November 15, 2011 Minutes
Present: Paul S. LaFollette (Pres.), Joan Shapiro (V. Pres.), Mark C. Rahdert (Secy), Karen Turner (Past President), Mark Anderson (Law), Adam Davey (CHPSW), Joan Delalic (Engr.), Jeffrey Draine (SSW), Deborah Howe (SED), Forrest Huffman (FSBM), Michael Jackson (STHM), Michael Jacobs (Pharm.), Stephanie Knopp (Tyler), Jim Korsh (CST), Laurie MacPhail (Dent.), Joseph Schwartz (CLA), Jeffrey Solow (BCMD), David Waldstreicher (Fac. Herald), Cheryl Mack (Coord.)
Absent: Nora Alter (SCT), Tricia Jones (COE), Charles Jungreis (Med.)
1. Call to order
The meeting was called to order at 1:04 PM.
2. Approval of Minutes
The minutes of the November 8, 2011 meeting were approved.
3. President’s Report
President LaFollette noted that there will be no FSSC meeting on November 22, since the University follows a Thursday schedule that day.
LaFollette reported on a recent meeting with President Hart. She will be forming a committee to look into university policies and practices when minors are present on campus. The presidential committee that has been investigating issues related to the welfare of LGBT students, faculty and staff at the university has nearly completed its work and will be issuing a lengthy report in the near future. LaFollette reported that he and President Hart discussed the status of NTT faculty, and particularly the lack of longer term contracts for NTTs. President Hart indicated that she supports longer term contracts and was surprised to learn they are not being given. She will raise the matter with Deans.
There was further discussion of the proper role for NTTs with respect to research, teaching and service, as well as the need for better planning regarding the job descriptions and proper uses of NTT faculty.
President LaFollette noted that he has signed a confidentiality agreement regarding the presidential search and will not be able in the future to report on its progress or deliberations.
There was some discussion of the recent meeting of faculty members with the search firm. Several FSSC members expressed concern about the closed nature of the search process. It was noted that there is a search website, where faculty and others can take a survey regarding the search criteria and can register comments about the search. The link to the survey, however, does not seem to be working properly, although it is still possible to get to the survey by another route.
Some members suggested that the search committee might be invited to meet with faculty. Others noted that based on past searches, such a meeting is unlikely to occur. Several FSSC members noted that presidential searches at other universities have been more open than the ones conducted at Temple.
4. TLTR2
Robert Aiken (CST) reported on the Teaching, Learning and Technology Roundtable 2’s (TLTR2) recent work. The original TLTR was organized in the 1990s to assist faculty members with planning for use of technology in teaching. The roundtable was disbanded during President Adamany’s administration, but it was revived as TLTR2 under President Hart and Provost Lisa. The roundtable operates under the auspices of the Provost Office. Deans of each school and college nominate representatives to the roundtable. The roundtable has been assisted by several valuable staff members.
The roundtable has worked both to showcase innovative work that has been done and to develop opportunities for the future. Last year the roundtable promoted a program whereby faculty members who had developed teaching technology shared their work with other faculty members. Eighteen proposals were submitted, of which 16 were funded. TLTR2 also sponsored a Technology Day last spring which showcased various Temple projects and sponsored keynote presentation from speakers provided by the national TLTR organization.
TLTR2 is putting out another call for proposals this year. Turnout has been down a little, but there are several promising proposals. The roundtable is also working on an alternative textbook project that encourages faculty to utilize open source materials. Ten projects of that nature are being supported. TLTR2 will be sponsoring another Technology Day this spring, tentatively scheduled for April 18, 2012. They hope to include demonstration projects that will give participants opportunities for hands-on experience. There is also a committee investigating on-line class support systems that would be an alternative to Blackboard. It is doubtful the University will move from Blackboard, but there may be features in other systems that can be incorporated into the Blackboard system. Other future projects include developing communities of practice among instructors interested in the same types of learning technology, and developing some guiding principles or best practices for on-line courses, an area where Temple is behind the national curve.
In the discussion that followed, the following items were raised:
•What about videoconferencing? Aiken responded that it should be included in TLTR2’s portfolio. There have been difficulties at Temple due to a lack of seamless technology. The issue also highlights an endemic tension between centralization and decentralization. To date responsibility has been largely decentralized to Deans of various schools and colleges, making coordinated university-wide efforts more difficult. At the University level, Vice Provost Vicki McGarvey had been the point person for teaching technology issues.
•How about hybrid courses that combine on-line and in-class instruction? This is also an issue that has been raised with Vice Provost McGarvey, and an area where more work needs to be done to coordinate systems and practices.
•Has there been any progress on intellectual property issues related to on-line instruction and materials? Aiken was unsure regarding the status of that issue.
•Distance learning is another area where there is little coordination and a lack of best practices or guiding principles. To date the matter has been left largely to the Deans’ discretion. The Provost’s office does some screening, but there is relatively little central coordination. FSBM has been the leader among schools and colleges in developing distance learning programs.
•Issues with the functioning of Blackboard were also discussed. Blackboard “upgrades” are often implemented with little information or instruction about changes. The changes also often interfere with established uses, especially when prior Blackboard options disappear as new systems are implemented. It is also unclear whom to contact when problems arise, and there have been recurring server issues. Aiken noted that the TLTR2 has not been directly involved in monitoring these issues.
5. Reorganization
The FSSC discussed Provost Englert’s report to faculty on reorganization at the November Representative Senate meeting. There was general disappointment that the Provost has evidently distributed his white paper draft to Deans without seeking prior input from the FSSC. LaFollette will express the Steering Committee’s view to the Provost.
6. Vice President’s Report
Vice President Shapiro reported that there has been no change since the last meeting regarding staffing of Faculty Senate committees. There are still unfilled positions on EPPC and CATA. There was also some discussion of the status of the Committee on the Status of Women. Shapiro will inquire into the current situation with the committee’s interim chair.
There was further discussion of the importance of having committees meet their obligation of filing reports of their activities to be published in the Faculty Herald. When committees do not report, they either become inactive or start to function like independent entities without Faculty Senate guidance. There was also a suggestion that committees should report not only on their past activities, but also their agenda for the next academic year.
There was also some discussion about the proliferation of university “task forces” that do not function as part of the Senate. Task forces that perform a limited task over a single semester or academic year are appropriate. But when task forces take on a long term character, they should either be incorporated as a standing committee of the Senate, or should develop a structural relationship with the Senate, as has happened, for example, with GEEC.
7. Old Business
President LaFollette reported that, as far as he can determine, the budget information in the Library appears to be the appropriate amount of information for this point in the fiscal year.
Professor Jackson reported briefly on the work of the community relations task force, on which he serves. The committee has been meeting. Its current focus is on criminal incidents that have occurred recently either on or near the main campus.
8. New Business
There was a request to put an evaluation of the University Service Brunch and plans for a future service-related event on the agenda for a future FSSC meeting.
9. Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 2:40 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Mark C, Rahdert
Secretary
