-APPROVED-

 

Academic Council Minutes

 

Gold Room – Bibb Graves Hall

 

June 18, 2008

 

Present:

 

Dr. Rebecca Turner, Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs

Dr. Joe Delap, Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs

Dr. Tim King, Associate Vice President for Enrollment Management and Student Affairs

Dr. Frank King, Associate Vice President for Distance Education

Mr. Randy Harper, Vice President for Information Technology

Dean Bill Carr, College of Graduate Studies & Continuing Education

Dean Bill Fielding, College of Commerce & Business Administration

Dean Cynthia Harper, College of Education and Prof. Studies

Dean Sarah Latham, College of Nursing and Health Sciences

Ms. Lisa Williams for Dean Earl Wade, College of Arts and Sciences

Mr. John-Bauer Graham, Dean, Library Services

Dr. Jay Ketterer, Director, International House and Programs

Dr. Alicia Simmons, Director, Institutional Research and Assessment

Dr. Louise Clark, Assoc. Dean, College of Commerce & Business Administration

Mr. Ralph Burke, Director, JSU-Gadsden

Ms. Kelly Osterbind, Registrar

Dr. Brent Cunningham, Faculty Senate President

Mr. Joe Whitmore, Director, Special Services

 

Absent:

Ms. Jennifer Nix, SGA President

 

 

Old Business:

 

  1. Minutes of the May 7, 2008 meeting were approved as submitted.

 

  1. Mr. Harper provided a Banner update. An operating system update is forthcoming, June 30. Student system parts-of-term problem area are being identified and addressed. Financial Aid issues concerning academic progress reports are also being addressed. People Admin application training will be held led by HR this week. We are working with AIG to provide an alternative to TIAA-CREF. Banner Finance reports are improving and Application Extender project has been completed. Overall access is improving and becoming easier. Workflow application training is partially completed. Also, the curriculum system migration is to begin this fall. An event notification system will allow campus emergencies to be communicated to phone numbers and email addresses. Mr. Graham reported that employing Content Management, several newly redesigned homepages are up and running, including the “Big 6” pages. He requested that everyone provide feedback through the “Suggestion” link. The official closeout has occurred and a final report is coming soon.

 

  1. Dr. T. King reported on the handout providing Application Counts for Fall 2008.  The numbers are comparable to those from last year. Transfers accepted are off due to missing documents from applicants, which in previous years did not exclude those students from being counted as “accepted.”  Georgia numbers are up slightly. Housing is full, and options are being communicated to incoming students and parents. It is clear that students prefer to live on campus.

 

  1. Dr. Simmons reported on Credit Hours for Summer I and Marathon B terms. Summer I numbers are down from last year’s by around 2%, while Marathon B numbers are slightly higher over last year’s. Dr. Turner expressed concern about the number of Marathon terms available during the summer that might be confusing to our students. She appointed a committee to look into the overall organization of summer terms consisting of the following members: Bill Carr (Chair), Louise Clark, Bill Fielding Cynthia Harper, Tim King, Sarah Latham, Alicia Simmons, Emily White and Lisa Williams.

 

  1. Dr. Turner reported that HR is looking into liability coverage for courses, programs and activities that might require it.

 

 

New Business

 

1.      Dr. Turner introduced Dr. Brent Cunningham as the new Faculty Senate President and representative to Academic Council. Dr. Cunningham presented several issues being discussed in Faculty Senate including the following:

 

a.       Although the new Tuesday-night, dead day exam option is going well, the grades-due deadline for finals is still an issue. Faculty Senate asks if more time might be built into the finals-week schedule to allow for proper grading. (Ms. White explained the processing time needed for graduation checkout.) Dr. Turner requested that Dr. Cunningham meet with Dr. Delap and Ms. Osterbind to work out a schedule with more time for grading at semester’s end.

b.      Preregistration being closed between short summer terms is problematic, late fees being only one issue. Mr. Harper and Ms. White reported that the Banner Coordinating Committee would address that issue. (Drs. Carr and Fielding pointed out that voiding of student registrations for nonpayment between terms is sending the wrong message to students, not befitting our reputation as the “Friendliest Campus in the South.” Dr. Ketterer also expressed concern that students have no option for a payment plan.)

c.       Faculty Senate would like to learn more about the university’s approach to offering a full complement of evening classes. Dr. Turner and Ms. Williams pointed to earlier efforts to address the need, with low enrollments in evening sections posing the greatest threat to their success.

 

2.      Dr. Turner announced that an ACHE meeting would be held June 27, 2008. There are not JSU proposals to be discussed at the meeting. She called attention to the ACHE web site, for those seeking further details about the commission’s meetings.

 

3.      Dr. Turner called attention to the reduction in the state’s allocation to JSU’s budget and to the threat of proration in the coming fiscal year. She is working with the deans, AVP’s and OIRA to adjust budgets accordingly. There are a number of unfilled positions, but some of those must be filled.

 

4.      There were no further items of new business.

 

 

Announcements

 

Dr. Fielding reported that during a recent honors day ceremony at a local school, he observed only one scholarship being provided by JSU, compared to several awards being provided by community colleges.

 

Mr. Burke reported he had made a similar observation to Dr. Fielding’s and saw a need to increase JSU scholarships.

 

Dr. Harper reported that 5 JSU scholarships were announced at a recent graduation ceremony.

 

Dr. T. King noted that the scholarship process needs to be reviewed with an eye to improvement.

 

Respectfully submitted by Joe Delap, AVPAA