Combined Meeting of the UMES Senate and the Faculty Assembly
Senate Minutes December 9, 2015
11am Frederick Douglass Library
I. CALL TO ORDER
The Senate meeting was called to order at 11:05 a.m. by Ms. Jinawa McNeil.
II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
The approval of May 12, 2015 Senate minutes was moved by Dr. Williams and seconded by Dr. Chapin. The motion carried.
III. OLD BUSINESS
University Update:
Dr. Juliette Bell informed the Senate that the University decided to voluntarily withdraw the accreditation of Physician Assistant program in order to continue to maintain accreditation through December 31, 2015 to ensure 34 graduates in Fall 2015 cohort will graduate from accredited program. President Bell explained that the university will officially give up the accreditation on January 1, 2016 which means it will no longer function at UMES. UMES has been diligently working with the University Maryland System and the two partner schools that have accredited programs. The two schools are University Maryland Baltimore and Towson University. There has been a plan of action developed to help the remaining students achieve their goals of becoming physician assistants, but it must first be approved by the accrediting body before implementation. Currently, the university is looking at ways to assist the students with transition because they will need to move out of this area to continue their education. There are some financial stipulations that are being considered.
Dr. Bell informed the Senate about the Hawk Card theft. It was a process where the students were able to exploit a flaw in the security system of the Hawk Card that allowed them to place money on the card that did not belong them. It is currently being investigated by the State Attorney General office and the Maryland State Police. It is an ongoing investigation. Dr. Bell was asked how much money was involved in the Hawk Card theft. She reiterated it was an on-going investigation and that total amount has not been disclosed as of date. The preliminary dollar amount was approximately $700,000. The preliminary findings found that it was a few individuals involved in the theft and that there was list of those individuals. There is an outside agency that ensure the funds. UMES will have to file a claim and the Treasurer will pay out the claim and the school will have to pay back the claim. Dr. Bell was asked how much money was involved in the Hawk Card theft. She reiterated it was an on-going investigation and that total amount has not
Dr. Bell stated the Town Hall meeting turned out to be more of a student focus. Students expressed their concerns at the meeting raised they were not being heard or addressed. President Bell and her cabinet decided to have more regular meetings with the students to gather this information throughout the course of the year. They will be hosted by the Vice-Presidents or a particular division. been disclosed as of date. The preliminary dollar amount was approximately $700,000. The preliminary findings found that it was a few individuals involved in the theft and that there was list of those individuals. There is an outside agency that ensure the funds. UMES will have to file a claim and the Treasurer will pay out the claim and the school will have to pay back the claim.
Middle States chair on-site for the university visit in December for upcoming in April. The purpose of the Middle States accrediting process to self-evaluate to seek opportunities for the improvement. The preliminary report the Chair advised that the university needed to emphasis things that we are doing well.
Dr. Johnson asked Dr. Bell about the lawsuit, Coalition for Excellence vs the State of Maryland. Judge Blake stated that state had engaged in unnecessary duplication of programs that contributed to the lack of diversity within state at HBCUs. He ordered that there be some remedies to fix the situation. The initial stage was the parties to engage in mediation. The coalition team came up with a set of recommendations and the state countered with the state recommendations. HBI’s developed 10-year plan and identify those programs that would strengthen the university. Judge Blake will take the two proposals from coalition and state and make a decision. Depending on the decision there will be appeal; therefore, it will be an on-going process. Judge schedule to make a ruling sometime this calendar year.
Question was asked about the next step for the PA program is to rebuild the program. Dr. Bell stated There will be a pilot program so we will bring in experts and community to assist. It can take up to 5 years before the university is full accredited.
Middle States Self-Study Update:
Dr. James Junker explained that the self-study was making great progress. There new logo that had been placed on campus with the caption, “14 standards, one goal to be greater than ever”. The site visit is April 3-6, 2016. The purpose of the logo is to show we are meeting the standards and the goal is to be better than ever with continuous improvement. The launch of the website which is dedicated to the Middle States process is under the construction. The address is www.umes.edu/middlestates. There are multiple features to the website but Dr. Junker focused on the self-study. The self-study draft can be accessed using Blackboard. It is available now. It is password protected but faculty, staff, and administrators have access. In the future students will have access to review the document as well. There will be emails sent on instructions later this week.
At the meeting last week, it was clear to those individuals that were writing self-studies that they should be clear, transparent, and impactful. The document does need to relate to the standards to address all the elements. It is not everything that is going on the campus but it is selective because we only have 100 pages to address the standards in the self-study and written in one voice. There are two ways you can make comments about the self-study. There is the blackboard site and website that say make suggestions. There will be open forums on the following dates:
January 13, 2016 – Open Forum
January 19, 2016 – Open Forum (Time TBT) Staff, Faculty and Administrators
January 28, 2016 – Open Forum
The site team will have 6 six weeks to write their document. The document will be written before coming to campus. The site visit is to see if what we wrote in the self-study is what the university is actually doing.
Academic Affairs Committee:
Dr. Derrek Dunn, Chair of the Senate Academic Affairs Committee (SAAC), gave an update on the work of the committee; please refer to the PPT presentation on the Senate Page for more information re: submission timeline for AY2015-2016, program submission, curriculum changes for courses only and new programs substantial modifications and each of the programs below.
Natural Science: Request to Eliminate Courses
· BIOL 201 - Marine Zoology
· BIOL 202 – Marine Botany
· BIOL 203 – Marine Botany Laboratory
Motion to approve changes by Dr. Chapin. Seconded Dr. Johnson. The motion carried.
Environmental Science – Environmental Chemistry Track: Request to Change General Education
· Add ARAB 101, 102 and CHIN 101,102 as an option for students under Curriculum Area I, Discipline C
· Add MATH 210 as required for students under Curriculum Area III
· Add TMGT 306 and EDTE 111 as options for Students Curriculum Area VI
Request to Change Program Requirements:
· Curriculum Area IV from 3 credits to 6 credits
· Curriculum Area VI from 7 credits to 4 credits
· Core Requirements from 29 credits to 24 credits
· Program Electives remains unchanged 3-4 credits
· Supportive Requirements from 46 credits to 50-51 credits
o Add AGRN 483 as required course under Supportive Requirements.
Motion to approve changes by Dr. Chapin. Seconded Dr. Williams. The motion carried.
Environmental Science – Marine Science: Request to Change General Education Courses
· Add ARAB 101, 102 and CHIN 101,102 as an option for students under Curriculum Area I, Discipline C
· Add MATH 210 as required for students under Curriculum Area III
· Add EDTE 111 as options for Students Curriculum Area VI
Request to Change Program Requirements:
· Curriculum Area IV from 3 credits to 6 credits
· Curriculum Area VI from 7 credits to 4 credits
· Core Requirements from 38 credits to 36 credits
o Add ENVS 201, ENVS 203 as required courses.
o Drop BIOL 201, BIOL 202, BIOL 203 as required courses.
· Program Electives remain unchanged 7-8 credits
· Supportive Requirements from 34 credits to 34-35 credits
o Add AGRN 483 as required course
o Add CSDP 220 or BUED 212 or CSDP 121 as required course
Motion to approve changes by Dr. Chapin. Seconded Dr. Williams. The motion carried.
Environmental Science – Marine Science Dual Degree Program: Request to Create 2 New Courses
· Add ENVS 201 Marine Biology(on-line) 3 credits
· Add ENVS 203 Marine Biology Laboratory 1 credit
Request to Change Requirements of Dual Program:
· Add ENVS 201 Marine Biology(on-line) 3 credits
· Add ENVS 203 Marine Biology Laboratory 1 credit
· Drop BIOL 201, BIOL 202, BIOL 203
· Increase Electives from 7 to 13
Motion to approve with changes by Dr. Harris. Seconded Dr. Chapin. The motion carried.
IV. NEW BUSINESS
V. OTHER BUSINESS
The meeting ended at 11:52 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Etahe Johnson, M.S.
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