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during the meetings they had course revisions, deleted courses, programs revised, a new program
created and discussed that they are in the process of conducting program reviews.
Graduate Committee Report
The Graduate Committee report was presented by Rebecca Zeigler as a stand in for Bob
Fernekes. This report shared that the Deans update included comments on the site visit from the
accrediting body SACSCOC, program reviews submitted for two graduate programs. New
business included curriculum items from the College of Education, College of Engineering and
Information Technology, and the College of Science and Mathematics, all of which were
approved. The accreditation process is one that institutions must go through and is designed to
ensure the institutions are providing a high level of education. Accreditation is much like the
process of moving, requiring a highly organized effort and a review of all items in house
(Schloss & Craig, 2013).
Faculty Athletics
The Faculty Athletics Representative was at the meeting but left prior to reporting,
however the Senate Moderator, Pat Humphrey reported that the GPAs for some of the studentathletes were worth noting. The womens volleyball team had a 3.62 collective GPA, mens
tennis was 3.58 and basketball and football were both close to a 3.0 GPA for Spring 2015. This
made me feel that the Athletics department is focused on the student-athletes excelling in the
classroom and in their respective sports. The intent of intercollegiate athletics is to provide and
extracurricular developmental outlet for college students to enrich their learning experience and
campus life on the whole (Schloss & Craig, 2013). I was encouraged to hear this during the
meeting and feel that education should always be the focus when dealing with the students we
serve daily.
General Education and Core Curriculum Committee
There was no report from the General Education and Core Curriculum Committee.
Presidents Report
Dr. Keel began his report by reminding everyone that Governor Deal was on campus and
signed the FY16 budget into law while here. That budget included a recommendation of $33.6
million for a new academic classroom building which was the last step in the approval process
for the project. At this point there is the process of planning, designing and selecting the
construction management & architectural firms to construct the building. The new building will
be used to replace approximately four older buildings on campus that were originally designed to
be temporary spaces. Dr. Keel explained that there is a process and it could take up to 9 months
to a year for planning, design and about another year to 18 months for construction. There was
also discussion of how the Governor also signed into law a recurring $1 million to be added to
Advanced Manufacturing which will aid in jumpstarting the new Manufacturing Engineering
degree being offered here on campus.
Also, discussed was the Faculty Senate to make a recommendation, to the President,
regarding the Faculty Athletic Representative. Some of the members there wanted to know the
length of time served by the current representative and they were told by the Senate Moderator
that he had served one term of 6 years and is currently in a second term. The President ended that
conversation letting them know that if they decided to replace the current representative that
there was about a nine-month interim transition period. President encouraged the Faculty Senate
to bring their recommendation, and nomination, to him at the first Faculty Senate meeting.
One Faculty senate member asked if the History department would have an opportunity
to look at how the pending classroom building would be designed. Provost Bartels responded to
this and stated that those who are currently housed in the old buildings will not automatically go
into the new classroom building but input would come from faculty and deans.
SACSCOC
There are six accrediting bodies and they are all similar in the accreditation process yet
have some differences. One of the most obvious differences among the reaffirmation processes
of the six regional accrediting agencies is SACSs requirement of a Quality Enhancement Plan
(QEP). Required of all institutions seeking reaffirmation since 2004, the QEP is intended to
engage the entire campus in continuous improvement that enhances student learning (Schloss &
Craig, 2013). Provost Bartels shared that the final initial report had been received from the
visiting site team. The report addressed two recommendations, one with program assessments
and the other was the Quality Enhancement Program (QEP). There were close to 20 programs
identified as not providing evidence that the assessment date was being used to generate changes
needed to the programs. She shared that the institution would have a response to the
recommendations to present in September and felt as though things are being done and this will
pose no problems for GSU.
Senate Executive Committee (SEC) Report
Senate Executive Chair, Pat Humphrey reported that the SEC has been quiet lately and
had actually not had a meeting prior to Faculty Senate Meeting. No agenda items were submitted
by anyone except Mr. Rob Whitaker. She stated that the University System of Georgia (USG)
Faculty Council had some chatter regarding the salaries of some of the system Presidents at was
is looked at as stellar institutions and she is not sure what the outcome of that would be but she
would love to see some recognition of some stellar faculty when it comes to salary increases.
No single budget process or principle must be embraced by those concerned about the overall
financing of the school as well as those operating at the lowest level (Schloss & Craig, 2013). I
feel that budgeting and financing should be ties to performance and that those excelling should
be compensated but must take into account the overall budgeting and operation of the institution.
Land Acquisition Master Plan Report
Robert Whitaker reported on the land that the University acquired that is across the bypass from campus. There are 208 acres of land that now belongs to GSU that is for future growth
and expansion in the next 20 to 30 years. The facilities department is seeking input, thoughts,
feedback and ideas from faculty and staff on potential uses for the land and will utilize a survey
that will go out through GSU news. Discussions on this led to whether enrollment played in to
the decision on purchasing the land and the response was that enrollment did not factor into the
plan for the land. The potential for the land ranges from classrooms, housing, to a larger field
house since currently we are outgrowing Hanner Fieldhouse. This topic brought me back to a
topic in our text for committees and the roles they play on a campus. Allocation of space and
facilities on postsecondary campuses is a function of balancing needs across various
constituencies, and is a process that is becoming increasingly complex as colleges and
universities evolve and the demand for available space grows (Schloss & Craig, 2013). I find
that GSU is forward thinking in this process but could potentially need to utilize that space much
sooner than 20 to 30 years from now.