Minutes of the Wichita State University Faculty Senate
Monday, 3:30 pm, May 13, 2013; CH 126
Members Present: Baker, Barut, Bergman, Brooks, Bryant, Celestin. Close, Decker, deSilva, Horn, Hull,
Kagdi, Klunder, Lewis, Matveyeva, Moore-Jansen, Mosack, Oare, Pulaski, Rillema, Rokosz,
Ross, Yildirim
Members Absent: Alexander, Anderson, Besthorn, Hamdeh, Liu, Lu, Miller, Mukeerjee, M. Smith, Solomey,
Toops
Members Excused: Jacobs, Johnson, Kreinath, Yeager
Summary of Action
1. Accepted the Committee Annual Reports from:
General Education
Rules
University Admissions and Exceptions
2. Tabled the proposal from Academic Affairs regarding duplication of hours for majors/minors
I. Call to Order – President Ross called the meeting to order at 3:30 pm
II. Informal statements and proposals - President Ross recognized those senators that were finishing their term on the
Senate and thanked Senators deSilva, Pulaski, Jacobs, Toops, Solomey, Mukerjee, Besthorn
adn M. Smith for their service.
III. Approval of Minutes - The minutes of the May 6 Faculty Senate meeting were approved.
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IV. President’s Report President Ross recognized the members of the Senate Executive Committee and thanked
them for their service and cooperation during the year, and presented the following
recap of the 2012-2013 Senate year:
A. The Executive Committee conducted an evaluation of a proposal from the College
of Engineering Senior Faculty Group to reorganize the mechanical engineering and bio-engineering
programs within the college. The committee submitted its recommendation to the President,
Provost, the chairs of the two departments and the chair of the CoE Senior Faculty
Group in January.
B. The Faculty Affairs Committee completed the Wichita State University Post Tenure
Review Policy and Procedure and it was approved by the full Faculty Senate and submitted
to the Provost’s Office in March.
C. WSU President Bardo requested the Faculty Senate’s nominations for the Vice President
of Academic Affairs Search Committee. The Senate selected the ten faculty members
for that committee.
D. Revisions of University Policies and Procedures Section 5.06 Resolution of Internal
Disputes were completed by the Rules Committee, approved by the Faculty Senate and
submitted to the Provost.
E. Senate President Ross worked with Vice President Herrin, President Bardo and the
members of the WSU Executive Team to allow most faculty members to “spread” their
nine month salaries over twelve months. This will be available starting with the fiscal
year beginning July 1, 2013.
F. The Faculty Senate was given the authority to provide the ten faculty members
of the WSU Strategic Planning Committee (SPC). The SPC submitted its final report
to President Bardo in April.
G. The Senate approved the revisions to the General Education Program proposed by
the General Education Committee.
H. Senate approved recommendations from the Academic Affairs Committee regarding
the University’s Repeat Policy and received a recommendation from the committee regarding
the duplication of credit between multiple majors and minors.
I.. At the conclusion of his summary remarks, President Ross expressed his gratitude
to the Senate for its support and said that it had been his privilege to serve as
this year’s president.
V. Committee Reports: Standing Committee Annual Reports:
A. Senator Mehmet, chair of the University Admissions and Exceptions Committee, presented the following summary of committee activities for the year. The committee
met 12 times for greater than 36 hours of meeting time. During that time the committee
reviewed more than 800 student petitions since August, and will meet three more times
this summer. The committee reviewed and commented on a proposal from representatives
from the Provost’s Office regarding a “hybrid” grading system for the WSU 101 course.
The proposal was later changed to replace the proposed hybrid grading system with
the introduction of a new section of WSU 101 with Credit/No Credit grading scheme
that will be open to those who are admitted by the Exceptions committee and are required
to take it. The committee supported the proposal as changed. The Senate accepted the
report from the University Admissions and Exceptions Committee.
B. Senator Mosack, chair of the Rules Committee, gave the following brief updates of two important issues addressed by the Rule Committee
this year. Two grievance cases were heard this year and the report of the two Grievance
Committees have been submitted to the Provost. The committee’s review and modifications
of Policy and Procedures Section 5.06 have been completed and submitted to the Provost’s
office, which has forwarded to The Office of the University’s General Counsel. The
Senate accepted the report from the Riles Committee.
C. Senator Rillema gave a brief overview of the activities of the General Education Committee. The central focus of the committee’s work this year has been General Education assessment.
The Senate accepted the report from the General Education Committee.
The website https://wichita.edu/?u=facultysenate&p=/2013comannualrpt/ contains the
annual reports of all of the Faculty Senate standing committees.
VI. Old Business
Second reading of a proposal from Academic Affairs Committee: The Senate heard the second reading of the proposal from the Academic Affairs Committee
regarding duplication of hours between multiple majors and minors. At the conclusion
of the last meeting of the senate, President Ross had urged several senators that
had objections to several points of the proposal to transmit their objections in writing
to committee chair , Senator Solomey, for the committee’s consideration. It was reported
that these objections were submitted to the committee, but that the committee chose
to stand by the original proposal of the first reading. Thus the proposal remained
the same, and is repeated as follows for clarity:
The same hours can be used to meet the requirements of more than one major or
minor or combination thereof within the following conditions:
1. At least 12 hours of unduplicated coursework beyond the duplicated hours must
be
completed in each major. This rule applies to second majors earned in the same
degree as well as to second degrees.
2. In minors requiring 15 hours or less, at least three hours of unduplicated coursework
must be completed in each minor.
Courses in the major include all courses beyond general education and college requirements
which are required to achieve that major; this would include courses in
subject areas outside the major subject area.
Colleges and/or departments may impose further restrictions on the use of duplicated
hours for their programs, majors and/or minors.
Double majors across colleges (DMAC), defined as a primary major in one of the
professional schools (Business, Education, Health Professions, Fine Arts, Engineering)
and secondary major in Liberal Arts and Sciences may continue to use duplicate
coursework without limitations.
No committee representative was in attendance at the meeting to clarify the committee’s
action to dismiss the suggested changes to the document. Discussion of the proposal
was intense and apparently very divided. Senator Hull called for the question and
Sentor Rillema seconded. Senator Close made a point of order and asked for the determination
of the presence of a quorum. An examination of the attendance indicated that 21 of
36 senators were present and thus a quorum was in attendance. The Question motion
carried and the Senate voted on the motion from the Academic Affairs Committee. The
motion failed and the proposal was returned to the Academic Affairs Committee for
reconsideration by the the 2013-2014 Senate.
VII. New Business - None
VIII. As May Arise– Senator DeSilva spoke on behalf of the entire Senate and praised President Ross’s
leadership and thanked him for his service to the Senate and the University during
his presidency. All Senators present showed their agreement by spontaneous applause.
IX. Adjournment – the last meeting of the 2013-2014 Faculty Senate was adjourned at 4:15pm.
Submitted by Walter Horn