Meeting Minutes #233

Members Present:  H. Benaroya, F. Berthiaume, S. Bhuyan, R. Boikess, B. Faga, T. Figueira, A. Gibney, A. Gould, E. Greenfield, P. Hirschfield, N. Linardopoulos, J. Longo, D. Margolis, J. Mathew, D. Miller, K. Morgan, L. Mullen, T. Ozel, J. Ritter, M. Rodgers, S. Shapses, T. Szatrowski, K. Thompson, S. Westfall, A. Wiley, E. Williams, R. Womack, J. Zahn

Non-Members Present:  B. Lee (Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs), B. Sifuentes-Jauregui (Vice Provost, RU-NB), M. Mickelsen (NBFC Recording Secretary)

1. Call to Order – Tugrul Ozel, New Brunswick Faculty Council (NBFC) Chair 
 
New Brunswick Faculty Council Chairperson Tugrul Ozel called the 233rd meeting of the New Brunswick Faculty Council to order at 1:10 p.m. on Friday, October 25, 2019 in Room 174 of the Busch Student Center, Busch Campus. He reported that the Advisory Committee for the University President Search have been formed by all four faculty councils.

2. Approval of Agenda 
 
The Agenda was approved.
 
3. Approval of Minutes of September 27, 2019 Meeting

The September 27, 2019 NBFC Minutes were approved.

4. Administrative Report – Ben Sifuentes-Jauregui, Vice Provost, Rutgers-NB

Sifuentes-Jauregui thanked the council for having him speak on Transfer and Non-Traditional Students. He gave a presentation followed by a question and answer session which included the following:

  • changing the profile of undergraduate education;
  • the restructuring of the undergraduate education office to make it aligned with the academic-arm of the office;
  • reinstating faculty advising;
  • PTL compensation;
  • curriculum changes to align with the changing profile of the non-traditional graduate student;
  • stackable credits across colleges and badging system;
  • increasing effectiveness of the career services office;
  • Academic Services’ accommodation of the increasing number of students;
  • giving faculty a student profile for each class;
  • increase of academic integrity violations and the lack of support that office receives to meet the demand.

5. Updates on the Evaluation of Teaching Project – Barbara Lee, Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs

SVP Lee began her discussion by reminding all present of the task force on the evaluation of teaching put together by the Office of Academic Affairs two years ago but to the incomplete evaluations that solely relied on student evaluations. Due to the task forces recommendations, the President approved the hiring of 2 staff members to conduct training workshops on how to evaluate teaching, Monica Devanas and Christopher Drue, a part of the Center for Teaching Advancement and Assessment Research (CTARR).

Devanas and Drue then provided for a short overview of how they are improving the evaluation of teaching and the workshops provided to faculty to better understand the new process, specifically involving peer review training.

6. Committee Reports

  • Academic Affairs Committee - Robert Boikess, Chair
    • Boikess reported his committee decided to review a charge the Senate ASRAC is currently looking into as well, Grade Inflation, particularly on how it affects PTLs and their yearly evaluations.
  • Athletic Affairs Committee – Ann Gould, Member
    • Gould reported on behalf of McKeever, who could not attend. She reported the committee continues to brainstorm on positive aspects of athletics that will contribute to the university in a positive way, particularly paying close attention to the community interaction, as well as how effective existing mentoring is.
  • Budget, Planning, & Infrastructure – Ryan Womack and Tom Figueira, Co-Chairs
    • Womack reminded the committee of the parking survey conducted last AY. He reported his committee is interested in the Director of Parking Services come talk to the committee to gain some insight on if the survey has sparked change.
  • Faculty and Personnel Affairs - Francois Berthiaume and Karen Thompson, Co-Chairs
    • Thompson reported the main issue her committee was focused on was the loss of tenure-track lines. She is requesting the most up-to-date data on how many TTF vs. PTLs are at the university as well as be able to watch the trend of increasing work loads for PTLs. They plan to work with Budget, Planning & Infrastructure.
  • Student Affairs – Emily Greenfield and Haym Benaroya, Co-Chairs
    • Greenfield reported her committee looks to put forward a resolution to have text for syllabi on mental health resources for students. They are also focusing time on researching the graduate student experience.

7. New Business 

8. Adjournment 

The meeting was adjourned at 3:11 p.m.

Written and submitted by:

Mary Mickelsen
NBFC Recording Secretary