Minutes of the UMES Senate meeting of March 8, 2005

 

  1. The meeting was called to order at 11:03 am by the Chair, Dr. Williams.  In the absence of the Secretary, Capt. Levy was asked to take the minutes.
  2. The minutes of the previous meeting being unavailable, reading and approval of those minutes was deferred to the next meeting.
  3. Committee Reports
    1. Parking (Dr. D. Cooledge): Security has placed road guards during working hours to restrict access to the F, G, and L through P lots to Faculty/Staff tags only as no others are authorized to park in those lots.  This appears to be significantly improving the situation for Faculty/Staff.  Due in part to the opening of Hazel Hall, the entire parking lot allocation will be reevaluated by the committee later this spring, with a report to the VP-Admin.
    2. Information Technology (Capt. Levy): The committee is working towards a list of IT policies it believes are required.  A report of the issues that should be covered by published policies and procedures will be delivered at the May Senate meeting.
    3. By-Laws (Chair): The proposed changes to the Senate By-Laws should be posted soon, with a Senate vote at the April meeting, and if approved, ratification votes by the constituencies before the May meeting.
  4. Old Business: None
  5. New Business:
    1. The Chair presented the late grades policy proposal from the VPAA.  The rules were suspended to allow free discussion.

                                                               i.      A full and frank discussion of the issues ensued, and the following were the principal points made:

1.      The problem seems involve primarily the part-time faculty who do not work on campus.  In many cases, they made an honest effort to post the grades, but were thwarted by system complexities and idiosyncrasies, and lack of training and readily available instructions.

2.      Letters of reprimand issued to part-time faculty are more likely to result in disinclination to accept further assignments from UMES than to achieve modification of behavior.

3.      In the past, if grades were missing, Chairs could enter them for absent faculty, as well as easily identify which faculty had not turned in grades.  The PeopleSoft system does not currently allow either, and notification of Chairs of missing grades does not occur until after the grade submission deadline.

4.      Technical issues interfering with timely grade submission include:

a.       Cumbersome and sometimes tricky grade entry system

b.      Slow system response.

c.       Inaccurate class/grade roster data (extra or missing student names).

d.      Problems accessing the system from off-campus.

e.       Capability of system to print out reports showing grades submitted without the data actually being saved.

f.        Inability to change a grade once submitted if an error is discovered or to add grades if students’ names are added to the roster after grades are submitted.

g.       Lack of, and inaccuracies in, grade submission procedure instructions, including the separate and early submission of grades for graduating seniors (who are not officially identified to every faculty member teaching a course in which they may be).

5.      The proposed policy seems more concerned with punishment of individuals rather than correction of problems.  It also leaves no flexibility for Chairs to identify and correct problems, or account for circumstances beyond a faculty member’s control (e.g., faculty member unconscious in the hospital – policy still requires letter of reprimand).  This issue might better be left to the Chairs, not handled via a single, inflexible policy.  Also, the policy as written appears to apply to mid-term as well as final grades – is this intentional?

6.      This policy should be included in the Faculty Handbook, not issued independently.

7.      The Administration’s intent was to get the Chairs to take action to ensure that grades are submitted in a timely manner.  Problems with PeopleSoft are well-recognized, including the confusion over mid-term versus final grade pages.  The problem is that since the students now have immediate access to grades, complaints about late grades are registered minutes after the submission deadline.  The Administration is also aware that Supplemental Grade Reports to correct grade problems are not being processed in a timely manner, and that this reflects inappropriately on the faculty.  The Administration would like to see a list of concerns over this policy, and as it concerns only the faculty out of the Senate’s several constituencies, recognizes that this matter would better be handled by the Faculty Assembly.

                                                             ii.      Upon reinstatement of the rules, Dr. DeViney moved, and Dr. Mitchell seconded, that the Senate reject this policy in its entirety.  The motion passed on a vote of 11-1-0.

                                                            iii.      Dr. Cooledge said that the Senate should suggest to the VPAA that Chairs hold grade submission training for all faculty, including the part-timers.  Dr. DeViney moved that the Senate ask for a review of PeopleSoft grade entry process with an intention towards improvement of the system in all regards, from software, to procedures, to training.  Dr. Mitchell seconded.  Dr. Bass suggested that instead the Senate send a letter to the VPAA stating that the Senate appreciates the problem, but it would better be referred to the Faculty Assembly to address all issues discussed, and that a Faculty Assembly committee could work with the VPAA to establish an alternative policy to the one presented.  Dr. DeViney accepted the amendment of his motion to Dr. Bass’ suggestion.  The amended motion was passed by acclamation.  The Chair asked Dr. Chapin as Chair of the Faculty Assembly to take this matter up at the Faculty Assembly meeting next week.

    1. There was no other new business.
  1. Announcements:
    1. Chair: There will be a concert featuring jazz star Wynton Marsalis and the UMES Jazz Band under the direction of Dr. Lamkin at the Ella Fitzgerald Performing Arts Center at 7:00 pm on Thursday, March 10, for the benefit of the band’s proposed tour of Ghana.  At only $25 per seat, this is an extraordinary opportunity to hear a famed jazz musician at about half the price tickets for his concerts usually cost, and it’s for an outstanding cause.
    2. No other announcements.
  2. The meeting was adjourned at 11:48 am.

 

Respectfully submitted,

Capt. R.B. Levy, Acting Secretary