Deans’ Council Minutes
August 8, 2006

Council Members in Attendance: Dr. Frank Ashley; Dr. Hal Langford; Dr. James Vornberg; Dr. Allan Headley; Dr. Joe Webber; Dr. Mary Hendrix; Dr. Yvette Underdue Murph; Dr. Linda Matthei, representing Dr. James Klein; and Mr. Craig Wheeler

Presidential Remarks - President McFarland indicated he wanted to meet frequently with Deans Council and that he would be taking steps to improve the communication process. He complimented enrollment staff for their hard work during the last couple of months in improving enrollment. President McFarland asked deans to consult department heads to determine if there were classroom management problems. He wants to assure faculty that we, as a university, will not tolerate misbehavior in the classroom. As the fall semester begins, deans were asked to compare last year's enrollment data to this year's data, but to be aware that we should be making comparison to fall 2004 data, which was the previous base period. President McFarland asked Dr. Murph to provide the 2004 data to him. Dr. Langford stated that several students had reported difficulty in accessing Webtrax. Dr. Murph stated that a notice would be posted at the top of the university website notifying student to access MyLeo for the fall semester. The President gave an update on the Provost search saying that the search process would begin in early fall.

Student Guidebook – Student Affairs staff are currently working on the Student Guidebook for AY 2006-2007. A recent request was received by Student Affairs from one of the Colleges to add a statement in the guidebook stating that students could not drop a remedial/developmental course unless approved by the college dean. Discussion was held regarding Procedure 11.04.99.RO.02, Basic Skills Requirements. The deans voted unanimously to enforce the procedure regarding continuous enrollment in developmental classes and, therefore, students would not be allowed to drop the course unless there were extenuating circumstances. In the case of extenuating circumstances, the students must receive the approval of his/her college dean.

System Policy 12.01, Academic Freedom, Responsibility and Tenure – The Texas A&M System (TAMUS) is requiring that universities develop a rule authorizing extension of the probationary period beyond seven (7) years. Therefore, a draft rule for TAMU-C was presented to Deans Council for consideration. Since current procedure already includes a statement that addresses this subject, a draft rule was presented which reflected the same language as the current TAMU-C procedure. Dr. Headley asked about the feasibility of including a three year review step in the process. After discussion, Deans Council decided to review existing procedures to determine if the current process is adequate. The Council voted unanimously to accept the draft and their recommendation of the draft will be forwarded to the Faculty Senate for review.

System Policy 12.02, Institutional Procedures for Implementing Tenure - Recent change to System Policy 12.02 included the consideration of “patents or commercialization of research, where applicable” in the guidelines for granting tenure. Discussion was held and council members decided to add “patents or commercialization of research, where applicable” in the wording of TAMU-C procedure.

Expert Witness Reporting – Council member were reminded that the Texas Education Code requires that all institutions report annually to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board those faculty that serve as consulting or testifying expert witnesses in lawsuits where the State of Texas is a party. Council member were asked to remind faculty of this requirements and that this information must be reported to the President's Office no later than Monday, September 11, 2006.

Room Scheduling – Beth Durff , Associate Registrar, attended this portion of the meeting and reviewed several reports with Council members including Space Utilization; FA06 Preliminary Room Schedule; and Master Room File. Ms. Durff explained that space utilization was based upon a 38 hour week. On the current Space Utilization report, she noted that ASTRA software does not separate classrooms from labs. To differentiate the two, classrooms are marked with an underline.

In her presentation of the FA06 Preliminary Room Schedule report, Ms. Durff reviewed the formula used by ADSTRA to schedule classroom and buildings stating that all efforts are made to keep students in a specific area. Building is usually the first preference. However, if a room in a preferred building is not available because of day/time/maximum capacity constraints, the scheduling software attempts to find a room in close vicinity and moves outward. The room scheduling software looks at maximum enrollment – not enrollment – when looking for best fit. Hard constraints (in terms of specific room assignment) are not placed on classes unless it is a necessity to do so (i.e. ART 350/Ceramics-needs kiln). The schedule information is not static. The preliminary room schedule is constantly impacted as classes are added or cancelled, and time, day and enrollment limits are changed on existing courses.

The Provost asked the Deans to review the reports. The primary document for Deans to use is the FA06 Preliminary Room Schedule. If changes are needed, faculty are to contact the Deans. Faculty are not to contact the Registrar's office with needed room scheduling modifications. Necessary modifications need to go through the appropriate Dean and Deans will email their college's information to the Registrar's Office directly. Feedback is need by Friday, August 11, The Registrar's Office will upload data Monday, August 14 and then it will be finalized.

Dr. Langford expressed his continued concern that universities are penalized by the Coordinating Board when I comes to classroom utilization because many of the College Of Business ' courses are taught on-line. Dr. Hendrix state the Coordinating Board is aware of this dilemma and discussions are being held by the Board regarding this issue.

College Fall Faculty Meetings – Dr. Ashley plans to attend each college's fall faculty meeting on Thursday, August 23, 2006.

Undergraduate Academic Advisement – Dr. Hendrix informed the deans of the status of implementing Procedure 11.04.99.RO.03, Undergraduate Academic Advisement. Dr. Hendrix has formed an advisory group with faculty representative from each college. The group met last week and is reviewing the processes and will be recommending incentives for faculty advisors.

Other Business :

1. Commencement – A reminder was given about rehearsal and commencement on August 11 and 12 respectively.

2. Outside Employment Form - Dr. Ashley reminded Council Members that all faculty should complete outside employment forms and submit them to the Provost Office anytime they are performing employment outside of their job assignments. He specifically noted employment such as camps being conducted on campus as many time these type of employment positions are overlooked because they're associated with the campus. Examples provided included music camps, athletic camps, etc.

3. Graduate School – Dr. Headley stated there would be some staffing changes in the Graduate School as Diane Wilburn would be leaving TAMU-C employment within a few weeks.

4. Library - Craig Wheeler, Interim Library Director, asked Council Members to remind faculty and students that the computer lab in the library was not a good place for students to take on-line testing.

5. Enrollment – Dr. Murph stated that interviews would soon be conducted for recruiters. She also briefed the Council on a recent event called “Breakfast with the Provost”. The event was a success and hopefully, a new tradition will develop from it. The breakfast included new freshman students who attended summer school meeting the Provost. Deans asked that they be included in the next scheduled breakfast with students.

6. Rollovers – Dr. Webber asked when rollovers would be considered. Dr. Hendrix stated she would check with Ms. Alicia Currin, Vice President for Business Administration, regarding the timeline.

7. Monthly Faculty Meeting with Faculty – Dr. Ashley stated one of his goals was to meet with faculty at least once per month to discuss topics of interest and answer questions presented by faculty members. More information regarding his plans will be shared at the next Council meeting.