Minutes of the Special Meeting of the
Southeastern
Faculty Senate
I. The
meeting was called to order at
II. The minutes of the
III. Old Business
A. Online Elections (Constitutions and Bylaws Committee): Since committee chair Corbello was not present, Sen. President Wyld handed out copies of the resolution to anyone needing a copy and noted that the version of the Resolution handed out this afternoon differs slightly from the version originally posted on the Senate website in section C. Electioneering (See attachments). It was moved and seconded that the resolution be approved. Discussion:
1. Sen. Ply asked to change the term “electioneering” to “campaigning,” since it has a better connotation. Her suggestion was accepted as a friendly amendment.
2. With no further discussion, the measure was brought to a vote and unanimously approved.
B. Intellectual Property Rights Draft Policy (Professional Rights and Responsibilities Committee): Sen. Guendouzi was not able to attend the senate meeting, so asked Senate President Wyld to speak for her and to present their resolution (see attachments).
1. Sen. Wyld explained that the
committee identified five areas in Southeastern’s “Intellectual Property
Policy” needing clarification, and these were listed in the resolution. Because Sen. Joe Burns worked on the
Intellectual Property Committee creating the policy, Wyld asked Burns to speak
on these concerns.
2. Sen. Burns thought the resolution’s requested clarifications indicated the Professional Rights and Responsibilities Committee approached the Intellectual Property Policy as if it were a copyright document with set percentages of shared profits; however, the Policy depends on the employee self-reporting on a form the employee would bring the university. Thus, if one wanted to patent a work, he or she could bring this form to the university committee and the committee would determine any splitting of profits, while the employee could discuss any disagreements. Thus, each situation would be unique to that employee, with no set percentages.
3. Sen. Wyld noted that the fifth item requests clarification on the division of profits among the creator, university, and department; he asked Burns if the Intellectual Property Committee had discussed giving departments a share in the profits. Burns responded that though some large universities specify percentages to all parties involved, their committee did not.
4. When asked to clarify this point, Dr. Crain added that there is place in this policy for negotiation. Louisiana System’s attorneys have suggested that most patent situations will involve negotiations between institutions and individuals on the percentage of profits. Because each situation is unique, each case will involve negotiations.
5. Senator Burns offered another “Whereas” for the resolution:
Whereas the Intellectual Property Policy allows for a professor to self-report a possible profit generating project to the university in order to define an equitable distribution of profits,
Sen. Wyld asked if the Senate would accept this addition as a friendly amendment to the Resolution; senators agreed. This issue will be voted upon at the May 5 meeting.
C. Copyright Draft Policy (Professional Rights and Responsibilities): again, Sen. Wyld spoke for chair Jackie Guendouzi and presented their resolution (see attachments)
1. Approval of the resolution was moved and seconded.
2. With no discussion, the resolution was unanimously approved.
D. Sabbatical Leave (Faculty Welfare): Speaking for Sen. Bancroft, Sen. Schwab said work on the resolution continues and the resolution will be presented at the May 5 meeting.
E. Commencement Changes (Faculty Welfare): Sen.
Schwab again spoke for the committee and presented their resolution (see
attachments).
1. Sen. Schwab went through a few suggested changes discussed by his committee, but not approved for the final resolution, like restricting the number of invitations or only having students with honors walk on stage with all other students receiving degrees en masse.
2. Approval of the resolution was moved and seconded. Discussion:
a. Sen. Simoneaux mentioned that summer commencement was brought up because of the number of foreign students who must leave at the end of the summer and cannot return for December graduation.
b. FAC/BOS Rep.
Bostick suggested that the fourth “Whereas”
of the resolution might be offensive to previous speakers, so we might need to
eliminate it. A motion was made and
seconded to remove the fourth “Whereas”; the motion passed with one senator
opposed.
c. The proxy for Sen. Beauboeuf thought we might have trouble getting faculty to attend summer commencement. Sen. Ramsey suggested that, as in his department, faculty could be required to attend one of the commencements; this would just add a choice.
d. Sen. Higginbotham asked about the cost of adding an additional commencement. Sen. Wyld replied that it would definitely cost more and this would have to be a factor in the decision-making process.
e. Sen. Ply thought we should add a phrase to the summer commencement suggestion that faculty would only be required to attend one commencement.
f. Sen. Schwab asked how many students would be involved in a summer commencement. Sen. Wyld anticipated several hundred—never as many as in the fall and spring commencements, but a significant number.
g. Sen. Dassau suggested that if we decided instead on a graduate ceremony, the graduate faculty should perhaps do that in addition to a regular commencement; Beauboeuf’s proxy agreed, that graduate faculty should do one in addition to a graduate ceremony.
h. Sen. Mitchell commented that if students in a graduate ceremony are actually going to be hooded, the professor who hoods the students would have to be there, and others could attend the graduate ceremony at their discretion. She also asked we change the word “sanctity” in the resolution to “dignity,” since a commencement is not “holy.” Her suggestion was accepted as a friendly amendment.
i. Sen. Ramsey thought we should add a separate “resolved” as a fourth bullet to specify that faculty can only be required to attend one commencement per year and so moved. Ply seconded; the amendment was approved.
j. Sen. Nelson asked if breaking the commencement up into colleges was considered. An unidentified committee member responded that the subcommittee did discuss this possibility, but some colleges already have a hooding ceremony prior to the university’s commencement; also cost, locations, and times of the day for each college would be a problem. Nelson moved that commencement by colleges be added as a fifth bullet; Sen. Mitchell seconded. Discussion:
i. Sen.
Ramsey thought the issue was getting too complicated—he facetiously asked why
not just have five stages set up in the assembly center and take turns
graduating colleges? Sen. Higginbotham then replied that this was the way it
had been done at the
ii. Sen. Mitchell countered that the fifth bullet was just a suggestion: why not give the Administration a chance to consider it?
iii. The wording was clarified to suggest having smaller commencements with individual or groups of colleges. Though the vote was not unanimous, the amendment was not passed.
k. Sen. Ply offered an editorial change to add an apostrophe to “students” and “guests” in the third “whereas.”
l. Sen. Ramsey
asked why we don’t choose the commencement
speaker based on his or her oratorical abilities. Sen. Wyld responded that this
had been tried at
m. The entire amended resolution came to a vote: it passed with some nays.
F. On-Campus Daycare (Facilities and Planning):
1. Sen. Gonzalez-Perez, chair, recapped the actions of her committee on investigating the feasibility of on-campus daycare, including a survey of all faculty. Their resolution suggests three actions to the Administration, all having advantages and disadvantages and legal questions to consider. She moved passage of the resolution (see attachments). Sen. Burns seconded.
2. With no discussion, the resolution passed unanimously. Sen. Wyld gave a copy to Sen. Mirando to offer to the Daily Star. The Executive Council hoped that such publicity on the issue might help spur an entrepreneur to create such a center near the campus.
G. Academic Integrity Resolution/High-Tech
Cheating Issues (Academic Committee): Because Sen. Neuerburg
could not attend the meeting with the recent death of his father in
1. Sen. Ramsey presented the Resolution (attachments) and moved approval; Sen. Djamba seconded. The resolution was unanimously approved.
2. Ramsey then presented the High-Tech Cheating Resolution (see attachments) that requests the university to subscribe to an anti-plagiarism service. He moved approval, an unidentified proxy seconded. Discussion:
a. Sen. Schwab asked for an explanation of what the service did. Sen. Ramsey and Sen. Wyld filled him in on how the service can detect plagiarism in a submitted electronic version of a student paper by checking a databank of sources.
b. Bostic
asked how far back would the databank go—would only recent sources be
checked? Sen. Wyld
responded that only those sources in electronic format could be used to check,
so obviously older sources would not be in the database.
c. Sen. Schwab asked for an explanation of what the service did. Sen. Ramsey and Sen. Wyld filled him in on how the service can detect plagiarism in a submitted electronic version of a student paper by checking a databank of sources. Wyld called Senators’ attention to the example attached to the resolution from Turnitin.com, where the service provided a sample report, showing the comparison of a student paper side-by-side with the Internet page from where he or she drew the material, highlighting the passages that were directly copied.
d. Sen. Simoneaux commented that three professors called her in the library today to ask how to find evidence of plagiarism that they could not find on Google.
c.
e. Sen. Higgenbotham would like to see students try this on their own to see that they do plagiarize. Also, they could see how a paper they bought from a paper mill could get them kicked out of school.
f. The resolution was unanimously passed. Sen. Ply called the Senate’s attention to an ABC news special airing the next night on the whole issue of plagiarism and high-tech cheating (link to the program is at: http://abcnews.go.com/sections/Primetime/US/cheating_040429-1.html)
H. Add/Drop Issues (Academic Committee): Sen. Ramsey gave the floor to Sen. Prescott since she worked so hard on the resolution (see attachments).
1. Sen.
2. The committee considered charging fees, but some students don’t pay for classes anyway, so they suggest only two days of drop/add, then students would have to see an advisor to make changes. This step would create more trouble for advisors, but it would force the students to consider whether their action is a good idea. Sen. Prescott moved approval; Sen. Willis seconded. Discussion:
a. Sen. Gillan mentioned that he spends lots of time advising students as it is, and to have to see every student who wants to drop or add is difficult. Students are adults and should make their own decisions if their situations have changed.
b. Bostic asked
if these students wouldn’t go to the new proposed
c. Sen. Ply imagined chaos with the second point suggested on the resolution. She thought the first point was enough and the second should be eliminated, and so moved. Sen. Yeargain seconded. Ply thought two days are plenty for drop/add; extending the period might make students miss valuable class time.
d. Sen. Simoneaux added that, for half-semester classes like Library Science, missing two days is one-fourth of the course.
e. Sen. Dassau asked about those students with Thursday night classes—they will not be able to see their classes before making a decision. Sen. Simoneaux countered, “What’s wrong with students making a decision before going to class? What’s wrong with making a student responsible for a decision?”
f. Sen. Prescott added that, if we reduce drop/add to two days only, Records and Registration would tack on an extra day, as it does now.
g. Bostic, in response to Simoneaux’s comments, said that there are instructors who recommend to their students on the first day of class that 60% in the class should drop because they will fail. Simoneaux responded that people like that should not be teaching at this university. Every student who drops costs our university. Students come here ready to “shop around.” Bostic agreed, but thought some students have no intention of dropping until they do see that first class and the impossible situation.
h. Sen. Prescott mentioned that those two days after drop/add are intended to make the students see an advisor to educate them about the seriousness of dropping.
i. Sen. Nelson suggested letting one extra day for adding classes only; then students could have the opportunity to fill the seats that have opened up the first two days of drop/add. He offered it as a friendly amendment, but Sen. Ply preferred to let her original motion to drop the second suggestion stand alone. The vote approved Ply’s amendment, though not unanimously.
j. Ply then moved Sen. Nelson’s suggestion, restricting the third day of drop/add period to adds only; her motion was seconded. Discussion:
i. One senator asked about using a “W” as deterrent for dropping classes. Since that was off the present discussion, attention was called back to the motion.
ii. The motion was unanimously approved.
3. The entire resolution was approved unanimously.
I. Multiple Catalogues: because this issue was accidentally left off the agenda, Sen. Wyld requested input as to whether the issue should be taken up at that time. The consensus was that we add it at next week’s regular senate meeting.
J. Sen. Ramsey asked if we could question the power outages that threw campus into chaos this week. Sen. Wyld thought perhaps President Moffett could address that issue at our regular meeting next Wednesday.
IV. New Business: None
V. Announcements
A. Annual Conference of LA Colleges and Universities: Sen. Wyld reported on this conference. It was before Gov. Blanco advocated pay raises for statewide officials, so she was warmly received. The conference coincided with the announcement that LSU Chancellor Emmert had resigned, so interesting talk in that regard.
B. SGA Report: no report
C. BOS/FAC Report: Dr. Bostic (see attached). Five items concern Southeastern directly.
1. Sen. Mirando asked what will happen to the Police Department while their building is being demolished. Bostic replied they will be temporarily housed until their new building is built.
2. Bostic added that an item in her report explains “rolling contracts” for “temporary” tenure status, but this is not a formal decision.
- Sen. Ramsey mentioned that a previously discussed resolution about how to classify “Undecided Majors” was tabled since the Administration withdrew its suggested policy. Also, Sen. Ramsey informed senators about a proposed increase to LSU to solidify its flagship status, as reported by the the Times-Picayune. He objected to the proposal because it (1) takes money which was earned by people in our region (and all other regions of the state) and gives it to one institution so that the Board of Regents has no latitude to spend the money where it would be most effective, (2) fails to recognize that UT-Austin is not alone but shares the Texas oil-and-gas revenue with the Texas A&M system so that the two systems both improve from competition, and (3) ignores Louisiana's paramount contemporary need to build accessible community colleges (Texas has over 200). The bills proposing this are #1529 and #1621 on the Legislature website.
The link to the article in the Times-Picayune
is below:
http://www.nola.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-1/1082885554107450.xml?nola .
Scroll down to "Raising the flagship."
A link to the article in the Morning Advocate from Sen. Wyld is below:
http://2theadvocate.com/stories/042604/new_futrell001.shtml
E. Sen. Ply announced that she would send Recording Secretary Faust to append to the minutes a list of elected and reelected senators for next year, and that she is working on a ballot for the University Standing Committees: Grievance, Tenure and Promotion, and Planning Council. (See attachments)
VI. The meeting adjourned at
Respectfully submitted,
Joan Faust,
Recording Secretary
Faculty Senate Resolution 2003-2004-18
Bylaws Amendment to Allow Electronic Voting
Whereas faculty schedules often make it
difficult to conduct departmental senate elections, and
Whereas the Nominations and Elections
Committee has been assured that on-campus electronic voting is secure, and
Whereas the occasion may arise where the
use of a ballot box would be the desired method of voting,
Be it therefore resolved that the
Southeastern Faculty Senate recommend the acceptance of an amendment to the
Faculty Senate Bylaws, Article IV, Section 2, Paragraph
3 to read:
When
the election for a Senator has more than one candidate, the Nominations and
Elections Committee shall designate one of its members, or any other Senator
whose term is not up for renewal, to facilitate voting by faculty of an
academic department. Voting will occur
via one of the following methods, to be determined by the Faculty Senate
Executive Committee, in consultation with the Nominations and Elections Committee:
A. Web-Based Voting
1. Web-Based voting will occur,
at a clearly designated time, through secure and anonymous web-based software
approved by the Faculty Senate Executive Committee, in consultation with the
Nominations and Elections Committee.
B. Ballot Box
1. At a clearly designated time
and place, a Ballot Box will be provided in each department. The Ballot Box will be closed, except for a
slot used to place ballots inside. The
box will be clearly marked “Ballot Box.”
2. Numbered anonymous ballots
will be provided to all eligible voters in a department. The anonymous ballots will include only the
names of the candidates, the office for which all are running, and a box or
line marked “FOR” preceding each candidate’s name.
3. Near the Ballot Box, a
sign-in sheet will list the names of all eligible voters in the
department. In the presence of the
person facilitating the election in each department, eligible voters must sign
their name to the sign-in sheet, and then deposit their completed ballot into
the Ballot Box.
4. Proxy votes are allowed, but
only if a Faculty Senate proxy form is deposited into the ballot box. The proxy voter must also sign-in with their
own signature, clearly indicating for whom they are casting the ballot.
5. The person facilitating the
voting will then count the ballots and report the results to the Nominations
and Elections Committee.
C. Campaigning
When the election for a Senator has more than one nominee, each nominee shall have the option of presenting his/her goals and plans to the faculty of the academic department. The method of presentation may be by email, hardcopy in faculty departmental mail boxes, and by meetings individually or as a group.
Existing constitutional
wording:
Article IV. Elections.
Section 1. Nominations for Senators. A candidate for the Senate must submit or have submitted to the Nominations and Elections Committee of the Senate a nomination petition which shall include a declaration of his/her willingness to serve. All nominations must be received by the Nominations and Elections Committee of the Senate at least two weeks prior to an election.
Section 2.Election of Senators. All members of the General Faculty, as defined in Article IV. Section 2 of the Constitution, are legal voters. In cases in which voters have affiliation with more than one academic department, voting shall take place in only one department.
The Nominations and Elections Committee of the Senate shall supervise elections of Senators in each academic department and shall certify the election of each Senator.
When the election for a Senator has more than one candidate the Nominations and Elections Committee shall designate one of its members or any other Senator whose term is not up for renewal to call a meeting of the voting faculty of the academic department. At the election meeting each candidate shall be given five minutes to present his/her goals, philosophy, etc. and to respond to questions from the electors. At the end of the presentations the supervising senator shall distribute ballots which shall only contain the names of the candidates and a box marked "For" preceding each candidate's name. The ballots shall be cast at that time and returned to the supervising senator for immediate counting. The results shall be announced at the conclusion of the tabulating. The Nominations and Elections Committee shall certify the election of each senator. [Amended May 1994]
Section 3. Election of Officers. The Nominations and Elections Committee shall at the April meeting of the Senate, submit at least one name for each office of the Senate and, after other nominations have been called for from the floor, the vote shall be taken in accordance with Article VIII Section 2 of the Constitution. [Amended September 1985.]
Faculty Senate Resolution 2003-2004
Intellectual Property Policy
WHEREAS faculty may create, author or develop materials,
products, educational/ business programs, and artifacts (including works of
art, music or staged performances) within the course of their duties (both
professional and educational) for Southeastern Louisiana University, and
WHEREAS faculty may utilize materials, equipment, facilities
or services (including student/ graduate assistant labor) provided by
WHEREAS faculty may develop the aforementioned products
during time periods that are part of their academic schedules or duties, and
WHEREAS since these activities may have commercial
potential and may generate income or incentives, there is a need for clear
guidance and description relating to the “ownership” of intellectual property,
and
WHEREAS all parties need to be very clear about what
constitutes “incidental usage” of Southeastern’s facilities, time and
materials, and
WHEREAS we are aware that, if Southeastern’s facilities, materials, reputation or time have been
used in the creation of above mentioned products and services, it is
right and proper for both parties to benefit from any potential income
generated, and
Whereas the Intellectual Property
Policy contains a form that a professor may use in order to bring a possible
profit-generating concept to the attention of the Intellectual Property
Committee, with the goal of creating an acceptable distribution of profits
and/or fees,
BE
IT THEREFORE RESOLVED that the
Faculty Senate recommend adoption of the draft “Intellectual Property Policy.”
Faculty Senate Resolution 2003-2004-19
Copyright Policy
Whereas there is a need for faculty to be aware of copyright
laws and policies in regards to materials used in teaching, research and
scholarly activities, and
Whereas there is a need for faculty to have access to a
detailed and comprehensive document outlining copyright laws and procedures for
use of copyright documents, and
Whereas the Senate’s Professional Rights and Responsibilities
Committee has read, reviewed and discussed the draft of such a copyright policy
document,
BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED THAT the Southeastern Faculty
Senate recommend that the administration adopt the aforementioned copyright
policy in its present form.
Faculty Senate Resolution 2003-2004-20
Commencement Changes
WHEREAS Southeastern’s commencement exercise has become excessively
long, often running well-beyond two hours in length, and
Whereas the number of graduates and the number of family
members and guests accompanying them is beginning to exceed the seating
capacity of the
Whereas over time, the students’
and guests’ respect for the dignity of the ceremony has declined, evidenced by
the rowdiness of the graduates and the declining number of family members and
guests remaining for the entire ceremony, and
Be it therefore resolved that,
in order to streamline the graduation process, while providing for a ceremony
that will maximize the emotional enjoyment for all involved, the administration
consider the following changes to the commencement ceremony:
Having graduate students hooded and graduate
at a separate “Graduate School Commencement”;
Adding
a summer commencement ceremony;
Following the trend at other universities by
eliminating the commencement speaker, with Southeastern’s President delivering
an appropriate and brief address instead;
Whatever changes are made to the number of
commencement ceremonies held on campus, each faculty member should continue to
be required to attend no more than one commencement ceremony per year.
Faculty Senate Resolution 2003-2004-23
Anti-Plagiarism Resolution
WHEREAS the academic community relies on a high standard of
integrity in the relations among it members, and
WHEREAS, to the extent that this standard is not maintained,
the good of the community suffers, and
WHEREAS advances in technology continue to allow for new
violations of this standard, and
WHEREAS it has been shown that these same advances in
technology can be used to effectively combat such violations, and
WHEREAS there are two major US-based anti-plagiarism web
sites:
2. www.turnitin.com
WHEREAS, based upon an enrollment of 15,000 students,
Southeastern can subscribe to www.turnitin.com
for $8825 per year or to www.mydropbox.com
for $6500 per year:
BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED that the Faculty Senate of Southeastern Louisiana
University recommend that the administration pursue a site license for faculty
and students to have access to use a plagiarism-detection web site.
SAMPLE PLAGIARISM SCREENING REPORTS
ATTACHED FROM:
2.
www.turnitin.com, and