College of Arts and Sciences
Council of Chairs
January 28, 2009
1:00 p.m., AS 122
Meeting Minutes
Present: J. Brière, A. DeBlasi, R. Dressler, E. Gaffney, K. Gersowitz (recorder), D. Goodwin, R. Hamm, T.
Harrison, D. Hernandez, M. Hill, M. Jerison, M. Messitt, B. Steinbock, G. Stevens, P. Toscano, E. Turner, K.
Williams, T. Wormwood, E. Wulfert, A. Zak, R. Zitomer, A. Zonder
Introductory Remarks: Dean Wulfert called the meeting to order at 1:00 p.m.
Minutes of the meeting of December 10, 2008: A motion to approve the minutes was moved by R. Hamm, ,
seconded by A. Zonder. The meeting minutes for the December 10, 2008 Council of Chairs were unanimously
approved.
Announcements:
Due to the inclement weather the Dean dispensed with the reading of the announcements and asked
Chairs to refer to their agendas.
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Fall 2009 Teaching Templates due 2/6/09 (to Cindy Endres via e-mail)
Departmental, faculty and/or student highlights for Senate due 2/9/09 (to Dona Parker via e-mail)
UAlbany Advocacy Day is 2/10/09 on the Concourse of the Empire State Plaza
Promotion and continuing appointment cases are due 3/1/09 to Dean for decision by 1/15/10
The date by which candidates must notify Chair and Dean of Request for consideration for Promotion or
early Tenure by 8/31/10 is 3/1/09
Spring Tenure-track faculty renewals due to Dean's office 3/30/09 (to Steve Galime, AS-217)
FRAP B Applications due 2/20/09 (to Brenda Lewis, AS-217, original plus 10 copies)
(http://www.albany.edu/research/Forms/FRAP.pdf)
Conference Support Award requests due 3/6/09 with letter of support from Dept. Chair (to Brenda Lewis,
AS 217, original plus 5 copies)
http://www.albany.edu/research/Forms/Conference.pdf
Journal Support Award requests due 3/6/09 with letter of support from Dept. Chair (to Brenda Lewis, AS
217, original plus 5 copies)
http://www.albany.edu/research/Forms/Journal.pdf
Academic Fair/Scholars Luncheons for admitted Presidential and Frederick Douglass Scholars are 3/5 and
3/12/09 at approx. 9:30 a.m. (Academic Fair-UNH Atrium) and 11:45 a.m. (Luncheon-CC Ballroom)—
contact Jaclyn Napoleon, Undergraduate Admissions (jnapoleon@uamail.albany.edu or 6-8210)
Closer Look Admitted Diversity Student Open House is 3/21/09, 10:30 a.m.-2:00 p.m. in the LC
Concourse/Campus Center—contact Hank Shuford, Undergraduate Admissions
(Hshuford@uamail.albany.edu or 6-8204)
Open Houses for Accepted Students are 4/18 and 4/19/09 (send name of dept. representative to
Cindy Endres at cendres@albany.edu by 4/3/09)
Faculty/Departments should post their office hours on their doors
Old Business:
Web-based student evaluation forms: Last year there was a small pilot program within the Department of Public
Administration to evaluate a web-based student evaluation form. The results of this study found no significant
differences in the web-based and previous in-class administrations. The system involved in this pilot however
could not handle the anticipated volume; therefore the University will be launching a pilot of a new web-based
student evaluation form. The Departments of Art, Theatre, and Biology volunteered to participate in this pilot.
Request for Information: The Dean noted that the Provost’s office is evaluating doctoral programs campus-wide.
In light of this, Chairs do not need to respond to recent information requests from the Dean’s office. The Dean
reminded the Chairs of the importance of tracking graduate students after they leave their program.
Business arising:
The remainder of the meeting was dedicated to a discussion of the recent National Survey of Student
Engagement (NSSE). Dean Wulfert began by reviewing the findings of the survey. Due to the inclement
weather a number of Chairs were unable to attend. We anticipate that this discussion will continue.
Specific suggestions/best practices from CAS Departments:
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Reduce the number of Gen Ed requirements. This would allow students to become engaged in their
major earlier in their college career and increase satisfaction.
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Hold more events for majors to meet, socialize, and learn informally. Showing of films with
disciplinary value, mini-conferences for students from two or more classes with a paper presentation,
and tutorials on topics such as “choosing a paper topic” were suggested ideas. Students are usually
highly motivated by the subject of their major. These activities help to create a sense of belonging.
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Establish mentoring programs requiring students to meet with full-time faculty at least once during the
junior year. This is in addition to advisement and should address issues such as career planning.
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Peer mentoring can provide benefits to lower performing students, giving them the opportunity to work
with top students. It was noted that the better students may not view this sort of activity as positively as
others.
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Support departmental honors programs which engage students with faculty.
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Advisement is an important component of student satisfaction. More direct contact with the faculty is
needed in this area. One suggestion was to increase the availability of e-advising, which was seen as
particularly beneficial to working students. Advisement training for faculty is needed.
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SIRF evaluations should be regularly evaluated at the Department level, including results of senior
faculty members, to identify areas where faculty may benefit from the services of ITLAL. SIRF scores
should be added to faculty activity reports to allow for better monitoring. Departments may want to
revise/develop their own student satisfaction surveys.
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Departmental faculty handbooks designed specifically for adjunct faculty could be developed. Full-time
faculty could hold pedagogical workshops for their adjunct colleagues.
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In response to a student population that may be underprepared for university study, we should hold
workshops, perhaps at orientation, that teach students what they need to do to be successful (e.g., notetaking, attendance).
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Faculty should find ways to reach out to students (e.g., small group of students invited to home).
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Students should be given opportunities to take responsibility for their own learning. ITLAL offers
program in active learning strategies. One example given was the use of clickers in the classroom.
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Expand the number of interest floors in the dorms to create, by geographic planning, strong peer
networks which could be used to reinforce good study habits instead of bad ones.
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It is imperative that students be involved in any solutions we may attempt.
Overriding issues mentioned as possible causes:
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The University’s research mission and financial situation drive the need for large classes where students
are not as engaged.
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Current students learn differently than previous generations. They are multi-taskers; e-mailing and
texting during class. (It was noted that this does not often happen in smaller classes.)
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Over the years we have seen an increased emphasis on teaching, while expectations on faculty
performance in research and service have remained constant, which creates an intrinsic tension. The
University must be clear in its priorities and evaluate how these priorities will be carried through in the
tenure and promotion process.
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The University continues to reward research. If faculty are supposed to invest more time and effort into
teaching, a better reward system to recognize excellent teaching should be developed.
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Ever increasing administrative demands placed on faculty take time away from research and teaching.
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Student and faculty satisfaction are two sides to one coin. There is a morale problem on the part of both
students and faculty that may aggravate the problem.
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Relative to its peer institutions, the UAlbany student population includes larger numbers of transfer
students, first generation college students, and students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds
who often work full-time. These and other differences play a role in student satisfaction.
Adjourned: The meeting was adjourned at 2:30 p.m.
Handouts:
Agenda
Minutes of December 10, 2008 Council of Chairs Meeting