MINUTES OF THE ACADEMIC COUNCIL
TENNESSEE TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY
November 5, 2003
The Academic Council met at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, November 5, 2003, in the Deans’ Conference Room of Derryberry Hall with Jann Cupp, Chairperson, presiding.
The following members of the Council were present:
Dr. Winston Walden Dr. Jann Cupp
Prof. Rebecca Tolbert Dr. David Larimore
Dr. Roy Loutzenheiser Dr. Joseph Biernacki
Dr. Donald Elkins Dr. P.K. Rajan
Dr. Jack Armistead Prof. Tara Watson
Dr. Darrell Garber Dr. Tony Baker
Mr. Nathan Wilds Dr. Linda Null
Dr. Ben Byler Dr. Jeff Roberts
Dr. Cathy Cunningham Dr. Brian O’Connor
Dr. John Harris Dr. Corinne Darvennes
Dr. Sharon Whitney Dr. Gretta Stanger
Dr. Mark Stephens Prof. Ken Hunter
Dr. Christine Miller
Dr. Stuart Wells attended for Dr. Bob Neibuhr. Dr. Elwood Watson, visiting professor from ETSU, also attended the meeting. Attending as resource persons were Dr. Paul Semmes, Ms. Yvonne Gribble, and Amy from the Oracle.
The following members of the Council were absent:
Dr. Robert Neibuhr Dr. Susan Elkins
Ms. Carie Harrington Ms. Casey Couch
Mr. Ben Hickok Prof. Gail Stearman
Prof. Ray Jordan
SUMMARY OF PROCEEDINGS
1. Approved the agenda.
2. Approved the minutes of the October 8 meeting as posted on the web site.
3. Approved 55 minutes class periods for MWF classes and 80 minutes class periods for TTh.
4. Received names of persons on the subcommittee to study the plagiarism policy.
5. Received information about the lottery scholarships to start next Fall.
PROCEEDINGS
Dr. Loutzenheiser MOVED approval of the agenda, and Dr. Don Elkins SECONDED the motion. The agenda was APPROVED.
Dr. Stanger MOVED approval of the minutes of the October 8 meeting as posted on the Academic Council web site, and Prof. Tolbert SECONDED the motion. The minutes were APPROVED as posted.
Report of Subcommittee on the Common Calendar
Prof. Tolbert asked Dr. Semmes (who is chair of the subcommittee) to give the report of the subcommittee for the common calendar. Dr. Semmes stated that the bulk of the report was discussed last month. The subcommittee made three recommendations:
Dr. O’Connor MOVED approval of recommendation #1 for the Fall Semester 2004 schedule, and Dr. Miller SECONDED. The motion was APPROVED by a unanimous vote. Dr. O’Connor MOVED approval of recommendation #2 for the Spring Semester 2005 schedule, and Dr. Byler SECONDED. The motion was APPROVED by a unanimous vote.
Dr. O’Connor MOVED approval of recommendation for Option B for class periods and meeting times to start at 8:00 with 50 minutes MWF and 80 minutes TTh., and Dr. Larimore SECONDED. However, Dr. Harris proposed an amendment to add an Option C which would be for classes to start at 8:00 with 55 minutes on MWF and 80 minutes on TTh, and Mr. Wilds SECONDED. After discussion, a vote was called for the amendment to the original motion (Option C) with all yes except one no. Motion APPROVED. Classes will start at 8:00 with 55 minutes on MWF and 80 minutes on TTh. Faculty will be notified of the approved schedules and class periods.
Dr. Cupp thanked the subcommittee on the common calendar for all their hard work.
Dr. Cupp stated that the following persons will serve on a subcommittee to study the plagiarism policy: Dr. Miller-Chair, Prof. Jordan, Dr. Baker, and Casey Couch. The current policy does not give a specific time period for notification of plagiarism.
Such Other Matters
Professor Tolbert reported that scholarships from the lottery will start next Fall 2004. The lottery will affect our academic policies. Students have to be registered for a certain number of hours to receive the scholarship. The law states that a student has until the 14th day after classes to withdraw without receiving a grade of W. Our policy allows students to withdraw a month after classes start without receiving a grade of W. All other universities in the state except MTSU and TTU give five days before a student can withdraw with a W. This could lead to possible audit problems and should be discussed with the committee soon to reconcile the 14 days. It was also noted that students must maintain a B average to keep their scholarship.
The meeting was adjourned at 3:45 p.m.