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ACADEMIC PLANNING COMMITTEE
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TO:
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Harvey Perlman, Chancellor |
FROM:
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Craig J. Eckhardt,
Professor of Chemistry, Chair, Academic Planning Committee
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DATE:
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November 14, 2002 |
RE:
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Round 3 APC Recommendations |
In a series of eleven closed meetings and six hearings the Academic Planning Committee has considered your budget recommendations and the evidence and testimony presented by those affected. You have been apprised of these results in the Committee's draft letter of November 7. This letter reports the actions of the Committee.
The Academic Planning Committee sought early to define guidelines for dealing with faculty appointments prior to consideration of any specific case. To that end, it approved the following resolution:
APC Resolution on the Termination of Tenured and Tenure-Track Faculty in the Case of Program Dissolution
Whereas the Academic Planning Committee is governed in its
procedures by the Guidelines to be Invoked for Significant
Budget Reallocations and Reductions (February 10, 1993),
which states that "Participants in the process must be sensitive
to the relevant guidelines of the American Association of
University Professors;" and
Whereas the AAUP's Institutional Regulations on Academic
Freedom and Tenure are designed to protect academic freedom
and tenure and to ensure due process which together form the
foundation of a strong university system;
Therefore be it resolved that the APC will operate under the
presumption that the University of Nebraska-Lincoln should
follow the AAUP guidelines concerning Termination of Appointments
by the Institution.
Specifically, the AAUP guidelines stipulate that: "Termination
of an appointment with continuous tenure, or of a probationary
or special appointment before the end of the specified term,
may be effected by the institution only for adequate cause."
When such a proposed termination is a result of a Discontinuance
of Program or Department Not Mandated by Financial Exigency,
AAUP guidelines state the following:
| (1) |
The
decision to discontinue formally a program or department
of instruction will be based essentially upon educational
considerations, as determined primarily by the faculty
as a whole or an appropriate committee thereof.
[NOTE: "Educational considerations" do not include
cyclical or temporary variations in enrollment.
They must reflect long-range judgments that the
educational mission of the institution as a whole
will be enhanced by the discontinuance.] |
| (2) |
Before the administration
issues notice to a faculty member of its intention
to terminate an appointment because of formal discontinuance
of a program or department of instruction, the institution
will make every effort to place the faculty member
concerned in another suitable position. If placement
in another position would be facilitated by a reasonable
period of training, financial and other support
for such training will be proffered. If no position
is available within the institution, with or without
retraining, the faculty member's appointment then
may be terminated, but only with provision for severance
salary equitably adjusted to the faculty member's
length of past and potential service. [NOTE: When
an institution proposes to discontinue a program
or department of instruction, it should plan to
bear the costs of relocating, training, or otherwise
compensating faculty members adversely affected.] |
| (3) |
A faculty member may
appeal a proposed relocation or termination resulting
from discontinuance and has a right to a full hearing
before a faculty committee. The hearing need not
conform in all respects with a proceeding conducted
pursuant to Regulation 5, but the essentials of
an on-the-record adjudicative hearing will be observed.
The issues in such a hearing may include the institution's
failure to satisfy any of the conditions specified
in Regulation 4(d). In such a hearing a faculty
determination that a program or department is to
be discontinued will be considered presumptively
valid, but the burden of proof on other issues will
rest on the administration. |
SUMMARY OF APC RESPONSES
The APC recognizes the very negative impact the proposed
budget reductions have on the University. The Committee
strongly believes that any subsequent budget reductions
after the current ones will be devastating to the University
and it may be quite difficult to recover from such effects.
The APC recommendations on the Division of Continuing Studies
have been forwarded to you but, for completeness, are again
stated:
Division of Continuing Studies
The Academic Planning Committee:
| • |
Endorses the proposal
to dissolve the DCS as an administrative unit. The
APC expects that plans for restructuring and reassignment
of functions be presented to APC as they are developed. |
| • |
Accepts the proposed
Division of Continuing Studies budget reduction,
not including the Learning Centers, of $773,467. |
| • |
Supports the continuance
of the functions of Distance Education and Evening
and Weekend Programs. Related faculty and student
units should be involved in developing plans for
these programs. |
| • |
Supports the proposed closure of
the hotel located at the Hardin Center for Continuing
Education. |
| • |
Endorses the recommendation that
the Independent Study High School and Conferences
and Professional Development will be expected to
be self-supporting within 18 months, after which
reassessment will occur. This reassessment should
involve the APC. |
Additional responses of the Academic Planning Committee follow.
Learning Centers
The Academic Planning Committee:
| • |
Endorses the recommended
budget reduction to the College Park Learning Center
at Grand Island. ($136,590 annual budget) |
| • |
Endorses the recommendation
to remove UNL funding for the Nebraska High Plains
Learning Center at North Platte. |
Research and Extension Centers
The Academic Planning Committee:
| • |
Opposes the proposal
for closing the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory
at the West Central Research & Extension Center. |
| • |
Recommends that the position
of Diagnostic and Extension Veterinarian at the
West Central Research and Extension Center be retained
with appropriate support. |
| • |
Reluctantly accepts the proposal
to eliminate the South Central Research and Extension
Center as an entity. The Center has been highly
productive and has served the University and the
State in an exemplary manner. It accedes to the
elimination of the following positions: 4-H Youth
Specialist, Small-Scale Enterprise Specialists,
Water Management Engineer, Administrative Assistant,
Computer Technologist, Communication Associate,
Accounting Clerk, Research Technologists (2), Staff
Secretaries (2); for a total reduction of $470,950. |
| • |
Endorses the elimination of the South
Central Research and Extension Center District Director
position for a savings of $140,706. |
| • |
Does not endorse relocation of South
Central Research and Extension Center faculty members
to Lincoln or to other research and extension centers.
The APC opposes this for the following reasons:
| • |
Cost savings would
be minimal. |
| • |
Relocation would
disrupt the strong interdisciplinary team
that has developed. It is very likely that
cooperation would weaken if the faculty were
dispersed. |
| • |
Conducting quality research
that the faculty, administration and state
expect would be extremely difficult with the
separation imposed by relocation. |
| • |
Trust developed between the
University and its clientele would be needlessly
diminished. |
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| • |
Encourages the University administration
to develop and implement a plan that will provide
a viable structure to allow the South Central Research
and Extension Center faculty to remain in the Clay
Center area to conduct quality research. |
| • |
Opposes the elimination of the plant
pathologist position. The pathology expertise for
corn and sorghum is unique and is critically needed
in Nebraska. |
The APC urges that opportunities to shift state-funded research
support positions at the SCREC be actively explored. Anticipating
success and a future arrangement, the APC recommends retention
of one secretarial position. Although some savings in utilities
and operating costs may be realized under the new organizational
structure, the APC is unable to determine that amount and
trusts the administration will craft the optimal operating
plan for the future.
The APC reluctantly agrees to the staffing reductions at
SCREC of $470,950 and the elimination of the District Director
position for a further savings of $140,706. However, the
APC cannot determine the extent of savings realized in operating
and utility costs if a new structure is developed as proposed
by the APC.
Termination of Tenure-track Faculty
The APC believes that proposed budget reductions resulting
in the dismissals of two non-tenured, tenure-track faculty
members are caused by the reorganization of programs presently
located at the WCREC and the SCREC, and not the closing
of the programs in which the assistant professors participate.
This interpretation is based on the fact that at least some
of the services presently provided by Assistant Professors
Stack and Ensley will still be offered, but offered from
a different location. Assistant Professors Stack and Ensley
appear to be qualified to offer those services from their
tenure home departments.
Whether or not the Chancellor accepts the APC’s recommendations
on SCREC and WCREC, the APC opposes on separate grounds
the dismissal of Assistant Professor and Extension Plant
Pathologist Jim Stack and Assistant Professor of Veterinary
and Biomedical Sciences Steve Ensley because:
| • |
The decision to dismiss
these tenure-track faculty members will have a chilling
effect on our probationary faculty and will cause
unnecessary loss of confidence in the University’s
tenure process for little monetary gain. Such actions
are inimical to the development of a high quality
university. |
| • |
The dismissal of these
faculty members was made prior to review by any
cognizant faculty committee. The Administration
advanced no justification concerning the quality
of their work or the importance of their areas of
study. |
| • |
Faculty members who are associated
with centers will be perceived to be more vulnerable
to termination than those who are only associated
with their tenure home program. A policy of dismissal
based on association with a non-tenure home program
will inhibit the kind of inter- and multi-disciplinary
collaboration the university seeks to promote. |
| • |
The APC recommends that the Administration
withdraw notification of Assistant Professor Stack’s
dismissal to allow him to proceed with his tenure
review process without prejudice. The APC also recommends
that the Administration withdraw notification of
Assistant Professor Ensley’s dismissal to
allow him to continue in a normal tenure-track cycle
in accordance with IANR Guidelines for the Evaluation
of Faculty: Annual Evaluation, Promotion, Tenure
and Reappointment. |
As a general principle, the APC opposes dismissal of tenure-track
faculty members and replacement by non-tenure-track faculty.
Nebraska Center for Economic Education
The Academic Planning Committee:
| • |
Supports the academic
mission of the Center for Economic Education, advises
continued state support of the Director of the Center
for Economic Education at 0.5 FTE, and supports
preserving the function and national status of the
Center for Economic Education and the Nebraska Council
for Economic Education at UNL. |
| • |
Endorses all other proposed
budget cuts for the NCEE. |
Community and Regional Planning
The APC endorses the proposed reduction of $144,027 to the
Community and Regional Planning budget.
Business and Finance
The Academic Planning Committee:
| • |
Supports the reduction
of $185,000 to the custodial budget, but opposes
elimination of custodial support of the recycling
program. The APC suggests that alternatives to the
proposed reduction strategies in custodial services
be explored. |
| • |
Reluctantly acknowledges
the cut of $73,250 to the Landscape Services budget.
A beautifully landscaped campus is an important
part of UNL's efforts to recruit and retain students,
faculty and staff. Therefore APC strongly recommends
that Landscape Services develop a plan to maintain
the high quality of the campus environment at this
reduced funding level. |
Student Affairs
After due consideration, the APC accepts the budget reductions
proposed for Student Affairs and looks forward to increased
efficiencies in recruitment and admissions activities.
The Academic Planning Committee endorses all other budget
recommendations not specifically dealt with here. It appreciates
the discussion of its draft recommendations with you on
Thursday, November 7, 2002, and would be happy to meet with
you again if you have any questions about its final response.
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