Chair’s Report on
Activities of 2004-05 Faculty Senate
Cristy Jensen, Chair
May 12, 2005
This has been a year of conflict, change and growth for our
campus. It is not surprising that some
of that evolution has played itself out in our Senate. In fact, it is as it should be; the Faculty
Senate should be one of the central venues where the debates and challenges
take place. I have chosen to organize
this report in terms of major themes which, in my opinion, characterize our
work this year.
Facilitating
Graduation
- The
year began with our Senate retreat on August 24, 2004, which focused on
the Lower Division Transfer Project, drawing together senators, department
chairs, deans and administrators to learn about and begin planning for our
campus participation in the systemwide
project. Since the retreat, almost
thirty of our faculty have participated in
statewide disciplinary meetings to formulate transfer curriculum.
- In
spring of this year the Senate endorsed a Faculty Senate Advising
Initiative in partnership with the Office of Academic Affairs, to provide
assigned time to faculty developing new and innovative approaches to
student advising; nineteen proposals were received.
- Our
Academic Policies Committee has formulated proposals for Senate action
which address readmission policy and maximum number of units for students
on probation; committee is currently working on review of our repeat
policy for action next year.
Shared Governance
·
Early in the fall we heard concerns from faculty
and staff about the reassignment of the COOP program from Academic Affairs to
Student Affairs; our resolution recommended that the President appoint a task
force to discuss and propose recommendations on the COOP program
·
During the early spring the Senate debated the
issue of the proposed name change; that debate led to a productive conversation
with the President and the decision to withdraw the proposed name change
·
In the fall semester, the Senate passed a
resolution urging the inclusion of CFA in new faculty orientation; this fall
the Senate Chair, CFA President and Provost will convene a panel during the
orientation
·
At the first meeting of the academic year, the
Senate provided input into the project proposal for our WASC review
Undergraduate
Education
- During
the late Spring, the Senate debated and approved a proposal forwarded by
the General Education/Graduation Requirements Policies Committee
(developed by a group of faculty) to establish a General Education Honors
Program for the campus; the Senate will monitor the progress of the
project and receive periodic reports
- During
the fall, the Senate affirmed GPA requirements for the special major
option.
Graduate Education
- The
Curriculum Policies Committee has worked on a number of policy statements
related to graduate education, including a policy on paired courses which
will be heard by the Senate during the fall.
- The Curriculum
Policies Committee has also established an ongoing relationship with the
Council of Graduate Program Coordinators for purposes of consultation on
policy review and development
- In
anticipation of the authorization to provide professional doctoral
education, the Executive Committee has met with staff of the College of
Continuing Education to discuss a wide range of issues related to student
fees, program review, faculty compensation, course evaluation etc.; a task
force will be formed to facilitate further discussion and policy
development.
Thank you for your participation and engagement in our work
this year. It has been truly satisfying
and I look forward to another productive and stimulating year.