JOURNAL OF THE FACULTY SENATE

The University of Oklahoma (Norman campus)
Regular session – December 11, 2006 – 3:30 p.m. – Jacobson Faculty Hall 102
office: Jacobson Faculty Hall 206   phone: 325-6789
e-mail: facsen@ou.edu   web site: http://www.ou.edu/admin/facsen/

 

The Faculty Senate was called to order by Professor Roger Frech, Chair.

 

PRESENT:       Albert, Badhwar, Basic, M. Bemben, Benson, Blank, Bradford, Brown, Brule, Civan, Croft, Draheim, Fincke, Franklin, Frech, Gade, Ge, Greene, Gutierrez, Houser, James, Kolar, Lai, Lester, Magnusson, Miranda, Rambo, Riggs, Roche, Scamehorn, Schwarzkopf, Skeeters, Strawn, Trytten, Vitt, Warnken, Wei, Wyckoff

Provost's office representative:  Mergler, Heiser
ISA representatives:  Cook

ABSENT:         D. Bemben, Biggerstaff, Cramer, Elisens, Forman, Hamerla, Keppel, Knapp, Kutner, Livesey, Marcus-Mendoza, Raadschelders, Tan, Thulasiraman, Weaver

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

Announcements:

Schedule of spring 2007 Faculty Senate meetings

Information Technology services/policies

Faculty development award recipients

Clicker technology

Presentation by UOSA Honor Council

Senate Chair's Report:

Faculty Senate reapportionment

Library serials review

Health benefits

Faculty retiree death

Election, Athletics Council and Faculty Welfare Committee

Statement on evolution

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APPROVAL OF JOURNAL

 

The Faculty Senate Journal for the regular session of November 13, 2006 was approved.

 

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS

 

The regular meetings of the Faculty Senate for the spring 2007 semester will be held at 3:30 p.m. in Jacobson Faculty Hall 102 on the following Mondays:  January 22, February 12, March 12, April 9, and May 7.

The Information Technology Council welcomes comment from all members of the university community about services or policies that would enhance their use of OU's technological resources.  If there are matters to be brought to the attention of the ITC, please contact Prof. Don Maletz (Political Science), chair of the ITC, at djmaletz@ou.edu.

The Faculty Senate is pleased to present the faculty development awards for the fall 2006 semester to Abimbola Asojo (Architecture), Roland Barrett (Music), Teresa Bell (Modern Languages, Literatures and Linguistics), I-Kwang Chang (Architecture), Jack Jordan (Art), Chad Kerksick (Health & Exercise Science), Douglas Mock and P.L. Schwagmeyer (Zoology), Sarah Reichardt (Music), and Caryn Vaughn (Biological Survey/Zoology). 

Prof. Blank announced at the meeting that he, Prof. Bruce Mason (Physics & Astronomy) and a number of other people were going to be reviewing what is available in classroom response technology, which is associated primarily with H-ITT (Hyper-interactive Teaching Technology, e.g., clickers), and what they would like to use.  Anyone who is interested in being included in the process should email Blank, lblank@ou.edu, or Mason, bmason@ou.edu.  The major reason for the study is if professors use the same units, students will not have to buy different clickers for each class.  Prof. Fincke asked for more information about clickers.  Prof. Blank replied that professors can give in-class quizzes and get instant responses from the students.  Professors receive immediately a histogram that indicates what fraction of students got the correct answer.  Newer devices are capable of entering answers in numerical value.  Both professors and students receive feedback about how the students are doing.  Prof. Greene added that they are hugely popular among students.  Prof. Blank explained that a professor needs to have a laptop in the room with some software for analyzing the data.  Several classrooms are equipped with receivers.  Some of the newer equipment may have a single receiver, be much more affordable, and solve some of the hardware problems. 

 

 

PRESENTATION BY UOSA HONOR COUNCIL

 

Assistant Provost Greg Heiser said it was an opportune time to give the Faculty Senate an update on the UOSA Honor Council.  Past Senate Chair Roy Knapp is this year’s faculty liaison to the Honor Council.  Dr. Heiser noted that the council was a different body than the Honors Council of the Honors College.  It is a group of students within UOSA who are interested in promoting integrity.  It serves in an advisory capacity to the office of the Provost on policy issues related to integrity, and its members serve on academic misconduct hearing panels.  He distributed data for the last ten years (available from the Senate office) on academic misconduct cases on the Norman campus (excluding Law).  Seniors are more likely to be charged with academic misconduct, the College of Engineering leads in per capita incidences, and about half of the cases are Internet plagiarism.  He said he could give presentations to departments and talk about their specific numbers.  The University has purchased Turnitin.com, a plagiarism detection service that allows instructors or students to check papers against an Internet database.  He is trying to encourage wider use by faculty.  In recent years, we have had a diminution in the number of overall academic misconduct cases.  He introduced Hakeem Shakir and Eric Hansen, members of the Honor Council.

 

Mr. Shakir thanked the Faculty Senate for letting them give a presentation.  He said he joined the Honor Council as a freshman.  The council has grown from about seven members to 20.  He distributed table tents that were handed out around campus last week for the first annual integrity week.  The council showed a movie, "The Perfect Score," on Thursday and had good attendance.  Overall, the council was pleased with the results of integrity week.  Council members have been speaking to departments to raise awareness and talk about how to promote integrity.  Promoting integrity is a top down issue.  Students look to faculty for leadership and guidance and will care about integrity if they see that professors care.  Mr. Hansen added that the council designed a brochure that is given to incoming freshmen and to Gateway classes.  The council also is developing a plagiarism quiz.  Dr. Heiser said the quiz would be online.  He hopes all students involved in plagiarism cases will be required to take it.  This year, the council has emphasized the creation of an environment of integrity where we share responsibility and the students are challenged to think about what kind of university they want to be in.  Mr. Shakir mentioned that the academic integrity pledge was created for and by the students.  He encouraged professors to use it on tests and essays.  The goal is to have an atmosphere that students should not cheat.  The council co-sponsored an ethics discussion with the pre-med club and an ethics group.  The council welcomes input from faculty. 

 

Prof. Benson said the Honor Council was doing a good job and going at the issue in the right way.  Prof. Kolar asked if there had been an increase in the number of students turning in other students who cheat.  Dr. Heiser said that was not widespread.  The system is not really set up for students to bring charges or to find out what was done after they complained.  A related problem is when a member of a student work group submits a plagiarized assignment.  Dr. Heiser said he hoped to provide some guidance on the website.  It is possible to file a charge.  Prof. Rambo asked when the online quiz would be available.  Dr. Heiser said it would be accessible the week after Spring Break and would be an adaptation of the “nine things you should already know about plagiarism,” which is on the provost’s web site. 

 

Prof. Schwarzkopf asked whether the table tent was online so that he could include it in his syllabus.  Mr. Shakir replied that there were about three versions, and they could be e-mailed to anyone who requested them.  Prof. Schwarzkopf noted that professors generally do not hear about cheating and think very little goes on.  Mr. Hansen said there is less cheating when professors take a lot of precautions.  The main focus of the council is on educating students about plagiarism.  Prof. Schwarzkopf said it would be helpful for the council to summarize the ways students cheat so that professors could work out solutions.  Mr. Hansen gave some examples and said plagiarism on outside class work was a big problem.  Some students think if they paraphrase an Internet site or book, it is their own work.  In large classes, professors should have different versions of the test.  Prof. Vitt said he requires students to study for their term paper, turn in a set of references, and write the paper in class.  It has totally eliminated plagiarism and produced the best term papers he has seen.  Mr. Hansen said students would spend more time knowing the material if they had to write a term paper in class.  He said he has been surprised at the poor quality of writing in college.  Mr. Shakir pointed out that the biggest cheating problems occur in the large classes.  It helps to have different versions of the test and have TAs monitor the process.  In one class, a professor pointed out that he did not want a physician who had cheated in school to operate on him.  That is the kind of message students need to hear.  It is not just about going through the motions to get through a particular class; it is the big picture in life. 

 

Prof. Benson said the best way to change things was to encourage a culture among students that cheating is not acceptable.  Mr. Shakir said it was the job of faculty and various organizations on campus to define plagiarism and explain the need to cite references.  Prof. Badhwar asked what the attitude of students was about cheating.  Mr. Hansen answered that some students are bothered when they see people cheat; others are apathetic.  Students are reluctant, though, to turn in anyone.  Some students who cheat boast that they got away with it, while others would not want anyone to know.  Prof. Badhwar commented that most students do not report cheating because they think it is being disloyal to a peer.  Mr. Shakir agreed that students do not want to tattle on a buddy.  Prof. Badhwar noted that some schools have honor codes that require students to report cheating.  Mr. Shakir said the Honor Council could approach that option later.  Mr. Hansen said the goal was to change the culture so that students realize that cheating hurts other students.  Prof. Badhwar said students who are cheating are being disloyal to their fellow students.  Dr. Heiser said we seem to have the best success when we portray cheating as something unattractive.  Mr. Shakir said he uses the line, “Would you date a cheater?” in meetings with students.  Mr. Hansen said one or two of his professors had discussed ethics cases in which cheating had ruined a person’s whole career.  Mr. Shakir urged the faculty to use the integrity pledge on syllabi and to mention the misconduct code on syllabi and in class.  Some of the work the Honor Council has done this year is on the website, ou.edu/honorcouncil.  Dr. Heiser announced that Justin McFeeters would be responsible for classroom conduct issues and academic misconduct issues starting in January.

 

 

SENATE CHAIR'S REPORT, by Prof. Roger Frech

 

“The first meeting of the ad hoc committee to reapportion the Senate will be this Friday, using final FTE data from Institutional Research.  A recommendation is expected to be presented to the Senate in January, to be acted on in February.

“The charge to the library serials review task force has been written and accepted.  Members of the task force are now being appointed.

“Part of the Senate Executive Committee went to the HSC to discuss the HSC participation in the health benefits study panel.  The draft charge to the study panel has been written, and membership on both the steering committee and study panel is being established.”

[Although not reported at the meeting, Prof. Frech wishes to acknowledge the death of D. Lawrence Wieder, Professor Emeritus of Communication, on November 30. 

 

 

ELECTION, ATHLETICS COUNCIL AND FACULTY WELFARE COMMITTEE

 

The Faculty Senate approved the following Committee on Committees’ nominations to fill vacancies on university and campus councils, committees and boards. 

Athletics Council – 2005-08 term of Margaret Kelley:  Aimee Franklin (Political Science)

Faculty Senate Faculty Welfare Committee – 2005-08 term of Lee Willinger:  Rick Tepker (Law)

 

 

STATEMENT ON EVOLUTION

 

Prof. Frech explained that the Faculty Senate Executive Committee statement on evolution (http://www.ou.edu/admin/facsen/refevol.htm), which was modified from the Department of Zoology statement, had been tabled.  Prof. Frech said before the Senate took any action, he wanted Prof. Vitt to share some relevant suggestions that he had sent to Prof. Frech. 

 

Prof. Vitt (Zoology and SNOMNH) said the Faculty Senate had already voted in October to support the evolution statement of the Zoology department (http://www.ou.edu/admin/facsen/Zooevol2.htm).  The real issue for the Faculty Senate should be the support of science and in particular, the scientific method, as opposed to alternative explanations as to how the world works.  In other words, the issue should not just be evolution.  The advantages would be to mitigate most of the political issues associated with the evolution issue, represent all of the sciences in the University, connect natural sciences, and promote science in general throughout the state.  He said he thought it was in the best interest of the Senate and University to be proactive, considering the state of science in Oklahoma schools.  It would put us in a weaker position in terms of supporting science in general to wait until we needed to respond. 

 

Prof. Frech said the proper parliamentary procedure would be to see if Prof. Schwarzkopf, who made the original motion, would be willing to withdraw his motion so that the statement could be modified to reflect Prof. Vitt’s suggestions.  Prof. Schwarzkopf said he had no objection.  The Senate voted to accept the withdrawal of the motion on a voice vote.  The Senate Executive Committee will work with Prof. Vitt to create a statement that will reflect a more general view of science and the scientific process. 

 

 

ADJOURNMENT

 

The meeting adjourned at 4:20 p.m.  The next regular session of the Faculty Senate will be held at 3:30 p.m. on Monday, January 22, 2007, in Jacobson Faculty Hall 102.

 

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Sonya Fallgatter, Administrative Coordinator

 

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Cecelia Brown, Secretary