Academic Senate

ACADEMIC SENATE MEETING

September 21, 2005

PRESENT: Mohamed Abdelsalam, Mark Anderson, Phillip Anderson, James Bartlett, Kurt Beron, Gail Breen, Cy Cantrell, Gregg Dieckmann, Juan González, Gopal Gupta, D. T. Huynh, Marilyn Kaplan, Nasser Kehtarnavaz, Kamran Kiasaleh, Robert Kieschnick, Murray Leaf, Dennis Miller, Homer Montgomery, Ramachandran Natarajan, Robert Nelsen, Shun Chen Niu, Simeon Ntafos, William Pervin, Balakrishnan Prabhakaran, Thomas Riccio, Young Ryu, Liz Salter, Richard Scotch, Mary Kelly Urquhart, S. Venkatesan

ABSENT: Tom Brikowski, Anthony Champagne, Muhammad Kalam, Sumit Majumdar, Ivor Page, Ravi Prakash, Ashutosh Prasad

VISITORS: George Aubrey, Priscilla Beadle, Brasheer Benhalim, David Channell, Michael Coleman, Austin Cunningham, Richard Huckaba, Abby Kratz, Iris Kwong, Susan McKee, Loreen Phillips, Donna Rogers, Chelliah Sriskandarajah, Larry Terry

1. CALL TO ORDER, ANNOUNCEMENTS AND QUESTIONS

President Daniel called the meeting to order and discussed the following matters. Yesterday President Spaniolo and President Daniel traded places for the day. Dr. Daniel’s day began with a visit to U. T. Arlington’s ceramic shop where he was presented with a handsome piece crafted as part of their ceramics program. It served as an example of the kind of benefits our students and U. T. Arlington’s students might enjoy through cooperative arrangements for courses unique to each of our institutions.

Research is another area where greater collaboration can benefit both institutions. You may have read about the $250,000 fund we have created to stimulate joint research projects between faculty members between our two universities. The days are gone when research can expand by maintaining a vertical structure within a single institution. The major federal funding agencies want to see collaboration between universities in proposals for funding. Today, often, dozens of universities cooperate on joint efforts. That is the way of our world now, and it means new opportunities for our faculties as well as our students.

Figures published for the average funding per student per year for the top 20 public institutions in America exceed UTD’s average funding by some $6,000 per student per year. U. T. Austin is in the same situation, despite the Available Fund money they receive. The tuition gap between the top 20 and UTD, and all Texas public universities in fact, is equally out-of-balance. It is imperative the institutions in our region work together to articulate and demonstrate to legislators, business, and industry that the region must have top level research institutions in order to compete with the rest of the world in the future. That will require greater funding and greater private support than the region has provided in the past. But, first, UTD must be good stewards of the funding for Project Emmitt and our obligations as a key participant in the project.

The Waterview Commission Report has been submitted. It makes it clear that UTD’s administrative focus on maximizing revenues from the apartments was done at the expense of optimal maintenance and student satisfaction. I have asked for a maintenance audit of every apartment and an outside firm will be completing that this fall. The good things that have been accomplished at UTD have had a price and now more attention must be given to a declining infrastructure, appearance, and supporting functions of the university.

In response to a question, President Daniel stated it would be a very positive thing if the Bush Library were to be at U. T. Dallas. If that does happen, he believes it would be because of the academic strength at UTD. No one knows what the decision will be, but if there is an interest in the proposal submitted by the U. T. System, and in UTD as a site, we will learn about that at some point.

Will there be a summer budget? The short answer is yes, but we don’t know what size it will be. Our initial request for a tuition increase was turned down; it had been based on removing some fees, so we had a double blow from that. We are going to have infrastructure needs as indicated earlier. It will be tight. But things will never be so tight that we cannot go after a top scholar that the faculty has identified.

What is the status of Criminology and Biomedical Engineering? Requests have been sent to the U. T. System.

President Daniel announced a change in the order of the agenda to hear the presentation from the Dean of Student Affairs and Judicial Affairs Officer following approval of the minutes.

2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING

A motion was made and seconded to approve the minutes of July 20, 2005 as distributed. The motion carried.

3. UTD JUDICIAL AFFAIRS

Susan McKee, J. D., Judicial Affairs Officer and Donna Rogers, Dean of Students provided members with a packet of information regarding the work of the Judicial Affairs Office with students and faculty. The information is also available at the Judicial Affairs faculty web page at www.utdallas.edu/dishonesty or by email, judicialaffairs@utdallas.edu. Thirty minute class presentations for students are available for faculty requesting that service. These seminars are provided to students during orientations and on a regular schedule throughout the year.

Through the Judicial Affairs Office, charges of academic dishonesty are investigated in accordance with the Rules and Regulations of the Board of Regents of the U. T. System and of the UTD Handbook of Operating Procedures in Title V, Chapter 49. An allegation of academic dishonesty is an assertion that a person has violated a rule. The regental and university rules provide specific due process procedures which are to be followed in each case of suspected cheating. Failure to afford a student his or her due process rights as part of the disciplinary process can result in a number of legal repercussions, including attachment of personal liability to the faculty member. Failure to maintain required confidentiality of a student’s disciplinary record can lead to similar consequences.

Plagiarism is one of the main forms of academic dishonesty at UTD. Student Affairs subscribes to the Turn-It-In.Com service that is designed specifically to identify evidence of plagiarism. A variety of educational efforts with students to ensure they are informed on what plagiarism is and what penalties may be assessed for acts of academic dishonesty were discussed. This is one example of a number of services available to faculty through the Judicial Affairs Office. The class syllabus can be a very important factor in the process of informing students about the consequences of cheating in a class. Faculty members are encouraged to contact Judicial Affairs for the Syllabus Addendum and other information offered to assist faculty in letting students know that scholastic dishonesty will not be tolerated.

Faculty expressed concern about the lack of communication back to the School Dean or Program Head regarding the disposition of disciplinary cases. The Committee on Academic Integrity will discuss this confidentiality limitation and provide further information about this part of the process.

4. SPEAKER’S REPORT

The Speaker announced an addition to the agenda for a presentation regarding the Alumni Association’s UTD Ring Award.

UTD faculty, staff, and students raised over $6,000 for Katrina Relief and additional donations will be made through payroll deductions for some of the donors.

Sandee Goertzen has been promoted to second in command in Payroll. Priscilla Beadle is coordinating assistance in the Office of the Provost that facilitates Faculty Governance.

The Committee on Committees has completed its work. We will circulate at the next Senate meeting all memberships of the committees.

Simeon Ntafos has begun again to work on the efforts to build a balanced and equitable class schedule.

There were considerable complaints about the Library and deadlines and automatic due dates for renewals. The requirements are that books can be checked out for six semesters and are due at the end of the semester. This is the norm for System, but fines are not the norm. The Academic Council recommended that the matter be referred to the Library Committee with a recommendation that faculty have one week to renew books rather than one day.

A Recycling Committee, headed by Sandee Goertzen, is beginning work.

SACS has begun in earnest, and I have foolishly accepted the position as team leader. The SACS Executive Team has met with the deans to discuss one assessment/outcome portion of the report which is due September 2007. The deans have received a request asking them:

a. what outcomes, what skills and knowledge should be expected from each degree;
      b. to make certain those outcomes are aligned with each school’s mission statement; and
      c. to determine what outcomes (skills and knowledge) are expected to be delivered  and/or derived from each core course in the major.

To determine what the outcomes are, the deans were asked to use a bottom up process where the faculty meet and hash out the outcomes. The desire is not to dictate content of courses – the skills may, for instance, be critical skills in a lab that could be derived from a variety of different experiments. These outcomes will have to be in all syllabi. Texas Tech is in trouble for not having them in theirs. Once the outcomes are determined, step two is to find ways to determine if the students are acquiring those specific skills. A grade does not guarantee that the knowledge or skills have been acquired. A student may get a C and still not know some critical element in programming that may come back to haunt the student later in the student’s career.

The SACS initiatives are being rolled into the strategic plan under the overall initiative of preparing our students to meet tomorrow’s challenges – a rare opportunity to rethink and revise and, maybe even transform, undergraduate education at UTD. In conjunction, the Core Curriculum Committee is being asked to look at the core and think about the outcomes UTD desires from its general education.

There has been some concern that putting syllabi on the web (as required by SACS) hamstrings faculty who need to make changes. I am asking for a disclaimer that says that the syllabi are subject to change. We are checking into whether SACS requires lab workshops to be on the web. At an October meeting we will be asking if linkage to other sites will be acceptable.

The Strategic Planning Committee has finished its work as a committee. It has an outline and has determined a series of six initiatives, including managing change, creating tomorrow’s inventions, enhancing health and education, securing the world and embracing the Metroplex. The Provost and I are writing the final external document and will have it to the President by the end of the month.

The question has arisen from IR if faculty would like to follow Purdue’s example and begin pod casting lectures. Pod casting, I have learned, means recording lectures in an MP3 for down-loading. Purdue is not worried about students skipping class and just downloading lectures because they feel those students will surely fail. I have been asked to see if there is interest in pursuing such an endeavor. The Senate did not express an interest. No action was taken.

Banner, or Project Quest, is about to roll out. Basically, it integrates all our payroll, HR, student, and financial systems into one. It will allow you to view your payroll stubs, your accounts, your time sheets, everything from one site. But it is a monster to implement. Finance is scheduled to go live in September 2006. I have asked those in charge to involve the Senate IR Committee, but they also need to involve the Research Advisory Committee and other committees. I am going to ask for a meeting with chairs of all committees and the Senate to see how we should be involved and where. President Daniel encourages the faculty users of these systems to be as actively involved as they can be. Do not expect unknown administrators to make the right decisions from your perspective. He relayed several examples of a Banner implementation he experienced. One was an email from a Chemistry professor who opined the need for account codes with 19 digits. The professor had calculated how many billions of accounts per person that would generate.

5. U. T. SYSTEM FACULTY ADVISORY COUNCIL (FAC)

The Coordinating Board’s Graduate Education Advisory Committee met and decided not to review all 694 doctoral programs in Texas. The committee will meet again later this month to determine some general information to be submitted to the CB, such as length of time to graduation, placement rates, amount of financial support and percentage supported, etc. They will also discuss ways to increase diversity.

The Retention/Graduation Rate conference sponsored by the U. T. System is to take place here at UTD on September 30th. UTD will have five representatives attending in addition to the Speaker.

Chancellor Yudof has responded to FAC’s latest round of resolutions:

• If substantive changes are proposed to an institution’s Handbook of Operating Procedures, the changes need to go through Faculty Governance. The regental rules will be revised.
• Every university must have a written policy for filling upper level administrative positions and the Rules will be revised here also.
• System will begin the process of collecting information on women and minorities who are interviewed for jobs as part of the accountability report.
• Tyler Health Center is getting Term Tenure.
• The health science centers must have fair representation of both clinical and research faculty in Academic Senates, etc.

6. TOEFL SCORE RECOMMENDATION

The Graduate Education Council recommends that UTD adopt a TOEFL IBT score of 80 which is equivalent to a threshold score of 213 on the computer based test and is an equivalent to the older 550 on the written test. This will put us in line with UT Austin. Dean Cunningham explained that this is a recommended score, and not a change in admission criteria policy. It needs to be posted on the web catalog for 2005-2006. Then, if it is to become a change in policy rather than a recommended score, the Senate would see it as a change to the policy as stated in the catalog, and we would have to seek System approval for the change. State law requires that any change to an institution’s requirements for admission or scholarships must be approved by the Board of Regents and reported to the Coordinating Board.

7. SUMMER INSURANCE PAYMENTS

As mentioned at the last Senate meeting, Larry Cauller has raised concerns about summer insurance payments. He had asked to address the Senate at today’s meeting, and Larry Terry, Interim Vice President for Business Affairs, requested that the Senate have a written response. Several years ago, the Senate approved the current three options: 9 months distributed over 12 months; 3 months’ deduction from 9th month check; and automatic bank withdrawals. The options were approved because there was no system in place that will tell Payroll that there will be guaranteed summer employment – hence summer checks. Larry wants to allow the 12 month option without having to opt in early on and, he wants to have later automatic withdrawals. Later withdrawals would require shifting personnel as would tracking summer employment. The budget, especially the summer budget, is extremely fluid, and whether or not people get grants is often not predictable. The Academic Council asked about spreading the 12 payments over the 9 months. It turns out, the current system cannot do that, but Banner will be able to do it. I need to know what the Senate wishes to have in writing for Dr. Terry. What is your preference? It was suggested that the Senate take no action with the understanding we look forward to additional improvements with the implementation of the new system.

8. AD HOC SCHOLARSHIP COMMITTEE

Before I begin, let me compliment Liz Salter and her committee on their excellent work. The committee began by trying to determine what scholarships and fellowships were available; what was and wasn’t taxable; how fees were deducted; and how students found out about scholarships. The committee has made six basic recommendations:

• Require a yearly meeting of individuals who oversee scholarships and who give them out to determine exactly what is available;
• Create a single website to advertise all scholarships instead of the current 51 sites;
• Create a scholarship office with three people staffing it;
• Simplify the processing and application process with electronic submission by faculty and students;
• Communicate with students and faculty electronically about awards available and given; and
• Award the committee’s scholarships only after completion of 12 undergraduate or 9 graduate hours.

The report recommends further discussion and warns against retroactive awards and sloppy deadlines. It also recommends that the committee be appointed in May rather than in September.

In the discussion, Dr. Salter addressed the rationale for the recommendation that letters of recommendation be accepted only from UTD faculty members. Exceptions would be made for first time transfer students and first year Freshmen, but the committee felt it was important for recommendation letters to address academic skills rather than the personal qualities often stressed in letters from family, friends, ministers, and others. It was noted that revisions to the current charge of the committee are anticipated, but no specific changes are being recommended at this meeting. Also important is the recommendation to seek approval to increase the current $1 per SCH fee to $4 for the International Education Fee.

The motion was made and seconded to accept the ad hoc committee report. The motion passed.

9. UPDATE ON ELECTRONIC FACULTY REVIEW FILES

CQ last year requested that files for promotion and tenure be made available electronically. Members of CQ are here today to see the presentation on a new system purchased for the Eugene McDermott Library. It is called E Publish and it has a secure server. Loreen Phillips and other members of the McDermott Library staff are here to present a demonstration on how E Publish could work to begin a process to allow review of faculty files electronically in a secure and password protected system.

Ms. Phillips explained a major feature of E Publish is that it allows faculty to post papers and research on the web while not violating copyright laws (hence, more publicity and chances for collaboration). It also allows dissertations to be published on the web. Because it has advanced scanning abilities, making the posting of material relatively easy, and because the Library has staff who will provide the scanning, it would be possible to post CQ promotion and tenure files so that CQ members will have easy access. The capabilities of the new system for scanning large documents such as books and articles and for scanning various forms of material needed for some fields has not been tested at U. T. Dallas and that will need to be a next step in this inquiry. There may also be a need to develop protocols for a phased transition to what may end up being a hybrid form of review with some types of reviews being completely electronic and others retaining some level of the current traditional file review. It was noted that the School of Engineering and Computer Science has conducted ad hoc committee reviews completely electronically for several years. The Speaker will meet with CQ to discuss next steps.

10. ALUMNI ASSOCIATION UTD CLASS RING AWARD

One of the most important elements of any university is the alumni, but UTD has not done enough to track or to enhance alumni relations. A couple of years ago we began to promote class rings. The Alumni Association has asked to address the Senate regarding how faculty can help the ring award process through faculty nominations of eligible students. George Aubrey, Chair of the Alumni Association, distributed an information sheet about the class ring awards that will be made on April 7, 2006 to three students chosen by the Association’s Ring Award Selection Committee. A nomination form was provided and is available to deans, faculty, administrators, staff, and alumni who wish to nominate an outstanding student who has contributed significantly to the UTD community and to the community at large. Senators are asked to share this information with the other faculty in their Schools. The Speaker thanked Mr. Aubrey for his presentation and for the good work of the Alumni Association.

11. ADJOURNMENT

The business was concluded and the meeting was adjourned.

APPROVED: ______________________________              DATE:_________________

                        Speaker of the Faculty