During my first year as Senate Chair, I heard from several of you that it would be a good idea to communicate the work of the Senate to all faculty on a regular basis. At last week’s annual Senate Retreat, I made a commitment to a monthly newsletter which would report actions of the Senate, identify and provide links to emerging issues of concern to the Senate and faculty, and give a heads up to future Senate agendas. Here is the first effort. Feedback, suggestions, and questions are welcome at jensenca@csus.edu.

Fall Retreat

On August 24th, over 80 Senators and faculty and Academic and Student Affairs staff, including the President, attended the annual Fall Retreat on the topic “Achieving the Baccalaureate” focusing on faculty roles and responsibilities in supporting students’ work to achieve the baccalaureate degree. Bob Cherny, Professor of History at SFSU and former Chair of the Statewide Academic Senate delivered a great keynote (http://www.csus.edu/acse/05_retreat_Cherny_Keynote_Address.pdf) which was followed by a three workshops on the following topics: We have posted summary notes from each of the workshops and will be including initial plans for next steps by the Senate and its committees.

22 Points: Chancellor’s Coded Memorandum

Part of the backdrop of the retreat was recent action by the Board of Trustees (May) and the Chancellor (August) which laid out a set of 22 actions which campuses are to evaluate and report strategies (timetables and action plans) in a report to be submitted by the President in early December. The majority of the 22 points concern curriculum (graduation requirements and general education programs) and academic policies (related to advising, declaration of major, repeat/withdrawal/drop policies) and are therefore, clearly within the purview of Senate review and decision-making. The Chair and Executive Committee are actively involved in the initial review of the items and the referral for consideration by Senate Committees and the full Senate.

Nine faculty projects, including a project in each of the colleges, have been funded by the Faculty Senate Advising Initiative in cooperation with the Provost. The funded proposals will develop and refine innovations to strengthen academic advising at the department and college levels over a two year period. The Senate action to establish the initiative committed to disseminating what is learned that may be adapted by other disciplines and colleges. We have developed a roster of funded projects which is linked above and will posted information throughout the period. If we can secure additional funds, another call for proposals will be issued in the Spring.

Quick Notes

The Assembly and Senate have passed SB 724 (Scott) which authorizes the CSU to offer an independent EdD degree. Language which would have included doctoral degrees in audiology and physical therapy was deleted; however the UC has committed to joint doctoral programs. The bill is on the Governor’s desk.

Faculty from nearly thirty disciplines met statewide last year to develop a 6-9 unit lower division major preparation transfer curriculum designed to strengthen the academic preparation of transfer students. A smaller set of disciplines, including several from our campus, are included for second year discussions. See the LDTP link.

Calendar

The first Senate meeting of the Fall is scheduled for Thursday, September 8, from 3-5 p.m. in the Foothill Suite of the Union. The meeting will include a general orientation to shared governance and the Senate…also a brief update on follow-up activities from the Retreat and the WASC process this fall. We will also have wine and cheese (along with a cool non-alcoholic beverage) to share. The meeting is open to all faculty … please join us! The full agendas for Senate meetings are posted at: http://www.csus.edu/acse/archive/index_0506.htm