Faculty Senate Meeting
Thursday, Dec 5, 2013
The meeting was called to order at 3:04 PM in the Webster Room of the University Center.
Faculty Senate Members Present: Amy Erickson, Mary Jarzabek, Harvey Rubin, Carl Smolinski, Lynn
Walford, Gary Boucher, Kay Stebbins Slattery, Kevin Krug, Mary Hawkins, Beverly Burden, Cheryl White,
Kui Chen
Faculty Senate Members Absent: Alexander Mikaberidze, Raymond Taylor
President Jarzabek asked the Senate whether there were any corrections that needed to be made to the minutes
of the Nov 6th, 2013 meeting. A motion was made by Senator Chen to approve the minutes of the meeting. This
was seconded by Senator Walford. The minutes were unanimously approved.
President Jarzabek announced that Dr. F. King Alexander, the President of the LSU System, was invited by
Dr. Sisson to attend our Faculty Senate Meeting as he was on campus. She expressed that she could not be
more pleased that he could join us and invited him to address the Faculty Senate.
Dr. F. King Alexander thanked us for all we do for our students. He provided an update on a recent meeting
with five area legislators. First, he announced some good news – this is the first time in five years we are not
looking at a mid-year cut. Second, he said that they are working closely with Dr. Sandra Woodley, President of
the UL System, and Dr. Ron Mason Jr., J.D., President from the Southern System, to put together an agenda so
that if new money becomes available higher education would be a top priority. He expressed that people he has
spoken with from Lake Charles to Metairie have expressed that higher education has taken a disproportionate
share of the hits, so there is a degree of sympathy from colleagues. These are new discussions that they have
not had for 4-5 years. They are working closely with the Governor’s staff to determine, if resources become
available, how money will be put back into the System and what they are doing throughout the state. He
expressed that both Republicans and Democrats see higher education as a priority. They think that we have
been hard hit and they want to see higher education recover from the hits and start doing things that the state
and Stephen Moret, Secretary of Louisiana Economic Development, need us to do, which includes producing
more graduates in high-demand fields. He further expressed that the same dialogue is going on with area
business leaders. Dr. Alexander said that at the federal level the Department of Education and the White House
staff came to LSU and did a forum (LSU being one of four locations across the country) to talk about the new
rating system , how the government may be able to put money behind it, how student aid may be maneuvered to
assist schools doing a good job with low-income students, as well as new monies that can go into provisions
that would force states to put more money back into higher education if they are going to have access to these
funds. He said that is why states keep funding Medicaid because there are matching funds on the table. If
matching funds are on the table for higher education at the federal level we may see more legislative interest in
supporting what we are doing and in bringing us back from having the lowest tax effort since 1964. Thus, he
said that there are a lot of positive things coming from Washington, DC, as well as sympathy for us at the state
legislative level. He said that it is nice to hear positive things about higher education versus the rhetoric that
leads to further cuts. He said that higher education is being asked what the government can do to help us,
especially in important areas like STEM and engineering. He finished by saying that we will know more when
revenue projections come out and that the Governor’s budget comes out on January 24th, 2014. He said that we
are trying to make sure we are written into it in a positive way and that the Governor has been very receptive.
He thanked everyone for the opportunity to speak. He then took questions.
President Jarzabek stated that with new leadership comes change and she said that these are the kinds of
comments and promises Dr. Alexander made back in the summer before taking office. She said that all of us in
higher education do appreciate his efforts as he reaches out to the legislature, the Governor, and community
leaders in helping us through all of this. Dr. Alexander said that with our Chancellor today and with LSU-HSC
Chancellor Bob Barish, there was a positive feel from the business leaders that we are here and we care. He
said that this is his 5th trip to Shreveport since June. He said he would be back in January doing Rotary and the
Board of Supervisors meeting would be here in Shreveport in March. He said that we are getting positive
feedback that we are engaged and we want LSUS and LSU-HSC to succeed. He said that he believes of all the
LSU campuses, the greatest hope and potential is LSUS with 200,000 people in the metro area. He said that we
have a very good BPCC President who wants to work on 2+2s. He said that while most states have a 40%
transfer rate ours in LA is about 6%. He said we need to get out of the mindset that students just go to two year
colleges to get a job because there is another set of students interested in following up their two year degree
with a four year degree. He appreciates the work going on with BPCC and thinks that it could be the state’s
model. He thinks the potential is enormous and he said that they are here to help build enrollment, retention,
and graduation rates. Dr. Alexander added that graduation rates are the number one issue in higher education
for the White House, for U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and the Department of Higher Education,
and the National Governor’s Association. President Alexander said that raising graduation rates will benefit the
recipients of the degrees and the community.
Senator Chen expressed appreciation for Dr. Alexander’s visit and for helping to put Shreveport on the map.
He then commented on offering LSU degrees at LSUS. He said that five are in place or about to come on line.
He asked whether more programs are in the pipeline. Dr. Alexander said they are encouraging it. He said they
hope to do more online joint programs together. He said that there are many stakeholder needs that still need to
be addressed. He stated that higher education has changed – the majority of students are no longer 18-23 years
old. Other significant groups of students whose needs should be met include single parents, working families,
80% of the students who started community college (94% in LA never finish), 50% of the students who started
at four year colleges, and a significant veteran population. He stated that students are starting to take courses
around the world and these veterans need to know that they can come to LSU and use their course credits. He
also said another group is underrepresented populations. He suggested that we work in and with the schools
and not blame the schools. We must work together to make sure the pipeline in math and STEM, as well as
college expectations, is growing and strong. Shreveport is 54% African-American and we are losing too many
students from 9-12th grade. He said that we have a lot of hard work to do to get out of being in the 49th position
in having college degrees as a state. He thanked everyone.
President Jarzabek thanked Dr. Alexander and stated that it is enlightening and encouraging to see the kind of
leadership that is seeking to improve higher education and the population around the state. President Jarzabek
wanted to give a quick report on the efforts of the Dual Track Committee. They formed a small committee to
focus on the writing of legislation for justification for dual track programs. March 10 is the start of the
legislature. The committee will come up with legislation for dual track, which requires a dual track declaration
of students within the community college. She said they have been working with Dr. Alexander, and that Dr.
Stephen Banks, Dr. Helen Wise, and Mr. Kenneth Smith have been meeting on this issue. Dr. Alexander will
help us identify champions in the legislature to help guide us through the process of writing a bill. She said that
the committee will share anything written with the Faculty Senate. She then thanked the Staff Senate for the
Faculty/Staff luncheon. She thanked Mr. Steve Sittenauer for the food and those who contributed door prizes.
Administrators’ Reports:
Chancellor – Dr. Paul Sisson thanked all involved in the last Preview Day which was a big success. There
were 230 potential students who attended which totaled to more than 2x the number of students from all of last
year. Next, he mentioned that the past week was a week of meetings, many of which involved LSU and LSUS.
He said that on Monday and Tuesday, Gil Reeve, the Associate Vice Provost from LSU-BR was here. He was
the single most influential person on the campus in designing the Commitment Plan. Dr. Sisson said he is still
committed to it and he regularly meets with Dr. Sisson to make sure the plan is going well. This trip he met
with Dr. Sisson and Dr. Vassar and faculty involved in the programs. They also talked about expansion of the
commitment plan, a couple of programs which they are looking at seriously. He further stated that they are
looking at 3+2 programs to possibly offer across the country if online. This would entail a bachelor’s degree at
LSU and a master’s degree at LSUS or vice versa. He said there are a couple of options (nice pairings of
undergraduate and graduate degrees) for these programs. Dr. Sisson then mentioned that Dr. Alexander
attended a reception last night which included most of our local delegates, City Council, the Caddo Parish
Commission, and local business leaders. He also said that he, Dr. Alexander, and Dr. Barish also met the
Shreveport/Bossier Business Alliance. Dr. Alexander won them over when he clearly stated that LSUS is the
campus in the system with the greatest potential. Dr. Sisson said that Dr. Alexander said it several times in
different ways. While the Commitment Plan predated his arrival, Dr. Alexander has adopted it whole-heartedly
and is supporting it every way he can. He has offered the help of LSU-BR in making some advertisements
(media clips) he will star in which will demonstrate that when we talk about LSUS we are talking about a
member of the LSU System.
Academic Affairs – Provost John S. Vassar stated that he has had more interaction with personnel at LSU
than in previous years. He said that he has always wondered how genuine the commitment was. He said based
on the last year, he has been impressed at the interest and support they have been sharing with us. He does not
remember a Chancellor and Vice Provost being here back to back in one week. He said that he is appreciative
of the support and thinks the relationship is going well and improving.
Dr. Vassar stated that they are continuing to work on the SACS reaffirmation. He said this weekend there is the
SACS annual meeting in Atlanta where they will learn whether our level change is approved so we can start
offering our doctoral level courses in one month. Second, two weeks ago, the Board of Regents hosted a
meeting on online learning and they got representatives from the state there to address trends, especially
disruptive ones. Dr. Vassar reiterated that change is the name of the game in higher education, so he wanted to
inform us about: 1) Straighter Line, a for-profit institution which is not accredited, which teaches gen-ed
courses online but offers no credit. They partner with accredited universities which will offer credit for these
courses. They then find institutions who accept the credit and direct students to those institutions. The
advantage for the student is that it is cheaper, and if you fail, you can take the course again until you pass and
then it is turned into credit. This affects higher education in general right now and at some point may affect us
specifically if students decide to enroll in our programs; 2) Competency-based learning so that awarding of
credit is based on competency versus seat-time. Recently, in College of America, a student completed an
associate’s degree in 100 days versus 2 years. He added that he is pleased with the significant efforts that the
Dept. of Education and the School of Business have been doing to move courses online. Finally, he added that
Dr. Jim Purcell, Commissioner of Higher Education in LA, will not remain past his current contract which
expires in March. He played a key role in getting the Ed.D. approved by advocating on our behalf and the
record should indicate our appreciation to him and his service to the state. Grades are due Monday at 10am.
Business Affairs – Mr. Michael Ferrell, CFO, was not able to attend.
Student Affairs – Vice Chancellor Dr. Randy Butterbaugh announced that commencement is on December
15th. He extended an invitation to all faculty members. He wanted to underscore the importance of faculty
participation to our graduates. He said that we get a lot of positive feedback from students that appreciate when
faculty participate. The more participation we have the better off we are. It helps foster a sense of community
with our newest alumni. Regarding Preview Day, Dr. Butterbaugh added that we had 16 faculty members do
sessions that day which contributes to the success of the event and future ones. He said that we will have miniPreview days on the 4th Friday of the month in the Spring semester, in addition to one big one. A pilot program
is in place – Rhino Coffee is offering coffee on the first floor of the UC during finals week. They were
interested in coming out and we were interested in having them. Success will be assessed at the end of the week
to see how this will move forward. Regarding commencement, Ms. Liz Swayne will be the speaker at
Commencement.
LSUS Development – Ms. Laura Perdue, Executive Director, LSUS Foundation was not able to attend.
Old Business
a. Response rate for SRTE – President Jarzabek passed out information from Mr. Shelby Keith
to remind us why we switched to the online SRTE. There is significant cost difference between
the online vs. the face to face version. This topic came up two meetings ago as a way to improve
participation and student response rate. She is not sure whether going back to the old method of
delivery would improve or hinder the process. She said that she wanted us to know the money
that we are saving by offering the SRTE via myLSUS. Senator Chen said this is not unique to
us. He has experienced it both ways. He offered bonus point for participation when in class but
since it is online now there is no reliable way to know who has participated. He now reminds
students multiple times. Seantor Boucher said the response rate is a problem. He said he does
not think it is working. President Jarzabek wanted to recommend that each of us talk with our
departments and find out the best suggestions, compile, and distribute them for the January
meeting. She said that maybe we can start improving things. Senator Hawkins stated that Dr.
Dave Gustavson suggested students could get entered in a drawing for $100 off next semester’s
tuition. She said she does not think they feel an obligation to take it because it does not directly
benefit them. We want them to take it because we use it to determine how we are doing.
Senator Boucher suggested that even if we remind them regularly, if we stop reminders,
responses may fall back to the baseline. Senators White and Boucher suggested that students
who are motivated to do the survey are not happy or very happy. Senator White said she does
not see the motivation for the student if the evaluations are not done in the classroom. President
Jarzabek said this will not work for online classes. She said that she took her students to the
computer lab to do it. Dr. White suggested using their smart phones. Dr. Burden suggested that
we still need to maintain anonymity for students. President Jarzabek asked if anonymity is at
risk if they use their smart phones. No one saw it as an issue.
b. Grant Funding – Senator Boucher added that since some grants were not filed this year, he
asked administration if they would be willing to reallocate personnel during deadlines. He said
that the administration said this would not be possible. He also talked to Ms. Annella Nelson,
Director of the Office of Sponsored Programs at LSU-HSC. She said they might be able to take
some work as overload given that they have more staff. Senator Burden asked if the grants in
question were submitted on the due date. Senator Boucher responded that some were but he was
not sure. Senator Burden heard rumblings in the hallway about having an internal LSUS due
date prior to the actual due date. President Jarzabek suggested a full week prior to the due date.
She said that we know these due dates are coming up. Senator Chen said that his was one of the
four not submitted and acknowledged that he submitted it on the due date. He asked why we
have to submit it through the Grants Office. He said he would like the option to submit it
himself. President Jarzabek said that codes have to be assigned to each grant. She suggested we
talk to Ms. Jolene Long about this. Secretary Erickson said that she believed seven grants were
submitted to the Office of Sponsored Research on the due date. Senator Boucher said what was
disturbing was that when he asked the Grants Office to submit the grant he was told it would not
be a problem.
New Business
Observations and Concerns
a. Recommendations to the Tobacco-Free Committee – President Jarzabek said now that signs
are up for the campus being tobacco-free in 2014, there is some concern. She reminded
everyone that this is not an internal policy but is being forced upon the LSU System by the state
legislature. She suggested that if anyone has any concerns or recommendations that they talk to
the Tobacco-free committee. She plans to suggest that they not dismiss someone from
employment after three warnings. Senator Boucher said he does not smoke. When he sees a
student he usually advocates quitting. While this is law, Senator Boucher said that he does not
have a problem with someone smoking if s/he is not bothering anyone – he thinks they have the
right. He suggests looking at the possibility of allowing students to smoke in their vehicles. He
said that since your vehicle is a legal extension of your home, he does not understand why we
cannot allow smokers to smoke in their car. President Jarzabek said that she raised this question
with the committee and that she was told that they cannot do anything if students are in their car
with the windows rolled up. She would recommend that they be in their car with the doors
closed but not necessarily having to have the windows rolled up.
b. Dr. Burden wanted the minutes to reflect how well Facilities Services has decorated the campus
for the holidays. President Jarzabek commented on the new blue banners. Dr. Chen suggested it
gives us a sense of pride.
c. Enrollment numbers – Ms. Julie Lessiter stated that she sends 14th day numbers to deans,
which are sent to department chairs, which then share it with faculty members. President
Jarzabek would entertain a motion that the entities that receive the information include the
Faculty Senate Secretary. Ms. Lessiter said she would support that. Senator Walford made the
motion which was seconded by Senator Hawkins. The motion was approved unanimously. Ms.
Lessiter mentioned that we have 2 sets of numbers. She said they did the count at the 14th day
but that did not include students enrolled in B session; she also mentioned that the numbers were
slightly inaccurate because if a student was enrolled in 6 hrs in term A and 6 in B, the student
was reported as part-time because you could not guarantee that they would stay in session B.
She said the official 14th day numbers including session B was 4114 students. Undergrads
comprised 3674 and graduate students comprised 440 of the students. She said there were
numerous other categories. Senator Burden asked about dual enrollment numbers. Ms. Lessiter
said that we are down 16.78% since the last year. We lost about 200 dual enrollment students
and 200 undergraduates. She added that total enrollment is down 9.28%. Dr. Vassar said a big
part of this was tripling the price ($50 to 150) due to loss of state funds to support this program.
Ms. Lessiter said we had 870 dual enrollment students. She added that the M.Ed. in Curriculum
and Instruction was up 200% over the previous year.
d. International student course requirements – President Jarzabek mentioned she has an
international student who needs one course to graduate. Next semester the course is being
offered online so he cannot take it. Based on visa requirements, international students must take
12 hrs of face to face courses. If they want to take more, they can be online. She said that while
we grow our online program, it will be important to understand how our international students
will be affected. We need to know the student visa rules and regulations. Ms. Lessiter said that
we should ask Ms. Darleena Atkins and that she thinks it is 9 vs. 12 hrs. Ms. Atkins said that
these regulations are implemented by Immigration. International students must be full time and
must be enrolled in 9 at least hrs in a physical, traditional class as an undergraduate, which is part
of determining whether the student is in the US. For grad students, they must be in 6 hrs of face
to face courses. The remainder of the courses can be online. President Jarabek said the student
in question is in a one hr lab and a three hr course but still could not take the 9th hr online. She
asked if there was a way to get special dispensation or a waiver. Ms. Atkins said that there is
not. Senator Chen said this is an immigration issue. Mr. Eddie Samham said that an exception
exists for graduating seniors. Ms. Atkins said that in their graduating term, students can take a
reduced course load but the only class cannot be online. There has to be a physical presence.
Senator Chen said that we are down in the number of students but that “international students” is
a huge business. He said that foreign universities set up fairs to recruit students in China. He
questioned whether we should put in more effort. Dr. Vassar commented on this issue based on
conversations he had last Spring with different departments. He heard from several departments
an interest in increasing international students. They formed an International Recruitment
Committee to make recommendations. They also have been working with Academic
Partnerships to increase international recruiting. He also said that Dr. Sibylle Mabry is teaching
online but is in Germany. She is required to meet with local universities and submit reports
about student recruiting efforts. He said that this is a significant area of interest. Senator
Walford said that one thing that hinders us is the lack of ESL courses. She said remedial English
classes are not where these students belong. Dr. Vassar said that these students will require a
support system. Dr. Butterbaugh added that they are trying to reallocate a position to support
international students in immigration, advising, and admissions. Senator Chen said ESL courses
would serve as a bridge. He said that Chinese students are interested in being here versus being
online students. Senator Burden said that it is a problem when students assume that if they have
the proper TOEFL scores then English will not be an issue. However, we know that this may not
be the case. Some students find that English is a barrier. She said this is not considered under
the umbrella of a disability. Senator Walford said that she has seen students get discouraged
several times. Senator Boucher added that some of his students have struggled in English but not
math. President Jarzabek said we need to look at ESL classes. Senator Burden said that
community ESL are offered and that maybe we can invite those classes on campus.
e. Senator Boucher said he had a student whose final exams for the 16 week semester and the 8
week session were scheduled at the same time. President Jarzabek suggested that if faculty
members have a student with a conflict, the student should visit with the dean to set up another
final time.
f. President Jarzabek brought up the 8-week survey which was sent to the Faculty Senate. She
asked the Senate to discuss the results in the January meeting. Senator Hawkins thanked Senator
Krug for all his hard work.
There was no further business. Senator Burden motioned to adjourn the meeting at 4:21 PM, which was
seconded by Senator White.
Minutes respectfully submitted by Amy Erickson.