SOS Steering Committee Minutes

May 18, 2007

Present: Voting members: Ray Chin (PRESIDENT), Steve Randall for John Watson (BIOL), Stephanie Sen (Chem and Chem Biol), Mihran Tuceryan (CSCI), Andy Barth for Kathy Licht (EARTH), Will Geller (MATH), Durgu Rao (PHYSICS), Silvia Bigatti (PSYC).  Non-Voting Ex-Officio Members: Andy Barth (PAST PRESIDENT), Steve Randall (SECRETARY), Pam Crowell, (ASSOCIATE DEAN), Andy Gavrin (ASSOCIATE DEAN) Regrets: William Bosron (DEAN)

10:05 President Chin opened Steering Committee meeting.

Agenda was adopted and the minutes of 04-20-07 were approved.

Administrative review reports (TO BE COMPLETED AS SOON AS POSSIBLE)

There are two reports to be prepared by each group: 1) reports to either the chairs or deans and 2) to the faculty/staff. Send them to the SOS secretary (Randall), he will distribute them once all are available. A copy of all reports will be send to Dean Bosron, and a copy will be delivered to Rose Marie Temple for archival purposes. 

The Dean Reports: Contents

a. All numerical data presented as Bar Graphs (sent as a pdf)

b. Verbatim comments from the TTFs, NTTFs, and Staff

c. Summary statement from NTTFs and Staff responses (numerical data Ok for Deans, so pdfs of bar graphs) should be included)

The Chairs Reports: Contents

a.   Numerical data presented as Bar Graphs, TTF’s only (sent as a pdf)

b.   Verbatim comments from the TTFs, only

c.   Summary statement from NTTFs and Staff responses (NO VERBATIM COMMENTS, NO NUMERICAL DATA FOR CHAIRS)

The Report to the Faculty and Staff: Contents

a. Numerical data presented as Bar Graphs, TTFs only (sent as a pdf).

b. Summary of Comments from TTFs, NO VERBATIM COMMENTS

c. Summary of numerical and comments from NTTFs and Staff, NO VERBATIM COMMENTS, NO NUMERICAL DATA

Discussion of faculty involvement in IUPUI and IU faculty councils.  The school is underrepresented.  It was suggested that the next president of the SOS Steering committee request that the Awards and Nomination Committee meet in the fall to specifically address the nominations of individuals for various open positions such as these as well as for the secretary of SOS.  It would be useful if that committee could create a list of nominations that are needed to be obtained during the entire year and then do them all together.  The possibility of setting up an informal system of rotating nominations from dept to dept was raised.

In response to several suggestions and to a letter submitted to the steering committee; the steering committee discussed the Student Satisfaction Surveys (SSS) at some length. There was common agreement that there is an inherent value to an assessment tool which crosses all departments in the school. The outcome of the discussion was that the SOS Steering Committee felt it was due time to revisit the role and function of the Student Satisfaction Surveys (SSS). The committee felt the following should be considered in such a reevaluation.

a. What is the relationship between Student Satisfaction and Student Learning?

b. Do we need a school wide Student Learning Assessment tool (as distinguished from the SSS)?

c. What is the range of statistical validity for the existing SSS?

d. Recommendation on how global scores and other output of the SSS be employed (e.g. Faculty use only, promotion /raises, tenure)?

e. Should the SSS be updated/modified/replaced?

f. What other methods could be used to replace the SSS global scores?

We ask Dean Bosron, to use appropriate resources such as existing committees (e.g. the Assessment Committee), making certain that appropriate expertise (such as in statistics and questionnaire preparation) are represented (additional persons could be added to the committee for these purposes only); to address the above questions. Alternatively, a new ad hoc committee could be created.

Deans Announcements (Dean Crowell and Gavrin):  Progress on the IU budget hearings (coming up next week)  and the determination of the SOS lab fees look encouraging.  The SOS is also asking for graduate tuition increases  to approach  that of Engineering over a two year period.  Discussion was raised about how much of that $ comes back to the school.  For in state tuition it is estimated that 86% returns to the school.

Other announcements: Rao announced that the ad for the search for Dean of the SOS will go out next month to chairs and SOS Steering Committee members. Please send comments to chair of committee.

Meeting was adjourned at 10:55

Minutes approved: