Academic Council Minutes, June 20, 2007

I.                   Review of minutes – May 30, 2007

--Approved as circulated

II.        General

·        Data Collection

1.      Mrs. Trudy Wortham circulated a revised Admissions application status report.  There are currently 100 more applications this year than what had been received last year. 

2.      Mrs. Wortham stated that the Office of Admissions and Records will be working overtime in order to allow for the PeopleSoft transition to be as seamless as possible.  She has asked that the schools assist Admissions by helping students understand that the process will not be flawless, but than Admissions will ensure all students are able to sign up for classes and are in the system as soon as possible.  Ms. Chari Norgard added that if there is a problem during that week to please discuss the problem with her so that she can assist staff and alleviate any additional stress.   

Dr. Stansell emphasized that we must own the problems occurring from the PeopleSoft implementation and that we will resolve any issues that students may experience.  Jane Mims agreed and stated that the School of Business is drafting a letter that will be sent to students who are experiencing problems with the implementation in order to help alleviate any stress the student may experience.  Dr. LaBrecque asked Jane to forward the letter to the other schools.  Deans may want to consider using the letter for their students, altering the letter as necessary.

3.      Mrs. Wortham is working to modify the current class search in PeopleSoft to include adding the location of the class.  Also, she would like the search provide a way to search by School.  Dr. Stansell would like to see the ability to search by instructor as is currently the case.  Mrs. Wortham will continue to work with Houston to resolve these issues.

4.      Ms. Wortham provided an update on PeopleSoft queries.  UH Houston personnel will travel to Victoria to provide query training.  All users who had RARDAT access should attend the training. 

·        Instructional Technology/Online Issues and Updates

1.      Student surveys – Mr. Joe Ferguson asked to table this discussion until further notice.

2.      Mr. Ferguson announced that UW122 is being renovated to be used as office space for LEAD.  They are anticipating moving the projector and screen to Conference Room A.

Dr. Suzanne LaBrecque asked if it would be possible, during the renovations of the University Center third floor, to change an existing room into an ITV Meeting room?  This renovation could help to better facilitate meetings.  Dr. LaBrecque will pursue this by e-mail to Mr. Wayne Beran.

3.      Mr. Ferguson attended a demonstration of the Public Information and Emergency Response (PIER) system currently used by UH.  UH Main campus uses the PIER System to communicate emergency messages via mail, e-mail, text message, telephone, and web pages.  UH Main is looking at an enterprise version that will allow all four campuses to use the PIER system for emergency communications.  PIER will allow UHV to collect data from local fire departments, policy and radio in an emergency.  A web page would be established that would allow communications and updated information specifically for emergency management use.

·        Other

1.      Dr. Margaret Rice addressed concerns regarding the student perception of commencement.  One student she spoke with had incorrect information regarding commencement.  Ms. Norgard stated that Student Services is currently working on a web page on commencement that will give details such as how to apply for graduation, when commencement is, where it will take place, and which hotels are available in the Victoria and Katy area.

2.      A short discussion regarding a growing concern of hallway talk and a need for improved communications was held.  It was agreed that improved communications is necessary for a better working environment.

III.       Specific

·        Student Appeal

1.      A student appeal which was being held for Dean Bullock’s return was approved at the school level; therefore, discussion was not necessary.

·        Faculty Development Grant Requests

1.      Accepted a grant funded conference travel report from Dr. Hsin-Hui Lin.

2.      Dr. Jianjun Du, pending an FY04 Conference Report, and two FY06 Conference Reports, was awarded $1,100 to present at Association of Chinese Management Educators Meeting in Las Vegas from July 12 through 14, 2007.

3.      Dr. Chun-Sheng Yu, pending an FY06 Conference Report, was awarded $1,300.00 for research to explore user satisfaction toward e-commerce practices in a global setting, analyzing online auction businesses in China using a combined perspective of MIS and marketing. 

4.      Dr. Yong Lee was awarded $1300 for research to investigate an incidence in which a firm restates its previously reported financial statement because they were not fairly stated according to GAAP.

5.      Dr. Xavier Garza-Gomez, pending the receipt of an FY06 Research Grant Report for Grant 6013, was awarded $1300 for research to investigate an incidence in which a firm restates its previously reported financial statement because they were not fairly stated according to GAAP.

6.      Dr. Vera Adamchik was awarded $1300 for research of the evolution of the male-female pay gap in Poland.

7.      Dr. Jifu Wang was awarded $181.74 to present at the International Conference on Operations and Supply Chain Management (ICOSCM) in China from June 26 through June 30, 2007 in Xian Jiaotong University, China.

8.      Dr. Xavier Garza-Gomez was awarded $1300 to present at the American Accounting Association meeting in Chicago, IL on August 5-8, 2007.

As recorded by,

Karen Boldt

6/20/07