March 6, 2024 Minutes

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Slide Presentation

Faculty Senate Meeting

SUB Ballroom D

March 6, 2024

3:15pm-4:30pm

I.            Call to Order

A.      Meeting called to order at 3:15pm.

II.            Approval of FS Minutes from February 21, 2024

A.      Chris Posbergh moves to approve. Clem Izurieta seconds. None opposed. No abstentions. Minutes are approved.

III.            FYI Items

A.      A message from CPS: Please check in with students during advising season. Remind them that there are a number of wellness resources on campus here to support them. One resource is the free Welltrack app that is available to students. This online tool offers a host of self-help and prevention tools that students can engage with every day to monitor and boost their overall health and well-being. Contact Laura Thum for more information: (406) 994-4531

B.      We will have a call for the new chair elect, please consider nominating yourself or others.

IV.            Retirement Discussion Follow-up: Differences Between 457 and 403b

A.      The 457 allows withdrawal with no penalty upon separation, while the 403b has a penalty for such a withdrawal until age 59.

B.      The 457 has a special catch-up provision wherein a participant who is in the last 3 years before retirement age can put a significant amount more during those years than the limits, up to $45,000 per year.

C.      The 403b has a 15-year catch-up provision, in which participants who have not contributed an amount equal to $5000 x their years of service in contributions can contribute an extra $3,000 per year.

D.     457 has to be elected and managed through Empower/MPERA, whereas 403b is through our office and then with TIAA.

E.      The 457 and 403b have the same limits and access to pre-and post-tax contributions ($24,000 annual for 2024).

V.            Information Updates

A.      Brian O’Connor will discuss the new purchasing software Smart Buy.

https://www.montana.edu/ubs/smartbuymsu/ 

1.      See slide presentation

2.      Questions

a.      Will this be mandatory?

1)      Not taking away pcards, but we will transition to this for those things you don’t use pcards for.

b.      Is this how people will pay for travel?

1)      No. This is where you will use your Pcard and Chromeriver.

c.       No mandate of which vendors you can us.

1)      Those already loaded are able to auto invoice us.

2)      You can search a different supplier through a different part of the webpage.

d.      Approvals are all built in for those things you’ve had to get procurement to approve first.

1)      If you use a vendor not already loaded, it will ask you if you’ve gotten the three bids.

B.      Hannah McKelvey will provide updates on the library.

1.      Slide presentation

2.      Questions

a.      It is just for faculty, but you can share it to your students.

b.      Have a fund that goes toward author fees if needed. A certain dollar amount per individual. Reach out if you need help with that.

1)      Encourage you to write that need for funds into your grants

c.       Interlibrary loans are also an option. There is a cost with them as well.

VI.            New Business

A.      Changes to the Graduate Catalog (First Reading) 

1.      Eligibility for Assistantships

a.      Questions

1)      What is involved with the appeal? Do they need a sponsor?

i.      Requested through your department. Need department support and your PI’s support. 

2)      Tracy Dougher: Academic notice is not an official standing. 

i.      Good Standing

ii.      Warning

iii.      Suspension

3)      Does it matter how the GRE is being funded?

i.      Research vs TA shop through department, appeals will work differently. 

4)      If department head doesn’t support appeal, it probably won’t go through. 

2.      Academic Standing

a.      Academic notice is still good standing.

b.      Questions

1)      Don’t understand why a student could fail a comp exam twice and still be able to stay in. 

i.      You need to base your decision on more than ONE item, like the exam. 

1.      Could see the conflict if someone is doing very well in all of the other qualifiers and can’t pass the comp exam. That is going to be very rare, but the policy should be ready for that. 

2)      Committees often defer to the chair regarding the student’s performance and success. Committee members are on multiple committees and cannot follow the performance of each student. 

3)      Meant to build in flexibility because all departments have different qualifiers. 

4)      Example: fail comp, have to go back, and take a course again before coming back taking the comp again.

i.      Difference in definitions of comps. They all will look different.

ii.      Makes it conditional: you pass if you……

1.      Would we need to make those changes in departmental policy?

a.      Committee has to meet and review in a holistic way. Committees’ prerogative to say they are not successful. 

5)      Policy has other things in it. Are we reviewing and voting on those as well? 

i.      Will double check. Most of the policy is not changing

6)      Committees use to have one external person. Do we need to bring that person back? 

i.      We will bring back more information from Grad Dean. 

c.       Please read carefully and bring to next meeting. (This information is from the bottom of page two of the policy)

VII.            Asking for a request to move all proposals scheduled for readings at the last meeting through the system today since we were unable to get to them last meeting. 

A.      Doug Downs moves to approve. Chris Posbergh seconds. None opposed. No abstention. Approved. 

VIII.            Undergraduate Courses and Programs

A.      Courses – First Reading

1. ANTY 358: The Archaeology of Ice and Snow

2. GDSN 266: Letterpress Research Trip

3. HSTA 129: Asian American History

4. ITS 221: Project Management

5. ITS 279: Cloud Systems

B.      Courses – First Reading (3/6/24)

1. ANSC 106: Careers in Animal Agriculture

2. CULA 106: Kitchen and Food Production Fundamentals

3. CULA 108: Station Cookery

4. CULA 112: Fundamentals of Protein Cookery

5. ECNS 433: Economics of the Environment

C.      Course Changes – First Reading

1.      ETME 340: Mechanisms

a.      Credit change from 4 to 3

b.      The changes are associated with the bigger program level change that began implementation in Fall 2023 (see attached explanation). MET faculty determined that a reduction of credits in Mechanisms and Machine Design to implement the newer technology (mechatronics) was the most prudent way to implement this change.

2.      ETME 341: Machine Design

a.      Credit change from 4 to 3

b.      The changes are associated with the bigger program level change that began implementation in Fall 2023 (see attached explanation). MET faculty determined that a reduction of credits in Mechanisms and Machine Design to implement the newer technology (mechatronics) was the most prudent way to implement this change.

D.     Courses—Second Reading

1.      ECIV 459: Sustainable Transportation & Community Health

2.      HSTR 369: The Holocaust in Memory and Film

3.      US 340: Legal Educations and Careers

E.      Course Changes — Second Reading

1.      ECIV 499R: Capstone: Civil Eng Design

a.      The ECIV program is moving from a two-semester capstone sequence to one capstone course in the final semester of the program. ECIV 499R is being changed from 2 to 3 credits with one lab credit being added. ECIV 489R will be removed from the curriculum and will no longer serve as prerequisite for this course.

b.      Title change from ECIV 499R: Capstone: Civil Eng Design II

c.       Change of credits from 2 to 3

2.      EELE 488R : Electrical Engineering Design I

a.      Credit change from 2 to 3

b.      Increasing credits to 3 to represent actual workload of course and removed a prerequisite

3.      EENV 499R: Environmental Engineering Design 

a.      Title change from EENV 499R: Environmental Engineering Design II

b.      The ENVE program is moving from a two-semester capstone sequence to one capstone course in the final semester of the program. EENV 499R is being changed from 2 to 3 credits with one lab credit being added. EENV 489R will be removed from the curriculum and will no longer serve as prerequisite for this course.

4.      FILM 122IA: Acting for Non-Majors

a.      Rubric change from THTR

b.      See explanation document

5.      FILM 304: Live Production and Camera

a.      See explanation document

b.      Rubric change from THTR

c.       Title change from Theatre Production

6.      MAS Courses-Credit change

a.      Change in credits from 2 to 3. Leadership Lab and Physical Training are mandatory practical military trainings for students pursuing a commission into the Air Force or Space Force. Physical Training is associated with Leadership Laboratory objectives so this change updates the objectives and course hours to include PT.

b.      Changes to titles are only to make everything congruent (lab vs laboratory) and to remove the course number from the title. 

1)      MAS 115 : Leadership Lab

2)      MAS 116 : Leadership Lab

3)      MAS 215 : Leadership Lab

4)      MAS 216 : Leadership Lab 

5)      MAS 315 : Leadership Lab

6)      MAS 316 : Leadership Lab

7)      MAS 415 : Leadership Lab

8)      MAS 416 : Leadership Lab

F.       Course Inactivations – First Read (3/6/24)

1. SPNS 341: Warriors and Damsels in Spanish Literature

G.     Course Inactivations – Second Reading

1.      BIOE 435: A Study of Local Ecosystems for Teachers

a.      BIOE 435 is co-offered as BIOE 536 A Study of Local Ecosystems for Teachers in the MSSE Program. MSSE has found that the dual offering is confusing, especially to undergraduates who self-enroll for the course, creating issues for our Academic Advisor and the instructor. We propose dropping the BIOE 435 as a dual offering with BIOE 535. Attached are approvals from Diane Debinski, the Department Chair of Ecology and Joe Bradshaw, course instructor.

2.      BIOE 436: Symbiosis for Teachers: Eat, Prey, Love

a.      BIOE 436 is co-taught as BIOE 536 A Study of Local Ecosystems for Teachers in the MSSE Program. MSSE has found that the dual offering is confusing, especially to undergraduates who self-enroll for the course, creating issues for our Academic Advisor and the instructor. We propose dropping the BIOE 436 as a dual offering with BIOE 536. Attached are approvals from Diane Debinski, the Department Chair of Ecology and Joe Bradshaw, course instructor.

3.      THTR Courses:

We are changing the rubric of our remaining two active theatre classes to FILM and the one remaining TT prof who teaches "theatre" teaches all classes for film and can use these independent studies, internships, research projects under the FILM rubric instead.

a.      THTR 490R: Undergraduate Research

b.      THTR 492: Independent Study

c.       THTR 494: Seminar/Workshop

d.      THTR 498: Career Internship

H.      New Programs – First Reading (3/6/24)

1. -C : Certificate in Special Education

I.        Program Inactivations – First Reading (3/6/24)

1.      CARB-CBL: Certificate in Arabic

a.      We no longer offer second year Arabic courses. The enrollment in those courses was consistently low, so they were cancelled

IX.            Graduate Courses and Programs

A.      Courses – First Reading

1. BFIN 530: Accounting and Finance for the Entrepreneur

2. BGEN 510: Innovation Sprint 1

3. BGEN 515 : Innovation Sprint 2

4. BGEN 520: Life Design and Career Development 1

5. EENV 570: Montana Water Rights and Water Law

B.      Courses – First Reading (3/6/24)

1. BIOH 585: Human Dissection for Teachers

C.      Course Changes – First Reading

1.      FILM 504: Film and Documentary Theory

a.      Credit change from 3 to 4

b.      We did this with FILM 505 and that is up in front of Faculty Senate right now. We should have done this with FILM 504 at the same time. The other benefit to doing this is that one faculty, not two, will be assigned to the class. In the past we have hired out the 1 credit offerings to NTTs and this way a TT faculty will do both. Also, the 4 credits give a clearer expectation of the workload involved with the class.

D.     Programs — Second Reading

1.      ENGR-MENG-MENG: Masters of Engineering in Manufacturing Engineering

X.            Senators’ Open Conversation

A.      Grad department reps go around (after UGC) and get feedback. 

1.      Our department hasn’t heard of this. 

a.      If there is a specific issue that would affect a specific department someone should come speak to that department. 

B.      Feedback for Grad Dean: UGC is a committee for the Grad Dean. There is a relationship there. There may not be a mechanism to get out to Departments. 

XI.            Public Comment

A.      Heidi Hayden? Speaking in support for changes to grad policy on qualifying exams. Some students get too focused on that exam and let other things fall through the cracks. A more holistic approach is a positive change for grad students. 

B.      Tracy Dougher: Think about what outcome a text teaches to. What are we assessing?

C.      Provost Mokwa: 

1.      Tuesday Lecture. Chere LeClair. 

2.      Karie Orendorff has been a huge pusher for the 12 months’ pay for faculty. YAY!!!! 

XII.            Adjourn

A.      Clemente Izurieta moves to adjourn. Karie Orendorff seconds. Meeting adjourned at 4:29pm.