ACADEMIC SENATE

 

MINUTES

 

January 29, 2009

 

 

11:30 A.M. - 1:00 P.M.                                                                          ACADEMIC SENATE CHAMBERS

Members Present: Arnold, Bedell, Buck, Bullock, Burgtorf, Carvin, Dabirian, Dalley, Drezner, Fidalgo, Gass, Gordon, Gradilla, Grewal, Guerin, Hagan, Hernandez, Hewitt, Hickok, Jarvis, Kanel, Klassen, Liverpool, McLain, McMahan, Mead, Nyaggah, Pasternack, Randall, Rhodes, Rhoten, Shapiro, Shoar, Smith, Stang, Walicki, Walk, Williams

Absent: Au, Bhattacharya, Bruschke, Carroll, Green, McConnell, Taylor

 

 

I.          CALL TO ORDER

Chair Hewitt called the meeting to order at 11:30 a.m.

 

II.        URGENT BUSINESS

Senator Guerin asked if searches had been cancelled. Senator Smith responded that the Chancellor has called for a hiring freeze within the CSU. A process has been created to obtain special approval for hiring during the freeze.

 

III.       ANNOUNCEMENTS

Senator Burgtorf, Fulbright Student Advisor, announced that CSUF student, Diana Lira, has a final interview in February for the Binational Business Fulbright/Garcia Robles Fellowship. This is the first time in five years that we have received an unconditional recommendation; most have been conditional.

 

Senator McMahan distributed a flyer and reminded the body that the GE Faculty Forum will take place on Friday, February 6th at the Fullerton Marriot. The new Executive Order (EO 1033) will be discussed, as well as the changes to GE. Input is desired from as many departments as possible.

 

Chair Hewitt invited everyone to the National Teach-In on Global Warming on Thursday, February 5th. The event will be held in the TSU Pavilions A and B from 9:45 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.                                               

 

Senator Nyaggah reported that an announcement for the CFA Scholarship ($1,000) went out last week. The deadline to apply is February 27th.

 

Senator Hagan indicated that he has been asked what will happen (with regards to pay checks) if the State of California runs out of money. He responded our campus has enough money to cover faculty, staff, and student salaries for three months.

 

President Gordon stated that the Chancellor had a private conversation regarding the budget with all of the CSU Presidents earlier this week. The President reported that if Sacramento does not make budget decision soon, it could become a very difficult situation. The monthly budget of the CSU is close to $300 million. If the State runs out of money, the CSU will try to continue to move forward and cover its (own) budgets. However, the sooner the State of California can agree on a budget, the better. Senator Shapiro added that the State’s ability to borrow money is rapidly disappearing. Currently, California has the lowest bond rating of all the 50 states. Things could become quite difficult in the next few months unless the Federal Government comes through with some sort of rescue plan. President Gordon responded that California is now vying with Louisiana for the worse budget situation and it appears that California may soon win.

 

President Gordon mentioned that he did approve 30 more tenure/tenure-track faculty hires, but was not sure how much more he can do, given the bad budget situation. He referred to the new process (mentioned earlier by VP Smith) to obtain special approval for hiring and indicated that in his commitment to hire new faculty, he will be as generous as he can be.

 

Senator Shapiro suggested that the campus go into some sort of “emergency mode” to try to spend as little money as possible in the next few months.  Lights can be turned off between midnight and 6:00 a.m. and thermostats can be turned up when it is warm and down when it is cold.  We could also temporarily eliminate overtime for employees.

 

Senator Nyaggah added that the Federal Stimulus Bill that was passed by Congress last night will produce money that can be used to relieve the states. President Gordon responded that $15 billion will be divided across all education programs, not just higher education.

                                                                                                                                                        

IV.      APPROVAL OF MINUTES

4.1 M/S/P [Pasternack/Drezner] to approve ASD 08-191 Academic Senate Meeting Minutes 10-23-08 as edited.

 

V.       CONSENT CALENDAR

The consent calendar was approved unanimously as submitted.

5.1 Nominees to Standing Committees

PLANNING, RESOURCES & BUDGET COMMITTEE (10 faculty)

Nominee:          Katherine Powers (ARTS); Heather Battaly (HUM)

Continuing:       David Wong (MCBE); Jeanine Congalton (COMM); Robert Koch (CNSM);

Louise Adler (EDUC); Mohinder Grewal (ECS); Bill Haddad (SOC SCI);

Suellen Cox (LIBRARY); Kari Knutson-Miller (HHD)

 

5.2 Nominees to Ad Hoc Committees

  WASC TASK FORCE #2 – Human Resources

  Nominees:       Bob Koch (CNSM); David Wong (MCBE)

 

                        AD HOC COMMIttee:  To Study THE use of Electronic Portfolios for THE RTP Process IN A LIMITED PILOT IMPLEMENTATION

  Nominees:       Andrea Guillaume (EDUC); Betty Chavis (MCBE); Martin Bonsangue (CNSM);

Andi Stein (COMM); Leah Brew (HHD); Dennis Siebenaler (ARTS)

 

5.3 ASD 09-06 Fall 2008 New Course Proposals - Undergraduate

 

VI.      CHAIR’S REPORT

Chair Hewitt reported the following:

·         Jack O’Connell will speak at Commencement 2009. We are searching for a second speaker.

·         The PPI Appeals Committee Election will conclude at 4:00 p.m. today. Chair Hewitt encouraged those who are eligible to vote to participate.

·         One Senate seat was vacated (McConnell/HUM). We will hold a special election to replace this constituency seat.

·         Senate Executive Committee met with Student Trustee Russell Stratham from CSU Fresno during his visit to campus.

·         Over the break, Senate Executive Committee passed ASD 09-04 Resolution in Support of 100 T/TT Faculty Searches This Year.

·         Our budget situation is grim. The budget presented by the Governor on January 1st did not appear so bad, but it did not take into account unfunded mandates, rising costs, and unfunded Cal Grants. VP Hagan has projected that we will be in worse shape than first thought.

·         Since there is a lack of business on the Senate agenda, the meeting on February 5th can be cancelled. (There was no opposition from the body to cancel this meeting)

·         CSUF has one applicant for Faculty Trustee, Senator Pasternack. We feel that he is highly qualified for the position and wish him good luck.

·         Senate Executive Committee held a planning meeting on Tuesday, January 27th. Discussed was a list of items to be addressed this semester. One was to have a stronger relationship with the students. Senator Bedell (ASI Board of Directors Liaison) and Chair Hewitt will meet with ASI President Curtis Schlaufman after today’s meeting to discuss ways to do so.

 

VII.     STATEWIDE ACADEMIC SENATE REPORT

Senator Pasternack reported on ASCSU’s two-day abbreviated meeting:

·         We heard from Chancellor Reed; the news was not good. The talk included discussion of about $1 billion in construction projects that have been put on hold. The cost to do so will end up being around $69 million. There is hope that the Economic Stimulus Package will help restore funds for these projects.

·          The following eight resolutions were passed:

o   Acknowledgment of Faculty Involvement in the Access to Excellence Accountability Plan

o   Support of the Give Students a Compass Project

o   Quality Assurances in Technology Mediated Course Offerings

o   Protecting Instruction During Times of Budget Crises

o   Collecting Survey Data Concerning Voluntary Faculty Separations and Declined Offers for Employment from the CSU

o   Support for the Proposed Higher Education Investment Act

o   Criticism of the Contemplation of a Reduction to the K-12 Academic Year

o   Reaffirmation of Campus Faculty Consultation in Budget Decisions

·         The following seven resolutions were introduced as first reading items:

o   Voting Rights for Academic Council on International Programs International Program (IP) Coordinator Liaisons

o   The Right of Faculty to Have a Vote of No Confidence

o   Keeping Recognition for Faculty Creators and/or Founders for Centers and Institutes Developed Within the CSU System

o   Faculty Support for Energy Conservation

o   Support for Improved Faculty Development Opportunities for Lecturers

o   Opposing Restrictions on Educational Exchange with Cuba

o   Affirmation of Equal Rights for All Individuals Regardless of Race, Ethnicity, Gender, Sexual Orientation or Other Dimensions of Diversity

 

Senator Guerin reported that the ASCSU Fiscal and Governmental Affairs Committee passed a number of the aforementioned resolutions. It also had a report on the increasing pressure from the career in technical education community to have courses in high schools that are geared towards technical education and meet the A-G requirements.

 

VIII.   TIME CERTAIN

Time Certain 

12:00 noon

Subject: Collegiate Learning Assessment (CLA) and Voluntary System of Accountability (VSA)

Gerald Patton, Director, Assessment and Educational Effectiveness

Edward Sullivan, Assistant Vice President (Acting), Office of Institutional Research and Analytical Studies

 

Voluntary System of Accountability (VSA)

Mr. Sullivan explained that the VSA College Portrait Project was an effort between the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) and the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges (NASULGC) to address a need that was described by Margaret Spellings related to her daughter’s inability to figure out which college was the best fit for her. The VSA College Portrait provides comparable information for potential students, families, legislators, etc., about the 317 colleges and universities that are participating in the project.

·         In November 2007, the CSU Board of Trustees vetted the participation of all CSU campuses. The CSU is the only California system participating in the project. The UC liked the VSA concept, but did not like some of the elements within the portrait, so it opted not to participate.

·         The college portrait content includes: student characteristics, student level, enrollment status, undergraduate profile, classroom environment, degrees and areas of study, financial aid awarded, undergraduate cost per year, student experiences and perceptions (from NSSE), student learning outcomes (from CLA), and public good contributions (currently only done by the CSU).  This data is gathered from various sources (IPEDS, CDS, National Student Clearinghouse, campus surveys, national surveys, and assessment measures).

·         Fall 2007: Early adopter campuses showcased preliminary templates. CSUF did not participate because we did not have data to complete page 4 (Student Engagement) or page 5 (Student Assessment) for approved surveys/assessment tools.

·         Winter 2008-Summer 2008: CSU adopted the project fully. (All CSU campuses were asked to participate). However, concerns were raised about ADA compliance of template.

·         Fall 2008: Chancellor’s Office team requested final campus templates and web sites for press release by CSU on September 15th. VSA held a national College Portrait press conference on September 24th. The compliant template is now expected by February 10th.

·         Information about the College Portrait can be accessed online at http://www.fullerton.edu/collegeportrait/index.html. There is a link to this page on the University’s web site.

·         CSUF’s actual College Portrait can be found at http://www.fullerton.edu/collegeportrait/collegeportrait.pdf

·         The CSU populates most of the data in the portrait primarily with IPEDS data. The data shown (from Fall 2007) lag one year because IPED will not receive Fall 2008 data until late Spring 2009.

·         There are various differences in the data captured by IPEDS and University data.

·         CLA data is provided on the Student Learning Outcomes page

·         The National Center for Educational Statistics College Navigator is a similar tool. (http://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?q=fullerton&s=all&id=110565) Both the VSA College Portrait and the National Center for Educational Statistics College Navigator are simple accountability tools; they provide retrospective data, and more information than was previously available in a single access point.

 

         Collegial Learning Assessment (CLA)

Mr. Patton explained the CLA is a web-based direct measure of student learning. It is conducted by the Council for Aid to Education (CAE), a non-profit research organization, and involves a holistic assessment of the common skills that are typically attained by students who have completed a bachelor’s degree. These skills include critical thinking, analytic thinking, written communication, and problem solving.

·         Probably the most important feature of the CLA is the measurement of value added.

·         The CLA uses the institution as the initial unit of analysis and is a direct measurement of typical performance. We participated in a cross-sectional study, in which growth between freshmen and seniors is estimated by testing samples of students, not the entire class.

·         A “modified random sample” of freshmen (up to 100, total) and a totally random sample of seniors (up to 100, total) were taken.  With the help of Freshmen Programs, freshmen in 101 courses were targeted. The senior sample was recruited randomly with the use of electronic measures.

·         The test is taken online in proctored settings. Testing time is approximately 90 minutes.

·         A$50 incentive (per student) is given for participation. These incentives are funded by Titan Shops and Academic Affairs.

·         Students are asked to complete two analytical writing tasks: a “Make-an-Argument” essay and a “Critique-an-Argument” essay. The performance tasks test critical thinking, analytic reasoning, problem-solving and written communication skills. They require students to use various sources presented online to demonstrate how they would perform in a hypothetical but realistic situation.

·         CLA Results 2007-08: “California State University, Fullerton contributes more to the learning gains made by students than 86 percent of the 176 four-year undergraduate institutions participating in the 2007-08 CLA. California State University, Fullerton performed Above Expected.”

·         Uses of the CLA: Direct assessment of student learning; aggregated data; university-wide, benchmark with other institutions with similar mission and demographic profile; can be adapted to course level, discipline, college, specific groups use; institutional planning; can be shared with public including parents, students, potential students, legislators, policy makers and other interested parties.

·         Potential misuses: singular measure; misinterpretation of data.

·         Barriers to successful implementation: sampling; recruitment of students; lack of faculty involvement; lack of institutional support.

·         “Assessment” involves documentation of student academic achievement, assessment of student learning outcomes, establishment of quality indicators, and using information for ongoing improvement (teaching and learning) and overall effectiveness.

·         “Accountability” emanated from the Spellings Commission Report on the Future of Higher Education (2006) which said that U.S. Higher Education is in trouble and needs major improvement to remain globally competitive. It focused on access, affordability, transparency, innovation, and accountability and called for accreditation agencies to hold accredited institutions to higher levels of accountability.

·         WASC has gone on record saying that learning results assessed by each institution in its own context with standard of achievement set by the institutions and that there will be a reliance on multiple indicators including capstone courses, portfolios, tests, etc. Data and learning results should be released by the institution. (The VSA is one way to do so.)

·         Accountability - the willingness to accept responsibility of making known that we are doing what we say we are doing, accomplishing the institution’s purposes as delineated in mission, goals, objectives, vision, and other such public statements.

·         Trends/Projections: Given the present climate, continued calls for accountability.

 

Discussion followed, but due to lack of time, the speaker’s list was not exhausted. This conversation will continue at the next Senate meeting (February 12, 2009).

 

 

 

IX.      NEW BUSINESS

9.1 Senate Forum; Electronic or Hard Copy Distribution? (See ASD 09-07 Fall 2008 Survey Results)

Senator Dabirian discussed the results of the Senate Forum survey which indicated that overall, the majority of the 900 survey respondents (made up of faculty and staff) felt that it should be published online. It was decided, without objection, that the Senate Forum will be distributed electronically.

9.9.9.11

X.       ADJOURNMENT

The meeting adjourned at 1:00 p.m.