The Academic Council met at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, October 8, 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. Roy Loutzenheiser
Dr. Donald Elkins
Dr. Jack Armistead
Dr. Darrell Garber
Dr. Susan Elkins
Mr. Nathan Wilds
Ms. Casey Couch
Mr. Ben Hickok
Dr. Cathy Cunningham
Dr. John Harris
Dr. Sharon Whitney
Dr. Mark Stephens
Dr. Christine Miller
Dr. Jann Cupp
Dr. David Larimore
Dr. Joseph Biernacki
Dr. P. K. Rajan
Prof. Tara Watson
Dr. Tony Baker
Dr. Linda Null
Prof. Ray Jordan
Dr. Jeff Roberts
Dr. Brian O'Connor
Dr. Gretta Stanger
Prof. Ken Hunter
Dr. Gary Pickett attended for Dr. Bob Niebuhr, and Ms. Julie Galloway attended for Prof. Rebecca Tolbert. Dr. Elwood Watson, visiting professor from ETSU, also attended the meeting. Attending as resource persons were Ms. Denise Hensley, Dr. Paul Semmes, and Dr. Sandra Terneus.
The following members of the Council were absent:
Dr. Robert Niebuhr
Prof. Rebecca Tolbert
Ms. Carie Harrington
Dr. Ben Byler
Prof. Gail Stearman
Dr. Corinne Darvennes
SUMMARY OF PROCEEDINGS
1. Approved the agenda.
2. Approved the minutes of the September 3 meeting as posted on the web site.
3. Approved revisions to the By-Laws of the Teacher Education Committee.4. Approved the appointment of a subcommittee to revise the plagiarism policy.
5. Approved revisions to the retention policy.
6. Received a preliminary report from the calendar subcommittee and provided consensus to the committee to proceed with 55-minute class periods.
7. Approved editorial changes to the Agreement on Responsibilities.
PROCEEDINGS
Approval of the Agenda
Professor Hunter MOVED approval of the agenda, and Dr. Larimore SECONDED the motion. The agenda was APPROVED with two items under Such Other Matters.
Approval of the Minutes of the September 3 Meeting
Dr. Don Elkins MOVED approval of the minutes of the September 3 meeting as posted on the Academic Council web site, and Mr. Wilds SECONDED the motion. The minutes were APPROVED as posted.
Revisions in the Teacher Education Committee By-Laws
Dr. Garber presented the proposed change to the Teacher Education Committee By-Laws to include an additional member who will be appointed from the newly formed 2+2 faculty. The revision is effective October 2003. Dr. Garber MOVED approval of the proposed revision, and Dr. Harris SECONDED the motion. The motion was APPROVED by a unanimous vote.
Processes for Cases of Plagiarism
Dr. Armistead stated that the current policy on plagiarism does not provide for the faculty member to make the charge of plagiarism within a certain period of time and it does not specify that it be in writing. Dr. Armistead suggested that a small committee be appointed to study the current plagiarism policy and work with the Records Office to revise the policy. Dr. Cupp said that he would appoint a committee to do this.
Proposed Revised Retention Table
Ms. Julie Galloway, Director of the Basic Business Program and a member of the Admissions and Credits Committee, presented the proposed revisions to the current retention table. Dr. Larimore MOVED approval of the revised policy, and Dr. Loutzenheiser SECONDED the motion. Ms. Galloway noted that at the end of Fall Semester 2004 the Records Office will for one time only hand-audit all suspensions to give one more semester in school to those between 50-67 hours. However, once the revised retention table goes into effect, it will be for all students. Strong efforts to publicize the new retention table will begin right away through the on-line catalog, Tech Times, the Oracle, and e-mail messages. The new retention table will go into effect beginning with the Fall Semester 2004. The motion CARRIED by a unanimous vote.
Such Other MattersPreliminary Report of the Calendar Committee
Dr. Paul Semmes, chairperson of the Calendar Committee, discussed the preliminary report of the calendar committee which was distributed with the agenda. Dr. Semmes explained some of the problems with the calendar and said that the committee is not able to resolve the issue of 55- versus 60-minute class periods without guidance from the Council. After discussing the calendar issue, the Council by a straw vote indicated a preference for 55-minute class periods. Dr. Semmes said the committee will present its final recommendations at the November meeting of the Council.
Revision of the Agreement on Responsibilities
Dr. Barker referred to the e-mail from the Office of Institutional Research regarding a procedural change which requires editorial revisions in the Agreement on Responsibilities. Dr. Larimore MOVED and Dr. Biernacki SECONDED that the following changes be made in the Agreement on Responsibilities:
Delete:
However, only a copy of the original Agreement on Responsibilities should be sent
to the Office of Institutional Research by the fourteenth calendar day of the Fall
Semester since only Fall Semester data will be used each year in the annual Cost
Study that must be reported to TBR.
Replace with:
However, only a copy of the original Agreement on Responsibilities should be sent
to the Office of Academic Affairs by September 15 each year.
Dr. Barker said the Office of Academic Affairs would collect the Agreements and forward them to the Human Resource Services Office for placement in the official personnel files. The motion CARRIED by a unanimous vote.
Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 4 p.m.