Undergraduate Academic Council Minutes
Meeting: Wednesday, October 24, 2012 from 2:30 pm to 4:00 pm
Room: LC 31 J.
Present: Bryant Barksdale, Sue Faerman, Rick Fogarty, Sue Freed, Kathy Gersowitz,
Karen Chico Hurst, Trudi Jacobson, Terence Johnson, Linda Krzykowski, JoAnne
Malatesta, Caro-Beth Stewart, Sandra Vergari, Kathie Winchester, James Zetka
Guests: Heidi Andrade, Tine Reimers
Review of the minutes: Approved as amended with 2 abstentions
Review of Draft of “Principles of Effective Teaching in Higher Education”
Heide Andrade and Tine Reimers, two members of the Strategic Plan Task
Force for Faculty and Instructional Development, solicited feedback on the
draft distributed to committee members prior to the meeting. The document is
based on a review of what the research says about best practices in teaching
and learning. Most comments from UAC members were in response to a particular
principle about maintaining respectful, ethical student-faculty interactions. A
discussion followed about expanding the points in the item to apply to broader
situations and a more diverse student population. Feedback to individual students can
be a “teachable moment,” but faculty and staff need to focus on being helpful,
positive, and respectful by delivering constructive criticism. The team members
explained the purpose of the report: in order to challenge students to work at a higher
level, we must define what good teaching is, be able to promote it, and be able to
assess and provide constructive feedback to the faculty as a result.
Chair’s Report: UPPC assessed the Writing Program Proposal for resource
implications. It was passed unanimously with a request for three small changes to the
proposal:

Be explicit that assessment will not be just of student writing but of the
program itself, operationally, as a way to decide whether or not such a model
works at this university (a program with a director, not affiliated with a
specific college, staffed by non-tenure track faculty), and to determine
whether staff are in fact staying with the university for a long enough period to
provide the desired stability in the program

Add costs associated with running searches for staff in the budget section

Add a more explicit statement that transfer students who met Basic
Communication requirements at other SUNY campuses are exempt from the
course.
By Friday, UAC Chair will be creating a bill out of the proposal for presentation to the
Senate Executive Committee. It is possible that the bill would go to the Senate floor in
November for a vote. A FAQ draft was circulated to the committee. The final version
will be used when the bill goes to the floor of the Senate.
New Business: Prior to the meeting, the Chair distributed for review the membership
of the newly-constituted General Education Advisory Board in order to evaluate the
membership list. The Board was part of the General Education Program bill approved
last spring, and the bill charged UAC with reviewing and approving the membership. It
is not a governance body, not part of the Senate, but serves under the auspices of the
Office of the Vice Provost for Education and chaired by the Associate Dean for General
Education. It is designed to be a continuous resource for General Education Program
issues. Some concerns raised by UAC include the following:

Lack of adequate representation from certain colleges and schools

Several people from one department serving at different times throughout
session will hinder consistency and continuity of Gen Ed Advisory Board agenda

Membership overlap between the Board and the General Education Committee
The Chair acknowledged that part of the representation issues has to do with how
difficult it is to get departmental representatives to make a long-term commitment to
serve on a board or committee. He will send the list back to the Associate Dean of
General Education, Leslie Halpern, for modification.
Meeting adjourned at 3:45pm
No meeting 10/31/2012. Next Meeting 11/7.