Strategic Topics Identified by the Faculty Senate
Spring 2003
Topics ranked by vote count:
1. Priorities for faculty—teaching loads versus research expectations
2. Grade inflation
3. University College—effects on the curriculum
4. Teaching evaluations—consistent with expectations?
5. Strategic reduction in number of adjunct faculty
6. Fewer graduate programs
7. Stimulate faculty to raise the level of their courses
8. Transparency in the budget development process
9. Get rid of the 8:10 time slot?
10. Academic conduct code and related issues
11. Faculty evaluation of administrators
12. Campus and community partnerships for research and other initiatives
13. Diversity issues
14. Research resources
15. Too many offerings of too small a size? (both research and focus issues)
16. Faculty compensation for supervising multiple graduate internships
17. Clarify the 15 points
18. Improvement in adjunct salary levels
19. Become a smaller university
20. More access to data and electronic journals through the library
21. Basic infrastructure support
22. Ability of the bookstore, the registrar, and room assigners to accommodate one-week and
other atypical courses
Updates, Fall 2003:
University College – Nanette Levinson, chair of the University College Project Team, presented
a draft proposal to the Senate on September 10. Provost Kerwin reported at the November
meeting that the project team’s final report will be available for review by the campus
community by the end of the fall semester.
Grade Inflation/Teaching Evaluations – Laura Langbein, School of Public Affairs, reported on
October 1 that she would present her findings to the Senate during the spring semester. In
addition, Lyn Stallings, Associate Director, Teaching and Learning Services, reported that the
newly formed Student Evaluations Committee was beginning work on improving the existing
teaching evaluation instrument.
Diversity Issues – Mary Kennard, Vice President and General Counsel, and Caleen Jennings,
Department of Performing Arts, led a discussion about diversity at the November 5th meeting.
Professor Jennings distributed a questionnaire in order to get a sense of how members of the
Senate feel about addressing issues of diversity at American.