Uh-Hilo Faculty Congress s4

UH HILO FACULTY CONGRESS

MINUTES FOR MEETING OF SEPTEMBER 29, 2006

K-127 3:00 - 5:00 pm

Members Present: Philippe Binder, Marilyn Brown, Kelly Burke, Jason Cabral, Keola Donaghy, Sevki Erdogan, Barbara Leonard, Shuguang Li, Gail Makuakane-Lundin, Mark Panek, Tom Pinhey, Jennifer Richardson, Helen Rogers

Ex Officio Members Present: Marcia Sakai

Others Present: Jerry Calton, Rick Castberg, Hank Hennessey, Jean Ippolito, Faith Mishina, Yumiko Ohara, Larry Rogers, Kenith Simmons, Cathy Zenz

Meeting called to order at 3:05 by Congress Chair Barbara Leonard

OLD BUSINESS

1.  Approval of the minutes of the September 1, 2006

Approved by acclamation.

2.  Report from the Chair. Request approval to change the scheduled Congress meeting from Friday, March 30, 2007 to Friday, March 23, 2007 (March 30 is during Spring Break).

Approved by acclamation.

Report on the ACCFSC meeting held on 9/22 and other meetings attended.

Congress Chair Barbara Leonard attended the All Campus Council of Faculty Senate Chairs (ACCFSC ) meeting on Kauai. UH Hilo will host the ACCFSC meeting October 19 & 20.

In addition, the Board of Regents will meet at UH Hilo October 19 & 20. President McClain agreed to meet with the UH Hilo Congress tentatively on Wednesday, October 18 from 3:00 pm to 4:30 pm in Wentworth Hall Room 1. The Congress Executive Committee will compile a list of questions that to submit to President McClain prior to our meeting. The faculty are asked to suggest questions for the President, and the Congress Executive Committee will summarize and prioritize the questions for the President. All faculty are invited to attend the session.
If you would like to suggest a question, please email: with your question. All questions need to be submitted by October 11, 2006. We look forward to this opportunity to have dialogue with President McClain and to raise issues of interest to the faculty at UH Hilo.

3.  Reports from committee chairs:

·  Kelly Burke, Academic Policy Committee

Request for approval of membership of committee:

Kelly Burke, Chair

Jerry Calton, COBE (2nd year of term)

Dawna Coutant, CAS (2nd year of term)

Patrick Hart, CAS (2nd year of term)

Barbara Heintz, OSA (2nd year of term)

Stephen Hora and Kennith Simmons, Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Office

Approved by acclamation.

Report from the Chair: The committee will meet in the upcoming weeks

·  Gail Makuakane-Lundin, Admissions Committee

Request for approval of membership of committee:

William (Bill) Mautz, CAS

Emmeline De Pillis, COBE

Charles (Kale) Langlas, HLC

TBA, CAFNRM

Kainoa Kaumeheiwa-Rego, Student Rep from UHHSA

James Cromwell, Director of Admissions

Kenith Simmons, VCAA

Randy Hirokawa, Dean of CAS

Marcia Sakai, Dean of COBE

Kalena Silva, Dean of HLC

William Steiner, Dean of CAFNRM

Approved by acclamation.

Report from the Chair. The committee will meet in the upcoming weeks

·  Barbara Leonard, Budget Committee

Request for approval of membership of committee:

Barbara Leonard, Chair

Jonathan Dresner, CAS

Bill Heacox, CAS

Rick Castberg, CAS

Helen Rogers, Library

Norman Stahl, OSA

Approved by acclamation.

Report from the Budget Committee:

Rick Castberg from CAS addressed the Congress on the status of the 2007 – 2009 Biennium Budget. Although it has been established, much work remains on supplemental and additional budgeting issues. In the past, budget issues have not been transparent, and Congress was not involved in fiscal operations or decisions. For several years, the Budget Committee has worked toward increased visibility, improved cooperation, and more positive and prosperous representation of UH Hilo during system-wide budgeting decisions.

·  Sevki Erdogan, Assessment Support Committee

Request for approval of membership of committee:

Sevki Erdogan, Chair

Todd Belt, CAS (2st year of term)

Jim Beets, CAS (2st year of term)

Richard Crowe, CAS (2st year of term)

Ruth Robison, OSA (2nd year of term)

William Sakai, CAFNRM (2st year of term)

Errol Yudko, CAS (2st year of term)

Approved by acclamation.

Report from the Chair: The committee will meet in the upcoming weeks

·  Philippe Binder, General Education Committee

Request for approval of membership of committee.

Philippe Binder (Nat Sciences; Chair)

Marilyn Brown (Social Science)

Todd Belt (Social Science)

Jean Ippolito (Humanities)

Mike Shintaku (College of Agriculture)

Pila Wilson (CHL)

Jerry Calton (COBE)

Melissa Benfer (Student)

Kristi Temple (Student)

Eddie Johns (Student)

Kainoa Ariola (Student Affairs)

Thora Abaraca (Library)

Approved by acclamation.

Report from the Chair:

Proposal for the General Education Curriculum

Full proposal and minority report available at www.uhh.hawaii.edu/uhh/congress/documents/CongressGECommitteeReportApr061_000.doc

www.uhh.hawaii.edu/uhh/congress/documents/CongreeGEProposalSummaryApr061_000.doc

I. The General Education Program in all undergraduate degree programs at UH-Hilo will include the following requirement areas:

·  Basic Requirements, which will include coursework in Written Communication, Quantitative Reasoning, World Cultures, and Hawaii/Asia Pacific.

·  Area Requirements, which will include coursework in the Humanities, Social Sciences, and Natural Sciences. The Natural Sciences Area Requirement must include a laboratory course in a physical or biological science.

·  Writing Intensive, satisfaction of a Writing Intensive Requirement.

II. The minimum acceptable coursework for any College’s implementation of this General Education Program must include, but is not limited to:

·  Basic Requirements: 6 credits in Written Communication; 6 credits in Quantitative Reasoning; 6 credits in World Cultures; 3 credits in Hawaii/Asia/Pacific.

·  Area Requirements: 6 credits in Humanities; 6 credits in Social Sciences; 7 credits in Natural Sciences, including one laboratory credit.

·  Writing Intensive: 9 credits, 6 of which must be upper division.

III: Courses used to satisfy the Basic Requirement in Written Communication must:

·  introduce students to different forms of college-level writing, including, but not limited to, academic discourse, and guide them in writing for different purposes and audiences

·  provide students with guided practice of writing processes-planning, drafting, critiquing, revising, and editing-making effective use of written and oral feedback from the faculty instructor and from peers

·  require at least 5000 words of finished prose-equivalent to approximately 20 typewritten pages

·  help students develop information literacy by teaching search strategies, critical evaluation of information and sources, and effective selection of information for specific purposes and audiences; teach appropriate ways to incorporate such information, acknowledge sources and provide citations

·  help students read texts and make use of a variety of sources in expressing their own ideas, perspectives, and/or opinions in writing.

IV. Courses used to satisfy the Basic Requirement in Quantitative Reasoning must:

·  enable students to understand the use of mathematical concepts as representations of real world events and phenomena

·  require students to develop skills in chains of reasoning from data to conclusions

·  require students to develop skills in problem-solving using mathematical concepts and techniques

V. Courses used to satisfy the Basic Requirement in World Cultures must:

·  analyze the development of human societies and their cultural traditions through time and throughout the world, including Africa, the Americas, the Middle East, Asia, Europe, and Oceania (Pacific Basin)

·  offer a broad, integrated analysis of cultural, economic, political, scientific, and social development that recognizes the diversity of human societies and their cultural traditions

·  examine processes of cross-cultural interaction and exchange that have linked the world's people through time

·  engage students in the study and analysis of writings, narratives, texts, artifacts, and/or practices that represent the perspective of different societies and cultural traditions

·  Exception for language course: Second semester or above language course that includes a World Cultures component through language or cultural comparison.

VI. Courses used to satisfy the Area Requirements in Humanities must:

·  involve students actively in critical thinking and in written or oral communication

·  use the terminology of the visual, performing, or creative arts; or of the study of philosophy, language, communication, or religion; or of literary representations

·  engage students in the study of artifacts, texts, performances, processes, theories, or issues of the concern in studies of the arts, philosophy, language, communication, religion, or literature

·  demonstrate the methods or modes of inquiry employed in studies of the arts, philosophy, language, communication, religion, or literature

·  illustrate the interrelationships between the discipline and academic disciplines in the social or natural sciences

VII. Courses used to satisfy the Area Requirements in Social Sciences must:

·  involve students actively in critical thinking and in written or oral communication

·  use the terminology of theories, structures, or processes in the social sciences

·  present theories, concepts, models, practices, research methods, or issues of concern in the study of these structures or processes

·  demonstrate inquiry that is guided by theory and/or by quantitative and/or qualitative methods employed in the study of structures or processes within the social sciences

·  illustrate the interrelationships between the discipline and academic disciplines in the humanities or natural sciences

VIII. Lecture courses used to satisfy the Area Requirements in Natural Sciences must:

·  involve students actively in critical thinking, numeracy, and written or oral communication

·  use the terminology of computational, physical or biological sciences

·  include knowledge and theories of the computational, physical or biological sciences

·  foster a student's ability to perform inquiry that is guided by the scientific method, including observation/experimentation and scientific reasoning/mathematics

·  illustrate the interrelationships between the discipline and academic disciplines in the humanities or social sciences

IX. Laboratory courses used to satisfy the Area Requirements in Natural Sciences must:

·  use the laboratory methods of physical or biological science

·  involve the process of, or considers the issues of, experimental design, testing/measurement, analysis and interpretation of experimental data/results

·  consider the strengths and limitations of the scientific method

·  demonstrate the interaction of observation/experiment, and reasoning/analysis.

X. Courses used to satisfy a Study of Hawaii, Asia, or the Pacific requirement must:

·  involve students actively in written or oral communication

·  investigate major aspects of the culture, language, economy, history, or natural environment of Hawai'i or of another indigenous culture or nation or region of the Pacific or Asia

·  foster critical understanding of different cultural perspectives, values, and world views and the ability to acquire additional knowledge about these

·  illustrate the interrelationships among various disciplines in the study of the culture or region

XI: Courses used to satisfy a Writing Intensive requirement must:

·  use writing to promote the learning of course materials. Instructors assign formal and informal writing, both in class and out, to increase students' understanding of course material as well as to improve writing skills.

·  provide interaction between teacher and students while students do assigned writing; in effect, the instructor acts as an expert and the student as an apprentice in a community of writers.

·  be graded to a significant extent by the student's writing performance

·  require students to do a substantial amount of writing—a minimum of 4000 words, or about 16 finished pages—formal, or informal, including analytic essays, critical reviews, journals, lab reports, research reports, or reaction papers, etc.

·  normally be restricted to 20 students.

XII. The decision to offer a course for General Education credit rests with the offering Department and College. Offering a course for General Education credit imposes the following obligations on that department:

·  Notification to the University community that the course is intended for General Education credit, and the specific General education requirement that it is intended to satisfy. This includes an obligation to notify the community of any future changes in the course that may affect its continued suitability for that General Education requirement.

·  Public statement of the broad learning objectives of the course, through publication of a master syllabus or other statement of objectives for the course at an accessible location.

·  Enforcement of reasonable compliance with the stated learning objectives by instructors appointed by the department.

·  Documentation through regular, periodic program review that the course continues to meet the appropriate set of hallmarks or standards.

XIII. Upon adoption of this program, the following sequence of events must occur:

·  Each Department must review courses that it may choose to offer for General Education, and prepare a description of how the each course meets the appropriate set of hallmarks.

·  Each College Curriculum Committee must review the descriptions provided by the Departments within the College, and act to approve or deny each course for General Education.

·  The results of the Colleges’ reviews must be accumulated, and a combined list of acceptable courses published. (Mechanism to be determined.)

XIV. The Colleges agree that any course certified by one College’s Curriculum Committee as meeting a particular set of hallmarks will be accepted by all other Colleges for the same requirement area. Acceptance of a course by one College, when that course is unacceptable to another College and the disagreement cannot be resolved through discussion between the Colleges, may be appealed to, and finally resolved by, the General Education Committee of the UH-Hilo Congress.

XV. Colleges that offer courses to fulfill General Education requirements may determine alternative means (credit by examination, or other alternatives) for the satisfaction of any General Education requirement, subject to the following conditions:

·  The Department proposing the alternative means must demonstrate how the appropriate hallmarks are satisfied by the alternative; and,

·  The alternative, if offered, must be available to any student that requests it.

Discussion:

Do Language Courses fulfill the World Cultures hallmark?

Should there be an exception to the World Cultures hallmark?

How will the changes in Writing Intensive requirement impact the English Department?

Motion: To amend the Proposal for the General Education Curriculum to remove the language exception from the World Cultures hallmark.
Vote: 4 in favor, 8 opposed, 1 abstained. Motion failed.

Motion: To table approval of the Proposal for the General Education Curriculum until the next meeting so Congress can elicit further input from the faculty.

Vote: 13 in favor, 0 opposed, 0 abstained. Motion passed.

NEW BUSINESS

1.  Discussion of the Quality of Faculty Worklife: The University of Hawaii Survey Results

Some issues that Faculty Congress will be addressing this year will be related to the UH Survey just released. The UH Hilo faculty had the lowest level of satisfaction of all campuses in the UH System, according to the Quality of Faculty Worklife: The University of Hawai`i, Spring 2006 survey. The 2006 Mean for all campuses was 6.44, for UH Hilo it was 6.02 (scale range is 1-10. 1=low satisfaction; 10=high satisfaction. UHH Faculty Morale declined each of the past three years, although UH overall has increased each of the past three years. Of all the campuses, UH Hilo Faculty scored lowest on the following statements (scale range is 1-5. 1=strongly disagree; 5=strongly agree (midpoint 3)):
Overall UH Hilo
Service in my campus is rewarding for me. 3.69 3.49
The process for tenure is fair. 3.29 3.14
I have good relations with my chair. 4.10 3.89
Faculty input at the university level is
adequate for budget decisions 2.34 2.20
Retirement benefits meet my expectations 2.70 2.55
This campus supports my scholarly goals. 3.18 2.96
This is a fair campus. 3.24 3.03
I am proud to work at this campus. 3.74 3.51