Deans’ Council Minutes
December 13, 2006

Attendance: President McFarland, Interim Provost Frank Ashley , Dr. Hal Langford , Dr. James Klein , Dr. James Vornberg , Dr. Allan Headley , Dr. Joe Webber , Dr. Mary Hendrix , Dr. Yvette Murph and Mr. Greg Mitchell .

Summer Camp Programs Liaison – Penny Belcher informed the Council about a new initiative to enhance the success of summer camp programs by reviving previous camps and creating new camps. In addition to her current job assignment of community relations, Ms. Belcher will serve part-time as Summer Camp Programs Liaison. She will act as facilitator and provide assistance to faculty and staff in the coordination and marketing for camp programs. Successful camp programs are important factors in the recruitment of new students. The Interim Provost asked council members to send a reminder to their faculty and staff to contact Ms. Belcher if they are currently offering or plan to offer any type of summer camp program. If possible information should be provided to Ms. Belcher no later than Friday, December 15.

Winter Mini Semester – Dr. Hendrix reminded council members that Winter Mini classes begin Monday, December 18. The Director of Instructional Technology and Distance Education has sent electronic notices to students reminding them of Winter Mini registration. Currently enrollment for the semester is down, and Deans were reminded that minimum enrollment for classes are 20 (lower level); 15 (upper level) and 10 (graduate level). The Interim Provost provided academic Deans with data for their colleges which reflected tentative courses scheduled for Winter Mini and the number of students enrolled per class.

Faculty Evaluation – The Interim Provost and Dr. Hendrix recently attended the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS-COC) annual meeting in Kissimmee , Florida . They attended various workshops and spoke with other educators regarding quality issues. In spring 2007 our University will implement and utilize the IDEA faculty evaluation process to improve program quality and student learning. IDEA trainers will deliver training to faculty on January 11, 2007. Trainers will meet with faculty and discuss the evaluation system and how it works. In addition to the faculty, training will be delivered to an implementation team which will include Deans. A time for the implementation team training will be announced as soon possible. The Interim Provost stated that the Council's recommendations regarding faculty evaluations were recently shared with the Faculty Senate President, Dr. R. N. Singh, who in turn plans to share the recommendations with Faculty Senate.

Accountability Measures – The Interim Provost shared information he recently received while in attendance at the System Academic Council on November 29. The Draft 2006 Accountability System is available online at: http://www.txhighereddata.org/Interactive/Accountability 2006/ Discussions were held regarding our University rankings compared to other institutions.

System Academic Council Update – MacGregor Stephenson is working with Dr. Flavius Killebrew at TAMU-Corpus on a Task Force in an effort to lower the cost of distance education and increase students' access to higher education opportunities. Dr. Hendrix is working with the Task Force and will provide updates as appropriate.

Next year the Pathways Student Research Symposium will be held at Tarleton State University .

Dr. Frank Ashley will serve as our university's campus contact regarding the 80 th Texas Legislative Session.

Information about the Timely Graduation Pilot Project as specified in TEC§61.070 (SB 30, 79 th Texas Legislature Regular Session) was shared with the Council members. After discussion of the project, a determination was made that the Interim Provost would notify the Coordinating Board regarding our interest in participating in the pilot program.

Honors College – Dr. Mary Hendrix and Dr. Raymond Green have presented the Honors College plan to the President and Provost. The plan is under consideration and it is anticipated a decision regarding the proposed plan will be received by the end of the month.

Library Services Update – The Library is working on a digital library collection. A demonstration will be available for show by next week.

Enrollment Management Updates :

Arena registration for the Winter-Mini and spring semesters is being

conducted today at the Memorial Student Center .

Enrollment figures for new students for spring semester are currently higher than figures at this time 2005. During the second week in December 2005 there were no new students enrolled for the spring semester; however, due to improved enrollment efforts, there are currently 115 new students enrolled for spring 2007.

Enrollment staff have already begun processing fall applications.

This afternoon Dr. Murph plans to meet with peers at Eastfield College . The purpose of the meeting is to discuss TAMU-Commerce's scholarship initiative for Eastfield students who are eligible to transfer to TAMU-Commerce and receive a $1,000 scholarship award.

Graduate Studies and Research Updates :

Dr. Jon Travis, Assistant Dean, plans to contact Department Heads in an effort to encourage faculty to attend the meetings with Dr. Tom Jackson when he is on campus.

Dr. Headley stated faculty assistance will be needed when the Pathway Symposium is held on our campus in 2008. Maximum participation is needed and the research poster project will be continued.

Student Affairs Updates :

Commencement – Ushers (Golden Leos) are prepared and will be present to assist with seating at Commencement ceremonies on December 16.

The Master Plan for renovation of residence housing has been released.

The search for the Director of the Morris Recreational Center is underway.

College of Business and Technology (CBT) Updates :

CBT is developing a college graduation check-out process for graduating students to use prior to filing for graduation with the Registrar Office. This internal process will allow the students to know exactly what courses are needed and prevent problems preventing timely graduation. CBT goal is to have the process completed by January 18 so that it can be used by students planning to graduate in spring 2007 and allow students time to correct any issues before the 12 th class day.

Liberia Project – Dr. Chris Myers is currently in Liberia . There will be a meeting next Tuesday at lunch for those interested in the project. Dr. Meyers will be in attendance and will be providing an update on his visit to Liberia .

CBT has a marketing magazine blitz scheduled for several advertisements to be released in major business magazines in the Dallas metropolitan area. The ads will focus on the CBT programs at TAMU-C.

College of Education and Human Services (COEHS) Updates :

Curriculum and Instruction is working on a proposal with Dallas Independent School District (DISD) regarding available courses for bilingual teachers being hired by the District. The proposal is near completion.