Academic Council Minutes, September 20, 2006 

I.  Minutes

--Approved as circulated 

II. General Agenda

• Data Collection

--Trudy Wortham shared draft statistical information on headcount and semester credit hours with the committee.

She also discussed joint admission agreements and the need to improve the articulation agreement and 2+2s processes. The Admissions and Records office will schedule a meeting with the school recruiters (as designated by the Deans) to discuss the joint admissions agreements and 2+2 process.

--The council also discussed an Academic Dishonesty statement to be placed in the catalog in both the graduate and undergraduate sections.  This policy will be brought back to the table for further discussion.

• Instructional Technology/Online Issues and Updates

--Joe Ferguson reported the bandwidth issues are still being discussed and will be a reality by early January.  He went on to say that UH is investigating rebuilding the entire WebCT system to eliminate UHV’s downtime.  UH is moving toward making WebCT their top priority application, even above the Financial and Human Resources applications, since WebCT is the major electronic form of delivery of instruction. 

--There was also a brief discussion on where we are with Internet 2.

• Fort Bend Issues and Updates

--Chari Norgard announced there would be an Open House advising session in Sugar Land on Saturday, October 7, 9:00 a.m. to noon.  Potential students will have the opportunity to meet with advisors and faculty.

--Dr. Nags Ramamoorthy mentioned the lack of parking this semester at the Sugar Land campus.  There was a discussion on the Park-N-Ride program currently in place, followed with Chari Norgard stating she would add this as an agenda item for the upcoming Distance Education meeting.

• Other

--Provost LaBrecque shared a handout inviting students to participate in the Speaker’s Internship Program for the 80^th Legislative Session.

--Chari Norgard reported that Danny Ochoa was selected as the new LEAD Manager.  Ms. Norgard also announced she would be turning to the Academic Council in the future for input on new ideas, strategies, and initiatives as the LEAD program moves in a new direction.

--There was a roundtable discussion on making UHV alumni more visible at events.  Discussed was the possibility of a sticker or ribbon indicating alumni status on nametags for all university events.

--Faculty Development Research Grant reimbursements were discussed.  The following will be added to the research form in an effort to assist faculty members.

o       Any software purchases for research must be requested through the school's administration and the UHV purchasing department. Please check with your school secretary before making a software purchase.

o       Research assistance must be approved in advance from the school's administration. Please check with your school secretary before engaging research help.

o       Research travel must be requested through the school's administration in advance of travel and a travel request issued. Please check with your school secretary before traveling.

o       Research grant expenses must be expended during the fiscal year for which they are awarded. 

III. Specific Agenda

·        Student Appeal 

--Dr. John Stansell brought back to the table the student appeal that was differed last time.  After checking with the student and reporting back to the council the appeal was denied. 

·        Faculty Development Grant Requests and Reports 

--Dr. Mary Natividad was awarded $560.00 for the Mid-Western Educational Research Association Conference, in Columbus, OH.

--When last year’s conference report is submitted, Dr. Yixi Ning will be awarded $1,300.00 for the 2006 Annual Meeting of the Financial Management Association International Conference, in Salt Lake City, UT.

--Dr. Marie Plemons was awarded $560.00 for the Mid-Western Educational Research Association Conference, in Columbus, OH.

--When last year’s conference report is submitted, Dr. David Summers will be awarded $1,300.00 for the Mountain Plains Management Association Conference, in Orem, UT.

--When last year’s conference report is submitted, Dr. Ziad Swaidan will be awarded $1,300.00 for the International Academy of Business and Economics, in Las Vegas, NV.

--Accepted a grant funded conference travel report from Dr. Linda Hayes. 

·        Other

--It was announced that the final zap only had 20 students.  Provost LaBrecque acknowledged the university’s thanks and gratitude to the Student Services’ and the Bursar’s offices for all their hard work.

·        Deans’ Only

--Workload percentage for chairs was discussed and decided they would be counted as 75% instructional and 25% administrative.

--Program Assessment was briefly discussed with future discussions to follow.

As recorded by,
Kathy Walton
9/22/06