Minutes 2024-2025

Sep 2024

Sep 2024

I. Call to Order: Chair, Samantha Robinson

II. Roll Call: Secretary, Adnan Alrubaye

III. Approval of Agenda

Agenda approved.

IV. Approval of Minutes

May 2024

Minutes approved.

V. Reports

A. Terry Martin, Provost

B. Jim Gigantino, Senior Vice Provost for Academic Affairs

Faculty Compensation Study

C. Samantha Robinson, Faculty Senate Chair

VI. Old Business

None

VII. New Business

There was a proclamation agreed on by all senators present: “On behalf of the Faculty Senate we would like to thank the chair of the faculty senate and all officers that served this year for doing a wonderful job.”

VII. Consent Agenda: The following items are referred by the Undergraduate Council and the Graduate Council for review and action by the Faculty Senate at its meeting scheduled September 11, 2024:

Course Change proposals – including undergraduate courses approved by the Undergraduate Council on August 23, 2024, graduate courses approved by the Graduate Council on August 15, 2024 (1_coursechanges_report_09112024). Details related to course changes may be viewed at: https://nextcatalog.uark.edu/courseleaf/approve/. Under the “Your Role” field, select Faculty Senate.
Undergraduate Program Change Proposals approved by the Undergraduate Council on August 23, 2024 (2_programchanges_report_09112024).

Proposed undergraduate program change for the Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food, and Life Sciences, Department of Human Environmental Sciences – AMPD-M – AMPD Global Experience Minor (2a_ampd-m_report_09112024, 2a_25-26_ampd-m_final_09112024).
Proposed undergraduate program change for the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Arts and Sciences Dean – AIST Dependent Major – Asian Studies Dependent Major (2b_aist_dependent_major_report_09112024).
Proposed undergraduate program change for the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Arts and Sciences Dean – AIST-M – Asian Studies Minor (2c_aist-m_report_09112024).
Proposed undergraduate program change for the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, Department of World Languages, Literatures and Cultures – ARABBA – Arabic, Bachelor of Arts (2d_arabba_report_09112024, 2d_arabba_deletion_ltr_of_notification_09112024).
Proposed undergraduate program change for the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, Department of World Languages, Literatures and Cultures – FRENBA – French, Bachelor of Arts (2e_frenba_report_09112024, 2e_frenba_deletion_ltr_of_notification_09112024).
Proposed undergraduate program change for the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, Department of World Languages, Literatures and Cultures – GERMBA – German, Bachelor of Arts (2f_germba_report_09112024, 2f_germba_deletion_ltr_of_notification_09112024).
Proposed undergraduate program change for the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, Department of World Languages, Literatures and Cultures – ITALBA – Italian, Bachelor of Arts (2g_italba_report_09112024, 2g_italba_deletion_ltr_of_notification_09112024).
Proposed undergraduate program change for the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, Department of World Languages, Literatures and Cultures – SPANBA – Spanish, Bachelor of Arts (2h_spanba_report_09112024, 2h_spanba_deletion_ltr_of_notification_09112024).
Proposed undergraduate program change for the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, Department of World Languages, Literatures and Cultures – WLLCBA – World Languages, Literatures, and Cultures, Bachelor of Arts (2i_wllcba_report_09112024, 2i_wllcba_program_reconfiguration_ltr_of_notification_09112024).
Proposed undergraduate program change for the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, Department of World Languages, Literatures and Cultures – WLLCBA-ARAB – World Languages, Literatures, and Cultures: Arabic Concentration (2j_wllcba-arab_report_09112024, 2j_wllcba_program_reconfiguration_ltr_of_notification_09112024).
Proposed undergraduate program change for the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, Department of World Languages, Literatures and Cultures – WLLCBA-CLDH – World Languages, Literatures, and Cultures: Classical Studies Cultures and Digital Humanities Concentration (2k_wllcba-cldh_report_09112024, 2k_wllcba_program_reconfiguration_ltr_of_notification_09112024).
Proposed undergraduate program change for the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, Department of World Languages, Literatures and Cultures – WLLCBA-CLLA – World Languages, Literatures, and Cultures: Classical Studies Language Concentration (2l_wllcba-clla_report_09112024, 2l_wllcba_program_reconfiguration_ltr_of_notification_09112024).
Proposed undergraduate program change for the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, Department of World Languages, Literatures and Cultures – WLLCBA-FREN – World Languages, Literatures, and Cultures: French Concentration (2m_wllcba-fren_report_09112024, 2m_wllcba_program_reconfiguration_ltr_of_notification_09112024).
Proposed undergraduate program change for the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, Department of World Languages, Literatures and Cultures – WLLCBA-GERM – World Languages, Literatures, and Cultures: German Concentration (2n_wllcba-germ_report_09112024, 2n_wllcba_program_reconfiguration_ltr_of_notification_09112024).
Proposed undergraduate program change for the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, Department of World Languages, Literatures and Cultures – WLLCBA-ITLC – World Languages, Literatures, and Cultures: Italian Literacy and Cultural Studies Concentration (2o_wllcba-itlc_report_09112024, 2o_wllcba_program_reconfiguration_ltr_of_notification_09112024).
Proposed undergraduate program change for the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, Department of World Languages, Literatures and Cultures – WLLCBA-ITTS – World Languages, Literatures, and Cultures: Italian Transnational Studies Concentration (2p_wllcba-itts_report_09112024, 2p_wllcba_program_reconfiguration_ltr_of_notification_09112024).
Proposed undergraduate program change for the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, Department of World Languages, Literatures and Cultures – WLLCBA-SPAN – World Languages, Literatures, and Cultures: Spanish Concentration (2q_wllcba-span_report_09112024, 2q_wllcba_program_reconfiguration_ltr_of_notification_09112024).

Additional Items/Announcements:

Deletion of the Center for Semiconductor Physics in Nanostructures (3a_ctr_semiconductor_physics_in_nano_deleting_admin_unit_ltr_of_notif_

09112024).

b. Deletion of the Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Science and the Arts (3b_ctr_interdisciplinary_stdy_of_science_arts_deleting_admin_unit_ltr_
of_notif_09112024).

c. Deletion of the Cybersecurity Center on Secure, Evolvable Energy Delivery Systems (SEEDS)
(3c_cybersecurity_ctr_seeds_deleting_admin_unit_ltr_of_notif_09112024).

d. Deletion of the IDEALS (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Access, Leadership & Strategy) Institute of the University of Arkansas (3d_ideals_institute_deleting_admin_unit_ltr_of_notification_09112024).

e. Deletion of the Tesseract Center for Immersive Environments and Game Design
(3e_tesseract_center_deleting_admin_unit_ltr_of_notification_09112024).

f. Update to HL IB Exam Credit Cut-off Score
Mathematics MATH 24004 4-7 SL
Mathematics MATH 13004 and MATH 24004 4-5 HL
Mathematics MATH 13004 and MATH 240H4 6-7 HL

g. Reorganization of the Department of Counseling, Leadership, and Research Methods (CLRM)
(3g_clrm_reorganization_of_admin_unit_ltr_of_notification_09112024).

VIII. Announcements

A. Hope Christiansen Resolution – Kathy Comfort

B. Digital Measures Replacement – Samantha Robinson

C. Suzanne McCray and Jason Battles - United Way

- A session to elect the Faculty Senate Executive Committee and Campus Council was held for Senators.

IX. Adjourn

Oct 2024

Oct 2024

I. Call to Order: Chair, Samantha Robinson

II. Roll Call: Secretary, Adnan Alrubaye

III. Approval of Agenda

Agenda approved.

IV. Approval of Minutes

Sep 2024

Minutes approved.

V. Reports

A. Terry Martin, Provost

The Provost met with the Arkansas Division of Higher Education.
The Arkansas Department of Education is pushing for more associate degrees awarded to high school students to allow students to have 30 credits by the time they graduate from high school.
The State is pushing for workforce development. We do a lot of workforce development like seminars. We are going to put some of this into Workday as non-credit. The workforce development may make it into the funding formula.
The Associate Science in Business is outdated and is difficult to transfer.
The State minimum core is under review, and they are surveying schools. We are comfortable with what we have in our university.
Common course numbering system for the UA System. The Arkansas Division of Higher Education is monitoring the course numbering system across the UA System.
The Higher Learning Commission has approved the offer of a reduced credit hour bachelor’s degree from 90-100 credit hours to be completed in three years. There are some states that are running pilot programs on this type of degree. The goal is shorter time for graduation, and to help students financially. We have one that is currently being proposed at Henderson College, and that degree is in criminal justice and is for 92 hours. There maybe the word “applied” in the degree title. They are considering running a pilot in some of the schools, and we want to be part of those discussions.
The Provost search website is up, and the Chancellor appointed a search committee. The committee hasn’t met yet.
Senators asked about issues related to teh compensation study. The Provost shared that there were some issues in the classification codes, and we expect to see more issues in the future.

B. Update on Enrollment , Suzanne McCray

Suzanne presented the attached PowerPoint presentation. The UA goal is to increase student’ diversity, increase Arkansas students, and to increase the students’ profile. We anticipate a decline in Arkansas students in 2026-2028.
There was a steady increase in the number of students. Our goal is to get to a GPA average of 3.4, so we can reach an 80% graduation rate. This year and the year before, we had the largest number of students from Arkansas. We teach more Arkansan students on campus than any other Arkansas higher education institution. We have more women enrolled than men. We are growing in diversity; 23% of our population is from diverse communities. We are up in Black and Latino applications for the upcoming year. We are feeling great about diversity. We have three application-fee free dates in October.
We are looking at a cliff ahead, and it is real in Arkansas. The going-to-college rates have declined in Arkansas by 10% in the past few years. We are going to hire another recruiter in the Houston area because of the large number of students who are interested in applying to the UA. The number of applications for next year is healthy.
We just joined the Small Town and Rural Program. We are happy to join this program, and we received $200K to recruit from rural areas in Arkansas. We visit almost every high school in Arkansas. We are test-optional, and more students are interested in coming to the UA. We are supporting the College Access Initiative.
We have scholarships for students graduating from Arkansas community colleges.
Workday Student is an academic enterprise, and the chair of the team is Dave Dawson. We are working very hard to ensure that Workday student supports faculty needs and as seamless as possible.
Suzzanne suggested that the Faculty Senate invites Dave Dawson to discuss Workday Students.
We are up in total Federal Financial Aid, $310,117,031.
The total scholarship funding is dispersed centrally by the scholarship office is $49,399,103, and this number does not include the funds dispersed by colleges.

C. Samantha Robinson, Faculty Senate Chair

We elected a new Executive Committee and Campus Council.
Please review the following websites:

- https://policies.uark.edu/all.php#
- https://uasys.edu/policies/board-policies/
Voting Participation Committee - Oct. 17 - Look for a newswire story. You can also check out the Arkansas Ballot Issues Voter Guide here: https://www.uaex.uada.edu/business-communities/voter-education/docs/2024-Arkansas-Ballot-Issue-Voter-Guide.pdf.
The Provost search committee https://chancellor.uark.edu/provost-search/index.php

VI. Old Business

None

VII. Consent Agenda: The following items are referred by the Undergraduate Council and the Graduate Council for review and action by the Faculty Senate at its meeting scheduled October 9, 2024:

Course Change proposals – including undergraduate courses approved by the Undergraduate Council on September 27, 2024, and graduate courses approved by the Graduate Council on September 19, 2024 (1_coursechanges_report_10092024). Details related to course changes may be viewed at: https://nextcatalog.uark.edu/courseleaf/approve/. Under the “Your Role” field, select Faculty Senate.
Undergraduate Program Change Proposals approved by the Undergraduate Council on September 27, 2024 (2_programchanges_report_10092024).

a. Proposed undergraduate program change for the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, School of Journalism and Strategic Media – ADPRBA – Advertising and Public Relations, Bachelor of Arts
(2a_adprba_report_10092024, 2a_adprba_online_delivery_ltr_of_notification_10092024).

Graduate Program Change Proposals approved by the Graduate Council on September 19, 2024:

a. Proposed graduate program change for the Department of the Graduate Dean – PUBPPH-PSIA – Public Policy: Policy Studies in Aging Concentration, Doctor of Philosophy (3a_pubpph-psia_report_10092024, 3a_pubpph-psia_deletion_ltr_of_notification_10092024).

b. Proposed graduate program change for the Department of Health, Human Performance and Recreation – RESMME– Recreation and Sport Management, Master of Education (3b_resmme_report_10092024).
c. Proposed graduate program change for the School of Art – CDESMDES – Communication Design, Master of Design (3c_cdesmdes_report_10092024).

Additional Items/Announcements:

a. Deletion of the Blockchain Center for Excellence
(4a_blockchain_center_of_excellence_deleting_an_administrative_unit_ltr_of_nofication_10092024).

b. Deletion of the Information Technology Research Institute
(4b_information_tech_research_institute_deleting_an_admin_unit_ltr_of_notification_10092024).

c. Deletion of the University of Arkansas Resiliency Center
(4c_univ_of_arkansas_resiliency_center_deleting_an_admin_unit_ltr_of_notification_10092024).

d. Reorganization of the Department of Curriculum and Instruction (CIED) (4d_cied_reorganization_of_admin_unit_ltr_of_notification_10092024).

Consent agenda approved.

Accepting the announcements as part of the meeting minutes. Approved.

IX. Adjourn at 4:26 pm.

Nov 2024

Nov 2024

I. Call to Order: Chair, Samantha Robinson

II. Roll Call: Secretary, Adnan Alrubaye

III. Approval of Agenda

Agenda approved.

IV. Approval of Minutes

Oct 2024

Minutes approved.

IV. Reports

A. Terry Martin, Provost

I3R is delayed. We will open three buildings in January. Delivery of items has resulted in delays.
Holiday party: Tuesday, Dec 10^th in the SEC Club from 5:30-7:30. Invitations are coming soon.
We have an inclement weather policy that addresses weather issues. With tornadoes or other emergencies, go to safety.uark.edu. Students should not drive if they are not safe. Students are encouraged to go to safe places if there is an emergency. Students can be dismissed to safe places if there are windows in the classroom.
Senators pointed out that emergency exits are blocked by scooters. Jim Gigantino suggested reporting this issue to OEOC or report.uark.edu.
The Provost’s position interviews are scheduled for Jan or Feb.
The BOT has been meeting to discuss the President’s candidates.

B. Samantha Robinson, Faculty Senate Chair

COI, and outside employment are due on Dec 01.
Dave Dawson accepted the invite and will attend an upcoming faculty senate meeting to discuss Workday students.
Course evaluations are coming soon. We are mandated by law to assess English proficiency for our faculty. We presented a policy in Jan 2023, and it was approved in Feb 2023. The English language question was moved toward the end of the evaluation.
As of 2:18 pm today, APS 1405.11/1405.111 was pushed to APT committee chair, Don Johnson. The APT committee was tasked to review the APS 1405.11/111 document and make recommendations. The committee was given a deadline of Feb, but it could be extended to March.

V. Old Business

None

VI. New Business

A. BOT 810.1, Samantha Robinson and Jim Gigantino.

We are in the process of reviewing this BOT policy. Back in May, the BOT updated their policy 100.4, which is a detailed look at how the campus operates. We are concerned about the requirement for a shared governance system. There was a draft that was shared with all campuses in spring 2024. All system schools were tasked to change governance policies to align with the BOT policy. Some schools didn’t have governance policies. Our policy was last updated in 1996. Vice Provost’s Gigantino’s job is to work with the General Counsel to provide the Faculty Senate leadership with the current document and to revise the policy to align with the BOT policy.
The chair of the campus faculty is chair-elect for the faculty senate. The outgoing Faculty Senate chair will be an upcoming Faculty Senate committee officer.
We will only work on the faculty part, not the staff part. The ones who worked on the faculty part were John C. Pijanowski, Kevin Brady, and Samantha Robinson. The Faculty Senate Chair cannot serve in two consecutive terms. The Chair of the Faculty Senate will carry a heavier workload.
This is the first reading, and we can bring more questions.
Senators agreed to ask more questions during the next meeting.
The third year for the Faculty Senate passed chair is advisory. Passed chairs are on the Executive Committee as outgoing chairs.
In the first year, the Faculty Chair’s job should be light to learn the process, and the second year as the heavy year, which is the Faculty Senate Chair.
We will add the new faculty titles like clinical, teaching, research…etc.

B. Additional Items:

1. Proposed updates to the Undergraduate Council membership. Recommendation to add the GSIE Associate Dean as a non-voting member, thereby allowing an opportunity to address issues concerning international undergraduates, study abroad, and students studying at the Rome Center. Other changes include eliminating the undergraduate student representative selected by the Office for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and additional minor editorial updates.

(b1_ugrd_council_membership_updates_october_2024-kdhall_edit_11132024).

C. Consent Agenda: The following items are referred by the Undergraduate Council and the Graduate Council for review and action by the Faculty Senate at its meeting scheduled November 13, 2024:

Course Change proposals – including undergraduate courses approved by the Undergraduate Council on October 25, 2024, graduate courses approved by the Graduate Council on October 17, 2024(a1_coursechanges_report_11132024). Details related to course changes may be viewed at: https://nextcatalog.uark.edu/courseleaf/approve/. Under the “Your Role” field, select Faculty Senate.
Undergraduate Program Change Proposals approved by the Undergraduate Council on October 25, 2024 (a2_programchanges_report_11132024).

Proposed undergraduate program change for the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Anthropology – ANTH Dept Honors – Anthropology Departmental Honors (a2a_anth_dept_honors_report_11132024).
Proposed undergraduate program change for the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Arts and Sciences Dean – ARSC Honors – ARSC College Honors Requirements (a2b_arsc_honors_report_11132024).
Proposed undergraduate program change for the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Arts and Sciences Dean – LALS Dept Honors – Latin American and Latino Studies Departmental Honors (a2c_lals_dept_honors_report_11132024).
Proposed undergraduate program change for the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Arts and Sciences Dean – MEST Dept Honors – Middle East Studies Departmental Honors (a2d_mest_dept_honors_report_11132024).
Proposed undergraduate program change for the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Communication – COMM Dept Honors – Communication Departmental Honors (a2e_comm_dept_honors_report_11132024).
Proposed undergraduate program change for the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Economics – ECNC Dept Honors – Economics Departmental Honors (a2f_ecnc_dept_honors_report_11132024).
Proposed undergraduate program change for the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, Department of English – ENGL Dept Honors – English Departmental Honors (a2g_engl_dept_honors_report_11132024).
Proposed undergraduate program change for the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Geosciences – GEOG Dept Honors – Geography Departmental Honors (a2h_geog_dept_honors_report_11132024).
Proposed undergraduate program change for the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Geosciences – GEOL Dept Honors – Geology Departmental Honors (a2i_geol_dept_honors_report_11132024).
Proposed undergraduate program change for the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, Department of History – HIST Dept Honors – History Departmental Honors (a2j_hist_dept_honors_report_11132024).
Proposed undergraduate program change for the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Mathematical Sciences – MATH Dept Honors – Mathematics Departmental Honors (a2k_math_dept_honors_report_11132024).
Proposed undergraduate program change for the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Philosophy – PHIL Dept Honors – Philosophy Departmental Honors (a2l_phil_dept_honors_report_11132024).
Proposed undergraduate program change for the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Physics – PHYS Dept Honors – Physics Departmental Honors (a2m_phys_dept_honors_report_11132024).
Proposed undergraduate program change for the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Political Science – INSTBA Dept Honors – International Studies Departmental Honors (a2n_instba_dept_honors_report_11132024).
Proposed undergraduate program change for the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Political Science – PLSC Dept Honors – Political Science Departmental Honors (a2o_plsc_dept_honors_report_11132024).
Proposed undergraduate program change for the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Psychological Science – PSYC Dept Honors – Psychology Departmental Honors (a2p_psyc_dept_honors_report_11132024).
Proposed undergraduate program change for the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, School of Art – ART Dept Honors – Art Departmental Honors (a2q_art_dept_honors_report_11132024).
Proposed undergraduate program change for the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, School of Art – GDES Honors – Graphic Design Honors (a2r_gdes_honors_report_11132024).
Proposed undergraduate program change for the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, School of Journalism and Strategic Media – JOUR Dept Honors – Journalism Departmental Honors (a2s_jour_dept_honors_report_11132024).
Proposed undergraduate program change for the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Social Work – SCWK Dept Honors – Social Work Departmental Honors (a2t_scwk_dept_honors_report_11132024).
Proposed undergraduate program change for the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Sociology and Criminology – CRIM Dept Honors – Criminology Departmental Honors (a2u_crim_dept_honors_report_11132024).
Proposed undergraduate program change for the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Sociology and Criminology – SOCI Dept Honors – Sociology Departmental Honors (a2v_soci_dept_honors_report_11132024).
Proposed undergraduate program change for the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Theatre – THTR Dept Honors – Theatre Departmental Honors (a2w_thtr_dept_honors_report_11132024).
Proposed undergraduate program change for the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, Department of World Languages, Literatures and Cultures – CLST Dept Honors – Classical Studies Departmental Honors (a2x_clst_dept_honors_report_11132024).
Proposed undergraduate program change for the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, Department of World Languages, Literatures and Cultures – WLLC Dept Honors – World Languages Departmental Honors (a2y_wllc_dept_honors_report_11132024).
Proposed undergraduate program change for the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, Department of World Languages, Literatures and Cultures – ITALBA-LTCS – Italian, Bachelor of Arts, Literary and Cultural Studies Concentration (a2z_italba-ltcs_report_11132024, a2z_italba-ltcs_deletion_ltr_of_notification_rev_bot_11132024, a2z_italba_phase-out_11132024).
Proposed undergraduate program change for the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, Department of World Languages, Literatures and Cultures – ITALBA-TRST – Italian, Bachelor of Arts, Transnational Studies Concentration (a2aa_italba-trst_report_11132024, a2aa_italba-trst_deletion_ltr_of_notification_rev_bot_11132024, a2aa_italba_phase-out_11132024).
Proposed undergraduate program change for the Sam M. Walton College of Business, Department of Marketing – PRSAUM – Professional Sales Undergraduate MicroCertificate (a2bb_prsaum_report_11132024, a2bb_re_additional_language_proposal_to_include_required_