2008-2009 FACULTY SENATE
California State University, Sacramento

AGENDA
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Foothill Suite, University Union
3:00 - 5:00 p.m.

OPEN FORUM

CONSENT ACTION

REGULAR AGENDA

FS 09-21/Ex.

APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF MARCH 26, 2009

SECOND READING

FS 09-20/Ex.

OUTSTANDING TEACHING, UNIVERSITY SERVICE AND COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARDS, AMENDMENT OF

Background: The following motion is brought by the Executive Committee to facilitate debate and decision-making with regards to the Faculty Senate's awards program. There seems to be a clear consensus in the Senate that the current Senate awards, administered at the college level, should be retained and so that specific point is not up for debate or vote at this time. That leaves the question of whether or not to create an additional set of awards at the campus level (with the exact process to be determined by FPC*) drawn from the recipients of the college level awards. The following motion has been crafted specifically to address that remaining question and is subject to amendment if Senators feel they would like such an award structure in one or two, but not all three of the specific categories. Rejection of the motion simply results in retaining the current awards structure at the college level. Please note that the motion is not endorsed by the Executive Committee other than as a means for reaching a decision.

Regardless of the outcome, FPC will further examine the process to facilitate ease of submission (as they were originally charged). If campus level awards are adopted in one or more categories, the goal will be to have the same submission package used at both levels (college and campus) to avoid re-submission or re-formatting of materials.

In addition to the existing Faculty Senate awards for Outstanding Teaching, University Service, and Community Service, administered at the college level, the recipients of those awards shall also be considered for a campus level award in the respective category.

FIRST READING

FS 09-22/CPC/Ex.

CLASS SIZE, QUALITY, AND RESOURCE UTILIZATION TASK FORCE, ESTABLISHMENT OF

Background: In fall 2008, the Reading and Writing Subcommittee presented a number of policy suggestions to CPC to address issues of increasing class size in times of budget cuts. In Fall 2008 and spring 2009, the CPC discussed these policy suggestions and sought input from the campus through a variety of activities: the 2008 Senate Retreat, a campus survey focused on class size issues, and a class size summit. As a result of these activities, the CPC considered a number of policy suggestions: putting a hard cap on communication-intensive courses such as composition and Writing Intensive courses, asking departments to designate certain courses as “class size protected” to help deans and departments make informed decisions in meeting target FTES, and changing the way we label courses to reflect class size rather than pedagogical approach. The CPC believes that class size is a complex issue that involves policy, budget, space management, curriculum, and pedagogy, and that multiple stakeholders need to be included in the conversation before policy is proposed to the Senate.

The Faculty Senate recommends that a Class Size, Quality, and Resource Utilization Task Force be formed in Fall 2009 to report back to the Senate and Academic Affairs before the end of the Spring 2010 semester.

In its report the task force should consider:

1. Results obtained and proposals considered by the CPC to date

2. Strategies departments are currently using to deal with class size increases

3. Strategies other CSUs and other universities across the country are using to deal with class size increases

4. Processes departments and colleges engage in to determine which courses have their caps changed

5. Best practices in the design of large classrooms (i.e. Scale Up and other models)

6. The role of technology as a resource for instructors to meet the demands of large classes

7. The effect of technology on instructor workload in large classes

8. The interrelationship between each of the aforementioned items and the graduate programs on campus

The members of the Class Size Task Force should include:

· One designee from Academic Affairs

· One student representative

· The CTL director or a CTL rep

· The CPC chair or a rep from CPC

· The FPC chair or a rep from FPC

· The APC chair or a rep from APC

· One representative from ATCS

The Class Size, Quality, and Resource Utilization Task Force’s final report should include both a summary of their findings and recommendations to address class size concerns at CSUS.

FS 09-23/Ex.

BY-LAWS, REVISION OF

The Faculty Senate amends its By-laws as outlined in Attachment A.

INFORMATION

NEXT TENTATIVE FACULTY SENATE MEETING: APRIL 16, 2009

1. Faculty Senate's home page:  www.csus.edu/acse, or, from the CSUS home page, click on Administration and Policy, then Administration, then Faculty Senate.

2. The Structure of Senate Meetings

3. Actions of the 2008-2009 Senate

4. Top Ten List of Things New Senators Should Know

5. Tentative schedule of Faculty Senate meetings for Spring 2009 (subject to change):

· Th., 4/16/09 – Senate meets · Tu., 4/21/09 – 2nd meeting of Committee on Committees (3:00-4:00); Executive Committee from 4:00-5:00 · Th., 4/23/09 – 1st organizational meeting (nominations for Executive Committee positions) of 09-10 Senate (3:00-3:30); 08-09 Senate meets (3:30-5:00)

· Tu., 4/28/09 - Excellence in Teaching and Faculty Service to the University and Community reception · Th., 4/30/09 – Senate meets · Th., 5/7/09 – 2nd organizational meeting (elections for Executive Committee positions) of 09-10 Senate (3:00-3:30); 08-09 Senate meets (3:30-5:00) · Th., 5/14/09 – Senate meets · Th., 5/21/09 – tentative (finals week)