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Deans Advisory Council
August 15, 2002
Minutes
The Deans Advisory Council met in Moody Center 120 at 19:30. Dr. Dodd, Mr. Hager,
Dr. McNair, Dr. Monhollon, Ms. Specht, Dr. Stafford, Dr. P. Williford, Dr. Bill Ellis, and
Paula Dickie were in attendance. Dr. Davis and Dr. Stanlake were absent.
After a discussion of campus concerns, Dr. Williford led in prayer.
Dorothy Kiser, registrar, presented several new forms for suggestions and approval.
The Parent Permission Form will allow parents access to student grades and other
information. Basically, this is a FERPA waiver and will be given to all freshmen
students as they register. Dr. Ellis explained in the case of an emergency, information
can be given to parents. Dr. McNair suggested that spouses also be included on the
form. Mrs. Kiser will be distributing bookmarks with the FERPA guidelines printed on
them to the faculty.
The Change of Schedule Form will combine the changes made to schedules before
classes begin and after classes have begun. This form will be on the web and can be
printed out and given to students to obtain appropriate signatures. These should be
available in the next day or two.
Students will be able to make address changes on the web and submit to the registrar’s
office from the website. These changes will not be made to the student’s records from
this submission, but will be sent to the registrar’s office for changes to be made.
The Suspension Appeal form will also be available on the web.
Any changes made to the schedule (time, professor, room #, etc.) need to go through
the Deans’ offices. They in turn will need to notify the Registrar’s office for changes to
be made on the web. This is a new procedure.
Dr. Ellis urged Deans to encourage faculty to keep roll for classes. Records need to be
kept for governmental financial aid. It helps the University to know if/when a student
has or has not been attending classes.
Ms. Specht stressed the need to have a current e-mail address for students. Even
though all students are given an HSU e-mail address, many use their personal ones.
Dr. Ellis will talk with Travis Seekins in Information Management and also with the
Administrative Council about creating a University-wide policy.
The Curriculum Change Form will be a standardized way to present information to the
Academic Committee. Dr. Ellis asked the Deans to evaluate this and offer suggestions
for changes before putting into action.
Dr. Ellis discussed the changes in the organizational chart. Mr. Roy is in the process of
hiring someone for the University Communication position. Enrollment Services has
been moved under the umbrella of Academic Affairs. Changes in the Enrollment
Services include: Stacey Martin--Director of Admissions, Forrest McMillan--Director of
Recruiting, Dennis Grover—Recruiter in Graduate Office, Heather Hood and Kristen
Hall—DFW Recruiters.
The recruiting office will organize a new alumni club—the Wrangler Club. Alumni will
volunteer for a two year time period to recruit in their area by attending high school fairs,
churches, etc. They will work with Jennifer Phillips in Career Services to serve as
career mentors. The Board of Young Associates has a database on the web. All of
these areas will work together to form a strong base of alumni. Forrest McMillan will be
leading this organization.
Campus-wide recruiting efforts include the faculty/staff in two major ways. Faculty/staff
will be asked to volunteer for a two-year time frame. One group will include persons
that are good public speakers and willing to go to churches and schools and recruit for
the University. The other group will be asked to write letters, send e-mails, etc. The
idea being the more contacts a student has, the more likely they will come to HSU.
Leianne McMillan has gathered approximately 30,000 coupons to give to students the
first week of school. Faculty and staff will be asked to spend 1 hour in Moody Center
meeting, greeting, and handing out coupons to students as they go to the café for lunch.
Another group of faculty/staff will be asked to go into the café, find a freshman student
eating alone, and sit down and have lunch with that student. Talk with the “lonely”
student and help in any way to find a niche for him/her. Student Development will have
a special orientation on Saturday, August 24, for students that were not able to
participate in the regular orientation.
Dr. Ellis expressed his goal of 2,500 students for HSU. Wanting to still remain a small,
close knit institution, an enrollment of this size would allow HSU to raise its standards.
He would like HSU to be prestigious institution and be selective in attaining students
with fortitude, good attitudes, and well as high GPAs.
Dr. Ellis mentioned the new catalog (undergraduate and graduate) is on CD and can be
obtained from the Office of Admissions.
Dr. Stafford made the motion that Dr. Don Williford, newly appointed Associate Vice
President for Academic Affairs, attend the Deans Council meetings. Dr. McNair
seconded. The motion passed unanimously. Dr. Ellis mentioned he has asked Dr. D.
Williford to attend the Academic Committee and the Academic Technology meetings as
a non-voting member.
The enrollment figures, to date, indicate that the goal of 400 first-time, full-time,
freshmen has been met and exceeded. The goals for transfers and graduate students
have not yet been met; however, these students typically wait until the last minute to
register.
Finalization is next week. A suggestion was made that printing out copies of students’
schedules before deleting them would save time if the student shows up later to
register. There was some discussion regarding a fee for students that do not finalize on
time or perhaps a perk if finalization is taken care of in a timely manner.
Dorm assignments were made for move-in on Tuesday, August 20. This is viewed
more as a public relations activity than physical labor on the part of the Deans.
Copies of the School of Music’s handbook were given to the Deans. The handbook has
their degree plans laid out for students and advisors. Students are required to bring the
handbook at time of advising and pre-registration. Dr. Ellis asked the Deans to look at
this and take back to their schools for input and suggestions. Mr. Hager mentioned the
handbook is updated each year and has been found to be a great advising tool. Ms.
Specht informed the Deans the library has an ETS binding machine that can be used for
binding the handbooks if needed.
Dr. Williford and Mrs. Specht compiled a matrix of items from the samples of
evaluations instruments they have received from other universities and colleges. The
Deans were asked to indicate 10-15 items on the Evaluation Instrument that would be
relevant to an instrument for HSU. Dr. Ellis stated Paula would send out a reminder via
e-mail a few days prior to the next Deans Council. She will then review responses and
compile a sample instrument.
Dr. Stafford suggested that faculty members give students information regarding the
student evaluations at the beginning of the semester. This provides students with the
opportunity to have this in mind during the course and be able to offer constructive
thoughts and ideas. Dr. Ellis said this information could be obtained from Linda Grover
in Institutional Research. Dr. Williford expressed the importance of faculty members
having results of evaluations prior to beginning of the next semester to have the
opportunity to incorporate changes for improvement.
Dr. Tom Copeland’s Faculty Development Committee is working on a new evaluation
instrument for faculty. Their goal is to implement a pilot program for the Spring 2003
and then to have the instrument completely in place by Fall 2003.
Dr. Ed Hewett will be the faculty representative for the United Way campaign. Even
though the campaign is fairly low key across the campus, Dr. Turner does not want the
percentage of giving to decrease.
Dr. Ellis asked the Deans to introduce their new faculty members with a brief bio at the
Faculty Conference on August 22.
The University will have a 911 service on Wednesday afternoon. Classes will not be
cancelled. The City of Abilene will have a service at 6:00 pm. At this time, HSU would
like to have Dr. Chris McNair’s brother and/or Vicki Ehrie’s son to speak at the service.
These two individuals have a direct connection with HSU and were directly involved in
the tragedy on September 11. The HSU service will be aimed toward the University and
not the community as a whole and will include the Leggett Unity Bridge. Dr. Don
Williford, Leianne McMillan, Linda Carleton, and Jeff Goodin are on the committee to
organize this program.
Several informational items were mentioned.
• Convocation will be held on September 5. Dr. James Dennison from Park Cities
Baptist Church in Dallas will be our speaker.
• HSU has been given a donation of a collection of first edition, signed Faulkner
novels by Jackie Barron. This is a very rare collection.
• HSU has been designated as a depository for Dyess memorabilia, specifically
the opening and beginning of Dyess.
• HSU is exploring the idea of reaching students that have been home schooled.
Don Williford has been assigned to research this area. Ms. Specht brought up
the idea of allowing home school students to use the ALC.
• Dr. Ellis asked the Deans to consider hosting an answering service to home
school parents. Using e-mail, parents could ask for assistance to certain
problems and then faculty members offer help. The idea of putting into place a
support system for students at HSU that have been home schooled and offering
counseling services was also mentioned. This would aid the students in the
adjustments of college life.
• HSU is also going to make an effort to recruit students that have attended private
schools.
• Bobby Bammel has gone to East Texas Baptist. His classes will be covered by
adjuncts this semester.
• Diana Freeman has resigned and Judy Credicott as a visiting instructor will cover
her classes.
• Dr. Ellis informed the Deans of two changes in department chairs. Dr. Paul
Potter will be replaced by Dr. Randy Armstrong and Dr. Dan Cooper will replace
Dr. Julian Bridges. These will be interim positions for the 2002-03 school year.
• Thursday afternoon, the students will be brought over to the schools for the
Deans hour.
• During registration on Friday, August 23, the business office and financial aid will
have stations set up in the Johnson Building.
• The library will be closed on Thursday, August 22, for faculty/staff meetings.
• Breakfast will be served on Friday at registration. Lunch will be provided in the
cafeteria.
• Dr. Stafford explained that he cannot override Communication and English comp
classes. The communication classes require speeches and the English classes
require grading of compositions--time is a key element in both situations.
• A list of classes that are approved for the Fine Arts requirement was requested
for registration.
• Dr. Ellis would like to have faculty members advising students to undergo
extensive training. The opportunity to change advising will occur at the time of
the Core Curriculum change.
• Dr. Williford announced that Teacher Education students will be required to wear
an HSU name tag to be on AISD campuses. These will be paid for by the
students and obtained from Martha Ferguson in the print shop.
• TEXES will be the replacement for the ExCET. After the first practice round in
October, the practice tests can be purchased. Dr. Williford will be ordering some
of these, if anyone would like to purchase practice tests for their areas, please let
her know. The new test will be much more rigorous than those in the past.
Meeting was adjourned.
Respectfully submitted.
Deans Advisory Council
September 19, 2002
Minutes
The Deans met in Moody Center room 120 at 9:30 a.m. Present were: Dr. Dodd,
Mr. Hager, Dr. McNair, Dr. Monhollon, Ms. Specht, Dr. Stafford, Dr. Stanlake, Dr. D.
Williford, Dr. B. Ellis, and Paula Dickie. Dr. Davis and Dr. P. Williford were absent.
After discussion of campus concerns, Mr. Hager led the group in prayer.
Minutes of the last meeting were distributed. Deans were asked to call Paula if any
changes need to be made.
Dr. Ellis informed the Deans that Dr. Campbell, President of the Baptist General
Convention of Texas, was on campus. They will be touring the campus today and
may stop in to visit.
Dr. Ellis stated that of the students lost from fall to fall, ½ of those are lost from the
fall to spring semester. The goal this year is to lose only ¼ of this amount. He
urged the Deans to encourage faculty members to get the freshmen students in and
talk with them before mid-term grades go out or definitely after they go out. Gracie
Carroll will attempt to see every undecided student. The goal is to get names of
students that are “at risk” of leaving HSU. Students need to be identified rather than
considered as a group. The ones that need to be found and reached are the ones
that do not/will not voluntarily come and talk to advisors.
In an attempt to recruit and retain students, faculty and staff have been asked to
volunteer in numerous ways. Dr. Ellis stressed that these requests are strictly on a
volunteer basis. Faculty members may chose to help or not to help and their
choices will not affect raises or promotion status. The administration realizes
faculty/staff are being bombarded with requests from many areas.
Several handouts were distributed regarding the non-returning freshmen students.
Information was sorted in many different ways. Income and ACT scores are two
major factors in non-returning students. Students that are not “hooked up” are the Deleted: who
students that do not return.
Blackboard has software to activate an activities transcript. This tool will help in
determining how/where students are connected and the number of connected
students that are lost. Initial cost of this software is $80,000 with a $20,000 per year
for licensure. Dr. D. Williford is searching for grant monies for the start up costs.
Dr. Stanlake noticed the information on the enrollment of the graduate school is not
current. Updated information will be available at the next meeting.
The Dean expressed gratitude and interest in the reports that were distributed.
Dr. Ellis extended an invitation to the Deans for Parents’ Weekend at the
Paramount. Deans will need to attend the after game party on Saturday and
encourage faculty members to be there to represent their schools. This takes the
place of the Parent/Student/Faculty breakfast at past Parents’ Weekends.
The May and Summer class schedules were discussed. The Deans were asked to
please turn these in with the Spring schedules. This effort will help students who will
be in Abilene during May and summer to know what classes HSU will be offering
and draw in students.
Ms Specht will send the annual Library report through the campus mail. She also
informed the Deans of the new wire binding machine in the library. They will bind
booklets for 50 cents each or $1.00 for booklets with a clear plastic sheet cover.
Dr. Don Williford explained some of the changes to be made in the new catalog.
These changes will help the catalog become more user-friendly for parents and
students. Dr. Stanlake expressed an interest in visiting with Dr. Williford to correlate
the changes into the graduate catalog also.
The Evaluation Instrument will be discussed at the next meeting.
The following announcements were made.
• ACE Workshop November 9, 2002 for Department Chairs—Dr. Ellis would Deleted: offered
like to send a few faculty members.
• Distinguished Alumni will be on campus the week of Homecoming. They will
be available to speak to classes if the faculty members would like to use
them.
• Information for the one page inserts for the departments needs to be sent to
Shane. They need to be completed in time for spring recruiting.
• The recruiting office would like to put together a booklet of human interest
stories. The Deans assistants have been asked to write short paragraphs on
an interesting faculty member and their accomplishments from each
department.
• Ms. Specht mentioned an article in Newsweek stating that job markets in
business (MBA) and library science are wide open. Advisors might want to
inform students.
• Dr. Stafford informed the Deans the Core Curriculum Committee has a
proposal ready. They will hold small group meetings for additional input.
Faculty members are encouraged to attend.
• Dr. Robert Hamner has agreed to serve as the Director of the Honors
Program. Each school is asked to submit a representative to serve on the
Honors Council.
• Search committees for the Deans have been selected.
School of Music
Bill Tillman, chair
Jaynne Middleton
Mark Puckett
Pam Williford
Larry Wheeler
School of Business
Dan Cooper, chair
Ben Dow
Chris McNair
Laura Pogue
1 additional member needed
• The School of Business is hosting a tailgate party at the next home football
game. They will be inviting freshmen students and potential business majors.
HSU will provide the meat and condiments and faculty/staff will provide
remainder.
• The Psychology Department is hosting a pizza party for its potential majors
and undecided freshmen. HSU will provide pizzas, but department chairs
need to go through Tim McCarry to get special rates. HSU will fund $200-
$300 for these efforts.
• Mr. Hager announced that all bids have been accepted for Caldwell Hall and
work will begin October 1.
• The Skiles Social Sciences Building will be ready for classes in August 2003.
• Gracie Carroll has put together focus groups across campus. One will
include members of the freshmen class and will be tracked throughout their
HSU career. These members have been selected randomly. There will be 5
groups of 10 students each. They will meet this fall and again in the spring.
Staff members involved in this effort include Gracie, DeLys Mitchell, Karanne
Grubbs, Don Williford, Mindy Wheeler and Dr. Ellis, possibly Shane Davidson
and/or Forrest McMillian. There will be a couple of faculty members also
included.
• Dr. McNair announced that renovations to the greenhouse in the Sciences
and Mathematics building will begin next week.
• Mike Waters, Hendrick Medical Center President, and HSU are working to get
affluent water to the HSU & Hendrick sites. Sharing expenses in this
endeavor makes it a possibility.
•
The meeting was adjourned.
Respectfully submitted,
Paula Dickie
Deans Advisory Council
October 3, 2002
Minutes
The Deans met in Moody Center room 120 at 9:30 a.m. Present were: Mr. Hager,
Dr. McNair, Dr. Monhollon, Ms. Specht, Dr. Stafford, Dr. Stanlake, Dr. D. Williford,
Dr. P. Williford, Dr. B. Ellis, Dr. Davis, DeLys Mitchell and Paula Dickie. Dr. Dodd
was absent.
After discussion of campus concerns, Dr. Stafford led the group in prayer.
Minutes of the last meeting were approved.
Dr. Ellis asked the Deans to help the Registrar’s Office by giving them extra time for
requests due to DeLys changing offices.
Faye Dodson is leaving, and we will be looking for a new Director of Financial Aid.
Therefore, that office may need extra time for requests as well.
Old Business:
Handouts of the proposed Evaluation Forms were distributed. Ms. Specht and Dr.
Pam Williford have worked with the various offices to create these forms. However,
the individual offices may want to fine tune the forms. Dr. Ellis stated that he would
like to see the evaluation forms go to the supervisors and let them decide whether to
send the information up the chain. However, he would like to see a summary of the
results. Dr. Ellis emphasized that this instrument will not be used to dictate raises. It
is a tool to help offices improve their services.
It was suggested that the signature of the employee not be required on the
Evaluation Form in order to protect anonymity. All schools and offices are
structured differently; therefore, they will use these in different ways. We may send
these forms out in late spring. It was decided that the “Evaluation Plan for
Administration” should be revised. Dr. Ellis will share the proposed forms with Dr.
Turner. The Deans Council thanked Dr. P. Williford and Ms. Specht for their work on
this project.
Dr. Stanlake spoke about the issue of the Program Reviews for the Graduate
School. He stated that the issues that came up in the retreat included:
Academic Deans should be involved early.
Deans and Department Heads should be provided with program reviews.
Dr. Stanlake went over the handouts on comparison of semester hours sold.
New Business:
Academic Foundation: Dr. Ellis asked that if anyone has requests for the Academic
Foundation, please let him know. These requests must be directly associated with
Academic programs.
Endowment Requests: Dr. Ellis also asked that any endowment requests need to
be submitted to him. These requests can be for equipment, etc.
Retention: Gracie Carroll is working on focus groups right now. We are looking at
statistical data from the surveys that we have received. However, we probably only
are dealing with about a 50% rate of surveys which were turned in. Dr. Ellis stated
that we may need to shift to an in house instrument in order to have more complete
data. Some factors that seem to affect retention include GPA in Freshman year,
ACT and SAT scores, use of tobacco and alcohol, and spiritual matters. Dr. Ellis
also said that until we have more endowment and are considered a more prestigious
school, we may not be able to improve retention. The vision of the university is to try
to recruit students who will stay. Dr. Ellis said that this freshman class seems to be
a better match to our goals than last year’s class.
Mid-term grades are coming up. After mid-term grades are run, Dr. Ellis would like
for the Registrar’s Office to send lists to the various schools of their advisees and
their mid-term GPA. Gracie is going to try to get all of the undecided majors to
schedule an appointment with her. If your advisees do not respond, please send
their name to Gracie. These actions may identify those students at risk of not
returning next semester.
CARE Form: Dr. Ellis stated a need for a committee to create a new care form.
This form needs to address more than just students who are struggling emotionally.
Dr. Monhollon and Mr. Hager volunteered for this committee. Mr. Hager asked that
some successful students be included on the committee.
Dr. Pam Williford mentioned a concern that she had heard from an AISD
administrator. ACU is recruiting academically strong minority students with minority
scholarships. Dr. Ellis explained that since we receive Anderson money, we do not
accept direct federal aid, so this is not for HSU.
Announcements:
Rank and Tenure Committee will meet October 10.
Honors Council: If you have not already sent the name of someone from your
school/cluster to Dr. Hamner, please do so.
Dean of Nursing Search: Brochures for the Dean of Nursing Search were handed
out. Dr. Ellis stated that our numbers in Nursing are good this year.
Dr. Stafford reminded the committee that the play started Thursday night.
Ms. Specht announced that they will have a History Center in the Library during
Homecoming. She also announced that she would like to see more graduate
students working with the historical documents that the Library has.
Ms. Specht reminded the Deans that October 1 was the deadline to have half of your
library order submitted.
All School Sing tickets go on sale next week.
Fall Preview is October 5.
Dr. Pam Williford announced that she is researching a program that may allow our
students to have access to the practice EXCET tests at a reduced cost to the
university.
Institutional Effectiveness Committee: Dr. Pam Williford, committee chair, asked for
copies of each Assessment Plan with their updates. Dr. Ellis said that since we are
half way between SACS visits, updates may need to be revised.
Dr. Davis asked if anyone is planning to offer courses through the Tele-Conferencing
Center.
The meeting was adjourned.
Respectfully submitted,
DeLys Mitchell
Deans Advisory Council
November 7, 2002
Minutes
The Deans met in Moody Center room 120 at 9:30 a.m. Present were Don
Williford, Pam Williford, Alice Specht, Lawson Hager, Carley Dodd, Jimmie
Monhollon, Bill Ellis, Vernon Davis, Chris McNair and DeLys Mitchell. Guests
were Harold Preston and Don Ashmore. Alan Stafford and Gary Stanlake were
absent.
After a discussion of campus concerns, Alice Specht led the group in prayer.
Minutes of the last meeting were approved.
Mr. Preston spoke to the group on the subject of budgets. He distributed several
handouts relating to the current budget and projected budget expenditures. He
explained that raising tuition on the average of 6% a year has allowed for pay
raises in the past few years since the hours sold has remained the same. One of
the handouts detailed the amount of money needed to give raises this year.
Mr. Preston also discussed the issue of unfunded scholarships. This led to a
discussion on developing a leverage model for scholarships which will require the
awarding of departmental scholarships in the Spring rather than Fall. This
change will allow Financial Aid to have a better picture of which students will get
departmental scholarships, and which students need more Texas Equalization
Grants and BGCT money. Therefore, HSU and our students will get the most
efficient combination of money. Brad Johnson, our new Financial Aid Director,
has experience working with leveraging at McMurry University. Dr. Ellis stated
that while this change may not work for some departments, it will be to the
benefit of the students for everyone to award departmental scholarships by the
April 1 deadline. An example of the Departmental Scholarship Report Form was
distributed. Dr. P. Williford requested that the form be made available
electronically to the Deans Administrative Assistants. To accomplish packaging
Financial Aid in the Spring, Mr. Preston will distribute the scholarship money
totals in February. Dr. Ellis also stated that the Austen Group is willing to
develop a leverage module for HSU.
Don Ashmore brought budget expenditures from last year for each Dean.
Budget proposals for next year are due to the Controller’s Office by December 4
so tuition can be set during the December Trustee meeting. Mr. Preston asked
that everyone list their capital needs on these budgets. Also, if any reallocation
or consolidation needs to be done, please let Don know. Dr. Ellis asked that
each dean make an appointment with him to go over projected budgets before
giving these to Don. Dr. Ellis also asked that Don send each Dean a copy of last
year’s prediction of hours to be sold in order to fine tune these predictions.
Handouts regarding faculty compensation for on-line courses were distributed.
The guidelines for compensation include that a faculty member will be paid $120
per credit hour for teaching an on-line course. If ten students enroll, the faculty
member will be paid as if teaching a traditional course. However, Dr. Ellis said
that he wants on-line courses limited to courses that are not being offered
already. Upper level courses that are not economical to offer on a regular basis
would be the ideal type of course to offer on-line. Dr. Ellis stated that he is
establishing a policy not to pay faculty to develop on-line courses, so that if they
leave, they can take the course with them.
Dr. Don Williford addressed the issue of on-line class enrollment of 20 or more.
In this case, the course would be split into two sections, and the faculty member
would be paid an overload salary.
Dr. Pam Williford asked about the possibility of offering a financial incentive to
develop a teacher certification program on-line. Dr. Ellis stated that he had
rather pay a faculty member to teach a class, but he would discuss it further.
Dr. Pam Williford spoke to the group as Chair of the Institutional Effectiveness
Committee. The committee has met twice and has compiled all of the original
assessment plans and updates. However, the committee needs assistance from
the Deans regarding new majors and assessment plans for areas that were not
available (noted on the handout.) New assessment plans need to be aligned
with the University Plan, need to contain quantitative data if possible, and need to
lead to improvement. These are due by January 24, and if there are any
questions, please contact the contact person for your school or Pam Williford.
Dr. Ellis stated that SACS is moving to a QEP (Qualitative Enhancement Plan)
based on the strategic plan. They assume that everyone is doing strategic
planning all of the time, and the QEP is a shortened version which should be
done annually. He also said that he feels that our SACS visit will come at a good
time since they are changing the structures of their visits. We will be able to see
the outcome from several other schools before our visit.
Examples of evaluation instruments were distributed.. Alice Specht stated that if
anyone does not like the idea of the evaluation forms that her committee has
formulated, they need to decide now. Also, decisions need to be made as to how
to administer these evaluations. Mrs. Specht also said that the library receives
criticism for not surveying alumni, so she would like to include a few questions on
a questionnaire that is distributed to alumni at some point. Dr. Ellis said that this
issue could wait until closer to the SACS visit.
Announcements:
Dr. Ellis announced that final grades will now be due on Tuesday at noon, rather
than Monday as in the past. Therefore, he does not want any grades turned in
late. At 11:00 on Tuesday, Dr. D. Williford will start calling anyone who has not
turned in grades, and Dr. Ellis is paying attention to anyone who is turning in
grades late.
Dr. Ellis also announced that since the Spring 2003 schedule is printed, please
contact Dr. D. Williford as well as the Registrar’s Office with any changes. Dr.
Ellis would like to cut down on making changes and wants to look at why we are
doing this. He also said that the web schedule is now the official schedule rather
than the printed copy.
Dr. Ellis shared examples of faculty and student nomination forms for awards.
He said that he gets forms of this sort fairly often, and if anyone is interested in
these, please let him know.
Dr. and Mrs. Ellis will be hosting a Christmas party for the Deans and spouses on
Thursday, December 12. An invitation will follow.
Dr. Ellis distributed a handout that detailed scholarship amounts that other
schools are giving.
The Faculty Development Committee is working on a pilot program for faculty
assessment. The Deans agreed that it would be helpful for the Tom Copeland to
come talk about the plan and the implementation of it.
The Deans also agreed that it would be helpful if someone from the Core
Curriculum Committee would come speak to this group.
Dr. Ellis said that we are going to purchase new stands for use during
registration. The stands will require specialty signs that will have to be ordered.
He may have to ask the Deans to share the cost of the signs for their area. This
is also part of a move to make the campus look more festive during special
events.
Dr. P. Williford brought up that the faculty would like some feedback to the forms
that they filled out after meeting with freshmen about mid-term grades. Dr. D.
Williford said that he is working on this.
Dr. Ellis said that the CARE report is being revised. The goal is to build a
personnel infrastructure to deal with any student at risk. We are combining
elements with Gracie Carroll and Linda Carleton to include dorm personnel,
BSM, instructors, advisors, and deans. Dr. Ellis wants us to make an effort to get
this done correctly, and if there is any question, notify Gracie.
Dr. Ellis also said that advisors need to put students in more classes per
semester if a student can handle it. This has ethical and financial benefits for the
students and HSU. If a student only takes 12 hours and has to drop a course,
the student is down to 9 hours and part-time status. Dr. Ellis realizes that this is
a delicate matter, but advisors need to work on this.
Dr. D. Williford announced that the next Academic Foundation meeting is
December 5. They will make funding decisions during this meeting.
Respectfully submitted,
DeLys Mitchell
Deans Advisory Council
November 21, 2002
Minutes
The Deans met in Moody Center Room 120 at 9:30 a.m. Present were Don
Williford, Vernon Davis, Gary Stanlake, Alan Stafford, Lawson Hager, Alice
Specht, Bill Ellis, Jimmie Monhollon, Chris McNair, Pam Williford, and DeLys
Mitchell. Guest included Dorothy Kiser. Carley Dodd was absent.
After a discussion of campus concerns, Vernon Davis led the group in prayer.
Minutes of the last meeting were approved.
Dorothy Kiser spoke to the group and brought samples of articulation
agreements. This issue came to the Deans based upon Dr. Monhollon’s recent
visits to several junior colleges including Del Mar College. Del Mar was very
receptive to an articulation agreement with HSU. Mrs. Kiser would like to post
articulation agreements with various junior colleges for the core requirements for
B.A. and B.B.S. degrees on the web with links to HSU. DeLys will ask
Enrollment Services for a list of Schools with the highest number of transfer
students for each Dean, and Dr. Ellis requested that the Deans to work on
articulation agreements for their particular areas and explore inroads with these
junior colleges. The group also discussed the Deans going with recruiters to
some of these junior colleges. Dr. Ellis asked that everyone work with the new
webmaster to get all of this on the web.
Mrs. Kiser also provided a handout with common errors that are being made on
the Application for Declaring a Degree forms. After discussion, the Deans
decided that if the forms get to the Registrar’s Office with errors, the Registrar’s
Office should send them back to the Deans for the Dean to clarify any confusion
with the faculty advisor. Dr. Stafford asked that the form be changed to request
that the degree information must be filled out by the advisor, not the student.
Dr. Williford brought up the fact that registration forms are being signed by faculty
members other than the assigned advisor. Dr. Ellis stated that we do not want
faculty signing for students that are not their advisees. If the advisor is not on
campus, students should go to the appropriate Dean or a designated advisor.
Mrs. Kiser also addressed the issue of students not being on the correct roll. Dr.
Pam Williford asked Mrs. Kiser to notify the Deans (not the Administrative
Assistant) when this occurs.
The group discusses the fact that it would be good to have an in-service training
and a handbook for adjunct faculty. Dr. Don Williford will work on this project.
Dr. Alan Stafford spoke to the group about the proposed core curriculum. Right
now, two Bible courses and three English courses are the only courses that
every student is required to take. There is flexibility in every other area. The
proposal includes 32 core hours and 18 or fewer General Education hours. The
proposal will require formulating new courses that combine existing courses to
teach process rather than content. Dr. Stafford reinforced the fact that this is just
a first draft, and trust will have to be developed between departments for this to
work. Potential problems include transfer students, CLEP, AP, and Dual credit.
Benefits include attractive electives, broadened course offerings, and a market
driven curriculum. Team teaching and interdisciplinary offerings would have to
be utilized more. The group also discussed the need for a Director of Core
Curriculum if this proposal is approved.
Mr. Hager suggested that the Deans need to prepare the faculty to work together
with an open mind and be as professional as possible regarding this proposal.
They also need to communicate that this is just the first draft of a proposal.
Dr. Don Williford spoke to the group about the follow up to freshman mid-term
grades. After pre-registration dates are over, Gracie and D. Williford will make
contacts with the students who have not pre-registered. Alice Specht
volunteered the Library Staff to help make phone calls in the evenings.
It was announced that the Deans will not meet December 19.
The approved Academic Calendars were distributed to the group.
Respectfully submitted,
DeLys Mitchell
Deans Advisory Council
December 5, 2002
Minutes
The Deans met in Moody Center Room 120 at 9:30 a.m. Present were Don
Williford, Vernon Davis, Carley Dodd, Gary Stanlake, Alan Stafford, Lawson
Hager, Alice Specht, Bill Ellis, Jimmie Monhollon, Chris McNair, Pam Williford,
and DeLys Mitchell. Guest was Justin Rowlett.
After a discussion of campus concerns, Jimmie Monhollon led the group in
prayer.
Minutes of the last meeting were approved.
Justin Rowlett, Freshman class president, spoke briefly to the Deans regarding a
proposal to allow American Sign Language to count in the core as a Humanities.
He will present his proposal to the Academic Committee at their next meeting.
Dr. Dodd told the group that ACU had allowed ASL to count as part of the
requirements for their BA degree, but the program is being dropped by ACU.
Dr. Don Williford addressed the issue of Colleague Access for faculty. As it
stands right how, we only have license for 64 users to be on Colleague at any
one time which is problematic. However, Dr. Williford is working on obtaining
access to Colleague for all faculty members. He asked for the Deans to help in
encouraging their faculty to be trained on our computer system and to use it to
check rosters, register students, and check for closed classes, etc. Faculty also
need to be encouraged to log off the system when they are not using it. Dr.
Williford told the group that their Administrative Assistants have access to more
student information than the faculty members have, and Dr. Williford is working
on getting Colleague access to transcripts and degree plans for the
Administrative Assistants.
Dr. Don Williford is also working with a committee to revise the CARE report
procedure. He asked the Deans to convey to their faculty that the committee will
be responding to faculty members when they turn in CARE reports.
Dr. Ellis asked the group to think about the best way to do advising in their areas
and take care of students in the most successful manner. His points included:
• Faculty should only sign a registration form if a student is on their advisee list.
This is a legal issue, and we need to insist that this happen.
• The goal is that only the designated advisor or the Dean can enter the
schedule and cut out the paper registration form eventually.
The next item on the agenda was Student Orientation and College meetings for
the Fall 2003. The group agreed that Wednesday from 1:00 to 2:00 during that
week would be the best time for these meetings.
Dr. Ellis announced that all adjunct faculty have e-mail accounts set up, and the
Deans should make sure that their adjunct faculty are aware of this. Also, we
need a packet for adjuncts similar to what as we provide to new faculty members.
This makes them more accountable and effective.
A handout regarding the numbers of transfers from junior colleges was
distributed. Dr. Ellis asked that everyone review the data and choose two to
three schools to contact regarding articulation agreements and let DeLys know.
Dr. Ellis would like to have articulation agreements with all of these schools
within the next four years.
Dr. McNair asked for clarification regarding on-line classes. Dr. Ellis stated that
he does not want to offer additional sections of existing courses on-line.
However, graduate classes are a different issue. Alice Specht asked the Deans
to keep library resources in mind when offering on-line courses.
Dr. Ellis announced that the Technology Committee is continuing to look at other
options to replace the dial up server. Travis Seekins is trying to explore options
with Cox Communications. ACU is supportive of us joining with them as a group.
Mrs. Specht told the group that this could have an enormous impact on the
library and their IP addresses, since HSU does not have their own IP numbers.
These numbers authenticate that only HSU students and employees can access
the library on-line.
Dr. Ellis thanked the group for their retention efforts. 80 freshmen have not pre-
registered and 10-15 have some type of hold. Registration will be held January
13, 2003 from 9:00 am to 12:00, and Monday classes will begin at 4:00 pm.
Dr. Ellis announced that Larry Stone from the Austen group will be here on
Wednesday, December 11 to talk with the Deans.
HSU is working on a move to put all admissions material on CD. Dr. Ellis would
like to see these CDs very customized and have several versions of the CD
which could focus on various programs that we have to offer such as athletics,
teaching, labs, etc.
The meeting was adjourned.
Respectfully submitted,
DeLys Mitchell
Deans Advisory Council
January 9, 2003
Minutes
The Deans met in Moody Center Room 120 at 9:30 a.m. Present were Don
Williford, Vernon Davis, Carley Dodd, Gary Stanlake, Alan Stafford, Lawson
Hager, Alice Specht, Bill Ellis, Jimmie Monhollon, Pam Williford, and DeLys
Mitchell. Chris McNair was absent.
After a discussion of campus concerns, Carley Dodd led the group in prayer.
Minutes of the last meeting were approved.
The first item on the agenda was to form a committee to develop an Adjunct
Faculty Handbook. Alan Stafford agreed to work on this project. Dr. Ellis would
like to have the handbook finished this Spring and have a workshop in the Fall for
all new adjunct faculty. The Deans are requested to get the names of all adjunct
faculty to DeLys in order for her to work with Travis Seekins to get e-mail
addresses and passwords for these faculty members.
Dr. Stafford addressed the issue of our current absence policy. Based on a
situation with a current student, Dr. Stafford feels that we should develop two
forms:
1. A form to notify a student when he/she is close to missing 25% of a
course.
2. A form to notify a student that he/she has missed too much to pass the
current class.
Dr. Stafford will work on these forms. The Deans agreed that the absence
statement should still be included in the syllabus for each course.
Dr. Stafford also spoke to the group regarding the following:
1. Make up for absences due to participation in a university activity such
as athletics, band, etc.: Faculty who drop the lowest test grade, etc.
should allow students who participate in university activities to make up
any missed tests, work, etc. and have the same right as other students
to chose which grades to drop. Dr. Ellis emphasized that students
should not be penalized in any way for participating in university
activities.
2. Departmental Evaluations: Dr. Stafford is requiring those departments
choosing to do their own departmental evaluations must administer
departmental evaluations in the same manner as the university
evaluations. This requires that any evaluations will be turned into the
Deans Office, not the departments, and held until after the faculty
member has turned in the student grades.
3. Incomplete Forms: Dr. Stafford would like to see the current form
changed to a contract format that sets forth exactly what the students
lacks with a specific deadline. Dr. Stafford will work on a form.
The next item on the agenda was Faculty searches. Dr. Ellis informed the Deans
that he would like for a committee to be formed for faculty searches. The
committee should include the department chair and possibly a faculty member
from another area. Dr. Ellis stated that this will help us find the best person for
each position.
Old Business included the discussion of visits to junior colleges and articulation
agreements. The Deans were asked to let DeLys know which schools they
would like to approach and any contacts that they may have at other schools.
Dr. Ellis would like for this to be decided within the next two month so Enrollment
Services can contact these junior colleges.
Announcements:
1. Stacey Martin is now the Director of Undergraduate Advising. She will
be working with the undecided students and will be available in the
summer when faculty are not on campus.
2. Gracie Carroll is now the Associate Vice President for Advising and
Retention. Gracie will be more involved in the CARE reports and
retention.
3. Kay Ballard is the new Disabilities Director. She is working 2/3 time at
HSU. The Deans are requested to make sure that the faculty include
the Disability Statement in every syllabus. Students must fill out the
proper paperwork in order to have allowances made for a disability.
The meeting was adjourned.
Respectfully submitted,
DeLys Mitchell
Deans Advisory Council
January 23, 2003
Minutes
The Deans met in Moody Center Room 120 at 9:30 a.m. Present were Don
Williford, Vernon Davis, Alan Stafford, Lawson Hager, Alice Specht, Bill Ellis,
Jimmie Monhollon, Pam Williford, Chris McNair, and DeLys Mitchell. Tom
Copeland was a guest. Carley Dodd and Gary Stanlake were absent.
After a discussion of campus concerns, Alice Specht led the group in prayer.
Tom Copeland spoke to the group regarding the Faculty Evaluation Pilot
Program. The Faculty Development Committee has developed this program
based on successful evaluation programs that other schools have used. The
committee feels that this evaluation program has been successful since it gathers
information from many sources. It will not allow any one thing to carry too much
weight; however, it does not overlook anything. The program allows for
university wide parameters to be set for the components. Then, each department
has the option of setting its own parameters within the university parameters.
The Psychology Department and the School of Music are currently working
through the six step process that the committee has formulated. The goal of the
Faculty Development Committee is to complete the process this Spring compile
the data over the summer, and be ready for the entire university to start the
process in the Fall 2003.
Dr. Ellis stated that he would like to administer this process based on the
calendar year rather than an academic year due to faculty contracts and raises
being processed in March. The Faculty Development Committee has held three
informational meetings for faculty regarding the pilot program, and the faculty
have all had the opportunity to provide feedback. A representative from every
area is on the committee. The Deans congratulated the committee on its work.
Dr. Ellis announced that Linda Grover will probably be significantly involved in
this process.
Dr. Monhollon spoke regarding two problems that he has recently encountered:
• Undergraduate students taking graduate level courses: The
accrediting body for the Kelley College of Business is very specific
that undergraduate students should not be in graduate level
classes except in special cases. Dr. Monhollon reminded everyone
that the Graduate Office has a registration form in place for
undergraduates who want to take graduate classes that should
resolve this problem.
• Bookstore Orders: Dr. Monhollon has had problems with the
campus bookstore not ordering enough books for the enrollment of
courses. Several of the Deans agreed that they have had similar
problems. Dr. Ellis agreed to try to resolve this issue with the
bookstore.
Announcements from Dr. Ellis included:
• Transfer hours from unaccredited colleges: When students transfer
to HSU with hours from an unaccredited school, meets the criteria
set forth in the catalog, and are ready to seek approval for those
hours to transfer, Dr. Ellis would like for the students to go to the
Deans rather than each department head for approval.
• Bridget Moore, who has been the director of our Center for Life-
Long Learning, will be assuming new duties due to the phasing out
of her current position. Bridget will be working with Linda Grover in
Institutional Research and working with Don Williford writing grants
for Academic Programs.
Alice Specht announced that the Mosaic Conference is going to be dropped.
Mrs. Specht will form a committee to research for new ideas to use the existing
endowment to encourage Western Culture. Ideas so far include:
• Expand Western Heritage Day to include a focus in the form of the
arts.
• Commission a play or art work.
• Begin a collection of some sort.
Pam Williford announced that Bobby Campbell of the West Central Texas
Council of Governments has a program in place that helps establish articulation
agreements between universities and junior colleges. Dr. Ellis asked Dr. P.
Williford to set up an appointment with this individual.
The meeting was adjourned.
Respectfully submitted,
DeLys Mitchell
Deans Advisory Council
February 6, 2003
Minutes
The Deans met in Moody Center Room 120 at 9:30 a.m. Present were Don
Williford, Vernon Davis, Alan Stafford, Lawson Hager, Alice Specht, Bill Ellis,
Jimmie Monhollon, Pam Williford, Chris McNair, Carley Dodd, Gary Stanlake,and
DeLys Mitchell. Forrest McMillan was a guest.
After a discussion of campus concerns, Don Williford led the group in prayer.
Forrest McMillan spoke to the Deans about the upcoming Winter Preview and
distributed packets for each school.
The group discussed the schedule of prospective students that Enrollment
Services currently e-mails. Dr. Ellis announced that Julie Hagin will only send
information to the area that is going to be visited. The Deans were requested to
let Shane Davidson know if they want the information to go to their assistants
rather than to them.
Vernon Davis recommended Dr. George Knight be named Professor Emeritus.
The Deans unanimously approved this recommendation to go to the Board of
Trustees.
The Deans reviewed a policy that has been written by the User Policy Sub-
Committee of the Academic Technology Committee. The sub-committee is
recommending that all HSU faculty and staff who utilize university information
technology services, software, etc. be required to sign the new policy. The
committee also recommended that new employees be required to sign at the
time of their employment, and new students sign at the time of their first
registration. Dr. Ellis explained that we have always expected HSU faculty, staff,
and students to abide by these rules, but this type of policy will protect the
university. This policy has been approved by the Administrative Council. Dr.
Ellis asked the Deans to get their employees (faculty, staff, and adjunct
instructors) to sign these forms and return the forms to the Academic Affairs
Office so they can be kept on file.
Dr. Stafford brought forms that he has revised for the Deans to review. The
following suggestions/concerns were made:
1. Include “lab” as well as class on the forms
2. If the Final Notice of Excessive Absences is recognizable by other
students and distributed in class, we are violating a student’s right to
privacy.
3. Italicize the wording, “last day of classes” on the request for a grade of
Incomplete, so students do not expect to complete a course during the
week of final exams.
4. Include the wording, “if available,” under student’s signature on the
request for a grade of Incomplete.
Dr. Ellis would like for these forms to be referred to the Academic Committee and
then be implemented this term. Dr. Stafford agreed to make the changes
requested and get these forms to DeLys. Dr. Ellis also asked that the forms be
available electronically. All of the Deans expressed appreciation to Dr. Stafford
for his work on these forms.
Announcements:
• March 6: Big Country Recruiting Reception in Larry Sanders’ Missile Silo
in Lawn.
• March 29: DFW Recruiting Reception at the JFK Museum from 6:00 to
7:00 p.m. Dr. Ellis stated that he may arrange for an HSU van if one is
available.
• Dr. Williford is sending a note to faculty every few weeks to check their
rosters on Colleague, and Dr. Williford is still working on Colleague
licensing issues.
• Teresa Ellis is the new Theology Librarian
• Dr. Ellis requested that the Deans move forward with the faculty
evaluations.
• Dr. Ellis announced that a 4% raise pool for faculty is being presented to
the Board of Trustees.
Respectfully respected,
DeLys Mitchell
Deans Advisory Council
March 6, 2003
Minutes
The Deans met in Moody Center Room 120 at 9:45 a.m. Present were Don
Williford, Vernon Davis, Alan Stafford, Lawson Hager, Alice Specht, Chris
McNair, Gary Stanlake, Carley Dodd, and DeLys Mitchell. Absent were Pam
Williford, Jimmie Monhollon, and Bill Ellis. Guests were Shane Davidson and
Brad Johnson.
After a discussion of campus concerns, Lawson Hager led the group in prayer.
Don Williford led the meeting since Dr. Ellis was absent.
Brad Johnson, Director of Financial Aid, and Shane Davidson, Associate VP of
Enrollment Services, addressed the group regarding changes in Federal
Financial Aid. In the past, institutions have had some flexibility in interpreting the
refund policy for Title IV funds. We have always based the dates for returning
federal funds on our university’s refund policy for student complete withdrawals.
Now, if a student completes 45% of the semester, 55% of the federal fund
received must be returned. The Deans were asked to communicate to their
faculty that they may be contacted to help Financial Aid and the Registrar’s
Office determine the last date that a student actually attended class in order to
assign the date of withdrawal.
Shane and Brad plan to ask Dr. Ellis about the following matters:
• To allow a 100% refund in the cases of military deployment, death in the
family, and serious illness.
• When a student fails all of his/her classes: The university will have to
determine whether the student earned the grades of F or failed the
classes for non-attendance.
Dr. Stafford asked that CARE reports be forwarded to Financial Aid, and Dr. Don
Williford said that he would communicate that request to Gracie Carroll.
Shane also addressed the group about the reduction in Pell Grants and Texas
Equalization Grants. Financial Aid is using a conservative awarding scheme this
year to try to accommodate all of these changes.
The next item on the agenda was departmental scholarship money for the 2002-
2003 academic year. There is money available that has not been spent, and
some departments have awarded more than they have available. Shane told the
Deans that this money needs to be awarded or shifted to another budget by April
1. 2002-2003 funds can only be awarded to current students (not incoming), and
Brad Johnson can help department heads accomplish this. The Deans asked
Financial Aid to stop allowing department heads to award more scholarship
money than is available to them, and to notify them if a request of this nature is
made. Shane also informed the Deans that if a potential recipient has already
been awarded the maximum amount of financial aid, they may want to consider
awarding the scholarship to another student, since this will not benefit the
student.
After Shane and Brad left, the Deans discussed the fact that there seems to be
confusion on 20 accounts and monies being returned to the corpus.
Don Williford announced that ACU is hosting the Lilly Conference on March 21
and 22. Dr. VanRheenen has asked HSU to send at least three for the
conference. DeLys was asked to send copies of the registration to the Deans
that might be interested.
Dr. McNair raised the question of why we are currently posting a tentative
schedule on the web before it is finalized. He thinks that this will lead to
problems for HSU when a student is expecting us to offer a course, and we
change our mind. Dr. Davis said that he can see an advantage for HSU faculty
to view this information, but he agreed that having this information posted on an
open website could cause problems. Dr. Williford agreed to take this question to
Dr. Ellis.
Another issue that was discussed was freshmen progress reports. The Deans
feel that the grade sheets should be distributed at least one week before they are
due back, and the date for mid-term grades should be scheduled later in order to
give time for a mid-term exam.
Dr. McNair also would like for the administration to coordinate a dress code for
events such as Freshmen Previews, and early registration days.
Dr. Williford reminded the Deans about the Howdy Party in the DFW area on
March 29. He needs to know who is attending by March 21.
Dr. Stafford expressed a concern about faculty evaluations in reference to the
term “evaluation.” He feels that the term “appraisal” might have a more positive
effect, and we should consider using that next time.
The meeting was adjourned.
Respectfully submitted,
DeLys Mitchell
Deans Advisory Council
April 3, 2003
Minutes
The Deans met in Moody Center Room 120 at 9:30 a.m. Present were Don
Williford, Vernon Davis, Alan Stafford, Lawson Hager, Chris McNair, Gary
Stanlake, Carley Dodd, Pam Williford, Jimmie Monhollon, Michael Monhollon,
and DeLys Mitchell. Alice Specht was absent. Guest was Forrest McMillan.
After a discussion of prayer concerns, Chris McNair led the group in prayer.
Dr. Ellis announced that Michael Monhollon has agreed to serve at the Associate
Dean of the Kelley College of Business. He will also act as the Interim Dean until
a new dean is found.
Forrest McMillan distributed packets of information and names to the Deans of
HSU applicants who have not completed their admission file. We have
approximately 350 students who lack one item to complete their file. Dr. Ellis
asked that the Deans simply make a contact by e-mail or note and ask these
applicants if they can do anything to assist them in completing their file.
Forrest also talked with the Deans about our Spring Round Up which will be April
25, 26. Dr. Ellis explained that it will be run much the same way as last year,
except the students will be divided into two groups rather than just coming as one
group. Students will not be required to talk with the Business Office or Financial
Aid. Dr. Ellis told the group that we are working on a plan for the June and July
registrations that will allow for the advisor’s time to be used more efficiently, and
the Deans will be provided a list of the students who will be coming to meet with
someone in their area.
Dr. Ellis announced that HSU will have local advertisements running within the
next three weeks. We will also run ads in the Midland and Odessa area through
May.
Dr. Ellis told the Deans that Brad Johnson, Director of Financial Aid, is leaving
and will be going to work for Howard Payne. Rachel King will assume this role
which will provide for a seamless transition. We are looking for a new recruiter,
so if the Deans know of any good candidates, they should contact Shane
Davidson or Forrest McMillan.
Dr. Ellis addressed some of the concerns from the last meeting:
• The schedule being on the web before it is finalized: Dr. Ellis spoke with
Dorothy Kiser, and she indicated that the schedule is not published on the
web until it is very close to being finalized.
• Mid-term grades being sent later: The group agreed to obtain mid-term
grades from the faculty one week later than we are currently doing.
o The date will be changed in the catalog.
o Encourage the Administrative Assistants to pick up and distribute
the grade sheets as soon as they are available in the Registrar’s
Office.
• Changing the term evaluation to appraisal regarding faculty evaluations:
Dr. Ellis asked Dr. Stafford to e-mail Dr. Copeland with this change in
terms.
• Attire for Round Up: Dr. Ellis would like for the Deans to wear a shirt and
tie.
Dr. Ellis shared with the Deans an idea that has come from Gracie Carroll and
Jennifer Phillips. Unless the Deans have any objections, we plan to offer a pilot
course, COHD 2199—Career Exploration for incoming freshmen who have not
chosen a major. This course will meet once a week for seven weeks. There will
be a $25 fee, but no tuition will be charged. The course will not count toward
hours or any graduation requirement. The Deans agreed to the course provided
that it is not offered during the prime hours that could conflict with core courses.
The Deans also asked that Jennifer provide a flyer with information about this
course as soon as it is ready.
Newsletters: Dr. Ellis asked the Deans to continue encouraging their faculty to
do newsletters. Dr. Pam Williford asked if these need to go through Joella
Michael, and Dr. Ellis stated that he felt that it would be a good idea to do that.
Evaluations for the Deans and Vice President: Dr. Ellis would like to proceed
with the evaluations and do these this Spring. After a discussion of possible
ways to administer the evaluations, the Deans agreed to the following for this first
time:
• The Deans will evaluate Dr. Ellis, and the responses will be sent to the
President’s Office.
• The Faculty will evaluate the Deans, and the responses will be sent to the
Vice-President for Academic Affairs’ Office.
Dr. Ellis made the following announcements:
• Retention: The Deans discussed ways to help with retention including
reminding the faculty to contact students who appear to be at risk.
• Dr. Ellis told the group that many schools are dealing with declining
enrollments and budget cuts for this fall.
• CIC is having faculty workshops if any Deans are interested in sending a
faculty member.
• HSU has nine students who are graduating with a 4.00 GPA this May.
• We need to build of track record of looking at the cost curriculum of
different areas.
• Teaching effectiveness strategies: After a discussion by the group, it was
decided that each school will establish a Teaching Effectiveness
Committee based upon the size of the school with the members appointed
by the appropriate Dean. The chairman from each school’s committee will
serve on a University Teaching Effectiveness Committee. Dr. Ellis will
write a charge to the Teaching Effectiveness Committee and take it to the
Committee on Committees this summer for appointments for the Fall. Dr.
Ellis does not want anyone serving concurrently on this committee and the
Rank and Tenure Committee or the Faculty Development Committee. The
committee could also do the following in regard to improving the strategy
of teaching:
o Have members that could be assigned to mentor to new faculty.
o Provide regular pedagogical meetings.
o Bring speakers for the faculty to the campus
The meeting was adjourned.
Respectfully submitted,
DeLys Mitchell
Deans Advisory Council
April 17, 2003
Minutes
The Deans met in Moody Center Room 120 at 9:30 a.m. Present were Vernon
Davis, Alan Stafford, Lawson Hager, Chris McNair, Gary Stanlake, Carley Dodd,
Jan Noles, Pam Williford, Jimmie Monhollon, Michael Monhollon, Bill Ellis, and
DeLys Mitchell. Don Williford was absent.
After a discussion of prayer concerns, Vernon Davis led the group in prayer.
The group discussed the problem of trying to work with inaccurate advisor lists of
students who have not Advance Registered. Dr. Ellis stated that the problems
include issues with Colleague, the list being pulled to include students who have
a hold on their account, format problems, and the problem of the information
being old by the time it gets to the advisors. Each of these issues is under
scrutiny. Dr. Stafford asked that a preliminary list be sent to advisors before
Advance Registration to improve accuracy.
The question was raised as to whether we are ready to use the Non-Attendance
Forms that Dr. Stafford initiated. Dr. Ellis stated that we are ready to send these
to the Administrative Assistants, and he will get copies to the faculty at the
upcoming faculty meeting.
The group discussed the problem of Student Development sending requests to
faculty to send a student to Linda Carleton’s office immediately and not allow the
student to attend class. Dr. Ellis told the Deans that he will pursue this further
and have Student Development notify the Deans in cases like these. The Deans
should then have the faculty members tell the students to go see the Student Life
Office.
The Deans discussed withdrawals. The discussion led to the agreement that we
need a more precise procedure for withdrawals and possible a hierarchy for the
signatures.
Round Up: Forrest will supply a list of potential advises to the Deans next week.
Dr. Ellis told the Deans that it is likely that we will advise some students who
have not completed the admissions process, and therefore will not be in
Colleague. We will channel them to Gracie if possible, but other faculty may
have to advise them.
Dr. Ellis announced that we are at an 8 year high on student applications but
behind on completed applications. We are trying to track why this is happening.
We are continuing to work on retention of freshmen.
Rene Taylor is moving from a recruiter position to a Financial Aid position in
Enrollment Services. We are in the process of hiring a new recruiter.
Dr. Ellis’s office is working on the Deans Evaluations.
Dr. Ellis reported on SACS: They are asking that we work toward eliminating our
debt rather than deficit which is a positive thing for us. Mr. Preston is working on
this. If our numbers look good for retention and enrollment, it will help our report.
Dr. Stanlake announced that the Graduate Council completed some program
reviews, and he will bring these to Deans Council next time.
Respectfully submitted,
DeLys Mitchell
Deans Advisory Council
May 1, 2003
Minutes
The Deans met in Moody Center Room 120 at 9:30 a.m. Present were Alan
Stafford, Lawson Hager, Chris McNair, Gary Stanlake, Carley Dodd, Jan Noles,
Pam Williford, Jimmie Monhollon, Michael Monhollon, Bill Ellis, and DeLys
Mitchell. Vernon Davis was absent.
After a discussion of prayer concerns, Gary Stanlake led the group in prayer.
New Business:
Dr. Stanlake brought the Program Reviews for the Department of History and
minors available on Graduate Degrees. Dr. Ellis stated that he does want to
continue to have the Deans involved in this process. Ms. Specht made one
suggestion that the departments could include a list of the activities that they held
and how many were in attendance rather than a plan for normal activities. Both
Program Reviews were approved by a unanimous vote.
Mrs. Specht has been asked by some of the library staff to bring up the subject of
having a “Dead Week” on campus after hearing student complaints. Dr. Ellis
stated that the Faculty Handbook states that while the university does not
recognize a formal “dead week,” faculty are encouraged to be sensitive to the
demands placed on students at the end of the semester and avoid requiring new
assignments during the last week of a regular semester. Dr. Ellis does not feel
that we should change our policy, but deans may need to remind the faculty of
this policy. Mrs. Specht stated that non-academic groups need to be reminded
as well.
Old Business:
Dr. Ellis stated that he does not want the faculty to be required to use the
Excessive Absence Form. However, if a faculty member issues one of these
forms, the Deans may want to encourage the faculty member to send a copy to
the Dean’s Office and let the Administrative Assistant send a copy to Financial
Aid. This will help document the last date of attendance for Financial Aid
purposes.
A copy of the current Complete Withdrawal Form was distributed to the Deans in
response to a discussion in the last meeting about the need for a hierarchy of
signatures when a student decides to withdraw from school.
Dr. Stafford asked if most students go through the correct withdrawal process.
Dr. Ellis stated that most students do, and Gracie Carroll does a good job in
tracking down and talking with students about why they are leaving.
A New Student Orientation flyer was distributed to the Deans. Dr. Ellis stated
that the Student Life area asked for input from Gracie Carroll this year, regarding
the academic side of Orientation. The Student Life area has helped with
retention efforts, and if the Deans get a chance, they should express appreciation
to Linda Carleton, Mindy Wheeler, and Reagan O’Quinn.
Dr. Ellis announced that Faculty Conferences will be on August 21st, and school
and department meetings can be held in the afternoon. Registration will be
August 22. Mrs. Specht announced that the library will be closed on August 21st.
Dr. Ellis stated that we have 132 new freshmen registered including 92 students
that we registered on the Saturday registration at Round Up. Dr. Stafford stated
that many of his faculty members do not like having the parents with the students
during advising. Dr. Ellis said that Round Up may be structured differently next
time which may allow for a separate parent session during the time that students
meet with advisors. The group agreed that the event was successful, and most
parents were complimentary.
Problems at Round Up included the long line for the Business Office, and this
was due to the way that fee sheets were processed this time. Dr. Stafford stated
that his area had some advisees who did not have their transfer work with them.
Other announcements included:
Faculty Staff Dinner: Employees receiving 5, 10, and 15 year pins will get
their pins with their name tags at the door. Employees receiving 20 year
pins or above will be recognized as in the past.
Graduation Dinner is May 9.
There will be a short meeting for the stage party for Commencement
sometime next week, but attendance is optional for the Deans.
We will have Committee on Committees in June and a Deans Retreat in
July.
The meeting was adjourned.
Respectfully submitted,
DeLys Mitchell
Deans Advisory Council
May 15, 2003
Minutes
The Deans met in Moody Center Room 120 at 9:30 a.m. Present were Alan
Stafford, Lawson Hager, Chris McNair, Gary Stanlake, Carley Dodd, Jan Noles,
Pam Williford, Don Williford, Jimmie Monhollon, Vernon Davis, Bill Ellis, and
DeLys Mitchell. Michael Monhollon was absent.
After a discussion of prayer concerns, Carley Dodd led the group in prayer.
The minutes were approved.
Old Business:
Dr. Ellis asked the Deans about the progress on Articulation Agreements:
• Dr. Monhollon has three in progress.
• Dr. Stanlake stated that the Graduate School is continuing to work on
articulation agreements with East Texas Baptist University in areas
including Family Psychology and the Logsdon School of Theology. The
School of Music is showing some interest in this program, and the College
of Business is interested if they can work out some accrediting issues.
• Dr. Pam Williford said that she has time in June to travel to junior colleges
if other Deans would like to join her.
The Deans agreed to discuss Articulation Agreements at the Summer Retreat.
This led to a discussion of the Texas Tech Engineering Program. Dr. McNair
explained that there has been some confusion with this program. He clarified
that a student can earn a degree in one of the Sciences, Mathematics, or
Computer Science from HSU, and then will automatically be accepted into the
Texas Tech Engineering Master’s Program. The Science Track is the only
Engineering major that is available in Abilene. Dr. McNair also explained that
Texas Tech has not provided scholarships for this program as promised in the
beginning. We currently have three or four students in this program now.
New Business:
The next item on the agenda was the schedule for Academic Program Reviews.
Dr. Pam Williford stated that we need to align our Institutional Effectiveness
Plans with our Program Reviews. After a discussion of this, Dr. Ellis assigned a
committee to study this which includes Alice Specht, Chris McNair, and Pam
Williford as chair.
Dr. Stanlake and Dr. McNair informed the Deans of some of the details of the
Doctor of Physical Therapy. HSU will be offering students with a MPT the
necessary requirements to upgrade to a DPT from June 1, 2003 through 2005.
We will also be offering a “bridge program” for students from anywhere with a
MPT. Alice Specht asked about providing library services to these students. Dr.
McNair referred her to Janelle O’Connell. HSU has accepted 28 students out of
40 applicants for the DPT program which begins in the Fall.
Announcements:
Dr. Ellis announced that we will probably start a softball program in the Spring
2004. This is pending approval by the Board of Trustees and bids from Coca-
Cola, Pepsi, and ARA.
Dr. Ellis stated that Mr. Preston asked that the Deans delay any expenditures
until after June 1. He is working hard to end the year in the black.
Dr. Ellis announced that the Deans Evaluation results will be sent to the Deans,
and he would like to make appointments with them to discuss the results.
Dr. Ellis said that he will be looking at the averages of student GPAs this
summer. He will discuss his findings with the Deans this fall. He stated that this
is part of faculty assessment, but he sees a need to be careful with this data.
The Committee on Committees will meet in June. The date will be announced as
soon as it is available.
Dr. Don Williford announced that he may be contacting the Deans and the faculty
regarding possible grants and fellowships. He may need help in preparing
proposals.
Dr. Ellis announced that we are still 7-8% behind on our approved applicants.
The recruiters have said that this class is not as academically strong as those in
recent years. We are still at an 8 year high regarding applicants, and we have
registered 162 new students. Our early registration days will be June 13 and
July 25. Our goal is to have 200 new students registered before June 13. Dr.
Ellis told the Deans that he would like to move to a place where the faculty is not
committed to be there all day, but this year will be organized as in the past. Dr.
Ellis also announced that next year, we plan to have our Spring Round-Up in
April, and an additional early registration in May besides the traditional June and
July dates. Based on faculty concerns, one goal for next year is to keep the
parents in a meeting while the students register.
The meeting was adjourned.
Respectfully submitted,
DeLys Mitchell
