Oakland University Senate
Second Meeting
October 15, 1973
MINUTES
Present: A quorum
Absent: Senators H. Burdick, N. Covert, J. DeMent, T. Kilburn, W. Moorhouse, N. Seeber, J. Sherry, J. Solomon, W. Sturner, N. Susskind, and P. Tipler.
Commencing at 3:20 p.m., Mr. O'Dowd made some informal comments concerning enrollment, management by objective, and affirmative action reporting requirements. The meeting was formally called to order at 3:50 p.m.
Mr. O'Dowd announced the appointment of John Tower as parliamentarian of the Senate.
Upon motion by Mr. Krompart, seconded by Mr. L. Gerulaitis, the minutes of the first meeting (September 19, 1973) were approved. Ms. Schwartz called attention to the attachment to the minutes entitled "Procedures Utilized In The Steering Committee Election, September, 1973", and stated that item 4. appeared to be in error. After brief discussion, it appeared to be the consensus of the Senate that item 4. should be corrected by deleting the phrase "unless they specifically declare otherwise."
A. Old Business
None
B. New Business
1. Standing Committee Charges and Membership Specifications.
a. Mr. Obear, seconded by Mr. Hetenyi , moved:
* THAT MOTION b. BELOW BE APPROVED FOR FINAL VOTE AT THIS MEETING.
Approved.
Mr. Obear briefly described the changes and charges and membership specifications which the Steering Committee was recommending to the Senate and the reasons therefor.
b. Mr. Obear, seconded by R. Gerulaitis, then moved;
THAT THE CHANGES IN STANDING COMMITTEE CHARGES AND MEMBERSHIP SPECIFICATIONS INDICATED IN THE AGENDA BE APPROVED.
The following amendments were offered and approved:
Academic Policy Committee
* Mr. Lind, seconded by Mr. Woodard, moved to change the student membership from four to five.
Financial Aids Committee
* Mr. Coffman, seconded by Mr. Tower, moved that "the Dean for Student Services" be deleted and replaced with the Vice- President for Student Affairs (or his designee)".
Spring and Summer Sessions Committee
* Mr. L. Gerulaitis, seconded by Mr. Krompart, moved to add, after "three students" the provision "at least one of whom shall be a graduate student."
As altered by these amendments, the Committee Charges and Membership Specifications thus became:
(1) Academic Conduct Committee
Membership; Six faculty members and an alternate, two students and an alternate; and the Vice President for Student Affairs (or his designee), who shall be ex officio and voting.
(2) Academic Policy Committee
Membership: The Provost (or an academic officer representing him), two at-large faculty members (one of whom shall be chairperson), one faculty member from and designated by the Committee on Instruction (or equivalent) of each organized faculty; five students; one administrative-professional; and the Registrar and the Dean for Student Services, both of whom shall be ex officio and non-voting.
(3) Admissions Committee
Charge: To consider, recommend, and evaluate recruiting policies and standards and requirements for admission to undergraduate programs of the University and to evaluate such individual applications for admission as may be referred to it by the Director of Admissions.
Membership: Four faculty; four students; the Director of Admissions, ex officio and non-voting; and the Vice President for Student Affairs (or his designee), the Dean for Student Services, and the Director of Financial Aids, each of whom shall be ex officio and voting.
(4) Athletics Committee
Membership: Five faculty; three administrative-professionals; three students; and the Director of Athletics, the Vice President for Student Affairs, and the faculty representative to the NCAA, each of whom shall be ex officio and non-voting.
(5) Financial Aids Committee
Membership: Four faculty; four students; the Director of Financial Aids, ex officio and non-voting; and the Director of Admissions, the Vice President for Student Affairs (or his designee) and the Assistant to the Controller, each of whom shall be ex officio and voting.
(6) Research Committee
Membership: Eight faculty members, including two faculty members named by the Graduate Council; and the Director of Research and Instructional Services and the Dean of Graduate Study, each of whom shall be ex officio and non-voting.
(7) Spring and Summer Sessions Committee
Membership: Five faculty; three students, at least one of whom shall be a graduate student; two administrative-professionals; and the Dean of the Spring and Summer Sessions who shall be ex officio and non-voting.
Approved.
2. Approval of nominees to Senate Standing Committees.
a. Mr. Obear, seconded by Ms. R. Gerulaitis, moved:
* THAT THE PERSONS NOMINATED TO SENATE STANDING COMMITTEES AS INDICATED ON A LIST DISTRIBUTED WITH THE AGENDA BE APPROVED, WITH THE ADDITION OF THE NAME OF COLIN PALMER AS CHAIRPERSON OF THE FINANCIAL AIDS COMMITTEE
Mr. Obear explained that the Senate was being asked to approve only those names denoted by asterisks. A copy of this list is attached to the file copy of these minutes. Procedural motion, eligible for final vote.
Approved.
3. Motion from the Academic Standing and Honors Committee.
a. Mr. Matthews, seconded by Mr. Hetenyi, moved:
THAT MOTION b. BELOW BE APPROVED FOR FINAL VOTE AT THIS MEETING.
Approved.
b. Mr. Matthews, seconded by Mr. Hetenyi, moved:
* THAT THE JUNE 22, 1973, GRADUATION LIST APPROVED AT THE SEPTEMBER MEETING BE AMENDED TO INDICATE GARY CUMMIS AS RECIPIENT OF A B.S., RATHER THAN A B.A., DEGREE.
Approved.
4. Approval of the August, 1973 graduation list.
a. Mr. Matthews, seconded by Mr. Gregory, moved:
* THAT MOTIONS UNDER b., c., AND d. BELOW BE APPROVED FOR FINAL VOTE AT THIS MEETING.
Approved.
b. Mr. Matthews, seconded by Mr. L. Gerulaitis, moved:
*THAT THE FACULTY OF OAKLAND NOMINATE FOR THE BACHELOR'S DEGREE, CONFERRED AS OF AUGUST 17, 1973, THE STUDENTS NAMED ON THE LIST DISTRIBUTED WITH THIS AGENDA. (A copy of this list is attached to the file copy of these minutes.)
Approved.
c. Mr. Matthews, seconded by Mr. Krompart, moved:
* THAT THE SENATE FIND ADEQUATE FOR UNIVERSITY HONORS PURPOSES THOSE GRADE POINT AVERAGES SET FORTH ON THE LIST DISTRIBUTED WITH THIS AGENDA.
The policy under which the Academic Standing and Honors Committee has been operating in the determination of honors is "the three levels of University Honors, Cum Laude, Magna Cum Laude, and Summa Cum Laude may be awarded to students in the upper ten percent of the graduating class or to students who have earned a cumulative grade point average of 3.49". There was considerable discussion as to precisely what this provision meant, and as to whether it was appropriate given today's general distribution of grades. Mr. McKay, seconded by Mr. Barthel moved:
* THAT THE CUMULATIVE GRADE POINT AVERAGE CUTOFF BE SET AT 3.60 FOR THE AUGUST, 1973, GRADUATING CLASS.
Approved.
The main motion was then voted as amended.
Approved.
Mr. Obear stated that he would ask the Steering Committee to request the new Academic Standing and Honors Committee to review the policies used for determining university honors candidates.
d. Mr. Matthews, seconded by Mr. Krompart, moved:
* THAT UNIVERSITY HONORS BE AWARDED TO THOSE PERSONS NAMED ON THE LIST DISTRIBUTED AT THE MEETING AND WHOSE GRADE POINT AVERAGES MEET THE CRITERIA APPROVED IN c. ABOVE. (A copy of this ,list is attached to the file copy of these minutes.)
Approved.
Mr. O'Dowd thanked Ms. Orton for her services as chairperson of the Academic Standing and Honors Committee over the past year.
5. Recommendation of a 1974-75 University Calendar.
a. Mr. Obear, seconded by Mr. Hetenyi, moved:
* THAT THE MOTION UNDER b. BELOW BE APPROVED FOR FINAL VOTE AT THIS MEETING.
Mr. Obear stated that many University offices and activities have an immediate need for firm 1974-75 dates and thus the Senate was being asked to recommend a 1974-75 calendar on a single reading.
Approved.
b. Mr. Obear, seconded by Mr. Hetenyi, moved:
* THAT THE UNIVERSITY SENATE RECOMMEND TO THE PRESIDENT THE 1974-75 CALENDAR DISPLAYED IN AN ATTACHMENT TO THE MEETING AGENDA. (A copy of this calendar is attached to the file copy of these minutes.)
Mr. McKay indicated that the proposed calendar contained too few teaching days, stated that he believed the approval of such a calendar might create problems, and moved:
THAT THE SENATE RETURN THIS CALENDAR TO THE STEERING COMMITTEE WITH INSTRUCTIONS TO RECOMMEND A CALENDAR CONTAINING NOT LESS THAN 73 DAYS PER TERM.
Seconded by Mr. Freeman. Mr. Gerulaitis stated that this minor change in the calendar length doesn't make much difference Mr. Hetenyi stated that he believed a bigger issue revolves around four versus three semester credit hours for three in-class hours of teaching. Mr. Hetenyi stated that when comparing our calendar with the quarter system, one must realize that the quarter terms also include holiday periods. He further stated that the School of Education graduate operation would be hurt by the amendment proposed. Mr. Liboff spoke in favor of the amendment, stating that an extra week is very important to the teaching effort. Mr. O'Dowd was asked to comment on the proposed calendar and in response he stated that:
1) The institution has a substantial problem with getting necessary physical plant maintenance done in the period between the end of the summer term and the beginning of the fall term now; the amendment would exacerbate the problem;
2) a substantial portion of our new student enrollment occurs in the last week of August and this would perhaps be a problem with a calendar pushed back;
3) pushing the exam period closer to Christmas would conflict with students' ability to obtain Christmas work, and
4) since contracts with some of Oakland's unions have provisions that effectively close the university from Christmas to New Years, moving the exam period closer to Christmas would make grade processing difficult.
Mr. Coffman stated that a problem with moving the commencement of the term into August is that advising and registration is very difficult before Labor Day but that such a problem would be alleviated if registration were extended into September to overlap the beginning of classes. Mr. McKay opposed this suggestion since it would be disruptive to classes. Mr. Freeman stated that the McKay amendment is bolstered by pedagogical considerations, but is opposed by those with administrative concerns. Mr. Feeman stated that in terms of the learning process, the amendment has little force; just because a student is here does not mean that he is learning.
On a show of hands, the amendment failed 14:10.
Mr. Liboff then moved:
THAT THE SENATE RETURN THIS CALENDAR TO THE STEERING COMMITTEE WITH INSTRUCTIONS TO RECOMMEND A CALENDAR CONTAINING NOT LESS THAN 72 DAYS PER TERM.
Seconded by Mr. L. Gerulaitis. On a show of hands, the amendment failed 14:8.
The main motion was then voted and approved.
The meeting adjourned at 5:37 p.m.
Robert H. Bunger, Secretary
University Senate
Office of the Provost/er
10/18/73
*Motions and amendments adopted at this meeting.