UNL Academic Senate Meeting Minutes
East Campus Student Union Great Plains Room
November 7, 1995
President H. Douglas Jose Presiding
1.0 Call to Order
* President Jose called the meeting to order at 2:30 p.m.2.0 Announcements
2.1 Senator Wise, Ad Hoc Faculty Club member, announced the assembly would be receiving a mailing in the next few weeks updating them on negotiations with the Lincoln University Club for the proposed Faculty Club.2.2 President Jose reported on the meeting with the Executive Committee and the Board of Regents during their November 2 visit to East Campus. Members discussed UNL's peer group, library enhancement, tuition remission for dependents, selection of a UNL Chancellor, state and federal budgets, and the role of faculty in "academic re-engineering."
2.3 President Jose announced plans for the Boyer workshop on December 6. Interested Senators should contact Jose if they wish their name to be included.
3.0 Interim Chancellor Leitzel
3.1 Chancellor Leitzel announced that a Conduct Standards and Behavioral Expectations task force has been formed. This task force, consisting of twelve members, will explore campus efforts to communicate conduct standards and review the student judicial system. The first meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, November 8.3.2 Leitzel discussed the transfer agreements with the community colleges. A transfer handbook is now available and Leitzel acknowledged the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources for their exemplary efforts with this project.
3.3 Leitzel reported on the Distinguished Scholars Day, held November 6, which brought in Nebraska's highest scholars to meet with UNL faculty, staff and students.
Discussion: Roysircar-Sodowsky, Educational Psychology, asked how we might define responsible behavior for students and whether the university's perception differed from that of the surrounding community. Leitzel responded that the entire structure is currently under scrutiny and the experience of the past has demonstrated a level of consensus can be reached with ongoing discussion and communication.
4.0 Minutes of 10/03/95 meeting
* Courtney, Vocational and Adult Education, moved for approval and Zoubek, Cooperative Extension, seconded. Minutes of October 3 senate meeting were approved.5.0 Committee Reports
5.1 Mary Beck, Chair of the Academic Rights and Responsibilities Committee, noted the statistics cited in the report do not adequately reflect the human element and the importance of the rights and responsibilities of the faculty assembly.5.2 Grading and Examination/Dismissal Appeals. Don Lee, Past Chair, was absent. Sartori, Physics and Astronomy, requested that President Jose relay to Past Chair Lee questions concerning several grade appeals that received favorable decisions.
5.3 Yenbo Wu, Chair of the Chancellor's Commission on the Status of People of Color, reported. Courtney asked whether historical records were available concerning recruiting and retention of minority staff and students. Chair Wu responded that the Office of Affirmative Action and Diversity should have these records. Senators Courtney and Roysircar-Sodowsky questioned whether the title of the commission was appropriate.
5.4 Rebecca Trammell, Chair of the Chancellor's Commission on the Status of Women, presented the report. A correction will be made to page three of the report citing an error in the use of the term "nonprofessional" rather than "office/service." The committee objected to the wording of a faculty club mailing concerning the Lincoln University Club dress code, and to a lack of women representation on committees. Chouinard, Mathematics and Statistics, cited a recent report reflecting a 40-60% participation rate for women over that of men. The problem is a shortage of women faculty members. Parsons, AgLEC, suggested the university explore the part-time employment ranks for possible recruitment. Zorn, Finance, asked if the people responsible for the dress code wording had been contacted.
6.0 Election of Executive Committee Member
* An election was held to fill a vacancy on the Executive Committee through academic year 1997. Julie Albrecht, Nutritional Science & Dietetics, and Pat Kennedy, Marketing, were the candidates. President Jose announced Pat Kennedy the winner.7.0 Resolution from Faculty Womens Caucus re: Student Code of Conduct
* Senator McGarvey, Economics, proposed the following amendements to the Student Code of Conduct. She moved that the Senate endorsed them in principle, with the exact language to be decided upon by ordinary processes:(1) "The commission of a violent felony or violent misdemeanor by a University of Nebraska student which occurs on-campus or off-campus constitutes misconduct adversely affecting the educational interests of the University for which an offending student will be subject to disciplinary proceedings and sanctions under the University Disciplinary Procedures."
(2) "If any Federal, State, or Municipal Criminal Justice Agency charges a University of Nebraska-Lincoln student with the commission of a violent felony or violent misdemeanor, that student will be immediately suspended from participation in any UNL-sponsored intercollegiate events and or any role in which they officially represent the University. The suspension shall remain in effect until the student is cleared of all charges."
(3) "The Judicial Officer shall automatically institute as expeditiously as possible a disciplinary proceeding before the full University Judicial Board against any student suspended from UNL-sponsored intercollegiate events and or from any role in which they officially represent the University for a violent felony or violent misdemeanor charge."
(4) "If a University of Nebraska-Lincoln student is convicted of a violent felony or violent misdemeanor, that student will be immediately suspended from participation in any UNL-sponsored intercollegiate events and or any role in which they officially represent the University, for a period of time to be determined by normal processes." The motion was seconded by Senators Ford and Roysircar-Sodowsky and will be voted on during the December senate meeting.
Discussion: Owomoyela, English, questioned the effects of off-campus events on campus safety and asked if these amendments would interfere with the judicial process. McGarvey noted that it was not the intent of the Women's Faculty Caucus to interfere or supplant the legal justice system. Wise, Law Library, questioned the legal implications of the language used in the prepared amendments. Bender, Journalism, stated he could not support the amendments unless wording was revised. Helen Moore, Sociology, responded that the November 7 draft was the result of two meetings with the Senate Executive Committee without consensus; thus, they are presenting the amendments "in principle" for Senate endorsement. Scheideler, Animal Science, stated that the proposal is closely aligned with the current Student Code of Conduct. Ford, English, asked that we take a stand against violence. Jensen, Psychology, expressed concern that the amendments do not encompass nonviolent crimes such as forgery, fraud and plagiarism. President Jose closed the floor for discussion to be resumed during the December meeting.
8.0 NCA Accreditation
8.1 Al Kilgore, Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, outlined the procedures, guidelines, and time lines for the upcoming NCA accreditation. The process will focus on five criteria including goals and objectives, how these goals will be met, the assessment process, future goal accomplishment, and institutional integrity.8.2 President Elect White presented the assessment guidelines component of the accreditation process. The student assessment project begs two questions: what is the evidence of faculty participation in developing the institutional plan, and whether the time line for assessment programs is appropriate and realistic.
Discussion: Bleed, Anthropology, and Roysircar-Sodowsky asked if the assessment process will be the responsibility of the individual colleges and departments. Kilgore responded that this was essentially the case. Ford asked if Kilgore feels there is enough support to produce a good plan. Hardy, Physics and Astronomy, asked how the departments are to conduct the assessment process. Kilgore has examples available from other colleges to aid in the process.
