UFAGC is submitting a motion to revise Section 5.8 of the Faculty Handbook regarding procedures for a faculty grievance. Faculty will be asked to review and comment on these revisions prior to the next UFC meeting on March 24. If this is not the proper site for this draft document, please advise where it should go. Thanks. … [Read more...]

Seeing Rita at the meeting yesterday, it made me wonder something. Can Banner even handle this kind of requirement/exemption? Will we want to have the students who want to do this "self identify" by applying to do it? Quibbling about 4 versus 8 is pretty moot if we don't have the mechanism to actually administer the policy. … [Read more...]

Allowing students a few credits shy of graduation to walk at Commencement is a reasonable and sound idea. In addition to the reasons the Provost has outlined for this policy change, I'd like to add a couple more. First, a personal story. I was myself a beneficiary of such a sound policy at UNC Chapel Hill when I graduated in 1995. I had put off two general education requirements as long as I could--a P.E. class and a religion class (I found Jesus late--sorry CPR colleagues!)--primarily because there were other classes I wanted to take my senior year that I needed (I was a double major) or wanted to take (I had just discovered Russian!) before actually graduating. I also just enjoyed taking classes, loved living in Chapel Hill, and hated the idea of working. So, this wasn't because I was a willful scofflaw or had stupidly misread requirements over the years or fell short of hours to graduate (I had over-fulfilled that part of the plan by about 60 hours) or wasn't an adult. It was … [Read more...]

It would be helpful to know the denominator for this equation here, specifically how many students find themselves short of credits and therefore ineligible to graduate. Provost Martin indicates that the University burns through its good will with students and their families when said parties learn the student will not be graduating on time. He further indicates that such a decision may have a negative effect on a student's willingness to identify as an alumnus and be connected, both psychically and financially, to UMW post graduation. Perhaps, but I'm wondering how this policy change is nothing short of the intellectual equivalent of the kids' sports team motto that "everyone gets an orange slice and a trophy for showing up." Commencement is a celebration of the achievement of completing degree requirements. As faculty we are required to meet with all students at the start of their senior year to complete a senior checksheet; the Registrar's office routinely communicates with … [Read more...]

Colleagues, Thanks to Leigh for sharing his thoughts on the proposal presently working its way through the committee structure regarding who can walk in Commencement. We did talk at some length in the COB meeting, and as I said at the time, I do appreciate Leigh's concerns, shared by several of his colleagues. First, allow me to offer a few quick clarifications. Perhaps it goes without saying, but I met with the CAS Academic Senate, not with the CAS faculty. This seemed the logical place to go. Also, it has recently emerged that Christopher Newport, which indicates on its website that only students who have completed all graduation requirements may walk in Commencement, actually does have a "small loophole," as the Provost described it to other Virginia administrators when the issue was recently discussed. If a student there is registered for spring semester courses that would allow that student to graduate in May and fails one of those courses, that student is in fact … [Read more...]

Let's put Leigh Frackelton's e-mail out for discussion. Hi to all I rarely write the faculty as a whole, but I think this subject requires the attention of the entire faculty ;and that is” who is allowed to walk at commencement”. A proposal to allow students within 8 credits of graduation to walk at commencement came up in our November’s COB faculty council meeting by our colleague who is on the University Academic Affairs Committee. At that meeting we took a preliminary straw vote of support for the proposal, and a majority of CoB faculty members voted against the proposal. Then, at our December meeting , the Provost spoke to the CoB faculty about the proposal. Provost Levin gave the rationale that more and more Universities are allowing students to walk at graduations without completing all the degree requirements with the aim of improving alumni relations at the school. He also stated that he had been to the Student Senate and the SGA and they were unanimously in favor of the … [Read more...]

To facilitate appointments and elections next week, a roster of all university committee members and their terms of service has been posted under University Committees. … [Read more...]

https://ufc.umw.edu/topic/3491/

We have three additional nominees: Allyson Poska, Professor of History CAS, Marie Sheckels, Professor of Curriculum and Instruction COE, and Suzanne Sumner, Professor of Mathematics CAS … [Read more...]

The two new nominees are Allyson Poska, Professor of History, CAS and Marie Sheckels, Professor of Curriculum and Instructions, COE. … [Read more...]