Meeting Minutes
Minutes of the Academic Affairs UPC Meeting
May 10, 2005
Meeting held via tri-campus video-conference
Members Present: Paula DeVoto, Alan Gitelson (chair), Sheila
Haas, Patricia Jung,
Fred Kniss, E.J. Neafsey, Tiffany Ying
Members Excused: Anthony Barbato, Emily Preheim
Guests: John Frendreis, Clare Korinek, Prudence Moylan, Sheryl Sommer
The meeting was called to order at 2:30 pm by the chair, Alan Gitelson. Two
corrections were made to the minutes of the April 26th meeting, replacing
"Classical" with "Clinical" and adding an "-n" to a name. The minutes were
then approved as corrected on a motion by Patti Jung and a second by Fred
Kniss. The vote was 7-7-0-0.
Sheila Haas and guest Sheryl Sommer addressed the proposal for the BS in
Health Systems Management, in which they concurred that their present
faculty is sufficient to develop a strong academic program in this area and
that there is a need for such a program for entry-level personnel. This
would be a "non-nursing" major in the School of Nursing as are the food &
nutrition and the dietetics programs. It would also be an attractive
option, Sheila observed, noting that Georgetown University had actually
shrunk its nursing program to accommodate the growth in its health systems
management program. This type of program can grow and generate revenue
because, unlike nursing which is restricted by defined clinical and
faculty-student ratios, this program does not have a clinical component.
Loyola's School of Nursing is presently at or over its limits for the
clinical (10-1) faculty-student ratio and it is out of classroom and
laboratory space. Committee members recommended clarification on point #2
of the proposal, "Rationale," noting that the interdisciplinary program will
include "administrative personnel from LUHS who will guest-lecture" and not
really include courses from LUHS. E.J. noted a distinction between LUHS,
LUMC and SSOM, and Sheila clarified that the guest lecturers could be drawn
from any of these.
The predicted enrollment for this program is 160 with a capacity to grow to
400. Patti noted a theology course THEO 193 "Moral Problems: Health Care
Issues" taught by Dr. Aana Vigen which would dovetail nicely for the core
component in this undergraduate major. In the suggested "advising plan"
there is an option for a Rome Center semester in the Fall of a student's
junior year. An internship is integral to the proposal and there is ample
opportunity for service experiences.
E. J. moved and Patti seconded the AA-UPC's endorsement of the proposal.
The vote was 6-0-2. The committee also complimented Sheila on the format of
the proposal and suggested she give a workshop to other schools and
departments in the University.
A discussion about the academic calendar took place. John Frendreis
explained how the present academic calendar for 2005-2006 happened and
observed that the calendar is basically developed by administrators and
approved by the president and the vice presidents. The beginning date for
the Spring semester is generally guided by two aspects: the schedule of
readiness for the residence halls and the date of graduation in May. In a
Spring term the MWF week loses MLK Monday, Easter Monday, and Good Friday.
To balance out the MWF week with the TTh week, it was necessary to add
another week to the semester.
He apologized to the AA-UPC for not requesting its perspective earlier. It
is, however, too late now to change the Spring 2006 calendar since students,
parents, and others have already made plans, purchased tickets, etc. For
the faculty the substantive change to the Spring calendar is that there is
an extra week to teach. Prudence Moylan on behalf of Faculty Council
presented a letter of issues in which some faculty noted that their
contractual availability is for nine months only, which usually includes one
week after and two weeks prior to a semester. Adding this extra week will
force them into "overtime" without compensatory pay. They also noted that
there are more T Th classes in the Spring now due to the extra week and
their classes are in fact not balanced at all with their MWF classes, so
they need to adjust their syllabi. Another issue is faculty time for
research.
Although no change can be made to the Spring 2006 calendar, the AA-UPC was
requested to consider the academic calendar [as it is part of its charge] at
its initial meeting in the Fall and to establish minimal criteria for
setting the 2006-2007 and 2007-2008 academic calendars. It should address
the aspect of balancing the MWF classes between the Fall and Spring terms,
and balancing the T Th classes between the Fall and Spring terms.
Tiffany reminded the committee that student input on the academic calendar
is extremely critical as the students are affected as well as the faculty.
Other aspects to be considered: student travel, move-in dates, student
services, staffing, food service, etc. One suggestion was to begin the
semester on the W after MLK day rather than the T.
In addition to a discussion on the academic calendar, the provost presented
other items for the Fall agenda of the AA-UPC:
the academic direction of the Rome Center should
the Rome Center offer its own degrees? is it a Loyola college or a
distinct entity? similar to Saint Joseph Seminary? the academic
direction for each of the Chicago campuses the quality of academic
programming distance learning Centers of excellence" the
direction for the School of Professional Studies Water Tower Campus
initiatives the new core curriculum the issue of internships for all
the professional schools the effective ness of the Sullivan Center's
"one-stop shopping" academic support services unit deans' evaluations -
where are we?
Additional subjects, as suggested by faculty, will be placed on the agenda
for the Fall 2005 including faculty questions regarding Rome Center policy
in recruiting LSC & WTC teaching faculty.
Pete did confirm that the proposal for a 120 s.h. baccalaureate had been
approved for students 23 or older who are matriculated in any of the
undergraduate colleges. Students under the age of 23 must still earn 128
s.h. minimally for a bachelor's degree.
Fred recommended that we adopt a "Consent Agenda" such as the Graduate
Council uses wherein simple issues on the AA-UPC's agenda are merely voted
"up" or "down" and occasion no discussion. He also reminded the committee
that the six proposals from CAS on our agenda today should not have come to
the AA-UPC as we had determined in a prior session that such items need only
dean's/provost's approval.
The question was asked as to whether the UCC should be sending items to the
AA-UPC rather than receiving them directly from constituencies. Pete
responded that either avenue was appropriate. In fact, the UCC itself will
be considering the list of five questions regarding the Rome Center. The
UCC will need to become more directive regarding consultation and send an
issue only to one UPC rather than to several, which seems to bog down and
stymie the process.
Alan thanked E.J., Sheila, Fred, Tiffany, and Emily, all of whom will be
leaving the AA-UPC, for their year(s) of service. The meeting adjourned at
3:50 pm on a congratulatory note to Tiffany who will be graduating this
month after a motion by Patti and a second by Paula. The vote was 7-0-1.