Agenda for the Faculty Senate Meeting
November 29, 2006
Room B-113 Robinson Hall
3:00-4:15 p.m.
I. Call to
Order
II. Approval of the
Minutes of Nov. 1, 2006
III. Announcements
IV. Unfinished
Business
V. New
Business - Committee Reports
A. Senate
Standing Committees
Executive Committee
Academic Policies
Motions from the committee Attachment A
Budget & Resources
Faculty Matters
Organization & Operations
Nominations
Nominated to serve on the Satellite Campus Committee:
Aimee Flannery, Gerald Hanweck, and Robert Johnston
B. Other
Committees
Technology Policy Committee
External Academic Relations Committee
VI. Other New
Business
Motions on Environmental Issues Attachment B
Motion regarding creation of ad hoc committees Attachment C
VII. Remarks for
the Good of the General Faculty
VIII. Adjournment
Attempted hours, instead of earned hours, should be used to determine GPA retention levels for warnings, probations, and suspensions for undergraduate students. On page 39 of the 2006-2007 catalog, under Requirements for Retention, the definition of credit level will be changed by replacing the paragraph
Academic retention is based solely on the cumulative GPA. The significance of the cumulative GPA varies according to the credit level, or cumulative earned credits, which is a combination of GPA credits earned at the university plus credits transferred from other institutions or obtained by testing.
by
Academic retention is based solely on the cumulative GPA. The significance of the cumulative GPA varies according to the credit level, or attempted credit hours, which is a combination of all credits attempted at the university plus credits transferred from other institutions or obtained by testing.
(Note: The use of italics above is just to make it easier to see where the paragraphs differ --- italics are not used in the actual paragraph in the catalog.) Furthermore, the table used to specify the GPA ranges for student retention categories (see p. 40 of the 2006-2007 catalog, under Student Retention Categories) will be replaced by the simpler table shown below. (This table has only five categories for credit level, as opposed to the eight categories currently in use. In merging the categories to create the new table, the GPA ranges used reflect slightly higher standards.)
|
|
Warning |
Probation |
Suspension |
|
7-16 |
0.000-1.999 |
|
|
|
17-29 |
1.750-1.999 |
1.000-1.749 |
0.000-0.999 |
|
30-59 |
1.850-1.999 |
1.250-1.849 |
0.000-1.249 |
|
60-89 |
1.950-1.999 |
1.550-1.949 |
0.000-1.549 |
|
90+ |
|
1.850-1.999 |
0.000-1.849 |
On January 21, 2004, the Faculty Senate approved the current
system for determining when students get warnings, go on probation, and get
suspended, and this system was implemented in Fall 2004. At the time, there did
not seem to be a desire to create a system which would be more lenient --- the
system was changed from what it was before in order to make it easier to
understand and to be more compatible with the system used for graduation. It
was generally agreed upon that the new system (the system currently being used)
would be evaluated after it had been in place for a few semesters.
The Academic Procedures Advisory Committee (APAC) (a group of Assistant and
Associate Deans and administrators chaired by Susan Jones) and the Academic
Policies Committee have noted that the current system has resulted in
appreciably fewer warnings, probations, and suspensions than what occurred
prior to the changes in policy. Nevertheless, there are currently a lot of
students who are doing very poorly in their coursework and not making good
progress toward a degree. This is due to the fact that the current system is
rather lenient for students who have only a small number of earned hours, and
so some students who fail a lot of courses and accumulate only a small number
of earned hours can continue to register for courses semester after semester
because their numbers of earned hours remain low and suspensions are not
triggered by their very low GPAs.
It can also be noted that the current system, based on earned hours, allows
students to retake courses (even those they passed) in an attempt to raise
their GPA and avoid suspension. (Students who retake courses that they pass do
not get closer to a degree by accumulating more earned hours --- they just
attempt to raise their GPA while keeping their earned hours constant (and it's
possible that their earned hours can go down if they fail a course they had
previously passed).)
All in all, the current system seems too lenient, and allows students to
flounder and exploit certain loopholes. The Academic Policies Committee thinks
that it will be better to have a system which will be better at identifying
problem students earlier, so that such students can reflect on their situations
and make some changes before they reach a point at which it will be very hard
for them to raise their GPAs to the level required for graduation. At a time
when admission to GMU is becoming more competitive, and it is desirable to have
a higher graduation rate, it is not good to continue with a retention system
that allows very weak students, who are not making reasonable progress towards
a degree, to occupy space in classes while continuing to flounder in their
studies.
ATTACHMENT B
Sponsored by Senators Dave Kuebrich (CHSS), Susan Trencher
(CHSS), Rick Coffinberger (SOM) and Suzanne Slayden (COS)
1. MOTION: The
Faculty Senate endorses the attached petition to help launch a
comprehensive “campus greening” campaign.
To promote the campaign,
the Chair and Executive Committee of the Faculty Senate are asked to:
A)
send an email to all instructional, research and administrative faculty asking them
to sign the petition;
B)
encourage the faculty to give moral, financial and volunteer-time support to
the students who will be gathering signatures between now and the University’s
2007 Earth Week Program (third week of April);
C)
encourage the Staff Senate to circulate the petition to its constituency.
[The Petition appears at
the end of this Attachment.]
Explanation: The purpose of the petition
drive is three-fold: to raise consciousness about environmental issues,
especially the threat posed by global warming; to ask individual members of the
campus-community to “buy into” the idea of promoting environmental
sustainability at George Mason; to provide campus leaders with evidence of
widespread support for greening the George Mason campus.
The George Mason
Environmental Task Force (EVT)* will invite President Merten to help launch the
campaign in early December or the beginning of the Spring Semester. The Task
Force will arrange a Broadside photo-op
at which the President and the chairs of the Faculty, Staff and Student Senates
sign the petition. The campaign will end with a special program during Earth
Week—including a press conference (perhaps arranged by George Mason Media
Relations). Also, the EVT will ask Broadside to foreground this year’s
Earth Week and perhaps publish a special issue.
The campaign will be
directed by student leaders in collaboration with a working group of the EVT.
2. MOTION: The
Faculty Senate will appoint a “Green Campus Task Force” to conduct a review of
the environmental policies of the various offices at George Mason University
responsible for buildings and grounds, energy consumption, and use of resources
and materials,* as well as of the policies of the counterparts to these offices
at other schools notable for taking decisive steps toward creating
environmentally sustainable campuses.
Charge: The Task Force will address the
following questions:
A)
what measures to promote sustainability are currently being implemented by each unit?
B)
what additional measures to promote sustainability are being planned and what
is the timeframe for their implementation?
C)
what additional measures to promote sustainability are being implemented and/or
planned by schools noted for their environmental leadership?
D)
what additional measures might be taken at George Mason?
E)
how might the Senate, the general faculty and the larger campus community
support the efforts of these units?
F)
what other steps need to be taken to green the George Mason campus?
The Task Force should
give particular attention to the issue of green buildings because the decisions
being made and implemented today will impact the natural environment and the
University budget for decades to come.
Composition: five instructional faculty
(active or emeriti) of which at least one is a Senator; Brent Ingram (Associate
Dean of Environmental Projects) or another designated administrative faculty;
Tom Calhoun, Vice President of Facilities; and John Spaldo, Associate Vice
President of Operations; (or
appropriate staff members designated by them), and a representative designated
by University Life. Student Government is also invited to designate two student
representatives.
The Task Force will make
an initial report to the Faculty Senate in March, 2007 and a second report in
May, 2007.
In order for the Task
Force to work effectively and expeditiously, President Merten is requested to
provide its chair with one course of released time in Spring, 2007 and support
for two graduate student assistants.
President Merten is
requested to ask the responsible administrators to respond promptly and fully
to the Task Force’s requests for information and cooperation.
The Task Force is asked
to take special care to advertise its meetings in order to encourage
participation by other members of the George Mason community.
3. MOTION: The
Faculty Senate will appoint a “Green Education Task Force” to conduct a review
of the George Mason University curriculum as well as the curricula of selected
other schools noted for leadership in environmental education.
Charge: The Task Force will consider the
desirability and feasibility of
A)
developing new and modified courses to infuse “environmental sustainability”**
into the general education program, undergraduate majors and graduate degree
programs;
B)
developing new undergraduate and graduate certificate and degree programs
emphasizing “environmental sustainability”;
C)
developing a plan, in collaboration with University Life, for systematically
promoting service learning, student internships and co-curricular programming
aimed toward green education and the greening of the campus;
D)
recommending other needed curricular and co-curricular measures.
The Task Force will make
an initial report to the Faculty Senate in March, 2007 and a second report in
May, 2007.
Composition:
four instructional faculty (active or emeriti) of which at least one is
a Senator; Maril Mobley (Associate Provost of Education Programs) or a
designated member of the General Education Committee; Brent Ingram (Associate
Dean of Environmental Projects) or another designated administrative faculty
member; and a representative designated
by University Life. Student Government is also invited to designate two student
representatives.
In order for the Task
Force to work effectively and expeditiously, President Merten is requested to
provide its chair with one course of released time in Spring, 2007 and support
for two graduate student assistants.
Provost Stearns is
requested to ask the chairs, directors and deans to respond promptly and fully
to the Task Force’s requests for information and cooperation.
The Task Force is asked
to take special care to advertise its meetings in order to encourage
participation by other members of the George Mason community.
4. MOTION: The
Faculty Senate will elect two representatives to the Environmental Task Force.
The representatives will report regularly to the Faculty Senate. This appointment will last until May, 2007.
*The Environmental Task
Force (ETF) was created in January 2006 under the auspices of University
Life. Susie Crate (ESP), Martha Slover
(UL), and Dave Kuebrich (English) were the original co-facilitators. Provost
Stearns has subsequently appointed Brent Ingram a co-facilitator. The goal of the
Task Force is to bring together representatives of all parts of the University
to share ideas and build a plan for greening the University. The Senate Task Forces will complement the
work of the EVT.
** “Environmental
sustainability” (or simply “sustainability”): “Sustainability” has been defined
as the practice of the “golden rule through time.” The goal of a sustainable community is to organize its material
infrastructure and institutional operating practices—especially its use and
disposal of natural resources—in a manner that allows it to meet the needs of
present users without compromising the ability of future generations to meet
their own needs. Sustainability
presumes that some resources are finite and should be used conservatively with
a view to providing for the long-term needs of the human race.
CLIMATE
CHANGE & OUR RESPONSIBILITY
GMU MUST BE A LEADER
INSIST ON IT BY SIGNING THIS PETITION!
An overwhelming majority of climate
scientists agree that the rapid warming of planet earth threatens large-scale
disruptions in our lifetime and for future generations. Every person,
every organization, and every institution can help to reduce this threat.
Over 300 American colleges and universities have adopted policies to become
green and sustainable campuses. We want GMU to join them. All of
us--students, alumni, staff, faculty, administrators, and board members--must
commit ourselves to making our university a model of energy efficiency, green
education, and environmental leadership.
We call on the leaders of our campus community to put a comprehensive
environmental plan in place by Summer 2007.
Register your agreement by signing this petition. It will be presented to the
Student, Staff, and Faculty Senates, the Provost, President, and Board of
Visitors.
Please join this urgent and important effort!
ATTACHMENT C
Motion:
Creation of the ad hoc committees “Green Campus Task Force” and “Green
Education Task Force” is of urgent necessity.
Explanation:
According to the Faculty Senate bylaws, declaring the creation of an ad hoc
committee as urgently necessary allows immediate nomination and election of
members to serve on the committee.
Article
V Section 3.
a.
Whenever the Senate shall determine by its vote that the creation of an ad hoc
committee or of a new standing committee is a matter of urgent necessity,
nominations shall be made from the floor following that determination.
These
faculty have agreed to serve on the designated committees (if created) and will
be nominated from the floor. The floor will be open to further nominations.
Green
Campus Task Force
Sharon deMonsabert (Civil, Envir & Infrastructure Eng)Henry Hamburger (Computer Science, Emeritus)Carrie Meyer (Economics)Peter Pober (Communication)Ron Zobel (Civil, Envir & Infrastructure Eng)
Green
Education Task Force
Susie Crate (Environmental Science and Policy)Greg Guagnano (Sociology and Anthropology)