The following members of the Council were present:
Prof. Rebecca Tolbert
Dr. Roy Loutzenheiser
Dr. Don Elkins
Dr. Jack Armistead
Dr. Winston Walden
Dr. Robert Niebuhr
Mr. Hunter Hughes
Mr. Michael Joyce
Dr. John Harris
Dr. Mark Stephens
Dr. Christine Miller
Dr. Jann Cupp
Dr. David Larimore
Dr. Ed Griggs
Dr. Roger Haggard
Prof. Gail Stearman
Prof. Tara Watson
Dr. Jeff Roberts
Dr. Brian O'Connor
Dr. Gretta Stanger
Prof. Ken Hunter
Dr. Linda Null
Dr. John Wheeler attended for Dr. Darrell Garber, and Dr. Francis Otuonye attended as a resource person.
The following members of the Council were absent:
Dr. Darrell Garber
Dr. Susan Elkins
Ms. Carie Harrington
Ms. Jessica Whitehead
Dr. Ben Byler
Dr. Cathy Cunningham
Dr. Sharon Whitney
Dr. Corinne Darvennes
Prof. Ray Jordan
Dr. Katherine Osburn
SUMMARY OF PROCEEDINGS
1. Approved the agenda.
2. Approved the minutes of the February 26 meeting.
3. Approved annual reports from committees reporting to the Academic Council.4. Approved revised admissions standards.
5. Elected Jann Cupp as Academic Council chairperson for 2003-04.
6. Received a report from the committee on transfer credits.
7. Approved the definition of a minor as 15 hours.
PROCEEDINGS
Approval of the Agenda
Dr. Larimore MOVED approval of the agenda, Dr. Loutzenheiser SECONDED the motion, and the agenda was APPROVED with additions under Such Other Matters.
Approval of the Minutes of the February 26 Meeting
Dr. Loutzenheiser MOVED approval of the minutes of the February 26 meeting, Mr. Hughes SECONDED the motion, and the minutes were APPROVED as posted on the web site.
Annual Reports from Committees Reporting to the Academic Council
Dr. Larimore MOVED to accept the committee reports, and Professor Tolbert SECONDED the motion. The annual reports from committees reporting to the Academic Council were ACCEPTED as distributed.
Revised Admissions Requirements
Professor Tolbert stated that last fall THEC mandated that universities should increase admissions standards and should no longer offer remedial instruction. Professor Tolbert MOVED approval of the proposed revised admissions requirements, and Dr. Loutzenheiser SECONDED the motion. The proposed revised admissions requirements are as follows:
Regular Admissions:
In general, a student must have a cumulative high school grade point average of 2.5 or a composite ACT score of 19. Specifically, the student must have:
Committee Review:
Student applications not meeting these requirements will be individually reviewed by the Admissions Review Committee.
Professor Tolbert clarified that, typically, applicants with a high school gpa of less than 2.2 and an ACT composite of less than 17 will be denied. She distributed copies of data showing high school grade point averages (using the academic core) and ACT scores for first-time freshmen to provide an idea of how many students would be affected by an increase in admissions standards. Noting that grades are a better predictor of success in college than ACT scores, Dr. Larimore questioned whether standards should be increased without first doing an analysis to determine the correlation between high school grade point averages and performance at Tennessee Tech.
The motion to approve the revised admissions requirements CARRIED by a unanimous vote.
Election of a Chairperson for 2003-04Dr. Null MOVED to elect Jann Cupp by acclamation, and Dr. Harris SECONDED the motion. Dr. Don Elkins MOVED that nominations cease and that Dr. Cupp be declared the chair by acclamation.
Dr. Cupp was ELECTED by a unanimous vote as chairperson of the Academic Council for 2003-04.
Such Other Matters
Report from Committee on Transfer Credits
Dr. Null reported that the committee studied prerequisite courses in Physics and Mathematics. The committee found no large trend that students who took the prerequisites at TTU performed better than those who took the prerequisites at community colleges. Dr. Null asked whether this is a relevant issue now and whether the committee should continue. The consensus of the Council was that the committee should continue but take a different approach, looking at the first courses transfer students take at TTU to determine if grade point averages drop.
Clarification of Action of Academic Council Regarding a Minor
Dr. O'Connor said that on September 5, 2002, the Academic Council approved eliminating the University requirement for a minor effective with the implementation of the 120-hour degree with the stipulation that eliminating the requirement does not preclude departments and individual curricula from requiring a minor. Dr. O'Connor asked for clarification of what was passed by the Council, and he asked for a standard definition of a minor and who decides what is a minor and who approves. Dr. O'Connor MOVED to define a minor as 15 hours, and Dr. Loutzenheiser SECONDED the motion. The motion PASSED by a unanimous vote. In response to questions from the group, Professor Tolbert will check into the question of putting minors on transcripts, and an e-mail will be sent to Council members with the answer to this question.
Common Calendar
Professor Tolbert talked about scheduling to accommodate the TBR Common Calendar which goes into effect in 2004, and she noted that she would like to have a free day prior to commencement. Dr. O'Connor said fall semester works well, but spring semester is a problem because of holidays and spring break. Dr. Niebuhr and Dr. Barker pointed out that most schools solve the problem by not trying to make the semesters equal.
Choice of Catalog
The Council discussed Dr. Armistead's question about which catalog students can graduate under-the catalog the student entered under, the current catalog, the 120-hour catalog, or the catalog on the web.
Adjournment
Dr. Cupp welcomed Michael Joyce as a new member of the Council. The meeting was ADJOURNED at 4:10 p.m.
_______________________________
Recorder