EDUCATIONAL POLICY COMMITTEE
Minutes
September 6, 2007

Attending: S. Birrell, J. Cox, H. Dettmer, M. Gilbert, K. Hall (committee staff), R. Ketterer, J Menninger, M. Reagan, A. Segre

Excused Absence: R. Honey, M. Niño-Murcia

1. Associate Dean Helena Dettmer welcomed new EPC members Professors Jeffrey Cox (History), Miriam Gilbert (English), and Alberto Segre (Computer Science).  EPC members introduced themselves, and Helena Dettmer reviewed EPC highlights from last year. (Summaries are available at the CLAS EPC web site.)
2. Professor Mark Regan volunteered as the secretary of EPC for the fall semester, representing EPC on the Faculty Assembly agenda committee. Since he will be on leave during the spring, Professor Rob Ketterer will serve then.
3. Approval of the May 17, 2007 minutes was deferred until the next meeting. EPC briefly discussed those minutes and recommended a return visit from Tom Kruckeberg to review the Registrar’s plan to move to a paperless environment.
4. EPC discussed possible CLAS academic policy during a pandemic or disaster. Professor John Menninger reviewed his and Professor Rex Honey’s work last spring on the campus-wide task force examining responses to a pandemic. Any plan would be altered during the event, but considering options now will help the University react more coherently during a crisis. EPC noted the difference between a pandemic and a disaster involving property destruction, deciding to focus discussion on the former. Members stressed that any academic plan must treat all students fairly and equally. The plan also should be as simple as possible since faculty and staff may not be available to implement a complex one. Members noted that the integrity of the institution and its values must be protected during a crisis despite the potential temptation to jettison those during turmoil. The College should be on record concerning the protection of faculty and staff status and pay. EPC discussed financial implications of ending the semester early, noting the close relationship of academic and financial planning.
5. EPC looked at the CLAS proposal suggesting possible academic policies during a pandemic. Last year, EPC agreed that courses should not continue by distance learning; the current EPC concurred that if courses were cancelled within the first ten weeks of the semester, students should automatically be withdrawn without the designation of a W on the transcript. If courses were suspended after ten weeks, EPC agreed that the faculty of each course should decide whether students should receive an Incomplete, the grade earned, or an S grade at the time of the suspension. Only one option should be given to all students within the course in order to keep the plan simple, functional, and fair. Faculty know best which option is appropriate, especially for courses that are prerequisites for other courses. EPC agreed that once courses have been suspended, attempting to resume them during that semester would be exceedingly difficult if not impossible. EPC will continue this discussion at the next meeting.
6. Professor Jeffrey Cox reminded faculty of the open forum today concerning the arming of the campus police force.  He asked that members attend to represent CLAS and to voice their opinions. All members of the university community may send comments to president@uiowa.edu by Monday, Sept. 10.

Respectfully submitted,

Mark Reagan, EPC Secretary