In attendance: Eileen Ansell, Patricia Beeson, Judith Erlen, David Crossman,

Nancy Grove, Joyce Holl, Ivanka Nikolova, William Powers (Student

Representative), Susan Sereika, Anthony Silvestre

Absent: Catherine Bender, Chao-Lin Chiu, Irene Frieze, Justin Hsieh, Cahris

Jones, Amy Knapp, Jackie Merranko, Walt Alan Stoy, Evelyn Talbott,

Charlene Trovato

1. Announcements:

a. New Staff Association Council (SAC) representative: Joyce Holl from

the Department of Medicine will replace Joan Cutone as a representative

from the SAC.

2. Approval of the Minutes of January 17, 2006: Due to a lack of a

quorum, the approval of the January SEPC minutes will be delayed to the

April SPEC meeting.

3. Misuse of Technology in the Classroom: S. Sereika reported that at

March Faculty Assembly meeting the misuse of technology in the classroom

by students was identified as an issue for SEPC to discuss at their next

meeting. These concerns came up when the Senate Computer Usage

Committee reported on CSSD's plans to roll-out wireless campus-wide. Some

faculty applauded this move stating this would allow increased use of

technology in the classroom, while others lamented about the abuses by

students related to having technology in the classroom. These abuses

included cheating using communication devices (e.g., text messaging test

answers on cell phones and Blackberries) as well as affecting the conduct of

the class (e.g., cell phones ring during class; students surfing the web instead

of participating in class).

J. Erlen reported that the UniversityÆs academic integrity policy seems to

cover instances of misuse of technology by students. (See University of

Pittsburgh Policy 02-03-02, revised September 2005.) She noted that this

policy appears to be written broadly enough to encompass the misuse of

technology in classroom by students. Under student obligations of this policy,

specific items (1, 3, 14) cover instances of cheating or disruptive behavior and

that faculty do have the authority to prohibit such behavior in the classroom.

Consistent with item 5 under faculty obligations in the UniversityÆs academic

policy, it was strongly recommended that faculty make a statement in class at

the beginning of a term regarding their expectations and that this also be

clearly stated in the course syllabus. (Additional discussion with international

students may be required to make sure that there is no misunderstanding of

what is appropriate.) Faculty who use CourseWeb could also post a

permanent announcement regarding what is permissible in the classroom.

From the studentÆs perspective W. Powers, a student representative from

the Student Government Board, noted that deterrents should be put in place

to stop cheating by students. He noted that although the studentÆs

obligations listed in the academic integrity policy are covered during student

orientation, cheating still seems to occur. He identified cell phones with

built-in cameras as devices that can be readily used for cheating through use

of the text messaging or camera features. While banning these devices in the

classroom may serve as a deterrent to their misuse, this may be problematic

if the student needs the device for emergency purposes. Instead proctoring

of in-class examinations with multiple proctors should be used. Additional

feasible deterrents that may prove effective include using alternate versions

of the examination where the ordering of test items varies as well as variable

assigned seating from one test to the next.

The discussion also turned to the harassment of faculty by students

particularly with respect to debates about grades. This, too, is also covered by

the UniversityÆs academic integrity policy under student obligations item 14.

4. Implementation of SEPC recommendations on Part-time Faculty: Due to

the lateness of the hour continued discussions on this topic were deferred to

the April SEPC meeting.

5. Adjournment: The SEPC meeting adjourned at about 12:45pm; the next

SEPC meeting is scheduled for April 18, 2006 from 11:45 to 12:45 PM in 369

Victoria Building.

Respectfully submitted,

Susan M. Sereika, PhD