October 16, 2019

FACULTY SENATE MINUTES
October 16, 2019

Present: David Batuski, Erik Blomberg, Amy Booth, Alice Bruce, Mauricio da Cunha, Paula Drewniany, Phil Dunn, Nuri Emanetoglu, Per Garder, Mark Haggerty, Heather Hamlin, Sam Hanes, Leonard Kass, Anil Raj Kizha, Sara Lello, Margo Lukens, Robson Machado, Natalie Machamer, Molly MacLean, Grant Miles, Renae Moran, William Nichols, Christopher Nightingale, Elizabeth Payne, Nigel Pitt, Laura Rickard, Deborah Rogers, Deborah Saber, Michael Scott, Mohsen Shahinpoor, Kathryn Slott, Sean Smith, Andrew Thomas, David Townsend, Peter Van Walsum, Xudong Zheng, Todd Zoroya, Faye Gilbert Interim Provost, VP Research Kody Varahramyan, Claire Strickland CBO, Robert Dana, Ken Ralph, Chris Lindstrom Kimberly Whitehead Chief of Staff, Jen Bonnet (PEAC), SuriyaPrakaash LakshmiBalasubramaniam (Grad Stud Gov) Camryn Hammill (Undergrad Rep)

Absent: David Barrett, Donald Beith, Stephanie Burnett, Sandy Butler, Kristina Cammen, Julie DellaMattera, Torsten Hahmann, Emily Haigh, Judith Josiah-Martin, Amanda Klemmer Colt Knight, Peter Koons, Robert Meulenberg, Patti Miles, Timothy Reagan, Holly Schreiber, Mary “MJ” Sedlock, Howard Segal, John Singer, Phil Trostel, Stephanie Welcomer, Mark Wells, President Joan Ferrini-Mundy, Jennifer Chiarell (CEAC),

The meeting was called to order at 3:15 pm

I.  Welcome, Announcements and Comments
No announcements. 

II.  Approval of Minutes
September 18, 2019
Approved with edits.

III.  Committee Reports
BOT – Patti Miles
Prior to the meeting with the Chancellor tomorrow, it would be helpful if senators read the documents sent out so specific questions are asked.

Academic Affairs – William “Dee” Nichols

  • Academic Integrity Policy: The committee was assigned the task of reviewing the Academic Integrity Policy that was sent by the University of Maine System. At an Executive Committee Meeting with the President and Provost in April of 2019 we were provided with the document and asked to submit feedback. Grant and Patti Miles provided feedback to the rest of the Executive Committee and Administration. At the May Executive Meeting with the President and Provost, we were granted an extension to gather feedback from the Academic Affairs Committee on the proposed policy and report back in September. At this point, I was assigned to a committee of the administration to look at this over the summer. This typically happens on the Academic Affairs Committee as the Provost is an ex-officio member of the committee. At our September meeting, the committee reviewed the document and offered our feedback.  The minutes of this discussion were forwarded to the Provost and other administrators as it was our task. We shared our discussion at the Members only Meeting where faculty voiced concern about the proposed system wide change asking questions about why was this change necessary? What was wrong with our current system? Who developed the system wide document? And where is the shared governance around such policies? The committee appreciated the larger perspective and voiced our concerns to the administration. As a result, several of the members of Faculty Senate are meeting with the Provost to discuss this issue on Friday October 18, 2019 at 10:00 AM. As a result of this discussion and several others like it, the Executive committee inspired by an email sent by Sam Hanes, discussed that questions about shared governance will come up with every policy that the system sends us. The way we address this now (policy by policy) is reactionary and unproductive. We need a strategy for how to create shared governance with the system.It is our recommendation that the Ad-hoc committee on shared governance be reinstated and that this should be that committee’s primary task for the upcoming year. We recommend that they look at models from the University of Florida system and Kent State University as they have already wrestled with these issues. The committee also needs to reach out to Faculty Senators at the other system campuses for their input as well. Academic Affairs committee is scheduled to meet on October 23rd and we will see if a motion on the system wide Academic Integrity Policy is necessary and whether the motion will be one of support or non-support.  We will report our recommendation at our next member’s only meeting.
  • Online SET – the committee of the administration is reviewing the FAQ and other information regarding the online SET with AFUM and a meeting is to be scheduled soon with this committee of the administration which I am a member of due to my role as chair of Academic Affairs of Faculty Senate. We will share additional information as it becomes available with the Academic Affairs Committee and ultimately with Faculty Senate. Please let this serve as a reminder to members of the Academic Affairs and General Education committee to send feedback to me regarding what was presented at our meeting.
  • Sam Hanes and Guests will now share a 15-minute presentation on General Education Assessment and next steps.

Gen Ed – Subcommittee of Academic Affairs – Sam Hanes
Gen Ed Committee, Deb Allen and Mandy Barrington did a presentation to update assessments done in May. Rubrics were used to assess nine outcomes. Twenty courses were selected randomly with faculty and staff scoring the artifacts of each course. Findings from scoring sessions were looked at to see if benchmarks were met. Western Cultural Traditions, almost all artifacts showed they met at least the benchmark but most hit level 2. Social Context and Institutions didn’t meet the rubrics but it’s possible the rubrics weren’t distributed for better awareness. Discussions suggested the system is unclear and some reform may be needed. Assessments were done in Western Cultural Traditions, May 2018, Social Contexts and Institutions, May 2019, and Cultural Diversity upcoming January 16, 2020.

In June five people attended the Institute for General Education and Assessment Conference. Many models were presented during the conference. Some challenges currently are too many choices, courses not aligned with outcomes and faculty not always aware they’re teaching a general education course. The committee will look at models for a more coherent curriculum, tiers that build on each other, interdisciplinary designed to promote engagement and have Gen Ed fit majors. Many universities have found that, over time, Gen Ed needs to be looked at on a regular basis so more and more classes aren’t added over time without looking at current offerings.  There will be a Faculty Forum November 21, 3:00-4:30 in the Memorial Union Bangor Room.

Q.  If students from 100 or 200 levels are assessed, would those weaker assessment outcomes be expected?
A.  Should still see a significant percentage at higher levels than found, though higher level classes might also rank higher.

Constitution & Bylaws – Grant Miles
No report.

Research & Scholarship – Sean Smith, Deborah Saber & Nuri Emanetoglu
The committee will meet on October 23 and with FIPCE at the end of the semester.

Finance & Institutional Planning – Mauricio da Cunha & Mike Scott
Meetings are in the process of being set up.

University Environment – Erik Blomberg
Looking to schedule a meeting with the Provost, it has not been set up yet.

Service & Outreach – Colt Knight
No report.

Committee on Committees – Grant Miles
Volunteers are needed for the NSFA Dean Review, volunteers need to from other colleges. Same for the CLAS Dean Review. There’s also a need for names from Engineering for the Tenure and Reappointment committee, must be full Professor and tenured.

Program Creation & Reorganization Review – Margo Lukens
There is a motion under New Business.

Library Committee – Howard Segal & Robert Rice
No report.

Information Technology Committee – Patti Miles
No report.

Ad Hoc Shared Governance
No report. 

Reports of Faculty Members on Committees of the Administration
No report. 

IV.  Announcements and Updates from the Administration

Interim Provost Gilbert stated that President Ferrini-Mundy is in Washington D.C. giving the Keynote for Presidential Awardees K-12, science and math teachers and university STEM mentors at the NSF. Three of four honored from Maine were UMaine students.

President Ferrini-Mundy’s view, as things move toward Unified Accreditation, is that UMaine and UMaine Machias be used as a model and leader in the process to benefit students. UMaine’s special distinction needs to not be diminished. There is an opportunity for leadership through questions, ideas and solutions in the process. Student credit hours at UMaine and UM Machias comprise almost half in the UMSystem.

The NECHE review report is expected this spring. That process won’t be affected by pursuits of Unified Accreditation.

Tomorrow at 2 pm there will be a meeting with the Chancellor and President in Wells Conference Center. They’ll report on what Unified Accreditation means.

V.  Questions of the Administration
Q.  How are dates determined for recruitment events and are faculty involved in the decision? A Saturday in August seems not to be the best time.
A.  Jeff St. John stated, it’s usually Enrollment Management that handles event dates. Dates used to be on Friday but it created issues. Saturday was difficult at first but feedback from faculty and students was positive. Faculty should have input on which Saturday they’re held.

Comments: A forum on budgets was held this morning and it was asked who was faculty but not an administrator – the answer was not many. Several faculty have asked that meetings be set for late afternoon instead of morning since that is a busy class time. November was changed to a morning due to the Faculty Senate schedule but in the future, there should be afternoon dates.

Items discussed today were how to model enrollment growth and losses, in-state is up but out-of-state pays more money. Why not convince the legislature to adjust for lost out-of-state dollars while recruiting in-state students? Provost Gilbert commented that students from elsewhere establish a reputation for UMaine, it’s not just about the money but benefiting diversity with students from other states and countries. There has been a draw from Maine of 9%, up from 8.5% of graduating high school seniors.

Q.  Was the 9% of Maine high school students going to college?
A.  No, those that graduate is used for forecasting.

Comments: In-state has a declining number of high school graduates. Are we losing qualified Maine students to out-of-state or do a reasonable number attend Maine colleges?

The Maine graduation rate for high school students ranked 12th in the country but those getting college degrees ranked lowest in New England. Projections at a percent yield, that hasn’t changed over time. There’s a need to entice those students to go to college, any college.

Comment: The Undergraduate Student Government Rep stated, a lot of Maine students in student governments said many students pursue opportunities outside of Maine. One issue is affordability and getting a job with a competitive pay rate in the state.

Q.  Will there be a report from the 1st Year Student Success working group from last year?
A.  The report was developed at Deans Council. It will be loaded to the Strategic Vision and Values website to make that framework. Discussions/process is being made with the Deans Council.

Comment: A lot of people were involved and then no information provided at the end. Provost Gilbert stated she wasn’t opposed to sharing a draft of the information but the intent was to implement. 

VI.    Old Business
No old business. 

VII.    New Business
Motion — Changes to the Policies and Procedures (P&P) Manual
Background:
The Program Creation and Reorganization Review Committee (PCRRC) is proposing changes to the Policies and Procedures (P&P) Manual.

The University of Maine System Board of Trustees, at its July 15, 2019 meeting, passed revisions to UMS Policy 305.1 regarding Academic Program Approval. Per the Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs:

  •  the “Intent to Plan (ITP)” process was eliminated and replaced with a requirement for a market analysis consultation with UMS or campus institutional researchers and a 250-word request from the appropriate academic unit to their campus Provost
  •  the existing mandatory, external review for any new degree program was eliminated, with the need for external review to be determined at the discretion of the COAC and VCAA.

Campus policies and procedures need to be updated to align with these UMS Policy 305.1 revisions.

The intent of the revisions, according to the July 23, 2019 memo from the VCAA, is to make it possible that “campus-level consideration of a proposed program could occur within 120 days.”

The revisions to the P&P Manual being proposed by the PCRRC clarify steps for Program Request submission, Full Proposal, and UMS /evaluation process, as well as responsibilities for each step. The number of steps has been reduced from 15 to 13.

This motion only covers Chapter 2 and its Appendix. Should the motion pass, then additional changes to subsequent chapters of the manual may be necessary.

Motion to update Chapter 2 and its Appendix A in the Faculty Senate Program Creation and Reorganization Review Committee Policies and Procedures Manual

Motion: The Faculty Senate supports the proposed revisions to Chapter 2 (and its Appendix A) of the PCRRC Policies and Procedures Manual, to align campus processes for program creation with streamlined procedures adopted by the University of Maine System.

Q. Who conducts the market research mentioned or does the UMaine System support that?
A. Burning Glass is used to see the number of jobs, skills, etc. The Office of Institutional Research runs that data.

Provost Gilbert said the UMSystem is looking for Burning Glass to be looked at and included in any report.

Hypothetical, if the Math Department proposed a degree in Statistics, what information may be needed to refine what’s asked. This is one element in an intent to plan.

Burning Glass has insights as well as programs by zip code and occupation.

Q. Is the market research statement based on what the UMSystem wanted?
A. Yes.

Comment: Seems this gets back to Shared Governance.

Vote:
Yes        23
No         1
Abstain   7

       

Adjourned 4:30 pm

Respectfully submitted,
Grant Miles

Prepared by Kim Junkins