The March meeting of the University Senate was held at 4:05 p.m. on Thursday, March 6, 2003 in Room 7, Gamble Hall. Jan Goodwin presided.

The following members of the Senate were present:

Alleva, Patti
Anderson, Angie
Bagheri, Fathollah
Benoit, Joseph
Boyd, Robert
Bridewell, John
DeMers, Judy
Drewes, Mary
Effertz, Kayla
Elbert, Dennis
Elsinga, Lillian
Ettling, John
Fivizzani, Albert
Gagnon, Gregory
Gallager, Robert
Goenner, Cullen
Goodwin, Janice
Hansen, Kenneth
Heitkamp, Thomasine
Hoffmann, Mark
Hume, Wendelin
Jackson, Jon
Jenniges, Sharleen
Jeno, Susan
Jerath, Sukhvarsh
Krogh, Nancy
Kupchella, Charles
Lee, Randy
Lovseth, Jon
Marshall, David
Murphy, Eric
Norman, Katherine
Perry, David
Petros, Thomas
Potvin, Martha
Rakow, Lana
Rice, Daniel
Romanick, Mark
Ruff, Nick
Shaeffer, James
Shaeffer, Margaret
Skramstad, Allan
Stanlake, Lowell
Stofferahn, Curtis
Sukalski, Katherine
Thompson, Myra
Thureen, Faythe
Tschacher, Walter
Watson, John
Zierdt, Candace

The following members of the Senate were absent:

Alfonso, Peter
Baker, Adam
Bartsch, Brent
Blackburn, Royce
Downie, Morgan
Gerber, Anne
Hanhan, Sara
Hikins, James
Hildre, Nate
Jose, Matt
Kenville, Kimberly
Knight, Barbara
Levang, Chris
McBride, Rosanne
Nichols, Elizabeth
Okunishi, Takeshi
Porter, James
Porter, Kimberly
Romero, Alan
Ryan, Steffen
Sheridan, William
Smith, Bruce
Stolt, Wilbur
Tiffany, Mark
Venhuizen, Brett
Wilson, H. David
Zidon, Margaret

The following announcements were made:

A.  Mr. Lovseth announced that Adam Baker and Amanda Anderson were elected as student government president and vice president.

B.  Mr. Gagnon announced that we should thank the outgoing members of the student government for their service.

C.  Ms. Goodwin announced that the President sent her a memo telling her the constitution revisions had been sent to the State Board of Higher Education for consideration.

The chair asked for corrections to the February 6, 2003 minutes. There being none, the minutes were approved as distributed.

The chair opened the question period at 4:15 p.m.

Mr. Petros asked the Provost and the President why Pick-A-Prof was still on the UND web page and if that signified endorsement by the University. The Provost said that he did not object to it being on the web pages but this did not signify endorsement.

Ms. Rakow asked about IRB approval for Pick-A-Prof and if that had been investigated. Mr. Lovseth said they had checked and because it is not a survey but a free response, IRB did not apply. Mr. Petros asked the student government to produce written confirmation from IRB that their approval was not necessary. Mr. Lovseth agreed to bring that to the next Senate meeting.

Ms. Goodwin asked Mr. Lovseth if there was anything further to report from student government from the Senate resolution? Mr. Ruff asked to reply and stated that if the comments section of the University Teaching Evaluation forms would be available to Pick-a-Prof then the comments that students can currently post would not be needed.

Mr. Jackson asked about the resolution and asked if student government had considered it. Mr. Lovseth replied that the student senate had discussed the points on the resolution at two different meetings. The conclusion was that this was a service purchased by the students to provide a service they wanted. He added that student senators do want to find ways to continue to work with the faculty on this issue.

Mr. Jerath questioned whether the University Senate, as the legislative body of the University, really carried any weight or power to affect this, and if not, asked what kind of a legislative body it is.

Mr. Stofferahn commented that faculty members and former students could log in as students and post comments. He commented that the system had many errors. He asked if Mr. Lovseth had checked into these problems. Mr. Lovseth replied that he had and that they were working on fixing this.

Mr. Petros commented that perhaps it was time for another approach to Pick-A-Prof.

Ms. Rakow asked how errors on the system should be addressed. Mr. Lovseth said that first institutional research should be contacted to check the accuracy of their summaries and that other problems could be addressed to student government. Ms. Goodwin asked Mr. Lovseth if Student Government could develop a help sheet for faculty that outlined what to do if a faculty member had concerns or problems about comments that were posted or if any other errors were found. Mr. Lovseth agreed.

Ms. Goodwin asked the President to update the Senate about the legislative session. The President reviewed his recent contacts with legislators. He gave the group several examples of possibilities for centers of excellence in research and examples of centers of excellence outside of research. He reported that questions from the legislators were mostly about how to reinvent North Dakota and how to keep young people in the state. Another revenue forecast is due and will have an effect on the legislation. All in all, the President reported that it was a cordial event.

Mr. Murphy asked the President how the legislators felt about possible increases in tuition. The President replied that their attitude is generally supportive as they consider that increased funding from the state is not available. The President has emphasized the affordability of a UND education to the legislators.

The question period closed at 4:40 p.m.

Mr. Marshall moved that the annual reports of the Student Academic Standards Committee, the Administrative Procedures Committee, and the Summer Sessions Committee be received and filed. The motion was approved unanimously.

The Curriculum Committee presented a slate of curriculum changes for approval to the Senate. The motion was approved unanimously.

The Committee on Committees presented the ballot for nominations to Senate committees. The chair asked each member to record his or her preference for each committee for the final vote on the entire ballot at the April meeting. The preferences were collected and will be tallied for a vote at the April Senate meeting.

Mr. Lee, for the Standing Committee on Faculty Rights, presented proposed guidelines for faculty engaged in employment controversy with the University. Mr. Lee moved the adoption of the resolution including all four items of the resolution. Discussion ensued. Mr. Ettling moved to table the resolution until he could meet with the members of the Standing Committee on Faculty Rights. The motion carried 44 in favor with 3 opposed.

The Senators discussed how the resolution would be considered and there were several comments about changes in wording. Mr. Petros asked that anyone having concerns about the resolution submit them before the next Senate Executive Committee on March 14.

Mr. Lee presented a resolution from the Standing Committee on Faculty Rights to accomplish local implementation of the Board of Higher Education Policy Manual §605.3 subsections 6 and 7 through the Senate Budget, Restructuring and Reallocation Committee and moved to approve this resolution. Discussion ensued.

Mr. Petros moved to extend the meeting for ten minutes. The motion was approved 39 in favor and 4 opposed with 1 abstention.

Discussion on Mr. Lee's motion continued. The motion carried unanimously with one abstention.

Mr. Lee moved to approve the new description of the Budget, Reallocation and Restructuring Committee. Minor editing changes were accepted by Mr. Lee. The motion was approved unanimously with one abstention.

The meeting adjourned at 5:34 p.m.

Nancy Krogh
Secretary to the Senate