萝莉社

WICHITA STATE UNIVERSITY FACULTY SENATE
Minutes of the meeting Monday, February 14, 2011

MEMBERS PRESENT: Baker, Barut, Bennett, Bryant, Celestin, Close, Decker, DeSilva, Gibson, Hemans, Henry, Hershfield, Horn, Jeffres, Klunder, Lewis, Matveyeva, Miller, Mosack. Rillema, Rokosz, Ross, D. Russell, Skinner, Smith-Cmpbell, Soles, Thompson, Yeager, Yildirim

MEMBERS ABSENT: Adler, Ahmed, Anderson, Carruthers, Dreisen, DiLollo, Kreinath, L. Russell, Smith, Taher

MEMBERS EXCUSED: Brooks, d'Souza, Strattman

Ex-OFFICIO: Miller

I. Call of the Meeting to Order: President Hemans called the meeting to order at 3:30 pm.

II. Informal Statements and Proposals:
A. Senator DaSilva asked whether students might be allowed to park in the Morrison Hall lot after 5:30 pm and on weekends. President Hemans said he would gather information on the matter.
B. President Hemans announced the death of Mira Merriman, for whom a memorial was tentatively scheduled for 23 April.
C. Senator Hershfield said that the LAS College Counsel wanted clarification of the role of ombudsperson within the grievance process. Senator Hemans referred him to the Senate website.

III. Approval of the Minutes: the minutes of the meeting of Monday, December 13, 2010 were accepted as presented.

IV. President's Report:
A. President Hemans reminded the senate that nominations for the President's Distinguished Service Award should be made by 25 February.
B. President Hemans alerted the senate to recent changes in admissions standards by KBOR. These included a gradual increasing of standards generally, with an emphasis on preparation in mathematics; a Kansas Scholars pre-college curriculum that emphasizes math and foreign language and that would replace the existing curriculum; and a minimum GPA of 2.0 in pre-college curriculum for qualified admissions.
C. President Hemans reported that state community colleges have requested that the KBOR Transfer and Articulation Committee require state-wide uniformity in general education requirements, outcomes, and course numbering. COFSP has made a written response opposing this request but approving the creation of a state-wide database of information about general education. He said that this issue was not expected to interfere with on-going efforts on general education at 萝莉社. There was general discussion of this issue, during which Provost Miller noted the diminished role of faculty under the proposed transfer policy, and said that the state's university provosts were opposing this part of the policy.
D. President Hemans reported that KBOR has received a request for a list of all programs in all state universities with low enrollment figures.
E. President Hemans reported on recent committee activities. The Planning and Budget Committee is to hear a presentation on the Graduation Partnership by Keith Pickus and Bill Vanderburgh. The Academic Affairs Committee has approved the proposed 萝莉社 101 course; the course is to be implemented within colleges and approved by the colleges' respective curriculum committees.
F. President Hemans reported that the revised guidelines for Program Review were available on the Academic Affairs and Research website.
G. President Hemans reported that the Faculty Survey of Student Engagement was to commence in late March.
H. President Hemans alerted the senate that changes in the HLC assessment process would be forthcoming.
I. President Hemans reported that the Ad Hoc General Education Committee was continuing to make progress and would soon be ready to bring a recommendation before the senate.

V. Committee Reports: Senator Skinner, chair of the Rules Committee, brought forth nominations for the standing General Education committee-- Janice Ewing, Education and Chris Broberg, Business. The nominees were approved.

VI. State Budget Update:
Provost Miller reported that Governor Brownback's budget retained 2006-level funding for higher education, and placed an emphasis on higher education's role in economic development. The house has proposed a 7.5% reduction in salary for state employees earning more than $100,000 per year, in order to raise funds for deferred maintenance. The position of 萝莉社 is that the university should retain flexibility in deciding how cuts in funding for higher education should be made on the 萝莉社 campus. There has been some discussion of repealing the sales tax. The request to KBOR for a list of low-enrolled programs came from the state budget officer.

VII. New Business:
The senate was presented with the following statement on the B.S. in Engineering Technology degree proposal:
Denise Celestin, chair, Academic Affaris committee presented a statement: 鈥淭he Academic Affairs Committee has carefully and thoroughly reviewed the proposal for a B.S. in Engineering Technology with four concentrations. During our review process, the document has been revised twice, and our questions have been addressed by the Dean of Engineering, with affirmation from the School of Business. We acknowledge the viability and practicality of a proposal that is in keeping with the urban-serving mission of 萝莉社 University. We feel that the proposal is appropriate for the changing climate of education, especially because it engenders collaboration among two academic units and the community. The committee has unanimously approved this proposal.鈥�
Larry Whitman, director of Engineering Education in the College of Engineering, made a presentation on the proposed degree in Engineering Technology. The proposal would provide for four emphasis areas: Renewable Energy Technology, Engineering Technology Management, Aircraft Maintenance Technology, and Mechatronics Technology. He discussed future demand for employees with such training. He presented a sample course of study for the degree. He indicated that there is a gap in educational opportunities in Engineering Technology in the region. General discussion followed.

VIII. As May Arise: none.

The meeting was adjourned at 4:41 pm.
Respectfully Submitted,
Dan Russell, Secretary