[In these minutes: Student Evaluations of Teaching, Reports, Committee Issues, Regents Policy on Student Employment, Student Representatives to the Regents]

STUDENT SENATE CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE (SSCC) MINUTES

JANUARY 18, 2001

[These minutes reflect discussion and debate at a committee of the University of Minnesota Senate or Twin Cities Campus Assembly; none of the comments, conclusions, or actions reported in these minutes represent the views of, nor are they binding on, the Senate or Assembly, the Administration, or the Board of Regents.]

PRESENT: Jason Reed (chair), Sabeen Altaf, Amber Benning, Percy Chaby, Khaled Dajani, Tim Dunn, Reid LeBeau, Adam Lyche, Shane Roers, Chris Shulstad.

REGRETS: Paul Enever, YeeLeng Hang.

GUESTS: Vice Provost Craig Swan.

1. STUDENT EVALUATIONS OF TEACHING

Craig Swan, Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education, noted that the target date to have student evaluations of teaching for Twin Cities courses on the web is February 2001. At this time, the evaluations will be separate, but the goal is to have them integrated with the course guide. Information on posting the results is being conveyed to Morris and Crookston.

He said that the Senate approved an additional ten questions be placed on the student evaluations. These ten questions would ask about teaching style and adherence to the syllabus, and then be available to students following a faculty member's signature to release the information. Evaluations on 200 Fall Semester 1999 courses were collected, and the figure jumped to 450 Spring Semester 2000 courses.

Publication of results has been delayed because these questions were adopted at the end of the quarter system, so any previously collected data would not pertain to current semester course. Further complicating matters was the fact that PeopleSoft implementation occurred at the same time, and problems with that system took precedence over publicizing student evaluation results.

Q: A related question to course choice is the listing of who will be teaching a class, although many times this information is not displayed either in the printed guide or on the web. Are there plans to improve instructor identity for classes?

A: One reason that instructors are not listed is that departments are forced to complete course offerings very early, many times before they know who will be on leave for the following term. This concern does need to be raised though.

2. REPORTS

CHAIR
Jason Reed noted that he has been following the health insurance issue and will bring pertinent information to the committee.

STUDENT AFFAIRS
Percy Chaby noted that SCSA was looking at athletic ticket prices and promotion, and would be creating ad hoc focus groups to work on specific issues.

CROOKSTON
Chris Shulstad noted that he was resigning from the committee and that Shane Roers, CSA President, would serve until a new representative was appointed.

STUDENT LEGISLATIVE COALITION
Percy Chaby said that SLC has signed on to the Pell Pass-through bill and was looking at a tuition fence to keep student costs contained. Another issue is removing the sales tax on educational supplies besides books, such as art supplies and CDs. He then noted that Marney Ryan, the executive director, has resigned and a student office manager will maintain the office for now. Lobby Day has been set for Tuesday, February 20. Specific information on all SLC activities will be available once the PR director has finished the packet.

3. EDUCATIONAL POLICY COMMITTEE ISSUES

Jason Reed said that at a recent SCEP meeting, he noticed an agenda item on mandating mid-term exams, especially in entry-level courses. Faculty would then notify the advisors for the freshmen who failed the exam so that any problems could be corrected before a student fails the entire class. He asked the committee for their comments and received the following:

• Does the University have the resources for a project of this magnitude?
  
• It will be hard to generalize exams across majors
  
• Faculty can only give students and advisors a rough estimate at mid-semester without investing sufficient time
  
• Faculty would be reluctant to grade twice
  
• Advisors should have more contact with advisees without faculty reporting
  
• What is the value of this project versus the cost?
  
• Crookston faculty already send a deficiency slip to advisors at mid-semester for students who have a D or lower
  
• What about classes that use a grade curve at the end?
  
• Many classes might not have a mid-term exam and this policy would mandate its inclusion

Jason Reed noted that faculty oppose stadium funding, but he wanted SSCC's opinion on this issue. Following a short discussion, the committee decided to remain neutral on the issue as long as it does not affect educational efforts and since, if it is approved, it will most likely be without the University's approval.

5. REGENTS POLICY ON STUDENT EMPLOYMENT AMENDMENTS

Jason Reed reviewed the Regents Policy on Student Employment noting that a student employment committee is supposed to be involved in student employment issues, but there is no evidence that this committee exists. He would like to amend the policy to have SSCC consulted on student employment matters. Members agreed to the general principle. Jason Reed said that he would draft the language change for approval at the February 1 SSCC meeting, the February 22 Student Senate meeting, and finally by the Regents.

6. STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES TO THE REGENTS

Jason Reed stated that he would be convening the Ad Hoc Policy Committee to review and approve the Student Representative the Regents procedures from each campus during the February 1 SSCC meeting. The Policy Committee is composed of the SSCC and the Student Representatives to the Regents.

7. CLOSED SESSION

The committee then entered a closed session to discuss tuition.

With no further business, Jason Reed thanked everyone for attending and adjourned the meeting.

Becky Hippert
University Senate