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The Arts and Sciences Council, September 20, 2016, 3:30-5:00, UMC 247

Meeting Minutes

Representatives present: Sabahat Adil, ALC; Julio Baena, SPAN; Daniel Barth, PSYC; Paul Beale, PHYS; Christine Brennan, SLHS; Andrew Cain, CLAS; Cathy Comstock, RAPS; Charles de Bartolomé, ECON; Kim Dickey, AAH; Ann Dougherty (for Vanja Dukic), APPM; Erica Ellingson, APS; David Ferris, HUMN; Holly Gayley, RLST; Ruth Heisler, IPHY; Saskia Hintz, GSLL; Kwame Holmes, ETHN; Christian Kopff, HNRS; Carl Koval, CHEM; Joanna Lambert, ANTH; Julie Lundquist, ATOC; Ramesh Mallipeddi, ENGL; Steve Mojzsis, GEOL; David Paradis, HIST; Lonni Pearce, PWR; Fernando Riosmena, GEOG; Rob Rupert, PHIL; Kelly Sears, FILM; David Stock, EBIO;  Masano Yamashita, FRIT

Representatives not present: Scott Adler, PSCI; Mans Hulden, LING; Leslie Irvine, SOCY; Janet Jacobs, WGST; Ted Stark, THDN; Robert Tubbs, MATH; Ding Xue, MCDB

Also in attendance: Chris Ewing, Steven Leigh, Zack Tupper Janice Jeffryes,

Robert Rupert called the meeting to order at 3:34 PM.

Dean’s remarks, Steven Leigh

Steven Leigh welcomed the new ASC members and thanked the Council for the important work they do.

Total campus enrollment is 32,220; up 2.9 percent from last year. Freshmen, sophomore retention is up 2 percent. Higher retention rates result in lower costs; student seats needn’t be backfilled. Dean Leigh thanked the ASC for articulating the importance of retention in the Academic Quality Initiative developed two years ago by the Planning Committee.

The College is identifying courses where students are having problems and there are high drop rates. Patrick Tally, Assistant Dean in charge of Curricular Affairs, has been key to identifying these classes. ŷ���ڱ���Ƶ Boulder currently has the highest graduation rate in the state and our incoming class is the most academically qualified due, in part, to the Esteemed Scholars Program which incentivizes academic achievers to attend ŷ���ڱ���Ƶ.

The University is going into its second year with the new budget system. As in any new program, the college is looking for ways it can be improved. No budget problems are on the horizon.

Dean Leigh outlined some recent good new in the Humanities:

• The ŷ���ڱ���Ƶ Shakespeare Festival had record revenues and in its 60th year completed the entire canon a second time.
• An Esteemed Scholars program focusing only on Humanities students has been successful in bringing academically high achieving humanities students to ŷ���ڱ���Ƶ.
• The ŷ���ڱ���Ƶ Art Museum is doing well after construction problems.

The University is reevaluating its FCQ process and collecting information across campus; more information will follow.

A strategic planning process needs to happen once the core curriculum revision is settled one way or the other. The University is coming up on accreditation and the campus needs to focus on its mission and to discuss next steps.

The Dean’s Office has been restructured, adding two new Associate Dean positions: Theresa Hernández (PSYC) as the new AD for Research and Kyle McJunkin, previously from UCLA, as the AD for Undergraduate Education. Lang Farmer (GEOL) is the new AD for the Natural Sciences, replacing Mary Kraus who is now in the Provost Office.

Chair’s remarks, Robert Rupert

New and continuing ASC representatives made their introductions.

At the last ASC meeting in the spring, the ASC voted to put the core curriculum to a vote. Ballots went out to voting eligible faculty; the voting period will last until September 30. The Executive Committee will verify the vote and announce the results at that time.

The Regents Rules and Policies are in the process of being revised; Professor Rupert encouraged the ASC representatives to get involved with the process.

Spring 2017 starts the pilot program of 1st year seminars. There is a campus-level committee looking at proposals for new classes. Paul Chinowsky heads the campus level committee looking at course proposals; Eric Stade (MATH) chairs this committee, and it includes many others from A&S.

Professor Rupert has spoken to most ASC representatives about committee assignments but there are a few spots left which will be filled soon.

Space Allocation, Chris Ewing, Zack Tupper

The Space Utilization Steering Committee started a few years ago and is an ongoing effort to improve how ŷ���ڱ���Ƶ Boulder manages its space on campus. The Huron Group was engaged to study space allocation and management and the results have been one of the tools used to improve space management. The focus is on spaces that will contribute to student success. Students have identified a need for more small shared study space. To that end, a wing of C4C has been opened at night; opening space in Norlin Library and the UMC for longer hours is also being considered.

Archibus, a technology tool that shows how space is used, has been chosen. It is being used on a few buildings to test its use and capabilities.

The committee has met with faculty and student groups and worked on engaging the broader campus. There has been a “knee jerk” method of scheduling classes which has resulted in situations such as English classes spread over 8 to 10 buildings.

This fall the committee will be rolling out Archibus and developing policy recommendations and continue to engage with campus.

Mr. Ewing opened the floor for questions. Issues discussed:

• The Boulder Campus Planning Commission (BCPC) no longer meets regularly. It is unclear whether the committee still exists. A number of the assembled ASC representatives expressed concern that this was previously a group where faculty and students could give feedback on space concerns and capital projects. Jim White (INSTAAR) remains chair of this group.
• When asked how faculty can become involved or share their concerns, Mr. Ewing suggested joining the steering committee or speaking directly to Zack Tupper or Ann Carlos.
• Currently there is no reliable campus-wide data that shows whether or not there is enough classroom space. The new tech tool, Archibus, will help.
• Centrally controlled vs department controlled space was discussed. The Committee isn’t trying to take control of space from departments; they just want to see how and when classrooms are being used.

Faculty’s right to set academic and curricular policies (see Regents Laws, Article 5, Section E)

Professor Rupert has concerns with campus administration moving on new policies without sufficient faculty involvement, which going against the Laws of the Regents. Article 5 part E mentions faculty taking the lead in decision concerning (among other subjects) curriculum but recently online education decisions were made by administration. Professor Rupert acknowledged faculty’s limited interest or time to work through the details of setting policies but such work should be done with faculty approval.

The ASC representatives discussed several times recently when faculty wasn’t consulted before a change, such as the recent drop deadline change.

Professor Rupert asked the assembled representatives to consider this topic and the ASC will return to it, possibly with a faculty motion asking administration to obey the laws of the Regents when it comes to issues within the purview of faculty.

Nominees to serve on the Academic Affairs Advisory Committee

A call for nominations went to the ASC for representation on the AAAC; a ballot was distributed with 11 nominees. The ballots were returned and the results will be given to Dean Leigh for his final decision. The ASC acts in an advisory role only in this issue.

The meeting was adjourned at 5:00 PM.

Minutes submitted by Janice Jeffryes