EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MINUTES

 

Present:          Alloway, Bolin, Bradford, Flowers, Ledder, Lindquist, Moeller, Prochaska Cue, Zimmers

 

Absent:           Fech, Hachtmann, LaCost,    Rapkin

           

Date:               Wednesday, May 30, 2007

 

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.

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1.0       Call to Order

            Bradford called the meeting to order at 2:31 p.m.

 

2.0       Chancellor Perlman

2.1       Budget

Bradford noted that the budget is an issue that everyone is concerned about.  He stated that one question that is being asked is how the 4.4% salary increase is going to be financed.  Chancellor Perlman stated that the salary increases are covered.  He noted that the salary guidelines, based on the recommendations made by the Faculty Compensation Advisory Committee, have been submitted to the deans and directors. 

 

Chancellor Perlman reported that the same implementation process used for faculty salaries will be put in place this year for the managerial/professional and support staff employees.  He pointed out that the salary pools for these groups will be combined.  He noted that deans and directors will receive 4.0 percent.  If there is a subunit the dean/director will distribute 3.33 percent to it and the dean/director will retain 0.67 percent of salary increases.  This is to address meritorious performance within the dean’s or director’s unit(s).  The other .40 percent will be retained by the Chancellor/Vice Chancellor to address additional performance-related staff salary increases.  Chancellor Perlman stated that these changes should allow particularly small units to make some adjustments in regards to merit and gives some flexibility.  He noted that deans and directors must have the staff salaries completed by June 15th but all of this is subject to the Board of Regents approval of the budget. 

 

Chancellor Perlman stated that the rest of the budget remains uncertain and it will depend on what the Board and President Milliken want to do.  He noted that there will be some issues that have to be dealt with.  He stated that his guess is that the tuition increase will stay at 5% plus the 1% for LB605.  He noted that some discussion has been going on about allocations for the utility budget.

 

Chancellor Perlman stated that until the Board makes a decision on the Programs of Excellence and other programs he will not know what the ultimate consequences of the budget will be.  He stated that some reductions will probably have to be made although he is unsure of what the number will be. 

 

Bradford asked about the utilities cost among the campuses.  Chancellor Perlman stated that there are some issues among the campuses on the utilities.  He stated that UNL participates in a partnership with Lincoln Electric System and our utility payments are made through this partnership.  He noted that it makes it difficult to compare utility expenditures between campuses.

 

Chancellor Perlman pointed out that enrollment figures will make a difference in the budget as well.  He stated that if enrollment continues to increase we will get more revenue which will of course help with the budget.  He stated that Programs of Excellence money will make a difference as well.  He noted that some things with the budget will just have to be worked out once we know more about it. 

 

2.2       Preliminary Enrollment Figures

Chancellor Perlman stated that enrollment for the fall semester looks really strong.  He stated that preliminary figures indicate that we will be up about 300-400 students and ACT average scores are holding steady or have increased.  He noted that the Admissions Office is doing a great job of recruiting students. 

 

Ledder asked if there will be enough dorm space for the incoming students.  Chancellor Perlman stated that a process has been started to explore whether to build more dormitory space.  He noted that the administration is trying to arrange this so it can be done in stages.  Ledder asked if there will be a problem in housing students for the fall semester.  Chancellor Perlman stated probably but adjustments can be made and housing is already working on this. 

 

Alloway asked if the promotional efforts targeting perspective students in key locations outside of Nebraska was having the desired effect.  Chancellor Perlman stated recruiting out-of-state students has gone really well and we are building a good relationship with students from high schools in Kansas City, Chicago, and Minneapolis.  He stated that there is an increase in international students and our efforts in China may be beginning to pay off. 

 

Bradford noted that a lot of top tier schools are getting very restrictive with their admissions.  He asked if we are seeing more of the top Nebraska students staying here.  Chancellor Perlman stated that impressionistically it appears to be the case.  He noted that out of the 36 Nebraska high school students honored by the Omaha World Herald, 13 of them are coming to UNL.  He pointed out that UNL is now competing with schools presumed to have greater national reputations. 

 

 

 

2.3       Reduction in Force Procedures

Bradford stated that he just wanted to let the Chancellor know that the Committee is comparing a document drafted by Beck on the revised reduction in force procedures with the current procedures.  He stated that if the Committee believes that some changes should be made to the existing procedures it will be discussed with the Chancellor.  He pointed out that he assumes that the existing procedures will be followed if there are any budget cuts.

 

Chancellor Perlman stated that he does not yet know whether the size and nature of the budget plans will require the procedures to be invoked but he will have discussions with the Committee about any cuts if the existing procedures are not invoked.  He pointed out that the campus is not in a crisis mode and most of the budget should be manageable. 

 

2.4       Issues on the Horizon

Chancellor Perlman reported that the Academic Rights & Responsibilities Hearing Committee will be holding its hearing on Professor Belot’s case next week.  He pointed out that the hearing committee will make its recommendation to the Board of Regents and the Board will make the final decision on the case. 

 

Chancellor Perlman reported that he went with President Milliken and five other business leaders to North Carolina State University to look at their Centennial Campus.  He stated that the Centennial Campus is a blend of academic buildings and private sector research buildings.  He stated that the Campus was very impressive and what started out as 300 acres of undeveloped land has now become a 1300 acre technology park.  He noted that the private sector companies on the Campus must have a connection with the university.  He reported that the university will probably hire a consultant this summer to envision something similar for the state fair park in Lincoln.  Chancellor Perlman noted that if this idea proceeds it will be a change in the culture of the campus.  He stated that he sees a blending of private and public sectors on campus. 

 

Moeller asked if there is a stipulation that after so many years the property reverts to North Carolina State University.  She pointed out that some of the problems that can arise with this kind of scenario are who owns a professor’s intellectual property rights and to whom do you have an allegiance to, the university or the private sector company.  Chancellor Perlman stated that this already happens on a daily basis.  He stated that there are no easy answers to these questions.  He noted that intellectual property rights belong to the Board of Regents but there are contractual and legal questions that need to be addressed.  He pointed out that things become tricky when there is interaction and consultation with private companies.  He stated that joint research activity, whether it is here within the university or outside create challenges.

 

Ledder stated that legal issues are after the fact.  He noted that the value of a research product is often not fully realized until the research is completed.  He pointed out that there are big cultural differences between university research and corporation research and there could be potential problems.  Chancellor Perlman agreed and stated that when a faculty member signs on as a consultant to a private company they might be told what they have to research. 

 

Alloway asked if the building being planned for the former Starship 9 lot downtown will be a joint building with university space.  Chancellor Perlman stated that there are no plans for this at this time.  He noted that the street side of the building will be available for retail space and there is some discussion of having a university related senior retirement center but there have been no serious negotiations about actually university owned facilities in that project. 

 

3.0       Announcements

            No announcements were made.

 

4.0       Approval of 5/16/07 Minutes

No objections to the minutes were made.  The minutes were approved.

 

5.0       Unfinished Business

            5.1       Nominations Needed for Committee on Committees

Bradford stated that he has one more appointment to make to the Committee on Committees.  He asked the Committee to send him recommendations for this appointment.

 

5.2       General Education – Final Two Proposals

Bradford reported that very rough drafts of the final two proposals are on the web.  Proposal three can be found at http://www.unl.edu/svcaa/documents/ace_proposal_3.pdf and proposal four can be found at http://www.unl.edu/svcaa/documents/ace_proposal_4.pdf.

 

Bradford noted that Ledder had previously sent comments on the proposals.  He pointed out that the draft proposals have a process for identifying initial courses but there is no process for recertification of courses. 

 

Ledder stated that proposal four addresses approving outside courses.  He noted that for the first go around the outside courses will be counted into the student’s program and the students will not be asked to justify whether the courses meet the outcomes.  He pointed out that the strength of the plan is with feeder schools and working with them so that they know what the university is expecting students to know when they transfer here. 

 

Bradford pointed out that outside courses will be credited to a student’s total number of hours but they cannot be counted as an ACE course.  Ledder stated that this hard line approach could be taken but the proposal is currently stating that the courses just be accepted.  This open approach to outside courses will be evaluated to determine its success. 

 

Ledder stated that items that are critical in the proposals need to be addressed.  He noted that he can identify two issues that will more than likely have difficulty being accepted by Arts & Sciences. 

 

Moeller suggested that information on these next two proposals needs to be disseminated to get the faculty informed and engaged.  She pointed out that having an open forum is helpful but it would also be helpful to inform the faculty about what the key issues are of the proposals. 

 

Ledder stated that he thinks the Senate is important in getting the information out to the faculty because it is the only organization on campus that has representation from all of the colleges and most of the departments on campus. 

 

Bradford suggested that a summary of proposals three and four be written for the Senate similar to that done for proposals one and two. 

 

Ledder stated that there is a big improvement in how the General Education reform committees are handling the proposals.  He noted that this time they have put very rough drafts out on the web and are allowing and encouraging faculty to comment on the drafts.  He stated that the committees are more accepting of changes now because they have not invested so much time in the wording of the proposals. 

 

Ledder stated that one concern is that the ideal proposal that would pass the faculty as a whole and what the committee members will pass may be very different.  He noted that some of the committee members prefer miminal rules in the proposals but the faculty in Arts & Sciences feels differently. 

 

Lindquist asked what the General Education reform committees are planning with the documents.  Ledder stated that everything is on hold right now.  He pointed out that proposals three and four have not been approved by the committees and work will not be taken up again until August.  He stated that in the fall it is probable that significant changes will be made.  The committees will need to approve the proposals and then they will need to go to the colleges for a vote. 

 

Bradford stated that the committee will discuss the draft proposals further in a couple of weeks. 

 

5.3       Reduction in Force Procedures

Bradford reported that he sent Beck an email message with the questions the Committee has on her revised reduction in force procedures.  He stated that she will forward her responses to Shea and Rosson to let them respond to the questions as well. 

 

6.0       New Business

            6.1       Parking Fees

Prochaske Cue stated that she has received questions about the parking fees.  She stated that faculty members have calculated that there is an 8% increase in fees for this coming year.  She stated that the concern is that the parking fees have gone up substantially in recent years but salary increases have not, especially for the staff. 

 

The Committee agreed to invite Dan Carpenter, Director of Parking Services, and Milford Hanna, Chair of the Parking Advisory Committee to a meeting. 

 

6.2       Blackboard

Alloway reported some apparent confusion about the use of the Blackboard course management software.  He reported some student concern that faculty members were not using the system, particularly to post grades, and asked whether the faculty members are required to use Blackboard or rather urged to use it.  The consensus was that use of course management software was not required.  A poll of Executive Committee members showed a wide range of Blackboard use by faculty in the various colleges represented, with some colleges indicating nearly 100% use and others around 10%.  Alloway wondered whether the issue is really about making grades available during the semester so students could chart progress.  He suggested the Senate might want to check with ASUN about interest in drafting some sort of statement to clarify Blackboard use. 

 

The meeting was adjourned at 3:50 p.m.  The next meeting of the Executive Committee will be on Wednesday, June 13th at 2:30 pm.  The meeting will be held in 420 University Terrace, Room 202.  The minutes are respectfully submitted by Karen Griffin, Coordinator and Rick Alloway, Secretary.