Resolutions 1981-1982

Table of Contents

Archived 1981-1982 Resolutions

Resolution 1981-1982-1 Pre-registration System

Faculty Senate endorses the concept of pre-registration as part of an effort to deal with problems of registration and enrollment; and that the system be implemented by the 1982-1983 academic year.

Approved by the Faculty Senate on October 1, 1981.

Resolution 1981-1982-2 Academic Calendar Change

The Faculty Senate recommends that because it is difficult to make schedule changes for this current semester at this late date, two days be cut from the second semester of the 81-82 academic year. In addition, the Senate recommends that in order to meet the requirements of the Union contract for this year, we begin Spring Semester on January 6 (Wednesday) as indicated in the catalog and add two days, March 3 and 9 (Monday and Tuesday) to the Spring break which is now scheduled for March 4 and 5 (Thursday and Friday). Also, it is recommended that semesters of equal length be implemented beginning the 1982-83 academic year.

Approved by the Faculty Senate on November 5, 1981.

Resolution 1981-1982-3 University Honors Program

Two types of Honors programs will be developed: the University and the Department Honors Program.

The University Honors Program is the designation which will be used for the four year Honors Program; i.e., the program which includes both a specified number of honors courses required from the General Education Program and the Honors Programs established by the departments.

(Departmental*) Honors Programs is the designation which will be used for honors programs established by departments. This type of honors program does not include the specified number of General Education Courses required for the University General Education Program.

*These programs will use the name of the department; e.g., Mathematics Honors Program, English Honors Program, etc.

Requirements for Entering the University Honors Program
In order to be accepted into the University Honors Program, first time in college students must have a minimum grade point average of 3.25 in their high school academic courses and a SAT of 1100 (ACT 23). Students who do not meet these criteria may petition the University Honors Committee for permission to enter the program. An admission/honors committee will judge qualifications for such other applicants, including possible sophomores’, on such matters as:

total school involvement, including leadership activities.
individual excellence in self-developed, independent activities, (such as #3).
participation in curriculum fairs, projects, including national or state recognition
possible influence of work related conflicts with academic achievement.
placement in top 10% of the senior class

Transfer students who wish to enter the University Honors Program may do so, but they must fulfill the honors requirements in the General Education Program as well as those of the department of their major. Only students who have fulfilled both the General Education Honors requirements and those of the major will be designated as University Honor Students.

Requirements for Enrollment in the (Departmental) Honors Programs
Students may apply for admission to (Departmental) Honors Programs upon attaining junior status. They must have an overall grade point average of 3.4 and be accepted by the departmental honors committee. Outstanding students who, prior to achieving junior standing, wish to enter an upper division section designated honors section may do so by petitioning the departmental honors committee. This permission may be granted to students who show a strong capability of entering the program upon achieving junior status. Special permission to enter honors courses does not constitute acceptance to the honors program. Criteria for enrollment of students in the Departmental Honors Program who do not meet the GPA standard of 3.4 are identical to factors 1 – 5 above, as well as standing in the top 10% of the sophomore class.

If any sections of either the General Education or departmental honors course have vacancies, an instructor may give special permission to outstanding students who wish to attend the course.

Continuation in Honors Programs
In order to remain in the honors programs, students must maintain a grade point average of 3.4 each academic year. Grade points will be computed at the end of each Spring Semester. Students not maintaining this average will be dropped from the honors program in which they are enrolled and cannot reapply to that program) except on a single second chance consideration of extenuating circumstances based on the recommendation of the Honors Committee. However, students dropped from the University Honors Program for failure to maintain the minimum requirements in the General Education Program may enter a (Departmental) Honors Program if they meet the criteria and are accepted by the (Departmental) Honors Program Committee.

University Honors Program Requirements
Students must complete at least twenty-four hours in honors sections of the General Studies Program. These sections will be taught at a higher level than the regular sections and will entail a greater amount of class and individual work. The following characteristics are recommended:

involve independent study
be more theoretical than regular courses in the same subject
accelerate more rapidly than conventional courses
provide a mentor for each student which he or she retains throughout his or her general honors curriculum.
include at least one honors seminar at the junior or senior level
include no fewer than eight nor more than twenty students per section depending on the discipline.

Beyond coursework, per se, it is strongly suggested that honors students be involved in non-academic experiences: field trips, outstanding speakers, student presentations, etc.

In addition to the requirements in General Education indicated here, students in the University Honors Program must also complete the Honors Program in their major.

(Rational: The committee anticipates that all or, at least, most of the twenty-four hours of general honors courses will be in separate honors sections. In addition, students may take higher level courses in sequential subjects like mathematics and foreign languages. Some subjects may not lend themselves to honors sections, such as algebra. For courses not requiring prerequisites, independent research and in-depth reading might comprise the higher level of work for the honors student. Technical courses would likely have less independent work for honors student than non- technical or humanistic courses.)

Departmental Honors Program Requirements
Students must complete all the honors requirements as established by the department of their major.

General Administration of Honors Program
The general administration of the Honors Program; i.e., records for the program, distribution of information, funding for activities, etc., should be housed in the Office of Undergraduate Studies.

Establishment of Policies
A University Honors Committee consisting of seven faculty members elected or appointed by each College and in the same proportion as college representation on the Faculty Senate (Arts and Sciences 3, Business 1, Education 1, Engineering 1,and Health 1) shall make policies governing the Honors Programs, approve the establishment of Departmental honors Programs, and supervise the maintenance of the quality of both the Gener.al Education Course Honors Sections and the Departmental Honors Programs. Request for exception to the rules established for entrance to the University Honors Program will also be made to this committee, The Dean of Undergraduate Studies will serve as Chairman of the Honors Committee but will vote only in case of a tie. (Members elected to the honors committee should evidence current or prior honors teaching or educational experience, or have clearly expressed an interest in serving)

Departmental Honors Programs
Any department wishing to establish and honors program must present a detailed proposal outlining its honors curriculum for approval by the University Honors Committee consistent with suggested criteria herein contained, as well as with the following:

require a senior thesis
maintain at least one honors seminar at the junior-senior level
maintain approximately 1/3 of course work in interdisciplinary activities of outside the student major, and
appoint a mentor for each student in order to monitor progress.

A departmental committee must be chosen to establish and supervise the maintenance of its honors program (see membership qualifications above). Requests for an exception to enter the departmental program must be approved by this committee.

While extensive additional physica1 facilities are not necessary to initiate this program, assignment of special areas of the residence halls for housing honors students is most desirable. All honors students should be housed on one floor and have lounge and study areas for their exclusive use.

Funding
For this program to be successful, adequate funding should be provided by academic administration directly commensurate with the additional costs to the various departments of the University. Faculty must receive adequate compensation for the time expended with honors students consistent with the following recommendations:

direct funding of honors program costs from Academic Affairs
extra teaching credits for professors having honors students in regular courses should be allowed on the basis of 1 extra hour for five honors students
an FTE for a full honors section would consist of 10-15 students
the supervision of 10 senior theses would be the equivalent of teaching a semester course.

While the major additional costs incurred by the University will be for instruction, marginal costs will accrue for secretarial assistance and activities. A cohesiveness can be developed among honor students by scheduling both academic and social events specifically for this group.

The teaching costs of an Honors Program will be difficult to ascertain without balling knowledge of the number of students who will enter the program. The Office for Academic Affairs should begin making estimates by examining the high school and college freshmen and sophomore GPA’s and test scores in order to learn the size of the group from which honor students can be drawn.

Approved by the Faculty Senate on November 5, 1981.

Resolution 1981-1982-4 Time Shortened Degree Opportunities

In order to insure the quality of the educational experience of the Time Shortened Degree (TSD) students, academic credit should be granted to TSD students only on the basis of satisfactory performance on a credit-by-examination procedure offered by:

Educational Testing Service
An Academic Department

Approved by the Faculty Senate on January 14, 1982.
Transmitted to Provost Leslie Ellis on January 27, 1982.

Resolution 1981-1982-5 Decline in Lower Division Enrollment

The Faculty of the University of Central Florida desire to have lower division students in order to have the full range of intellectual diversity of an institution of higher learning: Thus, the University of Central Florida should receive full funding for all lower division students who are eligible and seek admission to the university.

Approved by the Faculty Senate on January 14, 1982.
Transmitted to Provost Leslie Ellis on January 27. 1982.
Approved by Ellis on February 19, 1982.

Resolution 1981-1982-6 Alternative Admission Procedures

All applications for exceptions to regular university admission standards should be referred to the University Admissions and Standards Committee. If the recommendations of the Admissions and Standards Committee are overridden by the administration, a written explanation must be provided to the committee.

Approved by the Faculty Senate on January 14, 1982.
Transmitted to Provost Leslie Ellis on January 27, 1982.
Approved by Ellis on July 20, 1982. Approval Letter

Resolution 1981-1982-7 Prospective Student Inquiries Regarding Admission

The Admissions Office should routinely initiate contact with students who exhibit high potential by their scores on the PSAT/ACT/SAT or by other evidences of outstanding academic performance.

Appropriate steps should be taken to more effectively link the communications among prospective students, the Office of Admissions, and the College/Department indicated by the prospective students, both undergraduate and graduate. For example, the Admissions section of the Registrar’s office should routinely notify the College/Department of prospective students’ inquiries when such College/Department is mentioned.

In addition, the Office of Admissions should immediately respond to students’ inquiries with appropriate materials and applications.

Approved by the Faculty Senate on January 14, 1982.
Transmitted to Provost Leslie Ellis on January 27, 1982.
Approved by Ellis on February 19, 1982.

Resolution 1981-1982-8 Expanded Grade Scale

An expanded grade scale should be made available at UCF. The recommended grade scale is:

Grade Quality Points A 4.00 B+ 3.50 B 3.00 C+ 2.50 C 2.00 D+ 1.50 D 1.00 F 0.00

Implementation is to take place as soon as possible, but not later than the 1983-84 catalog.

Approved by the Faculty Senate on January 14, 1982.
Transmitted to Provost Leslie Ellis on January 27, 1982.
Pending by Provost Ellis on February 19, 1982:

Institutional Research conducting a study.

Resolution 1981-1982-9 Scheduling of Advanced Registration

Due to the heavy workload for both students and faculty during the last week of classes and final exam week, it is recommended that advanced registration for the next semester take place prior to the last two weeks of classes each semester.

Approved by the Faculty Senate on January 14, 1982.
Transmitted to Provost Leslie Ellis on January 27, 1982.
Approved by Ellis on February 19, 1982:

To be implemented for the spring term of the following academic year.

Resolution 1981-1982-10 Personnel Office Recommendations

A study by Faculty Senate Personnel Committee has indicated that faculty and staff are in need of on campus support in matters relating to the State Health Insurance Plan. Therefore be it resolved that:

The UCF Personnel Office provide a knowledgeable and competent person to deal with faculty and staff problems relating to the State Health Insurance Plan. This person must be capable of assuming the responsibility for obtaining all necessary information and guidance from the Tallahassee and Jacksonville Health Insurance Offices with regard to faculty/staff coverage, claims and questions.
The Personnel Office establish a standing committee to deve1op plans and procedures for the purpose of improving and expanding the health insurance coverage available to UCF faculty and staff, as well as resolving problems of a continuing nature that occur within the structure of the present State Health Insurance Plan. Membership on this committee must include representation from both faculty and staff. Other members should be selected in consultation with Faculty Senate.
The 1982-83 Faculty Senate Personnel Committee be charged with the responsibility of monitoring the course of action taken on the above two resolutions and reporting their findings to the main Senate body.