RUTGERS UNIVERSITY SENATE

RUTGERS UNIVERSITY SENATE
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE M I N U T E S
April 19, 2002

MEMBERS PRESENT: Barone, Borisovets, Hirsh, Leath, Rabinowitz (Vice Chair), Scott (Chair), Sims, Swalagin (Executive Secretary)

EXCUSED: Manhoff

ABSENT: Saniefard

ALSO ATTENDING: Lawrence (Administrative Liaison), Oren (Academic Standards, Regulations and Admissions Committee Co-chair), Redd (Graduate Student BOT Representative), Winterbauer (Vice President for University Budgeting), Wozniak (Undergraduate Student BOT Representative)

The regular meeting of the University Senate Executive Committee was held on Friday, April 19, 2002 at 1:10 p.m. in the President’s Dining Room, Brower Commons, College Avenue Campus.

1. Chairperson’s Report
Chairperson Scott called the meeting to order. She said that the process by which part-time lecturers and annual appointees will be elected to the Senate has begun, and that Secretary Swalagin would be sending a letter to those eligible to solicit nominations. She reported that University Vice President Seneca has named the administrator members of the Enrollment Committee (in response to the Senate’s April 2001 resolution on this issue), and that the June 7, 2002 Executive Committee meeting will include issuance of a charge to that committee. Secretary Swalagin noted that he has informed conveners of the Student, Faculty and Alumni Caucuses of the Senate that they should elect their respective Enrollment Committee members at their May 3 caucuses.

2. Secretary's Report
Minutes: The Minutes of the March 15, 2002 Executive Committee meeting were approved as distributed by the Secretary. [http://senate.rutgers.edu/ec031502.html]

Communications: The following communications were presented and acted upon as noted:

E-mail from Senator Michael Dimond to Chairperson Scott, dated April 9, 2002, regarding process by which Alumni Senators are elected. Noted, and discussed under "Potential Charges."
E-mail from Senator Asela Laguna-Diaz, dated April 13, 2002, suggesting a study evaluating the status of Hispanic/Latino faculty university-wide. Noted, and discussed under "Potential Charges."
E-mail from Student Senator David Spencer to Secretary Swalagin, dated April 17, 2002, transmitting two proposals for EC/Senate consideration:

Proposal to post Course Syllabus/Home Page linked to Student Evaluation. Noted, and discussed under "Potential Charges."
Proposal to Require that Undergraduates Submit a Nationally Recognized Graduate Record Exam Result. Noted, and discussed under "Potential Charges."

Memorandum from University Vice President for Academic Affairs Joseph Seneca to Chairperson Scott, dated April 18, 2002, regarding Administrator Members of Senate Committee on Increasing Enrollment and Quality of Life

3. Administrative Report
President Francis Lawrence presented the administrative report, which included comments on: fundraising and gifts to Rutgers; dedication of the Waksman Museum; awarding of the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Chair to Professor Dorothy Strickland; ; the upcoming faculty-recognition luncheon; and research excellence awards to be presented in May.

Vice President for University Budgeting Nancy Winterbauer reported on the details of enrollment goals.

4. Report of the 2002-03 Nominating Panel, Arlene Walker-Andrews, Chair
Senator Walker-Andrews, Chair of the 2002-2003 Nominating Panel, was unable to attend the meeting. Secretary Swalagin presented the report of the Nominating Panel on her behalf. The Executive Committee approved the slate of candidates for 2002-03 Senate officers, Executive Committee members, and board representatives, as follows:

CHAIR
Paul Panayotatos, At-Large NB (F)

VICE CHAIR
Samuel Rabinowitz, SB-Camden (F)

EC FACULTY
Joseph Barone, Pharmacy (F)
Dennis Bathory, FAS-NB (F)
Robert Boikess, Rutgers (F)
Natalie Borisovets, Libraries (F)
Martha Cotter, At-Large NB (F)
Haym Hirsh, Rutgers (F)
Norman Markowitz, Livingston (F)

EC STUDENT
Thomas DeRosa, Rutgers (S)
Amit Rijhsinghani, NCAS (S)

EC ALUMNUS
Bert Manhoff, Alumni Federation

BOG STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE
Tahirah Cooper, Douglass (S)
Kim Wozniak, Rutgers (S)

BOG FACULTY REPRESENTATIVE
Joseph Naus, FAS-NB (F)
Arlene Walker-Andrews, At Large-NB (F)

BOT UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE
Michelle Antwi, Rutgers (S)
Ritu Pancholy, Rutgers (S)

BOT GRADUATE STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE
Jason Redd, GS-NB (S)

BOT FACULTY REPRESENTATIVE
Kathleen Scott, Rutgers (F)
Mark Vodak, Cook (F)

5. Standing Committee Reports and Potential Charges

Report on Charge S-0108, Review of Add/Drop Period - Academic Standards, Regulations and Admissions Committee, Roger Cowley and Craig Oren, Co-chairs
Senator Oren presented his committee’s report on Charge S-0108, Review of Add/Drop Period. The committee had been charged with reviewing the past year during which the modified add/drop period was utilized. The report recommends "that the seven-calendar-day drop period and eight-calendar-day add period should be adopted, as long as no adverse effects are reported in the future." The report also acknowledges conflicts between the new system and graduate courses, and recommends that "Deans use their discretion in individual cases for graduate students." The report will be docketed for action on the May 3, 2002 Senate agenda.

Report on Charge S-0106, Addition of Plus/Minus Grades to the University’s Default Grading System - Academic Standards, Regulations and Admissions Committee, Roger Cowley and Craig Oren, Co-chairs
Senator Oren presented his committee’s report on Charge S-0106, Addition of Plus/Minus Grades to the University’s Default Grading System. The committee had been charged with exploring the question of whether plus and minus grades should be added to Rutgers’ default grading system. The report recommends further study on the issue, and is therefore essentially a status report. Several revisions were suggested by the Executive Committee, and accepted by Senator Oren. The revised version will be docketed as an information-only report, without resolution or action, on the May 3, 2002 Senate agenda.

Report on Charge S-0109, Best Practices in Assessment of Teaching, Revised Recommendation #7 -
Faculty Affairs and Personnel Committee, Paul Leath and Barbara Lee, Co-chairs
Senator Leath presented his committee’s revision of Recommendation #7 of the Report on Charge S-0109, Best Practices in Assessment of Teaching. The committee had presented the original report on this charge to the University Senate at the March 1, 2002 meeting. At that time, seven of the report’s eight recommendations were approved; Recommendation #7 was sent back to committee for further study. Comments made during the March Senate meeting were considered, and Recommendation #7 was rewritten, to be submitted to the Senate, as follows:

7. The University should report to each department the distribution of raw scores for each course and instructor, as well as the mean scores, as now reported. The revised recommendation will be docketed for action on the May 3, 2002 Senate agenda.

Potential Charges:

A potential charge to the Equal Opportunity Committee regarding a suggested study evaluating the status of Hispanic/Latino faculty university-wide was considered. It was stated that much information on this topic already exists at the Office of Institutional Research, and that any charge should include a suggestion to contact that office. Chairperson Scott and Secretary Swalagin will draft a charge, which will carry a due date of November 2002.

A charge was considered regarding the process by which alumni Senators are elected. Secretary Swalagin will forward the initiating inquiry (from Senator Dimond - see "Communications") to the Alumni Federation for information on the process. A charge will be reconsidered once the Alumni Federation’s response is received. No charge was issued.

A potential charge regarding linking online course syllabi/home pages to online student course evaluations was discussed. It was noted that this issue had been discussed in the Instruction, Curricula and Advising Committee, and rejected for several reasons. No charge was issued.

A potential charge regarding requiring undergraduates to submit a nationally recognized graduate record exam result was discussed. It was noted that this issue had also been discussed in the Instruction, Curricula and Advising Committee, and rejected for several reasons. No charge was issued.

6. Old Business
Secretary Swalagin reported that a review of the Senate record for the past 32 years disclosed that the Senate had taken no significant action on honors programs in that time. This research had been requested relative to Senator DeRosa’s March 8, 2002 request for Senate action on General Honors Program requirements. No charge was issued, and no further action recommended.

7. Senate Meeting Agenda
The following items were docketed for the May 3, 2002 meeting agenda as noted above. The first meeting of the 2002-2003 Senate, including election of officers, Executive Committee members, and board representatives, will also be held on May 3.

8. Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 3:23 p.m. by Chairperson Scott.

Kenneth Swalagin
Executive Secretary of the Senate