OAKLAND UNIVERSITY SENATE

Thursday, 14 October 1993
Third Meeting

MINUTES

Senators Present: Benson, Bertocci, Braunstein, Briggs-Bunting, Chipman, Christina, Dahlgren, Downing, Dunphy, Eberwein, Frankie, Garcia, Gerulaitis, Grossman, Hansen, Hildebrand, Hough, Hovanesian, Khattree, Kheir, Liboff, Mabee, Marks, Mittelstaedt, Moore, Moran, Muir, Olson, Buffard-O'Shea, Packard, Pine, Pipan, Polis, Reynolds, Rickstad, Rooney, Rozek, Russi, Schmitz, Schwartz, Schott-Baer, Selahowski, Sevilla, Wedekind, Zenas.
Senators Absent: Abiko, Ari, Awbrey, Bhatt, Bricker, Brown, Hormozi, Reddy Rush, Shepherd, Stano, Stevens, Taam, Thomas, Urice.

Summary of Actions
1. Interim report from Senate Planning Review Committee concerning 9/23/93 motion on school consolidation (Mr. Chipman).  2. Steering Committee Election (Mr. Grossman, in place of the Senate Elections Committee). Catherine Rush elected.
3. Motion to waive a second reading of #4 below (Bertocci; Garcia). Approved.
4 Motion from the Committee on Human Relations to modify the University's Equal Opportunity Policy (Grossman; Gerulaitis). Approved.
5. Procedural motion from the Steering Committee to fill vacancies on standing committees (Zenas; Reynolds).
6 Reports from standing committees: Research Committee (Dean Purcell); University Committee on Undergraduate Instruction (Sheldon Appleton); Graduate Council (George Dahlgren); Teaching and Learning Committee (Kevin Andrews); Admissions and Financial Aid Committee (Anne Sandoval); General Education Committee (Kevin Grimm).

Mr. Russi launched the meeting at 3:14 p.m. with a presentation on fall enrollment figures as compared with those of the preceding two years. Using an overhead projector, he provided a snapshot view of enrollment figures to demonstrate that this fall's decreased undergraduate headcount (down 128 from last year) resulted from losses among part-time rather than full-time students. Graduate numbers are also down slightly. When examining enrollments by schools, these figures show declines in the College, Education, and Business,along with increases in Engineering., Nursing, and Health Sciences. University Programs and the undesignated category also gained. Although headcount sank, full-time equivalent (FTE) numbers rose as a result of a smaller population registering for increased credits. Total enrollment comes to 12,895. When Mr. Braunstein asked that these statistics be made available in writing,  Mr. Russi pledged to attach them to the minutes. In response to President Packard's query about what groups of students get classified in University Programs, he reported that independent majors, B.G.S. candidates, and post-baccalaureate students appear under that heading. He promised to look into data that might answer Ms. Briggs-Bunting's inquiry into the demographic patterns causing intense pressure on lower-level courses. Transfer patterns may play a role.

The sole item of old business was a progress report from Mr. Chipman, who described the ways in which the Senate Planning Review Committee is actively seeking answers to the four key questions identified in its memorandum of 20 September. One subcommittee has been compiling information about curricular and other arrangements at universities comparable to Oakland in Carnegie classification that have either consolidated their schools of nursing and health sciences or are known to be considering such mergers. Other subcommittees are looking into accreditation questions and investigating the possible impact of gender on this situation. The SPRC, which Mr. Chipman chairs, is collaborating in this work with the Senate Budget Review Committee, the University Committee on Undergraduate Instruction, the Committee on Human Relations, and the Research Committee. He expected to deliver his committee's report and recommendation to the Steering Committee in early November for circulation to senators well in advance of the 14 November Senate meeting.

The absence of Senate Elections Committee officials threatened to delay the scheduled election to replace Ms. Dunphy on the Steering Committee. When the secretary suggested that there might be someone with numerical skills present at the meeting, Senator Grossman strode forward to the rescue. Several faculty members declined nomination, with the result that Ms. Rush was elected by acclamation--though in absentia. With no need for counting ballots, Mr. Olson teased the parliamentarian-mathematician-election officer about his numerical skills, while Mr. Bertocci asked whether one is a whole number.

Next came a more substantive item of new business: a motion from the Committee on Human Relations to modify the university's Equal opportunity Policy (Moved, Mr. Grossman; seconded, Ms. Gerulaitis). Mr. Grossman introduced the motion by calling attention to a typographical error on the agenda, where the word PREFERENCE should have been ORIENTATION.   That slip identified one of two instances where there might be differences of opinion about wording: whether it should be "sexual preference" or "sexual orientation" in one case and "gender" or "sex" in the other. The sponsoring committee proposed retaining the phrase "sexual orientation," which the Senate had approved in 1990 but that had never been adopted by the Board, and returning to the word "sex" that currently stands in the policy statement rather than moving to "gender" as preferred the last time the Senate considered this matter.  When Ms. Garcia, who had chaired the Committee on Human Relations back when that group proposed the 1990 revision, demanded to know why the changes approved by the Senate had not already been implemented, Mr. Russi gathered it had never gone to the Board. Ms. Eberwein mentioned that the 1990 motion had been infelicitously worded in that the Senate had  made its recommendation to the President without also mentioning the Board.   Senate records demonstrate that Mr. Kleckner transmitted the Senate's recommendation to President Champagne, but there is no indication of movement beyond that point even though Board action is required for formal revision of such a policy; she noted that this motion has been phrased to encourage President Packard to seek Board approval.

In response to Mr. Schwartz's inquiry about this motion's possible implications for spousal benefits, Ms. Packard indicated that the University of Michigan has discovered that its recently adopted policy barring discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation may indeed affect such matters as admission to married student housing and practices of student fraternal associations. She is seeking information on these matters and expects to have clear answers before advancing this recommendation to the Board. Mr. Russi reported that the University of Iowa, which has already adopted a policy similar to the one now under consideration, has been debating its implications over eighteen months, mainly over its impact on benefits. Declaring the issue to be one of equity, Ms. Garcia called upon the Senate to reaffirm support for the policy to which it had already committed itself. Mr. Christina thought there was already a similar sentence in the Faculty Agreement. When Mr. Russi asked if senators felt ready for a vote, the parliamentarian and secretary objected that this was only a first reading. Mr. Bertocci, seconded by Ms. Garcia, then moved that the requirement of a second reading be waived. They had no trouble winning the necessary support for that motion, nor did the main motion face opposition when brought to a vote immediately thereafter. It passed with unanimous support. The revised policy, which the Senate trusts will soon take effect, thus reads (new language in bold type):

Equal Opportunity Policy

Oakland University reaffirms its unwavering commitment to equality of opportunity for all persons. In a society that relies on an informed, educated citizenry, no one should be denied the opportunity to attain his or her fullest potential. It is therefore the policy of Oakland University that no person shall be discriminated against on the basis of race, sex, sexual orientation, age handicap, color, religion, creed, national origin or ancestry, marital status, or veteran status. The University shall strive to build a community that welcomes and honors all persons and that provides equal opportunity in education and employment. The University shall affirmatively follow the provisions of applicable State and Federal anti-discrimination legislation in all of its activities in this area and so reaffirms its policy at this time.

Ms. Zenas, seconded by Ms. Reynolds, then introduced a procedural motion for the Steering Committee, which asked that Bonnie Abiko be confirmed as Linda Hildebrand's replacement on the Campus Development and Environment Committee for 1993-95 and   Jerry Marsh be elected to represent the School of Engineering and Computer Science for the same duration. No discussion ensued, and the motion carried by voice vote.

The importance of maintaining Senate committees at full strength became apparent shortly thereafter, when chairs of six such bodies reported on their achievements in 1992-93 and the work that faces them this year. First to report was Professor Dean Purcell, 1992-93 chair of the Research Committee. He began with some general comments about what that committee does and does not do in support of research, reminding senators that it has been carrying out announced changes in earlier practices by discontinuing payments for books, page proofs, and seminars in order to fulfill contractual expectations that its funding will go toward direct grants. He then reviewed last year's budget, indicating the amounts derived from various sources: contractual allocation, gifts, and loan reimbursements. The committee awarded 15 fellowships last year in addition to funding some small grants and special projects and supporting two Meadow Brook conferences. They ended the year with about $300.00 in reserve. Some special grants were also funded from specific sources. A change introduced last year was to hold $500.00 from each fellowship in order to build a reserve fund to help out with later stages of these projects. When Mr. Christina requested clarification of this practice, Mr. Purcell said the reserved funding was intended to help grantees seek external support to carry on their studies. As last year was the first in which this practice was implemented, the committee has no track record as yet to find out whether this system turns out to be a good idea or a bad one.

Relieved that the previous report had disabused him of vain hopes to win a pizza grant for his upcoming sabbatical, Professor Sheldon Appleton then reported for the University Committee on Undergraduate Instruction, which he had chaired for several toilsome years as Associate Provost. He began by explaining why UCUI had not yet put into effect the Senate-approved undergraduate requirement that each student take a course in American ethnic diversity. The legislation enacting that requirement included a provision that the policy would not become binding on students until UCUI had approved enough courses to make that requirement feasible. Last year his committee began reviewing course proposals and approved a number of them (mostly courses already in the catalog but at least one developed specifically for this purpose), but not quite enough approved courses yet exist to make the requirement practicable. Rather than face yet another year's delay, he strongly urged academic units to bring forward proposals for such courses promptly so that their appearance in the 1994-95 catalog will allow the policy to take effect. Especially needed are general education classes that acquaint students with ethnic diversity issues. Another task accomplished by UCUI last year was review and approval of Oakland University's first 2+2 program with a two-year institution: the Engineering and Computer Science agreement with Oakland Community College. Other such arrangements are to be expected. UCUI also reviewed a proposed universal transfer agreement and made recommendations to Acting Vice President Horwitz. The committee approved renumbering a group of Rhetoric courses from below the 100 level to 100 or above. Having dealt with university assessment issues through a subcommittee, it also recommended establishment of a permanent Senate Assessment Committee that is now beginning its first year. Among UCUI's widely applicable actions was its endeavor to standardize nomenclature for academic programs represented in the new catalog. The familiar noun "concentration" disappears, and usage of terminology like "specializations," "programs," and "minors" gains clarity. UCUI advised discontinuing the S/U elective grading option because it had been chosen by few students and defied the capacities of the current computerized record- keeping system but dropped that initiative once the Academic Affairs Office discovered that the Registrar's Office could manage by hand the few such records that would need attention in any given semester. Although his committee had acted favorably on a proposal not to count grades earned in courses below the 050 level in a student's CPA, that policy cannot be implemented immediately with our ISIS computer record system. Having called such a mind-boggling range of issues to senators' minds, he then awaited what turned out to be an onslaught of questions and comments.

Professor Robert Eberwein, now acting chair of UCUI, reported that the nomenclature reform that had been mentioned as accomplished actually exists now only in a twilight zone; since its imprint cannot be discerned in the current catalog, "there are still lots and lots of concentrations." Mr. Bertocci then turned attention to the ethnic diversity requirement. Hailing from a department that had probably not yet proposed courses for this purpose, he wondered what legislative limitations had been imposed on such courses. Did they have to meet general education requirements? Mr. Appleton indicated that the policy made no distinction; UCUI has approved major courses and electives as well as general education ones for this purpose. The reason why he especially encouraged submission of general education courses is that implementation of the requirement remains stalled until enough courses have been approved to ensure that all students can fit this additional requirement into their programs. Some will do so automatically within their majors, and others will take appropriate electives. Those enrolled in tight curricula, however, may well need to double up by meeting the ethnic diversity requirement in tandem with a general education one. When Mr. Bertocci then asked how far we have gotten on the 2+2 arrangement with O.C.C., Mr. Russi responded that the agreement would be signed very soon; students can apply at any time.

More concentrated attention focused on UCUI-endorsed changes affecting courses below the 100 level. When Mr. Liboff asked what criteria the committee had applied in renumbering courses from below that point to 100 or higher, Mr. Appleton recalled no such standards specifically set by UCUI, which had approved departmental recommendations from the Department of Rhetoric, Communications, and Journalism. Mr. Downing indicated that the College Committee on Instruction had approved the same changes before advancing the proposal to UCUI. He harked back to Senate policy that distinguishes between courses numbered under 050 and from 050 to 099--with only credits earned in the latter group counting toward graduation. All courses that were renumbered last year had been above 050 originally. Mr. Liboff then wondered how courses below 100 would fare if the state should restore formula funding, but-Mr.-.Appleton.reminded him that nobody can anticipate what sort of formula would come into effect. When the previous formula that provided increased support for courses at higher levels emerged from the legislature, the predictable (and widely predicted) result was that Oakland University and all its sister institutions in Michigan promptly  renumbered many of their courses to higher levels. Mr. Downing then alerted senators that this renumbering of Rhetoric courses affects practically every undergraduate in that the familiar RHT 100 and 101 now appear in the catalog and class schedule as 150 and 160. Explaining his committee's reasons for approving changes, Mr. Appleton recalled a student member's observation as an orientation group leader that freshmen assigned to courses below the 100 level felt discouraged by such placement. When Mr. Olson then asked whether the department had changed the actual courses or only the numbers, Ms. Briggs- Bunting responded that her department had changed only the numbers, which they found inconsistent with practices at institutions from which our transfer students come. Ms. Garcia agreed that "we just wanted to be in line with all the other guys." Mr. Moran concluded this discussion, however, by pointing out that at least one member of the College Committee on Instruction had objected vigorously to giving college credit for pre-college work. On a related matter, Mr. Grossman said he assumed that UCUI's decision to omit courses numbered below 050 from computation of a student's GPA would need to come before the Senate before it could be implemented, Mr. Appleton thought that step unnecessary. Mr. Chipman, however, hoped that it would face Senate review, given its impact on university transcripts. Mr. Eberwein indicated that the feasible implementation date for such a change remains far distant; a new wrinkle now being introduced in the ISIS system brings implementation of this particular policy no closer. He understood that the issue now remains in the Academic Affairs office. It has been discussed by the Steering Committee but no action taken.

Mr. Dahlgren then reported for the Graduate Council, which had continued its regular cycle of program review by conducting reviews of the Exercise Science and Biology programs; he expected that both those reviews (not, as originally suggested, the programs themselves) would soon be closed out. The Council also reviewed a plan approved by the Senate many years ago for a shared SBA/SECS graduate program in Engineering Management. That program is now implemented, with twenty students enrolled this fall. Looking into the thorny question of what should be the minimal number of credits for a master's program, the Council decided to leave the current 32-credit minimum in effect because it conforms to patterns at competing institutions. A subcommittee has been formed to look over NCATE review materials in the School of Education and Human Services to assure conformity between that review process and the Council's own; the hope is to bring accreditation self-studies into line with Oakland's graduate program reviews so that all can be accomplished efficiently and in a smooth cycle. Dealing with a student appeal of dismissal, the Council had upheld the dean's judgment. Mr. Dahlgren alerted the Senate that one new graduate program is being considered and may reach this body shortly: an M.S. in Physical Therapy that differs from the existing Master's in Physical Therapy in that it is intended for persons already in the field with baccalaureate degrees and licensure. He also reported that the Graduate Council is attempting-to-,develop a-minority recruiting program with help from the King/Chavez/Parks program.

Professor Kevin Andrews then reported for the Teaching and Learning Committee, on which he served last year under Sandra Pelfrey's leadership and  which he now chairs. He began by explaining that the committee divides its work into two categories. The first category comprises those activities that involve the full committee, primarily the tasks of awarding Educational Development-Fund grants and selecting the winner of the university's annual Teaching Excellence Award. The second category involves subcommittee activities. Last year those included sponsorship of two Teaching and Learning luncheons for exchange of pedagogical thinking and the committee's assistance to Virginia Allen in organizing two conferences on assisting minority students, getting out a newsletter, and commemorating Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday. He reminded the community that this year's deadline for submission of  EDF grant proposals falls on the first of December. Informing the Senate that Ms. Allen is organizing a 5 November conference on Enhancing Student Success, he encouraged everyone to look for information soon to appear in mailboxes.

Anne Sandoval then reported for the Admissions and Financial Aid Committee, which she joined late last year upon Jerry Rose's retirement. She explained that she was filling in for Professor Charles Lindemann, who chairs the committee this year, because he encountered a class conflict with the Senate schedule. Distributing copies of the committee's report, she reviewed seven recommendations that have come, may come, or definitely will come to the Senate. The first recommendation, that the Senate appoint an additional faculty member to the committee's membership roster, received favorable action last April and has now been implemented. A second recommendation asks the university's authorization for production of a recruiting video meant to attract out-state students. Looking beyond the state, the committee makes its third recommendation, asking that the Admissions Office budget be expanded to fund recruiting trips to the Cleveland and Toledo metropolitan areas. Related to this out-of-state recruitment effort is the fourth recommendation: that the differential scholarship program be expanded to allow students from outside Michigan to pay only in-state tuition fees. The fifth recommendation is that Oakland University adopt the practice of other institutions in using the unadjusted average high school CPA when reporting average high school GPAs of our students to outside agencies, as that method paradoxically results in the appearance of greater selectivity than we achieve by publishing the adjusted CPA figures we actually use for admissions purposes after deleting non-academic courses from a student's transcript. The committee's sixth recommendation is that the university retain its current standards for regular admission rather than raising our requirement for a minimal high school CPA. Studies of student records indicate that those who enter Oakland University at the low end of our admissible range (2.5-2.9 high school GPA) actually compile fairly creditable records in college. The committee's research also demonstrates that ACT scores serve as poor indicators of collegiate success in this group. On the other hand, they found that students from certain school districts had a greater tendency to encounter academic difficulties than the general average-of.-our students, although-the-sample size from particular schools was too small to be statistically significant. The seventh and final recommendation was that Oakland University initiate a program to screen the reading proficiency level of newly admitted students to see whether reading scores serve effectively to predict the likelihood of academic difficulty. If that turns out to be the case, advisers could try to stave off problems by directing students who need help toward appropriate support programs in reading. Anticipating the year ahead for the Admissions and Financial Aid Committee, Ms.--Sandoval-expected that her group would have a role to play in implementing policy decisions emanating from the Strategic Planning process.

This report aroused considerable interest. When Mr. Grossman asked whether the differential scholarship applies to foreign students, Ms. Sandoval indicated that policy remains unclear on that point. Decisions get made on an individual basis, and there are currently two international students receiving this assistance. Mr. Christina wondered why the committee grouped school districts in its research rather than studying the university success rates of graduates of individual schools. He thought the high schools in Detroit and Royal Oak too varied to be effectively grouped. Mr. Braunstein acknowledged his discomfort at admitting persons with low high school GPAs; he worried that they would fail to qualify for academic programs to which they might seek admission. Ms. Sandoval replied that the Admissions Office considers internal admissions criteria when screening candidates who declare ambition to study in business, engineering, nursing, or other competitive undergraduate programs. Afraid that he might be opening a can of worms, Mr. Bertocci then wondered whether collegiate success of students with weak high school records might not demonstrate that Oakland University has bowed to societal pressure for lower academic standards. When Ms. Sandoval responded that the Admissions Office keeps reviewing the effects of its policies, he assured her that he meant no criticism of that office. Mr. Liboff then suggested that the committee might track performance differences between full-time and part-time students, and Mr. Chipman added the suggestion that they track records of transfer students as well. Mr. Andrews's query as to whether the committee had considered possible correlations between ACT mathematics scores and general success at the university elicited Ms. Sandoval's explanation that they had considered all test areas but found reading the prime indicator because it affects virtually every course. When Ms. Hansen requested statistics on the correlation between high school and Oakland University GPAs, Ms. Sandoval apologized that she had not brought that data with her. Mr. Bertocci then brought this discussion to a close by encouraging the committee to advance its proposals to the Senate this year.

The final committee report came from Professor Kevin Grimm, who reviewed the 1992-93 activities of the General Education Committee. Each year that committee reviews courses offered within several field groups to make sure they follow Senate guidelines. Last year they reviewed courses in the Arts and Social Science groupings. They also approved two new courses for general education credit: AH 104--Introduction to Asian Art and ENG 112--Literature of Ethnic America. They devoted much of their year to development of an assessment plan for general education courses and have now submitted that plan to the Vice President f-or-Academic Affairs. They propose-using two distinct standardized survey forms, one of which--if required of all seniors--needs Senate approval. He expected that proposal to be reviewed first by UCUI. Following this report, Mr. Liboff raised the perennially unsettling question: How long do we go before we reconsider the whole general education program and not just individual courses? Mr. Grimm deftly sidestepped that question, deflecting its impact at least from himself as former chair and current sabbatical scholar. His first impulse was to say that the question belonged in the Steering Committee!s realm, but he acknowledged that annual rotations of membership resulted in the General Education Committee's raising that question every year in their first few meetings. Members keep considering and reconsidering the program's history and design, but he believed that a major revamping of the program should be a broad community decision. Mr. Grossman then asked about the projected senior assessment instrument. Mr. Grimm replied that the Kansas State Idea Survey (familiar to many university veterans from its use in the North Central accreditation self-study) has been recommended for use in individual classes to discern whether students report learning what the professor hopes to transmit and whether the professor's goals relate to expectations established by the Senate for particular field categories. That instrument would be used each semester within selected classes, presumably representing field categories then under review by the General Education Committee. The instrument proposed by his committee as a potential graduation requirement for all seniors is the College Outcomes Survey, which measures students' perceptions of their overall learning experience and allows for addition of questions specifically directed toward the general education program. When Mr. Grossman asked whether such a test exists to find out how students feel about things rather than what they actually know, Mr. Grimm made no apologies for that being the case. Given the range of course material various students encounter in meeting any particular general education requirement, he saw no possibility of devising a content- based examination. No one test, for example, could compare the literary competence of an Asian Literature student with one who had studied Masterpieces of British Literature. Mr. Liboff suggested that a different kind of general education program would allow for tests of actual knowledge, though Mr. Grimm admitted some doubts.

On that note, Mr. Russi anticipated his colleagues' next move by suggesting adjournment. The Senate concluded its business at 4:45 p.m.

Respectfully submitted:
Jane D. Eberwein
Secretary to the University Senate

OAKLAND UNIVERSITY ENROLLMENT

FULL TIME ENROLLMENT TRACKING FALL 1993

PART-TIME ENROLLMENT TRACKING FALL 1993

ENROLLMENT TRACKING FALL 1993