Download Arts and Sciences Chairs and Directors Meeting Minutes

ARTS AND SCIENCES CHAIRS AND DIRECTORS MEETING
MINUTES
Wednesday, April 26, 2017
Ellis 113
1:00-3:00 p.m.
Attending: C. Asleson, L. Bauer, J. Bender, S. Bergmeier, K. Brown-Clovis, B. Carlson,
L. Cohen, B. Colvin, S. Downard, H. Duschinski, J. Dyer, T. Eisworth, B. Frank, J. Gilliom,
S. Gradin, J. Grant, L. Hatch, D. Ingram, K. Jellison, C. Mattley, B. McCarthy, S. Miner,
R. Muhammad, B. Owens, B. Partyka, A. Ritchie, L. Schoeppner, B. Shambora, G. Springer,
C. Thompson, M. Vis, J. White, M. White
Guest: Daniel Phillips, Physics and Astronomy
Information items
1. Acknowledgment of “retiring” chairs and directors (Frank)
The following Chairs/Directors were acknowledged for their service.
Bob Colvin, Molecular Cellular Biology
Jim Dyer, Geography
Sherrie Gradin, English
Judith Grant, Political Science
Steve Miner, Contemporary History Institute
Bill Owens, Classics & World Religions
Chris Thompson, Linguistics
Julie White, Women’s, Gender, & Sexuality Studies
Matt White, Biological Sciences
2. IT reorganization update (Brown-Clovis)
The IT Steering Committee met for the first time and provided feedback regarding the Support
Manager Position description. The position has been created and posted both internally and
publically – closing 5/10/17. CAS staff has been notified via email. Brown-Clovis will update as
information is available.
3. Alumni recognition event in Fall 2017 (Cohen)
There will be an alumni recognition event on Friday, October 27, in Nelson Commons.
In the past the College hosted every other year the Distinguished Alumni Awards (DAA). The
Alumni Recognition event will replace the DAA awards. The new event will be more inclusive
focusing on leadership, career achievement, outstanding service to departments, and commitment to
students. The intent is to create a group of people that are invested in the College. All past DAA
award winners will be invited to the October event. Cohen will be sending an email in May asking
Department Chairs for nominations. Nominations will be accepted until June 25. Alumni will also
be encouraged to self-nominate. Cohen would like representation from all departments.
4. Employee bonus awards (Frank)
There is concern that employee bonus awards are being used to supplement income and has become
problematic. Employee bonus awards will be allowed this fiscal year but will be scrutinized next
year. Awards should be unusual and infrequent not a salary supplement.
5. RHE instructor approval process and on-line course sharing (Hatch)
Members of the College of Arts & Sciences/Regional Higher Education Advisory Committee
(CASRHE) are as follows. Co-Chairs: Laurie Hatch (Associate Dean-Athens), Brenda Phillips
(Associate Dean-Chillicothe)Members: Shadi Abu-Baker (Chemistry-Zanesville), Carissa Anderson
(Assistant Dean-RHE), Kristi Barnes (Psychology-Southern), Dina López (Geological SciencesAthens), Mark Lucas (Physics & Astronomy-Athens), Christine Mattley (Sociology &
Anthropology-Athens), Betsy Partyka (Modern Languages-Athens), John Prather (MathematicsEastern), Matthew White (Biological Sciences-Athens) M. White and Dina López will be rotating
off this year – thank you to Morgan Vis (Environmental & Plant Biology –Athens) and Todd
Eisworth (Mathematics – Athens) for agreeing to serve next year. For additional information about
the CASRHE Committee see https://www.ohio.edu/cas/about/committees/index.cfm#regional
RHE Instructor approval process
The CASRHE Committee has approved the following regarding the process of appealing the denial
of a staffing request/process for appealing the removal of a staffing approval.
Process for Appealing a Denial of a Staffing Request
When an instructor is denied an approval to teach a particular course, the requesting unit may wish
to ask for a review of the denial. In such cases, the process should proceed as follows:
-It is the general expectation that denial explanations will focus on the instructor’s professional
qualifications, academic preparation, and teaching expertise, and will provide a sound pedagogical
basis for the denial.
-In the case that a requesting unit wants to appeal a denial, requesting units (e.g., typically a
regional campus) should contact the approving department (e.g., A&S department head or
curriculum chair) to discuss the denial and try to work out the matter informally.
-If the requesting unit wishes to continue with an appeal of the denial, they may initiate such an
appeal through a formal letter. Typically, this letter will be written by the staff member responsible
for making the initial request. The content of the letter should focus on the qualifications of the
potential instructor vis-à-vis the required qualifications of the approving unit. The letter should
include appropriate documentation, which may include a CV, teaching evaluations, syllabi, and
other supporting materials. A&S Dean’s Office and the RHE Executive Dean. The respective
deans may then request an advisory recommendation from the CASRHE Committee. The co-chairs
of CASRHE will schedule a meeting, within 2 weeks, of the full committee. A written
recommendation will be provided to the Deans. The decision of the Deans will be considered final.
If the deans do not agree, then the original decision made by the approving unit stands.
Process for Removal of a Staffing Approval
Occasionally, it may be deemed necessary to remove a course approval from an instructor to teach a
course. In such cases, the process will proceed as follows:
-Either requesting or approving units may initiate such a procedure. Reasons for removal of a
course approval must be documented carefully. In the case that both requesting and approving units
concur on the removal, the matter stops at this level.
-If necessary, the unit that disagrees with the removal may write an appeal letter documenting
carefully the reasons for retaining the course approval. It is the general expectation that removal
explanations/appeals will focus on professional qualifications and teaching expertise, and will
provide a sound pedagogical basis for the removal/appeal.
-The unit initiating the appeal will then route relevant materials to the A&S Dean’s Office and the
RHE Executive Dean. The respective deans may then request an advisory recommendation from
the CASRHE Committee. The co-chairs of CASRHE will schedule a meeting, within 2 weeks, of
the full standing committee. A written recommendation will be provided to the Deans. The
decision of the Deans will be considered final. If the deans do not agree, then the removal decision
stands.
Approved by CASRHE Committee on 4/16/2017.
Online/OULN Course Sharing Proposal
The proposed partnership between the College of Arts & Sciences and Regional Higher Education provides
an opportunity to strategically offer online or OULN courses across campuses. The intent is to identify ways
in which 1) interested Athens-based A&S faculty can deliver online or OULN courses for both A&S/Athens
and regional campus students, or 2) interested regional campus faculty can deliver online or OULN courses
for both regional campus and A&S/Athens students, with each offering subject to approval by the college
office, the participating department, and regional campus(es). This arrangement enhances our teaching
efficiency and cost effectiveness by maximizing instructor productivity, where such arrangements meet
departmental/campus/instructor pedagogical needs and purposes.
CASRHE will follow-up in the fall regarding scheduling, the approval process, instruction workload,
enrollment, tuition, and revenue distribution.
Discussion items
1. Course evaluations- discussion regarding the work of a faculty learning community (D.
Phillips)
Faculty Learning Community members:
Claudia Gonzalez-Vallejo (Psychology), Dan Hembree (Geological Sciences), Mary Kate Hurley
(English), Jaclyn Maxwell (History/CWR), Daniel Phillips (Physics & Astronomy), Julie Roche
(Physics & Astronomy), Rose Rossiter (Economics), Nancy Tatarek (Sociology & Anthropology)
Laurie Hatch (CAS and Sociology & Anthropology) and Tim Vickers (Center for Teaching and
Learning) also participated.
The group took a look at the current Student Evaluations of Teaching (SETs) and based on their
findings made the following recommendations:
For departments
-Focus on scores for individual questions and written comments, rather than just the overall score
(in Class Climate this is the “Global Index”) or, indeed, any one SET number.
-Consider external variables (e.g., required or elective class) over which the instructor has no
control. These have been found to affect the scores on SETs.
-Take particular care with evaluations of women, minorities, and non-native speakers. The literature
has extensively documented that student biases often punish faculty for “norm violations” (i.e. not
matching expectations of how “a professor” should appear).
-Form teaching evaluation committees to perform that segment of annual evaluations.
-Use more than SETs in faculty evaluation: both annually and for P&T. A wider range of teaching
evaluation materials, e.g., a subset of those used for P&T dossiers, allows for a fuller picture of a
faculty member’s teaching.
-Facilitate faculty discussions concerning definitions of and goals for good teaching. Defining our
goals as teachers is important both in regard to our role as educators and for mentoring junior
colleagues.
Recommendations for faculty
-Do not use incentives (food, extra credit) for students to complete evaluations.
-Use a script or slide (see attached) to explain the purposes of SETs, emphasizing the role of written
comments in changing methods of instruction.
-Set aside class time--if possible--for the completion of evaluations.
Recommendations for the college
-Re-evaluate the use of overall score in P&T dossiers.
-More teaching-development opportunities (e.g. workshops and FLCs) will help to create a culture
where the complexity of teaching is valued and SETs are appreciated for the insights they can offer.
-Class Climate (or equivalent) would be more useful if students’ numerical scores and written
comments could be grouped together.