Academic Council
- Academic Council has implemented a consent agenda for routine actions.
- In November, a graduate certificate in Sports Nutrition and a minor in Allied Health were approved. The Allied Health minor is a way for students not in admission selective programs to remain eligible for financial aid.
- Academic Council also revised the procedure on undergraduate GPA calculations. The change will allow more students to progress toward graduation. Every grade is counted toward overall GPA, but the new procedure allows programs to identify specific courses for majors and minors to calculate GPA. The exact wording of the procedure change is available in the Academic Council October meeting minutes and the course catalog.
- In December, Academic Council approved the definition and type of faculty appointments and revised undergraduate admission policy to be in compliance with state statute which includes American Sign Language as meeting the foreign language requirements for admission to the university.
- A minor was established in Early Childhood Emergent Inquiry.
Council of Chairs
- The Council of Chairs held its first meeting with Drs. Joe Sherlin and Sam Mayhew to discuss admissions recruitment. Council members were impressed with the changes that have been implemented to enhance recruitment and they came away with ideas of how to better engage departments in recruitment. Follow-up meetings are scheduled on a regular basis.
- Another group of chairs met with Dr. Bishop to talk about a step-down policy for chairs, and by the end of the meeting, their charge had been expanded to looking at roles and responsibilities of chairs, evaluations, further chair training and development.
Faculty Senate
- With Dr. Bill Flora assuming his new role in Academic Affairs, Stephen Hendrix (Computing) has assumed the role of President of the Faculty Senate for the remainder of the 2020 Academic Year. Dr. Jeff Gray (Pharmacy) has been elected to serve as Vice President for the remainder of the 2020 Academic Year.
- With the leadership of students and faculty from the College of Pharmacy, members of the Faculty Senate received free training to deliver the life-saving drug naloxone.
- The Faculty Senate passed a resolution honoring and thanking ETSU Custodians as a part of National Custodial Workers Recognition Day for all that they do at ETSU.
Graduate Student Professional Association
- Graduate and Professional Student Association assisted with the 3 Minute Thesis competition in November and sponsored a workshop on job searches conducted by Career Services
Information Technology Council
- The Phish Alert Button has been added to ETSU email
- Device Self Registration is now available in Residence Halls
- Deployment of TOPdesk, new ITS ticketing system, has taken place.
- ITS has been overseeing the migration of Windows 7 to Windows 10 operating system.
- ITS has also been working with Public Safety on security camera replacements.
- In December, ETSU announced the launching of the Varsity Esports team.
Staff Senate
- Staff Senate completed the 2019 Holiday Food Drive which filled 257 gift baskets and raised $2,879.86.
Student Government Association
- Student Government Association has passed a new wellness fee proposal in collaboration with Student Life and Enrollment that encompasses benefits to the Counseling Center, University Health Center and Career Services. The proposal has been sent to the University Budget Committee and is pending further review.
University Research Advisory Council
- The council has been working to implement changes to the Common Rule that governs federally sponsored research involving human subjects. In particular, one new change requires that any federally funded, multi-site study involving human subjects must use a single IRB. The Institutional Review Board (IRB) and the Council have developed procedures to ensure that our faculty can meet this new requirement and ensure appropriate oversight of the research.
- A second RFP for an electronic grant management system has been issued and, if a vendor is selected, implementation would occur about a year from the time the contract is signed.