OHIO NORTHERN UNIVERSITY
UNIVERSITY COUNCIL MINUTES
Minutes, March 19, 2013
Roll: (Absentees Underlined) President Daniel DiBiasio, VP David Crago, VP William Ballard, VP Ken Block, VP Larry
Lesick, VP Adriane Thompson-Bradshaw, Dean Catherine Albrecht, Dean Eric Baumgartner, Dean Jon Sprague, Dean
James Fenton, Interim Dean Stephen Veltri, Chaplain David MacDonald, Dr. Alisa Agozzino, Dr. Jeffery Allison, Dr.
Khalid Al-Olimat, Dr. Rob Alexander, Mr. Eric Ambos, Dr. Joanne Brant, Dr. Bob Carrothers, Prof. Jennifer Donley, Dr.
Howard Fenton, Dr. Lou Lobenhofer, Dr. John Jay Mager, Dr. David Mikesell, Prof. Sue Montenery, Dr. Michelle
Musser, Dr. Brian Myers, Dr. Kristie Payment, Dr. Ronald Peterson, Dr. Susan Schertzer, Dr. Sandy Schroeder, Dr. Jenny
Walton, Dr. Dexter Woods
Rob Alexander, Chair of Council, called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. in Dicke Hall 230.
I.
Minutes of February 19, 2013 meeting approved after correction to Roll: Dr. Susan Schertzer was absent and Dr.
Sandy Schroeder was present.
a. Announcement by Chair Rob Alexander: Julie Hurtig has requested that, in an effort to make the University
Council meetings more meaningful, next year’s meetings will be scheduled to be held once a month and during
the week prior to the University Faculty meetings. The meetings will continue to be held Tuesdays at 5:30pm.
Rob noted that the newly composed Council will be free to meet more frequently if needed.
II.
Reports from Constitutional Committees
a.
Budget & Appropriations: Larry Lesick gave an enrollment update two weeks ago and this update was
discussed again at the Committee meeting. No additional report.
b.
Academic Affairs: Presenting Unfinished Business. No additional report.
c.
Student Activities: No report.
d.
Personnel: No report.
III.
Reports from Operational Committees
a.
Athletics: The committee has not met. Last weekend Kyle Kwiat won his second national wrestling
championship. ONU had their second Elite 89 award in one year. The Elite 89 award is presented to the
student-athlete with the highest cumulative GPA who is participating in the national championships.
Two awards in one year are extraordinary because a student must first make it to the championship, and
then have the highest GPA. Rob Alexander asked how recent sports accomplishments help with
recruiting, and Dave Crago explained that it helps with ONU’s national name recognition due to the
caliber of the schools we are competing against.
b.
Information Technology: Committee has not met. No report.
c.
Cultural & Special Events: Committee has not met. No report.
d.
International Affairs: Meeting was held today and they welcomed two new committee members.
Selections were also made for the Shuhaibar Scholarship.
e.
Religious Affairs: No report.
f.
General Education:
i.
Report submitted by Julie Hurtig:
Updated Taskstream portfolio reports for each freshman and sophomore participating in the
new outcomes-based general education plan were provided to both the students and their advisors in
early March. If a student has transfer credit, there is a possibility for gen ed waivers in the portfolio;
however, that information is not yet tracked at ONU by computer. Students are advised to maintain a
gen ed checksheet to assist them until ONU can implement new degree-audit software in 2013-14. The
gen ed checksheet is available on the "General Education for Students and Faculty" webpage under "G"
in the onu.edu A-Z index.
If faculty advisors have concerns about any details regarding gen ed, do contact me. I can
complete a gen ed checksheet for a student or work with them personally about their concerns. I'm
willing to help out in any way, as I know this is new to all of us.
ii.
VI.
Additional minutes: Dexter Woods asked if students can continue to submit once they have
completed their tags, and Julie explained that they should be encouraged to do so. Dexter also
asked if there is a process in place to deal with transfer credits. There is currently no way to see
that online, but DegreeWorks has been purchased and it can do degree audits, and Julie is
hoping that it will help with transfer credits in the future. Currently, students should note their
waivers at the top of their checksheets. Rob Alexander asked if the students who are short on
tags are missing a particular tag, and Julie said that is not the case and that many tags still need
to be submitted. Khalid Al-Olimat asked about transfer students and waivers, and Julie said
that tracking is just manual now and based on how many waivers the students came with to
ONU. Jay Mager asked about the student response to Gen Ed, and Julie replied that the hope is
that anyone who is currently dissatisfied will adjust within the next three years.
Other Reports
a.
Vice-Presidents
i.
Academic Affairs: Dave Crago has met with several colleges and departments to talk about
what is currently going on with Academic Affairs. All of the Higher Education groups have
met, and interviewing for faculty positions is underway.
ii.
Financial Affairs: Primarily working on the fiscal 2014 budget. The Executive Committee will
meet on April 6th and they will discuss the challenges of the fiscal 2014 budget. Talks are
ongoing concerning ways to expedite the remediation process, but Phase 1 is almost done.
February’s monthly financials should be posted at the end of the week.
iii.
University Advancement: Under Karen Condeni, the Parent Advisory Group was formed, and
the group asked for a newsletter to be sent periodically to all parents. The most recent emailed
newsletter had a 50% open rate, which is very high. The links that were clicked represent a
very engaged group of parents with diverse interests. Rob Alexander asked if the newsletter
was primarily general information and it is. The frequency of the newsletters is about once a
semester.
iv.
Admissions and Financial Aid: No report.
v.
Student Affairs: The housing lottery is this weekend. Affinity Northwest will include a living
and learning community and global village as part of an initiative to internationalize the
campus. The community makeup with be 50/50 international and domestic students, and they
will be both returning and entering students. There are still slots available in the 16-member
community and interested students should apply. A 1-credit course by Chris North that
involves fieldtrips and global community projects will be included.
b.
Deans
i.
Arts and Sciences: Gordon Wood was on campus this past week and his lecture was well
attended by students as well as the community. The retirement party for Nils Riess and Cathy
Smalley was this past Saturday and many alumni returned to celebrate with them. Yesterday
there was an event with students in the STEM fields for the Choose Ohio First grant. There
will be two concerts this weekend: the ONU Symphonic Band on Thursday and the University
Singers on Friday. The Student Research Colloquium will be on April 26th and students are
encouraged to submit their proposals.
ii.
Engineering: Several upcoming competitions, including the Concrete Canoe Competition. On
April 6th ONU will host the ONU Polar Bears vs. Notre Dame Irish robotic football
competition. On April 9th the engineering department will have a Design Showcase to spotlight
senior capstones and engineering competition projects.
iii.
Pharmacy: No report.
iv.
Business Administration: No report.
v.
Law: No report.
c.
Student Senate: (report submitted by Eric Ambos)
d.
Members of Student Senate attended the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities
of Ohio (AICUO) Independent College Day event on Tuesday, February 26 at the Statehouse in
Columbus. The event provided an excellent opportunity for students to reach out to our legislative
representatives and underscore the importance of allocating government funding to private, higher
educational institutions. Students from the College of Pharmacy were also at the Statehouse to attend an
event held by the Ohio Pharmacists Association. Independent College Day was a great success and we
look forward to continuing this tradition in the future.
Health Services Advisory Committee: Committee has not met. No report.
VII.
Chair/Faculty Comments: None.
VIII.
President Comments/Questions: The revised Strategic Plan draft was distributed February 28th and comments are
welcome. ONU is on track for the May board meeting. Five informal faculty conversations have been held so far
and there has been a wide-range of discussions, including comments and questions about the 4-year guarantee.
They are in the process of scheduling a single discussion for administrative directors on the same topics. There
will be a Budget Forum scheduled for both the morning and afternoon of April 22nd. The 2013 Engineering
Women Celebration was this past Friday and Saturday and alumni came back to interact with both current and
prospective students. Anna Cassat, the first female engineering graduate from the class of 1908, was
commemorated during the celebration. She was also recognized for her contribution to the brick streets in Ada as
part of her senior project.
IX.
Unfinished Business
a.
Academic Affairs (Change of Grade Policy) (Attachment A): Pass unanimously without further
discussion.
X.
New Business: None.
XI.
Announcements
a.
Adrianne Thompson-Bradshaw: Tomorrow is the noon deadline for Debow Freed Award nominations.
b.
Julie Hurtig: One additional person needs to run for the four University Council at-large positions.
XII.
Adjournment at 6:07 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Jennifer Donley, Secretary
Voting record 03/19/13 Voting Issue: per agenda Att. A
Council Member yes no abst President Daniel DiBiasio Provost/VP David Crago VP William Ballard VP Ken Block VP Larry Lesick VP Adriane Thompson‐Bradshaw Dean Catherine Albrecht x Dean Eric Baumgartner x Dean Jon Sprague Dean James Fenton Interim Dean Stephen Veltri Rev. David MacDonald Dr. Alisa Agozzino x Dr. Robert Alexander Dr. Jeffery Allison Dr. Khalid Al‐Olimat x Mr. Eric Ambos x Dr. Joanne Brant Dr. Bob Carrothers x Prof. Jennifer Donley x Dr. Howard Fenton Dr. Lou Lobenhofer x Dr. John Jay Mager x Dr. David Mikesell x Prof. Sue Montenery x Dr. Michelle Musser x Dr. Brian Myers Dr. Kristie Payment Dr. Ronald Peterson x Dr. Susan Schertzer x Dr. Sandy Schroeder x Dr. Jenny Walton Dr. Dexter Woods x Academic Support Staff Rep Totals 16 0 0 Attachment A
3.16 Change of Grade Policy
1. Only the faculty member may change the grade he or she has assigned to a student. The grade change form must be
received by the Registrar within twelve (12) weeks after the beginning of the next regular semester.
2. Reasons for a change in grade include, but are not limited to:
A. Mathematical error in calculating the grade.
B. Reevaluation of graded materials and/or exercises.
C. Reconsideration of method of assigning grades.
D. Circumstances beyond the control of the student or the faculty member.
E. Establishment of a breach in the Code of Student Conduct.
3. In order to change a grade, the faculty member must provide written notification to the student and submit a change of
grade form to the Dean of the College to inform the Dean of his/her intention. Receipt of the form allows the Dean an
opportunity to discuss the grade change with the faculty member and make appropriate recommendations. However, the
faculty member has the sole responsibility to determine the final grade for the course within the stated time limits. No
administrator, including the Dean, may veto a grade change within the stated time limits, or make a change without the
faculty member's written approval. The change in grade form will be signed to verify that the Dean has been notified of
the change, and will be routed by the Dean to the Registrar within five (5) working days. A copy of the change of grade
form will be returned to the faculty member by the Registrar after the change has been recorded on the student's
permanent record.
4. Under extremely unusual circumstances a faculty member may change a grade beyond the specified time limit. In such
cases the faculty member must submit a change in grade form along with a full explanation of the circumstances to the
College's Grade Appeals Committee, or in the case of the College of Law to the Dean of the College. It is then the
responsibility of the Grade Appeals Committee, or in the case of the College of Law the Dean of the College, to
determine whether or not the circumstances warrant a change in grade.
If the Grade Appeals Committee approves the grade change, the Committee must submit the change of grade form along
with a written statement of approval to the Dean of the College for informational purposes only. After signing the change
of grade form the Dean must submit both the form and the Grade Appeals Committee's written statement of approval to
the Registrar. In the case of the College of Law, if the Dean approves the grade change, the Dean must submit both the
grade change form and a written statement of approval to the Registrar.
If the Grade Appeals Committee, or in the case of the College of Law the Dean of the College, does not approve the grade
change, it must inform the faculty member in writing of its decision within ten (10) days.
5. This section does not apply to section 3.31, Student Grade Appeals Procedure.