UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH ALABAMA

Faculty Senate
Approved Minutes
21 March 2001



1. Call to Order:

The meeting was called to order at 3:02 p.m.


2. Roll Call and Agenda Approval:

Present: Dagenais, Gifford, Hill, Bowers, I. Brown, R. Brown, Cohen, Comstock, Hitt, Kimball, Kwiatkowski, Matheson, Morris, Mozur, Payne, Rogers, Vest, Rowe, Ellis, McIntosh, Strange, Olsen, Parker, Sylvester, Murray, Norman, Wheeler, Benoit, Boggs, Cepeda, Perkins, Wesenberg, Wilson, Bracken, Hsu, Swofford, Broome, DeWitt, Temple, Weitzel

Absent (Excused): Spector, Blackwell, Miller, Ryder, Garmon, Bailey, Kayes, Teplick, Townsley, Beatty

Absent (Unexcused): Shardo, Broughton, Baker, Sternberg, Tuck-Muller [Cox and Derbin are no longer with the University and have not been replaced on the Senate; White, Stevens, and Stubbs have resigned from the Senate]

The agenda was approved.


3. Approval of Minutes:

The minutes from the February 21, 2001 and March 5, 2001(special meeting) Faculty Senate meetings were presented and approved.


4. Report from the Chair:

Chairman Rogers made brief remarks about the Select Committee formed to discuss implications of budget proration. Senator Brown then discussed the Select Committee meeting held at Brookley.


5. Reports from Senate Committees:

Nominations and Election Committee: Senator Murray stressed the need to expedite the nomination process, especially within colleges.

Ad Hoc Committee on Football: Senator Brown discussed, once again, the football issue. He indicated that in the Final Report of the USA Faculty Senate's Ad Hoc Committee on Football (currently available on the Faculty Senate Webpage) the Committee believes that Division I football at USA is not viable in the short-term. The Committee believes that two options are viable at this time: (1) enhancing campus recreation and intramural facilities and activities and, (2) continuing club football.

Evaluation Committee: Senator Wesenberg informed the Senate that this years survey will be online. Some sections of past surveys have been eliminated while new sections (graduation/parking) will likely be added.

Planning Committee: Senator Dagenais stated that his committee met on February 28 and discussed: (a) revising the ombudsman resolution (returned to this committee by the Policy and Handbook Committee), (b) several parking issues, and (c) possible changes to graduation ceremonies.

Policy and Handbook Committee: Senator R. Brown had no report.

Salary and Fringe Benefits Committee: The Committee had no report.


6. Reports From Caucus Leaders:

Allied Health: No report.
A & S: Reported that meetings continue to be held with their Dean.
Computer Science: No report.
Cont. Ed. No report.
Education: No report.
Engineering: Nothing to report.
Library: No report.
Medicine: Attempts are being made to schedule a meeting with their Dean.
MCOB: Caucus met with the Dean and other administrators.
Nursing: No report.


7. Old Business:

A motion was made and seconded to approve a revision of Section 6.3.1 of the Faculty Handbook (A copy was attached to the February minutes and is also attached to this set of minutes as Attachment 1). The motion was approved by a unanimous vote.

A motion was made and seconded to approve the new sabbatical policy (Attachment 2). The motion was approved by a unanimous vote.

Senator Strange made a motion to amend the new sabbatical policy. The motion was properly seconded. The proposed amendment concerned the second paragraph of the "Replacements and Deferrals" section. The paragraph was amended to read:

Sabbatical recipients may for legitimate reasons defer an approved sabbatical leave for up to one year subject to budgetary limitations in the following year. In the event that a sabbatical recipient is asked by his or her chair, division head or the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs to defer an approved leave, and does so, that leave will be honored by the University in the following year. In the event that a sabbatical recipient is asked by his or her chair, division head or the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs to defer an approved leave, the recipient will be eligible to apply for a subsequent award following five years of full-time service after the end of the leave, rather than six.

This motion was approved by a unanimous vote.


8. New Business:

Chairman Rogers encouraged Senators to read the Policies on Research Compliance handouts before the next Senate meeting.

A resolution on teaching loads was introduced on behalf of the Academic Policy and Faculty Handbook Committee by Senator R. Brown. The resolution was properly seconded and then tabled by the Senate for possible discussion and consideration at the April Senate meeting.

A motion was made and seconded that a resolution concerning Professor Tsang be approved.


Whereas the Faculty Senate of the University of South Alabama has learned of the impending departure of Tsun-Wah Edmund Tsang, Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at USA from the University

And in view if Professor Tsang's many contributions to the University and to the local community in his more that two decades at USA

And in particularly in recognition of his long service as editor and guiding light of The Harbinger, a vitally important independent voice in the local media

The USA Faculty Senate does hereby gratefully commend Professor Ed Tsang for his matchless contributions and wishes him much success in his future endeavors.

This motion was approved by a unanimous vote.


9. Adjournment:

The meeting was adjourned at approximately 4:31 p.m.

Respectfully submitted by:
R. Bracken, Secretary



ATTACHMENT 1

NOTE: Boldface = Revisions Strikeouts = Deletion


6.3 Course Description, Textbooks, and Sale of Academic Material


6.3.1 Course Description and Syllabi

Each instructor is required to furnish students in each credit class, in writing, the following information on the first day of class:

1) goals and objectives of the course
2) instructional material to be used with a syllabus including a brief course description and topical outline
3) office hours of the instructor and class hours and by appointment or means of instructor availability for out-of-class consultation with students
4) class attendance policy
5) number and type of exams to be given during the semester
6) policy on make up examinations
7) course assignments, if any
8) penalty, if any, for late work
9) how final grade is determined
10) statement regarding students with disabilities:

In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, students with bona fide disabilities will be afforded reasonable accommodation. The Office of Special Student Services will certify a disability and advise faculty members of reasonable accommodations.

11) statement regarding changes in course requirements:

Since all classes do not progress at the same rate, the instructor may wish to modify the above requirements or their timing as circumstances dictate. For example, the instructor may wish to change the number and frequency of exams, or the number and sequence of assignments. However, the students must be given adequate notification. Moreover, there may be non-typical classes for which these requirements are not strictly applicable in each instance and may need modification. If such modification is needed, it must be in writing and conform to the spirit of this policy statement.



ATTACHMENT 2

University of South Alabama
Sabbatical Policy

The University of South Alabama encourages eligible faculty to apply for sabbatical leaves for the purposes of professional growth, development, or renewal. Such activities would include planned travel, study, foreign education, research, writing, or other professional experience that promises to enhance their professional skills and standing and, by extension, their usefulness to the University.

Eligibility: Full-time tenured faculty who have completed six or more years of continuous service at the University of South Alabama without having received leave with pay, or who have served for six years following the completion of a previous leave with pay, are eligible to apply for sabbatical leave. In exceptional cases, clinical or other non-tenure track faculty with at least six years of continuous service may also apply for sabbatical leave, pending the approval of the appropriate chair and division head.

The University will endeavor to approve proposals by eligible faculty that are recommended by the chair, college committee and dean. Decisions must include consideration of the impact on the academic program and budgetary constraints in a given year.

Review and Approval: Proposals are submitted by the faculty member to the department chairperson. The chairperson will submit the proposal with his/her recommendation - either favorable or unfavorable - with accompanying rationale and impact statement on the teaching program to the dean. If more than one proposal is submitted from a particular department, the chairperson will rank the proposals prior to forwarding to the dean.

The dean will obtain a review and recommendation with rationales and rankings of proposals from the college committee. Similarly, the dean will submit recommendation - either favorable or unfavorable - with rationales, academic program impact statements, and rankings for all proposals to the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs who will make recommendations to the President. The President will make recommendations to the Board of trustees for a final decision.

Compensation: Sabbatical recipients may take a leave for one semester at full salary or for two semesters at half-salary. In extraordinary cases, leaves may be granted for less than a full semester with full pay, subject to the approval of the appropriate division head and the Senior Vice-President for Academic Affairs. Although external grants or other outside funding are permitted subject to standard University regulations that apply to all faculty, the compensation for the period of the leave should not be greater than the total University salary would have been, plus a reasonable allowance for relocating and meeting the costs of living in the new location. The University is not responsible for providing travel or other living expenses incurred by the recipient.

Benefits and Credited Service: Faculty on sabbatical are eligible for salary increases and promotions as they would be were they not on sabbatical. They will receive credit for time in rank for promotion. All fringe benefits due the recipient will continue in full force during the leave.

Replacements and Deferrals: Sabbatical leaves normally will be financed through departmental and divisional budgets. The University will make every effort to insure that such leaves do not unduly burden the recipient's colleagues or affect course offerings or other instructional needs. To the extent that it is feasible to do so, the University encourages departments to replace faculty who choose to take a leave of two semesters at half-pay with qualified temporary appointments. Any salary relinquished by sabbatical recipients should be made available to compensate temporary replacements.

Sabbatical recipients may for legitimate reasons defer an approved sabbatical leave for up to one year subject to budgetary limitations in the following year. In the event that a sabbatical recipient is asked by his or her chair, division head or the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs to defer an approved leave, the recipient will be eligible to apply for a subsequent award following five years of full-time service after the end of the leave, rather than six.

Responsibilities: Sabbatical recipients must return to the University for at least one academic year following the leave, or they must reimburse the University for all salary and benefits received from the University while on sabbatical. Recipients are to submit a report summarizing their activities and achievements during the sabbatical no later that the end of the first semester following their return from leave.

 


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