Academic Council Minutes, October 30, 2000

Online Orientation:

--Chari Norgard and Kristy Holly were present to discuss orientation for online students.  Ms. Norgard is developing a formal orientation for online.  It was noted that a CD version of this would also be helpful.  The need for another WebCT training session for faculty was discussed; one will be scheduled soon.  The problem of and need for late starts for online courses was discussed in relation to the refund policy for students who drop.  It was suggested that a brown-bag session for faculty to exchange information about online instruction would be helpful.

Faculty Development Grants

--Approved a request of Dr. Li Chao for a travel grant ($500) to present at the WebNet 2000 World Conference on the WWW and Internet, in San Antonio, in November.

--Approved a request of Drs. June Lu and Chun-Sheng Yu for a research grant ($1,000) on Learning Style, Learning Patterns, and Learning Performance in a WebCT MIS Course.

--Accepted travel grant reports from Drs. Yong Glasure, Dan Jaeckle, and Harold Smith.

Academic Program Review:

--The report of the Academic Affairs committee was discussed at length, especially with regard to the information provided to the committee and what the committee was supposed to do with the information.  It was noted that committee review of faculty credentials and achievement should not merely duplicate or create conflicts with reviews already in place.  It was also noted that the deans and program faculty would need to follow up in considering recommendations specific to each program.

Other:

--The approval of Cinco Ranch as a System Center was discussed with regard to marketing for January.  An event or more than one is being planned.  The preference was for two events--a functional event for faculty and staff to tour the facilities and be briefed on services and a promotional event for the public to tour the facility and learn about program offerings.

--A draft intellectual property policy for the institution was discussed.  One issue was whether to have the legal office review it before or after the Faculty Council reviews it.  A lengthy process with multiple drafts might be anticipated in either case.

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10/31/00