NORTHEASTERN STATE UNIVERSITY
Minutes of Faculty Council Meeting
Friday, May 3, 2002
Members in attendance: Kenny Paris, Alicia Casas, Julie Sawyer, Grant Alexander, Vanessa
Hardbarger, Carol Choate, Gary Wickham, John Milbauer, Lallie Scott, Bruce Kotowich, Jackie
Schumaker, Kin Thompson, Dan Glasgow, Rick Matzen.
Substitute delegates: Andrew Vassar for Mimi Bentley, George Fulk for Michele Bither
Other faculty in attendance: Chuck Ziehr, James Alexander, John Yeutter
Guest: Dr. James Pate
A. Committees and Standing Reports
1. Minutes of April 5, 2002 meeting
The minutes of the April 5, 2002 meeting were approved with the following amendment in
B. Old Business, 2. Office Hours Resolution: delete "The letter indicated that the Deans'
Council felt no change was necessary. However,". Motion: Alexander, Second: Choate
2. Treasurer's Report
Secretary-Treasurer Julie Sawyer reported that the account balance as of April 4, 2002,
was $3,673.74. A total of $123.00 was expended in March.
3. Welfare Committee Report
Vice President Alicia Casas stated that she had talked with Kent Byus about assisting with
three on-line surveys. The surveys, planned for the fall semester, deal with NSU dining
experiences, quality of life issues, and ergonomics.
B. Old Business
1. Office Hours Resolution
President Kenny Paris reported that he had received clarification on details relating to
President Williams' letter regarding the office hours resolution. The new form to request
alternative office hours will be developed by Vice President Pate and Paris. The intent is
for the requests to be approved annually but can be adjusted by semester.
2. Faculty Teaching Evaluation Instrument
Paris stated that the proposed revised faculty evaluation instrument has been posted on the
Faculty Council website. He said that he would be sending a copy of the memo and
instrument to Dr. Pate and Dr. Bahr for their review. He also commented that Donna
Wood had inquired about the on-line instrument used for evaluation of on-line and ITV
classes. Paris will ask Ted Legatski, who chaired the revision committee, to discuss this
topic with Wood.
3. Privacy Task Force
Paris appointed Michael Gibbon, Computing and Telecommunications, as an additional
member of the Privacy Task Force.
4. Faculty Due Process
Paris reported that he has advised the Joint Task Force (consisting of members of the
Faculty Advisory Council and the Council on Instruction) of the NSU Faculty Council
support for a due process policy. Members discussed the possibility of contacting other
faculty council/faculty senate groups as well as legislators. No action was taken.
5. Concerns Regarding Class Size (Guest: Dr. Pate)
Vice President Pate was present at the request of the Council to discuss concerns about
the quality of the educational experience students receive in classes with large enrollments.
Political Science, Geography and Humanities classes were examples. Faculty members
voiced concerns about student anonymity and the difficulty of utilizing some teaching
methods with large classes. Dr. Pate made available data on class sizes and faculty/student
ratios. He stated that the percent of classes with an enrollment of 50 students or more
was 5.1% for Fall 2001. Much of the discussion related to quality of education, financial
considerations, and possible solutions. Dr. Pate said that he was willing to brainstorm
with individual faculty, departments, and colleges to find solutions. Chuck Ziehr
commented that this is a complex issue which needs further study to avoid simplistic
solutions.
C. New Business
1. Freshman Convocation
Paris reported that Freshman Convocation will be held at 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, August
18, 2002. Applications for the Best Faculty Address to Incoming Freshmen are due to
Dave Linebarger by June 3, 2002.
2 2. Budget Proposal
Paris stated that he had attended a meeting for account sponsors at which each sponsor
was asked to submit proposals for cutting 2% and 5% from the account budget for next
year. He submitted proposals in which the cuts were taken from the travel fund as it is
rarely used.
D. Other Business
In other business, Rick Matzen asked if concerns relating to OTR and its financial stability
was appropriate for Faculty Council consideration. It was suggested that the director of
OTR be asked to come to NSU to give a presentation and answer questions in the fall.
Matzen also suggested that the Council consider opening lines of communication with
other Faculty Councils in the state to discuss issues of common concern.
Gary Wickham made a motion to thank the Faculty Council officers for an excellent year.
The motion was seconded by Grant Alexander and passed unanimously.
Paris voiced appreciation for the service provided by members whose terms are expiring.
They are Grant Alexander, Kin Thompson, Charles Veith, Jackie Schumaker, Carol
Choate and Rick Matzen.
E. Adjournment
The next meeting of the Faculty Council will be held on Friday, September 6, 2002 at 3:00 p.m. in
a location to be announced.
Submitted by Julie Sawyer, Secretary-Treasurer
