MINUTES OF THE SIXTH MEETING OF THE 2010-11 UNIVERSITY SENATE
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Members Present: 50
Members Absent: 12
1. The meeting was called to order by the Chairperson of the University Senate, Eric Kelly, at 4:00 p.m.
Roll Call was taken by initialing the roster located at the entrance to LB 125.
Members Present: C. Ball, R. Bellaver, R. Bremigan, J. Coggeshall, G. Crawley, L. Deckers, R. Dolon,
A. Edmonds, J. Fry, J. Green, D. Grosnick, M. Harvey, K. Hall, T. Hendricks, R. Hicks, M. Holtzman, J. Huff,
R. Kanu, C. Kapinus, E. Kelly, T. King, A. Leahy, J. Ledbetter, M. Maggiotto, L. Markle, C. Marlow, M. McGrew,
B. McRae, M. Miller, J. Mitchell, S. Parkinson, P. Parkison, D. Pearson, K. Pickersgill, J. Popovicova, M. Pyron,
S. Rice-Snow, J. Rybarczyk, D. Shawger, G. Stamp, M. Steib, D. Supa, B. Umansky, K. Warren-Gordon,
A. Wieseke, J. Yang, J. Zhao, T. Zivney
Substitutes: Jeffrey Clark for D. Marini, Amanda Savasta for B. Wagner
Members Absent: J. Chapman, T. Cummins, J. Gora, M. Guntsche, D. Haber, J. Kim, W. McCune, C. Munchel,
T. Richardson, W. Sharp, C. Walker, B. Wills
2. A motion was made and seconded (Supa/Shawger) to approve the minutes of January 20, 2011.
The motion carried.
3.
Announcements
Items III. A., B., and C., (next scheduled meetings, Program Information, University Senate Action) were reviewed.
D. Report from Task Force on Online Evaluations (University Senate Agenda, 2/17/11, Enclosure #1)
Brien Smith, Chairperson of the task force, was present at today’s meeting. Brien reported that the task force
looked at three different areas: review of literature, existing practices at other institutions, and convening of
focus groups of faculty and students.
Discussion ensued regarding anonymity on the online evaluations, as well as whether response rates are readily
accessible on the websites from the other institutions website. Concern was raised as to whether the research
from 2000 might be a data studied from 1999.
A senate member questioned if there might be a problem when the faculty member gave the students too much
information, which could skew the student responses one way or another. Brian’s opinion is yes, there probably
is; however they did not find anything that indicated this might be a problem.
A senate member reminded the other members that numbers are available from only first and second summer
session and fall of last year. This was implemented when the university also shifted to online grade submissions
by faculty. These were two big changes last year, making it different for everyone. The Provost reported that he
has numbers broken down by departments and believes it is a good idea to have Jim Jones from Unified
Technology Support attend the next senate meeting. He can provide more information regarding the
numbers involved.
Implementing the online evaluation system saves the university $120,000 yearly.
University Senate Minutes
February 17, 2011
Page Two
A motion was made and seconded (Zivney/Pearson) to accept this report.
The motion carried.
4. There was a moment of silence to recognize the deaths of Irma F. (Traughber) Gale, Elizabeth Jane Glenn,
Beulah Murphy, and Robert C. Wolfe
5.
Committee Reports
A. Governance and Elections Committee – John Ledbetter, Chairperson
John reported that the committee met and approved the policy regarding Performing Outside Service ActivitiesPolicy on Ghost Employment.
John was recommended to the nominating committee for the vacant Indiana Commission for Higher Education
(ICHE) faculty position. He encouraged faculty members to consider running for this position and to contact him
should they have interest.
B. Faculty Council – Barry Umansky, Chairperson
Barry reported the Faculty Council met in January and accepted the report from the Special Leave Committee.
The University Promotion and Tenure revision concerning the addition of Immersive Learning in the handbook
did not advance to the senate. The Contract Faculty representation and the Graduate Faculty policy revisions
were approved and are on today’s agenda.
C. University Council – No report.
D. Campus Council
Mike reported the Campus Council met on February 10 and continued their discussion on the Cardinal Cash issue
as well as Meal Card Reimbursement when on long-term field trips. There was a discussion on inclement weather
and the council approved a statement for the senate’s consideration on today’s agenda. The next meeting is
March 17.
6. Report by Chairperson of Senate – Eric Kelly (University Senate Agenda 9/2/10, Enclosure #3)



Online Evaluations can be removed from the GANTT chart.
Promotion and Tenure Recommendations from Council of Deans: The Provost reported that colleges and
departments have been contacted regarding suggestions concerning the Promotion and Tenure Recommendations.
All suggestions will be considered and the Council of Deans will be sending them forward to the University
Promotions and Tenure Committee
Timeframe for fall semester grades: The Provost and Nancy Cronk, Registrar, reported that there is some hand
labor that needs to be done with the grades, even though they are now submitted electronically. They both feel
that the implementation of the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system will alleviate this problem.
7. Questions Directed to the President
University Senate Minutes
February 17, 2011
Page Three
8. Question and Answer Period
A senator reported that the link is broken to the Faculty and Professional Personnel Handbook on the main page of the
Ball State website.
9. Unfinished Business
There was no unfinished business.
10. New Business
A. Revision to Faculty and Professional personnel handbook regarding Contract Faculty (University Senate Agenda,
2/17/11, Enclosure #3)
Discussion ensued regarding how this affects departments. It was confirmed that the language regarding
departments still stands.
A motion was made and seconded (Pearson/Shawger) to approve. A hand vote was requested.
Yes: 34
No: 8
Abstentions: 2
The motion carried.
The constitutional amendment portion of this revision (not included in today’s vote) will be included in the
constitutional amendments next fall.
B. Revision of Graduate Faculty Policy (University Senate Agenda, 2/17/11, Enclosure #4)
Deborah Mix, Chairperson of the Graduate Education Committee, was present at today’s meeting. There was no
discussion.
A motion was made and seconded (Pearson/Edmonds) to approve.
The motion carried.
11. Other Items
A. Inclement Weather
Campus Council (2/10/11)
“The Campus Council requests the University re-evaluate the procedure for cancelling classes.”
Michael Miller, Chairperson of the Campus Council, reported that the discussion at the Campus Council meeting
revolved around the lack of organization in addressing the inclement weather. There were residence halls on
campus that went into lockdown and students could not leave to attend classes.
A motion was made and seconded (Crawley/Umansky) to approve this statement.
The motion carried.
University Senate Minutes
February 17, 2011
Page Four
12. Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at 4:55 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Carolyn Kapinus, Secretary
/mt
MINUTES OF THE SEVENTH MEETING OF THE 2012-13 UNIVERSITY SENATE
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Members Present:
59
Members Absent:
12
1. The meeting was called to order at 4:00 p.m., by the Chairperson of the University Senate, David Pearson.
Roll Call was taken by initialing the roster located at the entrance to LB 125.
Members Present: S. Aegisdottir, E. Agnew, A. Beane, R. Bellaver, O. Benkato, E. Bowers, R. Bremigan,
B. Brey, P. Buis, S. Byrum, J. Cassady, B. Canada, J. Chapman, M. Chiuini, H. Closson, R. Davis, G. Dodson,
J. Ellery, J. Forbey, J. Gora, C. Griewank, D. Grosnick, J. Gruver, J. Hammons, M. Hanley, E. Hashimov,
T. Hendricks, M. Holtzman, J. Huff, J. Jemiolo, T. King, K. Koch, K. Kreamelmeyer, J. Ledbetter, L. Lehman,
P. Magro, T. Mahfouz, S. Pattison, D. Pearson, L. Pellerin, T. Richardson, D. Shawger, K. Slabaugh, G. Slater,
G. Stamp, M. Steib, C. Stone, J. Strauss, K. Thurman, C. Updike, D. Wheeler, A. Wieseke, S. Zhuk
Substitutes: Daqavise Winston for A. France, Nicola Schmerbeck for M. Guntsche, Toni Kontos for
Z. Guzeldereli, Carla Earhart for A. Harden, Gloria Pavlik for L. Wiley, Malachi Randolph for C. Wiley
Members Absent: C. Corbin, J. Dowden, M. Gerhard, M. Hamil, B. Hannon, E. Levitt, M. Maggiotto,
C. Munchel, N. Perera (Junfeng Jiao), K. Pierce, R. Purviance, S. Rice-Snow
2. A motion was made and seconded (Steib/Closson) to approve the minutes of February 14, 2013.
The motion carried.
3. Announcements
Items A. (Next Scheduled Meetings), B. (Nominee for Doctor of Laws), C. (Board of Trustees Action), and D.
(Academic Posting) were reviewed.
4. There was a moment of silence to recognize the deaths of Donald Barnes, Linda Hargrove, William Liston, and
James K. MacDougall, Jr.
5. Council/Committee Reports
A. Governance and Elections Committee – Ralph Bremigan, Chairperson, reported the committee met last week
and approved the recommendation for Charlene Alexander to serve as the Faculty Athletics Representative
(FAR). There was informal discussion regarding committee structure/membership. A note is being sent to all
committee chairs to request their committee review these two items. They are working on a slate of officers
for the University Senate executive committee as well as members for the senate agenda committee. One must
be a member of the Senate to run for executive committee or the senate agenda committee. Lastly, the
extended education committee is working on revising their policies/procedures for the Faculty and
Professional Personnel Handbook.
B. Faculty Council – Kip Shawger, Chairperson, reported the council met on February 21 and approved the
policies for the evaluation of teaching and the policy for credit hour assignment. The policy for resolving
incomplete grades was tabled.
C. University Council – Katie Slabaugh, Chairperson, reported the council did not meet last month. Their last
meeting of the academic year is April 4, at which time they will hold elections of officers.
D. Campus Council – Kevin Thurman, Chairperson, reported the council will meet on April 11 to elect officers
and discuss the possibility of implementing a bicycle share program and bicycle repair stations around campus.
E. Student Senate – Heather Closson, Vice President of the Student Government Association (SGA), reported
SGA is working on a project with other state universities on “Charity miles,” a statewide program to promote
healthy lifestyles. There has been $1,000,000 in grants provided to conduct this initiative. The SGA officers
will transition on April 17, at 3:15 p.m. in Cardinal Hall A.
University Senate Minutes
March 21, 2013
Page Two
6. Report by Chairperson of Senate – Dave Pearson (University Senate Agenda 3/21/13, Enclosure #3)
Kip Shawger, chair of the faculty council, reported the salary and benefits committee has received and approved
the final academic department salary document. This has been a two year process. The Family Leave Proposal
which came from the Task Force for Women from the College of Sciences and Humanities, was forwarded to
Associate Vice President Marie Williams, and Vice President General Counsel Sali Falling for review. The
Telecommuting Proposal was also forwarded to these two individuals.
The final report from the Task Force on Academic Rigor was forwarded by e-mail as well as posted on the Senate
website and Blackboard. Provost Terry King added it was a very important topic. It is important for departments
to address this issue. It must be a faculty issue. His office receives complaints about grades and we want to
support faculty for maintaining high standards. It is important to students. Please forward your opinions to him or
to the Deans of their respective college.
7. Questions Directed to the President
President Gora discussed the Administrative Retreat, held about a month ago. This is a yearly event and includes
vice presidents, deans, and directors. The focus for this year’s retreat was developing an implementation plan for
the Strategic Plan, 2012-17. The implementation plan involves the development or identification of the initiatives
which will help us accomplish key performance indicators in the plan. There are five goals and 22 objectives to be
translated into initiatives. Groups worked on the Key Performance Indicators (KPI) that were appropriate to their
area at the university.
The President reported the following:
 Concluded the twelfth campus forum discussing the funding formula and the Workplace Environment Survey.
She would like to conduct these types of forums annually with different topics. The forums lasted an hour to
1/12/ hours and gave people a chance to ask questions and hear information pertaining to what they read or
hear about in the paper, etc.
The following question was asked by a member of the Senate:
Could you say a little bit more about the recent article in the paper?
The President reported that the article focused on this particular legislator because his remarks were fairly
extensive in the committee. However, after the meeting, she received five text messages from different
legislators saying they did not agree with him. Conversations with legislators, generally, indicate support for
the University.
She added that our emphasis at Ball State is to provide students with a quality education so they are able to
compete in the marketplace. It is a mission that was endorsed by the Indiana Commission for Higher
Education (ICHE) dating back to 2005. It has won the support of students, parents, and faculty. The
legislator’s comparison with Harvard and Cornell was countered by her comparison with Miami of Ohio and
William and Mary because they are public institutions. They are known for their quality, and why should that
not be our mission? The current performance funding formula indicates the only way a university can receive
funding is if it is large and growing. Our strategy is to get better not bigger. We maintain this as a valid
approach; it serves our students well and has received the endorsement of parents and alumni. I was pleased
with the comments that came from The Star Press’ positive editorial.
8. Question and Answer Period
There were no questions.
9. Unfinished Business
There was no unfinished business.
University Senate Minutes
March 21, 2013
Page Three
10. New Business
A. Policy for the Evaluation of Teaching (University Senate Agenda, 3/21/13, Enclosure #4)
A motion was made and seconded (Shawger/Thurman) to place on the floor for discussion.
Jerry McKean, chair of the Teaching Evaluation Committee, was present at today’s meeting.
Discussion ensued. Contrary to the comments that were distributed prior to today’s meeting, they do not
object to the revisions, but question how efficient and organized it will be. The department would be burdened
with the work to do.
It is important to note that although the policy says we will gather information for all sections, it does not say
we must use all the data. One department representative mentioned that evaluations would come from 50% of
the classes that an instructor teaches every semester. Some departments require an evaluation for every class
taught. This would eliminate the problem of more work.
Regarding Item 3.4 Electronic Submission. For faculty who teach English 103 and 104. Can this include
supervisory people, similar to the department chair? What about a secretary; can a secretary do this? It was
confirmed that a secretary can be included as a designee.
A question arose as to whom would select which courses? In the case of promotion and tenure, the faculty
member would select, but not necessarily in the merit pay aspect. It would be left up to the departments to
decide how many or if all courses would be administered an evaluation.
James Jones, Director of Research and Academic Effectiveness, answered questions raised prior to today’s
meeting.
The motion to approve the Policy for the Evaluation of Teaching, carried.
The Senate thanked Jerry and the committee for their work.
B. Credit Hour Assignment (University Senate Agenda, 3/21/13, Enclosure #5)
A motion was made and seconded (Shawger/Steib) to place on the floor for discussion.
John Ledbetter was available to answer questions.
The motion to approve the Policy for Credit Hour Assignment, carried.
C. Approval of Charlene Alexander for Faculty Athletics Representative (FAR) to the NCAA/MAC
(University Senate Agenda, 3/21/13, Enclosure #6)
The chair of the Senate explained that the FAR is the President’s ambassador for the NCAA/MAC and
serves in her capacity. The current process is under review by the Athletics Committee because of a
change in procedures by the Faculty Athletics Representative Association (FARA), which is asking
universities to provide a common procedure for electing the FAR. Both the President and the Athletic
Director are favorable to this appointment.
A motion was made and seconded (Ledbetter/Bellaver) to accept this nomination for appointment.
The motion carried.
10. Other Items
There were no other items.
11. Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at 5:05 p.m.
University Senate Minutes
March 21, 2013
Page Four
April 18, 2013
David Pearson, Chairperson
/mt
Jane Ellery, Secretary
MINUTES OF THE SEVENTH MEETING OF THE 2010-11 UNIVERSITY SENATE
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Members Present: 48
Members Absent: 14
1. The meeting was called to order by the Vice Chairperson of the University Senate, John Ledbetter, at 4:00 p.m.
Roll Call was taken by initialing the roster located at the entrance to LB 125.
Members Present: C. Ball, R. Bellaver, R. Bremigan, J. Chapman, G. Crawley, L. Deckers, A. Edmonds, J. Fry,
J. Gora, J. Green, D. Grosnick, K. Hall, R. Hicks, M. Holtzman, J. Huff, R. Kanu, C. Kapinus, T. King, A. Leahy,
J. Ledbetter, M. Maggiotto, L. Markle, W. McCune, M. McGrew, B. McRae, M. Miller, J. Mitchell, S. Parkinson,
P. Parkison, K. Pickersgill, J. Popovicova, M. Pyron, T. Richardson, J. Rybarczyk, D. Shawger, G. Stamp, M. Steib,
D. Supa, B. Umansky, B. Wagner, B. Wills, J. Yang, J. Zhao
Substitutes: Lathrop Johnson for M. Guntsche, Kathy Segrist for D. Haber, Bruce Frankel for E. Kelly, Jeffrey Clark
for D. Marini, Matt Harber for D. Pearson
Members Absent: J. Coggeshall, T. Cummins, R. Dolon, M. Harvey, T. Hendricks, J. Han Kim, C. Munchel,
S. Rice-Snow, W. Sharp, C. Walker, K. Warren-Gordon, M. Whitlock, A. Wieseke, T. Zivney
2. A motion was made and seconded (Supa/Crawley) to approve the minutes of February 17, 2011.
The motion carried.
3.
Announcements
A. Next Scheduled Meetings
Senate Agenda Committee – April 11, 2011, 8:00 a.m., Letterman Building (LB) 104
University Senate – Thursday, April 21, 2011, 4:00p.m., Letterman Building (LB) 125
This will be the final meeting of the 2010-11 University Senate. The first meeting of 2011-12 will proceed
immediately following adjournment of the final meeting of 2010-11, for the purpose of elections.
B. The Academic Posting was reviewed.
C. Report from Provost’s Task Force on Response Rates for Online Evaluations
Jim Jones, Assistant Director-Research and Design, Unified Technology Support, was invited to discuss this issue
with the members of the senate. He reported that there have been online evaluations since fall, 1999, but it was
using a system developed internally. In time, a larger system was necessary and the evaluations were outsourced
to the firm, Digital Measures.
He overviewed the security of the system that he gathered from their website as well as correspondence with
them. All data is housed offsite, unlike before. The servers are encrypted, locked, caged, stored and secured by
armed security guards. It is backed-up in five geographic locations with an iron mountain storage system.
FERPA and Safe Harbor principles are adhered to. It is as secure as you’d expect with this type of data.
A student may ask: “If these are anonymous and you don’t know what our answers are, how do you send me a
reminder?” These reminders are generated by Digital Measures. Another database checks and resends the
University Senate Minutes
March 24, 2011
Page Two
evaluation and then checks off the e-mail when it is returned. The responses are kept separate from addresses.
This creates the anonymity.
A senate member questioned who gets to read the evaluations. Mr. Jones responded that in the past, the
department reads them, and a summary is given to the faculty member. Usually, only the faculty member can see
the evaluations if it is faculty defaulted. There are 1-2 colleges where the dean’s office could access them. There
is no clear policy in place stating only department chairs can see it, but the college can’t. He is responsible for
handling defaults and security levels.
A senate member questioned how a faculty member could find out who has access to this information? One could
ask the faculty chairperson, or an e-mail could be sent to him directly. He suggests handling it at the department
level first.
A senate member questioned if there were any norms and if he knew how the university was doing as a whole?
He stated there are no published norms; he hasn’t been asked to do that. This is usually handled at the department
level. There have been no questions as to how the university is doing overall.
A senate member questioned about the five-week courses. Mr. Jones responded that the evaluation tools are set
up with very specific evaluation periods. For example, one just completed and another five-week course will start
next week.
D. The deadline for the constitutional amendments is Monday, April 4.
4. There was a moment of silence to recognize the deaths of Jennifer Landreth, Mary Shannon, and Dianna Wolfe
5.
Committee Reports
A. Governance and Elections Committee – John Ledbetter, Chairperson
John reported that the committee met and this morning and worked through nominating a slate of officers for
University Senate and representatives on the Senate Agenda Committee. He mentioned the faculty position on
the Indiana Commission for Higher Education (ICHE) and the deadline of April 15 for submitting applications
directly to ICHE.
B. Faculty Council – Barry Umansky, Chairperson
Barry reported the Faculty Council met on February 24. The last meeting of the academic year is Thursday,
March 31. The issue of Retirement Models is very close to completion. The Ghost Employment issue will be
brought forward to the University Senate at their April meeting.
C. University Council – Barb Wills, Chairperson
Barb reported that the University Council met last month and approved the policy on Academic Clemency. Their
next meeting is April 7, at which time they will have a report from the Governance and Elections Committee
concerning the revision of the membership and responsibilities of the Salary and Benefits Committee, and
conduct election of officers for 2011-12.
University Senate Minutes
March 24, 2011
Page Three
D. Campus Council – Mike Miller, Chairperson
Mike reported the Campus Council met on March 17 and heard an update from the Cardinal Cash task force, as
well as the Meal Card Reimbursement issue. The Meal Card Reimbursement issue is in Business Affairs for
consideration. Other items discussed concerned weather safety and the possibility of having weather radios in
each department office. The Student Senate resolution concerning the use of preferred names on class rosters was
passed and is on today’s senate agenda.
6. Report by Chairperson of Senate – John Ledbetter (University Senate Agenda 3/24/11, Enclosure #2)
The issue of phased retirements has been forwarded to Terry Zivney, Chairperson of the Salary and Benefits
Committee.
7. Questions Directed to the President
President Gora reported on the following items:





The Strategic Plan Task Force met for the first time on Wednesday, March 23, under the leadership of Provost
and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Terry King.
The University’s North Central – Higher Learning Commission accreditation visit is during the 2012-13 academic
year. Associate Provost Marilyn Buck and Dean Michael Maggiotto are co-chairs of the accreditation self-study
report. They will assist in appointing a steering committee for the accreditation.
The NCAA review is a ten year review. The University will be submitting a report to them in April 2011 and the
NCAA will be coming to visit in the fall. The NCAA self-study is led by Vice President for Student Affairs and
Dean of Students, Kay Bales. The campus community will hear more them in the near future.
Ball State had an event at the Statehouse in Indianapolis to celebrate, informally, the end of the Bold Campaign,
and decided to end it the way it began, by awarding 55 full-tuition and fee scholarships, with the Governor as
well as both speakers of the House and Senate in attendance. A report regarding the success of the Bold
Campaign will be available to the university community sometime this summer.
Hudson Akin will return on April 11 to Ball State as the Vice President for University Advancement, replacing
Ben Hancock.
8. Question and Answer Period
A senate member asked if the university community be made aware of who applied and who received special assigned
leaves? The Provost reported that 27 or 28 were approved, which is a few less than last year.
The University Senate website does not reflect the agenda materials for 2010-11. The Senate Office will work on
posting this material to the website as soon as possible.
9. Unfinished Business
10. New Business
A. Policy on Academic Clemency
A motion was made and seconded (Shawger/Steib) to place on the floor for discussion and approval.
University Senate Minutes
March 24, 2011
Page Four
Discussion ensued. A question was asked to clarify the student had to be registered before applying. Nancy
Cronk, Registrar, responded this was correct. This will help in handling the volume of incoming applications.
They should be approved for admissions prior to applying and prefer they show credentials as to what they’ve
received prior to returning.
The motion to approve the Policy on Academic Clemency carried.
B. Student Senate Resolution Sr-03-10/11 (University Senate Agenda, 3/24/11, Enclosure #4)
A motion was made and seconded (Supa/Umansky) to place on the senate floor for discussion and endorsement.
Kayla Pickersgill, 2011-12 SGA President, was present at today’s meeting and discussed the history of the
resolution. The student senate is hopeful the new Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system will
accommodate this request. The legal name is to be kept on all official documents and the preferred name would
be placed on class rosters. It was reported that this would be used under the banner system; however, it would be
best to implement during the second phase of the ERP banner system. The only name that can change is their first
name.
The motion to endorse the resolution carried.
11. Other Items
There were no other items.
12. Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at 4:40 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Carolyn Kapinus, Secretary
/mt
MINUTES OF THE FIRST MEETING OF THE 2011-12 UNIVERSITY SENATE
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Members Present: 48
Members Absent: 15
1. The meeting was called to order by the chairperson of the University Senate, Eric Kelly, at 4:45 p.m.
Roll Call was taken by initialing the roster located at the entrance to LB 125.
Members Present: C. Ball, R. Bellaver, O. Benkato, R. Bremigan, B. Brey, S. Byrum, B. Canada, G. Crawley,
J. Ellery, J. Forbey, C. Griewank, D. Grosnick, M. Hanley, M. Harvey, K. Hall, T. Hendricks, M. Holtzman,
J. Huff, J. Jemiolo, E. Kelly, T. King, J. Kluth, K. Kreamelmeyer, A. Leahy, J. Ledbetter, T. Mahfouz,
M. McGrew, S. Parkinson, S. Pattison, D. Pearson, L. Pellerin, K. Pickersgill, J. Popovicova, S. Rice-Snow,
T. Richardson, G. Stamp, M. Steib, B. Wagner, A. Wieseke, L. Wiley, B. Wills, S. Zhuk
Substitutes: Jeff Fry for E. Agnew, Ronald Hicks for C. Boyd, Cliff Stone for J. Green, Beth Terrell for
C. Munchel, Peter Zapp for D. Shawger, Mike Miller for K. Thurman
Members Absent: J. Chapman, J. Coggeshall, C. Corbin, R. Dolon, A. Gary, M. Gerhard, J. Gora,
M. Guntsche, M. Hamil, J. Kim, M. Maggiotto, P. Magro, J. Mitchell, M. Pyron, W. Sharp
2. Eric Kelly, chairperson of the 2010-11 senate, yielded the floor to John Ledbetter, 2010-11 chairperson of the
Governance and Elections Committee, who presided over the meeting for the purpose of conducting elections.
3. New Business
A. Elections – Senate Officers
A list of nominees for the election of Senate officers and Agenda Committee was presented. (University Senate
Agenda, 4/21/11, Enclosure #1)
Members received biographical sketch information for each nominee on today’s ballot. The presiding officer
requested the nominees to stand prior to the elections of the office in which they were nominated.
1.
Chairperson
Nominees:
Eric Kelly
David Pearson
The floor was opened for additional nominations for chairperson. There were no nominations from
the floor. A motion was made and seconded (Crawley/Hanley) to close nominations.
The motion carried.
Eric Kelly was elected to serve as chairperson, by ballot.
2.
Vice Chairperson
Nominees:
Richard Bellaver
The floor was opened for additional nominations for vice chairperson. There were no
nominations from the floor. A motion was made and seconded (Crawley/Kelly) to close
nominations.
University Senate Minutes
April 21, 2011
Page Two
The motion carried.
Richard Bellaver was elected to serve as vice chairperson, by majority vote, with abstention.
3.
Secretary
Nominees:
Amy Leahy
Scott Rice-Snow
The floor was opened for additional nominations for secretary. There were no nominations
from the floor. A motion was made and seconded (Benkato/Crawley) to close nominations.
The motion carried.
Amy Leahy was elected to serve as secretary, by ballot.
B. Elections – Committees
1.
University Senate Agenda Committee – THREE positions
Nominees:
Ralph Bremigan
Kip Shawger
Murray Steib
Lynda Wiley
The floor was opened for additional nominations for Agenda Committee. There were no
nominations from the floor. A motion was made and seconded (Pearson/Crawley) to close
nominations.
The motion carried.
Ralph Bremigan and Lynda Wiley were elected to serve a two year term, ending in 2013,
by ballot.
Kip Shawger was elected to serve a one year term, ending in 2012, by ballot.
The meeting adjourned at 5:00 p.m.
Eric Kelly, Chairperson
/mt
Amy Leahy, Secretary
MINUTES OF THE FIFTH MEETING OF THE 2010-11 UNIVERSITY SENATE
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Members Present: 50
Members Absent: 12
1. The meeting was called to order by the Chairperson of the University Senate, Eric Kelly, at 4:00 p.m.
Roll Call was taken by initialing the roster located at the entrance to LB 125.
Members Present: C. Ball, R. Bellaver, R. Bremigan, J. Chapman, J. Coggeshall, G. Crawley, L. Deckers,
A. Edmonds, J. Fry, J. Gora, J. Green, D. Grosnick, K. Hall, T. Hendricks, R. Hicks, M. Holtzman, J. Huff, R. Kanu,
C. Kapinus, E. Kelly, T. King, A. Leahy, J. Ledbetter, L. Markle, C. Marlow, W. McCune, M. Miller, S. Parkinson,
P. Parkison, D. Pearson, K. Pickersgill, M. Pyron, S. Rice-Snow, T. Richardson, J. Rybarczyk, D. Shawger,
G. Stamp, M. Steib, D. Supa, B. Umansky, B. Wagner, A. Wieseke, B. Wills, J. Yang, J. Zhao, T. Zivney
Substitutes: Lathrop Johnson for M. Guntsche, Mitch Whaley for M. Maggiotto, Jeffrey Clark for D. Marini, Beth
Terrell for C. Munchel
Members Absent: T. Cummins, R. Dolon, D. Haber, M. Harvey, J. Kim, M. McGrew, B. McRae, J. Mitchell,
W. Sharp, C. Walker, K. Warren-Gordon, M. Whitlock
2. A motion was made and seconded (Pearson/Supa) to approve the revised minutes of December 2, 2010.
The motion carried.
3. There was a moment of silence to recognize the deaths of Philip H. Albright, Carson Mahan Bennett,
George W. Irving, Tom McEwin
4. Committee Reports
A. Governance and Elections Committee – John Ledbetter, Chairperson
John reported that the committee met and reviewed policies regarding the state law on ghost
employment. Contract Faculty language in the handbook was forwarded to the Faculty Council for their review.
B. Faculty Council – Barry Umansky, Chairperson
Barry reported the Faculty Council met on December 9 and heard committee reports. The Contract Faculty
language in the handbook was forwarded to the Governance and Elections Committee for their review. The
University Promotion and Tenure item concerning immersive learning is on this month’s agenda as well as a
revision to the Graduate Faculty policy. The next meeting is January 27.
C. University Council – Barbara Wills, Chairperson
Barb reported the University Council has not met since the last meeting of the University Senate. Their next
meeting is scheduled for February 3.
D. Campus Council
Mike reported the Campus Council has not met since the last meeting of the University Senate. Their next
meeting is scheduled for February 10.
University Senate Minutes
January 20, 2011
Page Two
6. Report by Chairperson of Senate – Eric Kelly (University Senate Agenda 9/2/10, Enclosure #3)
The chairperson of the senate reported he received word from the Provost that the Phased Retirement issue on the list
is in final revisions and will be sent to the Salary and Benefits Committee in the next few weeks.
7. Questions Directed to the President
President Gora commented on the following items:


Enrollment statistics from three days prior to the beginning of the Spring Semester indicate total on campus
enrollment increased 378 students, compared to last spring. There are 440 more students compared to last spring
if one combines both on and off-campus enrollment. We have made steady improvement in freshmen retention
comparing spring to spring over the last 5 years.
The next President’s Perspective will report our progress in the capital campaign as well as announce the
members of the Strategic Planning Task Force. The Strategic Planning Task Force for 2012-2017 will be under
the leadership of the Provost, and they will meet over the next year.
The President responded to the following questions:
1. Any clue why the Indiana Commission for Higher Education (ICHE) chose two specific years to determine trends
in 4 year graduation rates?
The President responded that graduation rates can be measured in a number of ways. The data ICHE is using does
not show long term trends on our campus or absolute performance. Using all three measures would provide a
more accurate picture of progress in improving graduation rates.
2. A senator mentioned that he has received flyers from local legislators asking the question: “Would you support or
oppose utilizing and focusing research at state-funded universities to foster business development and job
growth?” He asked the President if she was aware of this and her reaction to it.
The President responded Purdue and IU are the only universities receiving funding from this research
category. We would receive funding if we were eligible to compete in this category. The Commission insists
this money is reserved for the two universities. Their argument is that IU and Purdue research makes an
economic impact. It is clear that we do more applied research, while they do more basic research. Nevertheless,
research activity should count in this category since it also impacts economic development.
To that end, she believes our local legislators try to be helpful, and we work well with them. They come and hear
our presentations, ask to be briefed, and try very hard to be supportive. We need to emphasize our impact in the
State of Indiana. She encouraged everyone to promote BSU with family and friends and decision makers across
the State.
8. Question and Answer Period
A senator requested information regarding the following questions:
1) What percentage is required for validity in student evaluations?
The Provost responded that 55% is the average, but this varies in some departments where 70% was the average
and even zero in other departments.
University Senate Minutes
January 20, 2011
Page Three
2) Their department is trying to revise the plan regarding the new policy of attending commencement at least once
during the academic year. Why is it still necessary to get grades in by Monday, noon, when they are submitted
electronically?
The Provost will look at this again. The registrar has a firm reason, but they address the issue again.
3) The student evaluations in prisons – are they still done by paper? If so, who sorts them out after they are
submitted?
The Provost responded that they must be done by paper and the sorting is completed by Unified Technology
Support.
4) A senate member was concerned that a factor analysis had not been completed on the student evaluation
instruction currently being used. This analysis could be completed to measure the instruments sensitivity and
intercorrelation among the items used.
The Provost did not believe this has been done but will look into completing one.
At this time, the President informed the members of the Senate that she is going to endorse the recommendation
approved last month concerning the academic calendar. Her concern is the 4-day final exam week. She is going to
ask for an analysis to be completed in a year concerning the impact of the 4-day exam week. She is most concerned
about freshmen. Other alternatives will be pursued if this poses a significant problem.
9. Unfinished Business
A. Proposed Amendments to the Constitution – Second Reading (University Senate Agenda, 1/20/11, Enclosure #2)
A motion was made and seconded (Pearson/Crawley) to approve these amendments.
The motion carried.
B. Suggested wording for Foreword page in Faculty and Professional Personnel Handbook
Senate Agenda Committee 11/22/10
Governance and Elections Committee 12/2/10
Office of University Compliance 12/8/10
Senate Agenda Committee 1/10/11
This handbook for faculty and professional personnel is issued by the Office of the Provost and Vice President for
Academic Affairs. The handbook contains policies, procedures, and regulations that have been approved by the
University Senate, the President, and/or the Board of Trustees, as appropriate. Every effort is made to ensure that
all additions, modifications and deletions to these policies, procedures, and regulations are reflected in the
handbook as soon as possible after their final approval effective date. The most current version of the Handbook
is the on-line version and that should always be consulted. The on-line version can be located on the Ball State
University website at: http://www.bsu.edu/hrs/media/pdf/facultyhandbook.pdf.
The Chairperson reported this item does not need senate approval and should have been in the announcement
section of the agenda. There was discussion concerning the handbook web address and if it should be included.
University Senate Minutes
January 20, 2011
Page Four
The link appeared to be broken when attempted at the senate meeting. It was explained that there are broken links
right now on the website because of the switchover to Sitecore from Vignette. This should be resolved in the very
near future.
10. New Business
There was no new business.
11. Other Items
The were no other items.
12. Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at 4:40 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Carolyn Kapinus, Secretary
/mt
MINUTES OF THE THIRD MEETING OF THE 2011-12 UNIVERSITY SENATE
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Members Present: 56
Members Absent: 9
1. The meeting was called to order by the Chairperson of the University Senate, Eric Kelly, at 4:00 p.m.
Roll Call was taken by initialing the roster located at the entrance to TC 101.
Members Present: E. Agnew, R. Bellaver, O. Benkato, E. Bowers, R. Bremigan, B. Brey, S. Byrum, J. Cassady,
J. Chapman, C. Corbin, G. Crawley, J. Ellery, J. Forbey, A. Gary, M. Gerhard, J. Green, C. Griewank, D. Grosnick,
M. Guntsche, M. Hanley, M. Harvey, T. Hendricks, M. Holtzman, J. Jemiolo, E. Kelly, T. King, J. Kluth,
K. Kreamelmeyer, D. LeBlanc, A. Leahy, J. Ledbetter, M. Maggiotto, P. Magro, T. Mahfouz, M. McGrew,
D. Middleton, S. Parkinson, S. Pattison, D. Pearson, L. Pellerin, T. Richardson, D. Shawger, K. Stanton, G. Stamp,
M. Steib, K. Thurman, B. Wagner, L. Wiley, B. Wills, J. Zhao, S. Zhuk
Substitutes: Corby Roberson for B. Canada, Mark Neely for J. Huff, Brian Meekin for C. Munchel,
Juan Carlos Ramirez-Dorronsoro for J. Popovicova, Shannon Staton for G. Slater
Members Absent: S. Amato, J. Gora, M. Hamil, B. Hannon, T. Hardin, J. Kim, S. Rice-Snow, W. Sharp, A. Wieseke
2. A motion was made and seconded (Crawley, Pearson) to approve the minutes of September 1, 2011.
The motion carried.
3. Items I. A., B., C., D., under Announcements were reviewed.
4. Committee Reports
A. Governance and Elections Committee – Richard Bellaver, Chairperson (No report)
B. Faculty Council – John Ledbetter, Chairperson
John reported the council met on September 8 and approved the promotion and tenure document on today’s agenda.
C. University Council – Barbara Wills, Chairperson
Barb reported the council met on September 15. Most committees under their purview had not met but several are
scheduled.
D. Campus Council – Kevin Thurman, Chairperson
Kevin reported the council met on September 22 and approved the Cardinal Cash proposal as well as the revisions to
the Gender Identity statement for the university.
In addition to the above reports, Kayla Stanton, President of the Student Government Association, provided an
update on filling the student positions in the university governance system. There are a total of 86 positions for
students and 19 remain unfilled. A senator asked if there was room for Burris students on university governance?
There have also been questions regarding Academy students. At the present time, these positions are only open to
Ball State students; however, the chairperson of the senate would like to speak with Shon Byrum (Burris
representative) and Kayla regarding these two high-school level institutions and how the Student Government
Association can take an active role in training high school students in preparation for college student governance.
University Senate Minutes
September 29, 2011
Page Two
5. Report by Chairperson of Senate – Eric Kelly (University Senate Agenda 9/29/11, Enclosure #1)
Eric believes the issues on the GANTT chart will make their way to the senate next spring or by the end of the academic
year.
He mentioned the issue of titles for contract faculty is in the Contract Faculty Committee. The Provost reported receiving
a proposal from the committee and he will be meeting with them soon.
6.
Questions Directed to the President
The President sends her regrets in not being present at today’s meeting.
The Provost reported on the following:



The Strategic Planning Task Force has been meeting since last spring. They are wrapping up data-gathering sessions
which have proven to be lively discussions. The next step is reviewing the information and crafting themes for the
next strategic plan.
The accreditation visit is in 700 days. This is not a long time to prepare the self-study. Marilyn Buck and Michael
Maggiotto are co-chairing the steering committee for the accreditation.
The Indiana Commission for Higher Education (ICHE) met on Monday of this week and the concept was discussed
of accountability and assessment. These are parallel issues, but still very similar.
The Provost answered the following questions from the members of the senate:
-
Can the Faculty Council consider the problems of salary compression and make recommendations in time to be
included in the new five-year strategic plan at Ball State?
The Provost responded this is an item on the GANTT chart and the Salary and Benefits Committee at the present
time. The last strategic plan had a specific recommendation to create a salary pool to retain outstanding faculty
members. He went on to say that the causes of compression need to be explored. A major problem is the manner in
which increments are given out as a dollar amount rather than percentage. He knows the seriousness of the issue and
they are reviewing it.
7. Question and Answer Period
There were no questions.
8. Unfinished Business
A. Proposed amendments to the Constitution – Second Reading (University Senate Agenda, 9/29/11, Enclosure #2)
Item 1: Contract Faculty and Senate membership
Patty Parkison (last year’s Contract Faculty Committee chairperson) was present at today’s meeting to answer
questions.
A motion was made and seconded (Crawley/Shawger) to approve this amendment.
The motion carried.
University Senate Minutes
September 29, 2011
Page Three
Item 2: Membership of Professional Personnel on the Salary and Benefits Committee
Barb Wills, University Council chairperson, was present at today’s meeting and reviewed the current membership of
the Salary and Benefits Committee. Currently there is one member of the committee. The amendment would divide
the current Salary and Benefits Committee into two separate subcommittees where faculty would discuss faculty
issues and professional personnel would review professional personnel issues. Both subcommittees would come
together to discuss issues that pertained to both entities. Each subcommittee would have a non-voting representative
from the other constituency.
Discussion surrounded around the fact that the professional personnel member on the current committee could report
back to the University Council concerning issues pertaining to them.
A motion was made and seconded (Ledbetter/Thurman) to approve. The vote was taken by a show of hands.
Approve: 20
Oppose: 23
The motion to approve the amendment failed.
A motion was made and seconded (Pearson/Crawley) to return the amendment to the Governance and Elections
Committee to redefine a Salary and Benefits Committee under the University Council with both committees coming
together to discuss issues that pertained to both sets of employees, such as health benefits. Gary Crawley is willing
to be involved with the drafting of the document.
The motion carried.
Item 1. of the constitutional amendments presented today will be sent forward to the departments for vote. They will
have sixty (60) instructional days in which to submit their voting results to the University Senate Office.
B. Clarification of Reconsideration/Appeal pertaining to deliberations of Promotion and/or Tenure
(University Senate Agenda, 9/29/11, Enclosure #3)
Marilyn Buck, advisor to the University Promotion and Tenure Committee, was present at today’s meeting to answer
questions from the senate membership.
A motion was made and seconded (Pearson/Crawley) to approve the document.
The motion carried.
Since this has been approved early enough in the academic year, these changes will be made for next year
(Fall, 2012).
Marilyn confirmed that the process of appeal goes automatically to the college level and bypasses the department.
9.
New Business
There was no new business.
10. Other Items
There were no other items.
University Senate Minutes
September 29, 2011
Page Four
A motion was made and seconded (Gary/Thurman) to adjourn. The meeting adjourned at 4:35p.m.
October 27, 2011
Eric Kelly, Chairperson
/mt
Amy Leahy, Secretary
MINUTES OF THE FOURTH MEETING OF THE 2011-12 UNIVERSITY SENATE
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Members Present:
54
Members Absent: 13
1. The meeting was called to order by the Chairperson of the University Senate, Eric Kelly, at 4:00 p.m.
Roll Call was taken by initialing the roster located at the entrance to TC 101.
Members Present: E. Agnew, R. Bellaver, O. Benkato, E. Bowers, R. Bremigan, B. Brey, J. Cassady, B. Canada,
J. Chapman, C. Corbin, G. Crawley, J. Ellery, J. Forbey, M. Gerhard, J. Green, C. Griewank, D. Grosnick,
M. Guntsche, M. Harvey, T. Hendricks, M. Holtzman, J. Jemiolo, E. Kelly, T. King, J. Kluth, K. Kreamelmeyer,
D. LeBlanc, A. Leahy, J. Ledbetter, M. Maggiotto, T. Mahfouz, D. Middleton, S. Parkinson, S. Pattison, D. Pearson,
L. Pellerin, T. Richardson, D. Shawger, K. Stanton, M. Steib, K. Thurman, B. Wagner, A. Wieseke, L. Wiley, B. Wills,
J. Zhao
Substitutes: Adam Kuban for M. Hanley, Mark Neely for J. Huff, Paul Buis for M. McGrew, Brian Meekin for
C. Munchel, Amy Gregg for J. Popovicova, Shannon Staton for G. Slater, Frank Gray for G. Stamp, Sviatoslav Dmitriev
for S. Zhuk
Members Absent: S. Amato, S. Byrum, A. Gary, J. Gora, K. Hall, M. Hamil, B. Hannon, T. Hardin, J. Kim, P. Magro,
S. Rice-Snow, W. Sharp, A. Wieseke
2. A motion was made and seconded (Ledbetter/Shawger) to approve the minutes of September 29, 2011.
The motion carried.
3. Item I. A. (next scheduled meetings), under Announcements was reviewed.
4. There was a moment of silence in recognition of the death of Royda Crose.
5. Committee Reports
A. Governance and Elections Committee – Richard Bellaver, Chairperson
Richard reported the committee will meet on Thursday, November 3, with two items on the agenda: 1) titles for
non-faculty research positions, and 2) review of the composition of the Salary and Benefits Committee.
B. Faculty Council – John Ledbetter, Chairperson
John reported the council met on October 6 and addressed four items: 1) Approved the gender identity/antiharassment policy, 2) denied approval of 2.5 GPA, 3) considered a proposal from the Teaching Evaluation
Committee (subsequently returned to committee for further consideration, at the request of the current chairperson),
4) endorsed the Cardinal Cash program proposed by Campus Council.
C. University Council – Barbara Wills, Chairperson
Barb reported the council met on October 13. They added procedures for electronic meetings to their operational
guidelines, approved the gender identity/anti-harassment policy, and endorsed the Cardinal Cash Program. The next
meeting is November 10.
D. Campus Council – Kevin Thurman, Chairperson
Kevin reported the council did not meet this month as there were no items of new business.
University Senate Minutes
October 27, 2011
Page Two
5. Report by Chairperson of Senate – Eric Kelly (University Senate Agenda 9/29/11, Enclosure #1)
Questions arose around how the core curriculum is working. David LeBlanc, faculty council representative to the UCC
Subcommittee, reported the committee is reviewing the new core curriculum. He asked the council to send any
suggestions to him directly so he may take them to the meetings.
6.
Questions Directed to the President
The President sends her regrets in not being present at today’s meeting because of the passing of her mother.
The Provost reported on the following:



The Phased Retirement plan is expected to be reviewed by the Board of Trustees at their December 16 meeting with
final approval during the spring semester. It still needs reviewed by the university attorney and the president.
There are plans to have the Strategic Planning Task Force website go live next week. The task force identified a
strategy of differentiation and added a theme, “What we can do to engage the state of Indiana in a more strategically
coordinated manner.”
Marilyn Buck gave an update on the accreditation self-study. Fall, 2013, is the target date for the Higher Learning
Commission reviewers to visit and verify what we found in our self-study is actually happening. There will be an
announcement early next week regarding individuals who are involved in the process. As for the steering committee,
the main writers are faculty members. There will be at least one member from every college on the steering
committee, and opportunities for everyone to have input to review the documents and materials as the committee
moves forward.
The Provost answered the following questions from the members of the senate:
-
What steps are being taken to review the calendar changes approved last year?
The Provost yielded the floor to Marilyn Buck. Marilyn stated the biggest changes were the four-day fall break and
the four-day finals week, with the latter yet to occur. No determination will be made until finals week is completed.
The process to engage opinions would be through the Undergraduate Education Committee (UEC). January and
February will be the time for discussion.
One possible problem could be the number of Inqsit labs. Computer testing labs schedules increased during
mid-terms. The departmental representatives of the senate were reminded the university approves on-line test being
administered on other days than required on their exam schedule. It would be helpful to get the word out because
there are a large number of exams. There is also a problem in that students are scheduling several times to take one
exam. They are working to resolve the issue.
There was question regarding the Inqsit final and if it is in conflict with the policy that faculty should meet with their
students on the day of the final exam. A class does not have to meet the day of the final exam, but the professor
should have the scheduled exam time open so that students could drop by their office, if necessary.
There was concern from the senate regarding exam services not being opened on the weekend, closing at 5:00pm on
Fridays). They wondered if there was a possibility to extend these hours through Saturday. The Provost was
unaware of this problem. This will be added to the issues list for follow-up at the next Senate Agenda Committee
meeting.
7. Question and Answer Period
There were no questions.
University Senate Minutes
October 27, 2011
Page Three
8. Unfinished Business
There was no unfinished business.
9. New Business
A. Gender Identity Statement (University Senate Agenda, 10/27/11, Enclosure #2)
Jay Zimmerman, Professor of Psychology-Counseling, and psychologist at the counseling center, was present at
today’s meeting to answer questions. The document has been approved by all three councils. There were no
questions.
A motion was made and seconded (Pearson/Crawley) to approve the revised statement.
The motion carried.
B. Cardinal Cash (University Senate Agenda, 10/27/11, Enclosure #3)
Kevin Thurman, Chairperson of the Campus Council, chaired the committee to make improvements on the Cardinal
Cash concept. All three councils have passed resolutions to support the concept. There were no questions.
Eric Kelly added that Kevin asks for a sense of the house, philosophically supporting Cardinal Cash and expansion of
the concept. This will not happen if it is not approved by Business Affairs. The group is also contacting several
universities to investigate what makes their concept work.
A motion was made and seconded (Shawger/Crawley) to support the expansion and concept of Cardinal Cash.
The motion carried.
10. Other Items
There were no other items.
A motion was made and seconded (Stanton/Thurman) to adjourn. The meeting adjourned at 4:30p.m.
December 1, 2011
Eric Kelly, Chairperson
/mt
Amy Leahy, Secretary
MINUTES OF THE FIFTH MEETING OF THE 2011-12 UNIVERSITY SENATE
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Members Present: 53
Members Absent: 15
1. The meeting was called to order by the Chairperson of the University Senate, Eric Kelly, at 4:00 p.m.
Roll Call was taken by initialing the roster located at the entrance to TC 101.
Members Present: E. Agnew, R. Bellaver, O. Benkato, E. Bowers, R. Bremigan, B. Brey, S. Byrum,
J. Cassady, J. Chapman, C. Corbin, G. Crawley, J. Forbey, A. Gary, M. Gerhard, J. Gora, J. Green,
C. Griewank, D. Grosnick, M. Guntsche, M. Hanley, M. Harvey, T. Hendricks, M. Holtzman, J. Jemiolo,
E. Kelly, T. King, K. Kreamelmeyer, D. LeBlanc, A. Leahy, J. Ledbetter, T. Mahfouz, S. Parkinson,
D. Pearson, L. Pellerin, J. Popovicova, S. Rice-Snow, C. Seni, D. Shawger, G. Slater, G. Stamp, M. Steib,
K. Subler, K. Thurman, L. Wiley, B. Wills, J. Zhao, S. Zhuk
Substitutes: Corby Roberson for B. Canada, Beau Browning for C. Griewank, Andy Beane for K. Hall,
Mark Neely for J. Huff, James Rybarczyk for S. Pattison, Con Sullivan for K. Stanton
Members Absent: S. Amato, J. Ellery, M. Hamil, B. Hannon, T. Hardin, J. Kim, M. Maggiotto, P. Magro,
M. McGrew, D. Middleton, C. Munchel, T. Richardson, W. Sharp, B. Wagner, A. Wieseke
2. A motion was made and seconded (Crawley/Shawger) to approve the minutes of October 27, 2011.
The motion carried.
3. Item I. A. (next scheduled meetings), under Announcements was reviewed.
B. Update on Exam Services schedule during finals week
Provost King yielded the floor to Marilyn Buck, Associate Provost. In response to concern with Testing
Services hours during the four-day finals week, Marilyn reported they will extend their Friday hours until
6pm. An additional pick-up time has been added on Saturday from 1-3pm. Their Sunday pick-up time will
continue as usual. She is hopeful these additional hours will allow faculty to pick up their exams and have
additional time to submit grades by the Monday noon deadline.
C. The chairperson of the senate reminded members of the deadline on the constitutional amendment,
Tuesday, December 6, at 5:00pm.
D. Item I.D. (Revised Program Information) and E. (Honorary Degrees) was reviewed.
4. There was a moment of silence in recognition of the deaths of Donald Edward Bivens, Robert Eldon Marsh,
and most recently, Brian Eckstein.
5. Committee Reports
A. Governance and Elections Committee – Richard Bellaver, Chairperson
Richard reported the committee met today and reviewed and approved 1) a revision to the Undergraduate
Education Committee membership, and 2) titles for research faculty. Joe Losco and Ray Scheele were in
attendance at today’s meeting to discuss the membership and professional personnel representation to the
Salary and Benefits Committee. They have offered to put together another proposal that will revise the
balance between professional personnel and faculty. It will be forwarded to the Salary and Benefits
University Senate Minutes
December 1, 2011
Page Two
Committee for their review.
B. Faculty Council – John Ledbetter, Chairperson
John reported the council did not meet in November.
C. University Council – Barbara Wills, Chairperson
Barb reported the council met on November 10 and heard reports from Randy Howard regarding the
Phased Retirement Plan and Stan Geidel concerning the Supplemental Compensation Policy. The Course
Repetition Policy as well as a revision of the wording in the policy for Withdrawal from all Classes was
approved.
D. Campus Council – Kevin Thurman, Chairperson
Kevin reported the council met this month and tabled the Course Repetition Policy. There was discussion
concerning designated smoking areas and the policy in general as well as skate boarding on campus. Gene
Burton will be invited to the next meeting of the council.
6. Report by Chairperson of Senate – Eric Kelly (University Senate Agenda 12/1/11, Enclosure #1)
The chairperson reported the University Promotion and Tenure items will be moving forward and should come
to the councils in the spring.
7.
Questions Directed to the President
The President answered the following questions:
1. A senate member asked if she could expand on the financial incentives for students.
The university has a four point initiative to provide students financial incentives for completing their
education in four years. This includes a $500 scholarship if you graduate in four years or fewer. Hybrid
schedules and summer school have reduced costs Minimum credit hours in many degrees have been
reduced from 126 hours to 120. Our performance funding is based on our graduation rates. We need to
help students understand the necessity to make steady progress towards graduation. This plan assists in
keeping in line the University’s goals and the State’s values.
A student qualifies for the $500 scholarship if they graduate in four years or fewer in December 2012, or
thereafter. To cover this incentive, internal funds are reallocated to financial aid.
To help students make better choices of majors, every freshmen going through orientation takes a career
interest inventory. Follow-up counseling sessions are running this fall. Statistics show 50% of freshmen
students enter college with an undeclared major, and 50% change their major while in college. This helps
them in selecting their major.
2. Is there any change in tuition for summer/repeated courses?
One of the four points in the initiative is the reduction of summer tuition. Beginning in summer 2012, it
will cost less 18% for on-campus courses in the summer. Also, students are allowed to take up to 18 credit
hours at the same cost as taking 12 credit hours during the academic year.
University Senate Minutes
December 1, 2011
Page Three
The President reported the following:




8.
A Conversation with David Letterman and Rachel Maddow will take place on Friday, December 2, at
4:00pm in Emens Auditorium. In addition, Rachel Maddow’s nightly show on MSNBC will be produced
live in our television studio at 9:00pm.
A President’s Perspective will be sent next week reporting on the Strategic Planning effort, as well as the
self-study conducted by the University for the Higher Learning Commission review in 2013-2014.
Winter commencement is December 17. The commencement speaker is Arthur Levine, president of the
Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation. Honorary doctor of law degrees will be awarded to
Howard A. “Luke” Kenley, and Tanya Walton Pratt.
Enrollment applications for fall, 2012, are up 8.4% over where we were last year.
Question and Answer Period

A senate member directed a question to Marilyn Buck, co-chair of the self-study for the university
accreditation. Senior faculty members are asking about culture/planning/expectations regarding this
particular accreditation. What has changed in the last 25-30 years that requires so much preparation
this time?
Marilyn replied the government is controlling more of a culture of assessment. It has been there for the last
20 years, but the government wants to actually see how we’re doing it. For that reason, this must be a
university-wide process. The reviewers will actually walk up and down the streets and stop anyone they
see and they will have questions for them. They want to verify what we’ve said in our report. They’ll want
to know how they’re personally involved in the assessment and if they were involved in their area’s
assessment.
She suggested departments to invite her and Dean Maggiotto (the other co-chair of the self-study) to one of
their faculty meetings. They would be happy to answer any and all questions. Their goal is to find ways to
make it as easy as possible on the departments.

A senate member questioned why construction workers were not held to the smoking policy on campus
as faculty/staff/students.
The President would like to stay on top of this issue and encouraged anyone seeing this happen to contact
campus safety and they will issue a citation.
9.
Unfinished Business
There was no unfinished business.
10. New Business
A. Withdrawal from All Classes (University Senate Agenda, 12/1/11, Enclosure #3)
Lynda Wiley, member of the Extended Education Committee, spoke regarding business process modeling
through the new Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system. The item on today’s agenda is for
University Senate Minutes
December 1, 2011
Page Four
withdrawing from ALL classes. There is a sense of urgency because the State Board of Accounts is on
campus and there needs to be language consistent for both on campus and extended education classes for
withdrawing from all classes.
A motion was made and seconded (Pearson/Crawley) to approve the document.
Discussion ensued. Regarding all online courses, students must visit a website and not speak with a
human?
The reason for this procedure is because most extended education students do not live in the area. Staci
Davis, Director of Online and Distance Education Programs, was in attendance at today’s meeting and
stated the withdrawal process would take them through the same questions as on-campus classes, but
through electronic format. They would contact the student by phone if there was a red flag in the process.
What about withdrawal after the withdrawal period. Faculty can assign a W or an F. What is the
justification for an F?
Katie Slabaugh, Assistant to the Vice President for Student Affairs, and Ombudsperson, stated this is the
prerogative of the faculty member. An “F” may be in order if the student didn’t do well on a test AND did
not come to any classes. It is completely up to the faculty member. It was noted that the grade appeals
process is also an option if a student believes a grade was assigned unfairly.
Does 60% match up with the 10-week period?
Staci confirmed it does match up.
The motion to approve carried.
11. Other Items
- Could the Senate clarify that the amendment was sent to all departments and that the senate representative
was not responsible for obtaining the vote from the departments?
The amendment was sent electronically with a read receipt requested. It is documented in the senate office
that all departments and vice presidential areas opened the electronic correspondence.
A motion was made and seconded (Gary/Crawley) to adjourn. The meeting adjourned at 4:40p.m.
January 19, 2012
Eric Kelly, Chairperson
/mt
Amy Leahy, Secretary