Deans’ Council Minutes
April 11, 2006

Procedure 11.17 - Undergraduate Student Load - (PDF Document) - Mary Hendrix presented the recommended procedure which calls for students to enroll in a sufficient number of credit hours to complete a degree in four years. Other criteria set forth are overloads related to student teaching and graduation, student teaching, graduate course enrollment and summer school. Deans approved the proposed procedure unanimously. Joyce Scott will send the proposed procedure to Faculty Senate for review.

Procedure 11.20 - Undergraduate Academic Advisement - (PDF Document) - Mary Hendrix reviewed the proposed procedure and changes recommended by enrollment staff. Deans concurred with the edits and approved the proposed procedure unanimously. Joyce Scott will forward to Faculty Senate.

Low Productivity Programs - (PDF Document) - Mary Hendrix presented the THECB chart of programs and reviewed the data and justifications for retaining certain programs. Deans agreed unanimously with the proposed actions/justifications. Mary will prepare a response to THECB and route it through TAMUS.

Expansion of Planning Authority - (PDF Document) - Mary Hendrix reported we must have approval to extend our program array. New areas of interest are Sport & Recreation Management, Health Promotion, Engineering degrees in Construction and Computer Engineering. Deans approved the proposed expansion unanimously.

Nominees for College Readiness Standards Work Group - Deans Council nominated four faculty to be recommended to THECB: Donna Dunbar-Odom, Charles Dorsett, Stephen Starnes, and Ricky Dobbs.

International Writing Across the Curriculum Conference at Clemson University , May 18-20, 2006 - Joyce Scott asked for Deans' recommendations about the conference. Deans agreed that the Clemson program is a good one and that TAMU-C should try to send a faculty member for this meeting.

Emeritus Status for Georgia Anne Bomar - James Klein presented recommendations of the department and college that emeritus status be awarded for Anne Bomar from the Board of Regents. Deans' Council approved unanimously, and the Provost will forward the request to the President.

International Friendly Campus Project - Yvette Murph reported that our Web site has been revised to meet AASCU criteria and forwarded to the association. As yet, our link has not been put up by AASCU. The Provost will contact AASCU to inquire about the delay.

New Student Orientation - (PDF Document) - Yvette Murph shared a draft program and Deans gave feedback about the design. They encouraged a later start time and a longer period for course selection and registration. A parallel parents' session will be held to introduce family members to the campus and to engage them in assisting us with retention and degree completion.

Banner Implementation Registration Module - Yvette Murph briefed the Council on the issues being addressed to smooth out “Go Live” on the implementation of the Banner registration module. She noted that staff have worked very hard and that there has been good participation in training. She noted that three faculty—Eric Gruver, Sue Espinoza and Dave Crenshaw--have agreed to offer additional faculty training.

PTK International Conference - Yvette Murph reported that the Phi Theta Kappa Honorary for community college students will hold its conference this spring in Seattle . A&M-Commerce will send a team including three of our students and four staff to recruit transfer students to our campus.

HB 1172 – Deans reviewed the corrected matrix of degree titles and total hours. Staff will file corrections with THECB and then begin the process of reviewing programs for reduction in hours to 120.