Present: Susan Coultrap-McQuin (presiding), Michael Ameigh (recording), Mary Loe (for Mary Beth Bell), Lanny Karns, David King, Rhonda Mandel, Linda Rae Markert, Yvonne Petrella, Sara Varhus.

Academic Affairs goals:

A number of suggestions for refining a draft of the 2005-2006 goals for the Academic Affairs division were offered.  The Council then approved it, and the Provost indicated a final version will be available by the end of the week.

Retention of students:

The Council entered into a broad discussion of ways the Division can work to improve retention of students.  Associate Provost Rhonda Mandel had distributed articles related to teaching techniques and student-faculty contact outside the classroom in advance of today's meeting.  In both articles, student-faculty interaction is the key to retention.

The Provost's office will continue to seek and distribute pertinent information to inform this ongoing discussion.  Deans and directors will begin similar discussions in their units in order to identify strategies to enhance retention within departments and programs.

Requests for faculty searches for 2005-2006:

The deans summarized their priorities for hiring in the coming year.  Each requested position was proposed in terms of its significance to the unit to which it would be assigned and its relevance in meeting institutional goals.  A similar presentation will be made to the Priorities and Planning Council September 23rd.

-Adjourned