UNIVERSITY SENATE
May 5, 2003


Present: J. Acker, M. Amid, D. Armstrong, D. Bernnard, D. Biggs, C. Bischoff, D. Brooks, P. Bloniarz, T. Casey, H. Charalambous, R. Collier, R. Farrell, S. Faerman, S. Friedman, R. Gibson, F. Hauser, J. Horney, H. Horton, R. Hoyt, R. Irving, T. Jones, S. B. Kim, A. Konev. C. Lawson, S. Levine, S. Lubensky, A. Lyons, C. MacDonald, S. Maloney, M. Martinez, J. Mascarenhas (guest), D. McCaffrey, J. Mumpower, C. Pearce, J. Pipkin, M. Pryse, M. Range, R. Karl Rethemeyer, J. Rudolph, C. Santiago, J. Savitt, H. Scheck, L. Schell, K. Smith, G. Spitze, T. Turner, J. Uppal, E. Wulfert


1. Approval of Minutes:

The March 17, 2003 minutes were reviewed and revisions were noted as follows:

1. R. Hoyt was not present at the meeting; he would like his name removed.
2. Under the CAFE Report, add to the end of the sentence "and did an email review which was unopposed."

Chair Pipkin asked if the members wanted to defer approval. They did not. A motion was made and seconded, and the minutes were approved unanimously.

2. President's Report:

Provost Santiago spoke on behalf of the President and passed on her apology for being unable to attend the meeting due to a family health problem. She wanted the Provost to relay her thanks for all the good work accomplished this year by the Senate. She is delighted with the issues the Senate has taken up, very pleased with the working relationship established, and sent a special thanks to Chair Pipkin for his dedication.

· Budget News: Provost Santiago indicated that the budget news has not changed much since the last report. He said that the President's remarks to the faculty at the upcoming Spring Faculty Meeting would address the budget shortfall affecting the University. The bipartisan budget passed by the Senate and Assembly did refer to a tuition increment of $950 for undergraduates initially, but the final outcome is unpredictable.

· Student Recruitment: Group 1 admissions for fall 2003 are expected to be around 36%; Group 3 admissions will be down. The challenge will be retention. Sheila Mahan and Sue Faerman were acknowledged for their intensive recruitment efforts this year.

3. University Faculty Senate Report:

Mr. Collier reported assessment was the main item on the agenda at the Cornell meeting. The SUNY Provost and Trustees support system-wide testing
of general education requirements, despite continuing faculty opposition. The Local Governance Leaders and the Faculty Senate have therefore requested each campus senate come forward with a resolution similar to that of Potsdam. More disturbing news was the report that a group called GEN had been running full-page ads in SUNY student newspapers explaining why their online "HVCC" courses are far better and cheaper than the normal SUNY fare. SUNY System Administration is looking into the matter, asking HVCC's President Buono to address GEN's false advertising. This has not been resolved; it is an ongoing issue as well as an important, dangerous precedent. Look up at www.gen.org, to see their description and for more information.

University sector issues: there is growing concern about Division 1 matters. It was suggested that Directors meet on a regular basis; Dick Miller strongly supports this matter.

4. Chair's Report:

· There is an organizational meeting of the new Senate next Monday, May 12, at 3:00 p.m. Organizational meetings of councils will be on Tuesday, May 13, at 9:00 a.m.

· We have changed the web page; all resolutions and bills will be posted as soon as the President signs them.

· Note to Council Chairs: the time for annual reports is fast approaching; please get them to Chair Pipkin.

5. Council Reports:

CPCA: Professor Spitze reported that CPCA is continuing to meet.

EPC: Professor Wulfert reported that EPC last met on April 24th. It acted on the proposed Human Biology Major. Also, EPC invited the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Dr. Wick-Pelletier, and the Director of the D.A. Program, Mary Beth Winn to provide information relevant to the Dean's decision to temporarily suspend admission to the D.A. Program.

GAC: Professor MacDonald reported that GAC is working on three bills. The Bylaws group has been continuing to meet. They will have a handout at the Spring Faculty Meeting describing the expected process by which Bylaws changes will be brought to the voting faculty.

UAC: Professor Savitt reported that UAC has approved programs or changes in Broadcast Meteorology, Honors in Sociology, and Honors in Public Policy.

RES: Professor Dudek was not present; RES continues its work.

LISC: Professor Duchessi was not present; it was reported that LISC has completed a successful year.

CAFE: Professor Armstrong indicated that there is no business to report.

ULC: Professor Smith spoke regarding the Resolution by the Student Action Committee on Fountain Day. They brought forth a proposal asking for half-day class suspension starting at 12:00 or 12:30, ULC consulted with several campus constituencies, and the committee unanimously agreed to support the SAC Resolution. ULC will receive information electronically and the paper copies will be delivered here today.

6. Old Business:

None


7. New Business


· Election of Officers for 2003-04 Senate. It was brought to the attention of Chair Pipkin that last year resumes were provided with the ballots, but the committee members agreed to go ahead with the vote without the resumes attached this year.

#1) Senate Secretary: Professor Lyons is the only name on the ballot. Chair Pipkin asked for further nominations from the floor; none were made. Nominations were declared closed. A motion was made to elect Professor Lyons as Secretary for 2003-2004, the motion was seconded, and Professor Lyons was elected unanimously.

#2) Chair Elect: Two names were on the ballot for Chair Elect: Professor Horton and Professor MacDonald. Chair Pipkin asked for nominations from the floor, none were made. Nominations were declared closed. The election proceeded by secret ballot and Professor MacDonald was elected Chair Elect.

· General Education Resolution #0203-02R, presented by UAC. Professor MacDonald brought up the wording in the fifth paragraph bullet, which refers to "such testing." She said it should say "system wide assessment." With this amendment the Resolution was moved and seconded.

Professor Wulfert stated for the record that she believes system wide assessment is possible. She believes that courses should transmit a core of knowledge and competencies, that this core is amenable to assessment, and that students who, earning a degree in a given discipline should be able to pass a system wide test reflecting the degree to which they have mastered the relevant material.

A motion was made and seconded, and the resolution passed.

· Modification of Starting Times for Courses Meeting in Standard Time Zones #0203-05, introduced by EPC. Registrar Gibson explained that the bill is intended to make better use of rooms on campus, to help with parking problems, and to accommodate faculty preferring classes which meet twice a week. The proposed change will increase the number of courses offered twice a week on Monday/Wednesday. There is lack of interest in 8:00 a.m. classes: later start times may encourage better attendance.

Professor Hoyt noted that between 12:35 and 1:00, no classes are held, and that the Campus Center has agreed to hold events with amplified music during that time so as not to interfere with Music Department and other classes. Chair Pipkin asked that the noise during the middle of the day be looked at by ULC next year. Student Senator Konev noted students might feel overwhelmed without such a break and Student Senator Amid agreed; she points out that it is the only break some students get during the day. (She also feels that students, who do not want to get there at 8:00 a.m., will not get there for 8:15 a.m. either.) Professor Lyons agreed with the issue of noise during the lunch hour and feels this needs to be addressed.

It was asked if the downtown campus would be bound by this new schedule, because a ten-minute break between classes is not feasible when commuting from uptown to downtown. Registrar Gibson said that this applies to only standard three credit classes in the typical undergraduate pattern, which is not usually followed by classes and seminars on the downtown campus. If there is a class that links with downtown/uptown, the start time may be adjusted. He said that there are not a lot of students doing that consecutively and to his knowledge there are no required sequential classes from uptown to downtown.

The matter of math/science equation intensive courses was discussed, focusing on the need to have those types of courses meet three times a week because of the nature of the material. Registrar Gibson said that the number of students taking three-day courses (M/W/F) is declining and that Tuesday/Thursday are growing. He said the reality is that there is one such section that begins at 4:40 p.m., there are eight sections that begin at 3:45 p.m. and on Tuesday/Thursdays there were 37 sections starting at 2:30 p.m. with nothing after that. He assured the group that the Registrar's Office takes the faculty input into account when scheduling. Richard Farrell indicated that most faculty are not teaching courses on Monday/Wednesday/ Friday from 2:30 on but nothing in this bill prevents those who wish from continuing to do so. The only change is that there is no provision today in the standard schedule for courses taught on Monday/Wednesday from 2:30; as long as there are rooms to be scheduled, they will be scheduled if they are requested.

Provost Santiago said that Friday afternoons might be better for community events; they could be moved to a time period on Friday. He thinks this schedule does tend to allow for space and for those activities to be moved to Fridays. Some faculty agreed with the Provost's statement. Student Senator Konev said that, because a lot of students are not around on Fridays, they would not be able to participate in community events if they were scheduled for that day.

A motion was made and seconded, and the bill passed, one opposed and there were three abstentions.

· Majors in East Asian Studies and Japanese Studies #0203-06, introduced by UAC and EPC.
Professor Savitt explained that these exist as faculty initiated majors. The bill proposes to change them to full majors, with the name appearing on student's diplomas. Beyond this, no changes are being proposed. Chair Pipkin asked why they were grouped together. Professor Savitt said that they used the same set of justifications for each major.

A motion was made and seconded, and the bill passed unanimously.

· BA in Political Science / MA in Public Affairs and Policy #0203-07, introduced by UAC and GAC. Professor MacDonald moved the bill, opened for discussion and comments; there were none. A motion was made and seconded, and the bill passed unanimously.

· Proposal to Establish a Master of Science Degree Program in Forensic Biology #0203-08, introduced by GAC. Chair Pipkin asked if the group was ready to proceed to a vote. A motion was made and seconded, and the bill passed unanimously.

Human Biology Major #0203-09, introduced by GAC and EPC. Professor Wulfert spoke about the bill and there was no further discussion. A motion was made and seconded, and the bill passed unanimously.

· Procedures for Resolving Academic Grievances #0203-10, introduced by UAC and GAC. Professor MacDonald explained the bill and its purpose. Professor Hauser said he felt uneasy with the ability to change a grade, especially after a faculty member dies. He has serious reservations about someone else going in and changing a grade, unless it can be shown that the faculty member was incapacitated when they made the grade. Dean Faerman explained that the procedure does not create a mechanism to change any grade, but would just apply to a grievance that has gone through the process, which finds in the student's favor.

Discussion centered on the appeals process and Dean Faerman reiterated that the appeals process will stay the same except that there will be a mechanism in place for a change to be made at the end of the appeals process. Mr. Collier said this proposal is for when a faculty member is not willing to change their own grade. Professor Kim voiced concern over where the process will end, meaning who will have the final decision; he felt it should end at the Dean's level, and not go to the President's Office.

Chair Pipkin asked if anyone was asking for a change in the wording, to which Professor Kim said he would like to see the phrase "subject to the Dean of Undergraduate Studies or the Registrar" added to the bill.

A motion was made and seconded, and the bill passed.

Chair Pipkin interrupted the session asking for a vote on recessing until Monday, May 12th or using more time today. The motion was made to recess and resume this discussion next Monday at 3:30. All were in favor. Meeting adjourned at 5:10 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,


Jayne VanDenburgh, Recorder