February 3, 2021 UFC Meeting (4:00PM; remote via Zoom)
I. Call to Order
II. Meeting Minutes
Draft Minutes – December 2, 2020 UFC Meeting
III. Reports
1. President Paino
2. Provost Mikhalevsky
3. College Deans
–Dean Pete Kelly, CoE
–Dean Keith Mellinger, CAS
-Dean Lynne Richardson, CoB
5. SGA Representative’s Report (Kyree Ford) – no report
6. SAC Representative’s Report (Michelle Pickham)
7. UFC Chair’s Report (Andrew Dolby)
8. UFC Vice Chair’s Report (Ken Machande) – no report
9. Faculty Senate of Virginia (Marcel Rotter)
. Faculty Senate of Virginia VHEAD position paper 2021
10. University Committees – minutes, reports, and action items
–University Academic Affairs Committee
. Meeting minutes December 3
. Meeting minutes January 21
–University Budget Advisory Committee
. Meeting minutes December 3
–University Curriculum Committee
. Meeting minutes December 7
. Meeting minutes January 29
. Meeting minutes February 4
–University Faculty Affairs Committee
no report
–University Faculty Organization Committee
no report
–University General Education Committee
. Action items December 7
. Action items February 1
–University Sabbaticals, Fellowships & Faculty Awards Committee
no report
–University Student Affairs & Campus Life Advisory Committee
. Meeting minutes January 29
–Bachelor of Liberal Studies (BLS) Committee
no report
–Distance and Blended Learning Committee
. Meeting minutes January 26
–First Year Seminar Committee
. Meeting minutes December 18
–Honors Program Committee
no report
–James Farmer Multicultural Center Advisory Committee
no report
–Journalism Advisory Committee
. Meeting minutes January 8
–Speaking Intensive Committee
. Action items January 25
–Teaching Center Advisory Committee
no report
–Writing Intensive Committee
no report
IV. Unfinished Business
1. Extension of alternative grading option to spring 2021
- (Data on Fall 2020 deployment of alternative grading by students and adoption by other Virginia higher education institutions is available on the UFC Video Archive-Feb 3 meeting page (password protected).
No motions were made regarding an alternative grading option for spring 2021. Grading policy as specified in the Academic Catalog will therefore, by default, resume this semester. However, the UFC is supportive of any ongoing strategies to assist, on an individual basis, specific students who remain under severe and demonstrable academic duress owing to extenuating circumstances both caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond their control.
V. New Business
1. University Budget Advisory Committee action item: motion to revise Faculty Handbook to reflect change in staff representation approved by the UFC on December 3, 2020. Revised language
Approved
2. University Curriculum Committee action items approved on December 7*
Approved
3. University General Education Committee action items approved on December 7 ; UGEC action items approved on February 1
Approved
4. Distance and Blended Learning Committee action item: approval process for majority online Summer 2021 courses approved on January 26. (Adoption of approval process for Fall 2020 courses.)
Emergency approval process for summer 2021 majority online courses approved. Please see list of deadlines and instructions for summer 2021 emergency approval and fall 2021 full approval on the UDBLC’s home page. Both are due by February 15.
5. First Year Seminar Committee action items approved on December 18.
Approved
6. Speaking Intensive Committee action items approved on January 25.
Approved
7. Replacement of “Staff Advisory Council” with “University Staff Council” throughout the Faculty Handbook. (The SAC has approved this name change.)
Approved
8. 2021 J-term assessment report and processes for studying impacts and feasibility of a permanent J-term. (Debra Schleef and University Academic Affairs Committee)
The UFC decided that the first course of action should be to offer an open faculty forum on the future of J-term at 4:00PM on February 17 (open all-faculty meeting date). Faculty will receive a meeting invitation and directed to relevant outcomes data from the 2021 January term. In addition to student course evaluation data (link above), Debra Schleef will provide questionnaire responses from faculty who taught J-term courses.
9. Discussion of issues relating to a proposed African American Studies minor program brought by CAS Faculty Council.
Owing to an inadvertent deviation from the correct curriculum approval workflow, this proposal was rolled back to the CAS Faculty Council. It will be considered for approval by the UFC during its March 3 meeting for inclusion in the 2021-22 Academic Catalog.
*University Curriculum Committee actions taken during its January 29 meeting will be handled electronically by the UFC on February 10.
In addition to UCC actions taken on January 29, all other actions taken by the UCC during supplementary meetings between January 29 and February 4 will be included in the UFC’s February 10 electronic vote.
All remaining course designation actions taken by curriculum advisory committees (DBL, DI, GEN ED, HN, SI, WI) that need to be implemented in fall 2021 will be considered by the UFC during its March 3 meeting.
Thank you to the UCC and all others in the curriculum approval workflow for your diligent work in ensuring that the fall 2021 Academic Catalog deadline is met.
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