April 9, 2007
Faculty Governance News Digest
April 9, 2007
From the UNC Office of Faculty Governance
200-204 Carr Building
UNC-CH Campus
Contact: Anne M. Whisnant (anne_whisnant@unc.edu)
Office of Faculty Governance sponsors “Achievement Index” discussion forum, Friday, April 13, 3:00 p.m.
On Friday, April 13, from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. in Toy Lounge (4th floor Dey Hall), the Office of Faculty Governance will sponsor a forum on a recent proposal under consideration by the Faculty Council to use an “Achievement Index” as an indicator of student academic accomplishments in addition to the well-established GPA.
All members of the faculty are invited to attend. A panel drawn from the Educational Policy Committee and from the Faculty Executive Committee will answer questions and respond to comments. Our goal is to air as many substantive pros and cons as possible during the time available.
Faculty elections take place April 16-24; voter guide available now
Annual elections for members of the Faculty Council and eleven elected faculty committees including the Faculty Executive Committee, the Chancellor’s Advisory Committee, the Faculty Athletics Committee, and the Committee on Appointments, Promotion, and Tenure will take place April 16 – 24.
A complete Voter Information Guide with all candidates for all offices is now available on the Faculty Governance website. Members of the Voting Faculty should watch their email for the ballot, which will be sent April 16 by Institutional Research.
Campus Y features new faculty lounge
The Campus Y has recently reopened after an extensive renovation and will be officially dedicated next October 11, the eve of University Day. A new feature of the building is a bright and beautiful faculty lounge area, located in the former “chapel” space on the side of the building facing Wilson Library and the Polk Place quad.
Soon to be furnished with comfortable (and moveable) seating and small tables, the faculty lounge will provide a welcome space for formal and informal gatherings of faculty members and meetings between faculty members and graduate students or staff colleagues. Coffee and simple lunch items may be purchased downstairs in the Y’s café, and bag lunches are also welcome. The space is being managed by the Office of Faculty Governance, in collaboration with the Campus Y.
On most days, the faculty lounge will be open all day for informal walk-in use. If you have questions or would like to reserve the faculty lounge for a formal faculty-oriented gathering, event, or meeting, please contact Anne Whisnant in the Faculty Governance office at 962-1671.
Final 2006-07 Faculty Council meeting to be held Friday, April 27
The Faculty Council will meet April 27, 2007 from 3:00 – 5: 00 p.m. in the Hitchcock Multipurpose Room of the Sonja Haynes Stone Center. Among other items, the meeting will consider a resolution proposing adoption of the “Achievement Index” as a measure of student academic performance.
All faculty are encouraged to attend. The Agenda Committee, which programs the work of all Faculty Council meetings, will meet on Wednesday April 18, and an agenda for the meeting will be posted on the Faculty Governance web site by April 20.
UNC Distance Education Steering Committee sponsors e-learning forum, April 18
“Emerging Issues in E-Learning: Quality Assurance: What Do We Do? Should We Do More?”
April 18, 11:00-12:45, Toy Lounge, Dey Hall
In this forum, faculty discussants will consider how quality is (and should) be assessed and assured in UNC’s online courses. There will also be a facilitated discussion of the new UNC system e-learning portal. Refreshments will be provided. For more information, contact Linda Carl at the Office of Distance Education and E-Learning Policy at the William and Ida Friday Center for Continuing Education, phone (919) 962-4008 or email Linda_Carl@unc.edu.
Faculty Governance Reading Room
An occasional feature highlighting interesting reading about universities, faculties, and governance. This week’s selection:
- “40 Years of Changes in the Student Body”
This article from Insider Higher Ed describes today’s release of a report, “The American Freshman: Forty-Year Trends 1966–2006,” by UCLA’s Higher Education Research Institute. The report highlights some striking changes in the makeup of college freshman classes, many of which confirm widely reported trends, but some of which may be surprising.
