The Citadel Faculty Council
Minutes of the Regular Meeting of September 23, 2004
Board of Visitors Conference Room

1. Professor Bill Woolsey called the meeting to order at 11:02.
   
   
2. Members attending: Professors Trautman, Hoyle, Woolsey, Moody, Lally, Calloway, Hewett, Murray, Grenier, Mays, Politano, McKinney, Davakos, Carter, Niksch, Harbaugh, Bower (for Davis), Hurren, and Gustafson. Absent were Professors Knapp, Crawford, Andrade, and Hammond.
   
   
3. Prof. Woolsey asked for approval to add Student Evaluation of Instruction to Old Business and then called for approval of the agenda. Prof. Niksch moved to approve the agenda and Prof. Gustafson seconded.
   
   
4. Presentations.
   Mr. Stuart Ruelle, chair of Staff Council, announced the campus Holiday Celebration Dance on Friday, December 10, 7-11 and encouraged all to attend. CMD Chip Nimmich, campus United Way coordinator, spoke about the fund drive and introduced a representative from the United Way who spoke about the work of the agency.
   
   
5. Reports.
   Prof. Woolsey reported that Provost Steven is following through on his initiative to maintain admission standards. He spoke about it at the President’s staff meeting and at the Board of Visitors meeting.
   
   

   The parking issue has been referred to Campus Affairs Committee (Prof. Bishop, chair). The committee is working on a survey and has been in touch with Profs. Walker and Finch.

   Prof. Woolsey reported that the decision to pursue the new stadium at Stoney Field was the major issue at the Board of Visitors meeting.

   Academic Board actions.
   Prof. Woolsey reported that Academic Board approved the Ethics Statement approved by FC last year (the AAUP statement).

   The Evaluation of Instruction document is now with the Provost. Prof. Woolsey and Prof. Metts will meet with him to explain the FC and Academic Board stands. This will happen next week. Prof. Woolsey asked Prof. Lally to attend this meeting and will clear it with the Provost.

6. Old Business

• UMSC rank on website. Prof. Moody moved that UMSC rank for faculty on The citadel website be optional. Prof. Davakos seconded. Motion carried.
• Recruitment of new faculty for CIT 101. Prof. Grenier conveyed her department’s concerns about recruitment methods and academic quality of the course. Untenured faculty felt pressured to participate and that they couldn’t decline. There are also concerns that the course is taught mostly by administrators and is not academic enough. She conveyed her department’s suggestion of exploring the option of each department teaching CIT 101 to their majors.

  Prof. Moody moved that staffing and content for CIT 101 be handled departmentally. Prof. Harbaugh seconded.

  Discussion: moving responsibility for CIT 101 would place an unequal burden on departments, it would improve departmental FTE credits, there is indirect evidence that CIT 101 helps – GPA’s improve while they are enrolled, this could present scheduling problems, the current system is more flexible.

  The motion failed by a voice vote.

  Prof. Hoyle moved to recommend that the Provost to ask department heads for the teachers needed to teach CIT 101. Prof. Niksch seconded. The motion carried by a voice vote.

  Prof. Woolsey will discuss this issue with the Provost.
  
  
  

• Task force on Physical Effectiveness. This is the section of the QEP dealing with nutrition and rest. FC is tasked with appointing four members to the committee. Based on volunteers and nominations, Prof. Woolsey nominated Profs. Niksch, Davakos, Heuston, and Woolsey. Motion carried.
  
  
• On-site childcare. There are 20 children with interested faculty/staff parents. Prof. Hewett reminded FC that the issued had been thoroughly studies about ten years ago and the cost was found to be prohibitive – codes, DSS regulations, etc. made it unfeasible. No motion made.
  
  
• Faculty governance. The Provost has recommended forming an ad hoc committee comprised of two members each from FC and Academic Board to examine the issue. Prof. Davakos moved to form an ad hoc committee to explore governance with Academic Board. Prof. Grenier seconded. Motion carried. Prof. Woolsey asked members to let him know their ideas and thoughts. He will attend the AAUP conference in October, which should provide some insight.
  
  
• Student Evaluation of Instruction. http://citadel.edu/academics/committees/FacCouncil/reports/SEI_report_A.doc
  

  Prof. Woolsey reiterated that FC had voted to form a separate committee, and distributed the following recommendations and resolutions. Prof. Lally guided FC through the voting on each resolution.

  Prof. Lally made a motion to combine Resolutions 4 & 5. ?? seconded. Motion failed.

Recommendations from the Subcommittee regarding student evaluation of instruction:

(1) Form standing committee on evaluation of instruction.

(2) We recommend, in agreement with a majority of survey respondents, that instructors have the original SEI forms returned to them.

(3) We recommend, considering the disparate number of male and female students in some classes at the present time and in an effort to ensure anonymity of responses, that students no longer be asked to provide information indicating their gender on their evaluation forms.

(4) We recommend that the committee that is to be charged with this important issue inquire into how it is being dealt with at other colleges and universities, keeping in mind the difficult question of validity, as it must relate to EEOC guidelines and the unique situation and constituency of The Citadel.

(5) We urge, as a first measure, if handwritten comments are to be permitted again, that the Faculty Council consider how to address the problem of those evaluations that contain vulgar, obscene, or threatening remarks-or that level ad hominem attacks against professors-including the possibility of an administration statement informing students that SEIs containing such remarks or attacks will be disregarded. We urge the committee charged with oversight of this question in the future to consider this problem

Resolutions: (changes in italics)

1. The Faculty Council of The Citadel resolves that Student Evaluation of Instruction forms be returned to the instructors. Prof. Murray seconded. Motion carried.
   
   
2. The Faculty Council of The Citadel resolves that the question regarding gender of the respondent be removed from the Student Evaluation of Instruction form. Prof. Gustafson seconded. Motion carried.
   
   
3. The Faculty Council of The Citadel instructs the Committee on Evaluation of Instruction to study student evaluation of instruction, review research on the subject, and learning how the matter is dealt with at other universities; along with consideration of validity as related to EEOC guidelines and the special conditions at the Citadel. Prof. Harbaugh seconded. Motion carried.
   
   
4. The Faculty Council of The Citadel instructs the Committee on Evaluation of Instruction to consider the problem of vulgar, obscene or threatening remarks on Student Evaluation of Instruction forms. ?? seconded. Motion carried.
   
   
5. The Faculty Council of The Citadel resolves that Student Evaluation of Instruction forms will no longer include written comments. Prof. Harbaugh moved; Prof. Callaway seconded. Motion failed.
   
   
6. The Faculty Council of The Citadel resolves that students be told that any form with vulgar, obscene or threatening remarks will be disregarded. Prof. Hurren moved; Prof. Davakos seconded. Motion failed.
   
   
7. Prof. Lally made the following motion, seconded by Prof. Murray, on handling subcommittee documents.
   

   The committee that takes up our work should treat the individual responses as confidential. The FC subcommittee solicited them with an assurance that they would be anonymous, and the prudent course would be to protect that anonymity. We ask that all copies of the original survey forms and all documents containing comments be destroyed no later than December 31, 2006.
   
   Motion carried.

7. New Business.

• Appointment of faculty member to Education Dean search committee. Prof. Politano nominated Prof. Murray; Prof. Niksch seconded. Motion carried.
• Appointment of faculty member to Math and Science Dean search committee. Prof Hurren nominated Prof. Berlinghieri. Motion carried.

8. Adjournment. The meeting adjourned at 12:30 PM.