Liberal Arts Council
August 14, 2015
Present: M. Aakhus, M. Dixon, J. deJong, S. Rode, I. Phillips, T. Schroer, S. Spencer, W.
Rinks, O. Armeanu, D. Hitchcock H. Braysmith, J. Hardgrave, P. Raymond, E. Wasserman,
K. Oeth, D. Pellant, R. Rowland, and R. Lutton
Guests: K. Bonnell, T. Hunt, J. Uduehi, and K. Waterman
Location: Innovation Pointe
The meeting started at 8:34 a.m.
I. Welcome and Introductions
M. Aakhus welcomed new members of the Liberal Arts Council and the guests in
attendance.
II. Core 39 Assessment (T. Hunt and J. Uduehi)
T. Hunt and J. Uduehi provided chairs with a summary of the new Core 39 Assessment
protocols that will be effective starting fall 2015. Their presentation was followed with
open discussion that included questions about TK20 and the assessment of large
enrollment sections. Concerning the latter, T. Hunt expressed a willingness to work with
faculty teaching these sections in order to develop an effective and efficient assessment
mechanism. Meetings are scheduled on fall Assessment Day, September 22, for those
Core 39 courses that will be assessed this fall semester.
III. Approval of Minutes
The minutes of the April 21, 2015 and April 28, 2015 meetings were approved
unanimously.
IV. Curriculum
J. Hardgrave introduced course modification petitions for HIST 298, HIST 498, and HIST
499. The modifications all proposed the addition of ENG 201 as a prerequisite. All three
petitions were approved unanimously.
M. Dixon introduced a revised College of Liberal Arts Independent Study Course
Agreement Form. In short, the only proposed change is that a faculty member must
submit a signed and completed form electronically to the College of Liberal Arts Senior
Administrative Associate, K. Oeth. This will facilitate tracking of independent studies
when faculty members seek compensation. The revised form was approved
unanimously.
M. Dixon also inquired whether or not chairs believe college guidelines should be
developed for the delivery and approval of hybrid courses within the College of Liberal
Arts. As there is no clearly defined policy, W. Rinks, I. Phillips, T. Schroer, and E.
Wasserman agreed to draft a preliminary policy on hybrid courses that will be presented
to the Liberal Arts Council for consideration later in the fall 2015 semester.
V. Budget Landscape and Planning
M. Aakhus provided an update on faculty searches and K. Oeth provided an update on
new staff hires and reallocations within the College of Liberal Arts. M. Aakhus noted that
departments with vacant positions will need to consider reallocation of the lines and
provide a strong rationale when requesting that the lines be retained within a
department. It is essential that any rationale address how the line will result in growth of
student numbers and data are necessary to support the rationale.
J. deJong and K. Oeth introduced the CLA Visiting Professional/Event Forms. The
purpose of the news forms is to facilitate tracking both events and expenditures. It is not
necessary to complete the forms for student club meetings or similar events. Faculty
sponsoring an event that will be open to the public should also work closely with W.
Draper to coordinate publicity and promotion. Both forms are available now on the
College of Liberal Arts web page.
J. deJong also addressed tracking departmental expenses and budgets. She noted that
we want all chairs to have the information they require to utilize their resources
effectively. Chairs should check their budgets at least once a month, and more
frequently towards the end of the fiscal year. She suggested that chairs look for
expenditures within their accounts that have been approved and look closely for any
inaccurate charges, which sometimes do not appear for two or three months. W. Rinks
asked how one can track USI Foundation departmental accounts. M. Aakhus agreed
that this can be challenging, but he encouraged chairs to continue communicating with
the USI Foundation.
M. Aakhus also reminded chairs of the college’s paperless initiative and noted that this is
one area in which a department can save money that can be used at the end of the year.
Additional savings may also come from long-distance and postage budgets.
R. Lutton discussed BuyUSI and employee reimbursement for expenses. She explained
the new procedures by which faculty can be reimbursed and that nearly all must be
done through BuyUSI.
K. Waterman also addressed LAC members to discuss how best to track departmental
expenses, and how to track expenses charged to a department account that require a
charge-back from another account. She provided also a useful handout for tracking
budgets and expenses.
VI. College of Liberal Arts Reports
M. Aakhus informed chairs that current figures for the fall 2015 semester indicate that
enrollment will be down more than 3%. He urged chairs to continue with initiatives to
promote student retention. He noted also that the 2014 graduating class was large and
that this has affected the overall enrollment numbers. The decline in enrollment will also
have an effect on the university budget.
M. Dixon provided an update on the College of Liberal Arts’ UNIV 101 (FYE) course. He
requested that chairs encourage full-time faculty to consider teaching a section in fall
2016. He noted also that this course is an important retention initiative and that we
need to strive to achieve a higher fall-spring retention rate from first-time, full-time
students than we recorded in 2014-2015, the first year in which the college’s UNIV101
was offered. Currently all sections are staffed, save one and he requested that anyone
interested in teaching a section this fall should contact him directly. He noted lastly that
all Liberal Arts UNIV101 students will read The Grapes of Wrath, and will be provided
with complimentary tickets, courtesy of the Provost’s Office, to see USI Theatre’s
production of it in October.
J. deJong updated chairs on Technology improvements made in summer 2015. She
reported that the college was able to purchase forty-nine new computers for faculty and
staff, and to replace workrooms and adjunct offices with newer computers.
M. Aakhus also reported on several facilities improvements from summer 2015. The
renovations in the Tech Center and in the Orr Center are nearing completion and should
be finished by the start of the fall 2015 semester. The Liberal Arts Advising Center is also
nearly completed and should be open early in the fall semester. He also noted that
painting of the walls in the LA Center has been completed, and that new signage for the
building has been ordered. Additionally, the old bulletin boards have been removed
from the first-floor corridor and replaced with art. He hopes that this will provide a more
appealing appearance for all in the building. We plan to have an information kiosk
installed somewhere in the Liberal Arts center, which will function as a central place for
the dissemination of departmental brochures and other information about programs
and events. Lastly he noted that a drain has been installed along the walkway between
the Liberal Arts Center and the Romain College of Business that will make this much
more safe for pedestrians during periods of precipitation.
VII. College of Liberal Arts Assessment and HLC Accreditation
M. Dixon and J. deJong discussed the College of Liberal Arts 2015 Annual Report. This
report addresses the college’s program level and college-level assessment data and
analysis. They, in collaboration with A. Statham, compiled this report on the basis of the
Departmental Annual Reports submitted by chairs in April 2015. This report is essentially
in its completed form and any further corrections or suggestions should be sent to J.
deJong and M. Dixon. A final version of the report will be sent to chairs and made
available on the m: drive.
M. Dixon also addressed briefly the HLC Accreditation process and noted that our 2015
Annual Report will be made available to those working on the submission of USI’s
Assurance Arguments that will be submitted to the Higher Learning Commission in
spring 2016. The HLC site visit to campus will be in fall 2016.
VII. College of Liberal Arts 2015-2020 Strategic Plan
M. Dixon summarized the first meeting of the College of Liberal Arts Advisory Board in
May 2015. The meeting included a student presentation by art major M. Koewler, and a
tour of the USI Performance Center. He noted that members offered great insight, and
all were extremely willing to assist in any way possible. Several members, for example,
expressed a desire to provide internship opportunities for Liberal Arts students. The next
CLA Advisory Board meeting is scheduled for October 15, 2015.
M. Dixon addressed also planned faculty development initiatives for 2015-2016. We
shall continue to assign mentors to first- and second-year tenure-track faculty and we
shall schedule a development workshop for faculty in the fall semester. He requested
that chairs submit to him any suggestions for future development workshops.
M. Dixon announced to chairs that he, M. Aakhus, and J. deJong met with D. Bower of
the USI Foundation in spring 2015 to discuss how we might increase the monies
available to Liberal Arts faculty for development. He noted that D. Bower has made
additional funds available to the College of Liberal Arts. These funds will allow faculty
who are eligible to receive up to $400.00 annually an additional $250.00. Chairs
expressed their gratitude for this gift and several inquired about the degree to which
Liberal Arts faculty contributed to Campaign USI: Elevating Excellence. Faculty
participation, M. Dixon reported, has been significantly lower than in USI’s first capital
campaign. He also informed chairs of the USI Day of Giving, which will be on October
28, 2015 and noted that this provides an excellent opportunity for faculty and staff to
help increase scholarships for Liberal Arts students, which is another goal of our strategic
plan.
IX. College of Liberal Arts Initiatives: Student Recruitment and Retention
M. Dixon thanked those chairs who have submitted to Admissions their departmental
academic messages that will be used for recruitment of prospective students. He
requested that all chairs submit their updated messages by the start of the fall semester.
R. Rowland provided additional updates on the progress of the Liberal Arts Advising
Center construction project. She noted also that once completed she will make
arrangements for a formal open house event.
J. deJong discussed both college and department web pages. Departments are
responsible for maintaining and updating the content of their web pages. She added
that W. Draper is responsible for maintenance of the college pages.
M. Dixon reminded chairs that each department will again this year host individual
honors day ceremonies. The USI Foundation has offered to help with the cost of these
events. Chairs should begin considering their Honors Day events soon, and prepare a
budget so that we may request additional funding from the USI Foundation.
M. Dixon requested that chairs submit to him and D. Pellant the name, ID number, and
email address for their departmental representative on the Dean’s Student Advisory
Council. He asked also that chairs try to identify individuals in their second year as
representatives, as we are interested in learning about their experience with Core 39 and
UNIV101. Meetings this fall will be on the first Thursday of each month.
M. Dixon and J. deJong encouraged chairs to develop recruitment initiatives that
support the college’s Strategic Plan. We have requested that those submitted last year
be funded with savings and we would like to develop additional initiatives that have the
potential to improve our retention efforts.
X. College of Liberal Arts Faculty
M. Dixon introduced a draft College of Liberal Arts Faculty Absence from Class Policy.
This is a slightly revised and updated version of the existing policy. The draft Absence
from Class Policy was approved unanimously.
M. Dixon also introduced a revised College of Liberal Arts Accessibility Policy. The
current College of Liberal Arts Office Hours policy was implemented in 2007. The
current draft addresses virtual office hours, as well as other methods by which faculty
may make themselves accessible to students and colleagues. Consideration of this draft
was tabled until a later date in fall 2015.
M. Aakhus informed chairs that full-time faculty teaching loads should not be entirely via
distance education. Faculty should teach at least one face-to-face course per semester.
M. Aakhus reminded chairs that all faculty must submit a current curriculum vitae in
January 2016. These must be submitted electronically and in pdf format.
XI. 2015-2016 Committee Assignments
The following agreed to serve on the 2015-2016 committees as noted below:
Honors Day Awards Committee: J. Hardgrave (chair), D. Hitchcock, and E. Wasserman
Curriculum Petitions Committee: E. Wasserman (chair), I. Phillips, and T. Schroer
Curriculum Committee Chair: S. Spencer
XII. Open Items from Chairs
T. Schroer requested that he and other chairs be evaluated annually. This will be
addressed in the spring 2016 semester.
H. Braysmith noted that the Art Department faculty engages in departmental assessment
activities on Assessment Day, and she suggested that additional assessment activities,
such as Core 39 assessment training not be scheduled.
The meeting adjourned at approximately 4:00 p.m.