AVÀÇÂÛ̳

The Administrative Committee on behalf of the UAF Faculty Senate 
passed the following motion at a meeting on May 20, 1993.


MOTION
=======

The UAF Faculty Senate moves to confirm the appointment of 
Kristine Long, CES, and John Aspnes, SOE, on the University-wide 
Promotion and Tenure Committee with full membership rights, under 
the condition that they will abstain from participation in discussion 
and voting on any candidate who they reviewed at an earlier level in 
the promotion/tenure process.  


	EFFECTIVE: 	Immediately



Signed:  B.D. Spell, President, UAF Faculty Senate	Date:  5/25/93


				


1993-94 UNIVERSITY-WIDE PROMOTION & TENURE COMMITTEE 
MEMBERSHIP

John Aspnes, SOE (95)
Don Carling, SALRM (95)
Karen Colligan-Taylor, CLA (96)
Paul Metz, SME (94)
John Olson, CNS (94)
Jerry Lipka, CLA/SOEd. (96)
Kristine Long, CES (96)
Joli Morgan, CRA (94)
Kelley Pace, SOM (95)
Donald Schell, SFOS (96)


-------------------------------------------------------------

The Administrative Committee on behalf of the UAF Faculty Senate 
passed the following at a meeting on August 31, 1993:


MOTION PASSED
==============

The UAF Faculty Senate moves to approve the following policy on 
Student-Initiated Withdrawal to apply to all Fairbanks campus 
courses (i.e., all UAF courses except those given by the rural 
campuses or the Center for Distance Education).


That the last day for student-initiated withdrawal date be moved to 
the third Friday after classes begin for all students.

That for classes less than a semester in length, the withdrawal 
deadline will be determined in the same proportion as for semester 
length courses.  

That withdrawals after that time will be by petition only which 
requires the signature of the student's instructor, adviser, 
department head, and Dean.

That students who are already on a class wait list and who have 
attended class and have kept up with class activity during this 
period be allowed to register for these classes up until the third 
Friday after classes begin as vacancies occur.


	EFFECTIVE: 	Fall 1994

	RATIONALE:	Currently the last day for a student to 
		withdraw from a class is 9 weeks into the semester 
		which is approximately 2/3 of the way through the 
		semester.  The Director of Admissions and Records 
		reported to the Assembly in 1984 that 44% of regular 
		students had some sort of drop/add activity between the 
		3rd and 9th week of the semester.  She has indicated that 
		since then this activity has increased and is probably 
		now over 50%.  Since the addition of the core, many 
		students find it difficult to expeditiously satisfy their 
		core requirements due to closed classes.  This problem is 
		exacerbated by the present drop policy.

		The purpose for making this motion is two fold:

		1.  The first and principal reason for this motion is to 
		help students who are unable to get into core courses in 
		a timely manner because of closed classes.  Many 
		students who are not serious about finishing a particular 
		class sign up for an extra class or two and then drop 
		them too late in the semester for other students to fill 
		the vacancies.  This is particularly troublesome in the 
		case of core courses which are intended to be completed 
		by students before they achieve Junior standing.  This 
		proposal will allow students, who are on a waiting list 
		for a filled class and have kept up with the classroom 
		activities for just over two weeks, an increased 
		opportunity to register for these classes.
 
		A related factor that should be considered during this 
		time of decreasing budgets is that there is presently a 
		significant work load (and cost) for faculty, graders, and 
		teaching assistants which goes along with carrying along 
		students who in the end drop a class.  The University is 
		at a point where we must efficiently use our staff and 
		facilities in order to provide the maximum offerings for 
		our students.
 
		2.  The second reason for the motion is to get students to 
		commit themselves to a class at an earlier date.  
		Presently there are students who attend classes, half 
		heartedly performing the exercises required in the 
		classes, but leaving themselves the option of dropping if 
		they don't believe their grade will be as high as they 
		wish.  This is a self defeating proposition, since often 
		the reason for a student's low grade is not having made a 
		commitment to learning the course materials.   Thus, 
		this proposal will produce a class atmosphere that is 
		more conducive to learning.

		SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS:

		Recognizing that beginning students may not have the 
		necessary experience to be able to quickly determine if 
		they have the proper background to succeed in a course, 
		this motion will give Freshman and Non Degree students 
		a longer time to make the decision to drop a course.  This 
		will give these students more time to work with 
		advisers, course instructor, and tutors before making a 
		decision to drop a class.  

		Special cases will certainly arise where it will be 
		necessary for a student to drop a class.  The motion 
		allows for these situations by requiring the petition 
		process be used after the deadline date.  
 
		Students will need an early indication of how they are 
		doing in each class if this drop policy is to be successful.  
		Indeed, "Students overwhelmingly report that the single 
		most important ingredient for making a course effective 
		is getting rapid response on assignments and quizzes.  
		This makes each assignment a genuine learning 
		experience, rather than simply an obligation to complete 
		toward a final course grade." (Light, Harvard assessment 
		seminars, 1990, p. 31) 

		Therefore faculty will need to provide students with the 
		opportunity to determine what the class requirements 
		are before the drop date.  This should include a detailed 
		syllabus and at least one graded assignment.  The added 
		time provided for Freshman and Non Degree Students 
		should provide ample time for additional graded work 
		such as exams and papers.



Signed:  D.B. Spell, President, UAF Faculty Senate	Date:  9/2/93


Approved:  J. Wadlow, Chancellor    	Date:  9/7/93

*See Spell memo, Sept. 1 setting 3 weeks.  I endorse it.  



UA