UNIVERSITY
SENATE
Executive
Committee
A G E
N D A
September
9, 2016 - Noon
Brower
Commons Room ABC, 145 College Avenue, New Brunswick
PLEASE NOTE: We will meet at
12:00 noon for lunch (provided) before the meeting begins promptly at
1:10 p.m.
Meeting Agenda:
1. Chair’s Report
2. Secretary’s Report
- Approval
of Agenda
- Approval
of Minutes of June 3, 2016 Senate Executive
Committee Meeting
- Communications:
- Policy
Update: Acceptable Use
Policy for Information Technology
Resources (revised)
- From
Student Senator Viktor Krapivin: The Rutgers University
Student Assembly (RUSA) is advocating in favor of a voting student
representative to the Board of Governors. A bipartisan bill (S2249) has
been
introduced in the State Senate and an identical bill has been
introduced in the
State Assembly. For more information please see this Daily
Targum Article.
- Secretary
of the University Kim Pastva is sending out a second call for 2018
commencement speaker and honorary-degree recipient nominations today.
3.
Administrative
Liaison
- Administrative
Report – Barbara Lee, Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs
4. Standing
Committees
Issues/Proposed
Charges:
Proposed
Charge to Academic Standards,
Regulations and Admissions Committee (ASRAC) on Change in Graduation
Date for Students Completing Degrees in Summer - Requested by
Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Barbara Lee, Submitted by
Immediate Past Senate Chair Ann Gould
Proposed Charge:
At
the request of Senior Vice President for
Academic Affairs Barbara Lee, consider a proposal to move the official
graduation date from October to August for students who complete degree
requirements in the summer, which ensures that official reporting of
summer
degrees falls within the parameters of federal reporting regulations
and better
reflects when students actually complete their degrees. Respond to the
Senate
Executive Committee by November 2016.
Rationale,
from Barbara Lee:
There
are some
compelling reasons to do so. Here is the
research I have done:
1.
The registrar says that now that records are computerized, it should
not be a
problem for schools to submit final grades for students enrolled in
summer
school in time for an August 31 graduation.
As you know, summer school enrollments are considerably lower
than fall
or spring.
2.
Students will benefit because now, although they have finished their
degree in
August, it is not official until October, and that can complicate their
ability
to get a job in the early fall.
3.
I have checked with all four chancellors, and they checked with their
deans. They
have no objections. Some of the schools within RBHS (Dental School and
Nursing,
I believe) have rolling graduations.
This calendar change would not affect their rolling graduations.
4.
The “official” university commencement would still be in
May.
5.
Rutgers is required to report graduation data to the U.S. government
and to
various other entities. Most of them
have a cutoff for reports by August 31, which means that we have to
report
October graduations the following academic year, which can be
misleading and
makes it difficult to compare our graduation rates with those of our
peers.
Proposed
Charge to Student Affairs Committee (SAC) on University Policy on
Student Use of Drugs and Alcohol -
Submitted by Student Senator and New Brunswick Student Member of the
Executive Committee Viktor Krapivin
Proposed
Charge:
Consider
and make recommendations for changes to university policy on student
use of
drugs and alcohol. Consider the role of restorative justice in
university
policy. Consider any deterrent effects of current policy to students
seeking
emergency medical services. Refer to the Medical
Amnesty Report authored by the Rutgers University Student
Assembly for additional information
when considering this charge. Respond to Senate Executive Committee by
[Insert
deadline].
Rationale:
1.
The last time the University Senate reviewed Student Alcohol policy was
in
1999. A standing charge of the Student Affairs Committee is to
“examine and
address general student interests in University policies and
operations…
matters as University policies on student use of drugs and
alcohol”, therefore
it is appropriate for the Student Affairs Committee to periodically
review the
drug and alcohol policy.
2.
Our policies do not currently have a statute of limitations. A student
may be
charged with a violation committed as a freshmen during that
student’s senior
year. This is fundamentally unfair as a student may have forgotten the
events
that transpired or witnesses to the event may have graduated or
transferred to
other institutions.
3.
The policy prohibiting alcohol and drugs at Rutgers University uses
extremely
vague language which ultimately makes it difficult for students to
understand
which conduct is prohibited and which conduct is allowed. In addition,
the
possible sanctions for violation of policy may differ grossly from
student to
student, which raises issues of fundamental fairness and due process
for
students.
4.
Our drug policies are excessively punitive for students. It is current
policy
to ban any student arrested for marijuana possession from living in
on-campus
residences. As the overarching goal of the University is to educate
students,
not punish them, policies towards alcohol and other drugs should deter
students
from illicit drug use, while at the same time allowing for students to
rehabilitate their reputation among the Rutgers community. For this
reason, we
should investigate the merits of a policy based on restorative justice.
5.
Two years ago a student died from acute alcohol poisoning. It is
important that
our drug policies do not act as deterrents to students seeking medical
assistance.
The Student Affairs Committee should review policy to identify
roadblocks to
students seeking medical assistance.
Proposed
Charge to ASRAC on Changes to the Rutgers University Academic Integrity
Policy - Submitted by Faculty Senator and ASRAC Co-chair Martha
Cotter
Proposed Charge:
Proposed
charge: Consider and make
recommendations on how the Rutgers University Academic Integrity Policy
should
be revised in light of the merger with units of the former UMDNJ.
Should there
be a single academic integrity policy applicable to all Rutgers schools
and
colleges? Should the procedures for adjudicating alleged violations of
academic
integrity be different for different types of schools? As part of the
deliberations,
consider the draft academic integrity policy tentatively endorsed by
the 2013
ad hoc committee charged with reconciling the Rutgers Code of Student
conduct
and Academic Integrity Policy with the UMDNJ document Student Rights,
Responsibilities, and Disciplinary Procedures. Respond to Senate
Executive Committee by [Insert deadline]
Rationale:
ASRAC
has been working on this matter without a
formal charge for the last year and a half. We should have a report and
recommendations to present to the Senate in November at the latest. Our
previous charge on academic integrity expired some time ago while we
were
waiting - in vain - for the University to revive the process of
reconciling the
Rutgers and former UMDNJ policies and procedures after the original
"reconciliation
committee" stopped meeting for reasons that are not fully clear.
Proposed
Charge/Issue Raised on Implementation of Senate Reports/Recommendations
- Submitted by PTL Senator and Executive Committee Member Karen Thompson
“I
would like to figure out how to maximize the
possibility that reports/recommendations such as this one (Response
to Charge S-1409 on Greater Integration of Contingent Faculty in the
Rutgers
Community) do in fact reach implementation of some sort. Could we
consider
assigning another committee the task of developing a method of ensuring
implementation of Senate recommendations in this specific case and with
others?
If that is to be the EC’s role, could we consider how to best
ensure that
something indeed happens. I seem to recall that there is an opportunity
for the
Chair of the Senate to meet with the President/Chancellors to discuss
just this
problem and President Barchi has, I think, made some headway in this
area. Could
we talk about a more concrete procedure to use in the future?”
5.
University Senate Agenda
September 23, 2016 Senate Meeting:
- Regular
Senate meeting with President Barchi's
"President's Address" early in the agenda, followed by a
question-and-answer period
- Election of Newark Student Member of the Executive Committee
(There were no nominees for the April election.)
- Newly
tenured faculty reception at Faculty Caucus (80 promotions with tenure,
and 14 appointments with tenure)
- Ad
Hoc Committee on Webstreaming and Video Archiving Senate Meetings to
convene one hour before standing committees, with membership consisting
of two volunteers from each standing committee
6.
Old Business
Proposed
Charge on Handling of Student Complaints: Faculty Senator David
Hughes writes: "The union is now dealing with at least two grievances
arising from student complaints handled poorly." Natalie Borisovets
discussed the matter with Hughes, and writes that it "...does seem to
be a legitimate area of concern. There are apparently a couple of cases
where the AAUP has had to become involved because the lack of any
recognized channels for student complaints resulted in things
escalating way beyond what would seem to be necessary." Hughes proposes
a charge "along the lines of":
Design a procedure for investigating
student complaints against instructors, beginning at the department
level, and, if necessary, escalating upwards from there.
Appointment
of University Commencement Panel
7.
New Business
8.
Adjournment