Meeting of the Faculty Senate
Approved Minutes
September 21, 2016
The meeting was called to order at 12:25 p.m. Brief introductions followed.
- A motion was made to approve the minutes of April 26, 2016, with a correction to the attendance section. The motion was approved unanimously by voice vote.
- Julie Still, on behalf of the Academic Policy Committee, presented the following courses for approval. Julie Still and Janet Golden reminded senators that courses should not be included in a department’s offering until they have been approved by the APC and Faculty Senate, and loaded onto the Master Course List.
|
Department |
Course number |
Course Title |
Credit Value |
New/ Revision |
|
Biology |
50:120:227 |
Forensic Science (cross-listed with Criminal Justice) |
3 |
New |
|
English |
50:354:389 |
Independent Study in Film |
3 |
New |
|
English |
50:354:213 |
Hollywood Blockbusters and Disability |
3 |
New |
|
English |
50:350:341 |
Modern World Poetry |
3 |
New |
|
English |
50:989:317 |
Writing Wikipedia |
3 |
New |
|
Arts & Science |
50:090:400 |
Washington Center Internship |
3 |
New |
|
Arts & Science |
50:090:401 |
Washington Center Internship |
3 |
New |
|
See attached sheet from Fine Arts |
Various |
Cross Cutting Lab categories for Diversity, Engaged Civic Learning, Experiential Learning and Writing |
0 |
New |
The proposed no-credit lab courses were created in response to the new General Education requirements to satisfy our cross-cutting categories. These cross-cutting categories will not add additional time to a course and will not be eligible for any credit value. All departments will be submitting similar courses for approval. The above courses were approved by voice vote.
NOTE: Jennifer Thiel will contact the Registrar about loading onto Degree Navigator all newly approved courses for the Master Course List. Department chairs are encouraged to follow up with the Registrar and Advising to confirm that courses have been added, edited, or removed.
- Dean Kriste Lindenmeyer presented data on our demographics and the success of the Bridging the Gap Although we needed 100 students to make the program viable, we admitted 179, a 60% increase in first-year students in Arts & Sciences.
- Kris emphasized that our next goal is retaining this larger student body and helping them succeed at RUC. She noted that we tend to lose students in their sophomore and junior years, but usually for reasons other than their academic performance. She welcomes suggestions, especially because success initiatives and student achievement only work with faculty support.
An existing Student Success initiative is participation in warning grades, an important way for faculty to engage with those students who may need help. Advising reaches out to students who receive warning grades, encouraging these students to contact the LRC, advisors, academic mentors, as well as faculty for additional help.
A new software advising tool created by Admissions and Advising, “EAB,” will be rolled out shortly that will assist in tracking student progress, the results of advisory meetings, and each student’s academic plan of action.
Finally, Kris suggested inviting representatives from the Career Center to visit classes. Contact with the Career Center has been proven to aid student retention of students because it helps them see what they can do with their majors and degrees.
The meeting was adjourned at 1:25 p.m.
Present (Senators): Janet Golden, Wayne Glasker, Laurie Bernstein, Angelica Gonzalez, Amy Savage, George Kumi, Kate Cairns, Osama Hamed, Keith Green, Aaron Hostetter, Paul Bernstein, James Boucher, Silvia Perez Cortes, Katherine Anderson, Haisheng Li, Christopher Lim, Tim Knievel, Shauna Shames, Lauren Daniel, Melanie Bowers, Michael Hayes, Richard Stansfield, Stacia Gilliard-Matthews, Jean-Louis Hippolyte, Joan Mazelis
Absent: Guy Kortsarz, Joseph Barbarese, Susan Mokhberi, Nawaf Bou-Rabee, John Wall, Richard Jimenez, Wayne Chan, Joseph Cutuli, William Saidel, Joseph Schiavo, Daniel Bubb, Yuchung Wang, Babu Dasari
Excused/Sabbatical: Margery Amdur (exc), Chinyere Osuji (sab), James Brown (exc), Elizabeth Demaray (sab), Howard Marchitello (sab)
Present (Invited Guests): Kriste Lindenmeyer, Julie Still, Jennifer Thiel
Drafted by Maria Buckley, 10/20/16
Submitted by Laurie Bernstein, Faculty Senate Secretary