Oakland University Senate

Thursday, October 14, 1982
Second Meeting
 

 MINUTES

Senators Present:  Akers, Appleton, Arnold, Boulos, Briggs-Bunting, Chagnon-Royce, Chapman-Moore, dark, Copenhaver, Coppola, Cowlishaw, David, Dawson, Downing, Eklund, Feeman, R. Gerulaitis, Gregory, Grossman, Hammerle, Hetenyi, Hildebrand, Horwitz, Howes, Kurzman, Kingstrom, Lentz, Lindell, Mallett, Miller, Moeller, Russell, Sakai, Scherer, Schwab, Sevilla, Stamps, Stanovich, Strauss, Stokes, Tepley, Tripp, Wilson, Witt, Zorn.
Senators Absent: Brown, Champagne, Christina,  Doherty. Eliezer, Evarts, L. Gerulaitis, Ghausi, Heubel, Hightower, Ketchum, Kleckner, Lambric, Pak, Pine, Pino, Simpson, Workman

SUMMARY OF ACTIONS:
1. Motion to approve the minutes of September 23, 1982. Moved, Mr. Gregory. Seconded,  Mr. Strauss. Approved
2. Motion to establish a Senate standing committee to be called the Committee on General Education. Moved, Mr. Dawson. Seconded, Mr. Copenhaver. Approved.
a.  Motion to add to the membership of the Committee on General Education one AP specifically from the areas of registration, admissions, or advising. Moved, Ms. Chapman-Moore. Seconded, Ms. Clark. Not approved
b. Motion to proceed to a second reading. Moved, Mr. Russell. Seconded, Mr. Hetenyi. Approved.
3. Motion to appoint Ms. Goudsmit to the Campus Development and Environment Committee and to appoint Mr. Tagore, a continuing member of the committee, as its chair. Moved, Mr.  Miller. Seconded, Ms. Tripp. Approved
4. Motion to appoint Mr. Ozinga to the Academic Policy and Planning Committee for the fall term. Moved, Mr. Miller. Seconded, Mr. Gregory. Approved.
5. Motion to appoint Mr. Coppola to the Teaching and Learning Committee. Moved, Mr. Miller. Seconded, Mr. Stamps. Approved.

The meeting was called to order at 3:10 by Mr. Feeman who presided over the meeting in the absence of Mr. Kleckner.  He then called for consideration of the minutes of September 23 which were approved as distributed upon the motion of Mr. Gregory, seconded by Mr. Strauss.

OLD BUSINESS:

Attention turned directly to the first item of old business, a revised version of a motion from the Steering Committee concerning the establishment of a Committee on General Education:

MOVED that the Senate establish a standing committee to be called the Committee on General Education. (Moved, Mr. Dawson; seconded, Mr. Copenhaver)

In bringing the motion back to the Senate the Steering Committee, acting on the advice of the Senate, presented the same basic motion but with a revised charge and a revised membership roster. The charge to the committee had been changed to read as follows:

Charge: To recommend to the Senate general policies and requirements for undergraduate general education and to function as a curriculum committee for a university-wide program of general education in accordance with Senate authorizations.

The membership had been streamlined to a total of seven; six faculty and one student. Ms. Chapman-Moore initiated the discussion by expressing her concern over the lack of administrative representation on the committee, particularly in the areas of admissions, transfer of records and advising. She moved to add to the membership of the committee one AP specifically from the areas of admissions, registration or advising; Ms. Clark seconded. Mr. Akers commented that there is a great deal of information throughout the University that the committee will need as it proceeds and that it would be impossible to get everyone who has an interest in general education requirements represented on the committee. Mr. Copenhaver spoke up in support of Mr. Aker's remarks, adding that he too is concerned over communication but also recognizes the advantages of a small committee and its ability to work efficiently. He added that as an administrator he would rather speak to a smaller committee. Mr. Horwitz then spoke in favor of the amendment, noting that the work of the committee could be streamlined by including someone from the administrative levels who could provide necessary information and background data. He pointed out that we are dealing with a university in which over fifty percent of the students are transfers and that it is, therefore, important to have those who deal with these students and their varying academic backgrounds represented on the committee. Mr. Strauss, on the other hand, did not feel that having APs represented was really necessary. Ms. Clark stated that it isn't a matter of not trusting the faculty, but rather the fact the APs could supply information that would be valuable and helpful and time-saving and added that, after all, it is the responsibility of the administrative staff to carry out the legislation. Ms. Tripp remarked that, as advisors, the faculty too is very much involved in working with students and must know the requirements in order to assist the students in planning their coursework. Mr. Dawson pointed out that the main motion makes no effort to include or exclude any group. He added that, while the membership would probably be selected from those areas providing most of the general education courses, the committee would nevertheless have to gather information and advice from all the units on campus involved in or having an interest in general education requirements.

Wanting some clarification of the motion, Mr. Grossman asked how the AP representative would be chosen � selected by the Senate, appointed, or what. Ms. Chapman- Moore proposed that the AP assembly could supply appropriate names. Ms. Clark added that APs serving on other committees are elected by the Assembly but that they would be willing to let the Steering Committee select from a pool of names. The appointment could then be made the same way the faculty members are selected, namely, proposed to the Senate by the Steering Committee and then voted upon by the Senate. Ms. Scherer suggested that the Senate could charge the committee to talk with all relevant groups. Ms. Gerulaitis spoke out in favor of a small committee, noting that the committee's actions and decisions will come after the committee has engaged in a wide variety of information gathering activities and after all interested individuals have had the opportunity to present their views and recommendations to the committee. She stated further that it should be a faculty committee since it is a curriculum committee and added that APs do not serve on the Committees on Instruction. In response, Ms. Clark commented that the addition of one member to the committee would not make it unwieldy and that the AP could be very helpful to the committee as it conducted its business. Having earlier stated that it was important to get this legislation approved, Mr. Russell, seconded by Mr. Hetenyi, offered a procedural motion to waive the second reading. The necessary three quarters vote of members was achieved by voice vote with no objection noted. Attention then turned to the motion to add an AP to the committee, the question was called and the motion to amend the membership was defeated. The Senate then proceeded to vote on the main motion, approving it unanimously.

NEW BUSINESS

The old business having been dispatched, attention then turned to new business, a series of motions from the Steering Committee to fill standing committee vacancies.

MOVED that Esther Goudsmit be appointed to fill the unexpired term of Robert Edgerton on the Campus Development and Environment Committee and that Amit Tagore, a continuing member of the Committee, assume the chairmanship currently held by Mr. Edgerton. (Moved, Mr. Miller. Seconded, Ms. Tripp) Approved unanimously.

MOVED that James Ozinga be appointed to the Academic Policy and Planning Committee for the fall term, 1982 to replace Tung Weng. (Moved, Mr. Miller. Seconded, Mr. Gregory). Approved unanimously. Note: The motion as it appeared on the agenda proposed that Robert Williamson be appointed for the fall term. Mr. Williamson was unable to serve and so Mr. Ozinga's name was substituted.

MOVED that Carlo Coppola be appointed to fill the unexpired term of Carol Milewski on the Teaching and Learning Committee. (Moved, Mr. Miller. Seconded, Mr. Stamps) Approved unanimously.

INFORMATION ITEMS:

No private resolutions having been introduced, attention then turned to information items. At the last meeting the President reported that OU had received legislative approval for funds for the completion of the Hannah Hall renovation and for planning a library addition. As an update, Mr. Feeman reported that while the funds for Hannah Hall will be forthcoming, the $100,000 for the library was vetoed by the Governor. The Governor argued that the Hannah Hall money was for the completion of a project already underway while the library funding was for new construction. Other funding sources are being explored so that the library planning can get underway.

Mr. Feeman then presented the following summary of the enrollment for the fall term:

OU's 1982 fall final headcount is 11,721. This is an increase of seven-tenths of one percent from last year. FYES, however, is up only one-half of one percent. Despite a sizable increase in the MBA enrollment, and some growth in the Ed. Specialist, total graduate headcount is down -114 and graduate FYES by -23 or 5.0%.  Offsetting this is an increase in undergraduates, +139 more seniors and +57 more early college study undergraduates. All other undergraduate categories net out to -5 students. On a credits basis, there is a drop of -500 credits by undergraduates other than SRs and early college study. Total FYES for fall is 4089 (up +20 or +.57,). Summer was down -94 FYES so we have a year-to-date of -74 FYES. The "official" target is 9350 FYES for the year.

Prior to adjournment, Mr. Hammerle asked about the status of the Provost's report regarding the recommendations presented by the Committee on Academic Mission and Priorities. Mr. Feeman replied that it will be mailed when completed. There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 4:35 p.m.

Respectfully submitted:
Linda L. Hildebrand
Secretary to the University Senate