August 18, 2020 Minutes

Council of Department Chairs

NOTE: These minutes reflect discussions that happened on the date of these minutes. Due to the COVID-19 situation, things are rapidly changing. For offical policy, please wait for documents from the appropriate offices.

Attendees (8/18/20): Curtis Bennett, Barbara Taylor, Tangan Gao, Chris Brazier, Andreas Bill, Christine Whitcraft, Dessie Underwood, Lisa Martin, Margaret Karteron, Rick Behl, Kris Slowinski, Will Murray, Henry Wu, Maryanne Horton.

 

  1. Approve agenda (1:30)
  2. Approve minutes from Aug. 11: Approved as amended.
  3. Announcements
    1. Operations
      1. Timelines
        1. Evaluations of Probationary & Tenured Faculty Timeline
          1. Files from candidates are due to InterFolio on 9/28/2020.
          2. Form to extend probationary period due to COVID-19 is due to department chair and the dean by 9/3/2020.
          3. Instead of having a review this year, anyone requesting a changed timeline will be asked to do a PDP showing their intended prospects with the changed timeline.
          4. Open period will start on Friday 8/28/2020.
          5. Notices can be placed on your department websites.
        2. Professional Development Plan
          1. Margaret will send out notices.
          2. Peter Ramirez, Andrea Balbas, Amy Ricketts, etc.
        3. Mini Reviews & ETF
          1. Share the same period
          2. Margaret will send out notices.
          3. Files due to InterFolio on 2/8/2021.
          4. Department portion will conclude on 4/9/2021.
        4. Lecturers
          1. Will be in InterFolio this cycle.
          2. Dates are estimated.
          3. Determination to be done by 10/23/2020.
        5. Range Elevations will be around November 1st.
    2. ASM update
      1. CARES funding explanations
        1. Be careful with purchases. Accounting is asking for justifications.
        2. CARES Purchases must be associated with remote teaching; not just regular supplies.
        3. For smaller items, use CE money rather than CARES money.
      2. SEF
        1. Our practice must remain the same; it hasn’t changed just because we are remote.
        2. You cannot change items at this time.
      3. Work Study
        1. Work Study students cannot get paid unless they work.
        2. The work must be done remotely.
        3. They cannot work on campus without approval and proper supervision.
      4. Contracts
        1. Moving smoothly; we got more signed contracts the week before instruction starts than any semester before.
      5. TA/GA/Lecturer
        1. They must work 100% remotely to be able to sign-in remotely.
      6. Staff Evaluation
        1. Send drafts to Henry.
    3. Dean’s report
      1. Research Labs Update
        1. Policy changed to: in any individual lab there can be the PI plus 2 other students on any given day. And those 2 students can change from one day to the next.
        2. We can rotate through all our students who are currently on their LRRA Forms
        3. New students need to be added to the approved list via the internal process.
      2. Zoom Rooms
        1. How this will look is still changing daily
        2. CNSM has approval to use 4 conference rooms in MLSC and HSCI-167 for Zoom Rooms for our college only (for the time being).
        3. Cleaning will be required of the faculty members using the rooms; cleaning materials will be provided by the Safety Office.
        4. Faculty should be told that they’re not to lecture in their office.
        5. Room Booking will be managed through an Outlook Calendar.
          1. Approval to use the rooms requires approval from the Dean.
      3. Health Guidelines for Labs and Lectures
        1. An email will be sent to appropriate faculty, those who are teaching on campus, regarding the guidelines they should be following.
        2. Our health officer, Dr. Kim Fodran, is happy to work with people if they think they will need to get within six feet during their labs.
      4. Chancellor’s Office Student Privacy Concerns
        1. The Chancellor’s Office will distribute a communication that says students can opt out of being filmed/having their webcam turned on during an exam.
        2. Faculty will be required to come up with alternative modes of assessing them in these cases.
      5. Student Space Issues
        1. There will likely be insufficient indoor student space for students to get from a lab to a lecture that follows.
          1. Faculty are asked to record the first couple of weeks of lectures so that the student can access lectures asynchronously.
  4. Associate Deans
    1. Academic Programs
      1. AY 20-21 Curriculum Calendar
        1. Deadline for submissions following CNSM approval is the end of October.
        2. Suggested deadline for finalizing departmental approval: the first week of October.
      2. F20 Sections without Assigned Instructors
        1. We need instructors on the roster ASAP.
      3. Enrollments in Sections Scheduled as FTF or Hybrid
        1. Students are not to be indoors except when engaged in approved activities (research, scheduled lab, approved work).
        2. Need to clarify designated locations outside for students.
        3. Need to consider student travel time; time between lab and lecture.
        4. There are 20 seats in the computer lab in the USU.
      4. Enrollment Services Forms
        1. /enrollment-services-financial-aid/forms
        2. Review the information on the link above and share it with admins and faculty.
    2. Research
      1. Microbiology Student Success Renovation Questionnaire
        1. Meeting pushed back to 9:00 am on September 8th.
        2. Return Questionnaire to Andrea Stalker by September 2nd.
          1. Discussion in Teams
      2. Concern about Signage and Physical Distance Tape in Classrooms
        1. Safety Office feels strong that Instructor and TA should be part of executing that to make sure that things go down in the right places.
          1. Please watch for an email and be prepared to chime in to ensure faculty complies.
          2. Safety Office should contact chairs, and chairs will put them in contact with who they need.
  5. Mail Pickup
    1. Large number of packages coming in.
    2. Have the Shop team pick them up and distribute them to department offices or keep them in a central location (e.g. The Conference Room).
    3. Chairs send a designated person’s name to Barbara so that they can get a key to the conference room.
  6. Labster
    1. Chancellor’s Office may have a contract agreement with Labster.
      1. Universities pay half the cost and the Chancellor’s Office pay the other half.
      2. Now that it’s free to students, there is a different funding mechanism.
        1. Possibly SEF Course Fees
      3. Valuable tool. But is there enough interest in this campus wide?
        1. College of Engineering and CHHS may be interested.
  7. Adjourn

 

 

Upcoming Dates:
Aug. 21: Convocation
Aug. 21: CNSM Annual Meeting (1:30-3:00)
Aug. 24: First Day of Classes

​Submitted by Allie Puz (Communications & PR Coordinator, CNSM)

 

Meeting Minutes were APPROVED on Tuesday, September 1, 2020

*Note: This reflects discussion on the date of the CDC meeting about policies, not actual policy. Faculty and staff should wait for official communication on each subject before acting.