Recorder: Diane Chepko-Sade

Present: Greg Auleta, Joan Carroll, Jean Chambers, Diane Chepko-Sade, John Huonker, Robert Irwin, Mary Loe, Mark Morey

Regrets:  Marybeth Bell, Sue Camp, Bill Goffe

1. The minutes of the meeting of April 10, 2006, were approved.
2. Announcements

1. Jean Chambers presented her “Progress Report on the work of the AQC to the Faculty Assembly on April 10^th.  There is, as yet, no feedback.
2. Jean contacted Mike Ameigh regarding filling Nikki Bomasuto’s position on the Academic Quality Committee.  The position will be filled, probably by another person from First Year Advisement.
3. Jean will draft the AQC’s year-end report to the Provost and circulate it to the committee for approval via email.

3. The committee read the revised draft of our memo to the Provost regarding the use of Banner to enforce prerequisites which John Huonker had edited based on recommendations made at our last meeting.  We made additional editorial suggestions and approved the draft.
4. Mark Morey presented summaries of reports from the Educational Growth and Development (EGAD) Project by the EGAD Project Task Force.  Mark Morey, Jacqueline Reihman and Robert Schell wrote the report in 1991 after the task force was disbanded by President Millie, and its function of program assessments was turned over to the Institutional Research and Assessment Office. The task force had developed a plan for assessing educational outcomes for Oswego students which, had it been put in place, would have provided much information that would have been useful in our current efforts at assessment.  The AQC will read the reports and discuss them at a future meeting.
5. The following list of topics was discussed as possible Issues to be addressed by the AQC in the coming year: 

1. We were asked to elect an AQC representative on the Writing Across the Curriculum Task Force.  Jean Chambers was nominated and elected unanimously.
2. Collegiate Learning Assessment may soon be required of state colleges, and has been imposed from the outside in Florida.  The Provost at Oswego is behind campus based assessment, and committee members feel that it could be a valuable tool for improvement from within, although many fear it as a tool that could be applied politically.  Jean will have a chapter of Bok’s book, “Our Underachieving Colleges” put on e-reserve for members of the committee to read.
3. Reading skills of students were discussed as an issue to take up in the fall. 
4. We also discussed briefly setting up an Online Faculty Forum where faculty could frankly discuss issues of academic quality.  A Blog might be appropriate, but the site would have to be accessible to faculty only, and moderated to keep it positive.
5. Adjunct expectations and rewards were also discussed as an issue to take up. 
6. The Faculty Activity Report was considered “clunky” and lacking in areas to report some activities that are essential to academic quality.  It was felt that the form may send the wrong message to faculty regarding expectations and rewards.
7. Critical Thinking:  The General Educational Council is considering infusing critical thinking into departmental offerings. In the absence of meaningful assessment, it is unclear what result this would have and whether students would really develop better critical thinking skills or whether the requirement would just be eliminated.
8. Basic Skills are lacking in so many students that if the training offered by OLS were advertised, particularly in the area of writing skills, they would be buried.
9. Quest: What does it mean to our students or our faculty?  What would we like it to mean?  Could SCAC use input from AQC?

6. All members of the AQC who wish to continue on the committee in the Fall should submit their Fall schedules to Jean so that Fall meetings can be scheduled.

Adjourned at 3:30 P.M.