SENATE From the Senate Office |
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September 25, 2012,
Volume 59, No. 05 |
The following is published in accordance with the Faculty Senate Rules. Among other purposes, the publication of SEC actions is intended to stimulate discussion among the constituencies and their representatives. Please communicate your comments to Sue White, executive assistant to the Senate Office, either by telephone at (215) 898-6943, or by email at senate@pobox.upenn.edu
Faculty Senate Executive Committee Actions
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Welcome and Introductions: Faculty Senate Chair Susan Margulies welcomed the 2012-2013 Faculty Senate Executive Committee and brief introductions from members in attendance followed.
Chair’s Report: Dr. Margulies gave a brief overview of the Faculty Senate, Senate Committees and University Council. This year the Faculty Senate and Provost Office are partnering to create a website that will allow the faculty to opt in annually to communications about research seminars, teaching training, funding opportunities, pan-University group meetings, and benefits, and more. She asked SEC members to provide specific suggestions. She also asked SEC members to write down questions for the two discussions scheduled for the October SEC meeting featuring Senior Vice Provost Steve Fluharty and Vice President of Human Resources Jack Heuer. Dr. Margulies noted that SEC members received Guidelines for Social Media at Penn and requested that any concerns be forwarded to Sue White, executive assistant in the Office of the Faculty Senate. She noted that the Guidelines will be reviewed more thoroughly by the Senate Committee on Students and the Educational Policy. She reported that the October SEC meeting will be held at the University Club with a reception following the meeting at 5 p.m.
Past Chair’s Report: Faculty Senate Past Chair Camille Charles reported that she attended the first Capital Council meeting and reminded the Executive Committee that she is bound by a confidentiality agreement not to discuss the work of Capital Council outside of the committee. She reported that the Academic Planning & Budget Committee has not met yet.
Discussion on Coursera: Provost Vincent Price updated SEC on the history of Penn’s involvement with Coursera, how faculty might engage with Coursera, Penn’s progress to date, and issues that might emerge. He explained that Coursera is a company that provides an online platform for non-credit massively opes online courses (MOOC’s) available currently at no cost to audiences around the world. He explained that Penn’s partnership is non-exclusive, faculty participation is voluntary and the University and instructor retain all rights to course content. He reported that current enrollments in Penn’s first set of online courses range from 20,000 to 75,000 students. He reported that currently 33 higher education institutions have partnered with Coursera. Provost Price introduced Professor Edward Rock, the newly appointed Senior Advisor to the President and Provost and Director of Open Course Initiatives. Professor Rock will oversee the implementation of Penn’s partnership with Coursera to build administrative frameworks and advance the integration of online learning initiatives. Provost Price reported that there will be a Faculty Advisory Committee assembled to help manage the course review process. He noted that recent experience has shown that converting a class to a Coursera course requires a significant amount of work and explained that the Center for Teaching and Learning can help with pedagogical assistance.
SEC members and the Provost discussed the following topics: Penn’s goals for participating in Coursera, support for instructors teaching Coursera courses, Coursera’s business model, course evaluations, course content ownership, Coursera’s cost-sharing revenue model, faculty engagement in Penn’s Coursera course content and quality, and the importance of careful navigation of issues should they arise.
Discussion and vote on the draft 2012-2013 Senate Committee Charges: Dr. Margulies asked SEC members for comments concerning the draft 2012-2013 charges. SEC members had no revisions and unanimously approved the charges.
Discussion on issues to shape the 2012-2013 SEC Agenda: SEC members had a robust discussion and suggested a range of topics that might be added to this year’s SEC agenda. |