APPROVED MINUTES FOR THE 5th REGULAR MEETING
OF THE FACULTY SENATE
FACULTY OF ARTS AND SCIENCES-CAMDEN
April 22, 2003
TIME AND PLACE: 12:20 p.m., Room 121, Armitage Hall
Members Present: C. Singley, J. Schiavo, R. Tarbell, R. Evans, A. Roche, J. Ma, R. Epstein, C. Fitter, M.A. Habib, L. Tan, J. Tittler, L. Bernstein,
M. Karel, M. Nerurkar, C. Brown, J. Gagliardi, K. Shienbaum, B. Adelson, I. Roseman, S. Cosminsky, J. Meyer, J. Siegel, J. Gerver
Members Excused: J-C Birget, A. Lees (on leave)
Members Absent: JW. Saidel, S. Katz, W. Jerome, J. Still, M. Greipp, W. Puentes, J. VanTil, R. Sanchez-Mayers, S. Gramby-Sobukwe, W. Jerome,
N. Hopkins-Evans
I. CALL TO ORDER: The meeting was called to order at 12:27 p.m. in room 121 Armitage Hall, Dr. Carol Singley, President, presiding.
II. Approval of minutes of meeting on April 8, 2003. Minutes were APPROVED, VOICE VOTE.
III. Revised grading policy. Dr. Whitlow, Chair of the Academic Policy Committee, and Senator Jonathan Tittler distributed a proposed draft resolution for the Faculty Senate regarding departmental grading practices. Several wording revisions were suggested and implemented as
the follow:
Whereas, the Faculty Senate affirms the importance of sound grading practices that provide fair,
accurate, and understandable assessments of student performance consistent with the grading
policies of the University; and
Whereas, the Faculty Senate also recognizes that a variety of grading practices can be used to provide such assessments, the selection of appropriate grading practices depending on the goals and purposes of assessment; and
Whereas, the Faculty Senate additionally recognizes the importance of having newly appointed faculty and part-time lecturers fully informed of the grading policies and practices of a given department,
The Faculty Senate encourages departments to meet, in the near future and periodically, to discuss and clarify grading policies and practices appropriate to their individual course offerings, with special attention to the matter of informing newly appointed faculty and PTLs.
After much discussion (the Senators indicated they prefer to keep grading policies within each department), the last paragraph (# 4 above) was presented as a friendly amendment and APPROVED, VOICE VOTE.
The motion was APPROVED, VOICE VOTE.
IV. Policy on summer session credit maximum. Dr. Bill Whitlow, Chair of the Academic Policy Committee, discussed the 4-credit per summer session course load restriction. Dr. Whitlow quoted the following from the Summer catalog and asked the Faculty Senate to reaffirm support of this policy:
Because of the intense nature of Summer Session courses, students may carry no more than 4 credits in a 4-week session without special permission of the Camden Summer Director. Requirements for taking an overload include:
3.0 or better GPA
meeting times of the classes must not overlap
permission of an adviser (Rutgers students)
permission of the Summer Session Director
Motion was APPROVED, VOICE VOTE, 1 VOTE ABSTAINING.
V. Resolution on restructuring. Senator Sheila Cosminsky along with Dr. Bob Wood, both members of the Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Criminal Justice, proposed a revised resolution on restructuring. It was noted that not everyone agrees on all restructuring issues; but everyone does agree that Rutgers’ name should continue. The revised resolution reads as follows:
The Faculty Senate of the Camden College of Arts and Sciences at Rutgers-Camden affirms its absolute commitment to remaining part of Rutgers University, whatever form the process of merger and restructuring may take. The Camden campus must bear the Rutgers name and continue to be an integral part of the structure of Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey.
The resolution was APPROVED, VOICE VOTE.
VI. President Carol Singley, as one of 23 members on the Advisory Committee, stated that at the first restructuring meeting there was no vision for the Camden campus. At the second meeting, the Camden campus was very much a topic of discussion.
The issue of what Camden might lose in all of this was discussed. Perhaps New Brunswick might raid Camden of its faculty. Sadly, restructuring may cause grant dismantling. Merging will make it impossible to have uniform standards, which have been favorably practiced. After restructuring has been decided, the issue of how the restructuring will be governed must be addressed.
President Carol Singley will keep us advised on what is happening.
It was the consensus of the Senators that a faculty Ad Hoc Committee on University Restructuring should be formed. Vice President Joseph Schiavo, who is also Chair of the Rules of Procedure Committee, will investigate what is required to initiate such a committee and report back to the Senators.
The meeting was adjourned at 1:17 p.m.
Submitted by
Roberta K. Tarbell, Secretary
Faculty Senate (AY 2002-2003)