University Council debates Extended Education, council structure

Most of the discussion at Thursday night's University Council meeting was devoted to the feasibility of Extended Education and the structure of University Senate councils.

When University Council Chairperson Laura Helms asked for committee reports, Extended Education dominated much of the debate.

Council Secretary Lynda Wiley said the Extended Education committee discussed two policy changes at their last meeting. First, they discussed changing the enrollment policy so full-time students living on campus may seek permission to enroll in the Independent Learning Program, which is part of Extended Education, without waiting for approval from department chairs. Also, they considered creating a system for course evaluation, which will include a representative from the Extended Education committee and the dean of the college the course is in. The course creator would not be present at these meetings.

Joanna Wallace, dean of the School of Extended Education, said there is a different fee structure for ILP courses.
"It doesn't replace on-campus credit hours," she said. "There are additional fees. A lot of students use ILP in the summer."

Wiley said enrollment is something the committee needs to look into as students demand more flexibility.

Staci Davis, director of Online and Distance Education Programs, said financial aid is available for these courses, just like with on-campus classes.

During the council's debate, William McCune, associate vice president of Controller and Business Services, asked if the committee had considered the idea of students and faculty looking for system loopholes.

"I know department chairs that are experts in advising students in the cheapest ways to get around [the additional fees for ILP]," he said.

Discussion of the feasibility of Extended Education will continue at the next meeting.

After committee reports were given, Helms presented information that was gathered during the past year by the Task Force on Professional Personnel Issues. University Council had asked the task force to consider various items, including uneven representation among faculty and professional personnel on councils and committees.

Helms said the group didn't distribute information soon enough for council members to vote on it until the next meeting.

The task force found ex officio, or non-voting, members represented the majority on most councils and committees. It also reported that University Council seats are being filled by faculty, which were originally reserved for professional personnel. Helms said it may be a duplicate effort to have faculty sit on both University and Faculty councils.

Associate Professor of Economics Stan Keil suggested councils and committees might not be working to their highest potential.

"Could we look into reactivating the scope of the committees?" he said.

Helms said the task force would look into the goals and structure of councils and committees and report back at the next meeting.