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Minutes April 16, 1999, 2:00 p.m. Present: Chair Barbara Balko, Dell Smith, Michael Sexton, Kristi Williams, Glendi Gaddis, Micha Grudin, and Sharon Barnes (secretary) Absent: Deborah Lycan, Shannon Benfield-Blankenship, Kevin Holloway, Alicia Gilbert, Greg Caldwell, Dale Holloway, Michael Ford, and June Jones Chair Barbara Balko opened the meeting. A voting quorum was not present so items needing action were not acted upon. Review of Merit Awards With the absence of faculty members on campus during last summer, Director of Student Financial Services Glendi Gaddis said that her office made decisions about appeals on merit awards for students in academic trouble. The Subcommittee on Academic Standing will meet on May 12 from 1:00-5:00 p.m. Micha Grudin suggested the AAAS Committee fall back on this subcomittee for admissions questions. AAAS Committee Staffing AAAS Chair Barbara Balko is coordinating with Wendy Washburn (Administrative Assistant to the Dean of the College) for staffing the AAAS Committee. A faculty member is needed from both the Social Sciences and from the Arts and Humanities divisions. Scholarships Registrar Dell Smith submitted an alternate proposal for class definitions to the CAS Dean which may be used for some merit awards like the Cheney. This proposal is based on the number of years/semesters the student has attended college and not upon the number of credits earned. With this proposal a student who has been attending Lewis & Clark College for less than two years may be eligible for the Junior Cheney award. The previous method of determining a student's year in school by the number of credits earned would make a student who had taken overloads and who had advanced credits ineligible for certain awards like the Junior Cheney because that student had enough credits for Junior standing, but that student had only been at the College less than two years. This proposal defines the student's year in school by the anticipated graduation date and the proposal is more flexible when determining merit awards. Glendi Gaddis said that the grant application for the Cheney award had already been submitted. Suspension Issues Registrar Dell Smith said that we might need to require more than a warning letter to be sent to students who are in academic trouble. Coordinator of Academic Advising Kristi Williams added that this warning letter is very clear about the action the college will take/has taken and the steps involved. Kristi also said that we might need to require those students to attend mini-workshops on various subjects, like time management. Dean of Admissions Michael Sexton said that Dean of Students Michael Ford sends out a very clear letter to students who are placed on deferred suspension for nonacademic reasons. This letter outlines the conditions of returning to Lewis & Clark. He suggested the committee look at this letter for ideas when reviewing the academic warning letter. Kristi Williams discussed some cases and the decisions made in those cases with the AAAS Committee. At L&C, Economics is the only major that publishes major requirement of a 2.0 GPA in the catalog. Only Lewis & Clark credits are considered in determining the cumulative GPA in most majors. In cases where the grade is changed and the student has been placed on warning or suspension, the grade change and resultant GPA is not currently revisited. Kristi would like a program to revisit grade changes be put into place. The Academic Standing Subcommittee would meet four weeks into the following semester to consider any grade changes for those students on suspension or warning. Professor Micha Grudin suggested the students appear before the Academic Standing Subcommittee so the committee can determine why the student is in trouble. Micha is concerned about the combination of things that may have led to the student being in trouble, including depression. It should be automatic that the students appear before the Students in Trouble Committee. The delicate balance of handholding students and treating them as independent adults was discussed. Methods of "waking up" students who are in trouble other than a letter was discussed. At this point the AAAS Committee will continue meeting to determine suspension and warnings during winter break. It was suggested that the students in trouble be required to produce plans for continuing in school and submit them to the committee. The academic advisor is part of the solution for a student's success. One of the most difficult things for a student to do is to go to the faculty member when he/she is in trouble, especially if the advisor is a pre-major advisor. Dell Smith said with our current system, academic advising is totally in the faculty realm. Dean Sexton said that perhaps an AAAS faculty member could be the contact person for student to consult with on questions they have. The freshmen's first semester is the most difficult at Lewis & Clark since there is a lot of adjustment to make - the adjustment to expectations in the classroom, some students are away from home for the first time, etc. There are tutoring resources at the College, but many students don't take advantage of them (and they may not even know about them). Triple Majors Registrar Dell Smith said there are cases where a student wants a triple major. The catalog addresses double majors. The AAAS Committee was opposed to students trying for triple majors. Financial awards are good for only eight semesters. Committee on Standards and Progress Glendi Gaddis met with the Dean of the College Jane Atkinson about the Committee on Standards and Progress. No one seems to know the composition of that committee. Suggestions for members of that committee were members from the offices of Student Development, Registrar, Financial Aid, and Faculty. Next Year's Agenda Agenda items for next fall: Review the language in the probation and warning letters Review the mid-year student suspensions Continued discussion on scholarships: Criteria, class designation, application procedures Continued discussion of Merit Awards: review and appeal process
Meeting was adjourned. Next meeting will be in September 1999. |
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Created by: barnes@lclark.edu Updated: 20-SEP-99 |
