Minutes: May 4th, 2010

ACADEMIC SENATE MEETING

MINUTES

TUESDAY, May 4,

2010

SEVEN HILLS

CONFERENCE CENTER, NOB HILL ROOM

2:00 - 4:00 p.m.

OPEN FLOOR PERIOD: 2:00 -

2:10 p.m.

The Open Floor Period

provides an informal opportunity for faculty members to raise questions or make

comments directed to Senate officers or to university administrators. Please arrive promptly at 2:00 p.m.

CALL TO ORDER: 2:10 p.m.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Chair Whalen

The final meeting of the 2009-2010 Senate

will be May 11, 2010.

AGENDA

ITEM#1—Approval of the Minutes for the April 20, 2010. The minutes

were approved.

AGENDA ITEM #2—Approval of the Agenda for May 4, 2010. The

agenda was approved.

AGENDA ITEM #3—Announcement from Genie Stowers, Chair of Faculty

Honors and Awards Committee: 2010 Distinguished Faculty Awards. FHAC Chair

Stowers presented the winners of the following awards: The Excellence in

Professional Achievement Award: Edward S. Conner (Biology); The Excellence in

Service Award: Gail Weinstein (English); and The Sarlo Excellence in Teaching

Award: John Elia (Health Education).

AGENDA ITEM #4—Recommendation from the Academic Policies

Committee: Proposed Requirements

for the Baccalaureate Degree: Majors, Concentrations, Minors, & Certificates,

2^nd Reading.

a. Senator Holzman

introduced a proposed amendment to add Environmental

Sustainability as an overlay requirement.

·

The

addition of

“5) Environmental

Sustainability Requirement” (p.4 Section II General Education and other

requirements to all Baccalaureate Degrees added as line 47)

·

The

addition of

“Environmental Sustainability (ES) LD or UD

3*” (after Global Perspectives in Table 1 page 6)

·

The

addition of the following text after line 199, p. 9

“G. Environmental Sustainability Requirement

All students must earn a passing or

better grade (or “CR”) in a course (one in general education, a major, a minor,

a certificate, complementary studies, or an elective) that is designated as a

Environmental Sustainability (ES) course. The student learning outcomes and

course expectations for Environmental Sustainability courses are described in

the GRTF final report (see Appendix G).

· The addition of the following to the Appendix Table

of contents on p. 30

Appendix

G: Course Expectations, Student Learning Outcomes, and Links to Goals for

Environmental

Sustainability

· Lastly, the addition of the following as Appendix G

following Appendix F that currently concludes on p. 65 line 2211, with

subsequent appendices that follow G to be re-lettered”

Environmental Sustainability

Course Expectations for Environmental Sustainability

(overlay):

1.The course may be a lower or upper division course,

with or without prerequisites, a transfer course or a course taken in

residence, and it may be anywhere in the curriculum (e.g., GE, major, minor,

certificate, electives, etc.). Each student earning a baccalaureate degree from

San Francisco State University is required to complete at least one

Environmental Sustainability class.

2. The course must examine some aspect of environmental

sustainability. The perspective can be from social sciences, natural sciences,

arts, humanities, business, etc.

3. The course syllabus must list the university-approved

student learning outcomes for environmental sustainability and link them to

activities and/or assignments that students complete to demonstrate they have

met the outcomes.

Student Learning Outcomes for Environmental

Sustainability (overlay): After

completion of a course designated as fulfilling the environmental

sustainability requirement, students will be able to do at least two of the

following:

1. demonstrate
   
   how their personal activities impact the environment, and as a result
   
   affect the health and well-being of themselves and society.
2. analyze
   
   how the well-being of human society is dependent on ecosystems and the
   
   materials and services they provide to humanity.
3. explain
   
   the interconnectivity of economic prosperity, social equity and
   
   environmental quality.
4. identify
   
   the most serious environmental problems globally and locally and explain
   
   their underlying causes and possible consequences.
5. students
   
   will be able to create models, products, designs or creative
   
   representations that highlight an understanding of the connections between
   
   people, processes and the environment.

Links between Educational Goals and Outcomes for

Environmental Sustainability

The student learning outcomes were developed in

relationship to the “Educational Goals for the Baccalaureate at San Francisco

State University.” The chart below illustrates that relationship for

Environmental Sustainability. The numbers correspond to the way the educational

goals and student learning outcomes are numbered above.

Educational Goals Student Learning Outcomes for

Environmental Sustainability

“

Senator Sinha proposed an

amendment to the amendment to add “engineering” to the list of perspectives

suggested in the second course expectation.

Vice Chair Trautman proposed

an amendment to the amendment to add on line 669, to change the “i.e.” in the

parenthetical to an “eg.”

Discussion included the

wisdom of adding an additional overlay without consideration of the effects on

other parts of the document.

The proposed amendment was passed.

b. Vice Chair Trautman

proposed an amendment to retain the current requirement in basic information

competency.

·

The

following change was proposed:

“L.

Basic Information Competence Requirement

To be

awarded a baccalaureate degree, students must have completed the basic

information

competence requirement as specified in Academic Senate policy #S99-

207 or any successor policy.” (After line 223)

Discussion included the

instructional value of the current basic information competency requirement vs.

the proposed policy, which integrates library research skills and information

competence into disciplinary coursework.

The proposed

amendment failed.

c. Vice Chair Trautman

proposed an amendment to change minimum grade requirements for the overlay

courses (Area E) from the current standard of “passing” to “C- or better.”

·

The

following change was proposed:

“passing” to “C-” (lines 183, 189, and 195)

The proposed

amendment failed.

d. Vice Chair Trautman proposed an amendment to delete

all references to requirements for complimentary studies.

·

The

following changes were proposed:

1.

Line 56: Delete “the two following requirements:”

2.

Line 57: Delete entire line.

3.

Line 58: Delete “2)” and change “S” to “s”

4.

Lines 59-60; 367-368; and 417-418: Delete the phrase “and complementary

studies”

5.

Lines 67, 184, 190, 196, 1992, and 2053: Delete “complementary studies,”

6.

Line 78: Insert “or” before “certificate” and delete “, or complementary

studies”

7.

Lines 287, 296, and 305: Delete “ or complementary studies (see below)”

8.

Insert on line 302 the following sentence, “The maximum number of units is

increased

to 57 units for major programs that include 12 or more units of

coursework

outside the primary prefix for the major.” before the sentence beginning

“It

is expected…”

9.

Delete lines 307-327.

10. Delete appendix H (lines 2787-2868).

Discussion included the value of adding a requirement that

does not appear on student transcripts, as well as how this would fit into the

number of units students would be required to complete. The flexibility of the

complimentary studies proposal was clarified. The availability of courses was

raised.

The proposed

amendment failed.

e. Senator Sherwin

proposed an amendment to change the description of writing in the major.

·

the

following revision was proposed:

lines 256-259:

Revise:

Major

programs must require that majors complete a GWAR (Graduation Writing

Assessment

Requirement)

course. In addition major programs should provide extensive experience, as

defined

by the program, at the senior level. Major programs are encouraged, but not

required, to

provide

capstone courses or other culminating experiences.

to read:

Major programs must require that majors

successfully complete a junior-level GWAR

(Graduation Writing Assessment Requirement) class.

In due course—by a date or dates to be determined by CWEP (Committee on

English Written Proficiency)—major programs must also provide

opportunities for more advanced discipline-specific writing assignments once

students have progressed further in their studies. Major programs are

encouraged to incorporate substantial writing assignments into capstone or

similar culminating experience courses, but programs may adopt other

appropriate ways for students to satisfy the second, senior-level writing

requirement in the major.

f. Vice Chair Trautman proposed an amendment to include

at least six units of lower-division coursework.

· the following revision was proposed:

1.

Line 253: Change “are encouraged to” to “must”

The proposed

amendment failed.

g. Vice Chair Trautman proposed an amendment

to specify who

appoints the Advising Center and Student Affairs representatives to the BRC,

LDCC, and UDCC; and to clarify that the committees certify courses as meeting

specific graduation requirements.

· the following revision was proposed:

1.

Line 488: Add “professional staff by the director of the Undergraduate Advising

Center”

after the word “Center.”

2.

Line 489: Add “professional staff by the associate vice president for Student

Affairs”

after

the word “area.”

3.

Line 519” change “addition and deletion” to “certification and

decertification.”

4.

Line 548: Add “professional staff by the director of the Undergraduate Advising

Center”

after the word “Center.”

5.

Line 618: Change “elected” to “selected” and add “professional staff by the

director

of

the Undergraduate Advising Center” after the word “Center.”

The proposed

amendment passed.

h. Vice Chair Trautman proposed an amendment to clarify the

implementation of the new degree.

· the following revision was proposed:

1.

Delete from and add to lines 970-974 as follows:

Students

who begin their studies at San Francisco State University, at another

California

State University, or at a California community college, after the conversion

date or who have not maintained continuous enrollment before the conversion

date must satisfy the requirements specified in this policy the fall semester

after the approval of the policy or any revised requirements in effect before

they begin their studies and when the Baccalaureate Requirements Committee

determines sufficient courses have been approved under the new policy. All

students who submit a graduation application after the starting date may elect

to satisfy the graduation requirements specified in this policy.

For

the purpose of describing the implementation of this policy, “starting date” is

defined as the date that the President approves this policy and “conversion

date” is

defined

as the date that the Academic Senate reports to the Provost and President

that

sufficient courses have been approved to satisfy the requirements of this

policy.

“Continuous

enrollment” is defined as matriculated attendance in at least one

semester

or two quarters each calendar year.

The

revised statement would read as follows:

Students

who begin their studies at San Francisco State University, 970 at another California

971 State

University, or at a California community college, after the conversion date or

who

972 have

not maintained continuous enrollment before the conversion date must satisfy

the

973 requirements

specified in this policy or any revised requirements in effect before they

974 begin

their studies.

975

976 All

students who submit a graduation application after the starting date may elect

to

977 satisfy

the graduation requirements specified in this policy.

978

979 For

the purpose of describing the implementation of this policy, “starting date” is

980 defined

as the date that the President approves this policy and “conversion date” is

981 defined

as the date that the Academic Senate reports to the Provost and President that

982 sufficient

courses have been approved to satisfy the requirements of this policy.

983 “Continuous

enrollment” is defined as matriculated attendance in at least one semester

984 or two quarters each calendar year.

The proposed amendment passed.

i.

Vice Chair Trautman proposed an amendment to require action by the Academic Senate to

revise course expectations and student learning outcomes for General Education

Requirements.

Delete

from and add

to lines 1016-1024 as follows:

The

appendices which that follow provide supplemental integral

information for

Academic

Senate policy S10-254, “Requirements for Baccalaureate Degrees,

Majors,

Concentrations, Minors, and Certificates.” Only the Academic Senate, with

approval

of the President, can change Academic Senate policy S10-254, or the

“Educational

Goals for the Baccalaureate at San Francisco State University,” or any

course

expectation or student learning outcome.” The other items in the appendices

below

are not Academic Senate Policy documents statements but provide

some

context

for the intentions of S10-254. Consequently, the Baccalaureate

Requirements

Committee may make changes in the wording of course expectations,

student

learning outcomes, or

extended descriptions or examples of requirements,

without

sending those changes to the Academic Senate for review and approval,

provided

the changes do not call for changes in the policy document. All such

changes

made by BRC shall be communicated to the Academic Senate in the

BRC’s

quarterly reports. The

following is a list of the appendices which that follow:

The

appendices that follow provide integral information for 1016 Academic Senate policy

S10-1017 254, “Requirements for Baccalaureate Degrees, Majors,

Concentrations, Minors, and

1018 Certificates.”

Only the Academic Senate, with approval of the President, can change

1019 Academic

Senate policy S10-254, the “Educational Goals for the Baccalaureate at San

1020 Francisco

State University,” or any course expectation or student learning outcome. The

1021 other

items in the appendices below are not Academic Senate Policy statements but

1022 provide

some context for the intentions of S10-254. Consequently, the Baccalaureate

1023 Requirements

Committee may make changes in the wording of extended descriptions or

1024 examples

of requirements, without sending those changes to the Academic Senate for

1025 review

and approval, provided the changes do not call for changes in the policy

1026 document.

All such changes made by BRC shall be communicated to the Academic Senate

1027 in the BRC’s quarterly reports. The following is a

list of the appendices that follow:

The proposed amendment failed.

The proposed Requirements for Baccalaureate Degrees, Majors,

Concentrations, Minors, and Certificates Policy passed.

AGENDA ITEM #5—Recommendation from the Educational Policies

Council: Proposed Revisions to the

Discontinuance Policy (#F93-177), 1^st Reading. Time certain for

adjournment was reached prior to the hearing of the proposed revisions; the

item will be returned to the May 11^th, meeting of the Academic

Senate.

AGENDA ITEM #6—Adjournment—4:00p.m.