26 November, 2001 FPC Meeting Minutes
November 26, 2001
Room 158 Norman Hall
Members Present: Dick Allington, Phil Clark, Vivian Correa, Bridget Franks, David Honeyman, Hazel Jones, Tina Smith-Bonahue, Stephen Smith (Chair), Jane Townsend, Joe Wittmer
Members Absent: Max Parker
Other Present: Rod Webb, Dean’s Office
Smith called the meeting to order at 9:10 a.m.
Action Items
1. Approval of the agenda for November 26, 2001.
Correa made a motion to approve the agenda as submitted by Smith. Clark seconded the motion. The FPC unanimously approved the agenda as it was submitted.
2. Selection of Student Representative, Student Recruitment/Admissions Committee
Smith-Bonahue reported that the Student Recruitment/Admissions Committee had selected two doctoral students to serve on the Faculty Policy Council: Donna Sabis and Courtney Johnson from the School of Teaching and Learning. Smith-Bonahue moved to approve the selection of these two students, Franks seconded the motion. The FPC unanimously approved the selection.
3. Recommendation from Agenda Committee Re: Budget Advisory Committee.
A recommendation was made by the Agenda Committee to establish a Budget Advisory Ad Hoc Committee to work with the Dean and the Department Chairs. This ad hoc committee would consist of the Faculty Policy Council two-year members assuring departmental representative across each department. Allington made a motion to accept the committee as proposed. Clark seconded the motion. Following a discussion, the FPC asked for a friendly amendment to the motion to remove the stipulation that only two-year term FPC members serve. This was replaced with FPC members who would represent each department. The Budget Advisory Ad Hoc Committee members would serve for the 2001 – 2002 academic year and the committee would meet as needed or determined by the Dean and the FPC. Allington accepted the friendly amendment to his motion. The FPC unanimously approved the motion.
Discussion Items:
1. Reminder of Constitutional Language about FPC Meetings
The Constitutional language states “Only members of the Faculty Policy Council have access to the floor during meetings, except when permission has been granted by consent of the Council or the Agenda Committee.” It was suggested that if an individual faculty members wanted to raise an issue and speak before the FPC, he/she would need to request that the issue be put on the agenda. The FPC would have to approve the addition of the agenda item.
2. Update on COE Policy Searches and Archives
Smith and Correa are in the process of reviewing the Department Chairs Meeting minutes and the Administrative Council Meeting minutes for the past three years for any policies that were made during that time.
3. Goal-Setting Retreat
A goal-setting retreat will be held on December 5th from 9:00 am until 1:30 pm at the United Church of Gainesville. Approximately eight members of the FPC will attend.
Items Tabled from October 1 Meeting.
A discussion on how TAs/RAs will voice concerns under the new governance structure and a discussion on how linkages can be made with the Staff Council will be tabled until the next meeting.
Spring Semester Meetings
Meetings for the spring semester were discussed. The FPC will continue to meet every other Monday morning. Beginning in the Fall 2002, the FPC may change their meeting schedule to Monday from 2-4 pm, consistent with the new college policy of reserving that time for college/departmental meetings. Dates for the spring semester meetings will be discussed at the next FPC meeting on December 10th.
Information Items
Committee Reports
Student Recruitment/Admissions Committee
Smith-Bonahue reported that Ruth Lowery is the elected chair elect for this committee. Several issues have been suggested for the committee’s consideration. The first issue will be to revisit the UF and college requirements for admissions into the graduate school. The committee will attempt to schedule a meeting with Ken Gerhardt regarding these issues. Questions regarding the GRE and Praxis were discussed. Currently, the College of Education requires students to make a score of at least 1000 on the GRE and have no less than a 3.0 undergraduate GPA. Last year, the graduate school approved the COE using BOTH the GRE and Praxis for admissions, but not substituting the Praxis for the GRE. The committee will also investigate the SAC requirements regarding graduate admissions. Two other issues that will be addressed by the committee include minority student recruitment and required research methodology courses.
Faculty Affairs Committee
Townsend reported that this committee has not elected a chair at this time and Townsend currently serves as the interim chair. The committee is addressing the issue of Tenure & Promotion guidelines and will meet on Wednesday, November 28th. Townsend discussed the development of a survey to be used for gathering information on T&P procedures across departments.
Furthermore, the committee has had a request to investigate issues related to equity of faculty workload across departments. It was recommended that the issue of workload be presented in writing to the agenda committee and placed on the FPC discussion items.
FPC Procedures Clarification: Clark reported that there should be clear procedures for accepting committee reports (limit time for presenting reports) and a set protocol for raising action items during those reports.
Research Advisory Committee
Honeyman reported that Tracy Linderholm was the new elected chair. The role of the RAC is to provide advice and guidance to the Graduate Studies and Research Office. Four issues have been raised for the committee’s consideration:
(1) to examine the requirements listed in the graduate catalog related to the Ed.D. and Ph.D. and suggest consistent language for inclusion in the catalog,
(2) to review the grant proposal submission process including deadlines, check-offs, and space requirements,
(3) to examine the dissertation review process and the role of the Graduate Studies office in this process, and
(4) to review the role, function, and purpose of the Center for School Improvement.
Honeyman distributed a memorandum from Kranzler requesting that the FPC review the policy statements in the catalog on the Ph.D. and Ed.D. qualifying examinations. It was recommended by the FPC that the RAC review the qualifying exam process, recommend changes, and present those changes to the FPC. Honeyman stated that he would discuss this request with Tracy Linderholm.
Admissions and Petitions Committee
The issue of confidentiality and having open meetings at the Admissions and Petitions Committee meeting was discussed. Although the A&P meetings are open to the public, it was suggested that the committee suspend the rules of order to deal with confidential reviews of individual student records. All visitors will be asked to leave the room until the meeting is resumed
FPC Procedure Clarification
If action items are to be considered by the FPC, a written letter of recommendation of the item must be submitted to the FPC. A motion will be made regarding the item and the FPC will speak to the motion. An FPC member or chair of a committee will notify Smith of the action item to be considered for the next agenda.
Update on Budget by Dean Nelms
Nelms reported that there was no new information available regarding the budget. He did report that the Provost approved the method of responding to COE budget cuts that has been proposed for this year. Nelms also reported that the Provost would like the COE to work more closely with the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and IFAS. Although future budget cuts are unknown, it is expected that the budget crisis will last at least another year. Nelms stated that the Ad Hoc Budget Advisory committee would most likely work throughout the spring semester. A mid-year report is due to the Provost sometime in January and input from the FPC is invited. Nelms reminded the FPC members of the retreat scheduled for December 5th. Goals for the college will be discussed at the retreat.
Townsend moved and Clark seconded to adjourn the meeting. The FPC unanimously approved the motion. The meeting was adjourned at 11:01 am.
