Meeting Minutes #180

Members Present: R. Boikess, C. Clauss-Ehlers, M. Cotter, D. Fishman, P. Gambarota, T. Gerhard, M. Haggblom, P. Leath, K. McKeever (Chair), P. Panayotatos, J. Phillips, J. Reed, L. Rodenburg, H. Sackrowitz, A. St. John, R. Schwarzschild, J. Shapiro, T. Szatrowski, K. Thompson, G. Werlen, E. Williams, R. Wilson, L. Windsor

Non-Members Present: B. Bender, M. Devanas, P. Furmanski, G. Gigliotti, T. Izbicki, K. Swalagin (Recording Secretary), R. Womack

1. Call to Order - Ken McKeever, NBFC Chairperson

Council Chairperson Ken McKeever called the 180th meeting of the New Brunswick Faculty Council (NBFC) to order at 1:15 p.m. on Friday, April 1, 2011 in the Rutgers Student Center Graduate Student Lounge, College Avenue Campus. He announced a call for nominations for next year's NBFC chair-elect and Executive Committee members. He added that the chair elect should be non-SAS this cycle, and asked the Council to send nominations to him by email.

2. Approval of Agenda and Minutes

The current meeting agenda, and the Minutes of the February 4, 2011 NBFC meeting were approved.

3. Administrative Report - Philip Furmanski, Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs

Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Philip Furmanski delivered an administrative report, which included comments on:

  • the New Jersey Higher Education Task Force (Kean Commission) Report, the content of which was Furmanski’s primary focus during this administrative report, and, in particular:
    • anticipated establishment of Governor Christie's appointment of a committee that will be charged with looking at the issue of UMDNJ and how it should be approached within the context of the report;
    • proposed recombining of the medical school and other components of UMDNJ with Rutgers;o the establishment of the cabinet-level position of NJ's higher-education "czar";

    • the current and anticipated state-funding situations, and how Rutgers can prepare for the future;

  • the NJ-residency requirement for all New Jersey state employees, which now includes grandfathering of all current employees, and a provision by which universities can submit a list of employee categories that should be exempted from the requirement, on an annual basis, as well as an exemption for "hardship cases" that will be determined by a tribunal or the like;

  • a proposal which would allow Rutgers to make up the difference in Alternate Benefit Plan contributions on amounts that have now been capped by the state at $141,000, which proposal has not yet been finalized with the state or labor unions;

  • proposed legislation that would allow Rutgers to buy back into the NJ State Alternative Benefits Plan, which legislation is expected to be, or already have been, defeated;

  • possible disposition or sale of University Hospital in Newark;

  • increased costs of student health insurance;

  • inefficiencies and duplication in the system of warning notices;

  • potential elements of a charge to the governor's committee that will address implementation of recommendations in

    the Kean Commission report;

  • his offer to again encourage deans of all units to follow the recent NBFC recommendations on when promotion

    packets should be submitted; and

  • parking accommodations for parents of children that are research subjects in labs.

 

4. Report of the Libraries and Academic Resources Committee (Dan Fishman, Chair), and Presentation on "The Future of the New Brunswick Approval Plan, or, the Future of Monographs at Rutgers University Libraries" – Tom Izbicki, Interim Associate University Librarian for Collections, and Ryan Womack, Data and Economics Librarian and Chair of the New Brunswick Collections Group

Tom Izbicki, Interim Associate University Librarian for Collections, and Ryan Womack, Data and Economics Librarian and Chair of the New Brunswick Collections Group, spoke and presented data on the future of monographs at Rutgers University libraries. A document describing the general situation of the funding for monographs that was presented within the libraries was forwarded by Womack after the meeting, and has been posted online here.

Paul Leath proposed that the issue should be referred to the NBFC's Libraries and Academic Resources Committee (LARC) to propose some direction in which the NBFC would like the matter to go. Dan Fishman, LARC chair, said that there are two issues: raising more money, and demonstrating fairness in cuts when they must be made. Fishman said he would think about a resolution on the matter for the LARC and NBFC.

5. Motion to Amend Bylaws Regarding Membership – Budget and Planning Committee, Robert Wilson, Chair

A motion by Robert Wilson, on behalf of the Budget and Planning Committee, to amend Paragraph II.1. of the NBFC bylaws defining which faculty are eligible to participate in Council elections and to serve as voting Council delegates was amended by Ted Szatrowski and adopted by the Council, resulting in the following:

  1. Faculty eligible to participate in Council elections and to serve as voting Council delegates (such faculty are henceforth referred to in this document as "faculty members") shall include all full-time [deleted: tenured and tenure-track] Rutgers University faculty [deleted: who are appointed on faculty lines in faculties, schools, or libraries] based in New Brunswick. It shall also include faculty members in dual-campus faculties whose principalduties [deleted: offices] are in New Brunswick [deleted: and]. In addition, two representatives of annual and part- time faculty will serve on the council, as specified in #8 below.

Paragraph II.1. of the Council bylaws therefore becomes:

  1. Faculty eligible to participate in Council elections and to serve as voting Council delegates (such faculty are henceforth referred to in this document as "faculty members") shall include all full-time Rutgers University faculty based in New Brunswick. It shall also include faculty members in dual-campus faculties whose principal duties are in New Brunswick . In addition, two representatives of annual and part-time faculty will serve on the council, as specified in #8 below.

6. Proposal for Curriculum Committees to Approve Modes of Instruction – Curriculum, Teaching, and Honors Committee, Paul Leath, Chair

A Proposal for Curriculum Committees to Approve Modes of Instruction was moved by Paul Leath on behalf of the Curriculum, Teaching, and Honors Committee, which he chairs. The proposal was discussed at some length, amended, and adopted by the NBFC as follows (and as linked above):

Proposal for Curriculum Committees to Approve Modes of Instruction

Concerned about some departments now considering offering laboratory courses as on-line courses, and aware that curriculum committees now already approve not only course descriptions and suitability for course offerings in the Winter Session, the NBFC Executive Committee charged the Curriculum, Teaching, and Honors Committee (CTHC) as follows:

Consider a proposal that the Curriculum Committees of each Academic Unit be required to also approve the "structure" of each course, in particular, when the "structure" is being materially changed. An example, would be a proposal to offer a well established regular laboratory course in the sciences as an on-line course. The committee should also propose a definition of when a course is being materially changed.

After much discussion the CTHC decided that the "structure" of a course implied a much too detailed question to require approval by curriculum committees and academic unit faculty bodies, but should remain mostly the prerogative of the instructor of the course. However, there are modes of instruction for courses that should require approval of curriculum committees and hence the faculty of each school or college.

RECOMMENDATION: Seven specific modes of instruction (not including Independent Study, Research, and Honors Projects) plus an "other" mode of instruction category for major modes not included here, are listed as follows: MODES OF INSTRUCTION

  • Lecture only

  • Lecture w/ recitations

  • Lecture w/ laboratories

  • Laboratory only

  • On-line

  • Hybrid (at least 50% on line)

  • Seminar

  • Other

    The Curriculum Committee and Faculty of each School or College must now approve each course, course description, and suitability for offering during the Winter Session. We propose that, in addition, the Curriculum Committee and Faculty of each School or College should now be required to approve the mode(s) of instruction for all courses, and also be required to approve any changes in mode(s) of instruction for any course in the master course list, before it can be offered in the newly proposed mode(s).

    RESOLUTION:
    The New Brunswick Faculty Council Approves the Recommendation included in the "Proposal for Curriculum Committees to Approve Modes of Instruction".

7. Proposal for Required Expanded Course Descriptions – Curriculum, Teaching, and Honors Committee, Paul Leath, Chair

A Proposal for Required Expanded Course Descriptions was moved by Paul Leath on behalf of the Curriculum, Teaching, and Honors Committee, which he chairs. The proposal was discussed by the Council (with comments made by Gary Gigliotti, Associate Vice President for Teaching and Assessment Research), amended, and adopted by the NBFC as follows (and as linked above):

Proposal for Required Expanded Course Descriptions

Concerned about the needs of students to know more about the courses offered in the University Schedule of Courses, including the textbooks and course materials required for these courses, the NBFC Executive Committee charged the Curriculum, Teaching, and Honors Committee (CTHC) as follows:

Consider best practices for the posting of course syllabi, including what should be included in a course syllabus.

After much discussion the CTHC decided that the concept of a course syllabus meant different things to faculty in different disciplines, and so came up with the term "expanded course description" to describe what should be available, at a minimum, from a link in the University Schedule of Courses to all students for each course offered. In addition other useful information may included.

RECOMMENDATION:
Every course offered by the University in a given semester must have an internet link in the University Schedule of Courses which connects the reader to a web site with an "Expanded Course Description" for that course. This link must be established by the time of pre-registration for the course, or as soon as possible thereafter. This web site may be one that has been prepared by the instructor, the department, or the academic unit. It is the responsibility of each academic unit to see that these links are established for each course in that unit. The following is the minimum information that must be included in this expanded course description. Of course, additional useful information may be included.

 

EXPANDED COURSE DESCRIPTION Required Minimum Contents

  • Course Title and Academic Credits

  • Mode of Instruction (Lecture, Laboratory, On-Line, Seminar, etc.)

  • Course Prerequisites and Corequisites

  • Catalog Course Description

  • Learning Goals of Course

  • Required and Recommended Course Materials (including all ISBN numbers)

  • Policies for Exams, Assignments, Attendance, and Grading

  • Faculty Contact Information

  • Link to any course web site that has additional useful information

    RESOLUTION
    The New Brunswick Faculty Council Approves the Recommendation included in the "Proposal for Required Expanded Course Descriptions".

8. Syllabus Design – Curriculum, Teaching, and Honors Committee, Paul Leath, Chair

Paul Leath mentioned that the University Senate had, in October 2006, adopted recommendations regarding Availability of Syllabi During Add/Drop. A document entitled "Syllabus Design" had been prepared by the Center for Teaching Advancement and Assessment Research and distributed in hardcopy at the meeting. Gary Gigliotti commented on the document, and asked for the Council's feedback on it.

9. Old Business

Chairperson McKeever reminded everyone about the call for nominations he had announced at the beginning of the meeting, and repeated his request that nominations be emailed to him.

10. New Business

There was no new business.

11. Adjournment

The meeting adjourned at 3:09 p.m.

Minutes Written and Submitted by:

Ken Swalagin
Recording Secretary of the New Brunswick Faculty Council