I. CALL TO ORDER

Dr. Anderson called a regular meeting of the Academic Affairs Council to order at approximately 9:00 a.m.

Members Present: Duane C. Anderson, Pamla Armstrong, Bob Feighner, Kurt Jackson, Carlotta Lockmiller, Linda Mitchusson, Kenneth Moore, Jack Paschall, Charles Perry, Shirley Talley, Nancy Thomason, Alvin Turner, Bill Walden, Bruce Weems
Members Absent: C. J. Vires
Others Present: Marilyn Cole
Recorder: Sue Milner

The Academic Affairs Council Minutes of November 16, 1999, were approved as posted on the web.

Libraries--Dr. Charles Perry
The most popular searches of the month were "Civil Rights" and "Civil War."

Dr. Perry reports they are in the process of interviewing for a library position and will bring that to a close soon.

Continuing Education and Community Services--Ms. Nancy Thomason
Efforts are being made on getting the Literacy First Grant refunded. They are visiting schools to see how the program is being implemented in the schools. Jim Vercelli transferred from Continuing Education to coordinator for this grant. A coordinator is being hired for the continuing education position.

Assessment Center and Institutional Research--Dr. Kurt Jackson
Dr. Jackson has learned that the replacement test ECU is currently using is not Y2K compatible. Alternatives are being considered. A backup plan is in place.

College Base is tied up with ongoing discussion about the role the test plays in the evaluation. It is necessary to reevaluate whether ECU will use the College Base Test in the future. It may be desirable to consider how evaluations are made based on the Standardized Test. The Regents prefer the Standardized test. If ECU does not use a standardized test, it will not be consistent with its sister institutions. A continuing problem is student motivation to do well on assessment tests.

School of Humanities and Social Sciences--Dr. Alvin Turner
An English position is open and they will be screening applicants this week.

A preliminary degree program being considered is a B.S. or B.A. in General Studies. ECU is considering the development of this degree for off campus through distance learning. It is believed that this would be marketable to persons with 70+ hours of past course work who want to pursue a degree. Deans should consider the concept and look at students with a perspective of what is missing and what group of students should be addressed. Dr. Anderson would like to see an imaginative degree developed that will be interesting to on campus and off campus students.

School of Mathematics and Sciences--Dr. Bruce Weems
No report.

School of Business--Dr. Linda Mitchusson
Ronald McDaniel is settling into his position of coordinator in the SBDC grant.

The School is interviewing candidates for a faculty position in management.

The School has received some response from the Regents Review Team visit. The School of Business has a number of initiatives to work on.

The Business Administration Department is reactivating a Management Information Systems Concentration from the CIS program. It will be effective with the fall 2000 semester.

School of Education--Dr. Kenneth Moore
The School has received some folios and is waiting for others. These are due to the Commission January 15, 2000.

The search for a faculty counseling position is not going well. They may have to reopen the position.

School of Graduate Studies--Dr. Jack Paschall
The Graduate School is making progress in removing all 3000 and 4000 level courses from graduate programs.

A possible degree program in health administration is being considered. Currently, there is a move to offer master degrees that have a practical application. There are opportunities to make master degrees out of existing degrees, i.e., Human Resources, School of Business, Communication, etc.

Computer Services--Mr. Bob Feighner
Work is in progress in several departments and buildings across the campus in installing hardware, wiring, etc.  Rosters will be updated early next semester.
Work continues on the library system.

PC software has been updated on the network; all are Y2K compliant. Faculty are reminded to turn off their computers during the break.

Registry--Ms. Pamla Armstrong
No report.

North Central Self-Study--Dr. Carlotta Lockmiller
Criterion Teams have met and formed subcommittees. They are in the process of recruiting others from across the campus to serve. The general faculty meeting for January 10 will feature Dr. Karen Kietzman, the North Central liaison. A luncheon will be provided for her and meeting with the Steering Committee. Dr. Lockmiller reports that ECU is on schedule with the original time line.
 

Calendar
December 14 - President's Open House, 2:00-5:00 p.m.
December 16 - Intersession classes begin through January 11.
December 20 - Grades are due 10:00 a.m.
                        Annual Hall Party, 12:00 noon-2:00 p.m.
December 22 - Offices close, 5:00 p.m.
January 3 -       Offices open, 8:00 a.m.
January 5 -       Academic Affairs Council meeting, 9:00 a.m.

Computer Lab Demonstration
Council members gathered in the Assessment Lab to view the revision in the web page format that will be consistent throughout the campus. Dr. Anderson reviewed some of the sites in progress and encouraged departments to consistently update their web pages. The web is becoming an important recruiting tool.

Council on Instruction, December 9, 1999

A. Changes are being made in the section of the Regents' Policy Book that addresses the catalog being the contract with the student. It was noted that the contract includes other electronic publications, also.

B. A policy is in place that allows high school students and vo-techs to use Principles of Technology to substitute for science courses to meet admission requirements at regional universities, and will allow the continued use of Applied Biology/Chemistry for another two years.

C. Regarding the transfer matrix, Paul Bell raised the issue of multi course listing in a single block. Many of the regional universities want to do what O.U. has done. The Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences refuses to sign off on more than one course in a cell. ECU may want to consider what O.U. does by refusing to sign off on more than one course in any one cell. The matrix should have one course equivalent to one course.

D. The State Regents have 8.7 million dollars in new money requests of which the bulk is destined to go back to institutions for electronic course development, faculty training, etc.

E. Kim Bender spoke on the implementation of new admission standards that will be delayed until fall 2000. Beginning next fall, a beginning freshman must have an ACT score of 24 (comprehensive) at OU, 22 at OSU, and 20 at regional universities.

Spring Non-Priority Enrollment Report, December 2
Undergraduate enrollment is down 3.1 percent and graduate is down 1.6 percent. Headcount is down 4.5 percent, and FTE is down 3.6 percent.

Some small classes will be canceled. Deans need to remember that we no longer cancel students for nonpayment and there should be some flexibility in accepting students into classes above the printed maximum enrollment.

Hall Party
The annual Hall Party is scheduled for Monday, December 20 at 12:00 noon until 2:00 p.m.

AAC/Offices--January 2000
Academic offices open January 3. Faculty return from the end of semester interim Monday, January 10. A general faculty meeting is set for 10:00 a.m. in the Ballroom. Dr. Karen Kietzman is the scheduled speaker on the North Central Accreditation visit. The North Central Steering Committee meets at 1:00. Faculty on the Steering Committee are excused from department and school meetings.

Non-Instructional Contribution
NIC forms are due January 14.

Opportunity Fair
The Fair is scheduled for February 9 from 8-5 p.m. The Fair is intended as an information sharing program for junior high and high school students. It is not a job placement fair. It is for potential college students. The McNair Program will set up five or six research posters. The Registry Office and Academic Advising Center is planning to have a multimedia program. It would be beneficial if areas such as environmental health science, cartography, legal studies, business and education are represented. More information will be available later.

Other
A. A new scholarship, the George Nigh Scholarship, is now available for Oklahoma residents enrolled in studies that will lead to careers in public service as determined by the Nigh Institute. Student Services can provide further information.

B. Department evaluation sheets will be distributed to department chairs before the fall semester is over.

C. A fire alarm inspection is scheduled for December 20.

D. Remodeling projects include replacing classroom floor tile in the back part of the Administration Building. The carpet on the second and third floors in Science Hall will be replaced with tile. Minor renovation will be done by an external contractor in the Environmental and Physical Sciences Building throughout the spring semester; most of the work will be done from 5:00 to 12:00 midnight. There has been one meeting on remodeling of the old library building. A first draft will be submitted with special allocations. The asbestos is now being removed. Architects are to do preliminary work for a Fine Arts Building. A grant application will be submitted early next year. No decision has been made on a site. A bid estimate is to be returned this week.

Student Evaluations
Dr. Talley discussed the process of Student Evaluation of Teaching Effectiveness and the improvements to make.

a. Sections numbers to be evaluated should not be changed without informing Dr. Talley of the change.

b. To preserve the confidentiality of the evaluator, faculty members should not be involved in the process of their own evaluation and should not be the person returning the forms to the Academic Affairs Office.

c. Five or six packets from extension sites were returned blank. Deans will help determine the cause. The evaluations will be processed and ready for return January 4.

Program Review Status
The revised program reviews will be returned to the deans December 14. The FTE cost data has not been received from the Regents. At some point the program reviews will be returned to include the program costs data.

General Education Advisory Committee
Only a few professional development offerings are being submitted for a given semester. Deans are asked to suggest likely projects for professional development. There is a tremendous need to help faculty on the use of multi media. They need practice and experience prior to teaching before the camera. Faculty are encouraged to attend these programs. Dr. Anderson will schedule the Hedgehog and Fox Lecture and the Stokes Lecture. Also, Environmental Health Science will have a lecture.

Regular Enrollment
Faculty advisors are needed in their offices for regular enrollment January 11. Deans are to submit specific names of faculty who are willing to be on call, 1:00-6:30, to help in the Academic Advising Center.

Winter Intersession
Students are enrolled in various courses. The assessment lab, room 163, will be open during the last week of the semester through December 22 to 5:00 p.m. and will open again January 3, 2000. The week of December 27-31, John Medeck will meet with each of these classes and will have a roster with student passwords. Students enrolling late will get their password the next day, and retain that password for the remainder of the semester.

Strategic Planning
Dr. Anderson will review the plans and return them after January 3.

General Education Advisory Committee
Deans will get a reminder suggesting names for the General Education Advisory Committee.

Department Writing Plans
In the appendices of the ECU Faculty Handbook, is the Writing Proficiency Policy "Writing Across the Curriculum." The writing plans were last revised in 1993-94. Dr. Anderson has met frequently with the English Proficiency Committee. The Committee has been charged with reviewing the existing Department Writing Plans and referring them to department chairs for revisions.

Departmental Brochures
Some departments have completed their brochures and are waiting for pictures. Ms. Rebecca Kennedy reports she has resolved the technical problem and has worked out a way to make pictures easily available to those persons producing the brochures. Some departments are making arrangements to make pictures. Most of the brochures will be ready for print in January. Departments are asked to start with a small number of brochures and request copies as needed.

Computer Count
A count of computers in all academic areas is due January 24. The computer list should be sent to the Academic Affairs Office by E-mail. The Purchasing Office should not be asked for inventory records. A physical count of all computers should be made.

Budgeting for FY01
Dr. Anderson is revising forms used for budget requests for Fiscal Year 2000-01.

Academic Systems Software
Dr. Anderson will distribute information on this software program to Dr. Turner and Dr. Weems.

Bill Taylor is leaving the Chartwell Food Services at the end of the semester. His replacement is Mr. Mitch McGee.

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned 12:00 noon. The next meeting is scheduled for January 5, 2000.