EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MINUTES
Present: Alexander,
Alloway, Beck, Bolin,
Absent:
Date: Wednesday, May 31, 2006
Location: 201 Canfield Administration Building
Note: These
are not verbatim minutes. They are a
summary of the discussions at the Executive Committee meeting as corrected by
those participating.
______________________________________________________________________
1.0 Call to Order
Moeller called the meeting to order at 2:33 p.m.
2.0 Chancellor Perlman/SVCAA Couture/VC Owens
2.1 Summer Enrollment Figures
Chancellor Perlman reported that enrollment for those summer courses with reduced tuition rates is up by at least 23%. Ledder asked if the sale on tuition is for specific courses. Chancellor Perlman stated that the sale is for freshmen level courses. Alloway asked if the increase in enrollment is meeting the expectations of the administration. Chancellor Perlman pointed out that this is the first time that a tuition reduction for specific courses has been offered so there were no expectations.
Chancellor Perlman noted that the enrollment for the 2006-07 freshmen class is not as large as he had hoped. He stated that it was originally thought that we could have 500 additional students but it will more likely be 350. He noted that this is still a healthy increase.
SVCAA Couture stated that there has been concern that enrollment figures for this summer would be down again by as much as 2% but overall it is down only 1%. She noted that the summer sale courses show about a 25% increase over average enrollment in these courses in the summer.
SVCAA Couture stated that she is working on creating a summer school advisory committee to coordinate more effectively the courses that are taught during the summer. She noted that there may be some courses that are scheduled at the same time during the summer, requiring a student to decide which course to take instead of enrolling in both courses. She stated that the goal is to get more students in summer classes because it helps with graduation rates, eases pressure on class enrollment in the fall and spring, and brings in more revenue.
Alexander asked if evening classes are being looked into as well. SVCAA Couture stated that more needs to be done with night classes throughout the year. She pointed out that the campus needs to think of ways to make our programs more attractive to students and offering more evening classes is one way of doing this. Moeller agreed and stated that K-12 teachers throughout the state who want or need to take courses would appreciate having more evening courses that they could attend.
SVCAA Couture stated that this was the first year that students were given an incentive to take summer courses and it has worked well. She noted that experience at other institutions with incentive programs is that the first year there won’t be much improvement but the second and third years show greater improvements. She stated that she sees real opportunities with incentive programs at UNL.
2.2 Budget Update
Chancellor Perlman reported that the Board of Regents will most likely approve the budget for next year at their June meeting. He stated that the Board will also be looking at a second draft of the 2008-09 biennium budget but this request will probably not be approved until the end of July. He noted that the next biennium budget will need to be in the Governor’s office in September.
Chancellor Perlman reported that for next year President Milliken has added $1 million into the budget to begin to address bringing faculty salaries at UNL and UNMC up to the average salaries of their peers. Chancellor Perlman stated that no guidelines have been set yet on how this money will be used and distributed.
Chancellor Perlman stated that there have been some preliminary conversations about using the money for units that are significantly below their peer groups in terms of salaries. He stated that the salary increases with this money will be clearly merit based and limited to people with high performance records.
Ledder asked if there has been any consideration for structural readjustments. He pointed out that the hiring rates have changed over the years and some faculty members who have been here for a length of time are being paid below what newly hired assistant professors are paid. He noted that it has been quite a few years since this issue has been addressed. Chancellor Perlman stated that the decision on how the money can be used will be decided by Central Administration. He pointed out that $1 million is not a lot of money when it is split between UNL and UNMC. He stated that Deans could use some of the money from the annual salary increases to address issues of salary compression. He stated that he doubts that the problems will be able to be solved this year.
Chancellor Perlman reported that Programs of Excellence funds will be in the budget. He noted that there will be $1 million for diversity that was not in the budget last year. He pointed out that we will continue to face some risks with the budget in part because of the adjustments being made to the system due to tuition shortages. He noted that this could result in a shortfall for UNL. He stated that it is predicted that there will be a utilities shortfall since the Governor vetoed the money to cover utilities next year. Chancellor Perlman stated that next year we will be able to monitor the heating and air conditioning in most buildings which will help with the utilities costs.
Chancellor Perlman stated that the faculty will receive nearly a 4% salary increase this year which will help us to catch up to our peers. He noted that many of our peer institutions are only getting a 3% increase.
Chancellor Perlman reported that
the tuition increase in next year’s budget is set for 6%. He stated that 5% is tuition increase and 1%
goes to LB605, the Legislature’s building maintenance fund. He noted that the first two buildings that
will be worked on as a result of the LB605 money will be
Scholz asked if most of the work on Sheldon is on the outside of the building. Chancellor Perlman stated that the outside of the building is in bad shape. He noted that all of the weight of the exterior skin of the building is pressing on the base.
Beck pointed out that some buildings, such as Animal Science, are just freezing cold due to over air conditioning. She asked who controls the air conditioning. Chancellor Perlman stated that rooms in most buildings, particularly older buildings, cannot be controlled. Ledder stated that since Avery Hall has been renovated there is very good control of the ventilation system. Chancellor Perlman pointed out that most of the money from LB605 will be used to deal with heating and air conditioning systems of buildings.
Chancellor Perlman stated that he has received letters from alumni trying to save Brace Hall. He noted that there are no current plans to demolish the building but neither are there any plans to renovate it. He pointed out that the LB605 money allow some buildings to be brought up to standard but those buildings that cannot be brought up to date need to be torn down.
Chancellor Perlman noted that Ferguson Hall cannot be redeemed and will eventually be torn down. He stated that Brace and Behlen pose a problem. If LB605 money is used to fix these buildings then there will not be enough left to deal with Physics. He noted that at this point no decisions have been made. He pointed out that there are real space problems on this campus. Behlen is being used for some faculty offices and some minor maintenance work might be done on this building which can be used for some units if they are willing to help pay the cost of operating the building. He stated that the hope is to have a new building in the location of Brace and Behlen using the façade of Brace but having a building that is modern and effective.
Chancellor Perlman reported that included in the proposed budget is two years of salary increases with a total of 4.5% for faculty and staff. Also included is $4.8 million in each of the two years to bring UNL and UNMC up to their peers in terms of average salaries.
Chancellor Perlman stated that
there will likely be a change in how the Programs of Excellence are
funded. He noted that every year up
until now there was a budget line of $3 million for the programs but there was
no effort to articulate in advance what these programs were. He pointed out that the Legislature never
funded the Programs of Excellence in the past but President Milliken is going
to try to make the programs more attractive to get funding for them. He noted that UNMC is pushing hard for the creation
of a
Chancellor Perlman reported that information was provided at a recent meeting by Central Administration showing that over the last ten years actual state tax dollars going to the University have never fully covered salary increases and health coverage. He noted that these costs were covered by tuition.
Chancellor Perlman stated that the “No child left behind” program and the regulations that it places on teachers has great opportunities for the university. He wondered whether there is a mechanism to tap a search for these teachers. Moeller stated that her department has an immersion program but it has been challenging to get Spanish credit for the courses offered during the immersion. Chancellor Perlman stated that there should be a mechanism for departments to determine how many teachers in the state need certification in their discipline.
Ledder stated that it seems that the administration is suggesting a different form of scheduling courses. He noted that it is difficult for some people to get down to campus. He pointed out that the Mathematics department has a 5 credit course but many day students will not take it as an evening course. SVCAA Couture stated that departments are self-selecting with evening classes. She noted that often people with full-time jobs take the evening courses. She stated that some disciplines might need to have continuance over times when these courses are offered. She stated that the evening courses need to be looked at.
Ledder wondered whether there was a way to find out if students would sign up for a 4:30 course. Moeller stated that one of her classes was taught early in the morning and only seven students enrolled. The course is now taught at 4:30 and there are 32 students in it. She suggested that each discipline would have to look at the need for evening courses.
Ledder pointed out that departments are overcoming how evening programs are funded because it is being done differently now than it was done for many years. Moeller stated that a bigger issue is getting classroom space. Ledder stated that courses being spread out over a larger amount of time should help with the space problem.
Chancellor Perlman stated that he
is trying to push Deans and Chairs to be more entrepreneurial. He stated that he is willing to bear some of
the financial risks for sensible proposals if they will have potential. He noted that departments can minimize their
risks by looking at the enrollment figures for courses at
Beck asked if it is widely known by the campus that the Chancellor is interested in spreading out courses so there are more available in the evening. Chancellor Perlman admitted that part of the problem with the strategic planning process is communicating to the faculty of what the administration is trying to accomplish.
SVCAA Couture stated that a number
of Deans and academic units submitted ideas for generating tuition including
courses that might be alternatives for those that some of our students now take
at
2.3 Violations of 15th
Week Policy
Alloway reported that the Committee has heard of some violations of the policy. He noted that in particular an instructor announced on the Monday of the 15th week that there was going to be a final which would be given on Friday of the 15th week. He stated that the Committee was also made aware of a final that was given after 12:00 on Friday of finals week when all exams were supposed to have been completed.
Moeller noted that the burden is on the students to report if there is a violation but she understands the hesitancy on the part of students to do so because they are fearful that it could impact their grade. She asked what can be done when the Senate gets these kinds of reports.
SVCAA Couture stated that this was the first time she has heard about these violations. Ledder asked if she received similar reports before the policy was changed. SVCAA Couture stated that she heard that there may have been issues before the policy was enstated, but she knows the students actively campaigned to change the previous dead week policy and now that the Senate has approved a change, no problems had been brought to her attention. She noted that she and VC Owens sent out an email message to all faculty members and Deans to make them aware of the new 15th week policy. She stated that they will send out another email message about the policy next fall. She pointed out that if the Executive Committee becomes aware of violations again, she will be happy to discuss issues about specific violations with the Deans so they can be addressed in each college.
Ledder suggested that a short email message be sent out spelling out the policy guidelines. SVCAA Couture stated that she would like to send the message in conjunction with the Senate. She noted that it would be helpful if the Executive Committee suggested how to word the message.
Ledder suggested that the Executive Committee should check with ASUN to see if there have been a lot of problems with the new policy. SVCAA Couture stated that she will reiterate to the Deans Council the policy and ask them to speak to the chairs to make sure that we have more compliance with the policy. She noted that adjunct professors may not receive the information which could lead to possible violations.
Alexander stated that he has received very positive feedback from both faculty members and students on the new policy.
2.4 General Education
Revisions
Moeller reported that members of the Executive Committee will be meeting with Professor Janovy in July to discuss what the faculty role is in the revision process. She noted that she is forming an ad hoc committee to come up with ideas on how to get the faculty involved in the process. She pointed out that the Senate is considering conducting a survey to get faculty endorsement on the institutional objectives. She stated that the Committee is trying to move discussion into the faculty arena in the hopes of getting the faculty to participate more.
SVCAA Couture noted that the General Education Planning Team and the General Education Advisory Committee are a faculty driven effort. She stated that she thinks Professor Janovy will welcome suggestions and opportunities to get the word out to faculty on the progress of the revision. She noted that Professor Janovy has addressed the Deans Council and a number of outcome statements for the new program have been endorsed by the planning committee.
Ledder stated that his concern is that the committee is putting a lot of time and effort into the revision and he thinks they will come up with a good proposal but the faculty will have to vote on it and the proposal may not be approved because the faculty does not understand what is going on and why. He pointed out that the faculty should be aware of what is going on each step of the way. If this is done the faculty will get ownership of the revised program and are more likely to be in favor of it.
SVCAA Couture stated that she thought this was an excellent idea. She noted that the general education revision team has done consultations across the campus and have involved the Deans, but it is also important to have faculty input. She stated that the faculty members on the teams have been reporting regularly to their Deans and chairs about what is going on. She pointed out that information on the revision process is being placed on the website (http://www.unl/edu/svcaa/gened/). She agreed that there has to be widespread understanding about the proposed revisions.
Moeller stated that the implications of the revisions need to be addressed correctly. She pointed out that in order for ownership to occur there needs to be discussion and endorsement from the faculty. SVCAA Couture suggested that open forums might be held about the revisions. Moeller stated that open forums may not be the optimal forum for attracting large numbers of faculty members. Perhaps the Academic Senate ad hoc committee could investigate ways to engage the faculty in these discussions.
SVCAA Couture stated that the teams have made progress on the learning outcomes but there are issues that they are struggling with, such as what are the challenges involved in assessing outcome based programs. She stated that we know that there needs to be a balance between the program being labor intensive and too efficient. She noted that course transferability for transfer students is a huge issue that needs to be dealt with. She stated that we want to make it easy for students to transfer between colleges and not lose credits. She noted that the idea is to integrate majors better with the general education program.
SVCAA Couture stated that she is personally pleased with the progress that has been made so far but the proof will be in the pudding. Chancellor Perlman stated that structural criteria will need to be addressed so the colleges can agree on the program without competing against each other.
SVCAA Couture pointed out that there will need to be some oversight of the program. She noted that the philosophy of the current program was good but as it grew courses were added that did not necessarily meet this philosophy. Ledder stated that there needs to be more accountability for the courses that want to be added to the program.
Ledder stated that if students are required to submit a portfolio of their work to show their accomplishments they will do it. SVCAA Couture stated that there have been discussions about requiring a portfolio. She noted that this raises some questions regarding how the portfolio will be done so that it is effective without being a burden for the faculty.
Moeller suggested that the students be more actively involved in the assessment process related to student outcomes rather than adding another layer of faculty evaluation. SVCAA Couture noted that a number of guest speakers have discussed how other universities are handling this. She stated that the speakers all said that students taking responsibility for the learning is important.
SVCAA Couture thanked the Committee for their comments on the accreditation self-study chapters. Moeller stated that she recently met with Professor O’Hanlon to discuss the Committee’s comments and concerns.
VC Owens stated that he just came
from a teleconferencing meeting with
Ledder stated that he is aware of a student who intends to get an innovative, well thought out program of studies for a major who has had difficulty getting the program approved because of bureaucracy. He noted that the Arts & Sciences’ curriculum committee would not look at the program because the paperwork was not submitted by a particular date. He pointed out that bureaucracy such as this turns students off to the University. He stated that he would like to see the campus make more of an effort in helping students. Chancellor Perlman agreed and stated that there is faculty bureaucracy as well as administrative bureaucracy. He noted that he has heard of a number of instances where faculty members have not been cooperative. He pointed out that these kinds of things damage the university.
3.0 Announcements
3.1 Meeting
with Professor Janovy on the General Education Revision
Moeller announced that members of the Executive Committee will be meeting with Professor Janovy, Chair of the General Education Advisory Committee, to discuss how the Senate can facilitate more discussion with the faculty on the revisions and the Senate conducting a survey on the institutional objectives.
4.0 Approval of 5/17/06 Minutes
Alexander moved, and Flowers seconded approval of the minutes as amended. Motion approved.
5.0 Unfinished Business
5.1 Conflict with Process for
Approving Changes to the Academic Senate
Moeller reported that there is a
slight conflict between the UNL Bylaws and the Senate Bylaws regarding whether
the academic assembly needs to approve the changes to the structure of the
Senate.
5.2 UNL Honor Code
Moeller suggested that the code should be changed to reflect issues of academic dishonesty. She stated that the Committee should work with the office of the Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs and with ASUN to restructure the honor code.
Moeller suggested that an ad hoc committee should be formed to look at revising the code.
5.3 Report on Discussion
with Professor O’Hanlon on the Committee’s Suggestions for the Self Study
Chapters
Moeller stated that she met with Professor O’Hanlon to discuss the comments made by the Committee on the accreditation self study reports. She noted that he disseminated the comments to the committee working on the chapters. She reported that the committee felt the suggestions were helpful and clarified why other suggestions were not feasible.
Moeller stated that the length of the document is nearly half that of the last study submitted to the accreditation council. She noted that the Nebraska Research Initiative will be included in the report and the areas on the budget cuts and the firing of tenured faculty will be deleted.
6.0 New Business
6.1 Certification
for Use of University Vans
Beck reported that she wanted to get documentation that she had been certified to drive a van but it was very difficult to obtain this information. She pointed out that there is no coherent system of documentation that is easily accessible. She stated that we need to have a better system for retrieving this information. She pointed out that the IACUC certification is printed out and given to a faculty member so they can put it in their file. She suggested that something similar should be done with the van certification. The Committee stated that Vice Chancellor Jackson should be contacted about this.
6.2 Graduate Student Grades
Moeller stated that she was contacted by the chair of the Academic Rights & Responsibilities Committee about concerns several faculty members have regarding the changing of a grade from an incomplete to a withdrawal. She noted that in the Graduate Studies Bulletin on page 18 it is listed that the Office of Graduate Studies must approve a withdrawal if the student is dropping the course ¾ of the way through the semester and without the instructor’s approval. She pointed out that a W does not have a grade value to it so the change had no impact of the student’s gpa.
Moeller reported that she spoke with Executive Associate Dean Weissinger about the situation and was informed that the issue was discussed with the chair of the department who indicated that the instructor was fine with the change but the Academic Rights & Responsibilities Committee was still contacted.
The Committee will meet with the chair of the Academic Rights & Responsibilities Committee on June 28th to discuss the situation.
The meeting was adjourned at 4:29 p.m. The next meeting of the Executive Committee will be on Wednesday, June 14, at 2:30 pm. The meeting will be held in the Academic Senate Office, 420 University Terrace. The minutes are respectfully submitted by Karen Griffin, Coordinator and Rick Alloway, Secretary.