xt702v2cc19b https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt702v2cc19b/data/mets.xml University of Kentucky. University Senate University of Kentucky. Faculty Senate Kentucky University of Kentucky. University Senate University of Kentucky. Faculty Senate 1993-04-12  minutes 2004ua061 English   Property rights reside with the University of Kentucky. The University of Kentucky holds the copyright for materials created in the course of business by University of Kentucky employees. Copyright for all other materials has not been assigned to the University of Kentucky. For information about permission to reproduce or publish, please contact the Special Collections Research Center. University of Kentucky. University Senate (Faculty Senate) records Minutes (Records) Universities and colleges -- Faculty University of Kentucky University Senate (Faculty Senate) meeting minutes, April 12, 1993 text University of Kentucky University Senate (Faculty Senate) meeting minutes, April 12, 1993 1993 1993-04-12 2020 true xt702v2cc19b section xt702v2cc19b LHMVERSHY OF KENTUCKY

LEXINGTON. KENTUCKY 40506-0032

UNIVERSITY SENATE COUNCIL
10 ADMINISTRATION BUILDING

2 April 1993

Members, University Senate

The University Senate will meet in regular session on Monday,

a 1993, at 3:00PM in room 115 of the Nursing Building
(CON/HSLC .

Minutes: 8 March 1993
Chair's Announcements
Resolutions

Action Items

a. Proposal to amend College of Law rules on Readmission.
(Circulated under date of 2 April 1993.)

b. Proposal to establish separate College of Law rules on
withdrawal by students. (Circulated under date of 1 April
1993.)

Proposal. to add. to University Senate Rules, Section V —
5.1.2.1 College of Law, the University Marking System and
courses taken on a Pass/Fail basis. (Circulated under date
of 31 March 1993.)

 

Proposal to limit number of Pass/Fail Units creditable for
College of Law students (circulated under date of 30 March
1993).

Randall Dahl
Secretary

AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY UNIVERSITY

 

 MINUTES OF THE UNIVERSITY SENATE, APRIL l2, 1993

The University Senate met in regular session at 3:00 p.m., Monday, April l2,
l993, in Room ll5 of the Nursing Health Sciences Building.

John J. Piecoro, Jr., Chairperson of the Senate Council, presided.

Members absent were: Virginia Atwood, Robert S. Baker*, John R. Ballentine*,
Mark C. Berger, John J. Bernardo, Glenn C. Blomquist, Thomas 0. Blues*, Douglas A.
Boyd, Carolyn S. Bratt, Joseph T. Burch, D. Allan Butterfield*, Lauretta Byars,
Rutheford B Campbell, Jr., Clyde R. Carpenter, Ben W. Carr, Chris Carrico, Edward
A. Carter, Shea Chaney, Donald B. Clapp, Charlie Clark, Jordan L. Cohen, Georgia C.
Collins*, Audrey L. Companion, Sarah Coursey, Clifford J. Cremers*, Paul
deMesquita, David Denton, David S. Durant, Jr.*, Richard Edwards, Joseph L. Fink
III, Donald T. Frazier*, Michael B. Freeman, Richard W. Furst, Joseph H. Gardner*,
Stuart Gay, Todd A. Griffin, Robert D. Guthrie, Lynne A. Hall, J. John Harris 111,
Zafar S. Hasan*, Christine Havice, Robert E. Hemenway, James Hertog, Donald L.
HochstraSser, Don A. Howard*, Richard A. Jensen, Richard I. Kermode*, Kevin S.
Kiernan*, James Knoblett, Kenneth K. Kubota, James M. Kuder*, Carl W. Lee, Thomas
W. Lester, C. Oran Little, William E. Lyons, Linda J. Magid*, Justin Marriott,
Marcus T. McEllistrem, Pamela McMahon, Richard S. Milich*, Sandra Miller, Karen A.
Mingst, William G. Moody*, James S. Mosbey, Anthony L. Newberry, Robert C. Noble,
Pete November, Clayton P. Omvig, Barbara Phillips, Clyde D. Poe*, Rhoda-Gale
Pollack, Leigh Ann Poynter, Daniel R. Reedy, Thomas C. Robinson, Tracy Rogers,
Ellen B. Rosenman*, Minni Saluja, Arturo A. Sandoval, David Sanford, Michael C.
Shannon, Candi Smith, Crystal Smith, Thomas Stipanowich, David H. Stockham, Louis
J. Swift, Michael G. Tearney*, Phillip A. Tibbs, Miroslaw Truszczynski, Charles T.
Wethington*, Carolyn A. Williams*, Eugene R. Williams, Emery A. Wilson.

The Chair called the last scheduled meeting of the Senate to order.

The Chair stated the minutes for the March 8, l993 meeting were in press and
would be available soon.

The Chair made the following announcements:

The first announcement was the possibility of one more Senate Meeting during
this semester. The meeting would be held on April 26, l993, at 3:00 p.m. in Room
ll5 of the Health Science Learning Center. The purpose of the meeting would be
that the Academic Organization and Structure Committee is reviewing two proposals
for reorganization. If that Committee can conclude their work soon enough on the
proposals to make a recommendation, there will then be a meeting on April 26th.
There will be an agenda put forth for the meeting.

Reorganization Proposals - The Academic Organization and Structure Committee
is reviewing two proposals. One is to merge the Colleges of Communications and

* Absence Explained

 

 Minutes, University Senate, April 12, l993

Library and Information Science. The committee has indicated that they cannot
recommend the proposal in its present form and had requested more information and
elaboration on the proposal. The other proposal is to merge the Department of
Telecommunications and the School of Journalism in the College of Communications.
The committee is in the process of reviewing that proposal. The committee will try
to expedite the process so they may be able to act on the propOSal this semester.

Election of Faculty Board of Trustees Member - Professor Loys Mather from
Agriculture Economics was elected as the newest faculty member on the Board of
Trustees. The history of the balloting follows. On the nominating ballot, the
following eight faculty members received the highest nUmber of votes (weighted as
Specified in the rules):

James L. Applegate (l03 votes) Loys L. Mather (320 votes
Daniel L. Fulks (l2 votes) John J. Piecoro, Jr. (l2 votes)
Robert D. Guthrie (l2 votes) Keith K. Schillo (52 votes)
William E. Lyons (40l votes) A. Byron Young (34 votes)

0n subsequent election ballots, the following votes were recorded.
First Ballot Second Ballot* Final Ballot**

James L. Applegate l04 104 -
Daniel L. Fulks 30 - ' --
Robert D. Guthrie l8 - -
William E. Lyons 248 30l 358
Loys L. Mather 243 360 407
John J. Piecoro, Jr. 3l — -
Keith K. Schillo 45 -
A. Byron Young 72 - —
TOTAL 79) . 7b5 7bb

Professor Mather will replace Professor Carolyn Bratt on July l, l993. At the
first Senate Meeting of the Fall l993 Semester there will be some formal remarks
about Professor Bratt's tenure on the Board of Trustees. The Chair asked the
Senate to join him in congratulating Professor Mather on his election. The Senate
gave Professor Mather a round of applause.

There will be a discussion item later in this meeting led by Professor Deborah
Powell on the implications and various impacts of the most recent budget cuts.

University Research Professorships — Last week at the Board of Trustees
meeting, the Board approved the naming of three professors as University Research
Professors. Professor Dwight Billings of the Department of Sociology, Professor
Moshe Elitzer of the Department of Physics and Astronomy, and Professor Joseph A.
Kuc of the Department of Plant Pathology. Research Professors were first named in
March 1977 and the Chair is pleased to indicate that the establishment of Research
Professors came out of a recommendation from the Senate Research Committee. The
Senate made a recommendation to the President in l976. There have been Research
Professorships since l977.

President Charles wethington commissioned the Institute for Research and Higher
and Adult Education of the University of Maryland to examine the senior level

 

 Minutes, University Senate, April 12, 1993

organization structure of the University with a focus on improving efficiency in
carrying out both University wide and sector functions. The consultants, Professor
Robert Berdahl, Director of the Institute and Professor of Higher Education at
Maryland, and Harold Enarson, former President of Ohio State University and now a
Senior Consultant to the Western Interstate Commission on Higher Education, have
already begun to conduct the study. They have done this by reViewing pertinent
information and reports and interviewing with administrators, faculty, and student
leaders knowledgeable about the central issues. The consultants were here about
two weeks ago and hopefully will conclude their process by the end of June.

Kentucky Open Records Law - Last month the Senate confirmed the Senate
Council's resolution to the Commonwealth Attorney General regarding interpretation
of the Open Records Law. A letter of reaffirmation was sent to the Attorney
General and as of this morning a ruling has not been rendered. The Senate Council
also sent another resolution to the President requesting that University policy be
established to inform faculty members when third parties request access to faculty
personnel files. The Chair would like to read part of the President's response to
the request.

Within the provisions of the Kentucky Open Records Law, I share your
interest in the protection of the privacy of University faculty“ When
the Open Records Law does require the release of information in faculty
personnel files to third parties, the University must respond to the
request as soon as the records can be made available but in no more
than three working days unless the records can't be located within that
period. In the context of the very tight response requirements of the
law we will ask the relevant college to notify the faculty member when
information from his or her personal file_has been requested. He will
provide the faculty member with a copy of the official University
reSponse to the request. If the faculty member wishes to approve the
release of information not required by the law, he or she may forward a
written request to the college authorizing the release of the
information.

Sincerely,

Charles T. wethington

If anyone (third party) inquires about a faculty member's personnel records, the
University will inform the faculty member about that.

There is an update on the admission of freshman for the Fall of l993. Last
month at the Senate meeting, Chancellor Hemenway reported on freshman statistics
for this year and at the end of his presentation presented some information
regarding l993 freshmen. Since then Joseph Fink, Director of Admissions, has
issued updated figures as of the end of March l993. Applications are up l2.7%
above l992, admissions are up 8%, in-state applications are up l0%, out—of-state
applications are up 16.6%, in-state admissions are up 5.3%, and out-of—state
admissions are up 12.3%. With regard to African American applicants, applications
are up 44.4% over last year and admissions up 52.5%. There is also some
information about confirmed students. A confirmed student is an incoming freshman
who has returned his or her blue confirmation card. The receipt of this card ’
indicates an intent to attend the students assigned advising conference for fall

 

 Minutes, University Senate, April 12, 1993

registration. Confirmations are up 9.4% over 1992, in-state confirmations are up
5%, out-of-state 21%, and African American confirmations nearly 100%. A lot of
this can be attributed to our recent ranking published several months ago.

Professor Dan Fulks has asked that an announcement be made about a breakfast
meeting in which the Senate Council is hosting representatives from the deans
offices. The meeting will be held on April 30, 1993. The Council is requesting
those individuals from the deans offices who are involved with academic affairs to
meet with the Senate Council to discuss and identify academic issues that cut
across colleges, so that pertinent issues may be taken to the Senate for action.
This is a group that met regularly several years ago.

The Chair, since this is his last scheduled meeting as the presiding officer of
the Senate before the reins are turned over to Professor Dan Fulks, would like to
take the Opportunity to thank those peOple who played such a vital role in the work
of the Senate. He would like to personally thank all the members of the Senate
Council. This group has put in an enormous amount of time, voluntary work, that
makes it possible for the Senate body to accomplish its business through that
smaller group, the Council. He then thanked each of the senators for accepting the
responsibility and for their devotion to the work of the Senate. Thanks were
expressed to Randall Dahl and Susan Caldwell for accurately and efficiently
providing the minutes for all of the Senate meetings and deliberations. Thanks to
Gifford Blyton, who is the Parliamentarian and an emeritus faculty member. He
graciously gives up his time to be here and keeps us on the up and up, following
the rules of order in conducting our business. I would like to personally thank
him. Thanks also to Joanne Davis and Jacquie Hager who function as Sargeants at
Arms in an exemplary fashion. I would like to thank the administrative officers of
the University; the President, Vice-President, Chancellors, Vice Chancellors, and
the Deans for the splendid cooperation that they have provided me and members of
the Council whenever anything was requested from them. Lastly I would like to
thank someone whose efforts are greatly responsible for the business of the Senate
and the Senate Council and that is Celinda Todd. She provides both the continuity
and the institutional memory that is essential to the effective and efficient
operation of the Senate. I don't think I could have done as good of a job if it
weren't for her efforts and all of yours. Would you join me in applauding
yourselves and all of those individuals. Thank you very much.

Professor Jesse Neil (Physics) stated that when Vice-President Magid announced
that there would only be two research professorships this year as opposed to the
four that had been established for many years, a number of people told her they
thought the cutting back from four to two was a bad idea. He is now inquiring if
three professorships is a move back in policy from the announced two or is it a one
time situation. The Chair said he did not know, but would try to get an answer for
him. .

The Chair announced that everyone may not have received each of the agenda
items relative to the four action items prior to the ten day notice. He asked
that the ten day rule be waived.

The Chair recognized Professor Dan Fulks, Chair elect of the Senate Council to
present the first action item. Professor Fulks stated there were four action items
all relative to the College of Law and there were representatives there from the
College to help out with any clarifications. Professor Fulks referred to Action

 

 Minutes, University Senate, April l2, l993

Item A which was circulated under the date of 2 April l993. He stated that the
proposal concerned readmission to the College of Law and essentially would clarify
and make more specific what the College means by material progress toward raising
cumulative GPA. The current rule states in order to be readmitted after the end of
the second semester the student must either raise their cumulative GPA to a 2.0 or
make material progress toward having done that. Material progress is defined as
having at least a minimum of 2.0 GPA for that semester. This proposal comes from
the Senate Council with recommendation for approval.

The question was called. The proposal passed with a unanimous voice vote and
reads as follows: ' '

AGENDA ITEM: Proposal to amend College of Law rules on Readmission

Proposal: [add underlined portion; delete material in brackets]

V.3.3.l. b. Readmission
Any student dropped for poor scholarship may petition the
Law Faculty Academic Status Committee for readmission. A
recommendation to the Dean for readmission is within the
discretion of the Committee; however, in most cases, the
following policies will guide the Committee: a student
dropped after the first semester will be required to
petition the full Faculty for readmission; in the case of
students dropped at the end of the second semester, a
student with a cumulative grade average of l.9 and above
will normally be readmitted, a student with a cumulative
average of l.7 to l.89 may be readmitted but will be
carefully scrutinized, and a student with a cumulative
average below l.7 will normally not be readmitted; any
student dropped at the end of the third semester or
thereafter will be subject to case-by-case analysis.

Any student who is readmitted after being dropped at the end
of the second semester and who fails to raise his or her
cumulative grade point average to 2.0 by the end of the
third semester will be readmitted again at that time only if
he or she has made Lmnst/mdkej material progress toward
raiSing his or her cumulative grade point average to 2.0.
Material progress at a minimum shall mean obtaining a 2.0
GPA for the semester. Moreover, such student must raise his
or her cumulative average to 2.0 by the end of the fourth
semester. In addition to the foregoing academic standards
for readmission, the Committee may impose additional
academic standards in individual cases, and in any case may
impose other reasonable conditions of readmission including,
but not limited to, limitation of outside work,
specification of schedule of study (including specification
of particular courses and limitation of hours), and the
limitation of extracurricular activities. The Committee with
the approval of the full law faculty may also require the
repetition of courses either with or without substitution of

 

 

 Minutes, University Senate, April l2, l993

the grades awarded in the courses retaken. Failure to comply
with the requirements and conditions of readmission will
result in the student being dropped again from the College,
[d/g¢¢¢nn/¢1m¢] in which case he or she will not be
readmitted without approval of the University Senate Council
upon the recommendation of the Dean following action by the
full Law Faculty. Any student aggrieved at any time by
recommendation of the Academic Status Committee may petition
the full Law Faculty for review.(US: l2/4/89)

For purposes of the above rules, a student who is required
by the Academic Status Committee to repeat fourteen (14) or
more hours of the freshman curriculum in his or her third
and fourth semester will be considered as enrolled in his or
her first and second semesters.

A student who has once been dropped for poor scholarship and
who fails to have a 2.0 cumulative average at the end of the
semester or summer session in which he or she completes the
90th hour of course work will not be allowed to graduate
from the College of Law. Such student will not be allowed to
enroll in additional hours of course work in an attempt to
achieve a 2.0 cumulative average. (US:ll/8/76)

***********

Rationale: The basic purpose of the proposal is to clarify the
ex1sting rule. -

Implementation Date: Fall Semester, l993

Professor Fulks then introduced Action Item B, dated l April l993. The
proposal concerns withdrawal from the College of Law and for readmission
thereafter. He stated there were several individual points on this circulation.
Section A, General Policy, is actually general expectation and that is, all
students enrolled in the college are expected to complete the requirements without
interruption other than the normal vacation periods. Section 8 Item 1, sets the
procedures for students who wish to withdraw from the College or University during
the end of the first year of law study. Readmission is not automatic. It then
sets the procedures by which the student would go about petitioning for
readmission. Item 2 in similar fashion is for students who withdrawal after the
first year. It sets the procedures for the withdrawal process and also refers to
Section D for the procedure for readmission. Section C sets the procedures for
withdrawal for individual courses or seminars. To withdraw from a course or
seminar within the first half of a semester or summer session, the student must
submit a completed course withdrawal card to the Dean's designate. The student may
withdraw from a course or seminar during the last half of a semester or summer
session only on petition certifying reasons relating to illness or equivalent
distress. This petition must be apprbved by both the instructor and the Dean's
designate. Section D sets the procedures for readmission after what is termed a
leave of absence. This proposal comes from the Senate Council, if approved it
would have to be codified by the Rules Committee. The Senate Council recommends
approval of this proposal.

 

 Minutes, University Senate, April l2, l993

The Chair stated since the proposal came from the Senate Council it required no
second. There was no discussion. The question was called and in a voice vote the
proposal unanimously passed. The proposal reads as follows:

AGENDA ITEM: Proposal to establish separate College of Law rules on
Withdrawal by Students. '

 

Proposal:

A. General Policy

All students enrolled in the College of Law are expected to
complete their degree requirements without interruption other than
for regularly scheduled vacation periods. It is expected that
students will complete all courses or seminars in which they are
enrolled. The following rules govern the situations where exceptions
to this policy are necessary.

8. Withdrawal From the College and University

l. First-year students are expected to complete their first year
of law study without interruption. If a student withdraws from the
College and University during his or her first year of law study,
readmission is not automatic. If a student withdraws during the
first semester of law study, applications for readmission will be
referred to the Admissions Committee; if a firsteyear student
withdraws during the second semester, applications for readmission
will be referred to the Academic Status Committee; provided that in
either of the above withdrawal situations, the Dean's designate may
grant a special leave of absence for the balance of the academic year
for reasons relating to extended illness or equivalent distress.

2. After completion of all required first-year courses, a
student who withdraws from the College of Law and the University is
subject to the rules stated herein regarding readmission after a
leave of absence and grades for students who withdraw. To officially
withdraw from the College of Law, a student must report to the
University Registrar's Office to obtain a withdrawal card; this card
must be signed by the Dean of the College of Law or the Dean's
designate. If a student plans to complete a semester, but not
reenroll for the subsequent semester, he or she must give the Dean's
designate written notice of such intention.

C. Withdrawal From Individual Courses or Seminars

A second-year student, a third-year student, or a first—year
student with special permission of the Dean's designate may withdraw
from any course or seminar within the first half of a semester or
summer session. To withdraw from a course or seminar within the
first half of a semester or summer session, the student must submit a
completed course withdrawal card to the Dean's designate. A student

 

 Minutes, University Senate, April 12, l993

may withdraw from a course or seminar during the last half of a
semester or summer session only on petition certifying reasons
relating to extended illness or equivalent distress. This petition
must be approved by the instructor and the Dean's designate.

D. Readmission After a Leave of Absence

1. If a student withdraws from the College and University or
does not continue enrollment and has complied with paragraph 8(2) of
this rule, the student will routinely be readmitted_to the College
provided that the student is in good standing and the absence was not
longer than two semesters plus one summer term. No student will be
readmitted pursuant to this paragraph more than one time.

2. A student who intends to remain away from the College for
more than 2 semesters plus one summer term must request permission
for a Leave of Absence. These requests are not routinely granted and
will be referred to the Academic Status C0mmittee for recommendation
to the Dean.

3. Readmission for students who are not entitled to readmission
pursuant to paragraphs B, D(l), or 0(2) of this rule is not
automatic. Applications for such readmission will be referred to the
Academic Status Committee for a recommendation to the Dean. The
Academic Status Committee may consider all relevant facts and
circumstances, including the length of time out of the College and
reasons for the absence. The Committee and Dean will normally not
approve readmission for any student who has been away from the
College for six regular semesters. Reasonable conditions, including
the repetition of courses for no credit, may be imposed if

readmission is approved. .
- **-k~k*~k*~k**~k~k**

Rationale: The College of Law wishes to establish a separate
Withdrawal policy for College of Law students. The policy was
developed by the College and reviewed and revised by both the
Admissions and Academic Standards Committee and the Senate Council.
All three groups now recommend adoption of the proposed rules.

Implementation: Fall, l993
If approved, this would have to be codified by the Rules Committee.

Professor Fulks stated the next two items would be out of order. Item D
concerning Pass/Fail, circulated under 30 March l993 date would be the next item
for discussion. Currently, students can take up to 12 hours of credit on a
Pass/Fail basis to be counted for graduation requirements. This represents about
l3 percent of the total degree requirements which the College deems excessive.
This proposal would reduce the number of Pass/Fail credits that would be counted
toward graduation requirements. This proposal comes from the Senate Council and
would have to be forwarded to the Rules Committee for codification. The Senate
Council recommends approval.

The Chair stated the proposal came from the Senate Council and did not require
a second. The floor was opened for discussion. There were no questions and the

motion unanimously passed. The prOposal reads as follows:

 

 Minutes, University Senate, April l2, l993

AGENDA ITEM: Proposal to limit the number of Pass/Fail units
creditable for College of Law students

Proposal:

(a) No more than 6 hours of graduate courses outside of the law
school, graded on a pass/fail basis, shall be counted.

No more than 6 hours of courses in the law school that are
offered only on a pass/fail basis shall be counted.

No more than 9 of the total number of pass/fail credit hours,
whether earned for graduate school courses under (a) or for law
school courses offered only on a pass/fail basis under (b),
shall be counted.

No more than one gradUate school course outside the law school,
graded on a pass/fail basis, may be credited in any one semester.

Students in joint degree programs may only take up to six
pass/fail course credit hours in the law school courses and may
take no courses outside the law school for credit toward the
J.D. other than pursuant to the applicable joint degree program.

***************************

Background and Rationale:

Currently, students can take up to 12 credit hours toward graduation
on a Pass/Fail basis. This represents more than l3 percent of the
credit hours required for graduation. The committee believes that
this is excessive because, among other reasons, some students may
enroll in Pass/Fail courses not for the intrinsic merit of the
courses but to "protect" their GPAs. This strategy puts pressure on
other students also to opt out of graded law school courses and into
graduate school courses or multiple internship courses. Indeed,
there is some evidence of a trend to enrollment in graduate school
courses on a Pass/Fail basis. In the l988-89 academic year, ll
students enrolled in a graduate school course (other than Philosophy
of Law, which is cross-listed, but which counts against a student's 6
credit hours allowable in the graduate school). In the l989-90 year,
only one student enrolled in a graduate school course (other than
Philosophy of Law). In l990-9l, 17 students enrolled in graduate
school courSes (other than Philosophy of Law). In the current year,
however, 46 students enrolled in graduate school Pass/Fail courses
(other than Philosophy of Law). (The actual number of students
enrolled in graduate school courses is slightly less because ll
students have taken two graduate school courses this year; only one
of those students took both courses in the same semester.) The
Committee also has some concern that some students may be enrolling
in graduate school courses in order to free large blocks of time for
clerking for law firms. Almost every graduate school course in which
law students have enrolled meets once a week at night. Although many
graduate school courses meet several times a week during the day,
there appears to be no interest in these courses.

 

 Minutes, University Senate, April 12, l993

Under the proposed rule, students could enroll in one law school
Pass/Fail course and two graduate school Pass/Fail courses or two law
school Pass/Fail courses and one graduate school Pass/Fail course.
Law Journal (but not the Journal of Mineral Law and Policy, which is
graded) and Moot Court would continue to count against the allowable
Pass/Fail credit hours. '

The proposal has been reviewed by the Senate Committee on Admissions
and Academic Standards and the University Senate Council and is
recommended for approval.

*****~k**‘k****‘k*****

Implementation Date: Fall Semester, l993

Note: If approved the prOposal will be forwarded to the Rules
Committee for codification.

Professor Fulks presented Action Item C which was dated 3l March l993. This
item relates also to Pass/Fail courses. This issue has been discussed at length by
the Admissions and Academic Standards Committee at least twice and at least twice
in the Senate Council also. They understand the problem and both the Committee and
the Senate Council tried to reach a satisfactory resolution on this, to no avail.
What the College is asking is that a student enrolled in a Pass/Fail course who for
whatever reason fails the course, should suffer some academic consequences in their
GPA. As the situation now stands and as is true with the University, a student may
walk away from a Pass/Fail course and receive no credit and also receive no
consequence in terms of cumulative GPA. Students being placed in internships and
externships and experiential type courses who walk away from these courses have
caused some embarrassment to the College and to the University. The College of Law
would propose that a student who fails a Pass/Fail course would have a zero (0)
factored into his or her cumulative GPA. This proposal comes from the Senate
Council which recommends that it not be approved for the three reasons stated on
the circulation.

The Chair stated the proposal was before the Senate and did not require a
second. The floor was opened for discussion.

Gretchen LaGodna (College of Nursing) asked Professor Fulks to expand on the'
three reasons. Professor Fulks stated there were relatively few students, he could
remember only five. Professor John Rogers (College of Law) said he could remember
one, but there were a lot of students enrolled in these courses for whom the
significance of the grade is important to them. In terms of being able to identify
someone who has failed a Pass/Fail course he knew of only one in the last few years.

Jess Weil (Physics) asked if someone could tell them what the problem was for
the Law School to be bringing this forward, before they heard about what was wrong
with the solution.

Martin McMahon (College of Law) said what it basically boils down to is they
use the Pass/Fail in the Law School differently than it is used in the University.
The Pass/Fail in the University in general was used to allow students to experiment
in courses outside of their strengths to see about changing their majors. The idea
there was that the student should have a no risk chance to get into something they
would fear could be over their heads.

 

 Minutes, University Senate, April l2, 1993

That is not the situation in the College of Law, which is a professional
program. They have adopted a Pass/Fail in two situations. The first situation is
externships, where students are leaving the College of Law and going out and
working with lawyers, clients, or with the government and the prosecutors agency.
Because of the nature of the experience it is largely an experiential education, it
is very difficult to