Faculty Senate - March 2026 Minutes

*Proxy for Dr. Stacia Miller

Call to Order: 3:31 PM

Not Present: Catherine Gaharan, Rafael Powell, Anne Marie Leimer, Jill Young, Stacey Machado, Lee Gagum, Beverly Stiles, Jon Scales

Special Guests

1. Dr. Keith Lamb, Vice President for Enrollment Management - Recruitment Efforts
   • Dr. Keith Lamb shared detailed plans and updates for recruitment and growth, focusing on plans for Fall 2026. The slides, added as Appendix A below, shows comparisons and growth over 3 years across different populations. Slides also indicate increases in financial aid offers as well as expedited timelines for making offers to eligible student populations. The AFAS dashboard from RNL also provides enrollment likelihood and aid receptivity scores to help Admissions focus on prospective students with higher likelihood of enrolling. Admissions office processes are growing in efficiency and focused recruitment strategies, and numbers are on the rise.
2. Provost Marcy Brown Marsden - Retention Efforts
   • Dr. Brown Marsden highlighted that success in retention happens one student at a time and is the responsibility of every MSU employee. She then shared average retention rates across institutions over 18 years, and fall to fall retention rates at MSU over ten years, indicating that our goal for 2025 is 65%, a 3% increase from last year. Early indicators for this cohort show likely growth over last year. She shared current initiatives for retention, which include the following:
     1. Campaigns through Navigate: Early alerts, midterm progress reports
     2. Support and growth of Tutoring and Academic Support Program (TASP)
     3. Retention Communication Plan
        • Provided in Appendix B: This handout summarizes a detailed communication plan focused on organizing efforts to guide students through Preregistration & Advising, Registration during spring semester, Summer maintenance, August registration and advising, and referrals to ensure success during the semester.
     4. Student Success Center/Military Education Center (opening April 2026), made possible by $1.2 million annually from the state; Added three success coaches; Added an Advising Program Specialist (Dottie Westbrook) to provide transitional advising; Added 3 new college advisors (DCOBA, GCHSHS, WCOEPS)
     5. 5-year partnership with Gardner Institute, the purpose of which is described in Appendix A:
        • “We aim to create a more pedagogically oriented campus, to support innovative and effective faculty teaching, and to support students to successfully engage and learn. Through self-study and resources that focus on supporting students, as well as courses and programs tailored directly to the unique needs of a new generation, we will teach students how to adapt and thrive in programs of study that will prepare them for successful lives after graduation. Ultimately, we will affirm that attending college was the right choice for them, with assurance that they can graduate on time and with the preparedness to transition confidently to the next steps in their lives with purpose, increased agency, and gainful employability.”
        • The timeline for the Gardner Institute’s Transformation Initiative is highlighted on Slides 21 & 22 of Appendix A.
   • Dr. Lei asked if we know that students have the majority covered for financial aid prior to enrollment.
   • Dr. Lamb said, yes, roughly 30-40% of our incoming class is covered by the Mustangs Guarantee.
   • Ms. Candice Fulton indicated that marketing is an issue, because she doesn't think people know how well our students are doing.
   • Dr. Lamb said, out of 32 Texas schools, we have a top 10 ROI.
   • Ms. Candice Fulton indicated that our social media is often about athletics or special events, but we rarely see the success stories.
   • Dr. Brown Marsden said that Dr. Jeremy Duff has compiled a report and dashboard on post-grad salaries, job placements, and achievements.
   • Dr. Azzouz indicated that faculty grading practices affect our retention. When faculty are really tough graders, it disincentives students to continue. He has seen classes starting with 25 students and ending with ten students or fewer.
   • Dr. Brown Marsden said, that’s why we’re looking closely at DFWI rates, and making strategic plans for improving faculty efforts and support. We have TLRC, but we don’t have a site or a space where faculty can go to work on their teaching practices. As Provost, she tries not to intervene too much in faculty pedagogies, but we definitely want to provide more support.
   • Dr. Azzouz suggested that we need to go beyond TLRC and have faculty workshops on syllabus and curriculum development to ensure that grading practices support learning.
3. MSU Campus Master Plan Workshop #2 - Faculty Senate Invitation
   • Dr. Brown Marsden explained that the Campus Master Plan Workshops invite faculty to provide feedback regarding future planning for facilities, parking, and space allocation. Invitations have been sent for both Faculty Senate and general faculty workshop sessions during the week of March 30th. Faculty are strongly encouraged to attend and give feedback.
   • Dr. Hillary Coenen asked if there would be opportunities to provide feedback at other times. Dr. Brown Marsden indicated that there would be later rounds.

Housekeeping

• Approval of Agenda - Dr. Diltz motioned, and Dr. Lei seconded. Majority approved.
• Approval of Minutes - Dr. Lei motioned to approve the minutes from Feb. 12, 2026, and Dr.
  Diltz seconded. Majority approved.

Current Business/Information Sharing

1. MSU Faculty Policies Review Update
   • Dr. Slavens explained that Dr. Brown Marsden is responding to all of the comments provided by faculty, indicating how she will use them in revisions of the policies. Everyone can still access those documents in Teams to see how she is responding. If you made a comment, you should’ve received a comment back from her. The Provost has sent all the changes that she made based on our comments to Barry Macha, who will send it to the Board for review. Senators may provide further feedback to the executive committee via email.
2. April Deadline for Faculty Senate Appointment Recommendations for 2026-2027
   • Dr. Slavens explained that we will need to plan for elections earlier in order to address SB 42 and our new Faculty Operating Policies. So we will need to determine if any senators rolling off this year would like to be considered for election for another term. After this year, senators who roll off will have to remain off for two years. We would like new senators to be able to vote for the executive board, and if anyone is rolling off of senate, the President can appoint a person who wishes to serve on executive committee so that they can continue and we may have some continuity.
   • Are any who are present interested in serving on executive committee?
   • Dr. Slavens has indicated that she is rolling off, and we need to know who is interested in serving.
   • Dr. Slavens explained that serving on exec means participating in two extra meetings per month.
   • We will solicit nominations for executive committee via email prior to the April meeting.
3. Possible Rescheduling of April 9 Faculty Senate Meeting
   • Dr. Slavens indicated that we could delay the April meeting to either April 16th or 23rd in order to provide more time for senate elections and executive committee nominations. A poll was sent via email to allow senators to indicate availability for alternative dates.
4. Review Plan for May Faculty Senate Organizational Meeting
   • Dr. Slavens indicated that the May Faculty Senate meeting is typically an organizational meeting to vote on the slate of executive officers and incorporate new senators for the following academic year. We will hold that meeting, but the structure may look a little different, depending upon what is accomplished in the April meeting.

New Business

1. Discussion about Academic Dishonesty & Turnitin
   • Dr. Daniel Frazier explained that he spoke with D2L about the Turnitin AI detection tools. Students can use layers of AI tools to compose and improve AI-generated drafts. Turnitin has an Originality detection tool, but their Clarity application, available for an extra cost, is a major improvement on AI detection. Grammarly’s tools are much more advanced and extensively intervenes in students’ writing. Turnitin also has a component that detects AI use in math and STEM for additional cost, GradeScope.
   • Dr. Frazier asked if faculty are interested in learning more or requesting the Clarity application as a tools we can apply.
   • Dr. Frazier can provide weblinks about the Clarity and GradeScope applications so that we can investigate if we want to pursue these tools.
2. Sufficiency of Current Policy applied to exceptional cases
   • Dr. Slavens expressed concerns about the Student Handbook’s “Academic Dishonesty Policy & Procedures” (pp. 66-68).
   • There is no documentation for instances of academic dishonesty that goes beyond the college, unless the student appeals past the Dean for it to go to the Student Conduct Committee.
   • Director of Student Rights & Responsibilities
   • Dr. Slavens is concerned that there is no accountability for students across courses. Academic Appeals Committee
   • Dr. Bunch, “I wonder if we could add a note in Navigate to document.”
   • Dr. Lei I think I’m still familiar with the policy. I don’t think the problem is with the policy; I think it’s with how faculty apply the policy. Faculty are supposed to report to chair, and chair is supposed to report to Student Rights & Responsibilities.
   • Dr. Lei explained that the process doesn’t advance unless students appeal. He said that he doesn’t use detection software, but he’s supportive of measures that support academic integrity, because students will deny it to the end of the process.
   • Dr. Slavens said, I do think we have an issue with the procedures in cases where students have multiple occurrences/sanctions. The policy still won’t create an opportunity to deploy a more significant sanction unless the student appeals.
   • Dr. Bunch suggested that Dr. Slavens ask Dail Neely to come speak about how these procedures actually work.
   • Dr. Lei said that he thinks that some colleges (like Health Sciences) do have college level procedures that enable them to impose more severe sanctions.
   • Dr. Tracie Fulton explained that it’s easier for our college because students enter our programs with program handbooks, that student sign onto and understand.
   • Vincent explained that if it went through advisors, who could explain that this is how academic dishonesty can affect students’ success in their programs.
   • Dr. Coenen indicated that it’s a great idea, but currently our procedures seem to vary greatly across colleges, which makes it difficult to ensure consistent experiences across campus.

Unfinished Business

Committee and Other Reports

1. Academic Council - Dr. Darla Diltz
   No report.
2. Administrative Council - Dr. Dawn Slavens
   No report.
3. Student Allocations Council - Dr. Michelle Hall
   No report.
4. Athletics Council - Dr. Catherine Gaharan
   No report.
5. Student Affairs & Enrollment Council - Dr. Bev Stiles
   No report.
6. University Celebration of Scholarship - Dr. Darla Diltz
   No report.
7. Emergency Management - Professor Jill Young
   No report.
8. Leadership Advisory Council - Dr. Dawn Slavens
   No report.
9. Staff Senate - Dr. Phillis Bunch
   No report. (Staff Senate did meet, but Dr. Bunch did not attend.)
10. Student Government Association - Vincent Peter
    SGA elections are open, and Vincent’s last day is May 31st, and a new President will be in office. Would Faculty Senators be interested in attending a regular meeting or a joint session. April 7th & April 21st, April 7th will be the meeting where students are reporting back and voting on their Legislation that they’ve
    written.
    Students have voiced concerns about academic advising and inconsistency: changing advisors and poor enrollment advice from advisors. How can we improve continuity across advisors and colleges?
    Dr. Azzouz suggested that advisors need to use DegreeWorks, and to check students’ work.
    April 23rd is SGA Junior event where 4-5th grade students will visit campus and get a tour and get to practice writing legislation.
11. Other Committee Reports - 
    No reports.

Announcements

Meeting adjourned at 5:17 PM. Dr. Diltz made a motion to adjourn, and Professor Young
seconded. The motion to adjourn passed by a majority.

Submitted,
Dr. Hillary Coenen, Faculty Senate Secretary
Dr. Dawn Slavens, Faculty Senate Presiding Officer

Meetings & Deadlines
The next Executive Committee will meet with the President on Friday, Mar. 20th at 3 PM.
Agenda items for the next meeting should be submitted to Dr. Slavens by Noon on March 30th.
The next Executive Committee meeting will be March 31st at 3:30 PM.
The next Faculty Senate meeting will be April 9th at 3:30 PM.