October 1, 2019

ACADEMIC SENATE MEETING

MINUTES

Tuesday, October 1,^, 2019

SEVEN HILLS CONFERENCE CENTER

NOB HILL ROOM

2:00 – 4:00 p.m.

 

Attendance:

Absences:

Guests:

 

OPEN FLOOR PERIOD:  2:00 - 2:10 p.m.

The Open Floor Period provides an informal opportunity for campus community 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.

1. Approval of the Agenda for October 1, 2019

• Agenda accepted

1. Approval of the Minutes for September 17, 2019

• Approved as submitted

1. Announcements from the Floor

• Career Service & Leadership Development has THREE things to share (Please share with SF State students and alumni):
  • 1) Graduate School Fair
    • This Thursday, Oct 3, 2019, 12pm - 3pm, in the Main Gym
    • Information here https://sfsu.joinhandshake.com/career_fairs/11793/student_preview?token=...
  • 2) JC Penney College Suit-up (finding out whether this is only for students)
    • Tuesday, Oct 15, 2019, 2pm - 7pm, at Tanforan Mall JC Penney
    • 30% off of CAREER WEAR (improve your professional wear for the job, for interviews!)
    • More information here: https://sfsu.joinhandshake.com/events/317842/share_preview
    • Must register to obtain the discount.
  • 3) Fall 2019 Career Fair
    • Tuesday, Oct 29, 2019, 12 - 3pm, in the Mashouf Wellness Center, Mac Gym
    • More information here: https://calendar.google.com/calendar/event?
    • eid=XzY0cGo0ZTFvNWwxbTJzajVjbHA0Y29iOWU5OW1hc3JqZDVubXNnM2FkdGttc3EzMWRwaTc2cTMxZGRpaXNvcmZkayBmaDI0cTVuZGduZTdmNzFvNHVjYmhkbmtsdjBmZmhnckBp&ctz=America/Los_Angeles
    • There is an event link to join the event available on this information page
• From Graduate Studies:
  • EXPLORE MASTER'S DEGREES AT SF STATE
    • Tuesday, Oct 15, 2019, 12 - 3pm, in Jack Adams Hall
    • Division of Graduate Studies 
    • Please share this with your undergraduate students!
    • Grad studies invites all SF State students, and all local undergraduates!

1. Reports
   1. Senate Chair

• Call for applications Exceptional Assigned Time Awards on Campus Memo, nominate yourself or others who qualify.
• We need a Senator to serve on a Space Administration Committee.

1. Standing Committees
   1. Faculty Affairs Committee

• Working on a normative workload document update. This will include a survey to Associate Deans to determine how colleges report assigned time and how they give assigned time for large classes. We are in an information-gathering phase.
• We will work on wrinkles in sabbatical/leave with pay and semester vs year long leaves.
• We will consider some inconsistencies between RRT policy and the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).

1. Student Affairs Committee

• Working on revision of withdrawal policy.
• Fact-finding on Counseling and Psychological Services to update an earlier resolution
• Surveying international and immigrant students
• Five students have joined the Student Affairs Committee
• Student Committee members expressed concerns about Title IX, and Committee is working to educate itself on Title IX
• There are students available for other committees.

1. Strategic Issues Committee

• last week met with Elena Stoian (Director of Budget Planning in Administration & Finance) to review cost allocation and recharge process reports
• Yenbo Wu (International Programs) met to discuss a comprehensive internationalization plan
• Plan to meet with Dean of CEL
• Working on a resolution  supporting first time home buying assistance for staff and faculty; Sheldon Gen (faculty representative to Foundation Board) will present information at a future Senate meeting.

1. Academic Policies Committee (APC)

• Next week Oct 8 APC and CRAC will meet as the Educational Policy Committee (EPC) to discuss the discontinuation of  two master’s concentrations in Biology 
• APC is drafting a policy on maximum units
• Discussing the Human Subjects Policy, which is being revised to take new Federal regulations into account

1. Curriculum Review and Approval Committee (CRAC)

• Welcome back to Sen. Hines as Chair, and thanks to Sen. Pasion for serving as interim chair.
• Three agenda items modifying graduate concentrations in Biology are in second reading.
• A proposed revision on masters in Museum Studies is entered as a consent item.
• A proposed Enterprise Cybersecurity program from the College of Business is introduced in first reading.
• The committee is now reviewing revision of minors in Spanish and in Design, and a program in Media Literacy

1. President Mahoney

• For the first time since 2006, an education general obligation bond is in the March election. It would provide $2 billion for CSU for deferred maintenance; it isn’t the $4 billion we wanted, but it is now combined with K-12 education bond, which makes it much more likely to pass. We have the largest deferred maintenance package in the CSU system. We cannot lobby, but we can educate people about what they would support. 
• Pres. Mahoney was very disturbed (“I was speechless…”) by the condition of the “Old” Science building.
• We project that we will not make our enrollment target this year, coming in at 97%. East Bay, Sonoma, and Humboldt are in a similar position, while southern California campuses are drowning in enrollment. Every % below 100 in enrollment costs us  $1.5M. We’d like to come in at 103%, as we can use the tuition funds. We want to investigate what we need to do to attract additional students to majors with capacity. We want to increase outreach to local schools. SF Unified, Daly City, South San Francisco, and Community College programs. We are not providing as much access as we could, having empty seats.
• Scholarship Trustees will share video of SFSU student
• Notes that people on campus want to break down the silos, and work together.
• One of our students won the most prestigious award from the Board of Trustees scholarships.
• London Breed spent time before and after a lecture on Friday on campus, discussing exactly how we position ourselves as the City’s University.
• Sen. Yee-Melichar: Expressed concern about enrollment management, which was also mentioned at the Statewide Senate (ASCSU). Pres. Mahoney: About 10% of students were redirect to us.
• Sen. Sinha: Thanked her for the kind remarks about Old Science. You were planning to have a taskforce on student recruitment. Will this include international recruitment? Pres. Mahoney: International education will be represented on her task force.
• Sen. Bloom: Mentioned outreach to community colleges, and whether or not the apartments we are building on campus will address our housing problems. Pres. Mahoney: We are looking into community colleges, as well as various housing ideas, online education, and more subsidized transportation.

1. Provost Summit

• The College of Ethnic Studies is creating the first degree completion program to support students with some college but no degree
• Our previous Student Success Operational Review addressed advising, and resulted in an Advising Plan and significant improvements. Our next step is to look at tutoring services. These services are difficult to find and to access, and are often sought by students who need them the least. First recommendation was to move tutoring operations somewhere more visible and accessible. We are looking into Library space. Student Sen.: Recommended that we survey students to determine the best timing for tutoring services, targeting their schedules.
• There are two executive searches in Academic Affairs: Dean of Business, and Dean of CEL

1. Academic Senate of the CSU (ASCSU)

• See PowerPoint presentation in iLearn
• Visitor Catherine Nelson, Chair, ASCSU
• ASCSU resolutions in first reading can be found on our campus academic senate iLearn site. Your feedback is requested on these first reading items.

 

• ASCSU approved resolutions can be found at: Academic Senate of the California State University
• Sen. Darlene Yee-Melichar, Executive Committee Liaison, presented on the Academic Affairs (AA) Committee and its work on Towards Implementation of an Ethnic Studies System Requirement (approved without dissent in ASCSU), Towards Implementation of a Cultural Competency System Requirement (Tabled by ASCSU), and  Developing a Systemwide Understanding of CSU Actions and Plans Relating to the Ethnic Studies Task Force Report (in First Reading)
• Sen. Robert K. Collins presented on the Academic Preparation & Educational Programs (APEP) Committee, dealing with Increasing Access and Success through Additional Preparation in Quantitative Reasoning. He cautioned that we need to make sure schools have the support they need to help students meet these requirements.
• Sen. Dipendra Sinha presented on the Faculty Affairs (FA) Committee, including Notification of Tenure-track Openings to Incumbent Contingent Faculty, Librarians, Coaches & Counselors, Land Recognition Policy and Statement.
• GI 2025 Symposium recipient Dr. Burke
•  
• Chair Gerber: Requested that Senators give feedback on these resolutions after reviewing them in iLearn.

Old Business

Moved item 9 to item 5 approved (Informational Presentation)

1. Kathy Emery on Experimental College

• Kathy Emery is Director of the Experimental College (Exco) and lecturer in the Political Science Department
• Students teaching students
• COURSE PROPOSALS FOR THE SPRING DUE OCTOBER 30 (application at http://libguides.sfsu.edu/c.php?g=331157)
• The Archives of the Experimental College are in the Library; it was formed in 1965. By 1967, 2,000 students were taking courses designed by students alone or in collaboration with faculty. Some of these courses were the first black studies courses taught at SFSC.   These black studies courses essentially were incubators for those courses that later became part of the College of Ethic Studies created because of the 1968 strike. For the Library archives, see http://libguides.sfsu.edu/sfstatearchives/experimentalcollege
• A course on Cybersecurity began in fall of 2017 with four students teaching their own course.  It is now in its 5th semester, with 18 students teaching 150 students.
• Students who TEACH a course sign up for EXCO 401 for one to four units - their choice.  They meet once a week with Kathy for mentoring.
• Students who TAKE a course sign up for EXCO 301 for only one unit
• Experimental College Faculty Advisory Committee meets once a month.
• Kathy is asking faculty to certify one or more of their courses as CAP (Critical Active Pedagogy) courses in order, when there are enough such courses, to require students who wish to teach an Exco course, to take a CAP course before doing so. (CAP proposals being developed this month; certification instructions at http://bit.ly/excocap)
• Passed out brochure and course list (attached)
• See also https://ueap.sfsu.edu/exco/

1. Recommendation from the Curriculum Review and Approval Committee: Proposed Revisions to the Master of Science in Biology: Concentrations in Cell & Molecular Biology, Integrative Biology and Physiology & Behavioral Biology – second reading

• The motion was approved unanimously by the committee.
• Chair Gerber: Motion is part of a multipoint restructuring in Biology MS.
• Sen. Collins: In favor of this effort to streamline, but asked if the student presentation requirement has been reduced. Sen. Goldman: Two seminar courses with 50-minute student presentations are currently required; this changes the requirement to one seminar course plus a common core course with several short presentations on research

• Sen. Hines: Was Geography and Environmental Studies consulted? Sen. Goldman: Not sure, but good collegial relationships between departments
• Need to revise proposal forms to make consultation history evident when evaluating.
• The motion passes unanimously by senate

New Business

1. Recommendation from the Executive Committee – Resolution Calling for CalPERS Fossil Fuel Fund Divestment– first reading

• The motion was approved unanimously by the committee.
• The motion aims to support our climate and maintain the strength of our pension fund
• Sen. Stowers: Climate change is critical, and we’re still investing in fossil fuels. We need them to stop making climate change worse. It could even threaten our investments. UC system is going to divest, and UCorp is already divesting. “We need to get out.” CalPERS is the largest pension system in the country. They can literally move markets.
• ??Prof. Sayeed: This will send a strong signal to Wall Street, and it will be heard around the world. Right thing for our climate.
• Sen. Collins: As a Richmond resident, where we have alarms from Chevron. They are trying to develop alternative fuels. We should consider some of their language.
• Sen. Yee-Melichar: Very thorough. Recommended to include more in distribution, sending to CSU Board and to CFA.
• Sen. Susan Chen: Mentioned private prison systems.
• Sen. Stowers: Noted that CFA is working on a climate change resolution.
• Will bring this resolution back to ExComm

1. Recommendation from the Curriculum Review and Approval Committee: Proposed Revision to the Master of Arts in Museum Studies– consent item

• The motion was approved unanimously by the committee.
• No objections or desire to discuss, therefore motion passes Senate as a consent item.

1. Recommendation from the Curriculum Review and Approval Committee: Proposed Certificate in Enterprise Cybersecurity– first reading

• The motion was approved unanimously by the committee.
• A 12 unit undergraduate certificate, in the College of Business
• About 26 universities have a similar program in place
• Four courses are taught every semester.
• Provost Summit: Noted parallel to Exptl College course on Cybersecurity. This is a great interdisciplinary opportunity. Do we have appropriate disciplines represented?
• Guest (Prof. Lutfus Sayeed, Chair, Information Systems) : Could be housed in Businsess, or Science & Engineering. We welcome further input. Our focus is on application, rather than, say, the coding level. We shared this with Computer Science.
• Sen. Sinha: Has to be multidisciplinary. We are happy you have proposed this. Interested because you can tell us the problems and we can design the hardware. We are the people inside the box, and you are outside.
• Sen. Hines: Asked about the prerequisites. Sen. Pasion: They are admission requirements before you get in, so they don’t count toward the certificate requirements. Prof. Sayeed: Prereqs can be waived for people who have worked in the field for a long time.
• Sen. Hulick: Moving forward, should be interdisciplinary. Even Philosophy is working on some of this and should be part of it. GS: When do we encourage interdisciplinary? We approved data science. We don’t need three different programs. Business deals with the companies that are having the problems. They are helping companies protect themselves, and going in afterwards and fixing things. CS can do the coding. Engnr can fix the hardware. This is field of the future, with plenty to go around in separate programs.
• Sen. Collins: Consider what diversity in cybersecurity means. Our students bring diversity; many of our ethnic studies students are dual majors. Show how their perspective is relevant.
• Sen. Sinha: Excellent idea. It is time for a degree on cybersecurity with all disciplines contributing. You are looking at the problem. We have the solutions. Chair Gerber: How do we identify who should be at the table?

Presentations/Information Items

1. Experimental College update – Kathy Emery Moved to Item 5.
2. Adjournment

Notes on agenda items

Agenda Item 5

The Curriculum Review and Approval Committee (CRAC) has recommended that the Senate approve proposed revisions to three concentrations in the MS in Biology as well as a name change. As part of revisions to the MS in Biology degrees, the Educational Policies Committee will consider a proposal to discontinue the MS in Biology: Concentrations in Marine Biology and Microbiology at its next meeting.  

Agenda Item 6

Given the impact of fossil fuel use on the global climate, and seeing that CalPERS has already divested from thermal coal companies, the Executive Committee is proposing a resolution that calls on CalPERS to divest from fossil fuel funds, following other organizations such as the University of California retirement system and the SF State University Corporation.

Agenda Item 7

The proposal adds a registration/collections management focus area to the MA in Museum Studies as well as an additional option for the culminating experience that will allow more flexibility within the degree requirements. This item is being brought as a consent item, therefore it will not be debated on the floor of the Senate.

Agenda Item 8

This is a new certificate proposed by the Department of Information Systems in the Lam Family College of Business. The Certificate expects to target both current students and working professionals of for-profit and non-profit businesses who wish to begin or expand their knowledge of Cybersecurity.