Academic Council Meeting Minutes-September 2, 2009

Present:

Dr. Suzanne LaBrecque

Dr. Jeffrey Di Leo

Dr. Lawrence Rossow

Dr. Farhang Niroomand

Dr. Kathryn Tart

Ms. Chari Norgard

Ms. Trudy Wortham

Ms. Carolyn Mallory

Dr. Denee Thomas

Dr. Joe Dahlstrom

Mr. Joe Ferguson

Mr. Chris Buford

Dr. Cindy Schnebly

 

I.                   Review of Minutes-August 19, 2009

1.      The minutes were approved as circulated.

 

II.                 General

A.     Downward Expansion

Dr. Suzanne LaBrecque announced that the Substantive Change Report was delivered to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) September 1, 2009.  Dr. Holly Verhasselt will be converting the document into a PDF and Dr. Suzanne LaBrecque will circulate it.

Dr. Cindy Schnebly inquired about the possibility of having small group meetings at each of the campuses to inform everyone about the changes that will take place with Downward Expansion.

Dr. Suzanne LaBrecque informed the attendees about the phone interview that she and Dr. Di Leo did this morning for the “Port Lavaca Wave.”

Dr. Denee Thomas noted that an advertisement was posted for both of the Senior Recruiter positions in Houston and San Antonio.

Dr. Denee Thomas informed the group that John Ellis is preparing a presentation that will be presented to the Academic Council once it is completed. He made a brochure as well and the LEAD staff will take it to the recruiting trip in the Valley.

       

B.     Enrollment Management

Ms. Chari Norgard informed attendees about the newly formed Retention Committee.  The committee is primarily made up of faculty and its goal is to create a solid retention program.

She also announced that a Counseling Committee is forming and university faculty members are needed to serve on the committee. Dr. Kathryn tart noted that Dr. Ginger Blomstrom is a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner and may be a good candidate.

 

There was discussion about information noted in “The Chronicle of Higher Education Almanac” in regards to student retention.

 

Ms. Norgard noted that one of the concerns parents and students have is in regards to placement after college graduation. Ms. Trudy Wortham in Admissions mentioned that some schools have the opportunity to “co-brand” with an employer. This arrangement could be something UHV could possibly do in the future.

 

Ms. Trudy Wortham provided the enrollment information to the Academic Council.  Headcount was 3,696 and semester credit hours were 28,662.

 

Ms. Chari Norgard requested that the graduation application deadline be posted on the “My Course” page on the Blackboard.  She provided a handout to show the information that would need to be posted and when the information should be removed.  She asked for the Deans’ and Provost’s approval and it was agreed upon by all to go forward and post it.

Chris Buford, in Information Technology, will collect all of the facts and will follow-up with Ms. Norgard.

 

Dr. Di Leo inquired about the status of the Advising Module in People Soft. Ms. Chari Norgard noted that she will be meeting with the Provost this afternoon to see what needs to be done to move that feature in People Soft to stage two.

 

Ms. Carolyn Mallory from Financial Aid reported that $6.1 million in financial aid has been distributed. She announced that there will also be a Veteran’s Administration audit this afternoon.

 

C.     Information Technology

Mr. Joe Ferguson reported that Information Technology is implementing a content management system.  It has been tested in the School of Arts and Sciences. Once the testing is complete, it will be tested in other departments.  The number of licenses is limited to the number of simultaneous users. I.T. will monitor the usage to determine if more licenses are needed. He noted that he cannot designate a license to an individual.

 

Mr. Chris Buford reported that the Blackboard was recently updated to the most current version.

 

D.     Library

Dr. Joe Dahlstrom informed the group that the Jaguar card is now the students’ campus ID card and their library card. Since the Jaguar Cards do not have photographs, the Library will be able to create photo ID cards for students in the School of Nursing and the School of Education, and any other students who may need photo ID cards for their course work.

 

Dr. Suzanne LaBrecque asked Dr. Dahlstrom how the Jaguar card is disseminated.

Dr. Dahlstrom said there are two ways:

1.      Information is sent out through the Higher One Bank when the students receive the card.

2.      University of Houston-Victoria put together a “Frequently Asked Questions” list and it is handed out to students and it is on the UHV website.

 

Ms. Chari Norgard noted that faculty and staff were informed about the Jaguar card by an email that was sent sometime over the summer. She will send another out, now that everyone is on campus.

 

            G. Other

Dr. Joe Dahlstrom announced that September 26, 2009-October 3, 2009 is “Banned Books”                                week.  They take the event as an opportunity to make a statement of academic freedom.

 

Ms. Chari Norgard noted that Constitution Day is coming up on September 17th.

 

Dr. Rossow requested that those present at the Academic Council meetings be noted on the minutes. It was agreed upon by the Provost and the other Deans.

 

III.             Specific

 

A.     Student Issues

1.      None

 

B.     Consent Calendar/Faculty Development Grant Requests and Reports

1.       Approved an FY10 conference grant in the amount of $1000 for Dr. Joseph Ben-Ur to present at the 2009 Annual Conference of International Academy of Business and Economics in Las Vegas, NV from October 18 -21, 2009. 

2.       Approved an FY10 conference grant in the amount of $1170 for Dr. Ginger Blomstrom to present at the Gerontological Advanced Practice Nurses Association (GAPNA) Annual Educational Conference & Business Meeting in Savannah, GA October 1-3, 2009.

3.       Approved an FY10 conference travel grant in the amount of $ 1109 for Dr. Esperanza Camargo to present at the 2009 American Society of Criminology Meeting in Philadelphia, PA from November 4-7, 2009.

4.      Approved an FY10 conference travel grant in the amount of $1170 for Dr. Tanawat Hirunyawipada to present at the 2009 PDMA Research Forum, 33rd International Conference in Anaheim, CA on October 31, 2009 and November 1, 2009.

5.      Approved an FY10 conference travel grant in the amount of $1170 for Dr. David Summer to present at the Mountains Plains Management Conference in Grand Junction, Colorado from October 7-9, 2009.