December 4, 2019 Minutes

Faculty Senate Minutes

December 4^th, 2019

SUB 235

3:10 to 4:30pm

I.            Call to Order

a.       Meeting was called to order at 3:10pm

II.            Approval of the November 13th meeting minutes

a.       Robert Carson moves to approve. Susan Dana seconds. None opposed. Approved.

III.            Informational Items

a.       Faculty Affairs Member

1.       Two members short

2.       If you are interested, please speak with Michael Brody.

3.       Steve Swinford-Sabbatical Reviews: you would have 6 primary cases to read. Come up with clusters as a group. Write letter to provost.

b.       Senate Chair Elect

1.       Looking for self-nominations and nominations of others

2.       Current Chair Elect: This is important, consequential work

3.       Would be involved with the Steering Committee, smaller sub-committee

c.       Athletic Committee Update-George Haynes

1.       Athletics and unexcused absences. Would like to put a cap on them.

2.       Athletics and the new excused absences

3.       Grade Checks

A.      Send out checks three times per semester

B.      Used to be done on paper. Now it is all online

C.      Have been getting less and less feedback from faculty since going online

D.      Give student athletes resources if they need help

E.       Getting more “at-risk” responses. Would also like to know about those who are doing well.

F.       Spam filters have been an issue. Working with UIT to get it straightened out.

G.      What can we do better? Is three times too many? Is three times not enough? Is the first round of checks too early?

i.            The email from the system looks like spam. If it came from an address that looks like an MSU person that might be better.

ii.            Have only received one this year. How long do the links stay open? About two weeks.

iii.            Is there an option if you see an IMMEDIATE issue with a student? Will look into that.

iv.            What are the student’s responsibilities for telling professors they are on a team? Get a (hard copy) letter at the beginning of the semester to give professors that let them know which dates they will be out of class.

d.       Campus Climate Survey Results-Ariel Donohue/Becca Belou

1.       Has been added to the Strategic Plan

A.      Goal 1.1: Broaden access for underrepresented populations and increase academic success for all students through excellence in undergraduate education.

B.      Goal 1.3: Implement evidence-based high quality, high impact teaching and learning practices for every student

C.      Goal 2.3: Strengthen institutional reputation in scholarship (faculty diversity)

D.      Goal 3.1: Increase mutually beneficial collaborations with Tribal nations and partners

E.       Goal 3.3: Foster a culture of collaboration, continuous improvement and individual growth (Diversity & Inclusion Framework)

2.       MSU Launched year of D&I planning in September 2016

3.       Diversity Summit #1 was November 2016

4.       Diversity Summit #2 was February 2017

5.       Diversity Charrette was April 2017

6.       D&I Framework Report was distributed in September 2017

7.       Campus Climate:

A.      What is it? It is a construct, complex

B.      Definition: Current attitudes, behaviors and practices of employees and students of institution

C.      How is it measured? Personal experiences, perceptions, institutional efforts.

8.       Campus Climate

A.      How students experience their campus environment influences both learning and developmental outcomes.

B.      Discriminatory environments have a negative effect on student learning, job satisfaction, and retention.

C.      Research supports the pedagogical value of a diverse student body and faculty on enhancing student learning outcomes.

9.       Survey Instrument: Diverse Learning Environments survey from UCLA’s Higher Education Research Institute

A.      Random sample of 4,000 students (UG & GR)

B.      Random Sample of 500 staff

C.      Random sample of 500 faculty (TT & NTT)

D.      Anonymous Online Survey

10.   Overall Response rate: 24.7%

A.      824 students participated in the campus climate survey, 17.5%

B.      192 faculty participated in the campus climate survey, 34.5%

C.      219 staff participated in campus climate survey, 41.0%

11.   Theme: Campus Climate and Intergroup Relations

A.      Goal: Create a supportive environment where respect for difference is a source of strength

B.      Students and faculty rated their overall sense of community among students, faculty, and staff. Figures below indicate the percent of students and faculty who responded they were Satisfied to Very Satisfied.

i.            Overall Students 63%

·         57% with disability

·         53% LGBQ

·         57% Underrepresented minorities

ii.            Overall Faculty 74%

·         69% with disability

·         73% LGBQ

·         63% Underrepresented minorities

12.   Theme: Campus Climate and Intergroup Relations

A.      Goal: Create a supportive environment where respect for difference is a source of strength.

B.      Students and faculty: How often have you witnessed discrimination at MSU? Figures below indicate the percent of students and faculty who responded Sometimes to Very Often.

i.            Overall Students 26%

·         29% Women

·         62% GNC

·         48% LGBQ

·         34% Underrepresented minorities

ii.            Overall Faculty 29%

·         34% Women

·         41% with a disability

·         60% LGBQ

·         37% Underrepresented minorities

13.   Theme: Education and Scholarship

C.      Goal: Equip students, faculty, and staff with the knowledge, experience and competencies to be successful in a multicultural, international, pluralistic society.

D.      Students and faculty: Is there are least one staff or faculty member at MSU that I can talk to about difficult social justice issues? 

i.            Figures below indicate the percent of students and faculty who responded Agree or Strongly Agree.

ii.            Overall Students 70%

·         65% With disability

·         68% men

·         63% Underrepresented minorities

iii.            Overall Faculty 85%

·         84% with a disability

·         79% Men

·         37% Underrepresented minorities

14.   Our next steps

A.      Complete campus presentations by December 2019

B.      Use the results of the assessment to inform current and on-going work

C.      Collaborate with university groups, councils, and departments to take actions to make campus more inclusive

D.      Conduct a follow up survey in 2022

E.       Continue developing and implementing efforts like IChange, Inclusive Excellence faculty hiring, bias literacy trainings, and professional development workshops

15.   Your next steps

A.      Start conversations about these findings and MSU’s inclusion efforts with your colleagues

B.      Prioritize attending D&I trainings and encourage colleagues to join (e.g. Safe Zone, Diversity Development workshop, IEFA course)

C.      Consider ways that your College, Department, or Unit can uniquely address some of the challenges highlighted

D.      Consider ways that Faculty Senate can uniquely address some of the challenges highlighted

E.       Visit montana.edu/diversity for resources, updates, and events

16.   Presentations will be wrapping up this month

17.   Hope you use this info to inform in current and on-going work

18.   Follow-up survey in 2022-campus climate changes slowly, need to reassess

19.   Please think about what we’ve shared. What surprised you? What troubled you?

20.   Please take this back to your departments

21.   You can impact change. Please consider where you can make changes

22.   Please prioritize trainings regarding diversity

A.      montana.edu/iefa (Indian Education for All)

B.      montana.edu/diversity

23.   Questions?

A.      Where can we get this info? On website or by contacting Keely Holmes

B.      Did you have any surprises?

i.            It was more about validating what they already thought was true.

ii.            Some of the experiences that some students have had is concerning. Also see the other side where they do make connections and have good experiences.

iii.            Across the board 85-90% of MSU students said they would recommend MSU to others.

iv.            Did not see differences along political lines.

C.      Is it possible to look at colleges and departments separated out? Cannot break out everything along those lines.

D.      Do the student numbers include graduates? Yes. Can you break them out? Yes. Do the numbers change much? Will have to get back to you on that.

IV.            New Business

a.       Conferral of Degrees-Registrar Tony Campeau

1.       Tony reads his statement

2.       Can review items in the secure Knox folder

3.       Tomas Gedeon moves to approve. Jim Meyer seconds. None opposed. No abstentions. Approved.

b.       New Courses-If you see any issues, please let Eric/Michael know

1.       AGSC 465: Cultures' Role in Agriculture, Poverty, Health

2.       ENSC 462: Land Rehab Field Problems

3.       GEO 434: Advanced Stratigraphy

4.       GRMN 316: Birth of an Empire: Austria

5.       GRMN 355IH: Streets, Screens, and Canvas: German Visual Culture

6.       HONR 200: Taking the Pulse of Montana in a Changing World

7.       HSTR 146: History & Culture of the Silk Road

8.       HSTR 364: Modern Austria

9.       M 063: Foundations of Mathematics

10.   M 090: Introductory Algebra

11.   RS 398: Ranching Systems Livestock & Forage Internship3

c.       Course and Program Revisions-If you see any issues, please let Eric/Michael know

1.       Course Changes

A.      EELE 308: Signals and Systems Analysis

2.       Program Changes

A.      DRFT-AAS: Associate of Applied Science in Drafting & CAD Technology

3.       New and Revised Programs

A.      None

V.            Old Business

a.       Center Review Guidelines Discussion

Guidelines for Approval of Center [“Entity”] Proposals and Periodic Review of Activities

In this document, “entity” means a center, institute, bureau, station or similar entity requiring approval by the Board of Regents pursuant to Policy 218.

1.       Designation

A.      The entity should be appropriately designated (i.e. as a center, institute, etc.) to meet the definitions and functions described in the MSU Policy on Forming and Reviewing entities and Institutes [which does not yet exist]

2.       Contribution to the Mission of the University

A.      The entity should have the potential to make significant contributions to the teaching, research/creative activity, and/or engagement missions of the University

B.      The entity should have the potential to enhance the reputation of the University by providing state-wide, regional, national, or international leadership in teaching, research/creative activity, and/or engagement

C.      The entity demonstrates a commitment to a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion

D.      The entity has a systematic plan for regular assessment of its contributions to the mission of the University

3.       Governance

A.      The entity has policies that ensure research, academic, and curricular independence, including an explicit commitment to compliance with all MSU policies

B.      The entity has systematic and credible mechanisms for regular independent review of its activities, that include an external advisory council and/or an external review board 

C.      If the entity hires faculty and/or staff, the entity has hiring processes that ensure independence from the entity’s external funding source(s)

D.      The entity will issue a public annual report of funding sources, expenditures, and measurable outcomes

4.       Financial Sustainability

A.      The entity should have a plan for, and the potential to be self-supporting through external funding and other revenue sources after a reasonable initial period (approximately 3-5 years)

B.      In order to ensure academic independence and financial sustainability, the entity should have a plan for diversifying its funding beyond a single source within a reasonable period of time (approximately 5 years)

C.      The entity should have a contingency plan for how it will manage potential major funding shortfalls that could threaten the entity’s continuity (e.g. unexpected withdrawal of funds by the primary funding source)

5.       (3) Governance

A.      The entity has policies that ensure research, academic, and curricular independence, including an explicit commitment to compliance with all MSU policies

B.      The entity has systematic and credible mechanisms for regular independent review of its activities, that include an external advisory council and/or an external review board 

C.      If the entity hires faculty and/or staff, the entity has hiring processes that ensure independence from the entity’s external funding source(s)

D.      The entity will issue a public annual report of funding sources, expenditures, and measurable outcomes

6.       Faculty Senate - Guidelines for Approval of Center Proposals and Periodic Review of Activities

A.      Standards and Criteria for Approval of Continuation of entity (5-year review)

i.            Entities will be reviewed every 5-years for adherence to MSU policy, the guidelines described herein, and the review criteria outlined in its initiating proposal. This review process will follow procedures established in the University’s Operating Policy on entity Review.

7.       Discussion and Adoption Process

A.      Formally - First and Second Reading, Discussion, Motion, Simple Majority Vote

B.      Informally – Can you live with the guidelines?

i.            Are there “deal-breakers” that are missing or that must be removed?

C.      Interim Status – pending an umbrella policy and process, and in order to assess and revise

i.            Additional trigger to review the guidelines? Time or experience?

VI.            Announcements and Updates

a.       Reminder-Medical excuses and Syllabus Updates

1.       Remind your faculty that Health Partners will not be handing out notes for sick students who miss class. Would like to see language in your syllabi that says something about that.

b.       Budget Council Update

1.       No updates

c.       Planning Council Update

1.       Engaged in looking at the metrics of the Strategic Plan and how we are doing in getting toward our goals in the plan

2.       Looking at data

3.       Grad Council has been looking at those metrics for graduate programs

VII.            Public Comment

a.       No public comment

VIII.            Adjournment

a.       Edward Schmidt moves to adjourn. Jim Meyer seconds. Meeting was adjourned at 4:10pm

Reminder: Next Faculty Senate Meeting

                                                January 15, 2020

                                                3:10-4:30 PM

                                                SUB Ballroom D

A printable PDF of this information can be found here.