University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
College of Letters and Science
2002-2003
Letters and Science Faculty
Meeting: December 5, 2002, 3:30 p.m.
MER 131
Minutes No. 2 |
L&S Faculty
Doc. No. |
- Call to Order - Dean Richard Meadows called the meeting to order at 3:34 p.m. in MER 131. A quorum was present.
- Announcements - Dean Meadows made the following announcements:
- Because of budget uncertainty, we are anticipating a freeze in hiring. Therefore, we are moving ahead quickly with recruitments in the hope of completing these hires before the freeze is implemented.
- In the matter of assessing student learning, the associate deans are working with the department chairs. A new person has been hired to help the campus with doing assessment.
- The fall semester resulted in good enrollment outcomes. If we receive significant cuts, our enrollments could be affected which, in turn, would affect funding.
- Question Period (10 minutes maximum) - Genni McBride asked what is going on in Financial Aid. She stated that students have been dropping out of her classes at a greater rate than is normal, many of them because their financial aid was not available. Martha Carlin said that she had students who could not buy their books. Dean Meadows said that the Financial Aid staff is working nearly 24-7. The problem with the late awards is related to the transition to PeopleSoft. That office has been making an effort to provide short-term loans to students, without interest, where awards are delayed. A short episode of the usual grumbling about PeopleSoft ensued.
Ed Mabry stated that Dean Meadows should be credited with the quality of the upgrade of MER 131. Dean Meadows responded that it was the planning committee (on which he served) that deserved the credit. He encouraged people to use the room.
- Automatic Consent Business - There were no objections to the automatic consent items; they stand approved.
- Old Business - There was no old business.
- New Business
| A. |
Request for Authorization to Implement a Major in Women's Studies - It was moved and seconded to recommend approval of the authorization to implement the major in women's studies. Merry Wiesner-Hanks gave a brief statement on the development of the proposal. It was approved unanimously.
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637 |
| B. |
Recommendation to Establish a Policy Defining Students' Eligibility for a Set of Requirements when those Requirements Change - The recommendation was moved and seconded. Kathy Wheatley explained the need for a policy and the thinking behind the Academic Policy and Appeals Committee's recommendation.
Dave Pritchard spoke against the motion. He indicated that JMC did not allow students to follow old requirements for declaring a major. He distributed information on the department's policy and the potential effect of the motion, if approved (copy attached to these minutes). He stated that the department could be inundated with majors if students were allowed to follow old requirements to declare their majors. The department could not staff sufficient sections of courses to serve the potential pool of majors, so declared majors would not be able to get their classes.
Bill Mayrl also spoke against the motion. He stated that there is a more general problem. If the motion passes, departments will face a minimum two-year delay in implementing new requirements. He argued that majors at a research university should be on the cutting edge. He indicated that if students are required to declare the current requirements, those who suffer will be only those students who delay declaring their majors.
Genni McBride stated that there are two separate issues involved, but both amount to an academic "bait-and-switch." She said that the Regents are about to put into place a policy that will assess a surcharge for excess credits. Failure to approved the proposed policy will result in students having to pay this surcharge due to delays in graduating.
Dave Pritchard pointed out that there is precedence for making academic changes effective immediately. Course prerequisites can be implemented upon approval. For degree requirements, by policy, this is not the case. Major requirements and the declaration requirements fall in the middle.
Erl Olfe explained that the College's informal policy has been to allow the immediate implementation of requirements to declare a major while permitting students to select any set of major requirements in effect from the time they entered the university. He indicated that this has not been a problem for most departments and suggested that, perhaps, the two issues should be decoupled.
Ed Mabry asked Erl if keeping the current (informal) policy would solve JMC's problem. Erl indicated it would. Approving the proposal but not making it retroactive also would solve the problem.
Swarnjit Arora spoke against the motion because he agreed with Sociology's position.
Richard Meadows asked if the proposed policy would violate campus policy. Bill Mayrl responded that the current (informal) L&S policy appears to violate campus policy.
Genni McBride said that she saw a problem with the current (informal) policy allowing one set of requirements to be one way and the other set to be the opposite way. She suggested setting the student's requirements for both the major and declaring the major according to the catalog in effect when the student entered. Connie Jo indicated that this would be a problem since the hard copy catalog and online catalog don't agree.
Following some additional pro and con discussion, Eric Key moved that the proposal be tabled and the issue referred back to the APAC. Karen Brucks seconded the motion. Tom O'Bryan asked what tabling the motion would do. Connie Jo stated that the item would be on the agenda of the next meeting as Old Business. If there is no motion to bring the proposal back from the table, the original motion dies. Richard Meadows suggested that APAC consider the possible need for two separate policies. The motion to table was approved with one dissenting vote.
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638 |
| C. |
Recommendation to Establish a Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Management - It was moved and seconded to recommend approval of the Graduate Certificate in Non-profit Management. Doug Ihrke explained the need for this certificate. Sandra Braman asked if there are any other programs like this. Rita Cheng said that there are some. Schools of public affairs and business schools offer some master's degrees in this area. What makes this program different is that it is offered jointly by two schools/colleges. The motion was approved unanimously.
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639 |
| D. |
Recommendation to Grant an Entitlement to Plan a B.A. in Mathematical Sciences, Business, and Economics - It was moved and seconded to recommend approval of the recommendation to grant an entitlement to plan a B.A. in Mathematical Sciences, Business, and Economics (MSBE). Swarnjit Arora spoke in favor of the motion, indicating that he thought the MSBE would increase enrollments in all of the departments involved. The motion was approved unanimously. |
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640 |
| E. |
Request for Authorization to Implement a Major in Actuarial Science - It was moved and seconded to recommend approval of the request for authorization to implement a major in actuarial science and, contingent upon approval of that recommendation, to eliminate the actuarial science option of the mathematics major. Eric Key explained the need for major status for the actuarial science area. The motion was approved unanimously.
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641 |
- Committee of the Whole Discussion: Removal of JSTOR Journals from Shelves
It was moved, seconded, and approved to go into a Committee of the Whole.
Peter Watson-Boone, Director of the Golda Meir Library, confirmed that hard copies of journals that are available on "JSTOR" will be removed from the shelves. He clarified that JSTOR is a non-profit consortium of many universities. It includes only those journals that are three years or more old, with a moving deadline that always will result in the most recent three years remaining on the shelves. JSTOR gives us downloading rights for any journals to which we subscribe. A hard copy of the JSTOR catalog is available. Peter handed out information on using JSTOR. He indicated that many students and faculty are using this system, and it seems to be working well. Ewa Barczyk, Associate Director of the Library, demonstrated how the system works.
Peter said that the library staff has serious space issues. Swarnjit Arora asked how much space will be saved, since some academic areas have few journals. Peter stated that the aggregate of all savings is significant. Swarnjit suggested keeping hard copies of journals from the 1990s to the present on the shelves. An unidentified speaker asked what percent of paper journals are available electronically. Peter indicated that we are getting 50% more journals electronically than we had in paper. Another individual asked how far behind JSTOR is in loading the journals. Peter said that it is 3 to 5 years behind, and we will keep hard copies of those journals available. Another faculty member asked what will become of the hard copies in the long run. Peter stated that he is not sure. They are in storage for now, but there is no longer-term plan. He added that JSOTR is funded by Mellon. If the money disappears or if JSTOR becomes a profit-making enterprise and is priced out of our range (or if it fails), it will have a backup. The journals will be available some other way. Martha Carlin indicated that the electronic journals cannot be browsed as easily. They are fine for individuals who know the key word(s), but not very useful for those who don't. Sandra Braman opined that moving to electronic forms is a positive move. It provides backup for the journals and is pragmatic. Martha Carlin stated that there is a scarcity of computers in the Library. Peter stated that this shift is a pragmatic move, not a matter of principle. Patrice Petro said that she sees gains and losses with the change but, in any case, this is the future. Peter said that keeping the hard copies of journals would require the removal and storage of books. We simply don't have the space. He added that if an individual has need of a hard copy, he will try to accommodate that individual.
It was moved, seconded, and approved to rise from the Committee of the Whole.
- Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 4:54 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Connie Jo
Special Assistant to the Dean
Secretary to the L&S Faculty
Distribution: L&S Faculty (via web)
Assistant Deans, L&S (via web)
Secretary of the University
Connie Jo
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