Academic Council Minutes of August 27, 2001
I. General Agenda
--Mary Ann Rivera and Tong-Ai Zhang were present to discuss the
format for tracking application and acceptance data. Recommendation was
to add an "enrollment" item. A list of ad hoc data reports in
response to specific requests was shared.
--Chari Norgard indicated that students enrolled in online courses by
August 22 were all loaded into WebCT. A student "help desk"
page designed for UH and UHV students is being set up.
--Deans reported that some computers/printers for faculty had not
come in or had not been installed by the start of classes. Concerns were
expressed about the difficulties attending ITV connections. Questions
were raised about why Windows 2000 was being replaced by the 98 version
and about the need for faculty in Fort Bend to have 2000.
--Debora Butts is the new director and contact person at Cinco Ranch.
The provost shared a description of the organization and reporting lines
for the System centers, CampusNet, and Sugar Land.
II. Specific Agenda
--Approved a student request to receive a degree prior to completing
requirements for a second major. The Council also approved catalog
language permitting students who have completed degree requirements to
be graduated but to continue working on another major, so long as they
are continuously enrolled, without having to complete a minimum of 30
hours for a second degree.
--Approved a student request to remain under an earlier catalog,
pending review by Dr. Plemons of state mandated requirements.
- Faculty Development Grant Requests/Reports
--Approved a request of Ms. Tina Herrington for a travel grant
($1,070.50) to present at the Association for Childhood Education
International conference in San Diego, CA, in April.
--Approved a request of Dr. Harold Smith for a travel grant ($1,100)
to chair a panel at the North American Conference on British Studies, in
Toronto, Canada, in November.
--Accepted reports on grant-funded travel from Dr. Peggy Cloninger.
--Discussed format, use, and expense of the 2 + 2 booklet. Question
is whether to do a separate booklet for each community college. The
registrar will examine options and costs and report back.
--In response to a student request that majors be listed on diplomas,
the Council noted that field of study is on graduate diplomas.
Undergraduate majors are on the transcript but are not customarily
represented on the diploma, since the degree covers general and special
fields of study. Also, listing undergraduate majors would present
formatting and printing problems and expense.
--Review of graduate "C's" policy. The current policy is
that no more than two "C's" may count toward a graduate
degree. A problem noted is that students may be able to make three or
"C's" and still keep their GPA over 3.0 if they add graduate
courses not required in their program. The school dean can, however,
determine that such students are not making satisfactory progress and
can remove them from the program.
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8/30/01
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