2011-2012
FACULTY SENATE
California State University, Sacramento
AGENDA
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Foothill Suite, Union
3:00 - 5:00 p.m.
OPEN FORUM
CONSENT ACTION
FS 11/12-28/Ex. |
UNIVERSITY BUDGET ADVISORY COMMITTEE, CHANGE IN TERM OF OFFICE |
The Faculty Senate endorses the changes to the term of office for members of the University Budget Advisory Committee as outlined in Attachment A.
FS 11/12-32/EX. |
COMMITTEE APPOINTMENT – UNIVERSITY |
Committee on Administrative
Review
David Leon, 2014
FS 11/12-33/EX. |
AD HOC COMMITTEE ON FACULTY RESPONSIBILITIES TO STUDENTS
IN THE INSTRUCTIONAL ENVIRONMENT, THANKS AND COMMENDATION |
The Faculty Senate thanks and commends the ad hoc committee on Faculty Responsibilities to Students in the Instructional Environment:
Joseph Sheley, Provost and Vice President, Academic Affairs
David Wagner, Vice President, Human Resources
Bob Buckley, Computer Science
Janet Hecsh, Teacher Education
Ramneet Kaur Johl, Associated Students, Inc.
Christine Miller, Communication Studies
Jana Noel, Teacher Education
Reza Peigahi, Library
REGULAR AGENDA
FS 11/12-29/Flr. |
MINUTES OF SEPTEMBER 29, 2011 |
INFORMATION ITEMS: UPDATE ON INSTRUCTIONAL SOFTWARE ISSUES:
JEAN-PIERRE BAYARD & DOUG JACKSON
STANDING POLICY COMMITTEE UPDATES (ELECTRONIC UPDATE)
FIRST READING
FS 11/12-30/APC/EX. |
REGISTRATION UNIT LIMITS |
The Faculty Senate recommends the following early registration
unit limits be effective spring 2012 and onward:
·
New and
continuing undergraduate students in good academic standing may register for up
to 15 units.
·
Seniors
who have applied to graduate may register for up to 21 units.
·
Undergraduate
students who are not in good academic standing are limited to the number of
units allowed by their individual academic contract or a maximum of 14 units if
they are on academic probation (or continued probation).
·
Graduate
students in good academic standing are allowed to enroll in a maximum of 12
units unless they fall into an exception
category as outlined below.
Special Program Requirements:
Exceptions due to
special program requirements should be coordinated between the academic
department and the Registrar’s Office. Exceptions due to special
requirements in graduate programs must seek approval through Office of Graduate
Studies before sending information to the Registrar’s Office.
Other Exceptions:
Individual students
with special circumstances who wish to increase their early registration unit
load should file an “Excess Units Petition” with the Registrar’s Office.
Students who can demonstrate that they can graduate within the next two
semesters are encouraged to file an “Excess Units Petition,” if they would like
to balance their remaining units over the next two semesters.
Background:
At this very time last year, campus officials were examining the continuing student registration process with great scrutiny. They knew then that the campus’ newly reduced targets would make it difficult for mid-cycle and late-cycle registrants to have any chance at building a viable course schedule. Faced with these uncertainties, campus officials are suggesting that specific early registration unit load limits be put in place as a long-term policy.
Data on the average unit loads for undergraduate and graduate students are given below. The figures are broken down based on the average units students were enrolled in at the end of the early registration period and on the University census date for each semester.
Average unit load (Fall 2007-Fall 2011) |
||||
|
Undergraduate |
Graduate |
||
|
Early registration |
Census date |
Early registration |
Census date |
Fall 2007 |
12.3 |
12.4 |
8.3 |
8.3 |
Spring 2008 |
12.2 |
12.1 |
8.1 |
8.4 |
Fall 2008 |
12.5 |
12.4 |
8.4 |
8.4 |
Spring 2009 |
12.3 |
12.8 |
8.5 |
8.3 |
Fall 2009 |
12.3 |
12.7 |
8.6 |
8.4 |
Spring 2010 |
12.6 |
12.7 |
8.5 |
8.5 |
†Fall 2010 |
11.6 |
12.3 |
7.0 |
8.1 |
Spring 2011 |
12.2 |
12.6 |
8.0 |
8.0 |
‡Fall 2011 |
12.3 |
12.7* |
8.0 |
8.6* |
*As of 9/21/2011. Census
date is 9/26/2011 †Fall 2010 early registration unit limits:
Undergraduate = 14 units. Graduate = 9 units. ‡Fall 2011 early registration unit limits:
Undergraduate = 15 units. Graduate = 12 units. |
Recommendation:
Student Affairs and Academic Affairs recommend the ongoing use of restricted unit loads during the early registration period. It is expected that unit load restrictions will be lifted during the late registration and the drop/add period.
Unit Limits During
Open/Late Registration and Drop/Add Periods
Consistent with existing policy, during “Open/Late Registration” undergraduate students may register for up to 21 units unless they are subject to an academic contract limiting them to fewer units. Graduate students would continue to be limited to 12 units unless they fall into an exception category as outlined in the policy above.
Rationale
Based on feedback from students, faculty and staff, the
divisions of Student Affairs, Academic Affairs, and Academic Policies Committee
recommend the long-term imposition of early registration unit load restrictions
for continuing undergraduate students the following reasons:
1.
Early
registration unit load limits increase access to courses for a broader set of
students.
Since students register based on matriculation status (continuing versus
transfer), class level (first year, sophomore, senior, classified graduate,
etc.)
2.
The adoption of a
long-term policy of limits on early registration allows students and advisors
to develop course plans more effectively.
The current policy is effective only for the fall 2011 registration
cycle. Frequent changes to the number of
units students may register for during early registration on a semester or
annual basis make it more difficult for students to develop a course plan for
timely graduation.
3.
The 15-unit early
registration limit permits students to register for a full-time course load for
the purposes of financial aid.
Undergraduate students must be registered for 12 units or more in order to
be eligible for financial aid as a full-time student.
4.
The 15-unit early
registration limit allows students enrolling in higher-unit courses to achieve
a full-time course load (12 units) during early registration.
A lower early registration cap might create difficulties for students enrolling
in higher-unit courses offered in disciplines such as foreign language, science,
and mathematics.
Background: The transmittal from Kristin Van Gaasbeck, Chair, Academic Policies Committee, is attached as Attachment B.
FS 11/12-31/FPC/EX. |
FACULTY RESPONSIBILITIES TO STUDENTS IN THE INSTRUCTIONAL ENVIRONMENT |
The Faculty Senate recommends adoption of the “Faculty Responsibilities to Students in the Instructional Environment” policy as shown in Attachment C.
Note: The appendix can be found at Attachment C-1.
BACKGROUND
April 27, 2011 - President
Gonzalez requested the formation of an ad hoc committee, to be drawn from the
Faculty Senate Executive Committee and led by the Provost. The committee’s
purpose was to develop draft policy language on faculty rights and
responsibilities regarding the delivery of instruction to our students, to be
“grounded in our current University Policy documents”
An Ad Hoc Committee
was formed and met three times over the summer. The Committee
incorporated material from three currently existing documents into the proposed
policy.
-
“Statement on
Faculty Responsibilities and Professional Ethics” (effective 1994, updated
2011) http://www.csus.edu/umanual/hr/HRS-0117.html
-
“Student Rights
and Responsibilities” (effective 1999) http://www.csus.edu/umanual/student/UMS16500.htm
-
AAUP Statement on
“Freedom and Responsibility” (published 2006)
August 30, 2011 -
Executive Committee referred the document to FPC.
FPC discussed the Ad
Hoc Committee’s document throughout September. Notes from the
table top discussions at the August 24 Faculty Senate meeting were incorporated
into the discussion.
September 27, 2011 –
FPC referred the proposed policy to Executive Committee, which unanimously
voted to place the proposed policy on the Senate agenda and then voted
unanimously to endorse the policy.
SENATE FALL SCHEDULE:
(1st and 3rd Thursdays, 3:00-5:00, Foothill Suite, Union, unless notified otherwise)
October 13, 2011 – no meeting October 20, 2011 – no meeting October 27, 2011 – Senate meets Tuesday, November 1, 2011 – Livingston Lecture November 3, 2011 – Senate meets November 10, 2011 – tentative |
November 17, 2011 – Senate meets November 24, 2011 – Thanksgiving break December 1, 2011 – Senate meets December 8, 2011 – tentative December 15, 2011 – Senate meets |