April 7th 2020

 

ACADEMIC SENATE MEETING

MINUTES

Tuesday, April 7, 2020

ZOOM MEETING 

2:00 – 4:00 p.m.

 

Attendance:

Absences: 

Guests: 

 

The meeting will start a 2:00 p.m. with an opportunity for participants to check their settings and the Officers to take attendance. Instructions are available on iLearn for Senators and through email (senate@sfsu.edu) for guests. 

CALL TO ORDER: 2:10 p.m.

1.     Approval of the Agenda for April 7, 2020

·       Sen. Hines – item #15 should be changed Proposed Master of Science in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence

·       Approved as amended with one change @ 2:12pm

2.     Approval of the Minutes for March 17, 2020

·       Approved @ 2:13pm

3.     Announcements from the Floor

·       none

4.     Reports

4.1.   Chair Report

·       Senate voting has begun. Please also check the website for the committees/task forces and the administrative search pool

·       Found out earlier today that PACE is not listed as part of College of HSS and are not able to see the CHSS-specific positions.

·       Internal elections for next year’s senate will occur at the May 7^th plenary.

·       Sad to report the passing of Henry McCoy. He will most certainly be missed. Condolences go out to his family.

4.2.   President Mahoney

·       Wanted to start with gratitude. Recognizing everyone’s heroic efforts.

·       This is not permanent. It is a temporary situation necessary to deal with a health crisis.

·       There are many changes that will occur but we will move back to face-to-face eventually.

·       This is a sprint that turned into a marathon. We need to build confidence in what we are doing.

·       This will not be an existential crisis for SF State. We will be here, and then we will build it back up.

·       We were anticipating a 6% drop in enrollment before the crises. Now we may experience a bigger drop. Especially for international students. 

·       We will likely have a reduction in our allocation. We won’t know until June/July, but we will plan for less in the meantime.

·       Shared governance will be important in our future. Transparency and a holistic approach will be the way that we find success. 

4.3.   Provost Summit

·       Echoing the President’s thoughts. Appreciate the community we are building but looking forward to seeing you all in person. 

·       Thank you to everyone present. It is hard to transform an entire curriculum.

·       The learning is the most important part of what we are doing.

·       I value the role of shared governance and looking forward to more honest and candid conversation. 

·       We know we are facing an uncertain situation in enrollments and funding. The current applications are 15% less than previous years.

·       Hiring slowdown and what it means to faculty hiring- salary is where at least 80% of our budget goes. All new searches are paused, including faculty, staff, and administrators. The President must now approve all searches before re-starting.

·       Deans are bringing back to Provost a prioritized list of searches based on the following criteria

o   How does the hire affect enrollments with the new data we have?

o   Do we need to hire someone for this right now, or could a lecturer who is currently employed be used to cover?

·       Tenure track searches for next year. We won’t know if we are going to be able to hire until the summer. June 1^st is the new deadline for requests. No decisions will be make until August.

·       AMP Steering Committee met yesterday to discuss how COVID-19 affects the master plan – we are going to continue to protect what makes us unique, so that as we move forward we can do so with that at our core.

·       Questions for President and Provost

o   Sen. Sinha – this crisis has moved us into an era of utilizing remote modes of instruction.

o   Sen. Goldman – two questions: 1. How many people are re-working their curriculum to address the pandemic. 2. Do you have an idea of how soon we might come out of this?

§  President Mahoney – planning for summer is remote. Summer orientation is remote. Shelter in place will likely be extended into June. Have been thinking about how entities behaved in 1918 and the long-term effects of how quickly

§  Provost Summit – we are the campus of relevant education and that shows in the way that senators are responding in the chat about ways in which they are integrating the pandemic into their curriculum.

o   Sen. Bermudez – where do we stand on the reimbursements?

§  President Mahoney – for individual students have paid a specific thing we are moving forward. Greater-good things like the Mashouf Center are not being considered at this time as a reimbursement option.

o   Sen. Bui – How do we balance curriculum planning with a 15% reduction. Are we trying to maximize enrollment or save money?

§  President Mahoney - We should be most concerned with our student’s degree progress. 

§  Provost Summit – chairs will be given some time to adjust. Student’s needs are the priority.

§  Lori Beth Way – What has to be taught is the highest priority.

o   Sen. Hulik – Wanted to note something that’s happening with some of the online courses. One of the ways that this is changing how we deliver is that instructors have discovered that technology can be very helpful.

o   Sen. Wilczak – Is there a plan to delay when the Fall course schedule goes live?

§  Lori Beth Way – we are trying to reduce the number of things that keep changing.

o   President Mahoney – beg for everyone’s patience. If we make decisions too soon, we might miss an opportunity.

4.4.   Standing Committees

4.4.1.Academic Policies Committee

·       Sen. Stowers – three items on the agenda today. Upcoming: restructuring policy.

4.4.2.Curriculum Review and Approval Committee

·       Sen. Hines – four items on the agenda today. 

4.4.3.Faculty Affairs Committee

·       Sen. Rubin – three things in discussion in committee. Mid-term review of leaders of academic units and leave with pay policy

4.4.4.Student Affairs Committee

·       Sen. Olsher – tabled many topics. Discussing advising in the fall. Working on a resolution in support of CAPS.

4.4.5.Strategic Issues Committee

·       Sen. Mooney – winding down committee work for the year.

Old Business – no later than 3:00 p.m.

5.     Recommendation from the Academic Policies Committee: Proposed Revision to #S16-16, Graduate Paired Courses Policy – second reading

·       Sen. Stowers moved the item to the floor and spoke to the item

·       Discussion

o   Sen. Wilczak – Motion: propose line 49 “should” and replace should with “would ideally”

o   Second – Sen. Goldman

§  Discussion on the motion

·       Sen. Stowers – this is in here to address the dilution of the graduate experience.

·       Sen. Goldman – we should back off on that provision. Undergrads should not overwhelm graduates in a graduate course, but there should be flexible.

·       Sen. Van Cleave – the word “ideally” was a mushy word without much real meaning. 

·       Sen. Hines – the original language ensures rigor in a graduate course and the other language still allows for flexibility.

§  Vote to amend – motion passes. Line 49 has been amended

o   No further discussion

·       VOTE

o   Passes unanimously @ 3:24pm

6.     Recommendation from the Academic Policies Committee: Proposed Policy on Use of Human Subjects in Research at SF State Policy (supersedes #S15-004) – second reading

·       Sen. Stowers moved the item to the floor and spoke to the item

·       Discussion

o   Sen. Scott – the addresses the federal regulations. We are not currently compliant

o   Sen. Yee-Melichar – speaking in favor and commending the work that APC has done. The information pulled out into a guidebook will be very helpful.

o   Sen. Harvey – speaking in favor and the IRB found that the document is well phrased and supports the goals of the IRB.

o   Chair Gerber – echo Sen. Yee-Melichar’s comments about the guidebook.

o   Sen. Stowers – Sen. Harvey and chair Gerber were very helpful. Thanks to everyone.

·       VOTE

o   Passes unanimously @ 3:28pm

7.     Recommendation from the Curriculum Review and Approval Committee: Proposed Revision to the Bachelor of Arts in Music – second reading

·       Sen. Hines moved the item to the floor and spoke to the item

·       Discussion

o   Sen. Collins – speaking in support. PLOs 1 and 3 are particularly

o   Sen. Spencer – speaking in support. Long overdue and commend the music faculty for moving forward with this. 

·       VOTE

·             Passes unanimously @ 3:31pm

New Business

8.     Policy Resolution on #S17-275, Academic Probation and Disqualification, passed by the Executive Committee on March 31, 2020 – Information item

·       Chair Gerber spoke to the item

·       Discussion

o   Sen. Bloom – point of information – line 9 and line 15 – who does this apply to?

§  Chair Gerber -Any student that might be disqualified after this semester for not progressing.

o   Sen. Goldman – line 9-13 and 15-16 – why isn’t their a provision like there is a provision for graduate students.

§  Chair Gerber – that language is not in the main policy so it cannot be addressed in an adjustment.    

9.     Recommendation from the Academic Policies Committee: Proposed Revision to #S17-275, Academic Probation and Disqualification – first reading

·       Sen. Stowers moved the item to the floor and spoke to the item

·       Discussion

o   Sen. Wilczak – in mandatory advising, one point is to limit the number of units. Can that be done automatically?

§  Sen. Way - Yes, it is done automatically

o   Sen. Way – we were looking in particular, at how many holds and where we could give relief. In general, there is not an overall consensus on this

o   Sen. Pasion – after a student repairs their GPA, they need to see an advisor and get a form signed, but I don’t seen that in the policy.

§  Sen. Way – This may be one of those things that is a practice and not part of the policy.

o   Returned to committee @ 3:48pm

10.  Recommendation from the Executive Committee: Proposed Policy resolution on #S19-241, Retention, Tenure and Promotion – first reading

·       Sen. Gerber moved the item to the floor and spoke to the item

·       Discussion

o   Sen. Bui – most in the unit supported this however there are questions about how the SETE resolution would affect this. And does this affect non-probationary faculty as well?

§  Chair Gerber – SETE resolution if not being pursued anymore. The promotion to full has an automatic option to extend.

o   Sen. Hines – motion to move to second reading

§  Sen. Stowers second

§  Vote – moved to second reading @ 3:58pm

o   Discussion

§  Sen. Stowers – moved to amend line 49 by adding, “consultation with the candidate’s RTP should precede the decision.”

·       Sen. Collins second

·       Sen. Platas – the sentence suggests that it is made with the committee not by the candidate.

·       Sen. Albiniak – suggested a slight change (above) that was agreed upon by the senator who made the initial motion and second.

·       Vote – amended @ 4:05pm

o   Sen. Yee-Melichar – motion to amend line 49 by adding “and College Dean”

§  No second – motion fails

o   Sen. Bui – lines 51-55, when does the candidate need to make the decision?

§  Chair Gerber – before year 6 candidates need to decide whether they are going up for tenure or not, if they are extending that automatically extends their comprehensive review to 

·       VOTE

o    Approved @ 4:11pm

**Sen. Way moved to skip to item #13 at this point in the session.

            Sen. Collins – second

            VOTE – approved @ 4:12pm

11.  Recommendation from the Executive Committee: Proposed Policy resolution on #F15-160, Lecturer Faculty – first reading

·       Tabled due to time

 

12.  Recommendation from the Executive Committee: Proposed Policy resolution on #F95-195, Incomplete Grade – first reading

·       Tabled due to time

13.  Recommendation from the Executive Committee: Proposed Resolution in Support of SF State Students – first reading

·       Sen. Gerber moved the item to the floor and spoke to the item

·       Discussion

o   Sen. Bermudez – did the ExComm committee already pass the CR/NC

§  Sen. Gerber – they needed to move forward to include that as an option on all classes.

o   Sen. Way – also the deadline for CR/NC was moved to April 27^th and the actions of ExComm only allowed us to move forward on giving more options.

o   Sen. Bermudez – it is really important to have decisions on this as soon as possible.

o   Sen. Lee  - how does that impact international students who may need a letter grade.

§  Sen. Albiniak – the CR/NC is an option, not mandated

o   Sen. Goldman – cede time to Laura Burris

o   Guest Burris - Can the timing be explained? 

§  Also, can the student have a week after the grading period is over to choose between CR/NC and a letter grade?

o   Sen. Weinberger – line 11 resolved - Has it been considered that students might be affected by credential requirements?

o   Sen. Small – this would have an impact on many students. Graduate programs don’t always accept CR/NC

o   Sen. Way – Answering the question about CR/NC – sentiment is that students would not be penalized for choosing CR/NC as far as our on-campus requirements in terms of maximum number of CR/NC and any requirements for letter grades to proceed in their education on our campus.

o   Sen. Stowers ceded time to Dean Clavier

o   Guest Dean Clavier – students need to be aware of the impacts of CR/NC. Would support a choice of and Incomplete for graduate students as well.

o   Chair Gerber – move to table this discussion to ensure proper consultation.

§  Sen. Stowers – second

§  Vote – approved @ 4:29pm

14.  Recommendation from the Curriculum Review and Approval Committee: Proposed Revision to the Bachelor of Arts in Studio Art – first reading

·       Tabled due to time

15.  Recommendation from the Curriculum Review and Approval Committee: Proposed Master of Science in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence – first reading

·       Tabled due to time

16.  Recommendation from the Curriculum Review and Approval Committee: Proposed Revision to the Master of Arts in Creative Writing – first reading

·       Tabled due to time

17.  Adjourned @ 4:32pm