Minutes of the Faculty Meeting October 11, 2007

I. Opening.

The President called the October Meeting to order at 11:30.

II. Opening Prayer.

Pastor Benson offered the metaphor of fall leaves changing color as a simple reminder not to remember that much is in each of us that cannot be seen. In his words, “dare to believe that God sees more in us than we see ourselves or in each other.” Pastor Benson then offered a prayer on this theme.

III. Approval of the Minutes of the August 2007 faculty meeting.

The minutes were approved.

IV. Report from the Faculty Observer. (With faculty approval, the President moved this item up from its original place on the agenda.)

Karen Marsalek, Faculty Observer-Elect, reported in place of John Ferguson on the Board of Regents meeting. She began her remarks by noting that she was impressed by the desire of the Regents to do the best for the college. Marsalek said that on the issue of global citizenship, the Regents would like St. Olaf to pursue off-campus summer programs and to actively consider how to maintain its place as a leader in off-campus study. The Board responded enthusiastically, she said, to the President’s plans for building use with respect to Old Science and Old Music. Finally, on the issue of land use, the Board intends to take no hasty action. The Regents wish to remind all interested parties that “development” need not mean strip malls and condos, but might also mean “development of the college.” The Board did adopt a resolution that these lands could be developed in the future. This has been the status quo, in their minds, and this policy would make that explicit, Marsalek reported. The Faculty Observer communicated the letters from the faculty to the Regents on this issue. The Regents are listening to the faculty, Marsalek said, and they seek further input from the faculty.

V. President’s Remarks

Board of Regents meeting.

The President began by reporting that Janine Wetzel (‘05), an honor student and Political Science major who taught for two years in rural Missouri for Teach for America, was elected and approved as graduate representative.

Benefits Proposal Adopted. The Board approved a proposal from the Benefits Committee for implementation of short-term disability provision for hourly workers at the college. (Faculty and administrative staff already have a disability provision.)

Space Issues. The main issue concerns funding to renovate old buildings, the President reported. The College will need to meet enrollment and revenue targets for the next five years, raise $6.5 million for the balance due on New Science. Then planned surpluses in the budget will and some short-term debt will fund renovations. The timetable is as follows: new Science Center completed by Fall ’08; then Old Music renovations begin (for Math), completed by August ’09; finally, renovations for Old Science begin, completed by December 2010.

Conflict of Interest Policies. The Board adopted a new conflict of interest policy for board members. The board is also considering a policy for employees of the College, which has been drafted. At other colleges, some employees have received inappropriate gifts or have misused college funds. The new policy aims to protect the institution and could potentially apply to some members of the faculty. In the most extreme case of conflict involving misuse of funds, dismissal would be the response. The draft proposal has been sent to RPC for consideration.

Mellon Grant Awarded. The President was pleased to report that the Mellon Foundation has awarded him a New President’s Grant. The award of $50,000 will be used to bring prominent speakers to campus from around the country to share their ideas on higher education.

VI. Consent Agenda

There were two items on the agenda:

1. Approval of Winter 2007 Sports Schedules (Judy Kutulas)

2. Curriculum Committee 07/08-01: New Course Proposals (David Booth)

The faculty voted to approve the agenda.

VII. New Business  

A. Curriculum Committee: Revisions to Transfer Credit Policy.

David Booth, Chair of the Curriculum Committee, put forward motion 07/08-02. The faculty voted separately on the two motions contained within this document.

Booth moved Part A: The Curriculum Committee moves that the faculty adopt proposed changes, clarifications, and additions to the college policy on pre-college transfer credits. (See Document 07/08-02.)

Discussion of proposed changes followed:

Corliss Swain asked whycollege courses taken by high school students can’t count for college credit if they are indeed college courses.

Booth responded that in most cases they can. The proposal aims to prevent double counting of AP and college courses. The proposed limits, he said, make sure that GE credits do not exceed the limits we have for off-campus courses taken after matriculation. The slight limit, as Booth put it, is a vote in favor of having a certain number of St. Olaf courses required for a St. Olaf degree.

Swain expressed concern that a transfer student would be able to transfer more credits than a student who has taken the same courses as a high school student.

Booth asked the Registrar to respond.

Mary Cisar noted that some of the courses are not actually the same courses. For instance AP courses are not the same courses that students would take at college.

Swain stated that she is concerned about PSEO [Post-Secondary Education Option] courses.

Cisar responded that typically students do not take more than a few PSEO course.

Swain asked: But what if they do? What is the rationale for allowing credit if a student had already graduated from high school, but denying it if a student still in high school?

Cisar replied that the limit on the number is justified for two reasons: 1) it is consistent with what other colleges of similar type do, and 2) the average number of credits students bring in is six. The College wants to ensure that students are not bringing in too many credits that are AP or are taught by trained high school teachers. We want, she said, for the students to have a four-year college experience.

Swain suggested that we might be discouraging bright, motivated students from coming here.

Booth clarified that a student could seek admission as a sophomore with twelve college credits, in theory, because of work they’ve done as high school students. However, even if the student is precocious, that work might not be the same as a year spent at St. Olaf. Thus the policy adopted is six. It is always a possibility that the Registrar could make exception in an extraordinary case.

Swain proposed the following amendment to point 3 of the document: “Students with more than six PSEO courses may appeal to the Registrar for an exemption to the transfer credit policy.” The motion was seconded.

More discussion followed. Booth asked the Registrar what kind of advice is given to students in general concerning pre-college credits and petitioning to have that credit acknowledged. Cisar responded that with respect to pre-college credit there is not any extant document that invites or explains the appeals process.

Cisar proposed as a friendly amendment that “credits” be used rather than “courses.” Swain accepted.

Karen Marsalek: Should the maximum be four or six PSEO credits? Suggestion to change “six” to “four” was accepted.

Gwen Barnes asked the Registrar if it is possible to determine, when looking at a student’s high school transcript, whether credits are PSEO or CIS? The Registrar responded that it is usually possible.

The President called for a vote on amendment. The President announced the motion carried. A request for a division of the house followed. The votes were counted: 69 in favor, 38 opposed. The motion to accept the amendment carried.

The President called for a vote on the main motion. The motion carried as amended.

Booth moved that the faculty accept Part B of the document 07/08-02: Transfer Credit regarding off-campus credit. Cisar offered that the new language is not reflective of policy change, but rather seeks to create clear language for existing policies.

The motion carried.

B. Proposal from RPC.

Anne Groton, speaking in place of Dan Hofrenning, moved that the faculty adopt RPC’s proposal to extend the probationary period (RPC 07/08-01). Groton offered a few remarks. If approved by the faculty, the proposal will go to the Board of Regents. If it is adopted, it will go into effect next year. The proposal is meant to be family friendly, to allow one extra year of probation.

Kathryn Ananda-Owens asked for clarification regarding military service. Grotonasked Arnie Ostebee to respond. Ostebee explaied that specific federal laws concerning military leave exist. This policy would allow an extension of probationary period after someone returns from federally-mandated military leave.

Karen Marsalek asked how the policy relates to or differs from a leave of absence. Grotonresponded that it does not preclude leave; one could always take a leave of absence.

The faculty voted and the motion carried.

VIII. Committee Reports

A. RPC.Anne Groton reported that RPC is currently constructing a faculty life committee

B. Curriculum Committee. David Booth began his report by noting that the new committee is faced with the challenge of finding a way to do the work of the committee more efficiently. At very first meeting of the newly-formed committee, Booth reported, the members revolted against using existing sub-committee structure, which would have simply re-constituted the old committees. Thus, the CC created a set of new sub-committees. [The sub-committees and their chairs can be found at this link: Sub-Committees of the Curriculum Committee.

Recertification of GE courses: Booth said that this should be viewed as a means of ensuring continued vitality in teaching GE courses. This is especially important for faculty who joined St. Olaf long after the initial conversations on general education.

Assessment sub-committee. Each department should develop a list of intended learning outcomes; an opportunity for reflection on main goals for majors.

Emergency Curriculum. Booth requested for proposals to fill out emergency curriculum and to think about how your own teaching could continue.

IX. Remarks for the Good of the Order

A. Remarks from the Provost.

Provost Jim May was pleased to report a number of positive statistics.

1) The College’s retention rate is at 93.4%, up a tenth of a percentage point from last year

2) Our 6 year graduation rate is at a record high: 86.2%, also an increase.

3) This semester over 60% of classes enroll fewer than 20 students. Two years ago only 40% of courses had fewer than 20 students.

B. Introduction of Scholars from ECNU.

Eric Lund introduced several visiting international scholars in residence at St. Olaf for 2007-2008. [More information on our visiting scholars, including their research agendas, can be found at the following link International Scholars 2007-2008 .

Yi Zhang is Associate Professor and Dean of the English Department at East China Normal University in Shanghai, China. His faculty mentor is Maggie Bronner.

Lianming Xu is an Associate Professor in Sociology at ECNU in Shanghai. His faculty mentor is Bruce Nordstrom-Loeb.

Marycelina Msuya is the Dean of Nursing at Tumaini University in Tanzania. Her faculty mentors are Mary Carlsen and Diana Neal Nursing

Wilailak Saraithong, or Pom for short, is a Thai scholar from Chiang Mai University and was an undergraduate on campus. Faculty mentor is Mary Titus.

Lund reminded the faculty that new off-campus proposals are due November 10 th.

C. Judy Kutulas reminded everyone that the Faculty Action Association seeks contributions in order to fund study abroad for minority students.

D. Mary Carlsen relayed that some emeriti faculty had inquired about the land use proposal and had been unable to access the information on the College’s web-site. The President responded that the proposal should be accessible on the web now. 

E. Bob Entenmann suggested that the faculty applaud our visiting scholars to welcome them to the College. Applause followed.

The President adjourned the meeting at 12:35.

Minutes prepared and respectfully submitted by Anna Kuxhausen, Assistant Professor, Department of History.

A sound recording of this meeting has also been filed in the Archive of the College.