MINUTES OF THE ACADEMIC COUNCIL
TENNESSEE TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY

September 2, 1998

The Academic Council met at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, September 2, 1998, in the Deans' Conference Room of Derryberry Hall. Dr. John Harris, Chairperson, presided at the meeting.

The following members of the Council were present:

Dr. Jack Armistead		Dr. John Harris
Dr. Donald Elkins		Dr. Mark Stephens
Dr. Rebecca Quattlebaum		Prof. John Dodson
Prof. Rebecca Tolbert		Dr. Ed Griggs
Dr. Winston Walden		Dr. Joseph Anderson
Ms. Sammie Young		Dr. Mary Kornguth
Dr. Marvin Barker		Prof. Ken Hunter
Dr. Robert Bell			Dr. Gretta Stanger
Dr. Ken Purdy			Dr. Andrzej Gutek
Mr. Joseph Raymond		Dr. Edward Lisic
Mr. Casey Schewe		Dr. Linda Null
Ms. Joy McCown			Dr. Orville Crowell
Mr. Mark Orr			Dr. Brian O'Connor
Dr. Jeffery Roberts		Dr. Corinne Darvennes

Also attending as a resource person was Prof. Jim Rose.

The following members of the Council were absent:

Dr. Reed Cripps
Dr. Jane Reagor
Dr. Norman Williams
Dr. Harry Smith
Prof. Darlene Franklin

SUMMARY OF PROCEEDINGS

1. Approved the agenda.

2. Approved the minutes of the April 1 meeting.

3. Approved retaining nine administrators for 1998-99 but recommended the appointment of only eight administrators to the Council beginning 1999-2000.

4. Approved adding the word "recorded" to the unofficial withdrawal procedure.

5. Approved adding a category "Authorized Leave for Students" to the Financial Aid form.

6. Approved the appointment of Jeffery Roberts as a committee of one to work with the Associate Vice President for Research to conduct a study of the historical patterns of awarding Faculty Research Awards.

7. Approved posting the approved Council minutes on the Web.

8. Approved the continuation of Freshman Progress Reports, subject to approval by the University Assembly and the general faculty.

PROCEEDINGS

Approval of the Agenda

    Professor Hunter MOVED approval of the agenda, and Dr. Bell SECONDED the motion. Dr. Harris said that a review of Freshman Progress Reports would be added under "Such other matters." The agenda was APPROVED.

Approval of the Minutes of the April 1 Meeting

    Professor Tolbert MOVED approval of the minutes of the April 1 meeting, and Professor Hunter SECONDED the motion. The motion CARRIED. Dr. Elkins pointed out that on the membership list "Home Economics" should be changed to "Human Ecology."

Proposed Change in III, A, 2. of the Academic Council Procedures

    Dr. Harris said the problem of having more administrators than the Academic Council Procedures allow arose several years ago when Dr. Barker, executive officer, was inadvertently dropped from the Council but was reappointed by the President. Dr. Crowell MOVED approval of the proposed change to add a ninth administrative officer, and Dr. Walden SECONDED the motion. Dr. O'Connor MOVED TO AMEND the proposal, if approved, to stagger the terms so that three administrative terms would expire each year, and Dr. Anderson SECONDED the motion. The motion to amend CARRIED. The discussion centered around ratios of administrators to faculty and students. The motion FAILED TO CARRY by the required two-thirds vote. Dr. Lisic MOVED and Dr. Null SECONDED to retain nine administrators in 1998-99 but request that the President make only two administrative appointments beginning with the 1999-2000 academic year to replace the three vacancies that will occur next year. The motion CARRIED.

Change in Unofficial Withdrawal Procedure

    Dr. Barker said that in the unofficial withdrawal procedure that was approved by the Academic Council last year he would suggest inserting the word "recorded" on the term grade sheet for all students who receive an F, an X, or a U to make it read "last recorded date of attendance." This would shift the burden of proving the last date of attendance to the student who unofficially withdraws. He said the Department of Education has told us that we can use whatever mechanism we like to record the last date of attendance; we are not being asked to change the mechanism. Dr. Elkins MOVED that the Council adopt the suggested wording, and Dr. Null SECONDED the motion. The motion CARRIED.

"Authorized Leave for Students" Category on Financial Aid Form

    Dr. Barker explained that the category "Authorized Leave for Students" is the only term acceptable to the federal government if a student must leave school for more than six months for extenuating circumstances and not be required to begin repaying a student loan. Dr. Barker distributed copies of the following suggested statement: "A student receiving federal financial aid who must be away from campus for an extended period and who is in good academic standing, upon the recommendation of the department chairperson and dean, will be granted an authorized leave of absence." Dr. Lisic MOVED to add the statement, and Dr. Null SECONDED the motion. Ms. McCown raised the question about whether the statement should apply to students on scholarships, and the Council discussed this issue at length. The consensus was that this category should be used only for unusual cases. The question was called, and the motion was APPROVED.

    Dr. O'Connor MOVED to send this proposal to the Administrative Council, and Dr. Null SECONDED the motion. The motion CARRIED.

Faculty Research Awards

    Dr. Harris said he has been approached by faculty members expressing concern about current procedures and criteria used for selecting Faculty Research Award winners. He said a member of the Academic Council had volunteered to chair a committee to study the issue, and he asked if the Council had an interest in this study. Dr. Roberts said he volunteered because of expressed concerns of several faculty members about the procedures and he felt a statistical analysis of data from the past few years would be beneficial to everyone. Dr. Roberts MOVED to do a statistical study showing how the awards were made over the past several years, and Mr. Schewe SECONDED the motion.

    Speaking as former members of the Faculty Research Committee, Dr. Gutek and Mr. Orr agreed that it is difficult to be fair and to apply the same criteria to judge very different disciplines. It was clarified in the discussion that the intent is to do an overall examination of the process of awarding faculty research grants, but a statistical analysis is just the first step. Dr. Bell suggested a FRIENDLY AMENDMENT for Dr. Harris to appoint a committee of one from the Council with this individual directed to work closely with the chair of the Faculty Research Committee. The amendment was accepted by the mover and seconder.

    Several Council members pointed out that the study is not intended to be adversarial in nature but would be done to address the concerns of a number of faculty members. Dr. Barker suggested working cooperatively with the chair of the Faculty Research Committee to avoid a negative perception. Dr. Roberts noted that he would be looking at historical patterns. It was suggested to add Dr. Jerry Ayers, Associate Vice President for Research, to the committee, and Dr. Bell accepted this addition to his friendly amendment, and the mover and seconder agreed also. Dr. Purdy MOVED TO AMEND the motion to direct the committee of one to work with Dr. Ayers instead of the chairperson of the Faculty Research Committee to look at the pattern of awarding research awards over the last several years and report back to the Council. The motion was duly SECONDED. Dr. Harris clarified that the first step in the process is to appoint a committee of one to work with Dr. Ayers and then report to the Council and then see how to proceed from there. There were several negative votes, but the motion CARRIED. Dr. Harris then appointed Dr. Roberts as a committee of one to do the study.

Academic Council Minutes on the Web

    Dr. Harris said there are two issues involved: (1) the availability of the minutes to anyone and (2) the elimination of hard copies if the first issue is approved. Dr. Elkins MOVED that the minutes be posted on the Web and that the distribution of hard copies be eliminated. The motion was duly SECONDED. Dr. O'Connor MOVED that the two questions in the original motion be separated, Dr. Roberts SECONDED the motion, and the motion CARRIED.

    Discussion on the first part of the motion--to post on the Web--ensued. Dr. Harris asked Dr. Elkins if he intended his motion to mean official or unofficial minutes. Dr. Bell MOVED as a substitute motion to post the Academic Council minutes on the Web after they are approved, and the motion was duly SECONDED. The motion PASSED by a unanimous vote. With the approval of posting the minutes on the Web, the second half of the original motion became moot.

Such Other Matters - Review of Freshman Progress Reports

    Dr. O'Connor, who placed this item on the agenda, stated that the Council approved a 3-year trial period for Freshman Progress Reports that ended last year, and it is now past time for the Council to decide whether or not to continue with the reports and reinstate them for this year. Mr. Rose said the Reports were intended to increase retention especially from the freshman to sophomore years, but it is impossible to establish any kind of relationship between the reports and retention. Mr. Rose said he personally thinks the reports are worthwhile, but only 50-60 percent of the faculty are responding.

    Dr. O'Connor MOVED to continue Freshman Progress Reports, and Professor Hunter SECONDED the motion. No time limit was specified. Following a lengthy discussion, the motion PASSED by a unanimous vote. Dr. Barker said he would take responsibility for asking the faculty to continue the reports fall semester until this action can go to the University Assembly and the general faculty.

Adjournment

    The meeting was adjourned at 5:05 p.m.

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