Deans Council Meeting
Provost Conference Room
July 8,2008

Attendance:  Dr. Mary Hendrix, Dr. Sharon Johnson, Dr. Hal Langford, Dr. James Klein, Dr. Allan Headley, Dr. David Crenshaw, Dr. Brent Mangus, Dr. Deborrah Hebert and Stephanie Holley.

Dr. Hendrix welcomed Dr. David Crenshaw to the Dean’s Council and thanked him for agreeing to serve as interim Dean of the College of Arts & Science.

Enrollment – Stephanie Holley announced that she would forward current enrollment reports as soon as they were available.  She requested the Deans review the information provided in the reports and comment as to whether the additional data is useful and/or necessary.  Compiling the data is a time consuming process for her staff that could be eliminated if determined to be unnecessary.

Summer II 2008 enrollment numbers are slightly higher than the same time period in 2007.  Paige Bussell and Mike Cagle will determine and provide non-payment drop dates.  The Deans are in possession of drop lists and are encouraged to contact students without delay.

The Enrollment division is in the midst of their “Fall Push”.  Ms. Holley announced several staff changes within the Admissions office which should positively impact the entire division.

The Eastfield College proposal is nearly complete. Ms. Holley praised the proposal submitted by the College of Business & Technology and encouraged the Deans to use it as a model.  The CBT proposal included a key component currently requested by community colleges – a clear path of study culminating in a specific degree. Ms. Holley encouraged the Deans to ask two questions when creating agreements: 1) does it duplicate, and 2) what is the program of study.

A general discussion was held regarding the geographic area in which TAMU-C typically recruits both faculty and students.  Additionally, it was noted the possibility that students may decide to complete three (3) years at a community college due to financial concerns.

Graduate Enrollment – Dr. Allan Headley reported that his staff has sent over 1,000 emails to individuals with incomplete graduate school applications and received over 100 responses.  Several applicants were unaware of the missing items in their applications and were quite responsive and thankful for the notification.  Dr. Headley encouraged aggressive communication with admitted but not yet enrolled students.  Stephanie Holley noted that comments from New Student Orientation reflect appreciation for the caring response of TAMU-Commerce personnel.

Dr. Headley noted that international student applications are slightly down from previous years and suggested a review of application and acceptance dates.  Additionally, Dr. Headley requested the Graduate School be notified of any TAMU-Commerce inservice training opportunities.

Dr. Hal Langford observed a difference in College of Business & Technology graduate school application requirements from the other colleges and will likely reduce the required number of letters of recommendation from 3 to 1 and eliminate the GRE examination requirement (if GPA is high enough).

Graduate Assistantships – Dr. Headley provided a handout (GA Distribution) (GA Stipend) showing trends for teaching by college and university and then re-visited the question of how to best allocate the $100,000 graduate assistant fund.  After lengthy discussion it was agreed that the academic deans would meet in private council and submit an allocation proposal to Dr. Hendrix no later than Friday, July 18, 2008.

College of Business & Technology – Dr. Hal Langford called for a vote to change the name of the MS in Information Technology to the MS in Technology Management.  Vote was unanimous in favor.

Tenure & Promotion – Dr. Brent Mangus called for a vote to change the advisory committee requirement to reflect 1 representative per department (up to a maximum of 6 departments), with 1 outside representative.  Vote was unanimous in favor.

Dean’s List Qualifications – Dr. Brent Mangus called for a vote to change the TAMU-Commerce Dean’s List requirements to 3.50 GPA with 12 completed/earned semester hours.  Vote was unanimously in favor.  Dr. David Crenshaw will submit the requested change to the Faculty Senate.  Stephanie Holley will inform the Registrar of the change for inclusion in the Catalog.

Articulation Agreement Clarification – Dr. Brent Mangus requested that all proposed academic agreements/affiliations or memorandums of understanding be reviewed in the Academic Affairs office by the Associate Vice President. Stephanie Holley suggested that a memorandum of understanding be created and implemented for one year prior to entering into an articulation agreement. Dr. Allan Headley requested the Graduate School be given opportunity to review any agreements that involved graduate coursework.

PAC Updates – Dr. Mary Hendrix provided the following updates from the Presidential Advisory Committee:

The anticipated completion date for the TAMU-Commerce website update is mid to late August.

Miscellaneous – Stephanie Holley requested complete information on course proposals for the Eastfield College agreement by Friday, July 11, 2008.  Brent Mangus reported a successful College of Education & Human Services retreat.  Dr. Hendrix invited all to attend a farewell reception for Dr. James Klein on July 10, 2008 at 2:30 p.m. in the Founder’s Lounge.