UNIVERSITY FACULTY SENATE
Meeting Minutes
3 May 2004
104 Gore Hall
Members excused: M. Buell, J. Butkewitz, J. Custer, J. Dee, C. Denson, M. Gutierrez, D. Miller, J. Stoner
Members absent: J. Brown, P. Chapman, K. Heinen, S. Kikuchi, B. Miller, P. Oneill, R. Opila, R. Payne, Y. Sanya, D. Saunders, J. Scholz, I. Vogel, L. Ware
I. Adoption of Agenda.
President
Karen Stein announced that there was a change in the order of business. In Section
II. Approval of Minutes.
The
minutes of
III. Election of Senate Officers and Selected Committee Members.
The
election was described by Carmine Balascio, current Chair of the Committee on
Committees (COCAN). The election was
conducted in two phases. The first
ballot consisted of Avron Abraham (running unopposed
for President-elect), Irene Davis and Joann Browning (running for Vice
President), and Carmine Balascio and
IV. No remarks were made by Dan Rich as was originally scheduled.
V. Announcements – Karen Stein.
A. A
possible extra meeting of the Faculty Senate for
B. The new web-based program approval form was demonstrated on-line. Starting in the fall hard copies will not be used. UD Web Forms Academic Program Approval will be the only means to submit program requests. The web-based approval form still requires additional testing before official use.
C. Acknowledgements. Karen thanked all Faculty Senators, Committee members, and administrators, but expressly noted several individuals for going beyond the normal call of duty in their work for the Faculty Senate. They were: Dave Saunders, Steve Helmling, Maxine Colm and John Kushman for moving us forward in improving electronic communication policy; Don Lehman for chairing the ad hoc Committee on Grade Inflation; Avron Abraham for chairing the General Education Committee; Tom Leitch, chair of the Undergraduate Studies Committee, for taking on the controversial issues of the multicultural requirement and the future of general education; Jim Brophy and Dan Rich for bringing the issue of recycling and environmentalism to our attention; Larry Cohen for chairing the Promotion and Tenure Committee; Linda Gottfriedson for her reorganization of the work of the Student and Faculty Honors Committee; Joy Lynam, Chris Leonard and Bobby Gempesaw for insuring we will finally have an on-line program approval process; the Executive Committee, Charlie Boncelet, Chuck Mason, Mike Keefe, Carmine Balascio, and Dallas Hoover; and Karren Helsel-Spry.
D. An item for information was the Electronic Privacy Policy Number 1-19. It is still under consideration by the Committee on Faculty Welfare and Privileges.
VI. Consent Agenda.
A. Announcement for Challenge. Item 2, Revision of B.A. in Secondary Mathematical Education was removed from the agenda and moved to New Business. Item 1 (Revision of CHEP major) and item 3 (Establishment of an Interdisciplinary Minor in Interactive Media) were approved.
B. Resolution. Grade Inflation at the
Whereas a review of data,
in depth analysis, and summary findings by the Ad-Hoc Committee on Grade
Inflation clearly show that there has been a steady upward shift of grades
awarded to students during the period 1987 through 2002, and
Whereas the
increase in high grades appears to outstrip the improvements in the academic
quality of students and the quality of instruction, and
Whereas even if
there were no grade inflation at the University of Delaware, data show that
there would still be grade compression; even if the entire increase in grades
reflected improved student performance, there would be a need to distinguish
better among levels of that performance,
and
Whereas although the
quality of students entering the University of Delaware is improving, faculty
should be encouraged to challenge students more, thus maintaining the
University’s reputation as an institution of high academic standards, and
Whereas the Faculty
Handbook presently does not state what each of the letter grades means, be it therefore
Resolved that the
Faculty Handbook be amended to state that a grade of A means an excellent or
distinguished level of achievement; B, a good or
above-average level of achievement; C, a satisfactory or average level of achievement; D, a poor or below-average level of achievement; and F,
failure to fulfill minimum requirements.
Pluses and minuses indicate falling high or low within each category, be it further
Resolved that a committee meet in 2004-2005 to consider additional means to address grade inflation.
(Note:
all red and red strike through(deletions) are friendly amendment changes to
the resolution proposed and voted upon at the
VII. Regular Agenda.
A. Old Business.
1. Resolution Regarding Senate Endorsement of Electronic Privacy Policy Number 1-14. The following resolution passed unanimously:
Whereas issues pertaining to electronic communication have been evolving in our society in the past few years, and
Whereas the impact of electronic communication policy on privacy and freedom of expression is a concern of the faculty, and
Whereas the Electronic Communication Sub-Committee of the Faculty Welfare and Privileges Committee was charged last fall to review the current University policy on electronic communications privacy and make recommendations to the faculty, and
Whereas revised statements for Policy Number 1-14 have been jointly developed and recommended by the Faculty Welfare and Privileges Committee and the Office of the Vice-President For Administration, be it therefore
Resolved that the Faculty Senate endorse Policy 1-14, Policy for
Responsible Computing at the
2. General Education Report. Discussion and debate ensued at some length. The Provost noted that a supportive budget for the proposed recommendations in the report existed. The report was accepted with one friendly amendment to II. Pragmatic resolution #3. Fall 2004 has been amended to reflect that the effective date will be fall 2005 for the following reason: The University would be imposing a new requirement on a class after they have been admitted and have accepted that admission. UD does not do that any other time to existing students, and it should not, in fairness, be done to the incoming freshmen students either. The resolutions were passed by the Senate by a vote of 34 Yes, 3 No, and 3 abstaining.
Undergraduate Studies Committee
Resolutions Concerning the Report on General Education
Whereas In considering the report of
Whereas The first area is conceptual, concerning as it does the
validity and desirability of the Ten Goals for General Education originally set
forth by the Faculty Senate Resolutions of March 2000 and reprinted on page 3
of the October 2003 report; and
Whereas The second area is pragmatic, concerning
the effectiveness of current program initiatives and possible expansions of
them and alternatives to them in fulfilling these ten goals; and
Whereas The third area is procedural, concerning the structure under
which programs falling under the heading of General Education are best created,
overseen, and administered; and
Whereas Our purview on the matter of general
education does not extend to the question of resources; and
Whereas The decisions the University makes in allocating resources will
go far to determine how it wishes to balance the competing and eminently
desirable goals of academic specialization and academic generalization, and how
it defines undergraduate education; be it therefore
I. Conceptual
1. RESOLVED that the
Faculty Senate continue to endorse the Ten Goals of General Education (sc.
Recommendation 5 of the General Education Report).
And be it further
2. RESOLVED that
programs continue to be developed specifically to foster these goals, and that instructors throughout the University make
every attempt to incorporate these goals wherever possible into their courses
whether or not these courses operate under the aegis of General Education (sc.
Recommendation 6 of the General Education Report).
Given that the
University, both through the General Education initiative and elsewhere, has
made far more concerted efforts to encompass some of these ten goals (numbers
2, 3, 6, and 7, and the written and oral communication goals of number 1) than
others (numbers 4, 5, 8, 9, and 10, and the quantitative reasoning and instructional
(correction approved by
3. RESOLVED that the
University make every effort to foster all ten of these goals.
II. Pragmatic
Be it further
1. RESOLVED that the
Faculty Senate endorse Recommendations 1, 3, 4, and 7 of the General Education
Report.
And be it further
2. RESOLVED that the
University require all first-year students to participate in at least one First
Year Experience—e.g.,
And be it further
3. RESOLVED that the
University require all undergraduate students entering in September 2004 2005 or later to take at
least three credits of Discovery-Based or Experiential Learning—e.g., an
internship, a service learning course, an independent study, participation in
the Undergraduate Research Program or a Study Abroad program—in fulfillment of
their degrees.
And be it further
4. RESOLVED that all
departments and academic programs be urged to develop capstone courses wherever
appropriate and feasible for their majors, minors, concentrators, and
certificate students.
And be it further
5. RESOLVED that all
departments and academic programs make every effort to incorporate the goals
concerning written and oral communication, quantitative reasoning, and instructional
(correction approved by
III. Procedural
Be it further
1. RESOLVED that the
General Education Committee be converted from an ad hoc committee to a standing committee with the charge of working
with the Center for Teaching Effectiveness/General Education Initiative and the
Office of Undergraduate Studies to develop new General Education initiatives,
the responsibility for reviewing on a regular basis the implementation of the
General Education Initiative, and the power to bring forward resolutions
seeking to improve the ways in which the University fosters the goals of
General Education.
And be it further
2. RESOLVED that in
conducting its continuing review of the implementation of the General Education
Initiative, the General Education Committee, in consultation with the Center for
Teaching Effectiveness and the Office of Undergraduate Studies, indicate in the
case of each particular program it is reviewing one of the following outcomes
in accordance with the best available evidence of the program’s efficacy:
a) endorse
expansion;
b) endorse
maintenance;
c) suggest
modifications or alternatives;
d) request
further evaluative information;
e) decline
to endorse.
In order to foster
closer ties between the General Education Committee and the academic units
whose faculty legitimately retain power over individual programs, be it further
3. RESOLVED that each
academic unit supervising any area of undergraduate instruction submit to the
General Education Committee every three years a statement of its programs’
contributions to the goals of General Education in order to monitor ongoing
progress in achieving these goals.
B. New Business.
1. Removed from the Consent Agenda, item 2, Revision of B.A. in Secondary Mathematical Education was debated and discussed at length. A simple majority was needed in order to pass and it did with 18 Yes, 10 No, and 12 abstaining.
2. The confirmation of appointments was passed unanimously.
The meeting adjourned at
Submitted,