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THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE
UNIVERSITY
The University Faculty
Senate
AGENDA
Tuesday, December 5, 2000,
at 1:30 PM in
112 Kern Graduate Building
[In the case of severe weather conditions or other
emergencies, you may call the Senate Office at (814) 863-0221 to inquire if a
Senate meeting has been postponed or canceled.
This may be done after normal office hours by calling the same number
and a voice mail announcement can be heard concerning the status of any
meeting. You may also leave a message
at that time.]
A. MINUTES OF THE PRECEDING MEETING -
Minutes of the October 24, 2000, Meeting
in The Senate Record 34:2
B.
COMMUNICATIONS
TO THE SENATE - Senate Curriculum Report (Blue Sheets) of November 21,
2000
C. REPORT OF SENATE COUNCIL - Meeting of November 14, 2000
D. ANNOUNCEMENTS BY THE CHAIR -
E. COMMENTS
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNIVERSITY -
F.
FORENSIC
BUSINESS -
G. UNFINISHED BUSINESS -
H.
LEGISLATIVE
REPORTS –
Committees
and Rules
Revision
of Constitution, Article II, Section 1 (Membership)
Revision
of Standing Rules, Article II, Section 6(e)
Undergraduate
Education
Revision
of Senate Policy 42-27: Class Attendance
I.
ADVISORY/CONSULTATIVE
REPORTS –
University Planning
Recommendation for
Developing an Ecologically Sustainable University
J. INFORMATIONAL
REPORTS -
Admissions,
Records, Scheduling and Student Aid
Reserved Spaces Program
Faculty
Affairs
UniSCOPE 2000 Presentation
Undergraduate
Education
Summary of Student Petitions by College,
Unit or Location
University
Planning
Long-term
Debt and Debt Service of the University
A
Grand Destiny, The Penn State Campaign, Rodney Kirsch, Vice President for
Development and Alumni Relations
K.
NEW LEGISLATIVE BUSINESS -
L.
COMMENTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE GOOD OF THE UNIVERSITY -
-----------------
Note:
The next regular meeting of the University Faculty Senate will be held
on Tuesday,
January 30, 2001, at 1:30 PM in Room 112
Kern Building.
The
Informational Report entitled “A Grand Destiny, The Penn State Campaign” will
be presented as the first informational report (under J.)
on the floor of the Senate.
THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY
The University Faculty Senate
101 Kern Graduate Building
University Park, PA 16802
(814) 863-1202 – phone (814) 865-5789 – fax
Date: November 17, 2000
To: Cara-Lynne Schengrund, Chair, University Faculty Senate
From: Louis F. Geschwindner, Chair, Senate Committee on Curricular Affairs
The
Senate Curriculum Report, dated
November 21, 2000, has been circulated throughout the University. Objections to any of the items in the report
must be submitted to the University Curriculum Coordinator at the Senate
Office, 101 Kern Graduate Building, e-mail ID sfw2@psu.edu,
on or before December 21, 2000.
The first list of editorial prerequisite
changes was published in the October 10, 2000, Senate Curriculum Report. The second and final list has been published
in the November 21, 2000, Report.
Each publication has listed over 400 editorial course prerequisite
changes. We encourage you to review the
listings.
The Senate Curriculum Report is available on the web. It can be accessed via the Faculty Senate home page (URL http://www.psu.edu/ufs). Since the Report is available on the web, printed copies are not distributed to the University community. An electronic mailing list is used to notify individuals of its publication. Please contact the Curriculum Coordinator at the e-mail ID indicated above if you would like to be added to the notification list.
SENATE COMMITTEE ON COMMITTEES
AND RULES
Revision of
Constitution, Article II, Section 1 (Membership)
(Legislative)
(Implementation Date: Upon approval by the President)
Recommendation
The Senate Committee on Committees and Rules proposes the following change to the Constitution, Article II, Section 1:
Article II
Section 1
Membership
For the purpose of defining the
electorate of the Senate, the term University Faculty shall mean all persons who
are not candidates for degrees at Penn State, who hold full time academic
appointments, and who fall into one of the following categories: those holding
professorial, research (excluding noncontinuing research appointees), or librarian
titles and those who are full-time instructors, senior lecturers and lecturers,
or assistant librarians.
Rationale
This rule has often been violated in the past, most often when people have sought graduate degrees in Higher Education. That, however, should not be a rationale, but support for the rationale, namely that the requirement is not necessary. The fear is that Senators will be guilty of a conflict of interest, but that is often the nature of whole committees such as Faculty Affairs and Faculty Benefits. The addition of Dickinson College of Law to Penn State has allowed professors in a number of fields to desire and pursue law degrees. They should not be penalized for this. Since Senators are asked by the Senate to disclose such degree pursuit, it would be simple for the voting units to request such information and for the electorate to make their own decisions bearing this information in mind if they wish.
COMMITTEE ON COMMITTEES AND RULES
Mark A. Casteel, Vice-Chair
Joseph J. Cecere
Dwight Davis
Terry Engelder
Sabih I. Hayek
Deidre E. Jago, Chair
John R. Lippert
Arthur C. Miller
John W. Moore
Murry R. Nelson
John S. Nichols
Jean Landa Pytel
Dennis C. Scanlon
Cara-Lynne Schengrund
SENATE COMMITTEE ON COMMITTEES AND RULES
Revision
of Standing Rules, Article II, Section 6(e)
(Legislative)
(Implementation: Upon Passage by the Senate)
INTRODUCTION
The Faculty Senate of Penn State Great Valley School of Graduate Professional Studies has petitioned to have a representative on the Faculty Affairs Committee. The Committee on Committees and Rules has unanimously voted to support this petition.
RATIONALE
Penn State Great Valley currently has two (2) Senators. To maintain consistency with other academic units, Penn State Great Valley should have representation on the Faculty Affairs Committee.
PRESENT
(e) Committee on Faculty Affairs
1. Membership:
(i) At least nineteen (19) elected
faculty Senators including at least one (1) faculty Senator from each college
at University Park and one (1) faculty Senator from each of Abington College,
Altoona College, Penn State Erie-The Behrend College, Berks-Lehigh Valley
College, Capital College, Commonwealth College, Dickinson School of Law, The
College of Medicine, and University Libraries.
PROPOSED
(e) Committee on Faculty Affairs
1. Membership:
(i) At least TWENTY (20) elected
faculty Senators including at least one (1) faculty Senator from each college
at University Park and one (1) faculty Senator from each of THE FOLLOWING:
Abington College, Altoona College, Penn State Erie-The Behrend College,
Berks-Lehigh Valley College, Capital College, Commonwealth College, Dickinson
School of Law, The College of Medicine, GREAT
VALLEY SCHOOL OF GRADUATE PROFESSIONAL STUDIES, and University Libraries.
COMMITTEE ON COMMITTEES AND RULES
Mark A. Casteel, Vice-Chair
Joseph J. Cecere
Dwight Davis
Terry Engelder
Sabih I. Hayek
Deidre E. Jago, Chair
John R. Lippert
Arthur C. Miller
John W. Moore
Murry R. Nelson
John S. Nichols
Jean Landa Pytel
Dennis C. Scanlon
Cara-Lynne Schengrund
SENATE COMMITTEE ON UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION
Revision
of Senate Policy 42-27: Class Attendance
(Legislative)
[Implementation Date: Fall 2000]
Background
Senate Policy 42-27 describes the importance of class attendance and exemptions to the class attendance policy. Official University excuses for attendance are only provided for University-approved curricular and extracurricular activities (such as field trips, debate trips, choir trips, and athletic contests). We believe that the University-approved Martin Luther King (MLK) Day of Service provides enriching learning experiences and should receive equal consideration under Senate Policy 42-27. By procedure, students will be expected to sign-up for The MLK Day of Service activities by the end of the prior fall semester and present the official University excuse form with an attached description of the activities at the beginning of the spring semester. The Martin Luther King Day of Service will be available across all Penn State locations through the Office of Student Affairs.
Rationale
The proposed amendment is intended to increase opportunity for community involvement by both students and faculty. The amendment is also intended to further three major goals of the MLK Day of Service initiative: increasing an appreciation for diversity and cultural awareness, increasing a sense of civic and social responsibility among all Penn Staters, and increasing an appreciation for civility and community. Last year was the first MLK Day of Service. Over 600 students participated in community service projects ranging from volunteering in K-12 schools in districts across the state to non-profit human service agencies. The number of students expected to participate in the coming year is expected to exceed the previous year’s involvement. The MLK Day of Service has been recognized as a University Sponsored event. It is therefore recommended that the term, The MLK Day of Service, be inserted into Senate Policy 42-27 to give both students and faculty the opportunity to become more involved in the community and further the goals of the initiative.
Recommendation
The Faculty Senate recommends the insertion of “The MLK Day of Service” within Senate Policy 42-27.
42-27 Class Attendance As Written
The faculty, staff, and other resources of the University are furnished for the education of students who attend the University. A class schedule is provided for students and faculty so that a reasonably orderly arrangement for instruction is facilitated. The fact that classes are scheduled is evidence that the faculty believes class instruction is important. Therefore, class attendance is important for the benefit of students.
Accordingly, it is the policy of the University that class attendance by students be encouraged and that all instructors organize and conduct their courses with this policy in mind. A student should attend every class for which the student is scheduled and should be held responsible for all work covered in the courses taken. In each case, the instructor should decide when the class absence constitutes a danger to the student's scholastic attainment and should make this fact known to the student at once. A student whose irregular attendance causes him or her, in the judgment of the instructor, to become deficient scholastically, may run the risk of receiving a failing grade or receiving a lower grade than the student might have secured had the student been in regular attendance.
Instructors should provide, within reason, opportunity to make up work for students who miss class for regularly scheduled, University-approved curricular and extracurricular activities (such as field trips, debate trips, choir trips, and athletic contests). However, if such scheduled trips are considered by the instructor to be hurting the student's scholastic performance, the instructor should present such evidence for necessary action to the head of the department in which the course is offered and to the dean of the college in which the student is enrolled or to the Division of Undergraduate Studies if the student is enrolled in that division.
Instructors also should provide, within reason, opportunity to make up work for student's who are obliged to miss classes for other legitimate reasons.
42-27 Class Attendance As Proposed
The faculty, staff, and other resources of the University are furnished for the education of students who attend the University. A class schedule is provided for students and faculty so that a reasonably orderly arrangement for instruction is facilitated. The fact that classes are scheduled is evidence that the faculty believes class instruction is important. Therefore, class attendance is important for the benefit of students.
Accordingly, it is the policy of the University that class attendance by students be encouraged and that all instructors organize and conduct their courses with this policy in mind. A student should attend every class for which the student is scheduled and should be held responsible for all work covered in the courses taken. In each case, the instructor should decide when the class absence constitutes a danger to the student's scholastic attainment and should make this fact known to the student at once. A student whose irregular attendance causes him or her, in the judgment of the instructor, to become deficient scholastically, may run the risk of receiving a failing grade or receiving a lower grade than the student might have secured had the student been in regular attendance.
Instructors should provide, within reason, opportunity to make up work for students who miss class for regularly scheduled, University-approved curricular and extracurricular activities (such as THE MARTIN LUTHER KING DAY OF SERVICE, field trips, debate trips, choir trips, and athletic contests). However, if such scheduled trips are considered by the instructor to be hurting the student's scholastic performance, the instructor should present such evidence for necessary action to the head of the department in which the course is offered and to the dean of the college in which the student is enrolled or to the Division of Undergraduate Studies if the student is enrolled in that division.
Instructors also should provide, within reason, opportunity to make up work for student's who are obliged to miss classes for other legitimate reasons.