The fifth meeting of the University Faculty Senate for this academic year will take place on Tuesday, February 25, 2003 at 1:30 p.m. in 112 Kern Graduate Building. The Senate welcomes visitors to this plenary session. Members of the University community who are not senators and who wish to address the Senate on an item of business on the day's agenda must seek permission from the Chair of the Senate through the Executive Secretary, Susan Youtz scy1@psu.edu, before Friday noon, February 21, 2003. Presentations may not exceed five minutes.

The agenda will consist of two parts.

1. The Senate will honor Annina Burns (HHD/COMM) and Nicholas Hartman (SCI), students in the Schreyer Honors College who have won Marshall Scholarships for two years of graduate study at a British university. Annina has chosen Oxford, and Nicholas has chosen Cambridge.

President Spanier will address the Senate and answer any questions that senators may pose.

2. The Senate will then discuss seven issues:

a) Current Standing Rules require the Senate to make verbatim transcriptions of all Senate reports. Since sixty-five percent of all reports are informational or mandated, the Senate Committee on Committees and Rules proposes that in the future the Senate Office provide written executive summaries of informational or mandated reports. Legislative and advisory/consultative reports will continue to be transcribed.

b) Fees owed to the University Libraries now amount to more than $337,000; current faculty owe more than $40,000. The Libraries, however, have no mechanism in place to collect such unpaid debts. The Senate will vote on a two-part proposal from the Senate Committee on Libraries to remedy the problem: 1) required payroll deduction, and 2) to adjudicate disputed claims, an Appeals Committee at each college guaranteeing due process.

c) The Senate will discuss the use of ANGEL (A New Global Environment for Learning) during Fall Semester 2002. ANGEL is a course management system that makes it easy for faculty to use the Web in teaching by automating many of the steps necessary to create Webpages, manage a class roster, and communicate with students. During Summer Sessions 2003, ANGEL will acquire many new features.

d) Since its founding in 1998, the World Campus has grown steadily and matured as an increasingly important element of Penn State's service to adult learners. The Senate will discuss the World Campus's programs, students, faculty, sustainability, innovations, and policy issues.

e) Intergroup Dialogue has become a significant method for promoting mutual understanding among various groups on campus. The Senate will discuss its methods and successes.

f) In March 2001, the U.S Department of Justice provided the Center for Women Students with a grant to examine how best to respond to relationship violence issues. The Senate will discuss the Center's plans to distribute to all faculty this Fall Semester easily accessible information concerning the resources available to faculty, staff, and students at all locations.

g) The Senate will discuss the consequences of the changes it made in 2000 to its Academic Integrity Policy. The data show a significant rise in the number of cases reported by faculty. Seventy-four percent of cases involved plagiarism. The most common response was a '0' for the assignment or test.

3. At its February 11, 2003 meeting, Senate Council approved the following:

a) Effective June 30, 2003, the College of Medicine will discontinue the Department of Neuroscience and Anatomy and the Department of Behavioral Science. It will establish three new units: the Department of Neural and Behavioral Sciences and the Department of Neurology effective July 1, 2003, and the Department of Neurosurgery at a later date.

b) The Senate Calendar for 2003-2004

REPORTS DUE SENATE COUNCIL SENATE
August 19, 2003 September 2, 2003 September 16, 2003
September 30, 2003 October 14, 2003 October 28, 2003
November 11, 2003 November 25, 2003 December 9, 2003
January 6, 2004 January 20, 2004 February 3, 2004
February 17, 2004 March 2, 2004 March 16, 2004
March 30, 2004 April 13, 2004 April 27, 2004

4. Six members of the Senate Committee on University Planning will review the new draft of the Request for Proposals to sell Circleville Farm and make recommendations.

The University Faculty Senate functions as the voice of the faculty in the formulation of policies concerning the academic mission of the University. In addition, it exists to serve the needs of all faculty. Please let us hear from you about problems that need a solution or concerns that need attention. Please send your suggestions to me at jwm2@psu.edu (John Moore).

The Senate Agenda will be posted on the Senate's Web site one week prior to each Senate meeting. The February 25 Agenda is available on the Web at the URL http://www.psu.edu/ufs/agendax.html. Senate meeting minutes (The Senate Record) are also available on the Senate Web site at the URL http://www.psu.edu/ufs/recordx.html approximately three weeks following the Senate meeting.

For information on how to submit major, minor, option or course proposals, the Guide to Curricular Procedures is available on the Web from the URL http://www.psu.edu/ufs/docs.html. The February 11 Senate Curriculum Report is available from the URL http://www.psu.edu/ufs/bluex.html.

John Moore, Chair
University Faculty Senate