Meeting Minutes: Committee on Arts and Sciences
Academic Advisory Committee for the Arts & Sciences
November 21, 1998
Sheraton Colony Square Hotel, Atlanta, Georgia
Attending.
Ahmed Abdelal, Wyatt Anderson, Jeanette Arrington, Kent Barefield, John Black, David
Blumenfeld, Don Swofford, Arthur Cleveland, Mary Kay Corbitt, Lennet Daigle, Valerie
D'Ortona, Tom Fox, Timothy Goodman, Jason Horn, Otis Johnson, Mary Jones, Charles
Karcher, John Kohler, Carl McDonald, Gary McGaha, Bill Mugleston, Linda Noble, Barbara
Palmer, Bernie Patterson, Laurence Peterson, Ed Pettit, Elizabeth Ragsdale, Rebecca Rutherford,
Dabney Townsend, and Dorothy Zinsmeister.
Welcome.
Dr. Abdelal opened the meeting at 9:00 a.m. He thanked everyone for making the trip to Atlanta
and for participating in this organizational meeting. He introduced Dr. Dorothy Zinsmeister, the
liaison from the Board of Regents. Dr. Zinsmeister, in turn, asked Dr. Patterson of Georgia
College and State University to give a brief history of the Deans Advisory group. Dr. Patterson
noted that the informal group, known as the ArtSci Deans, was started by Tom Armstrong of
Georgia College in 1985 or 1986. About a year and a half ago, it was suggested that the ArtSci
Deans group become a formal advisory group. The suggestion was precipitated by the fact that
the Deans, as a formal group, had no voice in the semester conversion discussion. The Deans
Advisory Committee, convened today, will be the formal committee, and the ArtSci Deans will
continue informal discussions. Dr. Patterson agreed to organize a listserve for the group at
Georgia College and State University.
Dr. Zinsmeister continued by noting that the Deans Advisory Committee is one of 23 discipline- based academic committees listed in the University System of Georgia statutes. She also reminded those present that only the official representative, the individual named by the institution, has a vote. One vote per institution. She further explained that the statutes define some guidelines for the committee, but the regulations are minimal. It is really up to the committee to decide how it will function, how often to meet, and who will be asked to participate in the meetings. Harold Cline of Middle Georgia College has organized a list serve for all of the Academic Advisory Committee members, and Dr. Zinsmeister suggested a list serve could be a valuable communication tool for the Deans Advisory Committee.
Topics of Interest.
Next, Dr. Zinsmeister discussed briefly the "Faculty Development Calender for 1998-99." She
then began a review of the Workshop of the Executive Committees of the Academic Advisory
Committees which was held in Macon on October 6th. One topic for discussion was core
curriculum transfers. Some FAQs for students were distributed and discussed. Of particular
interest was a lecture by Mike Staman, Vice Chancellor for Information/Instructional
Technology. The talk was titled "Technology Futures: Possibilities and Realities." Academic
affairs has focused on technology and has suggested the direction for technology in the university
system including tools for approaching technology, establishing guidelines for its use, and
developing minimum technology standards. As an aside, she reminded the Committee that the
SACS board should be notified of a substantive change if instructional delivery is substantially
altered. In fact, because so many courses are changing to a distance learning format, SACS is
experimenting with a system in which the university system rather than each individual
institution would be undergo a substantive change review.
She discussed briefly the procedure for submitting committee meeting minutes. She also indicated that if the group wishes to make a recommendation to the Board of Regents for a major change, it must follow a particular format and submit the request electronically. A Committee member asked for clarification regarding the difference between major and minor recommendations. Dr. Zinsmeister noted that a minor recommendation would not require Board of Regents approval and would simply be included in the minutes. A formal recommendation would be one that required higher approval to implement.
Finally, she began a discussion of the Board of Regents 1998 Policy for the Preparation of Educators for the Schools. This is a single document that puts together principles and actions approved by the Board, and includes implementation guidelines for the institutions.
Issues for Consideration in 1998-99.
After a brief break, Dr. Abdelal led a discussion of possible agenda items for the committee to
address. Suggested topics were: 1)Teacher Preparation Issues and the Role of Arts and Sciences;
2)Regents Exam; 3)Distance Learning Technologies; 4)Workload Policy; 5) Part-time
Instructors; 6)Summer School Compensation; 7)Enrollment and Retention issues; 8)Post-tenure
Review issues; and 9)Establishing common AP/CLEP scores.
Election of Executive Committee.
Dr. Abdelal initiated a discussion of the desired composition of the Executive Committee. The
consensus of the group was that the structure for the Executive Committee defined at this
meeting would be an interim definition and would be formalized by an appointed bylaws task
force. It was also agreed that the Executive Committee would be empowered to act on behalf of
the larger committee. Dr. Townsend of Armstrong Atlantic State University moved that the
Executive Committee be comprised of five members: one representative from the research
institutions, one from the regional and state universities, one from the two year and state
colleges, a chair elected at large, and a vice-chair or chair elect elected at large. The chair elect
would become chair. It was also agreed that the chair would assign responsibility for keeping a
written record of the meetings. After some discussion, it was agreed that the chair become an ex-
officio member after his/her term was up. The question was called. The motion carried with one
vote of opposition.
Nominations were opened up for the Chair position. Dr. Ahmed Abdelal of Georgia State University was nominated. There were no additional nominations, and he was elected.
Dr. Bernie Patterson of Georgia College and State University and Dr. Larry Peterson of Kennesaw State University were nominated for Vice Chair. The nominations were closed. By secret ballot, Dr. Patterson was elected as Vice Chair.
Dr. Wyatt Anderson of the University of Georgia was nominated as the representative from the research institution. There were no additional nominations, and Dr. Anderson was elected.
Dr. Larry Peterson of Kennesaw State University and Dr. Tom Dasher of Valdosta State were nominated to represent the regional and state universities. Nominations were closed and, by secret ballot, Dr. Peterson was elected.
Dr. Charles Karcher of Gainesville College, Dr. Valerie D'Ortona of Middle Georgia College, Dr. Jeanette Arrington of Macon State College, and Dr. Janis Reid of Atlanta Metropolitan College were nominated to represent the two-year and state colleges. Nominations were closed and by secret ballot, Dr. D'Ortona was elected.
It was also decided that the executive committee would solicit volunteers for the Bylaws Committee.
Additional Topics of Interest.
Dr. Zinsmeister began a discussion of several topics she wanted the Committee to be aware of
and/or to discuss. First, she reminded them that nominations for the teaching excellence award
given to a department or an individual were due by January 13th. Second, applications for the
Faculty Associates position at the Board of Regents are due on the January 15th. She noted that
the institution of the individual pays the salary, and the Board of Regents provides funds for a
replacement position. It is not necessary for the individual to live in Atlanta. There are some
relocation funds available from the Regents office. Third, it will soon be time to apply for
Teaching and Learning Grants. This year the categories are: Internationalizing the Curriculum,
Foreign Language, Information Technology, and Teacher Preparation. The grant proposal
should include information on course or curriculum development and should outline the tangible
benefits of the project proposed. The RFP should be available some time in January, 1999.
Before the Committee broke for lunch, Dr. Zinsmeister made two requests of those present. First, she suggested a meeting with the Deans from the Colleges of Education across the state to continue discussion of the teacher preparation issue. Second, she suggested a closer look at the discrepancy between head count and EFT. She noted that head count is down by 2.7 - 2.9% and EFT is down on average 11%, with a range from 3% to 17%. One contributing factor to the drop in EFT is the students inability to keep up with materials presented in classes. The faculty in many cases have not made the necessary adjustments to their course requirements for the change in contact hours from quarter to semester. She also reported that withdrawals have substantially increased this year.
Of further interest, Dr. Zinsmeister reported that 60% of students lose their HOPE scholarships at the end of the first year. Of the 40% remaining, 25% will lose it by the end of the second year.
Break for lunch.
Teacher Preparation.
Dr. Zinsmeister pointed out that, in the past, teacher preparation has been solely the
responsibility of Colleges of Education. The Board of Regents 1998 Policy for the Preparation
now requires this responsibility to be collaboratively shared by Arts and Sciences and Education.
The Committee began to look at the Board of Regents document. Of particular interest to the Committee was page two of the document. Here the term "concentration" is defined. The term concentration replaces the word minor. The concentration is 12-15 hours outside of areas A-E of the core curriculum. Nine of those hours must be taught by Arts and Sciences faculty.
There is some concern that more faculty will be needed to accommodate this change. In anticipation of this concern, the Chancellor has asked for more faculty for core curriculum classes and for teacher preparation classes. There is still some debate as to whether the additional faculty should come under Arts and Sciences or Education. It was noted that there is a need to scrutinize carefully the definition of "concentration."
The Committee spent some time discussing the problems with middle grades certification. The P.S.C. (Professional Standards Commision) certifies in four areas, but the Board of Regents will only guarantee certification in two. The broad field certification really requires more time, but few are willing to require more hours.
A committee member announced that a seminar for teams of deans, one from Arts and Sciences and one from Education, will be held in late September in the Midwest. The conference will take the discussion of collaboration between these two units to the national level.
With a reminder to review the draft of the minutes and stay in touch, the meeting was adjourned at 2:00 p.m.