SENATE MINUTES

Meeting Date:

3/28/02

Status of Minutes:

APPROVED

Senate Session:

XVIII

Meeting Number:

13

Present:

Present: P. Travis, S.A. Davis, N. Sidell, C. D'Ortona, H. Biblehimer, D. Rotella, B. Cunningham, G. Kutty, J. Phillips for J. Tan, A. Longoria, S. Thornsley, B. Wallace, W. Sanders, B. Holtman, R. Dodson, K. Wright, A. Gaskievicz, M. Syrett, J. Werner, D. Crowder for M-D. Schmid, M. Chester, S. Brown, A. Mabe, J. Floyd, P. King, J. Warner.

I.

P. Travis called the meeting to order at 3:35 p.m.

II.

Minutes of March 14, 2002 were approved as electronically distributed (Holtman/Mabe).

APPROVED

III.

Treasurer's Report (C. D'Ortona)

The account balance is $244, after $500 was removed for the scholarship. If outstanding dues are paid, an additional $250 book scholarship may be possible. If senators wish a listing of paid members from their department, contact C. D'Ortona.

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APPROVED

IV.

Announcements

1. J. Halstead responded to curricular actions of 2/7 by approving the nutrition minor pending state system approval and not approving Motion 6 regarding HPE 199, at the request of the originating department. Regarding Motion 7, he approved curricular changes for Psychology by adding the phrase "49 credit hours completed" to the prerequisite for actions 10, 14, 16, 19, 20 and 25. For Motion 12, item #2, course numbering changes from 500 to 600 were not approved because only 500 level courses can be crossed listed. Item #5, dealing with changing a course from three to two credits, was not approved because a new number approval and approval as a new course needs to occur, not a course change. The 2/21 motion regarding prerequisites for ACC 110 was approved, as was the curricular change for ENG 224 to ENG 281.
2. P. Travis announced the SSHE Student Media conference on 4/4 through 4/7. The conference is open to all; additional information can be obtained at http://flashlight.mnsfld.edu
3. P. Travis announced that the Art Department is hosting a multicultural arts conference on 4/5. Additional details can be found on the university news and events webpage or by calling x4500.
4. P. Travis reminded those present of the Music Department's performance of Carmina Burana, on 4/6 on campus and on 4/7 in Corning.
5. S. Brown announced that the President's Commission on the Status of Women has several faculty positions available. E-mail notification will be forthcoming.
6. H. Biblehimer reminded senators that nominations are currently being sought for the WIG Committee. Self-nominations are encouraged.
7. A. Longoria announced that the Faculty Film Series tonight is showing a French film at 8:00 in Allen Hall.

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V.

Committee Reports

A.

Academic Affairs (H. Biblehimer)


The following motions were presented by AAC:

MOTION ONE: AAC moves to approve the following curricular actions submitted by the Business and Economics department:

#1 Action: Program Deletion: AAS Business Administration in Moratorium

Rationale: Insufficient enrollment. Impact on other programs: None

Discussion: none. MOTION APPROVED.

#2 Action: Program Deletion: BS Fashion Merchandising

Rationale: Program placed in moratorium 9 years ago. Impact on other programs: None

Discussion: none. MOTION APPROVED.

#3 Action: Program Deletion: BSE Social Studies Economics

Rationale: Program has never enrolled any students. Impact on other programs: None

Discussion: none. MOTION APPROVED.

MOTION TWO: AAC moves to approve the following curricular actions submitted by the Department of Art:

#1 Action: Program Change: BSE. Art Education

Rationale for Change: Deleting three courses, adding four courses to strengthen program

List of Changes:

• Delete ART 241 Color & Design and add ART 240, Two-Dimensional Design
• under General Education Electives:
• Delete ART 295 Crafts
• Add ART 244 Three Dimensional Design
• Add ARE 101 Introduction to Art Education
• Delete ARH 102 and Add ARH 101 to Art under Gen Ed Electives
• Add choice of either ART 201 Painting or ART 261 Waterbase
• Change Art Electives to ART/ARH Electives

Discussion: none. MOTION APPROVED.

#2 Action: New Course Request: ART 190 Digital Photography

Purpose and Nature of Course: New course in Digital Photography to enhance the elective offerings for the B.S. Studio, the B.S.E. in Art Education, and the minor in Art. Art has been getting many requests for this course for years.

Course Description for Catalogue: A course designed for the non-art major using a hands-on approach to the learning the digital camera in acquiring images, in preparing them on the computer for print and in presenting prints in various formats.

Discussion: none. MOTION APPROVED.

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B.

Academic Planning (B. Ganong)

No report.  

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C.

Administrative Affairs & Elections (P. Travis for F. Chua)

A second call for nominations has gone out. A paper ballot will be mailed soon. Senators are urged to vote and to encourage colleagues to vote as well.

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D.

Student Affairs & Admissions

P. Travis announced that J. Lucero has asked to step down as chair of this committee. D. Rotella has volunteered to serve in his place for the remainder of the semester. R. Keller reported that the ARG will continue to issue advising tips. The Flashlight recently printed an article that encouraged students to come prepared for advising sessions. Few hard copies of the master catalog were printed, due to costs. Old catalogs may be found from department secretaries, chairs or the Advising Center.

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E.

Information Technology (B. Holtman)

The WebTeam has been working on the Student Timesheet Project and has turned the system over to Payroll for student and supervisor training effective March 15. The goal will be to have all students and supervisors using the system before the end of the semester. Currently students in Memorial Hall, Alumni Hall and most in South Hall are using the web-based system to enter their timesheets and supervisors are electronically approving those timesheets for payroll.

The WebTeam also as a part of the student timesheet project has created an initial student intranet portal with features similar to the My.Mansfield.edu portal for faculty and staff. Will faculty would be able to send e-mail messages out to all students. This could be useful for Records or the ARG. B. Holtman will check on this feature.

A personal calendar has been introduced as a feature of the My.Mansfield.edu portal. It was requested that some notice be given to faculty when programs are removed from the system.

A change has been made to the web-based GPA calculator by the WebTeam to include the ability to replace a grade for a course being repeated from a previous semester.

Network Services has been working on placing new academic printers in areas where use has been the highest. The Provost supplied funding for the printers from additional instructional funding available this year.

The Technical Team reworked Belknap after a second flood necessitated habitants and classrooms to be moved for cleanup work. One of the two Belknap computing classrooms was revised at that time to accommodate a different teaching pattern. That change has resulted in positive faculty feedback and plans are in place to revise the configuration of the second classroom during the summer. Adjustments to technology cart configurations are still being made. A problem has surfaced that requires faculty diligence. Placing technology in classrooms necessitates locking those rooms when class is not in session to protect the assets placed in the room. Theft prevention is everyone's responsibility. Locking the door is an easy deterrent. In addition, we have at faculty request placed wireless mice on the technology carts. The mice require battery charging. That means a faculty member who has used the equipment needs to place the mouse back on its cradle and ensure that the cradle (and the cart) are plugged into a wall power source. The mouse will discharge overnight if not plugged in. Faculty who use the room after your class need to depend on other faculty doing their part so that they can use the equipment. "Spare" mice won't charge in less than 24 hours and must be synched with the machine, so I.T. cannot help. Please urge faculty to do their part in the classrooms for availability and security. Where do faculty obtain keys to classrooms? Are master keys available? Keys can be ordered from department secretaries.

B. Holtman will be sending out a memo to all faculty members soon about this issue. I.T. is developing a picture to place on each AV/computer cart explaining how best to leave the equipment for the next person. A brochure also will be written and distributed periodically which outlines security issues and how to use the equipment properly.

The Middle States Evaluation Team has been here this week and concluded their visit on Wednesday the 20th. The team was highly complimentary about the technology sections of the report and enthusiastic about the recommendations. I.T. technology support placed equipment for team use in North 5th conference room and at the Comfort Inn work room on Friday before the visit and tore down after they left.

The Training Report for 2001 showed 1645 contact hours with faculty and staff. This is a large increase over previous years and we are pleased that faculty and staff are taking advantage of the training we provide through Information Technology.

Administrative programming support is readying prerequisite information for Fall 2002 registration. PINs for students were issued 3/21 and forwarded to secretaries to list for faculty advisors.

The Networking Team has completed t suction to now accept mail to the MANSFIELD.edu domain as well as the MNSFLD.edu domain. We have been granted a permanent status change by EduCause to use both domain addresses, so you will not need to revise any of the mailing lists that you are members of or will not have to change from using your present address unless you have some compelling reason to do so. This does NOT change your username. (Example: C. Beckman's e-mail address is cbeckman@mnsfld.edu or cbeckman@mansfield.edu) We have no plan to change the username construction at this time. That may come when we join the combined State System Enterprise System. If you are subscribing to a listserv, CONTINUE TO USE MNSFLD.EDU.

I.T. is working out a way to provide enrollment data to departments that will facilitate program planning. It would be helpful if lists included students with dual majors.

Rumors that Blackboard may not be renewed are correct, although no action has been taken. Several expressed concern and wondered if input from faculty will be requested prior to a decision being made. Faculty have been encouraged to use Blackboard and may be reluctant to do so now. B. Holtman will express the need for faculty input into this decision.

Discussion continued as to the possibilities of using online testing software in existing labs instead of creating a dedicated testing lab, as previously discussed. I.T. will consider possibilities during the summer and either present a demo at University Days or explain why it is not feasible at this time. In the interim, FrontPage can be used, or Respondus. The latter does not have to be used in conjunction with Blackboard.

Is there a time frame when desk top computers are replaced? It is a combination of the computer's age, the megahertz and the usage identified by the faculty member when completing this year's usage survey. For details about specific machines, contact C. Beckman.

Can Memorial Hall be used by faculty search committees for conference calling? C. Hasselman should be contacted for scheduling rooms. Memorial Hall should also be kept in mind for one-time presentations using technology.

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F.

Library Advisory (M. Syrett)

J. Benjamin will be the new chair of the committee. Focus groups have been completed and a report will be given to Senate.

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G.

Provost (M. Lane)

No report.

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VI.

Old Business

None.

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VII.

New Business

None.

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VII.

Meeting adjourned at 4:21 p.m. (Floyd/Longoria).

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