M5817

Faculty Senate Minutes --Monday, May 8, 2017

Clinton Hall 126, 3:00PM-4:30PM

Senators Present: Ahmed, Anderson, Asaduzzaman, Babnich, Bolin, Bruyant, Castro, Close, Cramer, Decker, Dehner, English, ewing, Hendry, Hull, Keene Wooe=ds, Johnson, Mahapatro, Moore-Jansen, Mosack, Price, Pulaski, Rife, Rokosz, Ross, Shaw, Solomey, Walker, Wehebe, Willis, Yildirim

Senators Absent: Barut, Birzer, Brooks, Chand,Chopra, Deibel, Koehn, Kreinath, ancaster, Muthiachareon, Myose, Taher, Shukaev

Summary of Action:
1. Accepted the report from the Executive Committee
2. Accepted the report from the Planning and Budget Committee
3. Accepted the report from the Library Committee
4. Accepted the report from the General Education Committee
5. Accepted the Teaching Evaluation Policy Statement

I. YMCA Feedback Forum – Dr. Terri Hall, Vice President for Student Affairs - began the discussion with the members of the senate by providing the following information regarding the wellness fees. A question and response session followed.
1. When we started discussing the fees with the Y and the wellness fees we were using a credit hour fee, so students taking more courses would be paying more. It was based on the false assumption that if you are taking more credits you would use the services more. We spent about a month looking at an equitable model – head count perspective versus credit hour. We came up with 3 tire system for undergraduates, tier 3 ($661.00) - 9 credit hours or more, tier 2 ($445.00) – five to 8 credit hours, tier 1 ($221.00) – four or fewer credit hours. Using this model, students will save money if they are taking 12 credits or more. Some students in the 5 to 8 credit hour range will pay a little more. Some of graduate students would say they don't like the fees, the cost for graduate students taking 6 credit hours would be $661.00. We have been undercharging our fees for quite a while. If we have three different tiers, then how do we do refunds? This is where the idea of 100% back within the change of schedule period (10-day time) emerged. There will be a process for students to request refunds. To date one student has written her about the refund system is unfair. The wellness cost and joining the American Athletic Conference is a 2.95% increase.
2. Question: Do students who are only taking 1 or 2 credit hours have an option to not add the fee? Response: There are some who can opt out, senior citizens, online majors, certificates, market driven, and concurrent education.
3. Question: What is the logic behind charging graduate students such a hefty fee? Response: Part of what we were trying to find was the fair place, where is full time for graduate students, which is why we landed on 6, those students were paying based on credit hour. Question: Do you have evidence that graduate students use the services on campus and is it similar to the utilization of undergraduates? Response from Dennis Livesay, Dean of the Graduate School we see a lot of students utilizing services on the campus.
4. Question: I already have a problem with students taking more credits could a possible down side to the fee be that students might see this as incentive to take additional credits? Response: That might be an unintended consequence, we will have to pay attention to that.
5. Question: All the money that comes from the university portion will come from student fees? Response: $10 million from the Y, $5 million from the Board of Trustees, the remainder will come from student fees.
6. Question: Is there any sunset when students will no longer have to pay for this? Response: There has been no decision about a sunset yet.
7. Question: Is this process different than the renovation of the RSC? Response: KBOR policy is that a bonded building needs a referendum. These fees are not to bond a building.
8. Question: Can you run through the fees for faculty, staff and the community? Response: We haven't had those discussions yet. We don't know what a membership package would look like, because there are faculty and staff who want to use the Heskett Center. We would like to have a faculty senate representative to be part of those discussion.
9. Question: Membership for the Y is 18 and up? Response: The wellness fee includes more than just the Y.
10. Question: How is it that a vote that was so controversial in the last senate (student government) was suddenly passed? Response: We have different leadership, also when it was presented before it was presented as a credit hour model. This new model mitigates that, for many students the fees are not going up. It includes everything, counseling, mental health services, and testing services.
11. Question: What if someone takes 6 to 7 years to go through the university? Response: This is a 2.95% increase, including the wellness Y fee and athletics.

II. Call to Order – Meeting called to order at 3:30PM by President Yildirim

III. Informal Statements and Proposals –None

IV. Approval of Minutes
1. Minutes of the April 24, 2017 meeting were accepted as presented.

V. President’s Report
1. Provost’s evaluation survey – The survey is out faculty should have received an e-mail, please take time to provide feedback.

2. Planning for Ombudsperson Training – There will be Ombudsperson training in September.

3. Shared governance statement - The statement is with the President.

4. WSU Fee structure – VP Hall provided information.

5. AAUP meeting on campus – At the AAUP meeting, former Mayor Carl Brewer, provided his vision of higher education. The official meeting was held in the afternoon.

6. General Faculty Meeting, May 5, 2017 – The turnout for the general faculty meeting was good. Two items were voted on at the meeting.
i. WSU WATC Affiliation was endorsed by the General Faculty (64 Yes, 31 No).
ii. A statement reaffirming Academic Freedom on all WSU campuses, including the WATC campus was presented by Jeff Hershfield, Chair of Philosophy. The statement was accepted.

7. Parking Garage – Troy Bruun, Associate Vice President for Finance, presented at the last executive committee. The 4th floor of the parking garage will be a faculty lot. The question of whether or not it should be a reserved lot was discussed by Associate VP Bruun and the members of the executive committee. The members of the committee agreed that it should be an open lot for faculty. The other floors are open to everyone as long as you are willing to pay $1.50 per hour. The first floor will be a red reserve lot. Senator Castro: Can the red reserve spaced be a little bigger as there are individuals who pay to park in the red reserve spaces because of a disability? President Yildirim asked Senator Castro to send him an e-mail reminder so the issue could be raised.

8. President’s Executive Team (PET) Meeting at the PET meeting today, some of the discussion focused on: –
i. Enrollment – According to Senior Associate VP Muma - we are up in freshmen student numbers. The schedule building based on completing an online questionnaire seems to be working well, and we are up in the number of underrepresented minority students
ii. Graduate enrollment - Undetermined yet. Dean Livesay stated the graduate school has been admitting between 33-35%, but is down in application volume. We are processing applications within a day or two. At this point, still don't know what is going to happen as far as international students.

9. YMCA voting - previously discussed

VI. Committee Reports - The annual reports for the following committees were accepted as posted.

1. Executive Committee
2. Planning and Budget Committee
3. Library
4. General Education Committee –Annual Report

VII. Old Business

1. Teaching Evaluation Policy (2nd reading). There were some minor suggestions. Members of the senate raised the following questions:
i. Question: Does the approval of this depend on the college or department? Response: We are not changing that board policy of evaluation once per year, just putting in stronger language about ownership of evaluations, and reaffirming that SPTE is not the only tool for teaching effectiveness.
ii. Question: Can a college require faculty to have SPTEs in all classes? Response: We are not changing college policy.
iii. Question: What is the motive behind allowing faculty members to withhold student comments? Response: In some colleges the feedback was given to the college before the faculty, this raised concerns by the faculty that the feedback was cherry picked to make a negative case. Feedback is not done by all students because it is done by a subset of students so you cannot cherry pick and come up with negative conclusions. When the SPTE was first designed it was to be used to inform the faculty regarding teaching effectiveness – it evolved and use was changed. Comment: It can also work in reverse, when faculty withhold negative results. Question: Can a college require the comments to be submitted? Response: Comments are owned by the faculty there might be some resistance to requiring them to be submitted.
iv. The Teaching Evaluation Policy statement was accepted.

VIII. New Business

1. Weapons Policy Syllabus Statement - President Yildirim asked for feedback regarding a syllabus statement and received many comments.
i. The Executive Committee -suggested not having boiler plate language on the syllabus as more details could lead to more confusion; instead, the committee suggested identifying where the policy could be found and suggested language in case faculty wanted to include a statement.
ii. This topic generated a great deal of discussion by members of the senate the main concerns raised included: faculty liability, possible conflicts (fire marshal versus weapon’s policy), liability in case of an accident, students cannot be separated from their weapons, the need for a phone number for faculty and students to call. It was suggested a phone number at the link.
iii. Senators agreed with Senator Price that the “responsibility for understanding this policy rests with the gun owner.” President Yildirim will send the following statement to General Counsel Moses for review: Gun owners must familiarize themselves with WSU Concealed Carry Policy.

2. Graduate Faculty Policy – Dr. Dennis Livesay, Dean of the Graduate School
i. Dean Livesay provided background information to the members of the senate regarding the new graduate faculty structure, the reasons for simplification and then responded to questions.
ii. There will be to graduate faculty categories: Graduate Faculty (current GF1 and GF2) and Affiliate Graduate Faculty (current GF3 and GF4). A vote on the proposed structure will take place in fall 2017, and the approval process will require a 2/3rds vote of all current GF1 and GF2 faculty.
iii. Programs/departments will continue to be responsible for identifying graduate faculty through the regular process.
iv. The Doctoral Sub-Council will be eliminated and the Research Council will include representation from the entire university (currently the College of Education is represented on the Doctoral Sub-Council, but not on the Research Council - this will be rectified).
v. Question: Is this graduate status permanent (currently renewal required)? Response: Yes, until termination from the university or if graduate status removed for bad behavior.
vi. Comment: The sub council had a role in accepting and proposing new Ph.D. programs. Response: Not sure, if there are any new programs they would go to the graduate council.
vii. Question: Will combining to two categories change how faculty share thesis etc. Response: Some department have co-chairs; I fundamentally disagree with the premise that because you are a new faculty member you are not a good mentor. I will send a summary document to President Yildirim for distribution

3. YMCA Feedback - VP Hall returned for additional questions and comments.
i. Question: Should there be some sort of assessment of what students want, possibly a poll of the student-body at large? Response: The student policy does not call for this. Comment: Going beyond the letter of the law might be helpful. Response: We are at a place where we don't have time to do this.
ii. Comment: As you proceed those students who are non-traditional, have fulltime jobs, and for whom a lot of decisions in Student Affairs do not apply, should be kept in mind. As their voices have not been heard or they have been underrepresented.

IX. As May Arise – President Yildirim recognized senators who completed their term as members of the Faculty Senate.

X. Adjournment – at 4:28 PM