Minutes of the
University Senate
Room 223,
Thursday,
March 1, 2007
W. Bateman called the meeting to order at 4:04 p.m.
Present: Marilyn Baguinon, Len Barish, William Bateman (President), Eric Beaven, Christopher Bloh for Loline Saras, Kristin Bremer, Daniel Cates, Kate Clair, Roberta Crisson, Camille DeMarco, Patricia Derr, William Donner, Lisa Frye (Secretary), Jo Cohen Hamilton, Kathleen Hartman, Ted Hickman, James Hvidding, William Jefferson, Mark Koenig, JoAnn Mackesy, Robert Martin, John McAndrew, Walter Nott, George Paterno, Sylvia Pham, Ilene Prokup, Dennis Rains, Karen Rauch, Paul Sable, Maria Sanelli, Randy Schaeffer, Judith Smith Vice President), Laura Springman, Pietro Toggia, Carlos Vargas-Aburto, Madan Varma, and John White for Lori Don Levan.
Absent: Deborah Barlieb, Mike Demetor, Diane Fegely, Ina Grapenthin, James Hall, Roger Hibbs, Tracy Keyes, Susan Mangold, Justin McCleary, Morris Perinchief, Robert Ryan, Rennie Sacco, David Wagaman, and Karen Williams.
Also in Attendance: Tiffany Kress.
I. Announcements
There were no announcements.
II. Approval of the Agenda
E. Beaven moved, and M. Baguinon seconded, to approve the Agenda. The motion passed.
III. Approval of the Minutes
J. McAndrew moved, and R. Schaeffer seconded, to approve the Minutes of the February 1, 2007 meeting. J. Hamilton made a suggestion to the minutes. Under I. Announcements, Section A, Move “to Dr. Cevallos” from after the long parentheses to just after “a letter” so it reads “a letter to Dr. Cevallos from Dr. Michael Kiphart” The minutes were approved as amended.
IV. Committee and Task Force Reports
A. Committee on Committees
J. Smith, Chair, reported that the Willingness-to-Serve forms will be available starting on Monday, March 5 through Friday, March 23, 2007, on Profs Online. If any faculty or staff members would like a hard copy sent to them, they should contact Lisa Dietrich in the Senate Office. J. Smith reminded everyone that once the “Submit” button is used one cannot go back and change anything.
B. Strategic Planning & Resources Committee
No report.
V. Old Business
A. Discussion about the Academic Forum (AF)
M. Sanelli reported that she received information from two departments regarding syllabi changes due to teaching in large classes. W. Bateman reported that the correspondence he received from the various departments in response to his request for information indicated that no official syllabi were violated. However, first-day handouts were often revised because faculty members changed their teaching methods to accommodate larger classes.
P. Derr reported that the History Department is teaching four different courses in the AF. For HIS 014 and 015 one objective is to “demonstrate improvement in their ability to read critically, think logically, and express themselves clearly and correctly in writing.” In HIS 025 and 026 one objective is to “develop their abilities to read thoroughly, to think critically, and to write clearly.” Due to large class size, it is no longer possible to work on student’s writing. W. Donner also stated the courses taught by the Anthropology/Sociology Department in the AF no longer utilize essay exams due to class size. P. Derr also indicated that attendance is poor in classes taught in the AF. J. Hvidding stated that it is difficult to administer a legitimate exam in a large class.
K. Clair suggested that a longitudinal study be done that follows a few students that each have several courses in large classes. Provost Vargas indicated that a grade analysis could be done, but a variance in grades would not necessarily be caused by only one variable, namely class size. He stated that the Provost’s Office would be willing to collaborate with anyone willing to take on a study of the impact of the AF on grades.
R. Crisson stated that either the Enrollment Management Committee or the university enrollment management team could study the impact of large classes. G. Paterno stated that the courses selected for the AF were based on KU enrollment in courses and the courses taught in large classes at similar institutions. It would be possible to study what courses should be taught in a large classroom setting.
A motion was then made by T.
Hickman, and seconded by R. Crisson, that the University Senate charge the
Enrollment Management Committee with the task of tracking the impact of the
Provost Vargas stated that resources were allocated to provide student help for such things as handing out tests and collecting papers for faculty teaching in large classes if they requested assistance. K. Bremer stated that APSCUF put forth a proposal that would provide Teaching Assistants for instructors teaching in large classes and the Administration rejected that proposal. W. Jefferson said that APSCUF would be willing to engage in another dialogue about Teaching Assistants for large classes. G. Paterno said that Tom Stewart was in charge of contacting all faculty that were teaching in classes with 100 or more students in spring 2007 about the availability of student helpers.
M. Sanelli asked that anyone teaching in the AF E-mail her about their experience teaching in the AF. R. Schaeffer indicated that KU has had large classes for many years. Perhaps faculty that have been teaching in large classes should be contacted to see what works, what doesn’t, their experiences, etc. R. Crisson stated that the CET has held several workshops on how to teach in large classes.
B. Constitutional Amendment about Academic Departments
There was a second reading of the motion made at the last Senate Meeting regarding removing academic department names from the constitution. The motion passed. It reads:
Article II, Section A. 1. Faculty: One (1) Senator elected by and from each academic department. Exception: If two or more academic departments so choose, they may elect from among themselves one Senator to represent them.
VI. New Business
None.
VII. Adjournment
L. Barish moved, and E. Beaven seconded, to adjourn the meeting. The motion passed, and the meeting was adjourned at 5:05 p.m.
Signed:
___________________________________ ___________________________________
William E. Bateman, President Lisa M. Frye, Secretary
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