West Virginia University at Parkersburg
Faculty Senate Meeting Minutes
September 16, 2013
Present:  Torie Jackson (Chair), Dianne Davis (Vice Chair), Maggie Berdine (Secretary), Matt Santer (BOG), Rob Anderson, Theresa Cowan, Uta Hempel, Roger Lewis, Al Newhart, Craig Rabatin, Missy Spivy, Cynthia Watkins, David C. Williams. Guests: Dr. Rhonda Tracy, Senor Vice-President for Academic Affairs; Ms. Drema Starkey, President , Staff Council; Jennifer Randolf, Coordinator of Career Services and Cooperative Education.
Updates  
Academic Affairs Report: 
1) Facilities changes: 
a. Science labs: Dr. Tracy reported that Phase 1 of comprehensive science lab renovation is underway.  Five teaching laboratories are being constructed “including staging areas” for supplies for each of the five teaching labs: 2 biology ,1 physical science, 1 chemistry, 1 organic chemistry. 
b. Journalism: The current music equipment and supplies hall is being moved to classroom 2539. The space will be utilized for the new journalism broadcasting program that the college hopes to implement as well as support for the current program. The space will include a broadcasting booth for a non-commercial low-end FM station. The current space occupied by the journalism program will also be retrofitted for as a classroom with laptop capability.
c. Accreditation and Assessment: Dr. Tracy is finalizing the latest report for the Quality Initiative. The final report for the Quality Improvement Initiative part of the reaffirmation process will be due October 15th, 2013.
Career Pathways and Developmental Education: With the assistance of Pam Braden, the assessment parts are “still building” for the Assurance Argument component of the reaffirmation process and should be completed by January 2014.
d. Chronicle of Higher Education Completion Project: West Virginia Public Colleges (4 year): Dr. Tracy shared the results of the Chronicle’s project, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. WVU-P showed the highest “Completions per 100 Students” and the lowest “Spending for completion.”  A question was raised if WVUP faculty  are the lowest paid in the state and if this was a factor in “spending.” [See attached]
e. Advising: Dr. Tracy is planning for faculty with a low number of advisees to be trained as advisors in the RBA Program.
f. Adjunct Faculty: Dr Tracy reported that she is getting ready to poll adjunct faculty on the use of e-mail, faculty development, and the “greatest challenge”[s] they have faced in working in the WVUP system. 
g. New Faculty: Dr. Tracy complemented the Divisions for their orientation of new faculty. She plans an informal luncheon for September 23 to cover advising, the timeline for the Fall and Spring Semesters with important dates, the Faculty Handbook, and guidelines for preparing the Annual Report.
h. Curriculum Development: Another goal is to is to ensure that curriculum development starts with faculty.
i. Measuring Success of Our Student: Dr. Tracy shared an assessment chart illustrating how the “Success of our Students” will be integrated and measured from “General Education Competencies,” to “Program Competencies” to “Institutional Mission” to External “Outcomes.” General education is at the core of such measurements while reflecting institutional goals. [See attached]
j. Retention/Early Alerts: Dr Tracy encouraged faculty to look for students who are not attending and to turn in and update Early Alerts. This procedure could be a factor in the decline in enrollment. As perhaps a related factor, Matt Santer commented that Marshall University has scheduled classes in Wirt County. Dr. Tracy replied that this encroachment into WVUP’s service area is being addressed.
k. Academic Affairs Answer Book Updates for 2013: Dr Tracy presented a list of Answer Book updates “in progress” and “completed.”  In response to a question concerning what procedure was being followed in these updates, Dr. Tracy indicated that these updates were changes in procedure due to policies being “outdated.” or changes in policy driven by state requirements. [See attached]
Career Services and Cooperative Education: Jennifer Randolph, Coordinator, distributed a list of upcoming Career Services events that she has scheduled for this semester. She indicted that her main reason for presenting to the Senate was to recruit faculty to encourage students to attend these events and the Fall Job Fair she is organizing. This job fair has not been coordinated with the Mid-Ohio Valley Job Fair. Ms. Randolph indicted that she had developed a Facebook page. She will be sending out invitations to employers and posting those who accept on the page for students to review. She also encouraged faculty to recruit additional employers for the Fair. The GPA for students to be accepted into the Coop Program has been lowered. The emphasis of her current efforts is outreach.
D’Avria Focus Groups: President Jackson asked about the focus groups. Those who had attended reported the conversation was informal.  The make-up of groups is unknown until actual meeting.  Groups were selected at random and contacted via e-mail. Results will be confidential. D’Avria will report to President Gnage with oversight from the BOG.
Old Business: 
By-law Change Update for Representation: The Senate proposal to change the Senate By-Laws to reflect the addition of a third senator from the STEM Division and the possible addition of a representative from Workforce and Community Education passed by a clear majority of those voting: 29 for and 2 against. The third representative from the STEM Division is David C. Williams
Purse Bingo: Drema Starkey, President of Staff Council, solicited faculty for door prizes and for help the evening of the fund raiser, which will be on October 19 at 6:00, doors open at 4:30 with a $20.00 fee. On Saturday food is also needed. President Jackson asked senators to contact colleagues to volunteer. Ms. Starkey also indicated that items made by WVUP faculty and staff usually draw higher bids
New Items: 
AFC Representative Vote: Aaron Crites was elected as WVUP’s representative to the Advisory Council of Faculty.

President Jackson stressed the need for a second September meeting to discuss remaining 
important items on the agenda: Goals for the 2013-2014 year defined, response to the Faculty Position Paper, expectations. In addition, senators were encouraged to survey their divisions for feedback on problems being encountering with Open-Classroom. 
The next meeting will be September 30 at 11:00 am.
The meeting was adjourned at 12:15.
Submitted by Maggie Berdine, Secretary