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Aug 30, 2006 Minutes

Minutes for 08/30/06

Members present:

Chair Stone, Senators Brennan, Conroy, Feakes, Hazlewood, Hindson, Homeyer, McGee, McKinney, Montondon, Sorensen

Guests: Professor Emeritus E. Swinney

Meeting called to order at 4:00.


Updates & Announcements:

1)       Uniform Class Schedule:  The idea of a uniform class schedule was presented again at CAD.  The general feeling is that it is reasonable and will be implemented Fall07.

2)       Regents’ Rules Change:  Regents’ Rules now require all official printed correspondence, publications and reports circulated by any System component shall indicate on that written document that the component is a component of The Texas State University System.

3)       To Whom Does Texas State Lose Its Freshmen:  Statistics show that freshmen applicants who don’t attend nor continue to attend Texas State go, primarily to Texas A&M, Texas, and Texas Tech, in that order.

4)       Monthly Income Report:  University Advancement is now sending a monthly income report to the Senate.

5)       Texas State Enrollment:  Current fall enrollment is listed at 26,700 students which represents a 2% growth in undergraduate enrollment and a -2% growth in graduate enrollment.

6)       Final Grade Reporting:  There is no final resolution to the request to allow more time for faculty to turn in final grades at the end of each semester.  The stated problem to allowing more time is that grades will come in too late to determine athletes’ eligibility to play in holiday games.

7)       Developmental Leaves:  The Senate’s recommendations for changes in the Developmental Leave PPS have been approved.

8)       PAAG Meeting Dates:  PAAG meeting dates for the fall semester are 9/06/06, 10/11/06, 11/08/06 and 12/06/06.

9)       Election for College of Education:  The election process is beginning for a new senator for the College of Education.  Candidates are in HPER and C&I.

 
Committee on Committees: The Senate considered the recommendations of the Committee on Committees for faculty committee appointments.  The Senate approved the recommendations with minor changes.  Also, Dr. Russ Hodges was appointed as a representative of the College of Education on the University Curriculum Committee and Dr. David Easter replaces Dr. Debra Feakes on the University Research Committee.

 
Background Checks PPS: The newest draft of the draft pps on background checks reflects many of the recommendations made by the Senate.  One issue was where would the results of background checks be kept.  It looks like that will be in Faculty Records.  There are still some questions about clarity.  The Chair will work on that.  Background checks on new faculty will not occur until the official policy is in place.

 
Senate Liaison Meeting: The Chair will send a note to departments without a senator to elect liaisons.  Tentatively, the fall joint meeting with the liaisons and the Senate is set for 9/20/06.  A meeting room has not been determined yet.

 
Retired Faculty Benefits: The debated removal of benefits to retired faculty in the recent revision to UPPS04.04.53 was discussed.  Retired faculty will still get a university identification card and a library card. Free parking permits and admission to athletic events are still under question.  Admission to Fine Arts events is still a perk, but an office on campus is essentially gone due to the lack of space campus wide.  E-mail will continue to be available to retired faculty, but there is still a question of whether space for a web page will be allowed.  The University Bookstore will continue to provide discounts to retired faculty.  The focus of the Senate discussion was on parking permits, access to athletic events and full e-mail privileges.  Dr. E. Swinney, a retired faculty member in attendance, remarked that he now came to campus two or three times a semester, primarily to use the library, and that without a parking permit, the library benefit would be useless.  The Senate will continue to support full e-mail privileges and free parking and admission to athletic events for retired faculty. 

 
PAAG Agenda Items: The Senate discussed agenda items for the up-coming PAAG meeting.  Items that percolated to the top are:

·         Benefits for Retired Faculty (with emphasis on parking and athletic events)

·         Modified Retirement (is modified retirement going away)

·         The Faculty Handbook (where is it)

·         Departmental Search Expenses (departments need help)

·         University Course Fees

·         Departmental M&O

 
New Business:  A Senator asked if there was progress on the request to verify 12th day rosters electronically.  The Chair will pursue the matter.

 
Minutes: Minutes for 04/26/06, 05/24/06 and 06/28/06 were approved.