I. General Agenda

• Joyce Miller was present to describe the process and time involved in using a computerized scantron machine to develop forms and compile results for student evaluation of instruction. School secretaries were also represented. The group concluded that the use of the machine probably would not gain any efficiency. Deans Jaeckle and Prince agreed to work with Dr. Zhang in exploring ways to streamline and expedite the current process, as well as look at methods used at other universities.
• The Council discussed the increasing number of e-mail inquiries from possible students seeking information o programs, scholarships, etc. Recipients may route these to Student Relations and Recruitment for a response. The deans would like to receive inquiries about their programs.
• Online and off-campus matters Chari Norgard updated the Council on WebCT developments and described the make-up of a proposed Instructional support Unit to assist with online and off-campus needs and issues. The deans and directors noted that faculty should be surveyed on needs and the position descriptions should be carefully tailored to prevent duplication or unproductive overlap of efforts. [ed. note It was first assumed that the unit could be proposed without need of specific job descriptions at this point. However, the positions had to be tentatively classified to go forward as budget requests.]
• The provost reported that efforts to lease additional space in Sugar Land had been unsuccessful. Availability of space in Sugar Land is scant, and leasing contracts require formidable processing through the System and State.

II. Specific Agenda

• Faculty Development and Grants/Reports

--Approved a request of Dr. Mel Damodaran for a travel grant ($571) to moderate a session at the Consortium for Computing in Small Colleges South Central Conference, in Amarillo, TX, in April.
--Approved a request of Dr. Luh-Yu (Louie) Ren for a travel grant ($1,100) to present at the Thirtieth Annual Meeting of the Western Decision Sciences Institute, in Vancouver, Canada, in April.
--Approved early a request of Dr. Roy Foley for a travel grant ($1,100) to serve as a panel participant at the 2001 Southeastern Holmes Regional Partnership Conference, in Myrtle Beach, SC, in March.
--Approved early a request of Dr. Nora Hutto for a travel grant ($600) to chair a panel discussion at the 2001 Southeastern Holmes Regional Partnership Conference, in Myrtle Beach, SC, in March.
--Approved early a request of Dr. Cindy Schnebly for a travel grant ($846) to present at the Southeastern Conference on Linguistics, in Knoxville, TN, in April.
--Approved early a request of Dr. Sandy Venneman for a travel grant ($750) to present at the American Association for the Advancement of Science Southwestern and Rocky Mountain Division, in Denton, TX, in March.
--Approved early a request of Dr. David Satava for funds ($1,500) to search, acquire, and test automated accounting packages, database programs, and automated auditing software.
--Accepted reports on grant-funded conference travel from Dr. Nora Hutto, Dr. Marty Munoz, and Dr. David Satava.

• Student Appeals

--The Council declined to grant a student request for an exception to the institutional policy on time limitation for grade appeals. [ed. note The request was withdrawn.]

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