Academic Council Meeting Minutes, October 20, 2004

 I.  Minutes

• The minutes for the September 15 meeting were approved as written.

II. General Agenda 

• Data Collection

--Trudy Wortham reported 29 fewer applicants for admission than at this time last year, a decline of about 12%.  Initiatives at Cinco Ranch and the Med Center are not yet contributing. 

--Prior courses offerings will be posted to the web site in response to student requests. 

--Problems are occurring with the 2+2 agreements with HCC and NH/MC because of their desire to see the new AAT program requirements accommodated.  The problems owe in part to questions that still exist with regard to how the lower and upper level coursework is to be sorted out. 

• Instructional Technology/Online Issues and Updates

--Chari Norgard distributed data on online enrollments at UH and UHV with respect to Vista implementation and a sketch of the proposed configuration of servers at UH to provide greater effectiveness and security.  She is developing a flier to provide generic information to students interested in online course; a draft will be shared for input prior to printing. 

--Joe Ferguson indicated that XP installations are half done.  Replacement computers are being installed as scheduled at the same time.  Work will soon move to Sugar Land. Breeze, the new synchronous distance technology, is also being installed. 

• Fort Bend Issues and Updates

--The provost reported that the Stafford campus at HCC had expressed concerns about WCJC’s co-locating on the Sugar Land site, assuming the funding for a new building can be raised.   

III. Specific Agenda 

• Student Appeal

--A student request to be admitted despite four suspensions at a previous institution was approved.  The student is currently enrolled and has earned good grades at UH. 

• Faculty Development Requests and Reports

--Approved a development grant for conference presentation ($911) to Dr. Xavier Garza Gomez to the 2004 Annual Meeting of the Financial Management Association International, in New Orleans, LA, in October. 

--Approved a development grant for conference presentation ($943) to Dr. Yong Lee to the 2004 Annual Meeting of the Financial Management Association International, in New Orleans, LA, in October. 

--Approved a development grant for conference presentation ($260) to Dr. Hsin-Hui Lin at the Texas Association for the Education of Young Children 2004 Annual Conference, in Arlington, TX, in October.  Also approved, was another conference presentation ($634) to the National Association for the Education of Young Children 2004 Annual Conference, in Anaheim, CA, in November. 

--Approved a development grant for conference presentation ($1,000), pending receipt of  outstanding report, to Dr. Louie Ren to 2004 International Business and Economic Research Conference, in Las Vegas, NV, in October. 

--Approved early a research grant ($1,000) for Dr. Joseph Ben-Ur for a research that will investigate the opinions and behavior of potential voters in the upcoming Presidential Election and test a model of voter behavior.  

--Approved a research grant ($861) for Dr. Judy Johnson for a research that will focus on research-based writing interventions that school psychologists can utilize to improve the writing skills of children in an elementary school setting.  

--Approved a research grant ($1,000) for Dr. Donald Loffredo, pending receipt of outstanding reports, for research to survey UHV students’ knowledge and perceptions about HIV/AIDS. 

--Approved a publication award ($600) to Dr. Margaret Dorsey for the published paper “Borderlands Music, United States Politics, and Transnational Marketing” (“Work”) with University of Texas Press. 

--Accepted grant funded conference travel reports from Drs. Vera Adamchik, Xavier Garza Gomez, Elizabeth Heywood, (2) June Lu, Harold Smith, Chun-Sheng Yu.  

• Other

--A list of online degree programs offered in the UH System was shared. 

--A listserv for adjunct faculty was proposed and approved.  Deans will simply add a request for email addresses to the appointment letter, and school secretaries will apprise Sherry Kroll of the adjuncts each term.  

--Mary Natividad distributed a flier for the VOICE program (Victoria Online Initial Certification Program) to be offered at Cinco Ranch in the spring, pending all approvals.  This is not a new program but rather a new location, involving students previously served by UH, which agreed to transfer the lead.  It does involve new courses, which are in the process of approval.   

DNS/kw
10/20/04