RUTGERS UNIVERSITY SENATE

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MINUTES

April 4, 2025

MEMBERS PRESENT: Boikess, Boxer, R. Brown, Foster (Chair), Godoy, Haley, Kiss, Olivera, Purcell, Roth, Salas-de la Cruz, Schroth, Simonds

ALSO ATTENDING: A. Calcado (EVP and COO, Institutional Planning and Operations), V. Hewitt (University Senate Executive Secretary), J. Oliver (University Senate Parliamentarian)

The regular meeting of the University Senate Executive Committee was held on Friday, April 4, 2025 at 12:00 p.m. remotely via Zoom.

Chair’s Report– Lucille Foster, Senate Chair

Chair Foster called the April 4, 2025 Senate Executive Committee meeting to order at 12:04 p.m.

Secretary’s Report– Vicki Hewitt, Senate Executive Secretary

• The April 4, 2025 Executive Committee Agenda was approved with one item of New Business.
• The March 7, 2025 Senate Executive Committee Minutes were approved with one amendment. The following sentence was added under the heading “Resolution for President Holloway”: “The Executive Committee adopted a motion with an 8-4 vote to develop a resolution addressing the departure of the President.”
• Communications announced:
  • Call for Nominations for 2025-2026 Senate Elections – nominations are due Fri. April 18
  • Senate Social Luncheon: Fri. April 11 from 12:00 – 2:00 p.m.

University Physical Master Plan – Antonio Calcado, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Institutional Planning and Operations

BTAA Statement in Support of the Core Mission and Values of Higher Education in the United States of America

The Executive Committee docketed this resolution for the April Senate agenda.

Resolution for President Holloway

This was postponed to the June Executive Committee meeting.

Standing Committees/Panels

Committee Report and Recommendations:

Ad Hoc Committee on Senate Communications – Robert Schwartz, Chair

Report on S-2334-1: Senate Communications

The committee was charged as follows:

An ad committee will be created with broad representation to evaluate procedures to regulate use of the Senate listserv.

Outcome: The Executive Committee docketed this report for the April Senate agenda.

Committee Report and Recommendations:

Academic Standards, Regulations and Admissions Committee – Robert Schwartz and Jose Torres, Co-Chair

Report on S-2404: Inter-campus Inclusion and Equity in the Rutgers Academic Calendar

The committee was charged as follows:

Investigate the most efficient way to broaden the development, implementation, and online display of the Rutgers Academic Calendar to ensure that all campuses are fully included in a manner that supports and promotes major calendar milestones such as convocation and commencement.

Outcome: The Executive Committee docketed this report for the April Senate agenda.

Proposed Charge:

Degree Navigator and Advising Platforms – Brian Everett, Camden Staff

Charge: Investigate the accuracy, functionality, and use of Degree Navigator as a source of degree-tracking information. Evaluate differences in accuracy, functionality, and use between campuses, as well as schools or departments. Provide recommendations for improving this platform, or recommendations for use of other platforms.

Additionally, consider investigating Navigate360 (aka EAB), the College Student Inventory, the Schedule of Classes, the Course Schedule Planner, and academic department websites as they relate to Degree Navigator, and the general work of providing holistic academic advising to undergraduate students at Rutgers University.

Rationale: First, Degree Navigator is a program that all undergraduate students are able to use once they become students at Rutgers University. It does seem to vary in use per campus, and the accuracy of its programming seems to vary by campus, school, and even department. To avoid confusion among undergraduates, it is wise to conduct a university-wide review of the platform to identify areas where corrections can be easily made, and/or, recommendations for new platforms can be offered.

Degree Navigator is just one platform among many which academic advisors, students, and faculty may use when crafting graduation plans, checking general education requirement codes, and managing student data related to holistic academic advising and student success work. When investigating the other platforms mentioned above, recognize how they all work together as an ecosystem of sorts, so when one is missing information, the consequences translate to other platforms which may go unseen for several semesters.

Outcome: The Student Affairs Committee was issued this charge with a deadline of December 2025.

Proposed Charge:

New Student Onboarding – Brian Everett, Camden Staff

Charge: Given changes in organizational structure, as well as changes in software platforms, evaluate the onboarding process for incoming new students at Rutgers University. Consult with relevant admissions offices, academic advising offices, and faculty departments regarding incoming credits being processed and applied to Rutgers transcripts, summer onboarding programing for new students, Fall course registration, and Fall course availability for incoming students.

Rationale: Since Rutgers began using Salesforce as the main admissions application/onboarding software, some staff and incoming students/parents have reported issues regarding the processing of transfer credits, the use of invalid course numbers for transferred courses or AP exams, delays in responses, a lack of courses in Fall semesters to continue in a proper sequence for degree completion, and unclear processes students/parents/staff are expected to follow over the summer.

Outcome: The Academic Standards, Regulations and Admissions Committee was issued this charge with a deadline of December 2025.

Open Charge Request:

USGC requests a deadline extension for the following charges to January 2026:

• • S-2309-2: Increased Representation of Graduate Students and PTL Faculty in the University Senate
• • S-2316-1: University Senate Representation on Formal Governance Boards
• • S-2318-1: Increasing Student Representation on the Rutgers University Senate Executive Committee

Outcome: The deadlines for S-2309-2, S-2316-1, and S-2318-1 were extended to January 2026.

Open Charge Request:

USGC requests to be discharged from:

S-2313-1: Whether Students Should Substitute for Workers in Urgent Situations

Note this was also charged to FPAC.

Outcome: S-2313-1 was discharged from USGC and remains charged to FPAC.

Old Business

None

New Business

Senator Boxer added the Resolution on Productive Shared Governance at Rutgers in a New Era to be docketed to the April Senate meeting agenda. The meeting lost quorum, so Executive Committee members will be asked to vote by email to docket this resolution.

Adjournment

The Executive Committee adjourned at 1:26 p.m.

Minutes prepared by: Vicki Hewitt, Executive Secretary of the University Senate