ATTENDEES: Dickerhoof, Frost, llIangasekare, Kidnay, Klusman, Lu, Navidi, E. Pang, and Wendlandt<

APOLOGIES: Curtis, Nickum, Ohno, and Readey

VISITORS: Ryan Countryman, ASCSM Junior Class President

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

1. Frost will represent the Faculty Senate on the Undergraduate Council for the remainder of the 2000-01 academic year as Nickum is on maternity leave.
2. Nigel Middleton will make a presentation to the Faculty Senate on April 17, 2001. He will speak on academic planning, finance, enrollment, faculty welfare as discussed by the Academic Planning Committee.

APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES: The minutes of the March 20, 2001 Faculty Senate meeting were approved as amended.

COMMENTS FROM GUESTS:

1. Ryan Countryman
   1. ASCSM would like to have a representative at the Faculty Senate Meetings.

NEW BUSINESS:

1. Proposed Changes to Faculty Handbook (E. Pang)
   1. Section 5.2.4A and 5.2.4B – Additional Professional Work – A motion was made by Navidi and seconded by Klusman to amend 5.2.4A to change Department Head to Vice President for Academic Affairs. Delete the entire section 5.2.4B. The motion passed unanimously.
   2. Section 6.1.3 – Course Syllabi - A motion was made by Dickerhoof and seconded by Navidi to add the sentence: “Changes can be made at the instructor’s discretion as long as it is publicized to the entire class.” The motion passed unanimously.
   3. Section 8.2.4.12 - Use of New Title – A motion was made by Kidnay and seconded by Frost to insert “fiscal year or…” at the beginning of the next…” to cover Librarians. The motion passed unanimously.
   4. Section 12.4.2 – Membership Faculty Handbook Committee – A motion was made by Kidnay and seconded by Wendlandt to increase the membership of the Faculty Handbook Committee (a) by adding one academic faculty with voting rights and (b) by adding one Faculty Senate Representative with voting rights. The motion passed unanimously.

   It was the consensus of the Senators present to accept the changes as amended to the Faculty Handbook.

2. Final Given on Saturday After Dead Day (Pang) – Mike Pavelich, Professor of Chemistry and Geochemisty, requested the Faculty Senate to investigate if there is a formal policy regarding the earliest date that final exams can be given following Dead Day. Kidnay, chairperson of the Academic Standards Committee, volunteered to have this committee investigate this issue and report back to the Faculty Senate.

OLD BUSINESS:

1. Teaching Evaluation Criteria (Klusman and Illangasekare) – No report.
2. Athletic Coaches request for Senate Representation (E. Pang) – Pang has spoken to, but not heard back from, Marv Kay on this issue.

COMMITTEE REPORTS:

1. Executive Committee (E. Pang) – No report.
2. Councils of the Senate
   1. Graduate Council (Klusman) – Rahmat Shoureshi, Professor of Engineering, presented as an information item a proposal for a graduate minor in Bioengineering and Life Sciences.
   2. Undergraduate Council (Nickum provided the following written report) –

      The UG Council report for March 14, 2001:

      Many courses were newly introduced and approved with the deadline for inclusion in the upcoming Undergraduate Bulletin just around the corner. One tabled item of interest included changes in Chemical Engineering which added 1 hour into the sophomore year and raised the overall credits from 136.5 to 137.5 (reduce CHEN357 from 4 to 3 hours and list it as a lecture-only course, add a 1 hour corequisite lab (CHEN358), add a 1 hour lab course (CHEN202) as a co requisite with CHEN201)). There was much discussion about adding credits to programs. Therefore this measure was tabled so Council members could take this issue back to their departments for further discussion.

      The request to proceed with the the WI designation for writing intensive courses was tabled as well because not all departments have responded to indicate what their writing intensive courses are.

      The Council discussed how to treat the physical athletics courses (2 total credit hours). The issues discussed were academic credit vs. pass/fail credit vs. activity credits. There was also some discussion of whether scholarships would be affected by the lack of academic credit and the need to get the students' input if any change was going to be made. The Council asked Nigel Middleton to take a position on this issue and his position is below.

      To: Undergraduate Council
      From: Nigel Middleton
      Subject: Academic Credits for PAGN if phys ed dept is transferred to Student Life
      

      Following our discussion at the last meeting, please review the attached memorandum (.doc or .txt) and consider the proposal I have made regarding PAGN credits. I invite you to share your reaction with other members of the Undergraduate Council, and note that Peg Farrar (HYPERLINK "mailto:pfarrar@mines.edu"
      pfarrar@mines.edu) can assist with the e-broadcast distribution of your opinions to the rest of the Council.

      I will be on two business trips in the next few weeks, so I am asking Peg to facilitate any "electronic" discussion on this during my absence.

      To: Undergraduate Council
      From: Nigel Middleton
      Date: 21 March, 2001
      Subject: Academic Credit for PAGN
      

      In the past two meetings of the Undergraduate Council I have spoken of the likely transferal of the Department of Physical Education and Athletics from a reporting path in Academic Affairs to a reporting path in Student Life. This has come about through the recommendations of President's Trefny's ad hoc Committee on Sports and Athletics. The issue before undergraduate Council, at the request of the President, is to make a recommendation on how credit should be awarded to students for required and elective PAGN courses if the Department falls under Student Life.

      Following discussion during the 3/14/01 meeting of the Council, I was asked by those present to propose a recommendation on this matter for discussion and possible revision (by electronic means) before the April meeting, with a view to calling for a vote on that occasion. In the remainder of this memorandum, I outline the context and issues that I believe are pertinent, and then present my recommendation.

      Context and Issues
      * At the present time, CSM undergraduates must earn 2 credit-hours of PAGN, in accordance with the requirements presented on page 71 of the 2000-01 Undergraduate Bulletin. Students may earn up to an additional 3 credit-hours of PAGN to satisfy free elective requirements.
      * At the present time, the Director of Physical Education and Athletics reports to the Vice-President for Academic Affairs (and to the President for NCAA issues) and the full-time coaches have athletic faculty appointments (para. 4.1.8. of the 12th Edition of the Faculty Handbook, and contract type 11.7) which impose at-will employment conditions that are comparable to those of administrative faculty. Part-time coaches typically carry adjunct instructor positions. The coaches assign grades for PAGN courses.
      * It is envisaged that the Director of Physical Education and Athletics would report to the Vice-President for Student Life, and the coaches would maintain their athletic faculty appointments.
      * The subject of academic credit for "activity" type courses (including, for example, many in PAGN, music, choir, band, Oredigger, Prospector) has been debated vigorously over the years. Some of the pertinent outcomes are:
      * The Curriculum Reform Steering Committee proposed replacing academic credits in this area with required "activity-credits" and entered into lengthy discussion with constituencies in the faculty and student body. The preponderance was to retain academic credit for activity-type courses.
      * A subcommittee of the Undergraduate Council recommended, in Spring, 2000, that students should be able to earn up to one hour per semester of free elective academic credit under the number CSMxxx for staffing the Oredigger and Prospector, and that the responsibility for this should reside with the Vice President for Student Life.
      * According to the Director of Financial Aid, athletic scholarships are not typically linked to the need for physical education courses to carry academic credit.
      * The Office of Student Life, under the auspices of the Vice President for Student Life, already oversees the award of academic credit for CSM101. In addition, this Office frequently interacts with academic issues through its oversight of the Registrar's Office, the Admissions Office,and the Readmissions Committee.
      * The President has repeatedly called for the Colorado School of Mines to function as a "connected learning community" in which the campus collectively, and in a networked manner, strives to achieve its educational mission.
      

      Recommendation
      Based on and weighing the issues mentioned above, I recommend that Undergraduate Council approve the following at its next regular meeting on 4/11/2001 (subject to possible revision prior to the meeting):
      

      "In the event that the Department of Physical Education and Athletics is transferred from Academic Affairs to Student Life, students will continue to earn academic credit for PAGN courses in accordance with current regulations and graduation requirements. All changes to PAGN courses will be executed through Undergraduate Council following its standard approval procedures. All transfers and substitutions involving physical education courses will continue to be approved in the usual way, involving the students' academic advisors, their department heads or division directors, the Head of the Department of Physical Education and Athletics, the registrar, and the Vice-President for Academic Affairs."

   3. Research Council (Ohno) – No report.

3. Faculty Senate Committees
   1. Committee on Committees (Readey) – No report.
   2. Faculty Affairs (Ohno) – No report.
   3. Academic Standards and Policies (Kidnay) – No report.
   4. Evaluation (Klusman) – Thirty-eight percent of the faculty have returned their evaluations of their department/division head. The reports will be (a) when the return was greater or equal to 50%, calculations will be made or (b) when the return was less than 50%, then just a count will be given. All the reports will be given to President Trefny and the Senators. Each department/division head will be given a copy of their individual report.
   5. Sports and Athletics (Wendlandt) – There is no oversight on club sports, therefore, the committee will expand their reports to include club sports.
   6. Readmissions (Wendlandt provided) – No report.

4. University Committees
   1. Budget (Dickerhoof) – This committee is meeting weekly. A recommendation has been made to increase the parking fee next year to $100 so gates can be installed in the parking lots.
   2. Handbook (Pang) – Already discussed under New Business.
   3. Promotion and Tenure Committee (E. Pang, Readey and Illangasekare) – The committee has met with President Trefny. Trefny will make the final decisions within the next 2 weeks. Readey raised the issue – “does tenure reside with the University or the Department”. This will be addressed next year.

5. Presidential Search Advisory Committee (Readey provided the following written report) – Nine candidates were interviewed during the past two weeks for the position for president by the PSAC. Of these candidates, three were chosen unanimously by the Committee for further consideration by the Board of Trustees. In addition, there may be one additional candidate to interview. Additional information is being gathered about the three individuals by the PSAC. Campus visits are planned to be scheduled with the intent of completing them by the end of April. The search process is essentially on schedule.

The meeting adjourned at 4:15 pm.