September 1, 2020 Minutes

Council of Department Chairs

NOTE: These minutes reflect discussions that happened on the date of these minutes. Due to the COVID-19 situation, things are rapidly changing. For offical policy, please wait for documents from the appropriate offices.

Attendees (9/1/2020): Curtis Bennett, Barbara Taylor, Tangan Gao, Chris Brazier, Andreas Bill, Christine Whitcraft, Dessie Underwood, Lisa Martin, Margaret Karteron, Rick Behl, Kris Slowinski, Will Murray, Henry Wu, Maryanne Horton.

 

  1. Approve agenda (10:00)
  2. Approve minutes from Aug. 18; Approved as amended.
  3. Announcements
    1. Operations
      1. Open Period Notices were sent out.
      2. Working on the building marshall plan so that it is in place for when we do return to campus.
    2. ASM update
      1. COVID Screening link change: will need to be accessed through single sign on.
        1. If TA/GA are not here to work, please only take the student survey.
        2. If someone is a student AND an employee coming to campus to go to class and work, they need to fill out both the employee and student forms.
      2. Volunteer parking now needs to be approved by the Provost.
    3. Academic Senate Report
      1. Revision of the Cheating and Plagiarism Policy.
    4. Dean’s report
      1. Sept. 29th Meeting
        1. Includes: Office of Equity and Diversity, Pia Bosa’s Office, and FERP Office
          1. Discussion about those policies and how the virtual world is affecting those policies.
      2. Picture a Scientist
        1. Two local societies are hosting a screening of “Picture a Scientist” on Zoom.
          1. Documentary about gender bias in the sciences.
          2. Make this into a college event followed by a moderated discussion.
  4. Associate Deans
    1. Academic Programs
      1. S21 Schedule Building Deadlines
        1. Pay close attention to enrollment caps and class notes
        2. Access for CNSM Premajors/Majors progressing through course sequences is our #1 priority.
      2. Curriculum Development Deadlines
        1. September 4: Curriculum committee rosters due to Vanessa
        2. October 9: CNSM deadline for departmental submissions, submissions approved by departments after 10/9 will be considered in AY 21-22 curriculum cycle. Please do not procrastinate.
        3. October 30: University deadline for approved submissions form.
      3. Enrollment Management at the Beginning of the Spring Semester
        1. Need to organize better for the Spring semester.
        2. Justification needed to block enrollment in week 1; will follow up at the next CDC.
    2. Research
      1. Changes to sign-in process for people coming to visit campus
        1. Updated text that will be posted on the website; feedback is welcome.
      2. Barbara sent a reminder to all Department Chairs, Kris, Curt, and some Advising Staff about the AC Martin student success renovation survey; it is due tomorrow (9/2).
        1. Barbara will send another email to Department Chairs about potentially touring spaces.
        2. Feasibility study for space use.
      3. Discussion: Scheduling Student Research
        1. Right now, PIs can have 2 students in their labs per day. This can potentially limit productivity.
        2. Continually working on this but right now it is out of the college’s control.
    3. Graduate Programs
      1. Thesis office reports that formatting of submissions is a problem.
        1. Approximately 75% of all Thesis submissions require a second revision and approximately 25% of Thesis submissions require a third revision.
        2. People hours are maxed out and so deadlines will not be changed.
        3. Thesis chairs and advisors should be checking formatting before submission.
        4. Babette will ask for a break down by department.
      2. Reminder: The University is not funding TRAVEL THIS AY. However, each graduate student may get UP to $250 through the GSRC for VIRTUAL conference registrations.
  5. Updates on Problems
    1. Student privacy concerns on Zoom.
    2. Student behavior issues on Zoom.
    3. Instances of students congregating/socializing in building hallways after face-to-face classes.
      1. Ask faculty to ask students to disperse if they see this.
  6. #ScholarStrike for Racial Justice (9/8, 9/9)
    1. Faculty Affairs is working with the union and has decided that there will be a “Teach In” on 9/8 and 9/9.
    2. Faculty will be given the option to participate or not.
    3. Some resources will likely be provided.
  7. Budget Discussions (Part 1)
    1. The college needs to make up $550,000.
    2. The above proposal is a draft and will not work.
    3. State budget has been cut by millions.
    4. You’ll need to use your N funds to help cover regular operating costs.
    5. Assigned time can be used for: advising, course coordinator, new faculty buyout, and over enrolling. Any other use will need to be approved by the dean’s office.
    6. CPIE money is $60,000 less than we had last year.
    7. We will likely increase class sizes in the spring, if we are still virtual.
    8. Trying to avoid furloughs for this academic year.
    9. We can also decrease costs for Graduate Assistants.
      1. GAs who are performing duties that are really for ISAs, should be hired as ISAs.
    10. Virtual hospitality requests will not be approved.


​Submitted by Allie Puz (Communications & PR Coordinator, CNSM)

 

Meeting Minutes were APPROVED on Tuesday, September 15, 2020

*Note: This reflects discussion on the date of the CDC meeting about policies, not actual policy. Faculty and staff should wait for official communication on each subject before acting.