Senators
in Attendance: Akers, Mike; Alwang, Jeff; Burger,
Carol; Centeno, Virgilio; Collier, Jim; Cothren, Richard;
Duke, Jack (John C.); Easterling, Sam; Ehrich, Roger;
Floyd, John; Freeman, Larry; Fox, Thomas; Grisso, Bobby; Grossman, Larry; Harris,
Roger; Jarrott, Shannon; Jelesko, John; Klein, Brad; Larson, Timothy; Long,
Gary; Mann, Jeff; Martin, Steve; Martin, Tom; McMillian, Gail; McQuain, Margaret;
Nelson, Doug; Odendaal, Hardus; Parker, Dan; Redican, Kerry; Riley, Sam; Rinehart,
Susanna; Shadle, Brett; Shoemaker, Don; Standley, Eric; Surjan, Terry; Teulon,
Fabrice; Welch, Dennis; Welfare, Laura; Wood Cynthia.
Guests: David
Ford (Vice President and Dean for Undergraduate Education), Pat Hyer (Associate
Provost for Academic Administration) and Rosanne Foti (Associate Professor
of Psychology)
President
Kerry Redican convened the meeting at 7:03 p.m.
1. Kerry Redican, Approval of Agenda:
Approved.
2. Approval of Minutes, February 12, 2008:
Minutes will be electronically approved.
3. David Ford, Vice President and Dean for Undergraduate Education:
Update on Undergraduate Education
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David
Ford’s presentation referred to the university’s 2006-2012
Strategic Plan (http://www.president.vt.edu/strategicplan/).
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Ford
mentioned the plan’s scholarship domains —learning,
discovery, engagement — and
focused on the learning scholarship domain. Specifically, Ford
addressed four areas: 1) Curriculum, 2) Learning Outcomes and Academic
Assessment, 3) Faculty;
and 4) Enrollment Management (undergraduate learning goals are
detailed further at http://www.president.vt.edu/strategicplan/learning.php#undergrad).
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Curriculum — The
university is moving away from the “core” to
the Curriculum for Liberal Education (CLE). Components
of the CLE include VT Pathways for Learning and “the educational
benefits of a culturally diverse student body” (http://www.president.vt.edu/strategicplan/learning.php#undergrad).
In illustrating education initiatives related to diversity,
Ford referenced the university Task Force on Race and the Institution
(http://www.provost.vt.edu/race_taskforce.php).
The university will incorporate issues related to race
throughout the undergraduate curriculum. Ford suggested that this approach
would constitute more than one
course — an approach “like writing across
the curriculum” — and
would be supported by the Center for Excellence in Undergraduate
Teaching (CEUT), by consulting focus groups, and through
the governance process. Referring to
the Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) and the Southern Association
of Colleges and Schools (SACS) accreditation process
(http://www.sacs.vt.edu/), Ford mentioned
briefly living and learning communities, the first-year
experience, and the university’s learning outcomes.
A question raised in mentioning these (and other) curricular
efforts: How will you assess them?
-
Learning
Outcomes and Academic Assessment — Referring to the Office of
Academic Assessment headed by Ray Van Dyke (http://www.aap.vt.edu/),
Ford described assessment as responding both to immediate, local issues — to
wit: What do we want students to learn? — and to more external
outcomes sought by stakeholders (employers). Ford offered that distance
learning and summer
courses have their place but are not a solution to
fulfilling learning outcomes.
-
Faculty — Ford
described CEUT’s role in faculty development and
briefly outlined an idea regarding training for
faculty who seek administrative careers. Shifting to advising, Ford wondered
aloud if we are giving enough
recognition and reward to good undergraduate
advising. Finally, Ford pointed out that through recruitment efforts
and cluster hiring the university is heading
in the right direction in hiring and retaining
a more diverse faculty.
-
Enrollment — According
to the strategic plan, for the 2006-2012 planning period: “Total
undergraduate enrollment is expected to reach 22,500, about 1,000 more
undergraduates than were enrolled in fall 2005.” For
the academic year 2008-09, the university
received 20,000 applications. 12,000 offers were made. Roughly 5,000
first-year students will come to campus in
fall. In the strategic plan, a closer relationship
between Tech and Virginia’s
community colleges will be formed. In closing,
Ford mentioned the unbridled proliferation of high school advanced placement
courses and their affect on
undergraduate credit hours and, hence, tuition
revenues.
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Questions
to David Ford — Senator’s questions ranged from what
Tech graduates lack upon graduation (according to employer feedback), summer
school support for academic departments, students’ politics, students’ sense
of their relationship to the world, students’ absence of historical knowledge,
class size, and classroom space. The question of classroom space sparked discussion
of an oft-proposed but unfunded “classroom building.” Given the
university’s dire need for classrooms, Senators questioned the university’s
priorities and the policy vagaries surrounding the process of funding capital
projects. (A relevant report “Capital Outlay Project Status Report: Building
and Ground Committee, March 31, 2008” can
be found here http://www.cdcd.vt.edu/PJD/Proj.Status/).
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Pat
Hyer presented the results of the COACHE (The Collaborative on Academic
Careers in Higher Education; http://gseacademic.harvard.edu/~coache/)
survey of pre-tenure faculty (http://www.advance.vt.edu/Measuring_Progress/COACHE/COACHE.html).
(Kerry sent a copy of Pat’s PowerPoint presentation
to the Senate listserv on March 12.) The highlights of
the survey’s findings:
- Faculty in the biological sciences, social sciences, engineering/math/computer
science, and education had higher mean scores on clarity of what
is expected for tenure;
- Respondents in architecture/building construction, veterinary
medicine, and humanities had especially low scores on tenure
questions;
- Responses from humanities scholars ranked very low compared
to disciplinary peers at all universities. (10 out of 17 tenure
questions
were ranked
below the 20th percentile;
- Not enough respondents in business, physical sciences, visual
and performing arts to make internal or external comparisons;
- Globally, the majority of VT faculty are satisfied, but not
as satisfied as faculty at other universities.
-
Hyer
described the circulation of the survey’s results with junior faculty,
the Commission on Faculty Affairs (CFA), deans
and heads, chairs of promotion and tenure committees; a keynote talk
by Cathy Trower at a January 8 Advancing
Diversity conference; and focus group discussions
with pre-tenure faculty. The common themes coming out of the focus group
discussions included:
- Needing more resources in general, including
both personnel and money;
- Needing more structured and accountable mentoring;
- Needing clarity and transparency all the way
through the system;
- Developing a more supportive campus climate,
especially in terms of diversity;
- Taking retention seriously;
- Supporting the whole person (especially child
care).
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Questions
for Pat Hyer — Senator’s questions touched on issues
of pre-tenured faculty’s perceptions
versus reality of the P&T process,
the impact of lower university morale on the
findings, the changing landscape of academic
publishing, the dissatisfaction in the humanities
with the P&T
process, the problem of retention, and the
absence of institutional support for families.
In closing, Hyer mentioned the CFA’s
examination of different pre-tenure teaching
load policies among the various colleges.
