WICHITA STATE UNIVERSITY FACULTY SENATE
Minutes of the meeting Monday, February 14, 2011
MEMBERS PRESENT: Baker, Barut, Bennett, Bryant, Celestin, Close, Decker, DeSilva, Gibson, Hemans, Henry, Hershfield, Horn, Jeffres, Klunder, Lewis, Matveyeva, Miller, Mosack. Rillema, Rokosz, Ross, D. Russell, Skinner, Smith-Cmpbell, Soles, Thompson, Yeager, Yildirim
MEMBERS ABSENT: Adler, Ahmed, Anderson, Carruthers, Dreisen, DiLollo, Kreinath, L. Russell, Smith, Taher
MEMBERS EXCUSED: Brooks, d'Souza, Strattman
Ex-OFFICIO: Miller
I. Call of the Meeting to Order: President Hemans called the meeting to order at 3:30 pm.
II. Informal Statements and Proposals:
A. Senator DaSilva asked whether students might be allowed to park in the Morrison
Hall lot after 5:30 pm and on weekends. President Hemans said he would gather information
on the matter.
B. President Hemans announced the death of Mira Merriman, for whom a memorial was
tentatively scheduled for 23 April.
C. Senator Hershfield said that the LAS College Counsel wanted clarification of the
role of ombudsperson within the grievance process. Senator Hemans referred him to
the Senate website.
III. Approval of the Minutes: the minutes of the meeting of Monday, December 13, 2010 were accepted as presented.
IV. President's Report:
A. President Hemans reminded the senate that nominations for the President's Distinguished
Service Award should be made by 25 February.
B. President Hemans alerted the senate to recent changes in admissions standards
by KBOR. These included a gradual increasing of standards generally, with an emphasis
on preparation in mathematics; a Kansas Scholars pre-college curriculum that emphasizes
math and foreign language and that would replace the existing curriculum; and a minimum
GPA of 2.0 in pre-college curriculum for qualified admissions.
C. President Hemans reported that state community colleges have requested that the
KBOR Transfer and Articulation Committee require state-wide uniformity in general
education requirements, outcomes, and course numbering. COFSP has made a written response
opposing this request but approving the creation of a state-wide database of information
about general education. He said that this issue was not expected to interfere with
on-going efforts on general education at WSU. There was general discussion of this
issue, during which Provost Miller noted the diminished role of faculty under the
proposed transfer policy, and said that the state's university provosts were opposing
this part of the policy.
D. President Hemans reported that KBOR has received a request for a list of all programs
in all state universities with low enrollment figures.
E. President Hemans reported on recent committee activities. The Planning and Budget
Committee is to hear a presentation on the Graduation Partnership by Keith Pickus
and Bill Vanderburgh. The Academic Affairs Committee has approved the proposed WSU
101 course; the course is to be implemented within colleges and approved by the colleges'
respective curriculum committees.
F. President Hemans reported that the revised guidelines for Program Review were
available on the Academic Affairs and Research website.
G. President Hemans reported that the Faculty Survey of Student Engagement was to
commence in late March.
H. President Hemans alerted the senate that changes in the HLC assessment process
would be forthcoming.
I. President Hemans reported that the Ad Hoc General Education Committee was continuing
to make progress and would soon be ready to bring a recommendation before the senate.
V. Committee Reports: Senator Skinner, chair of the Rules Committee, brought forth nominations for the standing General Education committee-- Janice Ewing, Education and Chris Broberg, Business. The nominees were approved.
VI. State Budget Update:
Provost Miller reported that Governor Brownback's budget retained 2006-level funding
for higher education, and placed an emphasis on higher education's role in economic
development. The house has proposed a 7.5% reduction in salary for state employees
earning more than $100,000 per year, in order to raise funds for deferred maintenance.
The position of WSU is that the university should retain flexibility in deciding how
cuts in funding for higher education should be made on the WSU campus. There has been
some discussion of repealing the sales tax. The request to KBOR for a list of low-enrolled
programs came from the state budget officer.
VII. New Business:
The senate was presented with the following statement on the B.S. in Engineering
Technology degree proposal:
Denise Celestin, chair, Academic Affaris committee presented a statement: “The Academic
Affairs Committee has carefully and thoroughly reviewed the proposal for a B.S. in
Engineering Technology with four concentrations. During our review process, the document
has been revised twice, and our questions have been addressed by the Dean of Engineering,
with affirmation from the School of Business. We acknowledge the viability and practicality
of a proposal that is in keeping with the urban-serving mission of Wichita State University.
We feel that the proposal is appropriate for the changing climate of education, especially
because it engenders collaboration among two academic units and the community. The
committee has unanimously approved this proposal.”
Larry Whitman, director of Engineering Education in the College of Engineering, made
a presentation on the proposed degree in Engineering Technology. The proposal would
provide for four emphasis areas: Renewable Energy Technology, Engineering Technology
Management, Aircraft Maintenance Technology, and Mechatronics Technology. He discussed
future demand for employees with such training. He presented a sample course of study
for the degree. He indicated that there is a gap in educational opportunities in Engineering
Technology in the region. General discussion followed.
VIII. As May Arise: none.
The meeting was adjourned at 4:41 pm.
Respectfully Submitted,
Dan Russell, Secretary