Approved: 9-0-0
01/10/2012
EC #12
UNIVERSITY FACULTY SENATE
EXECUTIVE COMMTTEE
December 6, 2011
HMSU 227, 3:30 p.m.
Present:
Ex officio:
Guests:
I.
S. Lamb, K. Bolinger, J. Conant, R. Guell, T. Hawkins, B. Kilp, J. Kuhlman, C. MacDonald,
T. Sawyer
President D. Bradley
J. Buffington, R. Florek, D. Hantzis , N. Utterback, J. West
Administrative reports, Senate Chair Report
President Bradley:
a.
The state has found $300 million in corporate income tax receipts it had failed to capture
because of a computer error. (They forgot to transfer it to the general fund.) There is no
word on what will happen with the money.
b.
The Board of Trustee meets next week (Friday, December 16).
c.
Commencement is also next week, Saturday, December 17. I hope you all will attend.
d.
The events in Chicago went well. Both the Indiana Society meeting and the alumni events
In Chicago and Lake County were well received.
e.
V.P. for Enrollment Management J. Beacon indicates that though applications are flat, we
are 10% ahead in admissions this year compared to last year.
Provost Maynard: Not present
Chair report, S. Lamb:
a.
I continue to hear from faculty who are concerned about the quality of the academic
preparation of the student body. This continues to be an issue. Thursday’s Senate
meeting will be interesting and potentially controversial.
I.
Fifteen Minute Open Discussion: No items for discussion.
II.
MOTION TO APPROVE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MINUTES OF November 29 2011 T. Sawyer/
C. MacDonald; Vote: unanimous.
III.
Altering the criteria for the Dean’s list, SAC, Jim Buffington, Nick Utterback.

MOTION TO APPROVE ALTERING THE CRITERIA FOR THE DEAN’S LIST (T. Sawyer/
C. MacDonald; Vote: unanimous)
a.
J. Buffington: The charge was to decrease the standard for making the Dean’s List,
from 3.75 to 3.5, was brought to us by the Student Government Association. Nick Utterback,
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President of SGA, is here to support it. It was brought to us by D. Lux (who graduated last year)
He was a good student who attended SAC for two years and never missed a meeting. The charge
was brought forward in January 2011. D. Lux was a student who did not get the 3.75 but would
have like to been on the Dean’s list. I am not sure about the level of support from SGA, but I think
that SGA did give him some backing at least, perhaps even strong backing. His chief justification
for doing this was because many other of our peers institutions/universities do have a 3.75
standard for the Dean’s list. The other justification was our shift in the + minus system. There are
other justifications here too (won’t mention) where it might improve moral, the benefits of going
to ISU, etc. But, the two main reasons are 1) what our peer institutions are doing; and 2) the +
minus system that ISU adopted.
(J. Buffington also referred to the research that was done by the committee which was presented
to the Executive Committee members have.) The Motion passed by a vote of 4, 1, 1 at SAC
meeting last April.
b. S. Lamb: I note that some schools award the Dean’s List standing to their top 10%.
Though our percentages have gone from fall 2007 from 18% to 12%. Do we have a need?
J. Buffington: You make a solid point.
S. Lamb: Some (Faculty Senators) may view this as grade inflation (referring to student
performance.) Are you concerned?
J. Buffington: I am very aware of that, and I am concerned. I’m sure it would not meet
with universal approval.
c.
N. Utterback: Clearly, part of the reason behind this recommendations is the effect
that the +/- grading system has had. We just believe that a student who gets straight As,
regardless of whether they are A-‘s, should be afforded this status. It’s discouraging.
d.
R. Guell: Please refer to www.gradeinflation.com which documents
grade inflation at many schools throughout the country. Faculty members had
assembled grade data over the last 15 years over a wide variety of institutions and
found that grade inflation is quite prevalent at both public and private schools.
That over the last 15 years grades across the country have gone up between a
tenth and a half and 2 tenths of a point. The fact is that while there has been
significant grade inflation across the country, there has been no grade inflation
at Indiana State. The only schools that seem to have avoided grade inflation in
the last decade or more have been ISU and the California Community College
system. We would have been one of the few select four year schools that have not
experience any grade inflation over this period.
f.
D. Bradley: Should you not charge SAC with examining the standards for Summa
Cum Laude, Magna Cum Laude, and Cum Laude designations. I would like to at least look
at the data before going presenting this item to the Faculty Senate.
g.
R. Florek: I reiterate that the view of students is that those with all A-‘s should
be eligible for the distinction of the Dean’s List.

MOTION TO APPROVE The Motion and TO PLACE ABOVE NAMED MOTION BEFORE
THE FACULTY SENATE ON DECEMBER 8. (Kuhlman, T. Sawyer; Vote: Unanimous)
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IV.
Faculty Diversity, FAC, Joe West, (File 4)
R. Guell moved to invite J. West and D. Hantzis to the table to present rational for
Motions One, Two and Three stated below. Unanimous consent.

MOTION TO APPROVE RECOMMENDATIONS OF FAC (Bolinger/T. Sawyer; Vote:
Unanimous)
i) Motion One (1). The annual report of the Council on Diversity should be accepted as the
administrative report on the gender and race profile of the faculty by rank and tenure
status for the university and for each college with the condition that the report be revised
to include disaggregated data representing African American faculty in all relevant tables
and including tenure eligibility status as a field in tables that describe faculty populations.
This data should continue to be collected and distributed annually in the fall with the
report produced prior to the scheduled meeting of the Board of Trustees each October
(J. West/L Behrendt; Vote: unanimous).
ii) Motion Two (2). Table Six of the annual report of the Council of Diversity should be
revised to include documentation of the number and profile of Opportunity Hire
recommendations forwarded by each Dean to the Provost (D. Hantzis/J. West; Vote:
unanimous).
iii) Motion Three (3). The University should clarify the goals of the Opportunity Hire
program and its link to the Strategic Plan (goal Six) in the public information available
about the program on its website and create direct links on that site to the data
evaluating the success of the program. Evaluative data should include those available in
the 2010-2011 Council on Diversity annual report and additional data disaggregated by
department. (C. MacDonald/ L. Behrendt; Vote: unanimous).
V.
Consideration of the reworking of the definition of regular faculty, Provost Maynard,
a.
Consensus to re-send to FAC
VI.
Charge considering “ implementing innovative curricular collaborations and/or alternate
modes of program delivery” revisited
a.
Consensus to forward to Graduate Council
VII.
Executive Session:
a.
MOTION TO MOVE INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION 3:57 p.m.
b.
MOTION TO MOVE OUT OF EXECUTIVE SESSION AT 4:26 p.m.
Meeting adjourned 4:26 p.m.
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