Combined Meeting of the UMES Senate and the Faculty Assembly
Senate Minutes December 9, 2015
11am Frederick Douglass Library
I.
CALL TO ORDER
The Senate meeting was called to order at 11:05 a.m. by Ms. Jinawa McNeil.
II.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
The approval of May 12, 2015 Senate minutes was moved by Dr. Williams and seconded by Dr. Chapin. The
motion carried.
III.
OLD BUSINESS
University Update:
Dr. Juliette Bell informed the Senate that the University decided to voluntarily withdraw the accreditation of
Physician Assistant program in order to continue to maintain accreditation through December 31, 2015 to
ensure 34 graduates in Fall 2015 cohort will graduate from accredited program. President Bell explained that
the university will officially give up the accreditation on January 1, 2016 which means it will no longer
function at UMES. UMES has been diligently working with the University Maryland System and the two
partner schools that have accredited programs. The two schools are University Maryland Baltimore and
Towson University. There has been a plan of action developed to help the remaining students achieve their
goals of becoming physician assistants, but it must first be approved by the accrediting body before
implementation. Currently, the university is looking at ways to assist the students with transition because they
will need to move out of this area to continue their education. There are some financial stipulations that are
being considered.
Dr. Bell informed the Senate about the Hawk Card theft. It was a process where the students were able to
exploit a flaw in the security system of the Hawk Card that allowed them to place money on the card that did
not belong them. It is currently being investigated by the State Attorney General office and the Maryland State
Police. It is an ongoing investigation. Dr. Bell was asked how much money was involved in the Hawk Card
theft. She reiterated it was an on-going investigation and that total amount has not been disclosed as of date.
The preliminary dollar amount was approximately $700,000. The preliminary findings found that it was a few
individuals involved in the theft and that there was list of those individuals. There is an outside agency that
ensure the funds. UMES will have to file a claim and the Treasurer will pay out the claim and the school will
have to pay back the claim. Dr. Bell was asked how much money was involved in the Hawk Card theft. She
reiterated it was an on-going investigation and that total amount has not
Dr. Bell stated the Town Hall meeting turned out to be more of a student focus. Students expressed their
concerns at the meeting raised they were not being heard or addressed. President Bell and her cabinet decided
to have more regular meetings with the students to gather this information throughout the course of the year.
They will be hosted by the Vice-Presidents or a particular division. been disclosed as of date. The preliminary
1
dollar amount was approximately $700,000. The preliminary findings found that it was a few individuals
involved in the theft and that there was list of those individuals. There is an outside agency that ensure the
funds. UMES will have to file a claim and the Treasurer will pay out the claim and the school will have to pay
back the claim.
Middle States chair on-site for the university visit in December for upcoming in April. The purpose of the
Middle States accrediting process to self-evaluate to seek opportunities for the improvement. The preliminary
report the Chair advised that the university needed to emphasis things that we are doing well.
Dr. Johnson asked Dr. Bell about the lawsuit, Coalition for Excellence vs the State of Maryland. Judge Blake
stated that state had engaged in unnecessary duplication of programs that contributed to the lack of diversity
within state at HBCUs. He ordered that there be some remedies to fix the situation. The initial stage was the
parties to engage in mediation. The coalition team came up with a set of recommendations and the state
countered with the state recommendations. HBI’s developed 10-year plan and identify those programs that
would strengthen the university. Judge Blake will take the two proposals from coalition and state and make a
decision. Depending on the decision there will be appeal; therefore, it will be an on-going process. Judge
schedule to make a ruling sometime this calendar year.
Question was asked about the next step for the PA program is to rebuild the program. Dr. Bell stated There
will be a pilot program so we will bring in experts and community to assist. It can take up to 5 years before
the university is full accredited.
Middle States Self-Study Update:
Dr. James Junker explained that the self-study was making great progress. There new logo that had been
placed on campus with the caption, “14 standards, one goal to be greater than ever”. The site visit is April 3-6,
2016. The purpose of the logo is to show we are meeting the standards and the goal is to be better than ever
with continuous improvement. The launch of the website which is dedicated to the Middle States process is
under the construction. The address is www.umes.edu/middlestates. There are multiple features to the
website but Dr. Junker focused on the self-study. The self-study draft can be accessed using Blackboard. It is
available now. It is password protected but faculty, staff, and administrators have access. In the future
students will have access to review the document as well. There will be emails sent on instructions later this
week.
At the meeting last week, it was clear to those individuals that were writing self-studies that they should be
clear, transparent, and impactful. The document does need to relate to the standards to address all the
elements. It is not everything that is going on the campus but it is selective because we only have 100 pages to
address the standards in the self-study and written in one voice. There are two ways you can make comments
about the self-study. There is the blackboard site and website that say make suggestions. There will be open
forums on the following dates:
January 13, 2016 – Open Forum
January 19, 2016 – Open Forum (Time TBT) Staff, Faculty and Administrators
2
January 28, 2016 – Open Forum
The site team will have 6 six weeks to write their document. The document will be written before coming to
campus. The site visit is to see if what we wrote in the self-study is what the university is actually doing.
Academic Affairs Committee:
Dr. Derrek Dunn, Chair of the Senate Academic Affairs Committee (SAAC), gave an update on the work of the
committee; please refer to the PPT presentation on the Senate Page for more information re: submission
timeline for AY2015-2016, program submission, curriculum changes for courses only and new programs
substantial modifications and each of the programs below.
Natural Science: Request to Eliminate Courses



BIOL 201 - Marine Zoology
BIOL 202 – Marine Botany
BIOL 203 – Marine Botany Laboratory
Motion to approve changes by Dr. Chapin. Seconded Dr. Johnson. The motion carried.
Environmental Science – Environmental Chemistry Track: Request to Change General Education



Add ARAB 101, 102 and CHIN 101,102 as an option for students under Curriculum Area I,
Discipline C
Add MATH 210 as required for students under Curriculum Area III
Add TMGT 306 and EDTE 111 as options for Students Curriculum Area VI
Request to Change Program Requirements:





Curriculum Area IV from 3 credits to 6 credits
Curriculum Area VI from 7 credits to 4 credits
Core Requirements from 29 credits to 24 credits
Program Electives remains unchanged 3-4 credits
Supportive Requirements from 46 credits to 50-51 credits
o Add AGRN 483 as required course under Supportive Requirements.
Motion to approve changes by Dr. Chapin. Seconded Dr. Williams. The motion carried.
Environmental Science – Marine Science: Request to Change General Education Courses


Add ARAB 101, 102 and CHIN 101,102 as an option for students under Curriculum Area I,
Discipline C
Add MATH 210 as required for students under Curriculum Area III
3

Add EDTE 111 as options for Students Curriculum Area VI
Request to Change Program Requirements:



Curriculum Area IV from 3 credits to 6 credits
Curriculum Area VI from 7 credits to 4 credits
Core Requirements from 38 credits to 36 credits
o Add ENVS 201, ENVS 203 as required courses.
o Drop BIOL 201, BIOL 202, BIOL 203 as required courses.
Program Electives remain unchanged 7-8 credits
Supportive Requirements from 34 credits to 34-35 credits
o Add AGRN 483 as required course
o Add CSDP 220 or BUED 212 or CSDP 121 as required course


Motion to approve changes by Dr. Chapin. Seconded Dr. Williams. The motion carried.
Environmental Science – Marine Science Dual Degree Program: Request to Create 2 New Courses


Add ENVS 201 Marine Biology(on-line) 3 credits
Add ENVS 203 Marine Biology Laboratory 1 credit
Request to Change Requirements of Dual Program:




Add ENVS 201 Marine Biology(on-line) 3 credits
Add ENVS 203 Marine Biology Laboratory 1 credit
Drop BIOL 201, BIOL 202, BIOL 203
Increase Electives from 7 to 13
Motion to approve with changes by Dr. Harris. Seconded Dr. Chapin. The motion carried.
IV.
NEW BUSINESS
V.
OTHER BUSINESS
The meeting ended at 11:52 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Etahe Johnson, M.S.
4