M92616

Faculty Senate Minutes

Monday, September 26, 2016

Clinton Hall 126, 3:30PM-5:00PM

Senators Present:Ahmed, Anderson, Babnich, Barut, Bolin, Brooks, Bryant, Castro, Chand, Chopra, Close, Cramer, Decker, Dehner, English, Ewing, Hull, Koehn, Johnson, Moore-Jansen, Mosack, Price, rife, Rillema, Rokosz, Ross, Shaw, Taher, Willlis, Wookds, Yildirim

Senators Absent: Asaduzzaman, Birzer, Deibel, Hendry, Lancaster, Pulaski, Solomey, Wehebe

Senators Excused: Kreinath, Myose, Shukaev

Summary of Actions:

1. Accepted appointment of Business representative Jodi Pelkowski to the Academic Affairs Committee
2. Accepted appointment of Education representative SoonChun Lee to the Faculty Affairs Committee
3. Accepted appointment of LAS Math/Physics/Natural Sciences representative Kaandatiga Wimalasena to the Scholarship and Student Aid Committee
4. Accepted appointment of Engineering representative Abu Asaduzzaman and LAS Math/Physics/Natural Sciences representative Paul Rillema to the Budget and Planning Committee

I. Call to Order – Meeting called to order at 3:31PM by President Yildirim

II. Informal Statements and Proposals – None

III. Approval of Minutes
a. Minutes of the September 12, 2016 meeting were approved as corrected

IV. President’s Report
a. President Yildirim remembered Dr. Will Klunder, Professor, History Department, 1947-2015. Anyone who would like to be in touch with the Klunder family can contact Senator Jay Price in the Department of History.
b. Grievance Pool Appointments – Untenured assistant professors who currently are in the grievance pool will remain there. The Rules Committee will be looking at aligning policy and practice. Please send any comments to President Yildirim or Rules Committee Chair, Senator Shaw.
c. Faculty Senate budget – Still under discussion
d. FAR – Dr. Vizzini is open to the idea that faculty senate can work on a FAR that is more in line with the UniScope model. Please send any ideas regarding this to President Yildirim.
e. Higher Education Day, January 19, 2017, at the Capitol in Topeka. President Yildirim asked the senators to think about:
i. What can we present to show what faculty do?
ii. Ways to show why we are valuable to the economic development of Kansas.
f. Faculty Senate Presidents’ Meeting with KBOR - the Council of Faculty Senate Presidents (COFSP) serves in an advisory capacity to the Regents. The COFSP asked:
i. How could COFSP help the board meet its 2016-2017 and Foresight 2020 goals? The regents suggested that COFSP find ways to get more involved.
ii. COFSP also raised issues related to the exporting of talent and what could be done to keep faculty given current resource levels. President Yildirim reported that it was good to share faculty and regents’ perspectives on issues.

V. Committee Reports – The following nominees were confirmed:
a. Academic Affairs– Jodi Pelkowski - Business
b. Faculty Affairs – SoonChun Lee – Education
c. Scholarship and Student Aid – Kaandatiga Wimalasena – LAS Math/Physics/Natural Sciences
d. A LAS Math/Physics/Natural Sciences position is still to be filled on the General Education Committee. Senator Shaw will be contacting individuals.

VI. Old Business
a. Election of Planning and Budget Committee
i. Engineering – Abu Asaduzzaman - elected
ii. LAS Math/Physics/Natural Sciences – Paul Rillema elected

VII. New Business
a. Graduate School Strategic Planning, Dennis Livesay, Dean and Associate Vice President of Research and Tech Transfer spoke to the senate regarding updating the graduate school strategic plan and being more relevant. The strategic plan has the following four elements:
i. Innovative Academic Programs - looking at new models of graduate degree structure, a focus on specific niches, and building a structure that is a pathway to a degree – for example stackable credentials/certificates
ii. Graduate Community – negotiating for a physical space as a place for students to hang out as well as virtual space, identifying social events and professional development events – for example Anne Krook will be on campus as part of a speaker series
iii. Graduate Enrollment Management – focusing on an integrated holistic view of what needs to be done regarding enrollment. It will be program driven with programs asked to initially consider aspirations, and then to plan accordingly. Graduate funds including assistantships will be based on plans.
iv. Updating Processes – not currently using technology effectively, trying to get out of rule enforcement mentality and looking at processes
v. Dean Livesay also noted a new KBOR policy regarding the graduate assistance insurance subsidy. The subsidy is not allowed under the Affordable Care Act. Graduate students will still have access to an insurance plan, but not the subsidy. Funds that were used to support the subsidy will be rolled over into the general assistantship pool.
vi. E-mail Dean Livesay if you have any questions or comments.

b. Higher Learning Commission (HLC) Update - Rick Muma, Senior Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs and Enrollment Management shared the following information:
i. Accountability Matrix – the matrix was developed as a result of the 1997 accreditation visit. It was designed as a planning tool. President Bardo eliminated the accountability matrix and it was replaced with our current planning tool – the Strategic Plan
ii. Examples of university wide changes driven by the Strategic Plan include the Innovation Campus, Honors College, and the Institute for Interdisciplinary Creativity
iii. Online Learning - The 2007 accreditation visit cited inadequate infrastructure for online learning. The infrastructure was built to support online learning. Faculty development was provided through programs such as Reboot Camps and the Online Learning Fellows.
iv. Assessment – Senior Associate VP Muma discussed the assessment of student learning, how and where it takes place. Institutionally, we have direct and indirect measures that are used to access the general education outcomes. The first year seminar (piloting this fall and spring) is an example of how assessment of student learning can impact the curriculum.
v. Senior Associate VP Muma provided copies of the Assurance Document (formerly called the self-study), a handout with possible questions, and an Accreditation FAQ sheet. Senators were encouraged to become familiar with the documents provided. The HLC site visitors will have open forums for faculty, staff, and students, the schedule has not been set.
vi. Find HLC assurance document at: https://wichita.edu/depttools/depttoolsmemberfiles/wsuhlc/HLCassuranceargument91216.pdf

c. Strategic Enrollment Management (SEM) Update - Rick Muma, Senior Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs and Enrollment Management shared the following information:
i. The SEM plan can be viewed online at https://wichita.edu/depttools/depttoolsmemberfiles/registrar/WSU_SEM_GoalsStrategiesTactics.pdf
ii. Goal 1 focuses on changing the culture on the campus so that enrollment is seen as the everyone’s responsibility. To support this, each college will have one or two individuals who will serve as retention and recruitment fellows.
iii. The faculty senate will be asked to evaluate new degree programs at the undergraduate and graduate level. Senior Associate VP Muma stated that new programs need to be created to increase enrollment.
iv. Senior Associate VP Muma has met with college deans to identify college enrollment goals.
v. Questions were raised regarding – courses with large numbers of D’s and F’s; the need to enforce pre-requisites, dealing with large waiting lists, and provisions for additional resources including summer resources.
vi. Fall 2016 enrollment is down by 21 students; however, WSU has its largest freshman class, and its largest population of minority/ underrepresented students. There has been a significant drop in returning students.
vii. A copy of the WSU Enrollment Management Calendar was provided.

VIII. As May Arise
a. President Yildirim reminded senators that all of the senate presidents and the president of the Student Government Association have an opportunity to meet with President Bardo for an hour.
b. President Yildirim also shared his list of next meeting agenda items and asked senators to send him any agenda items they might have.

IX. Adjournment – at 4:42PM