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Faculty Senate
Faculty Senate

 

Faculty Senate of the University of Nebraska at Omaha

2001-2002 Senate Minutes

Wednesday, October 10, 2001, 2:00 p.m., Alumni Center, Bootstrapper Hall

Attendees: N. Bacon, W. Bacon, Bishop, Blair, Bruckner, J. Carroll, Chung, Coyne, Dufner, Engelmann, Fawcett, File, Hagen, Helm, Johnson, Landis, Latchaw, Littrell, Mitchell, Nazem, Neathery-Castro, O'Connell, Paterson, Pedersen, Ryalls, Sadlek, Schulte, Shroder, Smallwood, Thompson, E. Williams,

Excused: Bragg, M. Carroll, Dickson, Valle, S. Williams,

Absent: Mande, Tuan, Wolcott

  1. Senator W. Bacon called the meeting to order at 2:05 pm.


  2. The minutes of the September Faculty Senate meeting were approved as submitted.


  3. Officers Reports


    1. President's Report: Senator W. Bacon reported on the following:

1. NU Chancellor L. Dennis Smith and Provost Jones' Meeting with the Four NU Faculty Senate Presidents, September 14, 2001

      1. Chancellor's Council, September 27, 2001


      2. Q & A: 2001 Special Session, September 28, 2001. Remarking on this report, President W. Bacon noted that there is a looming Budget problem, with one possible result being the cancellation of paid professional leaves for next year. Budget cuts come out of the office of Academic Affairs. So far there are only rumors. UNL does have a freeze on hiring. The Budget Advisory Committee needs to be up and running within a few weeks. The Senate must decide how we want to approach the budget issue. Each Senator was asked to show the "Q & A: Special Session" report to as many people as possible.


    1. Secretary-Treasurer's Report: Senator Bruckner


      1. Budget Report: July/August 2001


      2. Budget Report: September 2001
  1. Standing Committee Reports:
    1. Committee on Academic and Curricular Affairs: Senator Landis

On behalf of the Committee on Academic & Curricular Affairs and Senator Landis, Senator N. Bacon moved the following two resolutions:

      1. Resolution 2600, 10/10/01: Catalog Revision for C-

WHEREAS the University of Nebraska at Omaha has implemented a plus/minus grading scale taking effect fall, 2001, and

WHEREAS the C- is a variant of the C usually awarded to work that falls at the low end of the C range, and

WHEREAS the conversion to plus/minus grading was not intended to jeopardize students' academic standing,

BE IT RESOLVED that the University of Nebraska at Omaha Undergraduate Catalog be revised to reflect the current grading system. In the passages listed below, the grade 'C' should be replaced with 'C-':

Page 13, third bullet item under "Awarding of Credits for Advanced Standing"

Only courses with a grade of 'C-' or better will be accepted for transfer from accredited two- and four-year colleges and universities. The College of Human Resources and Family Sciences will accept a grade of 'D' excluding courses required by the major department.

Page 13, fifth bullet under "Awarding of Credits for Advanced Standing"

Credits to be transferred with a grade of 'C-' or better from provisionally accredited colleges will be placed in escrow until such time as 30 semester hours have been successfully completed at UNOmaha.

Page 19, number 3 under "Credit/No-Credit (CR/NC) Privilege"

A minimum grade of 'C-' is required to receive credit (for CR/NC courses)

Page 35, number 4 under "Requirements"

University division students are required to repeat general education courses of freshman level should they receive a grade of 'D' or below in courses in which a degree college requires all of its students to obtain 'C-' or better grade as a minimum for graduation.

The vote was 16 in favor and 10 opposed. The motion was approved.

  • Resolution 2601, 10/10/01: Catalog Revision - Descriptive Terms for Grades

WHEREAS the University of Nebraska at Omaha undergraduate catalog's descriptors of grades do not accurately represent current grading practices (e.g., 1998 data indicate that only 12.3% of the grades awarded were below a C) and

WHEREAS students have a right to have a clear, accurate description of the meaning of their grades,

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the grade descriptors be revised as follows:

A+
A Outstanding
A-
B+
B Proficient
B-
C+
C Satisfactory
C-
D+
D Below standard
D-F Failing

The vote was 20 in favor and 6 opposed. The motion was approved.

  • Committee on Educational Resources and Services: Senator O'Connor

The Committee met September 26. Senator O'Connell reported that the fund raising for the Paul Beck Scholarship has begun and will run until November 1st. Senator O'Connell explained the significance of the Paul Beck Scholarship Fund and a container was passed for the Senators' contributions. The committee is also looking into faculty involvement in Deans' searches. In their research, the committee members have found inconsistencies in the way Deans' searches are organized, run, and candidates screened. The only guidance they've been offered is referral to the Board of Regents Bylaws (Chapter II, Section 9, posted on the BOR website), which are very vague. They are concerned that faculty are engaged in Dean searches of little value, where their evaluations are ignored. The committee will continue to pursue this subject.

  • Committee on Faculty Personnel and Welfare: Senator Shroder

Committee minutes: October 8, 2001.

  • Committee on Goals and Directions: Senator Hagen

Committee minutes: September 26, 2001

  • Committee on Rules: Senator File

On behalf of the Committee on Rules, Senator File moved the following resolutions:

      • Resolution 2602, 10/10/01: For the Chancellor's Commission on Muticultural Affairs

BE IT RESOLVED, that Paul Van Vleet be appointed to replace Hesham El-Rewini and complete his term on the Chancellor's Commission on Multicultural Affairs through 7/01/02.

The motion passed unanimously.

      • Resolution 2603, 10/10/01: For the Adjudicatory Committee


BE IT RESOLVED, that the following names go forward as three-year reappointments, from 10/10/2001 through 6/30/2004, to the Adjudicatory Committee:

Ann Antlfinger
Joseph Bertinetti
Sheryl McGlamery
Beth Ritter

The motion passed unanimously.

      • An additional motion on the agenda, dealing with membership of the Budget Advisory Committee, was withdrawn pending further study.

V. Non-Senate Committee Reports:

    • Academic Planning Council: Senator E. Williams submitted the committee meeting minutes of September 21, 2001. The programs scheduled for review during 2001-2002 are Mathematics, Criminal Justice, and Information Systems and Quantitative Analysis.


    • Alumni Association, Board of Directors: Senator Bruckner reported that the UNO Alumni Board of Directors met September 18, 2001. Other than the normal business of the meeting, there were three presentations: Dean BJ Reed gave an overview of the current happenings in CPACS; Coach Jeanne Tostenson gave an update of her UNO softball program, and Maggie Lehning spoke on her personal and professional history and her extensive involvement with UNO.


    • American Association of University Professors (AAUP): Senator Sadlek reported that he Executive Committee of the UNO AAUP met on September 21, 2001. Reports were submitted by the Grievance Officer and the Treasurer. The Executive Committee was informed of the two Faculty Senate motions of September 12, 2001, concerning the Shanghai Program. There was a short discussion of the motions, but no action was taken.


The AAUP Wine and Cheese reception for members and potential new faculty recruits will be held on Friday, October 5th, from 3:30 to 5:30 at the Weber Fine Arts Building. The fall dinner meeting of the entire chapter will take place on Friday, October 26, from 7 to nine p.m. at Fernando's on 114th St.

    • Graduate Council: Senator Valle submitted the minutes of the September 10, 2001, meeting of the UNO Graduate Council.

VI Old Business:

Senator Hagen asked whether there had been a response from the Chancellor to the Shanghai resolutions passed at the September Faculty Senate meeting. President Bacon replied that as of yet there had been no response, but he would check into the matter.

VII There being no New Business, there was a call for a motion to adjourn, seconded and approved by voice vote. The meeting was adjourned at 3:10 p.m.