Deans’ Council Meeting, September 24, 1998
 
Present: Raymond Rodrigues (presiding), José Martín, Marilyn Dyer, Betsy Boze, Farhat Iftekharuddin, Sylvia Peña, Mimosa Stephenson, Jim Holt, Doug Ferrier, Cindy Lerma, Wayne Lewis, Eli Peña, Carolyn Green
 
1. Degree Plans: Carolyn Green and Eli Peña led a discussion of the potential consequences of having students declare a major rather than filing a degree plan. The student would complete a declaration of major form, which would also indicate catalog year and minor (if any), sign it, and have the ARC for that major sign it as well. The student would be given a copy of a program of study checklist and a copy of the checklist would also be attached to the change of major form. Carolyn and Eli will follow up on remaining procedural questions and draft a description of the procedure. Carolyn will draft a memo outlining the new policy. The memo will be sent out by the Provost. Cindy Lerma distributed lists of students by major code as indicated in Fall registration. Deans will use the lists to verify which are declared majors and return the information to Cindy. Cindy will also provide the deans with a similar list for Spring and Summer.
 
2. Opportunities for Collaboration with TSTC: Carolyn Green reported on a meeting with TSTC representatives, Ray Rodrigues, and Tony Zavaleta. UTB/TSC will be working with TSTC to offer more upper division courses on the TSTC campus. The first of these will be related to BAAS degree completion programs. We will also be working with TSTC to design a survey to help identify program needs in the Harlingen area and to explore possible TSTC technical program offerings at UTB/TSC. Carolyn Green will also be working to set up collaboration discussions with the appropriate UTB/TSC representatives and STCC and UT-Pan American.
 
3. IR Candidates Briefing: Cindy Lerma reported that two candidates for the Institutional Research director position had been invited to visit on campus. Dr. Gail Dantzker will meet with Deans’ Council on Oct. 1. Dr. Roberta Cramer is scheduled to be on campus Oct. 8.
 
4. HEAF Fund Allocations: Wayne Lewis led a discussion of how HEAF funds should be allocated across the division. Deans and directors will submit computing equipment needs to Wayne. These reports will be used as input to allocation decisions.
 
5. Fund for Improvement of Postsecondary Education: Mimosa Stephenson reported on FIPSE grant opportunities for fiscal year 1999. She noted that the grant awards average $80,000 per year for a maximum of three years. Preliminary proposals are due Oct. 22. To be competitive, proposals must pursue innovative models that would be applicable to other institutions as well as our own.
 
6. Brownsville READS Symposium: Sylvia Peña distributed a registration form and schedule for the Brownsville READS Symposium to be held September 25. She noted that a session on study skills for special needs college students would be of particular interest to UTB/TSC faculty. The session will be held on our campus.
 
7. Development and Implementation of New Programs: Ray Rodrigues distributed a list of new programs to be developed over the next few years. Deans noted that the list needed to be updated. Carolyn Green will work with the deans to update the list.
 
8. Fall Enrollment: Ray Rodrigues led the group in a discussion of fall enrollment figures. Unduplicated headcount was down 1.7% from Fall 1997. Credit hours were down 2.8% from Fall 1997. Members discussed things that Academic Affairs could do to make Spring registration work more smoothly and contribute to increasing enrollment levels. Ideas included creating a registration information sheet that could be made available to faculty and staff, in-class advising about Spring registration procedures, ensuring that faculty office-hours are spread across the week so that someone is available for advising throughout the week in each department, and providing support for Spring registration peak activity periods.
 
9. Faculty Voting: Betsy Boze reported that questions have arisen recently about which faculty members (e.g., tenured/tenure-track versus full-time) should be able to vote in Senate elections, departmental personnel elections, etc. Betsy and Farhat Iftekharuddin will draft a proposal for review by Deans’ Council.

 
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