The University of Oklahoma (Norman campus)
Regular session – March 21, 2011 – 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 LeRoy Blank, Chair.
PRESENT: Adams,
Atiquzzaman, Baer, Bergey, Blank, Bradshaw, Chang, Chapple, Chiodo, Deacon, Devegowda,
Gramoll, Hahn, Jean-Marie, Kimball, Kosmopoulou, Lauer-Flores, Leseney,
Marsh-Matthews, McPherson, Minter, Morvant, Moses, Moxley, Muraleetharan, Natale,
Ransom, Remling, Sadler, Sandel, Stock, Strauss, Taylor, Verma, Weaver, Williams,
Wyckoff, Wydra, Yi, Zhu
Provost's office representative: Mergler
Graduate College liaison: Griffith
ISA representatives: Cook, Hough
ABSENT: Asojo,
Ayres, Cox-Fuenzalida, Morrissey, Palmer, Park, Tabb, Vehik, Xiao
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Announcements:
Faculty Tribute.............................................................................................................
Committee nominations................................................................................................
Ed Cline faculty development award recipients............................................................
Book drive....................................................................................................................
Wellness...................................................................................................................................
Enrollment Changes..................................................................................................................
Resolution, Regent Larry Wade................................................................................................
Honors Council........................................................................................................................
Senate Chair's Report:
Defined Contribution Plans (retirement fund record
keeper)........................................
Graduate College issues................................................................................................
Legislative issues..........................................................................................................
Textbooks.....................................................................................................................
Benefits: health insurance cost, wellness......................................................................
OU Foundation endowments........................................................................................
National Merit Scholars................................................................................................
Retirement....................................................................................................................
Diversity.......................................................................................................................
________________________________________________________________________________
The Faculty Senate Journal
for the regular session of February 14, 2011 was approved.
The Tribute to the Faculty
will be Thursday, April 7, at 4:00 p.m. in the Sandy Bell Gallery of the Fred
Jones Jr. Museum of Art.
Faculty nominations for
councils, committees, and boards were due to the Faculty Senate office by March
11.
The Faculty Senate is pleased
to announce the recipients of the Ed Cline faculty development awards for 2010‑11: Boris Apanasov (Mathematics), Anthony
Cricchio (Architecture), Robert Houser (Chemistry & Biochemistry), Sarah
Reichardt (Music), and Robert White (Chemistry & Biochemistry).
The English Club, Sigma Tau
Delta, and Phi Kappa Phi honor societies invite you to participate in their
annual book drive March 1-25 to benefit the OKC Department of Veterans Affairs
and the Lexington Correctional Center Library.
Collection sites: Gittinger Hall main lobby across from room 113 and Skelly
Fine Books, 865 12th Ave. NE. Acceptable
donations: New, used, hardback, and paperback books and magazines published
within the last six months. For further
information, contact Grettie Bondy, gbondy@ou.edu,
325-2004, or Craig Cruzan, ccruzan1@ou.edu,
325-9374, or see http://www.ou.edu/admin/facsen/bookdrive.htm.
Nick Kelly, Human Resources
Assistant Director, and Breion Rollins, OU Wellness Coordinator, reported on
the employee wellness program. Mr. Kelly
explained that Breion Rollins was hired two years ago as the wellness
coordinator. He said the program is good,
but it can be better. Human Resources is taking some initial steps to make wellness part of the culture
of the University. A wellness culture
will save the University money in health insurance, but more importantly, will
improve employees’ quality of life. He
asked for the Faculty Senate’s help in spreading the word and taking the
wellness program even further. Wellness
should be part of the culture of the University and something we think of first
and not last.
Mr. Rollins described some of
the wellness culture efforts. A new web
site, healthysooners.ou.edu, was recently started. The page includes links to student wellness
as well as faculty and staff wellness. Several
different wellness programs have been available on campus. Mr. Rollins is trying to integrate a few of them
and to serve the needs of the University as a whole. He is making presentations to the governance groups
and to other smaller groups. Each month
employees should receive an email concerning wellness from HR, Magellan, and/or
Blue Cross Blue Shield. Twice a month a webinar
on health education is presented on all three campuses. During a discussion with the Faculty Senate’s
Faculty Welfare Committee concerning ways to get more individuals involved, the
concept came up to develop wellness champions who could get the message out to the
people in their departments.
In 2010, over one million Blue
Points incentives were earned through Blue Cross Blue Shield, 93 Weight
Watchers at Work members reached a 10 percent weight loss goal, and over 300
people participated in the health education webinar series. Some additional topics are being added to the
webinars this year, including back safety and diabetes education. Over 250 people participated in the first fun
run/walk; plans are being made to hold it again. The Employee Assistance Program serviced 197
consultations, which is in addition to what is offered at the Goddard Health
Center. Biometric screenings were done
on 1,850 participants. Health screenings
will be offered this year during the last week in April and again in the fall. Over 400 employees completed the health risk
assessment. The tobacco cessation
programs are being updated to a more online format.
For the Weight Watchers at
Work program, on all campuses, over 5,000 pounds have been lost, an average of
10 pounds per member. Several members have
lost over 25 pounds. Support systems,
such as blogs and lunch groups, are being formed. When individuals on a weight loss program lose
10 percent of their weight, they typically start to see a reduction in risk factors,
which helps the individuals’ health and the University as a whole in the long
term.
The biometric screenings
check total cholesterol, total glucose, blood pressure, body weight, and body fat
percentage and provide wellness coaching.
They take about 10-15 minutes and are done through a finger stick. About 20 percent of our eligible population
is participating; Mr. Rollins would like to increase that number.
Plans for 2011 include expanding
the online tobacco cessation programming to a webinar format. Currently, the only way to receive tobacco
cessation support is through the 1-800-QUITNOW help line or a class at
Goddard. Also planned for 2011 are
additional presentations on the employee assistance programs, new incentives
that might be linked to our insurance, increased group fitness portfolio (intramural
basketball, for example), and production of return on investment figures that
would show the correlation between wellness and what we could save as a
University.
The vision for the future is
to increase participation overall in the wellness programs to 50 percent of our
eligible population, support the Norman tobacco-free campus, build wellness
incentives into our health insurance premiums, increase campus fitness
activities, apply and be approved for the Oklahoma Certified Healthy Business, and
become a model of wellness. Mr. Rollins
wants people to think of OU as a great place to work but also as a place that
takes care of its employees’ wellness.
Prof. Hofford asked whether
the Certified Healthy Business was the program through the state health
department that other businesses have joined.
Mr. Rollins said that was correct.
He noted that one of the setbacks has been the lack of a tobacco-free
campus. Prof. Blank pointed out that the
Faculty Senate passed a resolution last year requesting a smoke/tobacco-free
campus. The Faculty Senate Executive
Committee brought it up with President Boren recently; he is considering the
issue.
Mr. Matt Hamilton, Vice President for Enrollment and
Student Financial Services and Registrar, summarized the proposed changes in
policies governing student enrollment changes (attached). Currently, students have no limit on the
number of withdrawals they can take. The
proposal would limit a student to five grades of “W” throughout his or her
undergraduate career at OU. After the
student received five “W” grades, he or she could no longer drop a course after
the two-week free drop period. For
students who have extenuating circumstances, an appeal process through the
provost office would determine whether they could have additional withdrawals. Complete withdrawals after the two-week
period would not be counted against the limit.
In an effort to eliminate a loophole, it is being proposed that the
audit policy be changed so that audits would be allowed only for the first two
weeks instead of 10 weeks, to mirror the free drop period. When a student changes to audit during the
first 10 weeks now, he or she is supposed to be passing the class at that point.
Mr. Hamilton said the issue
was raised initially when Vice President of executive affairs and
administrative affairs Nick Hathaway and Graduation Office Director Becky Heeney
reported to the Faculty Senate Executive Committee on research that had been
done on this campus for the President’s Graduation and Retention Task Force. The issue had been referred to the Academic
Regulations Committee (ARC) by the Faculty Senate Executive Committee. The ARC, which includes six faculty members,
met in November, December, and February.
There were visits with a number of faculty,
discussion at deans’ council, and discussion with the Provost’s Advisory
Committee on Academic Advising. Various
individuals studied transcripts, did a “shop and drop” analysis, and looked at
withdrawal policies at other campuses.
For example, Texas A&M has a three-withdrawal course limit, Georgia four,
Texas six, Washington State four, and Florida State two before 60 hours and one
after 60 hours. The ARC then brought to
the Faculty Senate Executive Committee the proposal for the five-withdrawal
limit and the revision in the time frame for changing to audit.
Prof. Bergey asked what the
problem was with the current system. Mr.
Hamilton said the research showed that institutions that have more lenient
withdrawal policies have lower graduation rates. It is costly to students if they withdraw
after the first two weeks. There seems
to be a culture of permissive withdrawal and incompletion. The proposal could partially change the
culture of shop and drop and withdrawal.
Currently, fewer classes are available for students because some
students enroll in a class and then drop it after the enrollment deadline. In student interviews, some admit they will
enroll in an extra class and try it out beyond the two weeks. It is costly to the student because he or she
has to pay for the course, and it may keep someone else from getting into the
class. Those are some of the conclusions
that came out of the Graduation and Retention Task Force.
Prof. Chapple asked about the
percentage of students who have excessive drops. Mr. Hamilton replied that in fall 2009,
250-300 had already exceeded the limit of five.
The transcript study suggested that students who graduated had half as
many withdrawals as those who did not graduate.
Prof. Chapple questioned whether the proposal could result in classes being
cancelled for not having enough students enrolled. Mr. Hamilton said that would be a
possibility. The intent is to get
students to enroll in the number of hours that they plan to complete. One provision of the proposal would give
students permission to stay in the class for 10 weeks instead of 6 weeks and
still receive a “W.” It should give
students more time to determine if they can be successful in the class.
Prof. Morvant, who is on the
Graduation and Retention Task Force, explained that students sometimes drop a
course that is important for graduation.
They may miss a prerequisite that will keep them out of other classes
and delay their graduation. One of the
intents of the limit is to make them think about whether they should be
dropping a particular class.
Prof. Bergey said it seemed
there would be some cost in tracking the number of withdrawals, and the provost
office would have more worries. Mr. Hamilton
said the expectation was this would create a different culture, one that is
more academically oriented. It is
believed by the ARC and the Graduation and Retention Task Force that this is a
step in the right direction. Prof. Sandel
asked if the policy would apply to just incoming students. Mr. Hamilton said it would be implemented for
new students, including transfers. It
would be too complicated to work backward.
Prof. Zhu said the
administration should track whether the five-course limit has an impact. He asked why five was chosen as the limit. Mr. Hamilton said the committee thought five
was a reasonable amount. This is just
one of many things that the University is trying to do to help students be
successful. Prof. Blank noted that when the
proposal came up in the Faculty Senate Executive Committee, he thought about the
possibility of students wanting to change to audit partway through the class. He may propose an amendment next time to allow
for that. It would not be a way to
supersede a withdrawal, however.
Prof. Blank introduced a
resolution written by Prof. Al Schwarzkopf for OU Regent Larry Wade. He said he hoped the Senate could vote on it at
this meeting.
Whereas: Larry R. Wade died March 6, 2011 while
serving as Chairman of the University of Oklahoma Board of Regents.
Whereas: Larry R. Wade spent much of his life as a
supporter of the University of Oklahoma to the extent that his family asked
mourners to wear red at his funeral and named the Larry Wade Scholarship Fund
at the University as a memorial fund.
Whereas: Larry R. Wade was a graduate of the
University of Oklahoma Journalism program and a longtime practicing journalist
and publisher.
Whereas:
Larry R. Wade was a longtime member of the University of Oklahoma Board of
Regents and strong supporter of quality
academics, having endowed at least four named scholarships for students at the
University of Oklahoma.
The
Faculty Senate of the University of Oklahoma expresses its deepest sympathy for
the loss of Larry R. Wade. The
University will miss his leadership and support.
The resolution was approved
on a voice vote. Prof. Blank said he
would send it to the President, who could get it to Regent Wade’s family.
Prof. Blank said a proposal to dissolve the Honors
Council came to the Faculty Senate from Rich Hamerla, Honors College associate
dean. The Honors Council was a necessary
entity prior to the creation of the Honors College. Now that we have a separate Honors College,
there is no need for the Honors Council.
The senate will vote on the proposal next time.
To: Faculty
Senate
University
of Oklahoma
From: Honors College
University of Oklahoma
Rich Hamerla, Ph.D.
Associate Dean
Date: March 2011
Action Proposed:
The Honors College proposes that the Honors Council be
dissolved. All responding members of the
Honors Council concur.
Background and Rationale:
Historically,
the “Honors Council” served an organizational function for what was, until
1998, the Honors Program. It was an annually appointed collection of
faculty that made decisions that are normally made by the faculty and
administration of a traditional department and/or college. The Honors College
now has twelve faculty members of its own (four of them tenured), numerous
staff, an administration, and its own Board of Visitors, each of which plays
some role in the day-to-day operations of the Honors College, making the Honors
Council obsolete. Indeed, over the course
of the last ten years the only function the Honors Council has served at all
has been determining the winners of each semester’s Undergraduate Research
Opportunity Program, which is now judged by the Honors College and the Vice
President of Research Office.
While the Honors Council played an important role for the Honors Program, it no
longer serves any purpose to the Honors College and is, in practice, a poor use
of faculty and administration resources and time.
A lot of discussion has taken
place with the Retirement Plans Management Committee (RPMC). The RPMC was very receptive to suggestions and
incorporated an enormous amount of input provided by the Faculty Senate and
others. The current package that they
intend to present to the OU regents this week is substantially improved. The Faculty Senate Executive Committee had
asked the RPMC to expand its membership to add faculty with expertise in the
area. Chris Kuwitzky, chair of the RPMC,
proposed that the Faculty Senate provide names of three faculty members who
will serve staggered terms, and President Boren concurred. The Roth option, which was voted on by the
senate in February, will be incorporated into the plan at no additional
cost.
Graduate Dean Lee Williams
met with the Faculty Senate Executive Committee about the fact that GAs are suffering
disproportionately with respect to budget cutbacks in various areas. Dean Williams agreed that it is a
concern. We have approximately 800 RAs
and 800 GAs, with 200 supported outside of their academic units. Out of 6000 total graduate students, 1500 are
in advanced programs. Of the remaining
4500, about 3600 are physically on campus.
Dean Williams will again look into the ex officio status of deans who do
not have terminal degrees.
A number of legislative
issues are of concern: the budget, guns
on campus, removal of tuition authority, and OTRS funding. A bill that would allow guns on campus came
out of committee with a rider that would allow the college presidents to decide
whether or not they want to prohibit guns on individual campuses. A number of bills would remove tuition
authority from the state regents. There
are concerns that OTRS is not well funded, and some legislators are attacking
that. President Boren recently had several
members of the house to his home for dinner, and he is doing everything he can
to affect the outcomes. The President is
looking into salary compression issues and intends to address the problems on a
unit-by-unit basis. He hopes we will get
by with minimal cutbacks this year.
Budget allocations are not known yet.
However, the President would like to do modest raises if at all
possible.
A Text2Trade program was
developed by Tulsa Community College to allow students to trade textbooks among
themselves. The program was funded by the
state regents and implemented at Tulsa Community College about a year ago. We hope to make it available on our campus in
the near future. It probably will be
hosted by OneNet, the system for the state regents.
We have a lot of ongoing health
care issues, including the health insurance premium for calendar year 2012. It may cost an additional $5 million, with
$2.5 million coming from individual participants. Another area of concern is wellness in
general, which is being addressed by Human Resources and the Faculty Senate’s
Faculty Welfare Committee.
President Boren reported to
the Faculty Senate Executive Committee that the endowment at OU is among the
top 10 in those recovering from recent financial setbacks, so the OU Foundation
is doing a good job with managing the money.
The Executive Committee congratulated the President on passing David
Ross Boyd in terms of the second longest tenure as president. President Boren said he hopes to stay for a
little while longer.
OU is currently ranked first
among public universities in the number of National Merit Scholars enrolled and
fifth among both public and private, a remarkable achievement.
The Faculty Senate Executive
Committee is discussing the possibility of phased retirement and early
retirement. It has been instituted at
other universities and is under consideration at Oklahoma State University. The Executive Committee will meet with OSU and
the Health Sciences Center executive committees in April and will find out more
information.
In a recent deans’ council
meeting, Law Dean Joseph Harroz reported that diversity is a topic that has a
lot of legal ramifications. Currently, we
can use diversity as an argument for implementing a program/strategy, but it has
to be narrow in scope and in terms of time.
The meeting adjourned at 4:15
p.m. The next regular session of the
Faculty Senate will be held at 3:30 p.m. on Monday, April 11, 2011, in
Jacobson Faculty Hall 102.
____________________________________
Sonya Fallgatter, Administrative Coordinator
____________________________________
Amy Bradshaw, Faculty Secretary