ACADEMIC SENATE 2011-2012

David R. Boe, Chair

Larry G. Pagel, Vice Chair

Francella A. Quinnell, Secretary

Academic Senate Meeting of October 4, 2011

Northern Michigan University

Brule Room of the University Center

DRAFT MINUTES

Present:David Boe (Chair), Paul Lang (Interim Provost and VPAA), Ron Sundell (AAUP Liaison), Mike Andary (Member at Large), Larry Pagel (Vice Chair), Francella Quinnell (Secretary), Helen Wedin (Member at Large),Mark Shevy (Member at Large), Tim Hilton (Member at Large),Aaron Loudenslager, Drew Janego, Chris Hoffman, Randy Appleton, Michael Broadway, Zac Cogley, Dave Donovan, Richard Eathorne, Peter Goodrich, Robbie Goodrich, Jeffrey Horn, Jill Leonard, Marguerite Moore, Mitsutoshi Oba, Mark Paulsen, Glenna Pendleton, Robert Quinn, Jamal Rashed, Bruce Sarjeant, Rebecca Ulland, Darlene Walch, Kevin Waters

Absent:Christine Flavin,Jeanne Graves,Joe Lubig,John MacDevitt, Dave Prychitko, Terry Seethoff, Floyd Slotterback, Aura Syed, Mary Jane Tremethick, Harvey Wallace

Proxy:Larry Pagel for Marge Sklar

Guests: Kim Rotundo (Registrar), Julie Rochester (NCAA Liaison)

  1. Call to Order: 3:05 p.m.
  1. Additions to/Adoption of Agenda: (Move Item VII. A. Informal Consideration; NCAA Athletic Presentation to the beginning of the meeting. )

Motion to accept: (M. Andary second D. Donovan)

Approved unanimously.

October 4, 2011 Athletic Council Presentation

The NCAA recommends that a Faculty Athletics Representative report to the Academic Senate each semester. Dr. Julie Rochester was appointed by President Wong as NMU’s liaison to the NCAA and has held the position for the past five years. She made her bi-annual report to the Senate on October 4th, 2011.

Across NMU and other universities, it’s common to see student athletes outperforming the general student population. The overall NMU GPA for the Winter 2011 semester for NMU student athletes is 3.11. Although the overall NMU GPA for Winter 2011 is not available, the overall NMU GPA for Fall 2011 is 2.84. Anational trend suggests that student athletes typically carry higher semester GPAs during their competitive season.

There are eligibility requirements for student athletes. When advising athletes, keep the following in mind:

  • Student athletes must be enrolled in at least 12 credit hours per semester.
  • They must PASS a minimum of 24 credits in the calendar year. (This does not include remedial or repeat courses.)
  • They must show progress towards a degree. (Students can’t just take random classes.)
  • They must have a declared major in their 5th semester.

Please fill out the hand-delivered academic progress forms for student athletes if you are asked. If students are not doing well or not showing up for class, faculty members may want to call the coach directly. Coaches need to know if the student’s academic eligibility may be compromised.

Challenges of course scheduling: Going to practice is NOT an excuse for missing class. Only competitions should be excused. Students are responsible for all course work whether or not their absence is excused.

When a student athlete double-majors, there is some difficulty “showing progress” towards a degree. There have been a number of “workarounds,” but work is in progress to find a permanent solution.

In the 2010 – 2011 season, the women’s soccerteam made its first trip to the NCAA National Tournament. The women’s volleyball team qualified for the NCAA National Tournament for the third straight year.

Another item of note is the expansion of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) to include two colleges in Ohio, Walsh and Malone. This will affect costs, travel, missed class time, and the student athletes’ experience. NMU’s Men’s Hockey will move to the Western Collegiate Hockey Association in 2013-2014.

The U.S. Olympic Education Center has been officially “institutionalized” by NMU and is now a part of NMU Athletics. Oversight of the USOEC has fallen to Brian Gaudreau. He will oversee Wrestling, Weightlifting and Short Track Speed Skating.

There have been some compliance issues regarding “Boosters” lately and Dr. Rochester wanted to make sure that faculty understand the NCAA Booster Legislation and advised the NCAA recognizes a person as a friend, booster, or representative of the athletic department if:

  • You have participated or are a member of an agency or organization promoting NMU athletics programs.
  • You have made financial contributions to NMU athletics department or to an athletic booster organization of NMU.
  • You have been involved in promoting NMU athletics program.
  • You have assisted a student-athlete in finding a job, or employed a student-athlete for a summer job.
  • You have ever donated money through being a season ticket-holder.

Dr. Rochester also discussed the “extra benefit” rule:

  • DO NOT provide an "extra benefit" or special arrangement to an enrolled student-athlete. The extra benefit rule for student-athletes, their relatives, and friends states that you:
  • MAY NOT give student-athletes cash or loans in any amount.
  • MAY NOT employ a student-athlete at a rate of pay that is higher than the going rate for other employees.
  • MAY NOT give them gifts of any kind or free services.
  • MAY NOT provide special discounts for goods or services.
  • MAY NOT provide them hospitality in your home or camp.
  • MAY NOT provide them transportation within or outside of a campus area.
  • MAY NOT provide tickets to an athletic, institutional or community event.
  • MAY NOT provide promise of financial aid for postgraduate education.
  • MAY NOT provide promise to a student-athlete of employment after college.

Lastly, Dr. Rochester reported that the NMU Athletic Council will be inviting different departments to attend athletic events and there will also be a “Student-Athlete Scholar of the Month” nominated by faculty.

Faculty member can contact Dr. Rochester at: 906-227-2026, or by e-mail at: or the Assistant Athletic Director, Bridget Berube, at 906-227-2371 or by e-mail at: ith any questions about student athletics or NCAA requirements.

  1. Approval of Draft Minutes of Tuesday 20 September 2011

Motion to accept: (R. Appleton second D. Donovan)

Approved unanimously.

  1. Reports:
  1. Chair: David Boe; The Senate Actions of September 20th the CEC Report was approved but we have a new updated list to review today.

Vice Chair: Larry Pagel; 3 things:

  1. New Senators are required to serve on a standingcommitteeof the Senate or an equivalent assignment.

2. Faculty members teaching graduate-levelcourses must have “graduate faculty status.” Requests for graduate faculty status must be submitted to the Graduate Programs Committee (GPC). John Rebers (Biology) is the Chair of GPC. He can be reached at: 906-227-1585 or by e-mail at:

3. Standing Committees should incorporate the Roadmap 2015 in their yearly reports.

  1. Secretary: Francella Quinnell; No Report.
  1. Provost: Interim Provost, Paul Lang; No Report.
  1. ASNMU: No Report.
  1. AAPC Report of Tuesday 04 October 2011 (First Reading)

Motion to accept: (L. Pagel second R. Appleton)

Discussion: None

2nd Reading in two weeks.

  1. CEC Report of Tuesday 04 October 2011 (First Reading)
  2. Senate Committee Grid (updated)

Motion to accept: (M. Andary second B. Sarjeant)

Discussion: None

Motion to suspend the rules & waive the 2nd Reading:

(D. Donovan second M. Paulsen)

Approved unanimously.

No further discussion.

Approval of the CEC Report: Approved unanimously.

  1. GPC Report of Tuesday 04 October 2011 (First Reading)

Motion to accept: (P. Goodrich second M. Shevy)

Discussion: None

2nd Reading in two weeks.

  1. Unfinished Business
  1. LSC Report of Tuesday 20 September 2011 (2nd Reading)

Discussion: There was lengthy discussion regarding the renumbering of HS 104 to HS 105 (this happened in 06-07) but the content changed significantly from a Foundation of Social Science (Division IV) to Foundation of Humanities (Division II). The division should have been changed at that time. Although the registrar felt this would cause confusion. It was recommended that the registrar e-mail advisors and notify them of the change in the division although students that have already taken the course will be given credit for the division in which it was placed at the time. It was further recommended that the course should be renumbered again in order to identify it as something different. This would have to be done through CUP. Chair Boe refocused the discussion to the LSC report and noted that the issue under consideration was the change from Division IV to Division II) only.

With that a vote was taken and was approved with one dissenting vote.

  1. New Business: None.
  1. Informal Consideration(Moved to the beginning of the meeting.)
  1. NCAA update (presentation by Julie Rochester)
  1. Good of the Order:

A. A question was raised regarding scheduling of winter courses. There is no requirement that schedule changes would be made in the winter but it would be a good “practice run” for the fall semester. With the renovation of Jamrich it will be critical in the fall that classes are spread out more broadly and Fridays used more efficiently. Mike Truscott, Assistant Registrar apparently has distributed guidelines to departments.

B. A question was raised regarding an article in The Mining Journal that indicated that Jamrich Hall may be renovated or demolished. Dr. Lang clarified that demolition was an option, but it was a bit late at this point, given that a decision on funding for the proposed renovation is expected November 4, 2011. However, alternatives to the renovation of Jamrich Hall remain under consideration additional information is posted onshare.nmu.edu.

  1. Adjournment: 3:57 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Jeannie Carlson

Secretary to the Academic Senate/AAUP

Edited by,

Francella A. Quinnell, Ph.D.

Secretary, The Academic Senate

c. President Wong