Faculty Council Meeting - Friday, February 12, 2021: Deadline for Agenda Items - Friday, February 5/2021 at 2:00 pm
MEMORANDUM
Date: February 5th, 2020
To: Members, Council of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities
Subject: COUNCIL MEETING
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There will be a meeting of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities Faculty Council on:
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 12th, 2021 AT 10:00 AM VIA ZOOM.
AGENDA
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Zoom Link:
https://lakeheadu.zoom.us/j/91514009816
Meeting ID: 915 1400 9816
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Presentation: Mr. Don Eldridge – Postsecondary Coordinator, Seven Generations
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1. Approval of Agenda.
2. Approval of the following Minutes: January 8th, 2021.
3. Business Arising from the Minutes.
4. Calendar Changes.
i) Languages
(2021-SOC-7595): Discontinue FREN 2211
(2021-SOC-7386): Cross list French 3603 (Type E course) with Women's Studies 3603
5. Department/School Reports.
6. Dean’s Report.
7. Other Business.
i) Proposed Revisions to University Regulation Withdrawal.
(Proposal from A. Tarsitano.)
8. Honour Code Discussion.
(See attached documents.)
9. Next Faculty Council Meeting: Friday, March 12th, 2021 at 10:00 am via Zoom.
10. Adjournment.
FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES COUNCIL
MINUTES
Friday, January 8th, 2021
A meeting of the Faculty Council was held on Friday, January 8th, 2021 at 10:00 am via Zoom.
Introduction to New Faculty Member:
T. Potter introduced Dr. Leigh Potvin, a new faculty member and Director of the School of Outdoor Recreation, Parks and Tourism. T. Potter gave a brief summary of her career before coming to Lakehead University, and stated that the School was very excited to have her.
B. Birmingham acknowledged T. Potter for his service as Acting Director of the School.
1.
Approval of Agenda
It was moved by I. Lemée and seconded by G. Colton that the agenda be approved.
Carried.
2.
Approval of Minutes
Approval of the minutes from December 3rd, 2020.
The minutes were accepted as circulated.
3.
Business Arising from the Minutes
None.
4.
Calendar Changes
None submitted.
5.
Department/School Reports.
None.
6.
Dean’s Report.
January 8, 2021
FCE Meeting
I will be meeting with S. Viitala on Monday to discuss/review the FCE requests from everyone for the coming academic year. I will be emailing everyone with any updates and to confirm your requests.
Cheating
There has been a significant increase in cheating this fall. There have been large groups of students engaged in this activity as exams move online, and up to four Deans have been involved. Students are able to access websites to request answers to questions they submit. They can then use these answers for their exams, tests, and assignments. It was noted that in some areas, students had access to the test bank of answers for exams all semester. We need to find workable solutions to this problem as it will take a collective effort to manage this moving forward. Some suggestions that instructors can do include:
1. Talk to department members about cheating to come up with viable solutions.
2. Write your own exams; talk with markers regarding the issue of cheating and try to use the same ones so they can get to know what to look for.
3. Begin to build a sense of community with your students and make them feel part of something. They should feel engaged in their degree program. Giving them an authentic assessment with helpful feedback, and pointing out what they have learned might give them a clearer feeling of accomplishment.
4. It might be a good idea to have more quizzes throughout the term in order to monitor their progress.
5. It may be a good idea to establish an “honour code” in your department/school.
Honour Code for our Faculty
Having a code for our faculty would help students feel a part of something and hopefully create respect for their degree, fellow students, instructors, and Lakehead University as a whole. They would have standards to follow and/or strive for, and this would hopefully lead to greater engagement with their peers as well as their professors. M. Stevenson will gather information on honour codes that other universities have in place and that information will be shared at our next Council meeting.
Discussion RE: Exams:
L. Chambers stated that we could look at the Senate guidelines for exams and perhaps address the practice of possibly eliminating them. It was mentioned that as exams are online now and for the foreseeable future, it might be a good idea limit the time given for exams, use the current technology so students cannot share answers, randomizing choices and the option of somehow monitoring students during the exam.
B. Birmingham mentioned that it would be a good idea for each department/school to have a discussion and decide what might work best for them. There are also resources provided by the Teaching Commons which could offer useful information on how to move forward on these issues. All faculty are encouraged to reach out to them either as a group or on an individual basis.
7.
Other Business:
None.
8.
Next Faculty Council Meeting: Friday, February 12th, 2021 at 10:00 am via Zoom.
9.
Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 10:59 am.
ATTENDANCE
Thunder Bay Campus
R. Maundrell
S. Jobbitt
K. Holmes
D. Ivison
B. Birmingham
L. Chambers
A. Carastathis
I. Lemée
C. Sanders
G. Colton
T. Potter
L. Potvin
R. Robson
R. Warburton
T. Puddephatt
L. Primavesi
S. Viitala
Orillia Campus
M. Stevenson
A. den Otter
A. Saulnier
J. Jarman
L. Fiddick
Regrets:
B. Vernier