NOTE: At times, issues of confidentiality may require that some items discussed in meetings be excluded from these minutes.

PRESENT: Bill Barnes, Alan Gabrielli, Steve Hamrick, Joyce Mills, Mike Murphy, Zvi Szafran, and Wayne Unsell.

ABSENT: Dawn Ramsey

GUESTS: Richard Bennett, Director of International Programs

Item 1: International Programs Update

Rich Bennett spoke briefly to the Council and updated them on current and potential exchange, dual degree, and study abroad programs. SPSU expects a number of MBA exchange students and three dual-degree MBA students from Germany for the spring semester. Approximately 12-19 SPSU students are interested in going to Spain for a summer program offering intensive Spanish courses. There may be a possibility of developing internships for our students in Valencia, Spain. Architecture is considering an arrangement with a university in Italy. Dr. Bennett had an opportunity to meet with administrative officials from a university in Darmstadt, Germany, specializing in engineering technology fields. Our current programs in Germany and China and possibly Darmstadt could provide research partnerships for our faculty. This may also be true for the university in Italy.

Southern Polytechnic will receive a delegation of visitors from Keyin College in Newfoundland, Canada. They are a private two-year institution similar to a vocational-technical school and are exploring options at American universities for their students once they graduate. This visit is at no cost to SPSU and is exploratory only. The student population of Keyin College is approximately 700.

Dr. Bennett also explained the value of our recent visit by North China University of Technology (NCUT) as twofold. First, it reassured NCUT of SPSU’s, and especially Dr. Szafran’s, commitment to the development of this program, and second, the delegation discovered further areas of interest on their part. The students interested in coming in January have the TOEFL scores and the funds needed but because the articulation program is not in place, these students will be required to take additional courses. They are aware of this situation and are still anxious to begin in January.

Dr. Bennett was asked to describe his role as Director of International Programs and replied that under the direction of Sandy Pfeiffer, former VPAA, he was charged with:

Revitalizing the Germany program
Directing the Mexico program
Building international program arrangements wherever possible with the support of the campus

Dr. Bennett thanked the deans and their chairs for their support in working out all the details for the various programs we’re involved in. Bennett will be sending out a monthly bulletin to update the campus on International Programs issues. The deans asked Dr. Bennett to copy them on all correspondence to their chairs.

Item 2: Medallions at Graduation

Dr. Szafran passed a brochure containing graduation medallions and asked for comments from the Council. The President is in support of the idea and he asked the Council about implementing this for the next commencement service. There would be a cost of approximately $10 per student and could be covered by increasing the graduation fee. Some suggestions/comments from the Council included:

Ask the Alumni Association to fund the cost and offer the students a free one-year membership. This might boost Alumni membership and participation.
Solicit support from the SGA; get students’ perspective
Talk to Nancy Reichert in the Honors Program to see what she is planning for her first honors graduate in December so as not to cause any conflicts
Have the honors students wear different color medallions and/or graduation gowns for distinction between them and other graduates

Dr. Szafran will talk with Nancy Reichert and if she has no objections, he will go forward with this idea for December graduation.

Item 3: IDP – Instructional Delivery Plan

Dr. Szafran asked if we currently have an Instructional Delivery Plan and was told that we don’t but that Dawn Ramsey is working on this. An IDP is needed for all courses delivered off site but not on-line. The VPAA asked the deans to think about their current and/or potential distance-format courses and let Dawn know about them so she can add them to her list. The Board of Regents policy on IDP can be found at http://www.usg.edu/academics/handbook/section2/2.12/2.12.02.phtml.

Item 4: Post-Tenure Review

Dr. Szafran found out at a recent RACAA meeting that the University must submit a self-study report on how well the post-tenure review process is working at SPSU. As soon as Dr. Szafran receives the information from the Board of Regents, he will seek input from the Deans and Chairs.

Item 5: Potential New Programs

At a recent meeting with the VPAA, Dan Papp offered suggestions on how to gain approval for additional degree programs at SPSU. Dr. Szafran argues that we should be able to offer the full range of programs offered at any other state university as long as within each degree program we have at least one concentration in a technical area. Szafran distributed a proposal to the Council that he developed with ideas and suggestions from Dr. Papp for the School of Arts and Sciences. This proposal is a starting point for discussions only and involves Humanities and Technical Communication and Social & International Studies. Both departments are reviewing the proposal. Dr. Szafran asked the Council to review the proposal and offer feedback. A general discussion of New Programs will be held at next week’s ALC meeting.

Meeting adjourned at 4:45 p.m.