Faculty Senate

Minutes - October 31, 2016 - 3:05pm

CCSU FACULTY SENATE MEETING

Present: Adair, S.; Arena, J.; Bailesteanu, M.; Baratta, C.; Best, F.; Bigelow, L.; Bishop, J.; Blitz, D.; Button, C.; Callery, T.; Cistulli, M.; Clapp, S.; Clark, B.; Collins, M.; Dhar, P.; Emeagwali, G.; Emiliani, B.; Foster, P.; Fothergill, W.; Gamache, J.; Garcia-Bowen, M.; Garcia, V.; Ghodsi, R.; Givens, E.; Grasso, L.; Gross, S.; Harris, D.; He, F.; Horton, M.; Jackson, M.; Kapper, M.; Karpuk, P.; Kim, Y.; Koulidobrova, H.; Larsen, K.; Latour, F.; Lewis, J.; Lim, K.; LoGiudice, S.; Mahony, M. A.; Martin-Troy, K.; McGuire, M.; Mejia, G.; Menoche, C.; Nelson, W.; Paolino, J.; Phillips, E.; Sadanand, N.; Sohn, Y.; Spear, E.; Styrczula, S.; Tellier, A.; Thornton, E.; Troiano, P.; White, C.; Williams, C.; Zering, J.

Ex-Officio: Lovitt, C.; Malhas, F.

Parliamentarian: Dimmick, C.

President of the Senate: Cohen, S.

Guests: J. Effend (SGA); N. Hoffman (SEPS); Thomas Rein (Anthropology); Ed Sarisley (Manufacturing and Construction Management); Julie Schnobrich-Davis (Academic Standards)

1. Minutes

Minutes of October 17, 2016

• Approved unanimously

2. Announcements:

a. AAUP President (M. A. Mahony)

• AAUP members are encouraged to vote in the special election, beginning on Monday, November 7.
• The latest issue of Table Talk is available.

b. SUOAF-AFSCME President (L. Bigelow)

• The legislative breakfast on October 28 was successful. State Senator Bye and State Representative Aresimowicz were in attendance.

c. SGA (J. Effend)

• Competition for a Cause is happening again this year. It is a canned food drive on campus. It will end on November 19.
• Students are busy studying for midterms.

d. FAC to the Board of Regents (S. Adair)

• No report.

e. President of the Senate (S. Cohen)

• Our new president, Dr. Zulma Toro, has been invited to meet with the Faculty Senate and the Steering Committee. She will become President on January 3, 2017. She will be on campus at least once before then. She plans on visiting each department at least once.

4. New Business:

a. Academic Standards Committee (J. Schnobrich-Davis)
• i. Excused Absences Policy
  • Proposed Amendments
  • Motion (Cohen/Jackson): The Faculty Senate approves the proposed Policy on Excused Absences for University-Sanctioned Events, with the amendments proposed by Senate President Cohen, and the deletion of the fourth bullet point from the existing Attendance Policy.
    • Motion (Tellier): to amend the proposed motion, by striking "and the deletion of the fourth bullet point from the existing Attendance Policy"
    • Approved (1 senator opposed)
    • Motion (Bishop/Callery): to amend the proposed policy, by replacing "music/academic competitions" with "musical, theatrical and academic performances and/or competitions" in item 3.
    • Approved (2 senators opposed)
    • Motion (Best/Fothergill) to amend the existing Attendance Policy by adding "For more information, see the policy on Excused Absences for University-Sanctioned Events, below" at the end of the fourth bullet point.
    • Approved unanimously
  • Motion approved as amended, unanimously
• ii. Professional Program for Teacher Certification Standards for Continuation policy
  • Existing policies
  • Motion: to approve this policy.
    • Professor Nancy Hoffman said that the existing policies are scattered, unclear, and that the new policy is clearer and makes it possible to find the information that one needs.
    • Motion to amend the proposed policy by changing the third paragraph of the Appeals Policy to: "This policy applies to all appeals of admission to, continuation in, and removal from the professional program for the PPTC or any element of the PPTC. The policy applies to undergraduate and graduate students seeking initial teacher certification as well as any student completing coursework, practica, or internships required for cross endorsement. Because academic decisions about admission to and retention in a program are the purview of the faculty, the appeals available under this policy pertain to the procedures followed to reach the academic decision in question, to insure that no error or palpable injustice occurred in reaching the decision. If the PPTC Appeals Committee concludes there may have been an error or a palpable injustice, the SEPS Dean will consult with relevant department/program faculty regarding possible solutions. The decision of the SEPS Dean is final and no further appeal is available within the university.
      
      This policy replaces all previous appeal policies that applied to the PPTC. This policy does not apply to appeals for grade change, which are governed by the University Appeal for Grade Change Policy found in the undergraduate and graduate catalogs. This policy does not apply to items covered by the Graduate Studies Non-Graded Appeals that are governed by the Graduate Studies appeals process found in the graduate catalog."
    • Approved unanimously
  • Policy approved as amended, unanimously
    

5. Adjournment

• The meeting adjourned at 4:20pm.