Faculty Senate Executive Committee Meeting Minutes for January 26th, 2004
Attendance:
Senators:	Janis Boettinger (4026)	Tom Kent (1189)	Marv Halling (3179)
	Kevin Doyle (4025)	Ed Heath (3306)	Carol Kochan (2676)
	Dean Miner (801-370-8469)	Dale Blahna (2544)	Bruce Miller (2232)
	Vance Grange (2702)	Chris Coray (2861)
Presenters:	Ken White (2149)	Rob Morrison (1477)	Joyce Kinkead (1706)
	Heidi Beck (3734)	Ruth Struyk (2223)
Administration:	Stan Albrecht (1167)
Visitors:	Dennis Welker (3552)
Excused:	Kevin Kesler (0930)

Call to Order Janis Boettinger called the meeting to order at 3:07 pm. Minutes: Carol Kochan moved to accept the minutes of November 17th. The motion, seconded by Bruce Miller, was passed. Announcements: The next FSEC Lunch with President Hall will be held on Tuesday, February 10th, at noon in Champ Hall. Committee Reports: Athletic Council Ken White presented the Athletic Council annual report. He covered the main points of the report. USU has been invited to join the Western Athletic Conference, which will take place in the Summer of 2005. The NCAA has strengthened their academic standards. The 96-97 cohort of student athletes graduated higher than the student body, and was the 6th highest in the nation of all division 1 institutions. The increase of the 95-96 to 96-97 cohort was the second highest in the country. The newly formed women's basketball program is underway. The Department of Athletics have outlined certain parameters which USU must comply with relative to the new requirements of division 1 institutions. He then explained the status of the athletics budget. Kevin Doyle moved to place the Athletic Council report on the Consent Agenda. The motion, seconded by Dale Blahna, was passed. Mediation Program Rob Morrison explained the new Mediation Program. The board of mediators have completed training, and they are starting to participate in a few cases already. Their job is to help parties come to a mutually agreeable conclusion to their conflict. Mediators are faculty but not judges and do not impose solutions, but discuss unresolved conflict with both parties, and help them to come to their own resolutions. The process is strictly confidential, and is an attempt to avoid taking the conflict to a grievance, but that is still a valid step if the mediation process is not successful. Chris Coray moved to place the Mediation Program report on the agenda as an information item. The motion, seconded by Ed Heath, passed. EPC Business Joyce Kinkead listed the latest items that have passed the EPC. She also explained the proceedings of the Academic Standards Subcommittee. The main issue considered there is that of professors still conducting quizzes during no test week. It was determined that the policy wording should be changed to "no major examinations" during test week, which would exclude quizzes. Carol Kochan moved to place EPC Business on the Consent Agenda. Chris Coray seconded, and the motion passed. Key Issues and Action Items: Grading Policy Joyce Kinkead next explained the efforts that are being made to clarify the grade submission schedule to the faculty. A Question and Answer document will be drafted, as well as a set calendar and schedule that can be posted on the USU website for reference. Joyce covered some of these questions regarding the 96 hour after individual finals are completed when grade submission is due. Heidi Beck then further defined the reasons why the 96 hours was set. One of the biggest reasons behind this new policy is because without it, there has been an overload of faculty submitting grades at the end of the previously defined due date, which bogged down the servers. This new system will smooth out submissions, allowing for better computer response. Dale Blahna moved to place the Gracing Policy as an Information Item, in addition to placing links to the Grading Q&A and Schedule online for faculty access. The motion, seconded by Ed. Heath, passed. Course Evaluations on the Web Ruth Struyk presented the latest business in the Faculty Evaluation Committee. Discussed in the latest FEC meeting was placing the faculty and course evaluations on the internet, and looking at the evaluation form itself. Some considerations include having the evaluations administered online, and placing incentives for students to complete the online evaluations. Carol Kochan moved to table the issue to the next FSEC meeting. This would give time for the FEC to discuss further the issue of keeping the evaluations online. The motion, seconded by Vance Grange, passed. It was decided to invite the University Attorney to bring the legal wording to help resolve the issue. University Business: Provost Stan Albrecht gave a rundown of the latest happenings with the Legislature. The reports made by USU administration focused on student outcome, preparations, and retention; institutional restructuring within budget constraints; and implementation and accountability of performance measures. Among the major issues on the agenda were the Governor's budget recommendation, which includes a 2% salary increase for Higher Education; articulation and barrier restricting credit transfer between institutions; and full disclosure of instructional costs. Discussions regarding Tier II tuition with students are underway. Also being considered is the issue of benefits for domestic partners. Adjourn: Janis Boettinger called for adjournment. The meeting adjourned at 5:10 pm.