The Academic Council met at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, January 30, 2002, in the Deans' Conference Room of Derryberry Hall with Dr. Gretta Stanger, Chairperson, presiding.

Dr. Jack Armistead
Dr. Donald Elkins
Dr. Darrell Garber
Dr. Winston Walden
Dr. Robert Niebuhr
Dr. Marvin Barker
Dr. Roy Loutzenheiser
Mr. Hunter Hughes
Ms. Sarah Winningham
Prof. Charlene Mullins
Dr. John Harris
Dr. Jeff Roberts
Dr. Mark Stephens
Dr. Christine Miller
Dr. Jann Cupp
Dr. Harry Smith
Dr. Roger Haggard
Dr. Julia Aucoin
Prof. Tara Watson
Prof. Ken Hunter
Dr. Gretta Stanger
Dr. Linda Null
Dr. Corinne Darvennes
Dr. Kurt Eisen
Dr. Brian O'Connor

Mr. Jason Wild attended the meeting for Ms. Shannon Bennett. Also attending as resource persons were Francis Otuonye, Barry Stein, Ada Haynes, Elaine Tilley, Naomi Hall, Jocelyn Bradley, and Srini Ramaswamy.

The following members of the Council were absent:

Dr. Susan Elkins
Ms. Shannon Bennett
Mr. Clark Downum
Dr. Bruce Greene
Dr. Ed Griggs
Prof. Ray Jordan
Dr. Katherine Osburn  

SUMMARY OF PROCEEDINGS

1. Approved the agenda.

3.  Received an update on the Regents Degree.

4.  Approved editorial changes necessitated by revisions in the Agreement on      Responsibilities.

5.  Approved curricular changes in the Department of Sociology and Philosophy.

6.  Approved a proposal for an interdisciplinary Master's Degree in Social Science and Technology.

7.  Referred SGA Bill F01-06 to the Teacher Education Committee.

8.  Approved the concept of modifications to the proposal for an M.S. in Computer Science

PROCEEDINGS

Approval of the Agenda

Approval of the Minutes of the November 14 Meeting

Dr. Don Elkins MOVED approval of the minutes of the November 14 meeting as posted on the Academic Council web site, and Dr. Cupp SECONDED the motion. The minutes were APPROVED.

Update on Regents Degree

Dr. Barker reported that TTU has 56 majors in the Regents On-Line Degree Program this spring. The total spring semester enrollment system-wide for RODP is 3700 in all classes, which translates into 2100 different students. The success rate for RODP is better than the national average, and the grades approximate a bell-shaped curve, suggesting that course quality is being maintained. Most of the students are enrolled in the Organization/Leadership Degree (78 percent). TBR has said that any evaluations will be done by the campuses; in our case, the IDEA evaluation for on-line courses will be used. Dr. Barker answered questions about the RODP program.

Editorial Changes Necessitated by Revisions in the Agreement on Responsibilities

Dr. Barker said that last year when the Agreement on Responsibilities was revised, at least two documents were missed in making all the changes necessary to make the documents agree with the new form and he would like to correct them also. He asked the Council to consider these changes to be editorial in nature, not requiring additional action, and to approve making corrections to the Faculty Evaluation Form and to Forms T-15, T-16, and P-15 in the Promotion and Tenure Policies. The categories on the Faculty Evaluation Form and the tenure and promotion forms would change from four categories-"Instruction," "Scholarly Activity," "Service," and "Administration"-to six-"Instruction," "Advisement," "Research," "University Service," "Public Service," and "Administration." Dr. Aucoin said that the words "work load" are used in the criteria for the Outstanding Faculty Awards, and she asked if the criteria could be changed to refer to the Agreement on Responsibilities instead. In addition to the changes in the Faculty Evaluation Form and the Tenure and Promotion forms, Dr. Barker MOVED to approve any other changes that might be identified in the future as editorial changes. Professor Watson SECONDED the motion, and the motion CARRIED by a unanimous vote.

Curricular Changes Requested by the Department of Sociology and Philosophy

Dr. Harris MOVED approval of the request, and Dr. Loutzenheiser SECONDED the motion. This item was brought to the Academic Council as an exception to TTU policy because it reduces the number of hours required in each of the three degree programs (SOC, SOSW, and SOCJ) from 132 to 131. The Department of Sociology and Philosophy is requesting to reduce the number of hours by one because of the action of the University Curriculum Committee in reducing the expected number of foreign language hours by one. The change was APPROVED by a unanimous vote.

Proposal for a Master's Degree in Social Science and Technology

Dr. Stephens MOVED approval of the proposal for a Master's Degree in Social Science and Technology, and Professor Hunter SECONDED the motion. Dr. Ada Haynes presented the proposal and stated that we have no master's degrees in any of the social sciences, and this degree would be interdisciplinary in nature. The proposed degree includes three concentrations: Non-profit Organizations and Fundraising; Social Policy; and Program Evaluation. When asked about using the wording "technology" rather than "information technology," Dr. Haynes explained that the intent is for the degree to be broad-based. Other questions centered on GRE scores and standards for admittance to the program. In regard to the TBR moratorium on new programs, Dr. Barker said that all the steps would be taken up to attaining TBR approval so that the program would be on the waiting list at TBR. This procedure would include all approvals on campus, a visit by an external reviewer, and submission to TBR. The new degree program was APPROVED by a unanimous vote.

SGA Bill F01-06

Mr. Hughes MOVED approval of the bill, and Dr. Smith SECONDED the motion. Ms. Elaine Tilley presented SGA Bill F01-06, "An Act to Notify Teacher Education Students When Graduation and Certification Requirements Change." The reason for the bill is that students are not always notified by their advisors when requirements change, which could result in a postponement of graduation. The bill provides that when the state changes requirements for certification and graduation for teacher education students, the appropriate department in the College of Education shall notify all affected students by campus email with a copy sent to the Division of Teacher Education Department. In addition, the College of Education shall be required to post requirement changes on the departmental web page.

Dr. Smith suggested these changes in Section 2: strike "the appropriate department of" so that it would be the College of Education that would notify all affected students by campus email and change "with a copy sent to the Division of Teacher Education Department" to "with copies sent to the Division of Teacher Education Department and the College of Education chairs" so departments could notify their faculty who are advisors. The mover agreed to this change as a FRIENDLY AMENDMENT.

After further discussion, Dr. Harris MOVED that the Academic Council refer the matter to the Teacher Education Committee, and Dr. Loutzenheiser SECONDED the motion. The motion PASSED by a unanimous vote, which in effect tabled the motion.

Such Other Matters
Modifications to the Proposal for an M.S. in Computer Science

Dr. Ramaswamy, chairperson of the Computer Science Department, distributed an informational memorandum showing the modifications that have been made in the original proposal for an M.S. in Computer Science based on suggestions by the review committee, which consisted of representatives from TBR and THEC and an external reviewer. Consultations were also held with the CSC faculty, Dr. Barker, Dean Armistead, and Dr. Otuonye. After considerable discussion, Dr. Loutzenheiser MOVED that the Academic Council approve the concept of the proposed changes and let Dr. Ramaswamy, Dr. Otuonye, and any others who need to be involved work out the details before submitting the proposal to TBR. Dr. Miller SECONDED the motion, and it was APPROVED by a unanimous vote of the Council.

Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at 4:15 p.m.

Pat Gilbreath, Recorder