MARIETTA COLLEGE FACULTY MEETING
November 26, 2001
MINUTES (approved 12/3/01)

A special meeting of the Marietta College faculty convened at 5:00 p.m. November 26, 2001, in the Selby Science Center, room 101. Dr. Sidney Potash, Chair of the Faculty, presided.

1. Announcement
   

   In the absence of the secretary of the faculty, Dr. Potash reported that Dr. Matthew S. Young would be secretary of the meeting.

2. Provost’s Report.

   The Provost noted that there had been an unusually high number of Early Academic Warning forms submitted to the Academic Resource Center for students in the freshman class. Of that class of 364 students, 46% had received an academic warning, and 25% of that group currently have a g.p.a. below a 2.0. While it as difficult to identify the factors that explained the high occurrence of academic warnings, the Provost encouraged the faculty to be sensitive to the potential impact of recent global events in addition to some tragedies in the personal lives of our student body.

   The Provost announced that a number of faculty and staff searches would be getting underway within the next few weeks.

   The Provost announced that locks in all the buildings on campus would be rekeyed in the near future, and that faculty and staff would be receiving new keys to their buildings and offices.

3. Curriculum Committee

   Dr. Peter Hogan moved

   To approve the Masters of Science in Physician Assistant Studies as described in the attached sheet

   The sheet containing the description and requirements of the program was distributed with the notice calling the meeting and is attached as Exhibit A (yellow) attached to these minutes.

   The motion was seconded and in the ensuing discussion the following issues were raised and responses made by Dr. Hogan.

   • Where would the PA program fit within the College? It would be a separate entity falling under the graduate studies umbrella.
   
   
   
   • What type of standardized entrance examination would be used? The Miller’s Analogy test would be used.
   
   
   
   • Would there be an impact on the natural science departments? It was thought the program might be a potential draw for undergraduates, the impact was not projected as being significant.
   
   
   
   • A concern was raised regarding the admission of international students, specifically with regard to language competency.

   The question was called, and the motion passed unanimously on a show of hands.

4. First Year Task Force.

   Professor Jeanne Arbuckle proposed

   To approve a Freshman Seminar as described in the material circulated separately by the First Year Task Force

   The material separately circulated is attached as Exhibit B (green) attached to these minutes. Material displayed electronically during the meeting is also attached as part of the exhibit.

   The motion was seconded and during the ensuing discussion the following issues were raised.

   • Questions were raised regarding the decision to limit the use of student evaluations of the course to formative purposes, rather than having them placed in the permanent files of the course instructors. Prof. Arbuckle responded that because of the experimental nature of the course, instructors needed to be granted a maximum degree of flexibility in order to meet the goals of the seminar.
   
   
   
   • Questions were raised about the decision to make a passing grade a requirement while the current freshman seminar had no such requirement.
   
   
   
   • Questions were raised regarding the likelihood of securing enough full-time instructors to teach approximately twenty-two sections of the seminar next fall, in addition to covering existing courses.
   
   
   
   • Questions were raised regarding the qualifications of instructors to teach liberal arts oriented skills in reading and writing, skills that might be more effectively taught in required 100-level English and Communications courses.
   
   
   
   • Questions were raised regarding the coordination between the first year seminar and other required courses, such as English 101 and Communications 101.
   
   
   
   • Questions were raised about defining transitional skills and outcomes to be achieved in the first year seminar.
   
   
   
   • Questions were raised regarding how decisions about the first year seminar could properly be made without first seeing the complete proposal for the first year curriculum.

   The chair accepted a motion to defer a decision on the main motion until the next regularly scheduled faculty meeting on Monday December 3.

5. Adjournment.

   The meeting adjourned at 6:10 p.m.

Matthew S. Young
Acting Secretary of the Faculty

Exhibit A (yellow): Masters of Science in Physician Assistant Studies
Exhibit B (green): First Year Seminar

cc. Dr. Jean Scott
     Dr. Sue DeWine (2)
     Dr. Sidney Potash
     Reserve Collection, Dawes Memorial Library