EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MINUTES

Present: Alloway, Bolin, Bradford, Flowers, Ledder, Moeller, Rapkin, Scholz, Stock, Zimmers

Absent: Alexander, Beck, Hachtmann

Date: Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Location: Academic Senate Office, 420 University Terrace

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 3:00 p.m.

2.0 Draft Driving and Motor Vehicle Policy (Kim Phelps, Associate Vice Chancellor Business & Finance, and Patrick Barrett, Director, Transportation Services)

Phelps stated that Transportation Services oversees about 440 vehicles and there are high stakes in maintaining the safety and operation of all of these vehicles. He reported that the draft policy is to insure that safe drivers are operating university vehicles. He noted that seven other institutions in the Big 12 have similar policies. He pointed out that the main difference with this new policy is that it requires that a driver’s record be obtained for each person requesting use of a vehicle.

Phelps stated that the draft policy is based on the University of Wisconsin’s policy. He noted that the policy is not a response to negative problems or accidents but is being done as a precautionary measure. He reported that the process of developing the policy was done by the Business and Finance office. He stated that the draft policy has been shared with the Deans’ Council, who provided input, but both SVCAA Couture and VC Jackson felt that it should also be shared with the Senate Executive Committee to get feedback and address any questions. He stated that the next stage will be to take the draft policy to the Senior Administrative Team. He noted that once the policy is approved, it will be put into place possibly by the end of the semester or during the summer.

Bradford stated that he had questions on the wording of the authorized requirements section on drivers. He noted that the student section states that student drivers must have a valid driver’s license and that international licenses are not accepted, but the same wording is not found in the faculty/staff section. Phelps stated that the language should be in both the student and faculty/staff section.

Moeller asked if the draft policy is a change to an existing policy. Barrett stated that there is a current policy but it does not require that driving records be checked. Phelps noted that the current policy only states that the driver must have a valid driver’s license. Barrett stated that when a person picks up a vehicle a person’s license is checked to see if it is valid. He noted that there is an on-line training program but there is no test of actual driving skills although training is available for some vehicles if requested. Barrett stated that the on line training program is available on Blackboard.

Bradford asked if there were any circumstances where a driver would need a commercial license to operate university vehicles. Barrett stated that a commercial license is needed for vehicles weighing over 26,000 pounds, if hazardous materials are being transferred, or if the vehicles hold more than 16 passengers. He reported that there are 175 different commercial license holders in the system.

Scholz asked if some of the verbiage in the policy is already in existence or whether the draft policy is an entirely new policy. Barrett stated that some of the policy is already in existence.

Scholz noted that the draft policy makes reference to departments being billed for obtaining the driver’s records of authorized personnel. He asked if the charges will be done annually. He pointed out that departments may need to project who will be using the vans in order for them to be authorized in a timely manner. Barrett stated that a large number of records will need to be checked initially but in the future the records will probably be checked in the beginning of the month of the driver’s birthdate.

Scholz asked what the cost will be. Barrett stated that for Nebraska licenses the cost is $3 per license for any individual. He noted that for an out of state license Transportation Services charges $15, plus any additional costs that may be charged by the state from which the license is authorized. Scholz asked how long it takes to get a copy of the driving record. Barrett stated that in Nebraska it does not take more than a day but for out of state licenses it could be longer. Phelps and Barrett stated that it would be best for people to plan ahead of time if they need to use a university vehicle. Phelps stated that departments will need to absorb the cost of obtaining the records.

Scholz asked if a check of the driving records of people has to be done annually. Phelps stated that if a person is an occasional user, less than five days a year and/or if they user makes trips that are less than 250 miles a year from Lincoln, the record would probably not have to be checked each year. He stated that the policy is more for a person who has to travel more often throughout the year and on a regular basis.

Zimmers asked if the faculty and staff in the County Extension offices that lease and use vehicles would be included under this policy. Barrett stated that they are included as well.

Scholz asked if formal communications will be sent to departments about the policy. Barrett stated that information will be sent out through email and probably through a direct mailing as well.

Moeller asked if the policy has been approved by VC Jackson. Phelps stated that it has and those departments with high usage of the vehicles have been contacted as well. He noted that the departments provided useful input on the policy. He pointed out that it is felt that it would be easier to implement the policy during low usage times.

Barrett stated that the drivers’ records will be checked for the past 36 months. He pointed out that his office will be looking to see if there are any moving violations of 2 points or greater, driving without authorization, willful or wanton disregard of the safety of persons or property, and other major traffic offenses.

Scholz asked if the university is self insured and whether the university is now adopting the practices of the insurance industry with this Driving and Motor Vehicle policy. Phelps stated it is and that the university also has an umbrella insurance policy for losses over $100,000. He pointed out that when an employee or student drives a university vehicle that person’s personal insurance is not in effect but the university insurance is.

Scholz asked if people outside of the university can ride in the vans. He noted that the College of Architecture works on community projects with people outside of the university but who are connected with the project. He asked if these people could ride in the van. Barrett stated that as long as they are connected with a university project they can ride in a van but someone not involved in a project cannot ride in the van.

Ledder pointed out that under the section “Unauthorized Use of University Vehicles”, point 10 “extending the length of time the vehicle is in the driver’s possession beyond that which is required to complete the official purpose of the trip” seems a bit harsh. He asked if this policy is strictly enforced and what is considered a reasonable amount of time. Barrett stated that keeping the vehicle an extra day for someone’s pleasure would be in violation of the policy. Alloway pointed out that Transportation Services prefer that the vehicle be dropped off as soon as possible, even when it is late in the evening. Barrett agreed.

Barrett noted that his office has occasionally received false complaints about how university vehicles are being driven. He stated that the vans have data recorders on them which records the speeds at which the vans are driven. He noted that if a complaint is received the data recorder is pulled and verified whether the van was speeding. He noted that rarely is a vehicle recorded as going over the speed limit. Phelps stated that the vehicles are like moving billboards for the university and people need to use caution when driving them.

Moeller asked the Committee if there were any other concerns. The Committee agreed that the policy makes good sense.

3.0 Announcements

3.1 Safe Assignment Policy

Flowers reported that a draft safe assignment policy will be coming to the Committee for their review. He noted that the draft is close to being complete and hopefully will be distributed in about two weeks. Moeller asked if Flowers knows how much the program costs. Flowers stated that he is not aware of the cost.

4.0 Approval of 12/13/06 Minutes

Zimmers moved and Bradford seconded approval of the minutes as amended. Motion approved.

5.0 Unfinished Business

5.1 Diversity Plan Committee

Moeller stated that she will be contacting Professor Harvey, chair of the Academic Planning Committee, to consult with him about who should be on the committee. She stated that we need to proceed quickly on the plan.

5.2 General Education Proposal Voting

Moeller stated that several colleges will not be voting on the proposals until February. Scholz reported that the College of Architecture met and voted on the proposals last week. He noted that one of the problems that faculty members seem to have is that there is a lack of clarity of where the program is going. Moeller stated that there was a similar response in her college.

Moeller suggested that Associate Vice Chancellor Wilson and a college faculty representative knowledgeable about the general education proposal should be at the meetings when the colleges vote to answer any questions. Moeller stated that she will email SVCAA Couture and Professor Janovy to suggest that Wilson or someone else who can articulate the proposals be present at these meetings.

Scholz pointed out that one of the questions being asked is whether the campus is really moving forward in general education or whether the proposed program will be even more difficult to administer than the present one. Stock noted that people are being overwhelmed by the complexities of the program and what they really want to know is what the implications are for teaching their classes.

Ledder pointed out that the faculty in the College of Architecture may not see as many drawbacks to the current program as some other colleges. Moeller noted that the architecture program is already based on outcomes. Ledder stated that the new program will not be as restrictive for students as the current program.

6.0 New Business

No new business.

The meeting was adjourned at 4:09 p.m. The next meeting of the Executive Committee will be on Wednesday, January 17at 3:00 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.