Academic Standards and Policies Meeting
Minutes of the
January 11, 2013 Meeting
Dr. Metzger called the meeting to order at 11:04 AM in South Shepler 623.
Present were the Chair, Jeff Metzger, Donald Aguilar, Abbas Johari, Sarah Janda, Marge Kingsley, and
Karla Oty. Mike Estep sent his regrets to the Chair.
1. Chair Metzger opened with a discussion of the size and membership of the committee. The
committee members agreed that the size of the committee was appropriate to its charter.
a. Dr. Kingsley moved that membership to the committee change from four members
elected at large to four members, 1 member elected from each undergraduate
school. Further, this action should be phased in as terms of current members end.
The motion was seconded by Dr. Sarah Janda.
b. Dr. Kingsley questioned whether we represented all parts of the University. Though 4
members are elected at large, only two schools are currently represented as voting
members of the committee.
c. After further discussion, the motion passed by unanimous vote of those voting members
present.
2. The second item of the agenda was based on a suggestion by Dr. Johari that we recommend to
the Faculty Senate Chair that more Senate business be referred to the Academic Standards
and Policies Committee for consideration, rather than always to the Faculty Committee.
a. Dr. Johari stated that the Academic Standards and Policies Committee Chair be charged
with taking an active part in helping President of the Faculty Senate decide which issues to
place before this committee.
b. Dr. Johari pointed out that we need to be more transparent when reporting to the Faculty
Senate by stating reasons for “No Report” such as “no quorum,” “no agenda items,” and etc.
c. Since all members agreed that those actions should be followed, no further action was
deemed necessary.
3. The third agenda item was based on an issue raised during a meeting of members of the
Department of History with Provost McArthur. The issue is whether Cameron should have an
official, consistent starting date for classes, i.e., either a Monday or Wednesday. The Provost
suggested to Dr. Metzger that our committee consider the issue.
a. Dr. Oty handed out documents provided by the Provost on start and end dates to help this
discussion.
b. Discussion followed about scheduling experiments in past years and how other Oklahoma
colleges, universities and public schools develop their schedules.
c. After review of the Provosts documents and considering the experiences of other
universities, the committee found that Fall and Spring semesters cannot start on the same
week day with only 16 class days on Monday through Saturday. Further, we only lose a
single Monday during the Spring Semester.
d. Consensus is that the current method of setting start dates is as consistent as it can be
made.
4. The committee adjourned at 11:52.
Donald Aguilar
Acting Recording Secy