Oakland University Senate
Thursday, 6 December 1990
Fourth Meeting
MINUTES
Senators Present: Appleton, Arshagouni, Berven, Braunstein, Briggs- Bunting, Burke, Cass, Coffey, Dahlgren, Dillon, Eberwein, Eckart, Eliezer, Fish, Frankie, Gerulaitis, Griggs, Grossman, Hamilton, Hartman, Hovanesian, Kazarian, Lederer, Liboff, Long, Mabee, Meehan, S. Miller, Mittelstaedt, Olson, Pettengill, Rosen, Salomon, Schieber, Schimmelman, Theisen, Tracy, Urice, Walter, Weng, Williams, Winkler, Witt, Wood, Zenas.
Senators Absent: Beehler, Bertocci, Cardimen, Champagne, Chipman, Herman, Horwitz, Kleckner, Landry, Mili, D. Miller, Pine, Reddy, Schwartz, Tripp, Wedekind, Williamson.
Summary of Actions:
1. Minutes of 8 November 1990 (Gerulaitis, Salomon). Approved.
2 . Motion from UCUI to modify policy regarding evaluation of Advanced Placement examinations,(Appleton; Pettengill). Approved.
At 3:14 p.m., Mr. Dahlgren detected a quorum and called the meeting to order, professing himself relieved to see Mr. Appleton entering the room. He proceeded at once to call attention to the minutes of 8 November 1990. These, duly moved by Mr. Gerulaitis and seconded by Ms. Salomon, won approval by voice vote without discussion.
The only formal item of business was the second reading of a proposal from the University Committee on Undergraduate Instruction (Moved, Mr. Appleton; seconded, Mr. Pettengill):
MOVED that credit toward graduation will be granted to students who present evidence of satisfactory completion in high school of examinations offered by the Advanced Placement Program of the College Entrance Examination Board. Credits and appropriate course or other exemptions will be granted for grades of "3", "4", or "5" in these examinations, except that individual academic departments may deny credit to those earning scores of "3" by filing a clear and comprehensive statement of the policy they propose to follow -- and a rationale for this policy -- with the office of the Registrar and the University Committee on Undergraduate Instruction.
Mr. Appleton invited questions that had emerged since the November meeting or been mercifully withheld at that time because of Laura Schartman's absence. With Ms. Schartman beside him to respond to inquiries, he felt ready to discuss this motion. He pointed out that it is Ms. Schartman's' office that deals with paperwork involving Advanced Placement examinations, and she is the source of the informative tables that accompanied the November agenda. Mr. Liboff then asked when an academic unit would have to file a petition to object to granting credit for an examination. Mr. Appleton said that UCUI had set no specific date but would like action to be timely. He noted that UCUI is not asking for authorization to deny departments their right to set standards but only attempting to establish procedures that would speed delivery of information to students. Mr. Miller, noting that Oakland University is competing for these outstanding high school students with other institutions, wondered whether it would be wise to publish in the catalog practices to be adopted for each course. Mr. Appleton thought the information would be too detailed for inclusion in the catalog, although Ms. Schartman mentioned that some colleges provide it. She would be happy with an informational sheet, summary, or brochure available to staff in her office and to advisers so that information could quickly be provided to students. Right now, she reported, evaluation of individual test booklets takes a very long time, with students and their advisers left in the dark for most of a student's first semester. When Mr. Dahlgren asked who would be responsible for developing such a list, Mr. Appleton presumed the task would fall to UCUI. No further questions being raised, Mr. Dahlgren called for a vote, and the motion carried without dissent.
With this business concluded, no new issues arose from the floor. Mr. Dahlgren advanced, therefore, to information items. First among these was a report on the current status of the Strategic Guidelines for Oakland University. A memo from President Champagne reports that these are now before the Board and have already been informally considered. Formal deliberation is expected early in the winter. The President expresses his appreciation and gratitude to the Academic Policy and Planning Committee and its subcommittee that developed these Guidelines and to the Senate for its thoughtful reflection.
Ms. Eberwein then reported on the Steering Committee's progress in providing for study of a possible conference center within our academic governance framework. Land-use issues associated with such a facility and a projected second golf course are now under consideration by the Campus Development and Environment Committee, which met last week with Mr. Cardimen. Meanwhile, the Steering Committee is drawing up a charge for an ad hoc subcommittee on conference center planning. This subcommittee is envisaged as a small, hard working group that would report its recommendations to the Steering Committee in time for that body to refer them to the Senate at the end of this academic year. Its responsibility would be to consider whether a conference center can effectively support the academic mission of Oakland University and, if so, what kind of conference center would most benefit this institution. It should analyze the relationship of such a facility to the university's mission and primary goals, issues of access for faculty and student groups, fiscal implications, and useful models of conference centers associated with universities. The subcommittee is expected to solicit opinion on campus as well as examine the feasibility study (not with an eye to redoing that study but testing out its evidence and conclusions). She indicated that the Steering Committee thinks in terms of a small subcommittee appointed on the basis of expertise. It should comprise persons with special capabilities: those experienced in handling fiscal issues and examining documents like the feasibility study; persons experienced in scheduling and organizing conferences; someone from the Steering Committee to ensure close tie-ins with the Senate; and persons with demonstrated commitment to Oakland University's academic mission and public image. The Steering Committee invites senators to volunteer for this service or to recommend appropriate persons. Names may be presented to the Provost, Ms. Eberwein, or any member of the Steering Committee. Nominations will also be solicited from deans and department chairs even though this is not the sort of committee that will be staffed with one representative from each academic unit.
Mr. Liboff then inquired about how the committee would be formed. He envisaged no problem finding persons loyal to the university's mission but wondered about possible imbalance of a committee not chosen for representativeness. Ms. Eberwein pointed out that committees formed with one member from each school always turn out to be large and often have problems meeting; they also entail inevitable complaints about only one seat going to the College of Arts and Sciences. Although that sort of design is necessary for some committees, the Steering Committee feared it would be unwieldy for this one, which must work intensively for a short time on a specific issue. She pointed out that membership would not be limited to faculty members but could include students and administrative personnel. There is no plan to load it with faculty members from any one school, since the experiences and skills needed may be found in a variety of settings. When Mr. Liboff then inquired how such a conference center would be financed, Mr. Dahlgren assured him that it would be by someone else, outside the university. wondering whether he was right to be worried, Mr. Liboff expressed concern about what he perceived to be the rapid cutting up of the university's remaining property. It seemed to him that many persons had gleams in their eyes about possible uses of land. Mr. Dahlgren appreciated his concern but maintained that nothing will happen about appropriation of land for any use without general consultation. With no further business to detain the Senate, Mr. Gerulaitis proposed adjournment, and the meeting ended at 3:32 p.m.
Respectfully submitted
Jane D. Eberwein
Secretary to the University Senate