September 22, 2010
FACULTY SENATE MINUTES
SEPTEMBER 22, 2010
Present: Joe Carr, Ted Coladarci, Robert Dana, Scott Delcourt, David Dvorak, Mike Eckardt, Eileen Flaherty, Robert Franzosa, Todd Gabe, John Gregory, Michael Grillo, Gordon Hamilton, Dan Harrison, Clarissa Henry, Sue Hunter, Kirsten Jacobson, Mel Johnson, Robert Kennedy, Deborah Killam, Dennis King, Kurt Klappenbach, Irv Kornfield, Judy Kuhns-Hastings, Bill Livingston, Stuart Marrs, James McClymer, Sid Mitchell, David Morrison, Harlan Onsrud, Tina Passman, Paul Rawson, Andrew Reeve, Robert Rice, Joyce Rumery, Thomas Sandford, Mike Scott, Scott See, Howard Segal, Evelyn Silver, Phillip Silver, Kathryn Slott, Claire Strickland, Claire Sullivan, Phillip Tran, Shihfen Tu, Daniela Veliz, Janet Waldron, James Warhola, Robert White, Nate Wildes.
Absent: Douglas Bousfield, Ian Bricknell, Tony Brinkley, Chris Campbell, Cynthia Erdley, Susan Erich, Janet Fairman, Robert Gundersen, Duane Hanselman, David Marcincowski, Howard Patterson, Justin Poland, Touradj Solouki, Roy Turner, Chuck Wallace, Mark Wells, Vivian Wu, Huijie Xue.
The meeting began at 3:15 pm. Senate President Grillo reminded senators of the need for people to serve on the senate committees, a sign-up sheet was circulated. He also announced that candidates for governor will be visiting campus on October 5. There will be a Q&A session with the candidates and they will also be visiting various departments on campus.
Committee Reports:
BOT Representative – Bob Rice
Steve Abbott has been appointed interim Athletic Director effective September 11, 2010.
Official enrollment numbers will be released on October 15. Numbers are down in both undergraduates and graduate students. There is an effort to implement Systemwide Branding. Six Enrollment Managers have been hired. The BOT authorized additional funds for the Stewart Commons remodeling. The new landfill gas agreement will save millions in energy costs for this campus. The BOT is moving quickly on the public agenda called Advancing Maine.
Academic Affairs – Judy Kuhns-Hastings
The committee has met once and are planning a meeting to discuss the common calendar. We will need to have a response by December.
Constitution & Bylaws – Jim Warhola
No report. The committee needs representatives from Engineering and Natural Sciences Forestry and Agriculture.
Research & Scholarship – Janet Fairman
No Report.
Finance & Institutional Planning – Jim McClymer
The committee will meet later in the month.
University Environment – Mike Scott
No report. The committee is still being formed.
Library Advisory – Howard Segal
The committee is looking at various issues. A new carpet is to be installed in the Special Collections section. The committee continues to investigate an Institutional Repository and have had conversations with Ralph Caruso.
Service & Outreach – Deborah Killam
The committee needs more members. Sharon Barker initiated a Learning Circle about S&O which meets every other week on Thursdays from 1 to 2 pm.
Committee on Committees – Roy Turner
The senate put forward the names of four senators for the search committee for the AVP Enrollment: Tony Brinkley, Sid Mitchell, Clarissa Henry and Tina Passman. The two senate members of the Enrollment Management Committee are Judy Kuhns-Hastings (Academic Affairs) and Jim McClymer (Finance and Institutional Planning).
Program Creation & Reorganization Review – Harlan Onsrud
It will be a busy year for the committee due to APPWG and the list of programs up for elimination or suspension. The committee will have its first meeting next week. Harlan is also working on a new updated web-site for the senate.
General Education – Tina Passman
The committee has been working all summer, there is a handout at today’s meeting describing the committee’s action plan.
IT Ad Hoc Committee – Irving Kornfield
The committee is looking at methodologies of on-line pedagogy, methods of electronic communication, gathering information and making some recommendations.
A question was asked if the Computer Connection is closing. The Computer Connection is not closing, it is moving into a section of the UMaine Bookstore.
Discussion with Provost Sue Hunter:
Dr. Hunter gave an overview of Enrollment Management. The entire presentation is attached to these minutes.
She answered questions about Admissions role in the new EM process. She replied that the admission process would be streamlined which would then result in notifying accepted students earlier. About 75 to 80 percent of applications are routinely admitted. The admissions office would no longer read every essay that comes in. If the GPA and SAT scores are acceptable the student would be admitted. There is a lot of time involved in reading applications of students that we know will be sent letters of acceptance. This would then free up staff to concentrate on student searches and recruiting more students. It will also speed up admissions and will also speed up financial aid offers.
Someone commented that increasing enrollment affects the faculty’s ability to teach. She replied that that is part of the EM mission, they will know which programs can take more students.
Presentation on Project 7 by Associate Vice Provost and Dean of the Division of Lifelong Learning by Bob White:
Dean White opened by stating that about one-third of the senators present offer on-line classes. He said that Distance Education at UMaine has been offered for 21 years. When distance education began only a few courses were offered. In fiscal year 2010 over there were over 11,000 enrolled students in distance education courses, he pointed out the revenue generated by these on-line courses was substantial to the university.
As the Strategic Plan references increased use of distance education, Project 7 was created. Project 7 is the plan to offer 7 master’s degree programs on-line. It will attract new students, accommodate employees who have Bachelors degrees who work and cannot attend classes during the day.
The reason for the 7 programs is each college could develop one on-line graduate program and 2 others are envisioned as being interdisciplinary. He felt that this project responds to a statewide need for advanced degrees offered on-line. The Deans of the five colleges have met with Dan Sandweiss, John Gregory, Sue McCullough and Justin Hafford of DLL. Each college has formed a team to investigate the project which includes faculty, chairs, associate deans, staff from CED, Center for Excellence and Teaching Assessment (CETA) and IT. There will be funds allocated to each of the colleges to develop these programs. The technology is available to faculty and students along with links to other universities which offer such programs.
A question was asked who would be in control of these distance education courses. Dean White replied that UMaine will remain in control using UMaine Online, these will be UMaine degrees and students would have to be admitted to our graduate school.
Are all programs asynchronous/real time courses? Those components can be built into the program but Project 7 is looking at 24/7 availability.
He said that there are multiple resources for faculty training that exist on campus; CED, CETA, the Faculty Development Center and Fogler Library to mention some. Many of these resources have developed traditional tools for offering on-line courses. Many of these on-line programs have produced substantial income for the university.
Project 7 could develop into an Institutional Model for degree programming. If we wait another two or 3 years we will be lagging behind other institutions in this area of programming.
Motion to Reauthorize Maine Day, Academic Affairs Committee:
Introduction:
The tradition of Maine Day began in 1935, when then President Arthur Hauck designated a day for the students, faculty, and staff to work together in cleaning up the campus. Every four years, the Faculty Senate is required to re-authorize the institution of Maine Day.
Motion:
The Faculty Senate re-authorizes Maine Day for the years 2011-2015. Maine Day will occur on the Wednesday of the last week of classes in the Spring Semester. Classes will be canceled on that day with the exception of classes, including laboratories, which meet two or fewer times per week. Within 30 days after Maine Day, the group that has overall responsibility for organizing the event shall submit to the Senate a list of projects that were accomplished and the number of people who participated. The Faculty Senate will reconsider the policy of Maine Day in the Fall of 2014.
The motion passed: 24 for, 1 against, and 0 abstentions.
Role and Scope Resolution:
Role and Scope
The University of Maine
The University of Maine is a nationally competitive Land Grant and Sea Grant university with a broad array of baccalaureate through doctoral offerings. Scholarship in the pursuit of new knowledge, education of undergraduate and graduate students, and outreach services to the state are central to the role of the University of Maine as the state’s major research University.
Public Agenda:
The University of Maine is committed to serving the needs of the state, nation and world in times of increasingly rapid changes in society and the natural environment. The faculty and staff are dedicated to working with varied and diverse constituencies in the State to foster social, economic, and cultural development as a means of improving the quality of life in Maine, the Nation, and the World.
Teaching:
The University of Maine faculty stay on the cutting edge of cultural and technological changes. Academic services, resources, and teaching are delivered statewide. A strong liberal education provides the foundation for all students, undergraduate and graduate, in the sciences, arts and humanities, and professions.
Research and Scholarship:
Internationally-recognized research, scholarship, and creative activity distinguish the University of Maine as the state’s flagship university, where faculty and students contribute knowledge to issues of local, national, and international significance. Research, scholarship, teaching, and outreach are linked in the classroom and laboratories, in projects, and in the culture of the university, and are the basis of the Land Grant mission, at the undergraduate and graduate levels.
Outreach:
The University of Maine faculty and students provide comprehensive outreach to the State of Maine and worldwide with public service and multiple forms of education to the citizens of Maine and beyond. The university’s service to Maine provides underpinnings for business, industry, nonprofit organizations, community associations, and governmental agencies, to address the needs of contemporary society. Our outreach fosters vital economic engines and expands our global involvement in the sciences, arts, and professions.
There was a motion to add the words “and staff” in the second paragraph, second line, after “The faculty…” which was approved.
The resolution was approved: 21 for, 1 against, and 1 abstention.
The meeting was adjourned at 5 p.m.