UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND

Kingston, Rhode Island

FACULTY SENATE

MINUTES

Faculty Senate Executive Committee Meeting #18 ­ January 26, 2005

 

  1. The meeting was called to order at 1:05 pm on Wednesday, January 26, 2005, in the third floor conference room in Green Hall, Chairperson Boudreaux-Bartels presiding. All members were present, except Ms. Grubman.

 

  1. The minutes of Executive Committee Meeting #17 were approved after some minor editorial revisions were made.

 

  1. Announcements/Correspondence ­

 

a.     Senator Rice reported on the Board of Governor¹s Academic and Student Affairs Committee Meeting of December 17, 2004.

 

i)      Discussion was mainly focused on keeping tuition affordable so that all Rhode Island residents have access to public higher education via a reasonable in-state rate. It appears to be Board policy that out-of-state students should pay the full cost of their education as the market dictates.

 

ii)  Assessment of various programs/departments at the    three public higher education institutions will be of concern to the Board during the year. Provost Swan gave an overview of Mr. Tom Murphy¹s Academic Program Assessment survey being considered at URI. Revised Mission Statements for each institution will be considered as part of this process.

 

b.     A letter from Prof. Gitlitz was circulated. The content of the letter had to do with the advisability of having final exams on Saturday. Members noted that others had raised similar issues in some different forums and contexts. All this information would be forwarded to the Academic Standards and Calendar Committee for review, discussion and consideration for possible action.

 

c.     A note from President Carothers was circulated explaining that there was considerable support within the minority community of the state for the Charter School proposal put forward by the University.

 

d.     The upcoming dates for the Outcomes Assessment Workshops, led by Dr. Peggy Maki, were announced. At URI, the dates will be March 3, March 22, April 7, May 26 and October 7, 2005. It was suggested that these dates ought to be brought to the attention of the Faculty Senate at the January 27, 2005, meeting. Further clarification from Vice Provost Swift should also be sought as to the details associated with these scheduled workshops.

 

e.     It was announced that the sponsors for the receptions after the next two Faculty Senate meetings will be Dean Seemann and Dean Nassersharif, respectively.

 

f.     The Chairperson indicated that she had been made aware of a number of administrative retirements that will take place in the near future. She was asked by the committee to clarify, with the President, if search committees have been formed and, if so, who are the members of those search committees. It was also asked of the Chairperson to inquire with the President as to the schedule for conducting the various administrative searches and if he could report on this matter at the next Faculty Senate meeting.

 

  1. The Agenda for the Faculty Senate Meeting #5, January 27, 2005, was examined again by the committee and certain suggestions were made so that the meeting would run smoothly in the absence of Ms. Grubman. Members of the Executive Committee volunteered to handle some of the activities that are normally assumed by Ms. Grubman. It was agreed the minutes for the meeting will be recorded from a combination of reports of the members of the Executive Committee.

 

  1. Matters of Continuing Concern

 

a.     JSPC

 

i)      It was noted that the meeting on January 24, 2005, had to be postponed until February 7, 2005, due to the snowstorm. The make-up of the agenda for that postponed meeting will remain the same although an additional item or two might be added if it will not be possible to schedule an additional meeting prior to March.

 

    ii) The Faculty Senate Executive Committee ³Administrative Ombuds² initiative to encourage administrative facilitation of process and procedure seemed to be well received and it is apparent that some action will be taken in the near future. The Executive Committee will continue to monitor the initiative and make suggestions as needed.

 

b.     Follow-up on the Executive Committee survey ­ A written report will be available within the next two weeks, and Senator Kowalski and Ramsay will present that report when it becomes available.

c.     Student Learning Outcomes Assessment ­ A number of e-mail messages have been exchanged. It was stressed that some members of the campus community want to have guidance with respect to ³how to proceed², e.g. a list of recommended steps to take. It was also suggested that there should be separate workshops for those programs new to assessment versus those programs which already undergo assessment as part of national accreditation. It was mentioned that a URI website containing information on assessment and links to assessment programs at other institutions would become available in the very near future. It was suggested that the Chair report some preliminary information to the Faculty Senate on January 27th, specifically the website address (currently http://www.ecentricsites.com/assessment/, soon to change to http://www.uri.edu/assessment) and URI workshop dates. It was also noted that the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Executive Committee are members of SLIACC, which is advisory to this entire process.

 

d.     It was decided that follow-up questions should be forwarded to Vice President Weygand regarding items he mentioned in a December e-mail:

 

i)      Mold problem in Independence ­ ³Now that Vern   Wyman has held his public meeting on Chafee, he will set a date for this one.²

 

ii)     Re: Student Enrollment/Tuition Increase questions ­ ³The Budget Office to prepare a response.²

 

iii)   Parking availability vs. demand - A full space inventory was provided to the Committee.

 

e.     Enrollment Services, e-Campus and Pre-requisite discussion ­ Tabled

 

  1. Special Faculty Senate Executive Committee Meeting ­ It was decided to have a special 2 hour meeting on February 14, 2005 to discuss the Murphy model and recommendations to JSPC regarding budget priorities.

 

  1. Unfinished Business ­ The February 2, 2005, meeting of the Executive Committee will include a discussion with the CBUM Committee.

 

  1. New Business ­ None and the meeting adjourned at 3:00 pm.

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

William Rosen

Vice-Chair, Faculty Senate