Wichita State University Faculty Senate meeting  Monday,  October 26, 2009

 

 

MEMBERS PRESENT: Anderson, T. Bennett, Bolin, Brooks, Bryant, Celestin, Dale, Decker, DeSilva, Driessen, Hemans, Henry, Horn, Hu, Klunder, Kreinath, Lewis-Moss, Lezotte, Miller, Monroe, Moore-Jansen, Mosack, Myers, Pickard, Rillema, Rokosz, D. Russell, L. Russell, Scherz, Skinner, Smith-Campbell, Soles, Spurgeon, Strattmann, Yeager, Yildirim
 
MEMBERS ABSENT: Baker, Baldridge, Craft, Taher, Wolf
 
MEMBERS EXCUSED: J. Bennett, Carruthers, Hershfield, Ross, Thompson
 

EX-OFFICIO MEMBERS: 

 

Summary of Action:  

        

I.       Call of the Meeting to Order:  President Soles called the meeting to order at 3:30 pm

               

II.      Informal Statements and Proposals:    

            President Soles asked for faculty members who belong to Phi Kappa Phi to contact her.  There is an effort to keep the WSU chapter active.

             President Soles said the charge for the Faculty Senate Library Committee has been modified over time to include charges for the Honors Program.  The charge for the Library Committee in the Faculty Senate Constitution is correct.
           

III.  Approval of the Minutes: 
                The minutes of the meeting October 12, 2009, were accepted as corrected -- Senior Associate Provost Martha Shawver's title was incorrect.

              

IV.  President's Report:               

            A.  President Soles thanked the faculty for the good turnout at the meeting of the Faculty Senate with the members of the Kansas Board of Regents on October 13.  She said that the regents said they enjoyed the meeting. 

            B.  At the October meeting of the Kansas Board of Regents there was a discussion of one of the Five Strategic Questions, relating to retention of students.  The regents are talking about a goal for each institution to increase retention rates by 10% over peer institutions.  This rate focuses on students who are freshmen at WSU.

            C.  There is nothing new to report at this time on the budget.

             D.  The Planning & Budget Committee continues to meet and has now heard reports from most of the deans. 

             E.  President Soles said that enrollment head count is up 1.4%.  Associate Provost Pickus said that the Student Credit Hours are up about 2.0%. 

 

V.  Committee Reports:
        A.  Rules:  Senator Fritz Hemans, chair of the Rules Committee, said the Committee was nominating Rhonda Lewis-Moss as an at-large member for three years to the Tenure and Promotion committee.  Nomination was accepted.

 

VI. Old Business: none

 

VII. New Business:
        A.  Foundations of Excellence -- Keith Pickus, Associate Provost --  He reported on the Foundation of Excellence program.  He summarized the background for the committee and sub-committees who prepared the report last year.  After feedback, a final report was prepared and endorsed by President Beggs, Provost Miller and VP Campus Life Robinson.   It will be the blueprint for the university’s retention efforts.   Mr. Pickus handed out executive summaries of the report and summarized the recommendations contained in the report.  These recommendations included improving communications with students during their first year of enrollment, establishing viable connections with new students and existing students and faculty, and developing a coordinate outcomes-based assessment program, and striving to improve the rate of D, F, W, and I grades in some classes.  Information and the report can be found at:   http://webs.wichita.edu/?u=ACADEMICAFFAIRS&p=/FoE/FoE/ 

He also explained the restructuring of some functions into the proposed new Office for Faculty Development and Student Success. Information about the  proposed new Office can be found at:   http://webs.wichita.edu/?u=reshaping&p=/Proposals/

 

            A number of questions were posed to Mr. Pickus by the senators, including: (1) how does WSU compare to peer institutions?  He stated that WSU compares favorably to peers with respect to the freshman to sophomore year, but less well with respect to the 6-year graduation rate for students who begin as freshmen at WSU; (2) did WSU obtain guidance about policies?  He answered Yes, an organization in North Carolina developed the FOE, and provided guidance.  In addition, Wright State University, which has had FOE for several years, provided significant input in the process; (3) does the university plan to seek input from faculty who teach courses which have a high rate of D, F, W, and I grades?  His answer was Yes, that will be part of the process; and (4) are other Kansas regents’ institutions involved in FOE?  No, WSU is the only one in the state.  There are about 20 universities in the country using this program.

 

            Mr. Pickus also announced that beginning in the Spring 2010 semester there will be a new university policy for payment of tuition and drops.  Previously, students who did not pay tuition for a course prior to a date about five days before the beginning of classes were automatically dropped from the course.  From now on there will be no automatic drops.  The students will remain responsible for payment, but will not be dropped from the class.  However, if payment is not made students will not be able to do any transactions with the university the next semester until payment is made in full.       
       

VIII:   As May Arise: 
            Senator Peer Moore-Jansen said that some of the regents encouraged faculty to contact their state legislators because it appeared that some of them do not support higher education.  There was some discussion about making a list of legislators by district available on the faculty senate website.  The information may also be found at:  http://www.kansas.gov/index.php


               

The meeting was adjourned at 4:30 pm
Respectfully submitted:

Larry Spurgeon, Acting Secretary