Academic Council: October 18, 2011 Minutes

 Dean Skerrett called the meeting to order at 10:32 a.m. The minutes of  October 4, 2011 meeting were approved.


All proposals on the October 18, 2011 consent agenda were approved.

1. Athletic schedules
 The dean opened discussion on ways to continue to reduce conflicts between academic and athletic schedules for our student athletes. Many agreed that receiving a student athlete's practice travel schedule in advance could potentially help avoid conflicts. The major concern is how to avoid conflicts so faculty do not have to accommodate unforeseen ones. The athletic department has agreed to increase communication between athletics and academic departments. The registrar's office will work to create a tag in grad tracker that would allow advisers to identify students who are athletes.




2.Annual performance reviews  

Dean Skerrett reminded Council of the October 26th deadline for annual performance reviews.The dean opened a follow up discussion regarding the annual performance review process. Many agreed that there should be one scale that is used by both the chair of the department as well as the dean's office. This process will be transparent and will ideally show how a conclusion was made.  The goal is to create one system that is congruent with the language of the faculty handbook. The dean would like to continue to work on an infrastructure that everyone is comfortable with and prepare a revision for the faculty to approve. 





3.Faculty meeting discussion follow-up 

Concerns were raised regarding the lack of representation of the School of Arts & Sciences on prospective student tours. Many agreed that Nanci Tessier's presentation at the most recent faculty meeting was impressive but did not focus enough on the concerns raised regarding the campus tour. Most were concerned that students are not able to see everything the University of Richmond has to offer and the breadth of a liberal arts education. The dean asked for suggestions on how to better improve these campus tours and how might the School of Arts and Sciences be involved. Many agreed that a targeted campus tour could be beneficial as well as having prospective students meet with faculty members. Dean Skerrett will draft a note to be reviewed by Council, before submitting to Admissions ideas and suggestions.The dean noted that Nanci Tessier's strategy is innovative, sophisticated, and effective in recruiting students to the School of Arts and Sciences.





The meeting was adjourned at 11:52  a.m.

Respectfully submitted,


Zandria Ivy

Academic Council: October 18, 2011 Agenda

Our next meeting will be Tuesday, October 18, 2011 from 10:30-11:45 a.m. in the Tyler Haynes Commons, Room 305 (THC 305). Please review the agenda below and the cited materials in advance of the meeting.

Approval of minutes from the October 4, 2011 meeting.

Discussion agenda

1. Athletic schedules
2. Annual performance reviews 
3. Faculty meeting  discussion follow-up
4. New business

Consent Agenda

New course proposals:

RELG 287 Ninety-nine Names of God





Next Meeting

We will meet on November, October 1, 2011 at 10:30 a.m. in THC 305.

A&S Faculty Meeting: October 17, 2011

Our next faculty meeting will be held this coming Monday, October 17, 2011 at 4:15 p.m. in the Brown-Alley Room of Weinstein Hall.

Our agenda will be:

• Approval of minutes from our September 13, 2011 meeting
• Approval of Academic Council actions from October 4, 2011
• Ad Hoc Faculty Annual Performance Review Committee
• Discussion with Nanci Tessier, Vice President of Enrollment Management

Next A&S Faculty Meeting - November 9, 2011 in the Brown-Alley Room of Weinstein Hall.

Academic Council: October 4, 2011 Minutes

Dean Skerrett called the meeting to order at 10:32 a.m. The minutes of  September 13, 2011 meeting were approved.

Dean Skerrett introduced the new assistant to the dean, Zandria Ivy, and thanked Cheryl Burns for her service to both the dean and academic council. Cheryl Burns will remain in the dean's office as operations coordinator in the budget & operations unit.

All proposals on the October 4, 2011 consent agenda were approved.

1. Ad Hoc Faculty Annual Performance Review Committee
Dean Skerrett reminded Council of the purpose of the Ad Hoc Annual Performance Review Committee. This committee will meet and discuss the criteria for calibrating merit. Dean Skerrett will send a notice to faculty announcing the election results. The following chairs were selected as quadripartite divisional representatives:

Division I: Carol Wharton
Division II: Lisa Gentile
Division III: Dorothy Holland
Division IV: Yvonne Howell

In lieu of the Academic Council meeting scheduled on November 1, 2011, department chairs will meet with their respective quadripartite representative to have first discussions regarding the calibration of merit in the annual performance review process. Following these meetings, Dean Skerrett will meet with the members of the committee twice before winter break, and once after winter break.



2.Merit Rubrics
The dean opened discussion on ways to improve and simplify the current rubric for faculty annual performance reviews. Many council members expressed concern with the current categorical language in place and how that language can be confusing for pre-tenure faculty expectations.  The dean would like the language to reflect department chairs' assessment of faculty achievement, and to be consistent with language that is used in the faculty handbook. There was some discussion about the differences between a 3 and 4 point evaluation system. The dean would like Council to think about was how to make the process more transparent.



3.Course Proposals Process (Scott Johnson)
Scott encouraged everyone to use the online form for all course proposals as this makes the process much faster and decreases email traffic.
Council was reminded that the first round of capacity audit will be due October 14, 2011. Once the first round is complete, updates will be sent and a second round will occur. If anyone would like to meet and/or discuss capacity audits, please contact Scott Johnson. Dean Skerrett urged Council to return their capacity audits in a timely manner.


4.Athletic Schedules
Bruce Matthews briefed Council on the challenges that are faced when scheduling athletes for classes.
The athletic department's two major goals each year are for students to succeed both athletically and academically.  This issue will be discussed more in depth at the next meeting.

5. New Business
The budget and operations staff within the dean’s office will work with departments this year to realign budget lines in order to bring budgets more accurately in line with annual expenditures.  The dean distributed a memo from Terri Weaver setting out the four-step process that chairs can expect after worksheets are distributed on November 1.  In addition, the dean discussed the pilot for a program-based budgeting process.  Six departments have volunteered to participate in this pilot, which will begin the week of November 7.



The meeting was adjourned at  11:46 a.m.

Respectfully submitted,


Zandria Ivy