Table of Contents
Archived 1997-1998 Resolutions
Resolution 1997-1998-1 TIP and PEP Funds
Whereas, The TIP and PEP awards were created to reward sustained faculty accomplishments, and the authority exists to reapply TIPs and PEPs from those faculty who have retired or otherwise left UCF;
Be It Resolved that available TIP and PEP funds for the current year be awarded to selected faculty applicants, and that the eligibility criteria as outlined in the applicable collective bargaining agreement for such selection be followed.
Approved by the Faculty Senate on October 23, 1997.
Transmitted to Provost Gary Whitehouse on October 23, 1997.
Approved by Provost Whitehouse on October 27, 1997.
Resolution 1997-1998-2 Liability Insurance Regarding Travel
Whereas, The faculty have expressed concerns regarding liability insurance, and workers compensation issues while on travel related to university business;
Be It Resolved that written notification should be distributed as soon as possible to all faculty and staff by memorandum from appropriate university administration regarding current UCF policies, including both compensated and uncompensated travel situations.
Approved by the Faculty Senate on October 23, 1997.
Transmitted to Provost Gary Whitehouse on October 23, 1997.
Approved by Provost Whitehouse on October 27, 1997.
Resolution 1997-1998-3 Graduate Certificate Programs
Be It Resolved that individual units (graduate programs, departments, or those colleges with college-wide graduate programs) be allowed to offer Graduate Certificate programs. These policies and procedures will be developed by the Graduate Policy and Curriculum Committee.
Approved by the Faculty Senate on March 19, 1998.
Transmitted to Provost Gary Whitehouse on March 30, 1998.
Approved by Provost Whitehouse on April 16, 1998.
Resolution 1997-1998-4 Faculty Senate Constitution – Graduate Council
Be It Resolved that the committee previously known as the Graduate Policy and Curriculum Committee will now be known as the Graduate Council. The Graduate Council will be a standing committee of the Faculty Senate and will report to the Senate on graduate policy and curriculum matters. The council will consist of 18 faculty members, at least six of whom are current Faculty Senate members. The chair and vice-chair are members of the Faculty Senate. Three members, except Arts and Sciences, which will have six, will represent each college. The Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies and the Director of Graduate Studies will ex-officio members of this committee. A nonvoting member representing the library will also participate in council deliberations.
The Graduate Council will be responsible for graduate policy issues and standards for the university. The responsibilities of the Council will include but not be limited to:
- Consideration of new graduate program requests for planning and implementation
- Review of existing graduate programs
- Modification to graduate courses either as additions, deletions or changes
- Review of university-wide policies addressing graduate policies and standards
- Recommendations of the recipients of the University Excellence in Graduate Teaching Award.
The Graduate Council will recommend new policies or other actions affecting graduate education to the Steering Committee of the Faculty Senate.
The Graduate Council is composed of subcommittees as follows:
- 1. Policy/Procedures Subcommittee
- This subcommittee will examine existing policies and procedures and recommend new polices and procedures affecting graduate education. Among the many issues that it addresses will be policies and procedures related to admissions, academic progress, and financial support for graduate students. This subcommittee will make recommendations to the Graduate Council. The composition of this committee will be four senate members and at least three non-senate members (with representation from each college) and is chaired by the Chair of the Graduate Council.
- 2. Appeals Subcommittee
- This subcommittee will hear petitions for variances from graduate policies and procedures for post-baccalaureate or graduate students at the university or applicants to graduate programs. A student petition will be considered here when the department and college have reviewed the request and denied the petition or when the student is requesting an exemption to university policies or regulations. Applicant petitions will be considered upon request of the applicant when the program has reviewed an appeal of an admissions decision, after denying admission. This subcommittee will recommend approval or denial of appeals or petitions to the Director of Graduate Studies, who will notify the student, department, and college of the action. This subcommittee also will review nominees for the University Excellence in Graduate Teaching Award and will make a recommendation to the Vive President for Research and Graduate Studies. This subcommittee will consist of four senate members and at least three non-senate members, with representation from each college. The chair of this subcommittee will be appointed by the chair of the Graduate Council. A graduate student representative will be appointed by the Chair of the Graduate Council, based upon nominations made by the Graduate Coordinators.
- 3. Course Review and New Programs
- This Subcommittee will review curricular issues related to graduate education. Among its many duties will be:
- Review of proposals for new graduate programs, and makes recommendations to the Graduate Council.
- Review of changes to existing graduate programs (such as honors, thesis/non-thesis options) and makes recommendations to the Director of Graduate Studies.
- Review of new tracks or options to existing graduate programs and makes recommendations to the Director of Graduate Studies.
- Review of new certificate programs, and makes recommendations to the Graduate Council.
- Monitoring of graduate program quality, and makes recommendations to the Graduate Council.
- Review of new graduate and special topic courses, as well as changes to existing graduate courses and makes recommendations to the Director of Graduate Studies.
This subcommittee will be composed of at least four senate members and at least three non-senate members, with representation from each college. The chair of the subcommittee will be the vice-chair of the Graduate Council.
Approved by the Faculty Senate on March 19, 1998.
Transmitted to Provost Gary Whitehouse on March 30, 1998.
Approved by Provost Whitehouse on April 16, 1998.
Approved by the Faculty Assembly on November 1, 1999.
Approved by President Hitt on December 10, 1999.
Resolution 1997-1998-5 Acceptance of 9 Graduate Hours
Be It Resolved that at the discretion of each college and program within a college, graduate programs will be permitted to accept up to 9 grade hours taken at UCF by undergraduate program of study. Oversight of the appropriateness of and discretion for accepting such courses into a graduate students program of study, and decisions regarding the acceptance of any such hours, will be provided by the instructor, program coordinator, and college graduate coordinator.
Approved by the Faculty Senate on March 19, 1998.
Transmitted to Provost Gary Whitehouse on March 30, 1998.
Approved by Provost Whitehouse on April 16, 1998.
Resolution 1997-1998-6 Grade Forgiveness
(Defeated)
Whereas, The overall UCF GPA is a primary indicator of academic performance; and
Whereas, UCF’s current grade forgiveness policy is biased in favor of academically weak students; and
Whereas, UCF’s current grade forgiveness policy allows weaker students to mislead potential employers and graduate programs by claiming GPA’s that do not accurately reflect their academic performance; and
Whereas, UCF’s current grade forgiveness policy allows an arbitrary number (two) of grade forgiveness; and
Whereas, UCF should adopt academic policies that are appropriate for students at a major metropolitan University who aspire to successful careers in their chosen fields;
Be it resolved that UCF’s current grade forgiveness policy is abolished. From this point forth, all grades earned in courses taken at UCF shall be included in the calculation of the overall UCF GPA.
Defeated by the Faculty Senate on March 19, 1998.
Resolution 1997-1998-7 Grade Roll Submission
Whereas, Electronic submission of grades is more efficient and timely.
Be It Resolved that once the software capability is available, UCF faculty have the option of submitting grades electronically.
Approved by the Faculty Senate on March 26, 1998.
Transmitted to Provost Gary Whitehouse on March 30, 1998.
Approved by Provost Whitehouse on April 16, 1998.
Resolution 1997-1998-8 Grade Distribution
(Defeated)
Whereas, One of the functions of a UCF faculty member, in their joint roles as an educator and as an employee of the State University System, is to assess the relative abilities, efforts, and academic achievements of their students; and
Whereas, The distribution of letter grades in all colleges and at all course levels at UCF has experienced a steady upward shift over the past fifteen years; and
Whereas, If present trends continue, grades will become meaningless, to the detriment of UCF students, UCF faculty, potential employers, and graduate programs;
Be it resolved that the distribution of grades assigned in each course section shall be made publicly available in a timely manner by the university, with summaries for each faculty member, for each course, for each course level, for each department, for each college, and for the University as a whole.
Defeated by the Faculty Senate on March 19, 1998.
Resolution 1997-1998-9 Undergraduate GPA
Whereas, UCF currently requires at least a 2.0 GPA for both UCF and cumulative course work for graduation; and
Whereas, The cumulative GPA requirement requires the calculation of a transfer GPA based on all previous course work; and
Whereas, The transfer GPA often conflicts with transcripts from previous institutions (due to loss of grade forgiveness and +/- grades) and, more importantly, is not calculated consistently for all transfer students; and
Whereas, The transfer GPA is not used to determine admission (it is calculated after admission and is only used for reporting and to allow calculation of accumulative GPA); and
Whereas, GPAs from all previous institutions are included on student transcripts;
Be It Resolved that UCF no longer compute a cumulative GPA and that UCF require only the UCF GPA of at least 2.0 for graduation.
Approved by the Faculty Senate on March 26, 1998.
Transmitted to Provost Gary Whitehouse on March 30, 1998.
Approved by Provost Whitehouse on April 16, 1998.
Resolution 1997-1998-10 Baccalaureate Honors
Whereas, UCF currently confers Baccalaureate Honors recognition based on cumulative GPA; and
Whereas, The cumulative GPA requirement requires the calculation of a transfer GPA based on all previous course work; and
Whereas, The transfer GPA often conflicts with transcripts from previous institutions (due to loss of grade forgiveness and plus/minus grades) and, more importantly, is not calculated consistently for all transfer students; and
Whereas, Most Florida community colleges confer honors recognition; and
Whereas, There is an inequity in honors calculations between UCF native students versus transfer students;
Be It Resolved that all UCF graduates with at least 48 hours of UCF course credit be considered for honors recognition based on the GPA from all semesters that include their last 48 hours of UCF course work.
Approved by the Faculty Senate on March 26, 1998.
Transmitted to Provost Gary Whitehouse on March 30, 1998.
Approved by Provost Whitehouse on April 16, 1998.