MINUTES OF THE ACADEMIC COUNCIL
TENNESSEE TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY
January 28, 2004
The Academic Council met at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, January 28, 2004, in the Deans’ Conference Room of Derryberry Hall with Jann Cupp, Chairperson, presiding.
The following members of the Council were present:
Dr. Robert Neibuhr Dr. Jann Cupp
Dr. Winston Walden Dr. David Larimore
Ms. Rebecca Tolbert Dr. P.K. Rajan
Dr. Roy Loutzenheiser Ms. Gail Stearman
Dr. Donald Elkins Dr. Tony Baker
Dr. Jack Armistead Mr. Ray Jordan
Dr. Darrell Garber Dr. Jeff Roberts
Ms. Casey Couch Dr. Brian O’Connor
Mr. Ben Hickok Dr. Corinne Darvennes
Dr. John Harris Dr. Gretta Stanger
Dr. Christine Miller Mr. Ken Hunter
Attending as resource persons were Dr. Connie Hood, Dr. Rita Barnes, Mr. Clark Donum, Mr. Chris Bagwell, Ms. Denise Hensely, Ms. Yvonne Gribble, and Mr. Ed Boucher.
The following members of the Council were absent:
Dr. Susan Elkins Dr. Sharon Whitney
Mr. Nathan Wilds Dr. Mark Stephens
Ms. Carie Harrington Dr. Joseph Biernacki
Dr. Ben Byler Ms. Delane Stewart
Dr. Cathy Cunningham Dr. Linda Null
SUMMARY OF PROCEEDINGS.
1. Approved the agenda with a motion to move item 4 to item 3.
2. Approved the minutes of the November 5 meeting with the clarification of the Report from the Subcommittee on the Common Calendar.
3. Approved proposed changes in the Honors Charter.
4. Discussed information on the SGA Bill No. F03-09: An Act to Properly Reflect Student Academic Progress.
5. Received information regarding changes in the English Qualifying Exam (EQE).
6. Discussed the possibility of administering placement tests for Math students.
7. Received additional information regarding the lottery scholarships.
PROCEEDINGS
Dr. Loutzenheiser MOVED approval of the agenda, and Dr. Larimore SECONDED the motion. Dr. Cupp stated there had been a request to move agenda item #4 (Changes in the Honors Charter) to #3 since we anticipate some discussion on the SGA Bill. There were no objections to the change and the agenda was APPROVED with the change.
Dr. Harris MOVED approval of the minutes of the November 5 meeting as posted on the Academic Council web site, and Dr. Walden SECONDED the motion. Dr. O’Connor requested that the minutes be clarified to reflect the options that were submitted by the subcommittee were Options A & B. Option C was an additional option submitted by Dr. Harris. Option B was for class periods and meeting times to start at 8:00 with 50 minutes MWF and 80 minutes TTh. The minutes were APPROVED with the noted corrections.
Dr. Cupp asked Mr. Clark Donum to present the proposed changes in the Honors charter. Mr. Donum stated that Honors wishes to create an honors thesis option. The University Curriculum Committee approved the creation of the two honors thesis courses during the Fall 2003 semester. Honors now requests changes in their charter to reflect these courses. (The proposal was submitted to the Council prior to the meeting.) Dr. Harris MOVED approval of the changes in the charter, and Dr. Don Elkins SECONDED the motion. The motion was APPROVED by a unanimous vote.
Dr. Cupp asked Senator Chris Bagwell to present the SGA Bill (which was sent to the Council prior to the meeting). Mr. Bagwell stated that the bill is to reflect a more proper reflection of the academic progress made by students. It would add a plus to the grades B, C, and D (not to A and F). There was some discussion by the students as whether to add a minus to the grades. However, they were concerned in not overhauling the complete grading system and decided to keep it simple and felt the Academic Council could come up with a system to incorporate the plus and minus if so desired. Ms. Stearman MOVED approval of the Bill, and Dr. Niebuhr SECONDED the motion. Discussion was called. There was much discussion of the plus, as well as the plus/minus grading scale and if other TBR schools have this grading system. It was also discussed how the system would be implemented electronically and the cost and time period to do so. How the plus or minus will affect the way the lottery scholarships are calculated was also mentioned. Dr. Larimore CALLED for a committee to be appointed to review and discuss the grading scale, and Dr. Baker SECONDED the motion. A vote was called to send this to a committee with the vote of 19 yes and 3 no. The motion was APPROVED. Dr. Cupp will appoint a committee. He thanked Mr. Bagwell and the SGA for all their work.
Changes in the English Qualifying Exam (EQE)
Dr. Baker presented the information on the EQE for the English department. He stated that the EQE as it is currently used is an equation for the 1010 and 1020 courses which is the Freshman composition sequence courses and the Sophomore literature courses. If a student’s GPA is below a 2.0, they must take this 30 minute exam. Transfer students who transfer with a D in 1010 or 1020 must take the EQE also to demonstrate writing proficiency. The English department has decided to dismantle the EQE for the current students who take their English classes at Tech. They have to have a C to get in 1010 and 1020 to pass on to Sophomore literature. Transfer students can transfer into 1020 with a D because TBR says they can and that is the main reason for maintaining the EQE. The change would be effective when the General Education requirements go into affect this Fall. Dr. Barker questioned if that had been changed with the general curriculum and a C was now required for transfer students also. Dr. Barker requested that clarification be obtained before going further. Therefore, Dr. Baker withdrew the request for consideration at this time.
Such Other Matters
Dr. O’Connor stated that the lottery scholarship requires students to maintain a 3.0. Therefore, there will be more pressure on placing students in proper courses. The Math department is finding that students are not prepared for some courses. There is no university policy for giving a placement exam in Math. Course selections are done through advising, looking at ACT scores, high school grade point average, and so on. In the past they have given an exam when the students walk in the door (like a pop quiz), but some faculty feel this is inappropriate. The department would like to know if they can give a placement exam to those students who need it? During discussion, it was determined that placement tests are being given now in some areas. Mrs. Tolbert stated that tests can be given on SOAR day with the results available the next day for appropriate advisement. It was suggested that the Math department prepare a proposal to be presented to the Academic Council for review.
Dr. Barker stated that we have received advice from other states regarding the lottery scholarships and how the first year there will be pressure from students and parents because the courses have value to them and that we should take a close look at the Grade Appeals Policy. He asked the Faculty Senate to make sure the Students Affairs and the Academic Affairs grade appeals policy are the same one. The other advice they gave is to make sure that in your syllabus you clearly explain how you will grade. Do not add anything after the semester starts. Follow it as you present it.
On advising, Dr. Barker stated that the fourteenth day of the semester will be used to determine attempted hours. If a student is still enrolled on the fifteenth day, that will be the day to count the hours attempted (not hours passed). Advise students to drop early if they think they cannot make it. This date is not official yet, but should be in a month. The student still needs to maintain a full-time status of 12 hours.
Mrs. Tolbert stated that they are asking each academic unit to assist them to set-up sessions on the lottery criteria, retention, and what to do to inform students. These sessions will be held throughout the semester. Parents and students will be given printed material this summer at the SOAR workshops.
Current students this year must have completed 24 hours to be eligible for the lottery scholarship next year. If they do not qualify at the end of this semester or end of summer term, they will not qualify in the future.
The meeting was adjourned at 4:10 pm.
Carol Holley
Recorder