The fourth meeting of the Twin Cities Campus Assembly for 2000-01 was convened in 25 Law Building, Minneapolis campus, on Thursday, April 19, 2001, at 2:34 p.m. Coordinate campuses were linked by telephone. Checking or signing the roll as present were 93 voting faculty/academic professional members, 18 voting student members, and 6 ex officio members. President Yudof presided.

MOTION:

To approve the University Senate, Faculty Senate, and Twin Cities Campus Assembly minutes, which are available on the Web at the following URLs. A simple majority is required for approval.

http://www1.umn.edu/usenate/u_senate/010222sen.html
http://www1.umn.edu/usenate/faculty_senate/010222fac.html
http://www1.umn.edu/usenate/tcca/010222tcca.html

DISCUSSION:

With no discussion, a vote was taken and the motion was approved.

MOTION:

The Assembly Committee on Educational Policy has approved the following interpretation (the underlined language) to Section 2 of the TWIN CITIES CAMPUS ASSEMBLY SUPPLEMENTAL POLICY OF THE UNIVERSITY SENATE POLICY ON CLASSES, SCHEDULES, AND FINAL EXAMINATIONS FOR THE TWIN CITIES CAMPUS for semesters. It is also recommending to the Assembly an amendment: that reports on study arrangements made for students participating in athletic competition are only to come from the Twin Cities athletic academic counseling program. The Assembly and the Assembly Committee on Educational Policy have no authority or responsibility for the programs on the other campuses and they should not have been included in this (Assembly) policy. (Language to be deleted is struck out.)

2. Athletic Events during Study Day and Finals Week

In those instances where post-season competitive events occur during Study Day or Finals Week
(either of Day School or of Extension Classes), the Assembly Committee on Educational Policy shall consider them approved (that is, without requiring explicit action on the part of the Committee) subject to the following conditions:

1. The event is in logical progression in the sport, leading from in-season competition to conference or regional championships and then to national championship competition; and

2. The coach or other staff member in the athletic program can demonstrate to whomever is responsible for counseling in the intercollegiate athletics program that satisfactory alternative academic arrangements have been made; and

3. The event is conducted under the aegis of the NCAA or the appropriate national sport governing body if it is not the NCAA.

The chair of the Assembly Committee on Educational Policy will receive, on an annual basis, a report from the Director of Academic Counseling (on the Twin Cities campus) or the appropriate individual (on the Crookston, Duluth, and Morris campuses) on the arrangements that are made pursuant to paragraph 2, above.

The Athletic Directors will annually report to the Assembly Committee on Educational Policy, early in the Fall Semester, on the number of student-athletes who missed any Study Day or any part of Final Examinations during the preceding year and on the academic performance of those student-athletes. These may be written reports.

Post-season or other athletic events that are invitational in nature, rather than a natural progression to a championship, and which would take place during Study Day or Finals Week, require the specific approval of the Assembly Committee on Educational Policy before participation may occur.

Subject only to the exception noted in this policy, no travel or competition is permitted from the period beginning with, and including, Study Day and ending with the last day of Final Examinations. Home events may be scheduled in the evening of the last day of Final Examinations if the examination schedule is concluded by 1800.

Interpretation by the Committee on Educational Policy: This Section 2 applies only to intercollegiate athletic teams, not teams competing under the aegis of the Department of Recreational Sports or any other unit of the University.

COMMENT:

Although the interior language of Section 2 of the policy makes it clear that the policy applies to the departments of men's and women's intercollegiate athletics, there has nonetheless recently been confusion on the point. Students who compete on a Recreational Sport team qualified for a national championship event and claimed they were entitled to an exemption under the provisions of Section 2 of this policy. It was never intended that the policy include all recreational competition, where participation is entirely voluntary; students who participate in intercollegiate athletics, however, are obligated to participate in post-season championship competition or they risk losing their status and their financial aid.

The deleted language removes reference to other University campuses, over which neither the Assembly nor the Assembly Committee on Educational Policy has any authority or responsibility. The language should not have been in the original policy.

DISCUSSION:

With no discussion, a vote was taken and the motion was approved.

Professor Marti Hope Gonzales was elected Vice Chair of the University and Faculty Senates and Mr. Ryan Osero was elected Vice Chair of the Twin Cities Campus Assembly.

COMMENT:

As an amendment to the Assembly Bylaws, the motion requires either a majority of all voting members of the Assembly (91) at one regular or special meeting, or a majority of all members of the Assembly present and voting at each of two meetings. This is the first meeting at which this motion is being presented.

MOTION:

To amend the Twin Cities Campus Assembly Bylaws, Article III, Section 2, and Article III, Section 7, as follows (language to be deleted is struck out and new language is underlined); if approved, the existing bylaw would be renumbered appropriately:

ARTICLE III. TWIN CITIES CAMPUS ASSEMBLY COMMITTEES

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2. COMMITTEE ON COMMITTEES

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Membership

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A special faculty/academic professional nominating committee, appointed by the Faculty Steering Committee and approved by the faculty/academic professional representatives of the Assembly, shall nominate twice as many faculty/academic professional candidates for the committee as are to be elected each year. These candidates shall be announced in the Assembly docket for the last meeting of the academic year. Additional nominations, certified as available, may be made by the petition of 12 faculty/academic professional representatives of the Assembly, provided that the petition is in the ands of the clerk of the Assembly the day before the Assembly meeting. At the last Assembly meeting of the year, the faculty/academic professional representatives of the Assembly shall elect by secret ballot two members of the committee for three-year terms. No faculty/academic professional member is eligible to serve more than two consecutive full terms. In the case of a tie, the chair of the Assembly shall cast the deciding vote.

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ARTICLE III. TWIN CITIES CAMPUS ASSEMBLY COMMITTEES

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7. STEERING COMMITTEES

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Faculty Steering Committee

Membership

A special faculty nominating committee, appointed by the faculty members of the Assembly Committee on Committees and approved by the faculty representatives of the Twin Cities Campus Assembly and those faculty from the Duluth campus eligible to vote in Senate elections, shall nominate and certify as available twice as many faculty candidates as are to be elected each year from the Twin Cities campus and from those faculty from the Duluth campus eligible to vote in Senate elections to the University Senate Consultative Committee. These candidates shall be announced in the Twin Cities Campus Assembly docket for the first meeting of the spring semester. Additional nominations, certified as available, may be made by: (1) petition of 12 voting members of the faculties, provided that the petition is in the hands of the clerk of the Assembly the day before the Assembly meeting; (2) nomination on the floor of the Assembly. The faculty representatives of the Assembly shall by vote reduce the slate to twice the number to be elected, and shall forward the results to the clerk of the University Senate.

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6. NOMINATING COMMITTEE

The Nominating Committee is responsible for identifying candidates for the Committee on Committees and for the Faculty Steering Committee and for overseeing elections to those two committees.

Membership

The Nominating Committee shall consist of seven tenured or tenure-track faculty and two academic professional staff members. Both the faculty and the academic professional members must have served in the Senate within the last ten years and shall serve for three-year terms.

The Faculty Steering Committee shall nominate and certify as available twice as many tenured or tenure-track faculty members as there are faculty seats available seats on the Nominating Committee. The Academic Staff Advisory Committee shall nominate and certify as available twice as many academic professional staff members as there are academic professional seats available on the Nominating Committee. The nominations will be presented at the first Assembly meeting of spring semester. Additional nominations, certified as available, may be made by: (1) petition of 12 voting members of the faculty (for faculty members) or 12 voting members of the academic professional staff (for the academic professional members), provided that the petition is in the hands of the clerk of the Assembly the day before the Assembly meeting; (2) nomination on the floor of the Assembly. In the event there are additional nominations, the Assembly shall by vote reduce the slate to twice the number to be elected, and shall forward the results to the clerk of the Assembly.

The Assembly shall then vote on the slate by secret ballot at the first meeting of spring semester.

Duties and Responsibilities

a. The faculty members of the Nominating Committee shall nominate and certify as available twice as many faculty candidates as are to be elected each year from the Twin Cities campus and from those faculty from the Duluth campus eligible to vote in Senate elections to the University Senate Consultative Committee. These candidates shall be announced in the Twin Cities Campus Assembly docket for the first meeting of the spring semester. Additional nominations, certified as available, may be made by: (1) petition of 12 voting members of the faculties, provided that the petition is in the hands of the clerk of the Assembly the day before the Assembly meeting; (2) nomination on the floor of the Assembly. The faculty representatives of the Assembly shall by vote reduce the slate to twice the number to be elected and shall forward the results to the clerk of the University Senate. Election procedures shall be in accordance with Article III, Section 4, of the University Senate Bylaws.

b. Both the faculty and academic professional members of the Nominating Committee shall nominate and certify as available twice as many faculty/academic professional candidates for the Committee on Committees as are to be elected each year. These candidates shall be announced in the Assembly docket for the last meeting of the academic year. Additional nominations, certified as available, may be made by: (1) petition of 12 voting members of the faculty or academic professional staff eligible to serve in the Assembly, provided that the petition is in the hands of the clerk of the Assembly the day before the Assembly meeting; (2) nomination on the floor of the Assembly. At the last Assembly meeting of the year, the faculty/academic professional representatives of the Assembly shall elect by secret ballot members of the Committee on Committees for three-year terms. No faculty/academic professional member is eligible to serve more than two consecutive full terms. In the case of a tie, the chair of the Assembly shall cast the deciding vote.

c. To oversee the conduct of the elections of the members of the Committee on Committees and the members of the Faculty Steering Committee.

d. To report to the Faculty Steering Committee any issues or problems it encounters which require the attention of the Assembly.

COMMENT:

Although this looks (and is) complicated, the intent of these amendments to the bylaws actually is to simplify the process by which members of the Committee on Committees and the Steering Committee (the Twin Cities and Duluth members of the Faculty Consultative Committee) are nominated.

At present there are two different processes used to appoint the members of these two committees.

(1) For the Committee on Committees, there is annually an ad hoc committee nominated by the Faculty Steering Committee and approved by the Faculty Assembly. This ad hoc committee identifies candidates to serve on the Committee on Committees for three-year terms and presents a slate to the Faculty Assembly in the spring. The Faculty Assembly then votes on the slate. The ad hoc committee then dissolves. (The reason this process was devised was because it was thought inappropriate for the Committee on Committees to nominate its own members.)

(2) For the Faculty Steering Committee (this is even more complicated), the faculty members of the Committee on Committees nominate a special nominating committee (to be approved by the Faculty Assembly), which in turn develops a slate of candidates for the Faculty Steering Committee and presents it to the Assembly for approval. Once the Assembly has approved the slate, the Twin Cities and Duluth faculty vote to elect new Faculty Steering (FCC) members.

What these amendments do is abolish the two foregoing processes and establish a standing Nominating Committee that will nominate members for both the Committee on Committees and the Faculty Steering Committee (FCC). Twin Cities faculty and eligible P&A staff will nominate Committee on Committees members; the faculty subset of the Nominating Committee will nominate Steering (FCC) members. The actual election process for the Twin Cities FCC members would be unaffected and is prescribed by the University Senate.

The members of the Nominating Committee will be nominated to the Assembly: the faculty by the Faculty Steering Committee, the P&A staff by the Academic Staff Advisory Committee. The Assembly then votes on the nominees; the bylaws provide for additional nominees.

DISCUSSION:

With no discussion, a vote was taken and the motion was approved with 92 in favor and 0 opposed.

The meeting was adjourned at 4:07 p.m.