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Senate Summary | March 2022

Read up on the highlights from the meeting.

If you missed the Academic Senate meeting on March 14, 2022, or need a refresher, then keep reading for the highlights from the meeting. For more information on the Academic Senate, click here.

Debate Calendar

Graduate Certificate in Deep Learning for AI and Robotics

Tom Henderson presented the following:

The Deep Learning Certificate Program will provide working knowledge of the use of state-of-the-art deep learning technology as a graduate student certificate program. Deep learning allows the identification of objects in images, translating languages and driving cars autonomously. Deep Learning is rapidly gaining application across all industries due to the availability of adequate computing power (e.g., GPU’s) and large data sets to train with. Utah currently has a large number of unfilled well-paying jobs in this area. Student enrollment in the program is achieved as a stackable certificate on top of a regular graduate degree. Successful award of the certificate in Deep Learning results from the completion of 15 student credit hours of work at the graduate level. This program provides education in this area to engineering and science graduate students beyond those with computing background. The certificate program requires a graduate internship project with program’s industry partners.

Policy for Research Misconduct Policy 7-001 Revisions

Caren J. Frost, Ph.D., MPH, Heather Sudbury, Allyson Hicks, Trina RichO provided an overview of changes to the research misconduct policy. They discussed overall updates to the Policy 7-001 (Research Misconduct) as well as minor changes to Policy 6-001 (Functions and Procedures of the Senate Consolidated Hearing Committee) and Policy 6-316 (Code of Faculty Rights and Responsibilities) that makes these policies consistent with the revisions to Policy 7-001. The last Policy 7-001 update was in 2008—the revised policy reflects new expectations from the federal Office of Research Integrity as well as national discussions about managing research misconduct. The changes to Policy 7-001 are updating the process for managing research misconduct, expanding the terminology, and broadening the policy to include non-sponsored research. In addition, we have changed the role of the Senate Consolidated Hearing Committee to hearing appeals of sanctions imposed on faculty for research misconduct instead of hearing appeals of the research misconduct outcome, and specifying when an appeal may be granted.

Advanced General Dentistry (AGD) Pathway Program

Marjean Nielsen and Lea Erickson presented the following:

The AGD Pathway Program is designed to provide matriculated predoctoral dental students an opportunity to explore fifteen (15) different career pathways in a variety of areas of dentistry to include (1) academic dentistry, (2) community-engaged dentistry; (3) public health dentistry; (4) periodontics; (5) fixed prosthodontics; (6) general practice dentistry; (7) geriatric, hospital and special care dentistry; (8) oral and maxillofacial surgery; (9) oral and maxillofacial pathology/oral medicine; (10) oral and maxillofacial radiology; (11) oral research; (12) orthodontics; (13) pediatric dentistry; (14) leadership in dentistry; (15) temporomandibular dysfunction and sleep dentistry.

Program goals

  1. Provide students with exceptional education and training.
  2. Create an opportunity for personal enrichment and professional development.
  3. Provide an opportunity for students to receive faculty mentorship.
  4. Set the graduates apart for residency programs, employment, and providing evidence-based patient care.

Information & Recommendation Calendar

Senior Associate Athletics Director for Academic Services Report

Chris Uchacz, Senior Associate Athletics Director for Academic Services, presented the academic performance summary for all student-athletes spanning the 2020-21 academic year as well as the spring 2021 and fall 2021 academic semesters. A brief review of the most recent 2021 NCAA Graduation Success Rate data.

Universal Design and Access Committee

Scott McAward and Angela Smith presented the following:

The Universal Design & Access Committee (UDA) is a component of the One U Thriving initiative led by Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. The UDA Committee advises the One U Thriving Steering Committee on policies and procedures affecting campus community members and visitors, including but not restricted to persons with disabilities, relative to employment, educational opportunities, and accessibility. The committee proactively works with university entities to enhance university accessibility for students, faculty, staff, and campus visitors according to the principles of Universal Design in areas such as curricular design, built environment, technology and information, campus events, and workplace inclusivity.

The committee’s current initiatives include the development of the Accessible U website; gathering campus data to support an app for locating accessible paths of travel; supporting the university’s new electronic accessibility policy; and providing an Accessibility Guidelines and Resources document for colleges, departments, and faculty.

Senate Committee Annual Reports

Senate Advisory Committee on IT Annual Report

Phoebe B. McNeally provided the following report:

The Senate Advisory Committee on IT (SACIT) worked with UIT to revise proposed Rule 5-0505B, University Software Acquisition Approval, to reach an acceptable rule for both IT and academics/research. The proposed rule addresses the ever-increasing software cyber security concerns and implements a UIT software security review process. The rule is required for all software that accesses, manipulates, creates or stores restricted data and is recommended for software that contains sensitive data. The rule does not apply to software that resides in a university-approved protected environment.

SCAFFR Annual Report 2021-22

Lien Fan Shen presented on the annual committee report of Academic Freedom and Faculty Rights.