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WSU Court of Academic Appeals
Annual Report for Year 2014-15

Members:

1. Rajiv Bagai, College of Engineering, Chair
2. Noell Birondo, College of LAS (Humanities), Member
3. Ray Hull, College of Health Professions, Member
4. Sohaib Tahir, SGA Graduate Representative Member
5. Sarah Nelson, SGA Undergraduate Representative Member
6. Laura Zellers, School of Business, Alternate Member
7. Kirsten Johnson, College of Fine Arts, Alternate Member
8. Frank Rokosz, College of Education, Alternate Member
9. Julie Henderson, SGA Graduate Representative Alternate Member
10. Nick French, SGA Undergraduate Representative Alternate Member

Meeting Schedule and Committee Activities:

The Court meets whenever appeal cases are presented to be heard. Hearings are conducted following careful review of the documentation presented. The year 2014-15 hearings so far have been:

鈥� February 26, 2015 (involving SPAN 111)
鈥� March 27, 2015 (involving HS 301)

Pending Issues: None

Recommendations: None

Respectfully Submitted,

Rajiv Bagai

April 7, 2015

Annual Report of the Executive Committee 2014-15

The Executive Committee consists of the following officers and members:

President Mehmet Barut -- Business
President Elect Peer Moore-Jansen -- LAS Social Sciences
Past President Victoria Mosack -- Health Professions
Vice President Bayram Yildirim -- Engineering
Secretary Carolyn Shaw -- LAS Social Sciences
Executive Committee Member Denise Celestin -- Fine Arts
Executive Committee Member Bob Ross -- Business
President Appointee - Member Will Klunder - LAS Humanities
The Executive Committee met 15 times, on either/both the first and third Monday of the 2014-2015 academic year. The committee established the agenda for the Faculty Senate, provided advice to the senate president and the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, and sent forth proposals to the Faculty Senate.

2014-2015 Faculty Affairs Standing Committee
Annual Report

1. Listing of Committee Members

NAME COLLEGE APPOINTMENT ENDS
Selim Giray Fine Arts 2015
John Perry - chair Business 2015
Lorraine Madway University Libraries 2015
Jay Mandt LAS Humanities 2016
Jens Kreinath LAS Social Sciences 2016
Prakash Ramanan Engineering 2016
Carol Bett Health Professions 2017
Jeri Carroll Education 2017
Syed Taher LAS Math/Natural Sciences 2017

2. Meeting Times of the Committee

- September 25, 2013
- December 03, 2014

3. All matters discussed by the committee and any action taken

- Considered modification of WSU Tenure Policy (Policy 4.13) based on a concern that tenure-track faculty members who were eligible for pre-tenure time extensions were feeling pressured to not apply for an extension. We recommended to the Faculty Senate that the policy not be modified. Instead, we recommended new faculty supervisors (chairs) receive instruction regarding the policy.
- Considered modification of the WSU Chair Policy and Procedures document (Policy 2.15) in light of concerns that a desire existed to replace 鈥渄epartment chairs鈥� with 鈥渄epartment heads鈥� and external job searches might be the preferred method of staffing the department head positions rather than internal promotions. Because there are no details about this desire, the committee members were unable to have a fruitful conversation. Consideration of the policy was tabled until more details are forthcoming.
- Considered and recommended a modification of WSU Policy 4.17 (Tenure and Promotion 鈥� Outline of Process and Review) to include a review by the chief WSU academic officer (i.e., the WSU provost) as part of the T&P process.

4. Listing of pending matters to be discussed next Fall

None

5. Listing of any matters the committee would like the Faculty Senate to discuss

None

Faculty Support

Members: Rick LeCompte (Chair), Ginger Williams, Mehmet Yildirim, Katherine Mason, Travis Bruce, Royce Smith, Susan Parsons, Sarah Taylor, Paul Rillema, Karen Davis

Faculty Support Committee Meetings Friday, November 14, 2014 鈥� 10:00 AM

The committee discussed four MURPA applications, thirteen URCA applications and made recommendations for funding to Dr. Tomblin.
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The committee also reviewed seventeen Sabbatical Applications, ranking each one. Recommendations for Approval and Denial were also forwarded to Dr. Tomblin.

Monday, January 26, 2015 鈥� 1:30 p.m.

The committee considered applications and made recommendations for the following WSU Excellence Awards:
鈥� Research
鈥� Creative Activity
鈥� Community Research

Thursday, March 26, 2015

Committee will make recommendations for funding on fourteen ARC applications and eight Flossie West applications.

MURPA - MULTIDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH PROJECT AWARD

ARC 鈥� AWARD FOR RESEARCH/CREATIVE ACTIVITY
URCA 鈥� UNIVERSITY RESEARCH/CREATIVE ACTIVITY AWARDS

Report of Activities of the General Education Committee for AY 2014-15.

Members: Jeffrey Hershfield (chair), Stephen Brady, James Beck, Robert Bupp, Janice Ewing, Mary Koehn, Ikram Ahmed

The following individuals also regularly attended meetings ex officio: Rick Muma, Gina Crabtree, Sally Fiscus, and Mariah Smith (SGA rep.)

The committee regularly met on the second and fourth Mondays of each month, beginning at 12:30 and going until 2:00.

As part of its regular duties, the committee considered quite a number of Curriculum Change Forms (CCFs).

In the fall term the committee discussed the suggestions and proposals stemming from the general education forum held in the fall of 2014. Out of these discussions emerged a plan by the committee to develop a new kind of course, the Freshman Seminar, to be added to the gen. ed. curriculum. The FS:

鈥� will be designated a Tier 2 (Introductory Course in the Disciplines) course
鈥� will be required of all incoming freshmen
鈥� will have enrollments capped at 30-35 students
鈥� will incorporate some of the current objectives of WSU 101 along with the four current outcomes of our gen. ed. program
鈥� is conceptualized as a 鈥渕ini鈥� I&P course, which will be thematically structured with interdisciplinary elements

The committee has spent much of this year planning and discussing the FS. We have had visits from V.P. Vizzini, Kim Sandlin from OSS, and Rhonda Huisman from the library. Our work continues apace.

Respectfully Submitted,
Jeffrey Hershfield,

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Faculty Senate Library Committee (FSLC)
Meeting Minutes

Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Present: Ngoyi Bukonda, Kathy Downes, Robert Feleppa, Donald Gilstrap, Michael Hall, William Hendry, Rhonda Huisman, Tiruvadi Ravigururajan

Absent: Atul Rai, David Hunsicker

1. Introductions

2. Dean's Announcements
a. Dean Gilstrap announced an upcoming Library Associates event entitled, 鈥淭he Last Nomads of Turkey,鈥� with Kemal Nuraydin, professional photographer, writer, and former Deputy Editor of National Geographic, Turkish edition. A reception, exhibit and presentation will take place on Friday, April 3, with the reception starting at 6 PM in Ablah Library. /thisis/calendar/itemview.asp?VIEW=main&ITEM=50914&DATE=04/03/2015
b. Dean Gilstrap reported that University Libraries is currently conducting 3 librarian searches. Three temporary librarians are in place while a nation wide search is conducted.

3. Research and Technology Transfer Sponsored Databases
a. Dean Gilstrap reported that four significant databases and associated full text content currently being funded by Research and Technology Transfer (RTT), as part of indirect public funds associated with grants in affected departments will be canceled. (See attachment included with the final minutes for a listing of databases.) An announcement will be made through University Libraries LibGuides. Dr. Hendry suggested including a comments section on the LibGuides for faculty members to provide feedback. Dr. Hendry will check into getting this topic on the Research Council agenda.

4. Collections and Services Updates
a. Rhonda Huisman, Associate Dean of University Libraries, reported that University Libraries joined RapidILL allowing 24-hour turn around on interlibrary loan items. Interlibrary loan: http://libraries.wichita.edu/ablah/index.php/interlibrary-loan
b. In addition to RapidILL, interlibrary loan is now providing Scan on Demand which allows for print items in University Libraries collections to be scanned and emailed in PDF form. There is a small fee associated with service. For more information on Scan on Demand see: http://libraries.wichita.edu/ablah/index.php/interlibrary-loan/344
c. Rhonda reported that University Libraries also offers a wide variety of Digital Literacy workshops for faculty and students. For more information and workshop listing, please visit: http://libresources.wichita.edu/diglitworkshops/about
d. Kathy Downes, Senior Associate Dean of University Libraries, reported that University Libraries is continuing to enhance the facilities by replacing chairs and updating group study rooms.
e. Kathy reported that utilizing ContentDM, Special Collections is continuing to digitize selected collections. To view the digital collections, go to: http://cdm15942.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/collections
f. Dean Gilstrap reported that University Libraries has entered into partnership with Cengage Gale for the creation of the Indigenous Peoples: North America database. in which we contribute digital items from our Native American collections.

5. As may arise
a. Dr. Hendry is looking for feedback from the Faculty Senate on agenda items that are relevant to the charge of this committee.
b. Dr. Ravigururajan reported that the College of Engineering has recently hired several new faculty members that would benefit from the Library Instruction Program. He suggested that UL contact Dr. Janet Twomey, Associate Dean for Graduate Studies, Research and Faculty Development.

Annual Report of the Planning & Budget Committee 2014- 15

The committee consists of the following members:

Name Senate Division
vacant LAS Social Sciences
Will Klunder LAS Humanities
Daniel Bergman Education
Terrence Decker Business
Mehmet Yildirim Engineering
Paul Rillema LAS Math/Natural Sciences
Ray Hull Health Professions
Mary Walker University Libraries
Amy Baker Fine Arts
Mehmet Barut - chair President (Business)
Victoria Mosack Past President (Health Professions)
Peer Moore-Jansen President-Elect (LAS Social Sciences)
The Planning and Budget Committee met once during the 2014-2015 academic year. The committee received a briefing on current budgeting process and reviewed the university budget information in preparation for the next academic year.

Tenure and Promotion

The University Tenure and Promotion committee met on Tuesday, November 24, 2014 to review the process with Tony Vizzini and Laura Manning.

We met again all day Monday, January 12, 2015 to review cases for tenure and promotion. Committee members present were: Professors William Miles, Jean Patterson, Janet Twomey, Julie Bees, Doug English, Ginger Williams, Trisha Self, Mehmet Yldirim, and Susan Sterrett. VPAA Tony Vizzini, Graduate Dean Abu Masud, and the SGA President were present for the discussion. Tony Vizzini, Abu Masud, and the SGA President left before the straw vote was taken and were not present at the second meeting on January 13 for more discussion, final votes, and signing of documents.
The committee met again on Friday, February 13, 2015 to review tenure and promotion policies and identify any problems. Members present were: William Miles, Jean Patterson, Janet Twomey, Julie Bees, Doug English, Ginger Williams, and Mehmet Yldirim. Susan Sterrett could not attend, but she contributed her observations via e-mail. The following report was submitted to Dr. Vizzini:
Items of discussion:
1. Administrators applying for Professor Incentive Review (PIR)

a. The committee defines the faculty member who serves as chair of department, or in any other appointment which involves a change of status from 9-month to 12-month appointment, plus a stipend, whether full time or part time, as an administrator. In this case, administrative duties do not count as service.
b. A record of administrative work, teaching, and service alone is not sufficient to earn PIR or rank of Professor.
c. An administrator who continues Scholarly/Creative Research Activity may be successful in obtaining the rank of Professor or PIR only if the record of Scholarship/CRA is at least equal to the minimum standard expected of a regular faculty member. In other words, the Tenure and Promotion committee has the same expectations for both faculty and administrators in the area of Scholarship/Creative Activity.
d. The committee acknowledges that the definition of what counts as scholarship and creative activity is evolving and may need to be redefined.

2. The committee felt that we should reward faculty who are still very active in the university, who do significant service to the university, and who are good teachers, but do not produce quite enough scholarship or creative activity to meet the standards for promotion to Professor or PIR. More detailed guidelines for such cases would be helpful.

3. In cases where an applicant for promotion, tenure, or PIR has been employed by the University for a period that is shorter than expected for their current rank, they will be provided with written documentation instructing the tenure and promotion committees at all levels how the candidate's time at their previous institution should be considered. This documentation may be in the Offer Letter, or in a letter from the Dean at time of appointment and should describe the portion of their activities (including service, teaching and scholarship/creative activities0 at their previous institution to be used in the current evaluation. This documentation should be included in the candidate's primary dossier to provide clarity for the tenure and promotion committees at all levels.

4. Regarding the External review process, the committee weighed the merits of confidential letters versus open letters. We recommend maintaining the status quo. The policy of waiving a candidate's right to see the letter need not be consistent across the university. The committee felt that it is important that a candidate should have the opportunity to rebut the letters of external review. To change the current system would be too complicated and subjective.

University Admissions and Exceptions Report 2014 - 2015

1) The University Admissions and Exceptions Advisory Committee currently consists of the following members:

1. Ramazan Asmatulu (Engineering)
2. Jean Brickell (Health Professions)
3. Susan Castro (outgoing Chair; LAS Humanities)
4. Rachel Crane (incoming Chair; University Libraries)
5. Kirsten Johnson (Fine Arts)
6. John Perry (Business)
7. Mark Walsh (LAS Math/Natural Science)
We hope to fill vacancies in Education and LAS Social Sciences.
Non-voting ex-officio members include Gina Crabtree and Sally Fiscus from the University Registrar Office; and Wade Robinson, the VP for Campus Life and University Relations.

2) The committee meets approximately 15 times a year, including the summer. Meeting agendas are comprised of petitions ruled on by college-level admissions and exceptions advisory committees. The university level committee reviews the college-level rulings on qualified admissions, readmission following dismissal, late add, drop, and withdrawal requests, and other exceptions to established rules. From August 1, 2013 to March 12, 2014, the committee met 10 times in regular session and spent more than 40 hours actual meeting time to review more than 卢卢卢卢卢900 student petitions. The committee will meet 5 more times this academic year.
In addition to our regular meetings, committee members met several times with representatives from Admissions, Academic Affairs, and the Registrar on matters concerning admissions and committee members made expedited decisions on approximately 100 admissions applications (I no longer have access to the data, so I cannot be more specific). After a trial period it became clear to us that we did not have sufficient information to establish or maintain a fair practice under those conditions (lack of documentation of exceptional circumstances, 2-day turn around, inability to discuss cases and ask questions, difficulties with access to the data). Documentation of extenuating circumstances and discussion of the case are indispensable to the fair implementation of exceptions policy on a case by case basis.
3) Rachel Crane from University Libraries was elected to serve as Chair for AY 2015-16.
4) We have nearly finished updating the UAEC Handbook and will shortly be requesting permission to make minor updates to the Faculty Senate Constitution to reflect current standards. (The last update was literally decades ago.)
5) In addition to our review of petitions, this Fall we devoted a great deal of time and attention to implementing a transition to the higher admissions standards mandated now mandated by KBOR. The process was highly contentious and our policy recommendations were ultimately overruled.
Statement from the Chair: In the context of a strong national initiative to redress predatory admissions practices, I cannot in good faith condone the 鈥淧rovisional鈥� admissions standards we have implemented this year. We should not be participating in a race to the bottom with KU and K State, nor should we be exploiting underqualified students to make up funding gaps. We have a responsibility to guide applicants who need a softer transition from high school to college towards applying to one of our fine Kansas community colleges before they become Shockers. Admitting poorly qualified students not only serves those students poorly, it does a disservice to the well qualified students who lose class time and faculty attention to remedial concerns. I strongly recommend that the Senate take appropriate steps to ensure that WSU implements and maintains a responsible admissions policy in the coming years.

The committee will continue to revisit guidelines, procedures, the pre-approval list, and other requirements for exceptions as needed.

Sincerely,

Susan Castro, UAEC Chair
Assistant Professor
Department of Philosophy