Deans Council Meeting
Boardroom, BA 290
September 23, 2008

Attendance: Dr. Mary Hendrix, Dr. Sharon Johnson, Dr. Hal Langford, Dr. Brent Mangus, Dr. David Crenshaw, Dr. Allan Headley, Dr. Deborrah Hebert and Ms. Stephanie Holley. Minutes taken and submitted by Cynthia Rhodes.

Grants and Contracts – Sarah Baker, Financial Services, presented a power point presentation to Deans Council members which was also presented to faculty members with active grants at a recent workshop. The principal investigator is responsible for the proper fiscal management and monitoring of the grant and its activities. All technical and financial reports must be submitted and are housed in the Financial Services office. If faculty have questions regarding their grants, they are encouraged to contact Ms. Baker for assistance.

Winter-Minis – Deans were requested to meet with department heads and notify the Provost of any ideas that faculty may have for winter-mini courses, specifically those on the graduate level. The Provost asked that proposals be submitted to her office no later than October 6th.

Textbooks – Deans were asked to remind their department heads and faculty to submit their textbook adoptions to the bookstore the day after the course schedule is published. Adoptions can be sent to the bookstore online. The bookstore will provide the deans with a list of faculty who have not submitted their textbook information.

Enrollment - Dean Holley presented the Fall 2008-20th Class Day Report. Deans requested the number of sections (undergraduate/graduate) be included on future reports. Dean Holley asked deans to notify her if there is additional data  they would like reflected on the report. Thirty-two students were dropped for non-payment. Credit hours are lower than during previous reporting periods. Plans to increase credit hours were discussed. Discussion was also held regarding earlier planning and improvement with the drop list and its process and whether or not charges relating to the repeat rule should be re-visited. Data need to be obtained regarding how much revenue is lost due to the current policy. This issue will be reviewed and addressed by the Enrollment Management and Retention committee chaired by Dr. Johnson. 

2009 Orientation Dates – The following proposed dates were approved by Deans Council for 2009 New Student Orientation Sessions:

After approving the proposed dates, Deans recommended that an orientation session be added sometime in April to target preferred students for fall admission. Suggestions were also made that registration should be restructured so that students can commit to the university sooner.  Discussion was held regarding the benefits of planning a student symposium with a keynote speaker during orientation on an April Saturday.

Mane Event – This event is scheduled for October 11th with a welcome at 9:00 a.m. If Council members are unable to attend the welcome, they are requested to notify Dean Holley regarding who will be attending in their place. The current projection for attendance is to have approximately 1,000 on campus. Deans and/or their representatives may have a special interest in being introduced at the 9:00 a.m. Welcome, attending their Academic Session from 10:00 a.m.–11:40 a.m. and socializing at lunch from 12:30 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Cotton Bowl Football Game – On October 18th the Lions will play in the Cotton Bowl. This is a great opportunity for a recruiting event; therefore, enrollment staff will have tables set up for recruitment activities. Dean Holley encouraged all Deans Council members and their colleges/division to participate in this event.

Student Affairs staff are developing a plan regarding student transportation via buses and/or vans to the Cotton Bowl. If space is available, availability may be extended to faculty and/or staff so that they may purchase tickets which include transportation. As soon as plans are finalized, everyone will be notified.  

Outdoor Adventure – The President Advisory Council has approved the plans for the Outdoor Adventure area. Several activities are planned for the area. Dr. Johnson requested that coordination effort be made with Sarah White, Camp Coordinator.

Collin College (CC) – Dean Holley recently met with Collin College administrators regarding the Weekend College program. Consideration needs to be given to enhance the pre-admission partnership with Collin College, as well as, designation of scholarships for CC students.

Research Ethics Training Plan – Dr. Headley presented a draft Research and Ethics Training Plan and asked for Deans Council’s input. Deans suggested removing the reference to the Master’s Degree Research Component, 595 and insert a statement to reflect that an embedded statement will be every Master’s program by Spring 2009. The Deans suggested that a plan be in place to include ethics in all Freshman Success Seminar courses. Deans were requested to notify the Graduate School of any training being presented in their colleges regarding ethics. Some faculty currently address ethics in their syllabus.

Courtesy Committee – The Courtesy Committee has been disbanded because of insufficient contributions. Departments are to address memorials on their own for faculty and staff needs. If students are involved, the Provost Office is to be contacted for funding.

Department Head Evaluation – Dr. Johnson presented a draft form of a Department Head Evaluation instrument and asked that Deans review and discuss the instrument with their Executive Councils.

College of Business and Technology (CBT) – A mock review team from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) will be on campus this week.

College of Education and Human Services (COEHS) -  Through the coordinated efforts of COEHS, Technology Services, and the Provost Office, plans are underway for adjunct faculty to receive University email addresses.