November 7th, 2025
ARKANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY
FACULTY SENATE MEETING
November 7th, 2025
Humanities and Social Sciences 1028
Attendees: Amanda Mohler, Audrey Folsom, John Hershberger, Kacie Altom, Alexandr Sokolov, Julie King, Rashele Wade, Jason Causey, Suzanne Melescue, Anne McGee, Bert Greenwalt, Dwayne Powell, Stephanie Hoeckley, Rob Williams, Karen Graham, Banafsheh Aghayeebianeh, Kristen Sumler, Richard Segall, Veronika Scudamore, Hao Yang Teng, Guolei Zhou, Eric Dry, Jamie Pasmore, Scott Mangan, Robert Bradley, Donna Caldwell, Toccara Carter, Mark Lewis, Ibrahim Duyar, Rollin Tusalem, Gary Edwards, DayDay Robinson
Proxy Attendees: none
Guests: Kevin Hennings (parliamentarian), Annette Hux, Loretta McGregor, Nikesha Nesbitt, K.R. Johnson, Sean Binkley, Rocky Wilson, Dionne Haag, Josh Dennis
Absentees: Khem Aryal, Marceline Thompson-Hayes, Kim Vickrey, LTC J. Matt Weeks, Eric West, Savannah Cormier, Pradeep Mishra
The meeting was called to order at 3:00 pm by Amanda Mohler.
Order of the Day: Motion to approve the order of the day by Eric Dry, seconded by John Hershberger; all are in favor, the motion carried.
Approval of Minutes: The motion to approve the October 3rd, 2025 meeting minutes by Richard Segall, seconded by Julie King, all are in favor, and the motion carried.
New Business
Dr. Nesbitt, Dean of University College & Dr. K.R. Johnson – Study Resources
ATLAS and HOWL (total of 15 students)
What can faculty do to support students in their literacy?
Transition studies students: those students do not meet the normal conditional admittance to the university. They take foundational courses to build them up so they can take college-level courses. https://www.astate.edu/college/university-college/transition-studies/
HOWL transition students are not the same as the transition studies students.
The H.O.W.L. (Helping Our Wolves Learn) Transition Program provides the A-State experience to students with intellectual/developmental disabilities and/or autism.
The A.T.L.A.S. Transition Program Certificate is a non-degree granting program designed to provide students with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and/or Autism with a post-secondary education. The certificate program allows individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and/or Autism access to interdisciplinary enrichment and community engagement to empower students to become self-determined leaders in their lives.
This generation is learning differently, across the board, and there is a drop in literacy in the US.
We have resources that the students can use to help them.
The Lupine Wellness Center has some intensive academic resources for those students that have severe deficits.
Are there resources for ESL students to get them ready for our harder courses (such as those offered in the College of Nursing and Health Professions)? There are some in international studies, but most are not admitted through the ESL program. They are admitted on the basis of a TOEFL score. International students are struggling with test-taking. They generally do not meet the AAS accommodations requirements (language barrier is not a learning disability).
Is accommodating the students through college setting them up for failure in the workplace?
Transfer students are also not at the level that we need, depending on the institution they come from.
You can refer them to the Early Alert system to connect to some resources to help them meet the standards to be successful in the course.
Faculty are the front line to identify struggling students. It is up to us to help them.
If you have a HOWL or ATLAS student in your classroom, you will know because you will be contacted by the staff. Don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any issues or concerns.
Sean Binkley, Assistant Director of Study Abroad
Sean talked about study abroad programs.
There are 3 types:
- Short term – 2 to 4 weeks, led by A-State faculty (42 students going this year), are A-State courses
- Third-party programs – third-party groups (partner programs and internships) can get course credit if there is an A-State contract (9 students this year)
- Long-term exchange – studying at a foreign university for one semester to a year (50 students this year)
Destinations for this Spring and Summer: Greece, Dominica, Netherlands, Mexico, Germany, Taiwan, France
Chinese language learning camp in Taiwan
Exchange destinations: UK - Canterbury Christchurch; Germany - University of Applied Sciences Dusseldorf; Spain - University de Huelva, France - KEDGE business school; Rikkyo university in Japan; Dankook and Dongkuk in South Korea
Application deadlines are usually in February or March. There are basic eligibility requirements. The student needs to have 2 semesters completed.
New initiatives:
- Study away (domestic) NYC graphic design 2026
- Exploring CIMBA in Italy and Brunel in UK; Galway in Ireland for faculty-led programs
New scholarship: Summer Escape
Passport information sessions are offered twice a semester.
Cost is always an issue, but we try to keep the cost down. Students can apply for the travel voucher program or scholarship to help with costs.
Rocky Wilson, Dionne Haag, & Josh Dennis – Textbook Brokers, Inclusive Access Program
Inclusive access is a new program (2023); it is also called Knowledge Now.
It offers:
- Day 1 access digitally
- Market pricing or better
- Billed directly to the student account (separate from tuition and housing)
It does not change the required materials; it changes the delivery and billing mechanism.
Students can opt out. They can opt back in within a certain window if they need to.
You have to set up an LMS link in your Canvas shell for them to access it. That is where they can opt out if they want to.
So far, we have a 98.2% participation rate. Opt-outs are mainly due to course repeats.
8,091 students are participating. 547 courses.
This helps with retention.
Availability is dependent on the publishers, and we can negotiate with them.
It is possible to have multiple semesters or years of access to the same textbook.
Contact bookstore@astate.edu
If a student drops before the census date, they should get a refund. After that date, there is no refund.
Proposals: Faculty Senate Pay Equity Advisory Policy and FRAC Structure & Terms
Faculty Senate Pay Equity.
4.a.i - Why 86.5%? It was pulled from economic data for the region. Should we modify this?
3.a.3 - Why 2 per college? There are different sizes of colleges; some have more faculty than others. Maybe use a percentage?
FRAC – there will be someone to answer questions about this next meeting (11/21/2025)
Old business
Committee Reports
None
4:45 pm adjournment by Amanda Mohler
Minutes recorded by Audrey Folsom