Academic Council Minutes, November 16, 2005

I.  Guests 

• Dick Phillips was present to provide an update on the capital campaign.  He noted the appointment of the new vice chancellor/vice president for advancement, Michael Rierson, and said that Mr. Rierson would undertake a feasibility study prior to establishing overall campaign goals.  Mr. Phillips also discussed the need to complete worksheets on campaign initiatives.  He shared copies of the worksheet.

·        Liz Branch, who has been appointed the interim registrar at UH, and Brian McKinney, who coordinates the PeopleSoft effort, were present.  Dr. McKinney gave an update on the project, noting that the last portion of it, the student information system, has been slow to gain momentum but is now gathering speed, with initial implementation expected in spring 07 and full implementation for fall 07.

• Ms. Branch and Trudy Wortham introduced three proposed changes in academic policy that would serve to standardize practice in the UH System and ensure compatibility with PeopleSoft’s functionality.  The Council was amenable to the changes, but they must go through the graduate and undergraduate program committees of the Senate and then to the Senate for approval.  Changes involve calculation of GPA when courses are repeated, last day to drop with a grade, and duration of incomplete grades.
   
• Carolyn Mallory and Lois Lemke were present to discuss the current procedure for dropping students and the implications for financial aid and State Audit Rolls.  Admissions & Records will make an internal procedural change:  Effective with the Spring 2006 semester, the Admissions & Records office will no longer drop students based on the state audit roll discrepancy memos.  If instructors indicate that students are not attending, the Admissions & Records office will send a letter (via email and/or hard copy) to the students advising them to start attending or to initiate a drop if they are not going to attend.  The student will be reminded that if they are not going to attend and fail to drop the course, a failing grade may be given by the instructor.

II.   Minutes

--Approved as written  

III. General Agenda

• Data Collection

--No report 

• Instructional Technology/Online Issues and Updates

--Chari Norgard reported that the search for a design person had been extended, and one person would be interviewed.  The faculty committee on technology had conducted a meeting using Breeze (previously Breeze was used in a meeting of the UH System’s AAS group (Academic Administrative Support)). 

• Fort Bend Issues and Updates

--No report 

IV. Specific Agenda 

• Student Appeal

--A TOEFL appeal was referred to the School of Business Administration for its review and disposition. 

• Faculty Development Requests and Reports

--Approved a research grant ($1,000), pending receipt of FY 04 report, for Dr. Jianjun Du to study the linkage between corporate governance and accounting treatment, and company performance in different country environments. 

--Approved a development grant for conference presentation ($1,000), pending receipt of a FY 04 report, to Dr. Diane Prince to present at the 85^th National Council for the Social Studies Conference, in Kansas City, Mo, in November.

--Accepted grant funded conference travel reports from Drs. Yong Lee and Mary Mayorga.

• Other

--Item on catalog clarification was postponed to the next meeting. 

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11/21/05