Deans' Council Minutes
June 19, 2007

Attendance: Dr. Mary Hendrix , Dr. Sharon Chambers , Dr. Jon Travis for Dr. Allan Headley, Dr. Hal Langford , Dr. James Klein , Dr. James Vornberg , Dr. Yvette Murph, and Dr. Deborrah Hebert.

Student Affairs – Dr. Hendrix welcomed Dr. Deborrah Hebert as a member to Deans Council. Effective June 18, 2007 , Dr. Hebert was appointed as Assistant Vice President and Dean of Student Affairs. .

Media Relations and Publications – A logo presentation was made by Ms. Sylvia Kelley, Vice President of Advancement and Marketing and Mr. Randy Jolly , Director of Media Relations and Publications. During fall 2006 Mr. Jolly conducted a search to gather ideas regarding a new word mark for the university. Input was received from administrators, faculty, staff and students. Mr. Jolly checked with over 100 universities and determined the current tread for institutions of higher learning was to use a word mark instead of the traditional mascot. Over 250 electronic inquiries were sent to faculty, staff and students regarding a new word mark, and approximately 156 responses were received. The “Passionate About Learning” is our advertisement campaign and is not included in the word mark. A campus-wide event will be scheduled in fall 2007 introducing the new word mark. Although the official roll-out for the new word mark is fall 2007, faculty and staff can begin using the new word mark immediately. Departments/divisions should continue using their present supply of paper products until current supplies are exhausted. Mr. Jolly will alert the print shop of the new word mark which is to be used on all correspondence including business card. Business cards will be blank on the reverse side. The university seal is reserved for use by the President's Office only. The President's Office will send a notice explaining the graphic standards available on the Internet.

Currently a Request for Proposal (RFP) is being developed for the purpose of contracting with an outside firm to re-design the university's website. The scheduled date for completion will be September 1, 2007 .

There has been an increase in inquires and applications relating to advertisements. Sylvia Kelly asked deans to let her know what programs they would like to promote in their college. Current advertising needs to be targeting institutional recognition rather than fall enrollment. Focus areas include Midlothian , Navarro and online courses. The need for more online courses was discussed and agreed upon by all. With more online courses teachers in rural areas could receive their (18 hours) certifications. This will be launched in January 2008. Mr. Jolly stated Michael Sprong is the new Director for Creative Services.

Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Policy – (PDF Document) - Prior the Deans Council meeting, members were requested to review the SAP policy and gather feedback from their assistant deans, department heads, directors and advisors regarding the revised SAP policy. Student appeals will be processed in the Financial Aid Office (FAO). Dean Langford suggested changing the wording in the first chart under “Maximum Time Frames” from “Graduate Degree” to “Masters Degree”. The word change would differentiate between the upper level degrees, whereby, eliminating confusion between the number of attempted hours to complete masters versus doctoral degree requirements. Following discussion, council members voted unanimously in favor of the revised SAP policy. Deans were asked to take the SAP policy to their executive councils for comment. The Provost will take the policy to Faculty Senate for review.

Student Orientation – Recommendation was made to have orientation staffing more representative of TAMU-C student population. Recommendation was also made that during the parent session, information needed to be provided to parents to let them know that students could take a test (COMPASS) for a minimal fee to possibly have their student(s) opt out of taking Developmental Math. It was suggested that parents also be referred to commercial products such as “smarthinking.com”. Dean Klein volunteered to contact Directors Pam Webster and Shannon Carter to see if the math and writing centers could have something ready for the next orientation session scheduled for Friday of this week.

Strategic Plan - The Strategic Planning Committee is waiting on the President's guidance. The Provost plans to meet with each academic executive council, as well as, student affairs division to discuss the plan.

Search Audit – Following the recent internal Systems Audit, the President has directed that Human Resources (HR) will have a specific staff person in HR to manage faculty searches.

Faculty Senate Recommendations – Recently three (3) Faculty Senate recommendations have been under review and consideration by the President. The first recommendation was for faculty and staff to receive a discount membership at the Morris Recreation Center (MRC). Based upon the recommendation, the President has approved a pilot program whereby all current and retired faculty and staff can join the MRC and receive a $35 discount each semester. Interim Provost Hendrix stressed that to adhere to the Texas Education Code regarding student fees, faculty and staff must be charged the same amount as students are charged. Therefore, the President will contribute $35 for each current and retired faculty and/or staff who joins the MRC during the pilot program. In order to accommodate faculty and staff work schedule, Dr. Hebert plans to look into the possibility of increasing the operational hours at the center by at least thirty (30) minutes in the morning.

A second recommendation was to give faculty and staff family members a reduced tuition/fee waiver. Council members agreed this recommendation would be positive and would serve as a great recruitment tool for potential employees. However, because reduced tuition/fee waivers are not statutorily authorized, the university would need to provide a Tuition Assistance Scholarship. At this time, President McFarland is focused on improving faculty salaries; therefore, the, recommendation was not approved. Interim Hendrix stated she would research the code to determine what benefits might be available to assist departments in recruiting faculty. The following is one example: §54.059 of Title 3 of the Texas Education Code enables a teacher or professor of an institution of higher education, and the spouse and children of such a teacher or professor, to register in an institution of higher education by paying the tuition fee and other fees or charges required for Texas residents without regard to the length of time the teacher or professor has resided in Texas. This entitlement is valid if the teacher or professor is employed at least one-half time on a regular monthly salary basis by an institution of higher education.

The President did not approve a third recommendation requesting reserved faculty and staff parking. Currently faculty and staff parking is allowed in designated parking lots. Council members agreed the new parking lot at the old science building site has greatly improved parking campus wide.

2008 National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Summer Stipends – (PDF Document) - The Provost reminded everyone of the October 2, 2007 deadline for the summer stipends competition of the National Endowment for the Humanities. The academic deans anticipated that more faculty interest will be generated in the program because NEH has increased the amount of a summer stipend award to $6,000. The application and guidelines are posted on the NEH website at

http://www.neh.gov/grants/guidelines/stipends.html

Academic Affairs Undergraduate Student Suspension Appeal Committee (Procedure 11.04.99.RO.07) – (PDF Document) - Due to the nature of appeal matters, the Student Suspension Appeal Committee membership will no longer require student representatives. Dean Council members voted unanimously to revise the membership requirements and eliminate the need for students to serve as committee representatives. This revision will be forwarded to the President's Advisory Council (PAC) for approval.

It was suggested that a timeline be added to the procedure; however, before adding a timeline to the procedure, council members decided to review the notification letter to determine what information is provided to student when informing them they are placed on academic suspension. All agreed that it is imperative faculty submit their grades to the Registrar's Office timely. Some council members feel written instructions regarding how to submit grades electronically are needed. All faculty including adjuncts are not familiar with necessary codes such as I (Incomplete) versus IP (In-Progress). The Provost Office is currently updating the faculty list serv membership list to include the email addresses of adjunct faculty. The Provost Office will obtain a copy of the student notification letter for review. The Registrar will be invited to attend a future Deans Council meeting for additional discussion.

Undergraduate Admission (Procedure 11.04.99.RO.01) – (PDF Document) - Interim Provost Hendrix stated the procedure needed revision and asked that deans discuss the current procedure with their assistant deans, department heads, executive council members, and faculty because the procedure needed broad-based input form the campus community. The Provost requested specific review of the SAT and ACT score requirements, as well as, the required high school courses. Input is needed regarding what core academic courses a transfer student should have taken prior to the transfer process. Interim Provost Hendrix will be meeting with Faculty Senate to discuss the process for revision, but stressed that the changes needed to take place in time for recruiting the fall class of 2009. This procedure will be brought back to Deans Council for future discussion and revision.

Alternative Scheduling - Dean Langford proposed an alternative schedule for classes. The plan allowed students to take up to fifteen (15) semester hours in three (3) days a week (or less). Classes would be held on Monday/Thursday or Tuesday/Friday with one day a week classes meeting all day on Wednesday. Discussion was held regarding advantages and disadvantages for students specifically for working students and students needing child care services. The alternative scheduling could be used as a marketing opportunity. Dean Langford stated department heads and Faculty Senate needed to be involved and stated with appropriate discussion and planning the new schedule could be implemented in spring 2008.

Tenure/Promotion Procedures – Dr. Hendrix stated the current tenure and promotion procedures require revision. There is an academic deans' retreat planned for June 28 th at which time tenure and promotion issues will be discussed. This subject will be brought back to Deans Council for additional review by group council members at a future meeting.