Oakland University Senate
Third Meeting
Thursday, November 15, 1979
5:15 p.m.
128-130 Oakland Center
AGENDA
Respectfully submitted by George T. Matthews for the Steering Committee.
A. Old Business:
None.
B. New Business:
1. Resolution from the Steering Committee (Mr. Tower).
RESOLVED THAT THE UNIVERSITY SENATE, UNDER AUTHORITY OF ARTICLE II, VI OF THE CONSTITUTION OF THE OAKLAND UNIVERSITY SENATE, CONFER UPON THE CENTER FOR HEALTH SCIENCES AND THE INSTITUTE OF BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES, EFFECTIVE UPON PASSAGE OF THIS RESOLUTION, REPRESENTATION IN THE UNIVERSITY SENATE AS FOLLOWS:
a. THE DIRECTOR OF THE CENTER FOR HEALTH SCIENCES SHALL BE SEATED ex officio AND VOTING.
b. FOR ENFRANCHISEMENT PURPOSES, FACULTY HOLDING PRIMARY APPOINTMENTS IN HEALTH SCIENCE DISCIPLINES IN THE CENTER FOR HEALTH SCIENCES AND FACULTY HOLDING PRIMARY APPOINTMENTS 1N BIOMED1CAL SCIENCES IN THE INSTITUTE OF BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES, SHALL BE REGARDED AS A SINGLE VOTING UNIT.
c. FACULTY HOLDING SUCH PRIMARY APPOINTMENTS SHALL BE ENTITLED TO MINIMUM REPRESENTATION OF ONE ELECTED SEAT AND SUCH ADDITIONAL SEATS AS MAY BE WARRANTED BY THE APPORTIONMENT PROCEDURES.
First Reading: Debatable, amendable but not eligible for final vote at this meeting.
Comment: The Center for Health Sciences, established in 1976 by the Board upon recommendation of the Senate, now sponsors four undergraduate degree programs, numerous graduate and undergraduate less-than-degree programs and is planning further expansion of offerings in the field of Health Sciences. In terms of faculty, the Center's governance body, the Council for Health Sciences has enjoyed power of primary appointment since its inception; six faculty now hold regular, full-time appointments in Health Science disciplines. Further, last year the Senate recommended and the Board approved the grant of power of primary appointment in the Institute of Biological Sciences. For purposes of appointment, review, reappointment, promotion and grant of tenure Institute appointments in Biomedical Sciences come under the CAP of the Council for Health Sciences. Under present arrangements, the degree programs of the Center, and Center and Institute faculty are not represented in the Senate and have no power to elect Senators. The present Resolution, initiated and sponsored by the Steering Committee seeks to enfranchise faculty in the Center and the Institute under authority of Article II, vi of the Constitution which reads:
By action of the University Senate, other academic units [i.e. units other than "organized faculties"] of the University may be granted such power of organized faculty as are deemed appropriate.
In the Resolution, the seating of the Director parallels the seating of Deans of faculties and schools, as does the initial number of elected faculty seats, one. By this action the total membership of the Senate would increase by two seats.
2. Resolution from the Steering Committee (Mr. Tower).
RESOLVED THAT THE UNIVERSITY SENATE, UNDER AUTHORITY OF ARTICLE II, VI OF THE CONSTITUTION OF THE OAKLAND UNIVERSITY SENATE, CONFER UPON THE CENTER FOR GENERAL AND CAREER STUDIES, EFFECTIVE UPON PASSAGE OF THIS RESOLUTION, REPRESENTATION IN THE UNIVERSITY SENATE AS FOLLOWS:
a. THE DIRECTOR OF THE CENTER FOR GENERAL AND CAREER STUDIES SHALL BE SEATED ex officio AND VOTING.
b. AS LONG AS THERE ARE FACULTY HOLDING PRIMARY APPOINTMENTS IN THE CENTER FOR GENERAL AND CAREER STUDIES, SUCH FACULTY' SHALL BE ENTITLED TO A REPRESENTATION OF ONE ELECTED SEAT AND SUCH ADDITIONAL SEATS AS MAY BE WARRANTED BY THE APPORTIONMENT PROCEDURE'S
First Reading: Debatable, amendable but not eligible for final vote at this meeting.
Comment: The Center for General and Career Studies established in 1975 by the Board, upon recommendation of the Senate sponsors an important undergraduate degree program, "the Bachelor of General Studies, and contains the Department of Learning Skills, New 'Charter College, the Evening and Off-Campus Programs and numerous other instructional activities; these programs are without representation in the Senate. Further, the faculty of the Department of Learning Skills are an anomalous relation to the Senate. In 1976, the Senate, aware that Learning Skills faculty were without franchise, by resolution, granted it the right to vote for a Senator through the election procedures of the College of Arts and Sciences. The present Resolution initiated and sponsored by the Steering Committee seeks to give Learning Skills faculty, through the Center with which it has been associated since 1975, a direct entitlement to at least one elected Senate seat. The Resolution also makes provision for the possible if remote contingency that the Center for General and Career Studies might no longer contain units with power of primary appointment. The present resolution also provides programmatic representation of an important degree program through the seating of the Center's director. The comments concerning Article II, vi found under New Business, Item I of this Agenda, are pertinent here as well. By this action, the total membership of the Senate could increase by two seats.,
C. Report from the ad hoc Committee on Curriculum Flexibility (Mr. Russell)
The ad hoc Committee on Curricular Flexibility , appointed by the Academic Policy and Planning Committee with the endorsement of the Senate in Fall, 1978, to study (among other alternatives) the possibility of changing from the four credit per course per semester module to a three credit per course per semester module in order to gain greater curricula flexibility, wishes formally to report its finding to the Senate as follows:
The APPC has received the final report of the ad hoc Committee on Course Credit. . The report concludes that after a thorough study of all aspects of curricular flexibility no action be initiated at this time to alter the standard course credit module of four credits. Little support from either faculty or students was found for changing to a three credit norm. Unilateral adoption of a different scheduling matrix offers no guarantee of increasing curricular flexibility. If the recommendations from the Commission on General Education cannot be achieved using the present four credit system, the need for another system may find wider support in the future.
Not a motion: No action required.
D. Report from the Department of Physical Education and Athletics (Mr. Van Fleet).
Not a motion: No action required.
E. Report from the Academic Policy and Planning Committee (Mr. Russell).
Mr. Russell will brief the Senate on the current status of the medical education feasibility study being brought to conclusion by the Council for the Health Sciences and Mr. Moon J. Pak, its director. .
Not a motion: No action required.
F. Good and Welfare: Private Resolutions
G. Informational Items:
1. Steering Committee Activities: At its meeting of 11/6/79, the Steering Committee appointed Mr. Joel Russell to represent it and the Senate at the open meeting of the Board of Trustees scheduled for 11/7/79.
2 Ms Ann Pogany will serve a one year term on the Academic Conduct Committee as replacement for Ms. Helen Schwartz who has resigned. Ms. Schwartz has served the University on the Academic Conduct Committee long and well and deserves a round of applause.