COMMITTEE ON INSTRUCTION
MINUTES, OCTOBER 7, 1997
Members Present: Jim Clark, Mary Ellen Cowser, Phil Davis, Dwight
Gatwood, Robbie Green, Tom Greer, Wes Henson, Jenny Johnsonius, Dan
McDonough, Martha Whitt, Kyle Williams for Ben Hays, Bill Zachry,
Linda Ramsey (ex officio), Jerald Ogg (ex officio), K. Paul Jones (ex
officio)
Members Absent: Phil Watkins (ex officio), Kendall Blanchard (ex
officio). Drs. Watkins and Blanchard, as well as SGA rep Mr. Hays
were in Knoxville attending the administrative meetings.
The second meeting of the Instruction Committee was called to order
at 3:00 PM in Room 247 Humanities.
ISSUE #1: ENROLLMENT IN UPPER DIVISION COURSES
Committee members had been requested to obtain the advice of their
departments on the issue of the enrollment of sophomores and freshmen
in upper division courses. Another lengthy discussion followed,
during which various members explained how the current policy is or
is not being enforced in their departments. Several members
explained that the current policy is routinely ignored and that, in
fact, several of their upper division courses are strongly
recommended to sophomores. Others felt that upper division courses
may be too challenging to lower division students and that, perhaps,
the upper division courses recommended to lower division students
might be renumbered so that sophomores do not find themselves in
courses beyond their ability. Mr. Williams was called upon for the
student perspective. He replied that he had taken 300 level courses
as a sophomore, not because he wanted to, but because other required
courses were closed and these were the only ones in his program he
could get into.
Finally, Jim Clark moved that a memorandum of Dr. K. Paul Jones be
accepted as policy. That memorandum read:
"To be eligible for upper division courses, students (transfers as well as those having previous attendance at the University) must have attained sophomore status unless approval is granted by the deans of their schools." Wes Henson seconded the motion. Motion passed by the vote of 8 to 3.
ISSUE #2: ACADEMIC FRESH START
The committee had debated the university policy on academic
forgiveness during the first meeting. Discussion was suspended while
K. Paul Jones drafted a proposal for a change of policy. Dr. Jones,
after consultation with Emily Knudsen, proposed the following draft,
as well as a change of name, from Academic Forgiveness Policy to
Academic Fresh Start. The proposal reads:
Undergraduate students who have not attended a college or university for a minimum of four consecutive calendar years may obtain entrance through the Academic Fresh Start Policy. The request must be submitted in writing to the Admission Office prior to the term for which the Academic Fresh Start is requested. Students who transfer directly to UTM after attending another college or university within the last four years will still be eligible if they were granted a "fresh start" from the transferring institution. The policy will apply to grades received prior to the fresh start granted by the transferring institution.
This policy means that any previous coursework in which the student received a grade below C will not be computed in subsequent calculations of grade point average. These grades will, however, remain on the student's transcript. Credit toward graduation will be disallowed for course grades not included in cumulative average, but this work will be included in calculations for consideration for honors graduation.
A student may be admitted under the policy only one time; this admission cannot be annulled. Anyone admitted under this policy may not graduate under a catalog in existence prior to the year in which an academic fresh start was granted.
When asked how many students would be affected by this policy, Dr.
Jones replied very few, probably less than five per year. Phil Davis
then moved acceptance of Academic Fresh Start. Kyle Williams
seconded the motion. Motion passed unanimously.
ISSUE #3: UNDERGRADUATE SUSPENSION/PROBATION RATES
Dr. Jones discussed a handout in which he tracked the rate of
undergraduate suspension and probation. He noted that the
overwhelming number of suspensions come during the freshman year and
that these numbers are actually in decline. Students who end up
suspended are often on probation after their first semester of
freshman year. He expressed interest in the effect which the new
Centralized Advising System will have upon these figures.
ISSUE #4: ADJUNCTS
Dwight Gatwood raised the issue of adjuncts, stating that the
question of image is just as important as that of economics. What
can be the image of an institution which relies heavily upon adjunct
instructors. Mary Ellen Cowser agreed, adding that it is very
difficult to monitor the quality of the adjuncts when the adjuncts
become a significant proportion of the teaching population. K. Paul
Jones responded that we must be careful in our consideration of
adjuncts, as the perception does not always match the reality. He
added that most of the adjuncts are teaching developmental courses
and pointed out that the number of full time faculty increased
between 1991 and 1996 from 216 to 234. At the same time the average
class size has been reduced.
Several members of the committee expressed surprise at these
figures and asked Dr. Jones to supply the committee with the current
figures on adjuncts and class sizes. After more discussion, the
conversation concluded.
At 4:20, Wes Henson motioned that we adjourn. The motion was
seconded by acclamation and was passed unanimously.