senate/bulletin
Page 39
Download