Academic Senate Meeting Minutes 2/24/15

ACADEMIC SENATE MEETING

MINUTES

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

SEVEN HILLS CONFERENCE CENTER

NOB HILL ROOM

2:00 – 5:00 p.m.

ATTENDANCE:

Absences: Alvarenga, Gabriela (exc); Carabez, Rebecca (abs); Drennan, Marie (exc); Lebuhn, Gretchen (abs); Levy, Eileen (exc); Merchant, Zahira (abs); Pope, Robert (exc); Tumbat, Gulnur (exc); Wong, Les (exc); Yoo, Grace (abs); Yoon, Ilmi (abs); Zink, Attila (abs)

Visitors: Shawn Whalen, Sacha Bunge,

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.

With a quorum being present, the meeting was called to order.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Announcements were made and heard.

AGENDA ITEM #1—Approval of the Minutes for February 10, 2015

The Item was discussed. The vote was called. The Minutes were Approved.

AGENDA ITEM #2—Approval of the Agenda for February 24,  2015

The Item was discussed. Senator Carleton made a motion to move Item #4 to #6, which would move Item #6 to Item #5. The vote was called. The motion carried. Senator Yee-Melichar moved to insert a new Item #7: Academic Senate State Resolution in Support of AS 3197-14?FA. Discussion was had. The vote was called. The motion failed.

The following concerns and questions were raised:

1.  Is it possible to have hard copies of the Resolution and more time to read through the clauses?

AGENDA ITEM #3—Chair’s Report

The Item was discussed. The Academic Senate heard a report from Chair Getz. Central in the report was recognition of the good work that senators have done and a call for senators to nominate colleagues willing to serve on Grad Council, the Appeals and Review Board, Professional Development Committee, and the Online Education Committee. Changes to the Baccalaureate Policy were also discussed and the challenge that will be faced by senators. 

AGENDA ITEM#4 (Old Item #5) —Recommendation from the Academic Senate Executive Committee—Proposed Revisions to Administration and Processing of Electronic and Paper Teaching Effectiveness Evaluation, S13-213, 1^st Reading

The Item was discussed. The following concerns and questions were raised:

1. Is it possible to have the Teaching Evaluations available before week 15?
2. Every student attending a class should have the ability to offer an evaluation.
3. Does having evaluations earlier undermine student ability to offer evaluations?
4. Is it possible to discuss with these concerns and issued with the Registrar?

Senator Hanley motioned that Item be moved to Second Reading. The vote was called. The motion carried. The vote was called to Approved the Item. The Item was Approved.   

AGENDA ITEM #5 (Old Item #6) —Recommendation from the Academic Policies Committee: Proposed Revisions to the Baccalaureate Degree Policy, #S14-255, 1^st Reading

The Item was discussed. The following concerns and questions were raised:

1. Simplifying the requirements will enable students to navigate the curriculum more effectively.
2. The complexities of the new G.E. requirements overwhelmed the faculty.
3. MYSFSU, as it relates to the G.E. requirements for students and advisors, is very complex.
4. It is important to view the G.E. requirements as more than a checklist. Simplifying the process would enable us to guard against this.
5. It is important to separate the two inconsistent points of the discussion: the need for seats in G.E. and the needless complexity of the process and requirements.
6. It is important to remember what we want our students to learn from this G.E. process.
7. It is important to consider that faculty are gaming the system to impact enrollments. It is important to ask how one class can address six topics areas.

With the speaker’s list exhausted, the Item will return in Second Reading at a future meeting.

AGENDA ITEM #6 (Old Item #4—Recommendation from the Executive Committee: Proposed Exceptional Levels of Service Policy, 2^nd Reading

Senator Gerber moved the Item and deferred to Senator Hanley for discussion. The Item was discussed. The following concerns and questions were raised:

1. It is important to consider the mechanism that is set in place by the proposed changes.
2. It is important to have consultation with the people that are going to be required to do the work.
3. It is important to consider the merit-based aspects of the proposed changes.
4. It is important to consider the thinking that brought the policy forward.
5. It is important to remember that all faculty work for the university.
6. It is important to consider what is needed to clean up the situation now to ensure success.
7. It is important to acknowledge all of the great works being done by our faculty colleagues and to not prioritize one over the other.
8. It is possible to not spend the money?

Senator Yee-Melichar motioned that line 47 be changed to seven instead of six. The rationale behind the motion was to offer a tiebreaker during voting. The vote was called. The motion carried unanimously. Senator Bettinger moved to add in Line 77.“Faculty involved in Metro Academies shall be prioritized.”  The vote was called. The motion failed. The vote was called to Approve the Item as Amended. The Item was Approved.  

AGENDA ITEM #7—Academic Senate Election:

Academic Council on International Programs (ACIP) CSU Representative—Nominees:

Jessica Elkind (History); Julian Hoxter (Cinema); Therese Doan (Nursing); Mike Hammer (Foreign Languages & Literatures); Scott Siegel (International Relations);  Pavlίna Látková  (Recreation, Parks,a nd Tourism)

The Item was discussed. An election was held. The following results occurred: Senator Doan, enator Siegle, and Senator Hammer remained. A run off election was held and the following results occurred: Senator Doan and Senator Hammer remained. A final run off election was held and the following results occurred: Senator Therese Doan (Nursing) was elected to serve as the ACIP CSU Representative from San Francisco State University.

AGENDA ITEM #8—Adjournment—no later than 5:00p.m.

The Academic Senate Adjourned at 3:21p.m.