FACULTY SENATE REVISED MINUTES FEB 17, 2003  

Present: Mark Siders (Bus.), Diana Maltz (English; Senate Secretary), George Converse (Comp. Sci.), John Sollinger (Bio.), Barbara Scott (ECP; At-Large), Linda Wilcox Young (Econ.), Marc Levy (Psych.), Garth Pittman (Comm.; Senate Chair), Michael Naumes (Psychology), Jon Harbaugh (Bus.), Gudrun Gill (Foreign Lang.), Jonathan Bilden (Student Sen. Pro-Tem), Dale Vidmar (Library), John Fitton (Success at Southern), Connie Anderson (Library), Bill Danley (Special Ed.), Etsuko Fujimoto (Comm.), Kevin Talbert (Info. Tech. Svcs.), Lee Ayers (Criminology; Senate Vice Chair), John Whitesitt (Math.), Katy Bazylewicz (Mktg./Pub. Rel.), Charles Lane (Geol.; Interim Provost; Senate Ad Hoc), Terry Longshore (Music), Wayne Schumacher (Housing), Sib Farrell (Access Center/Career Svcs.), Laura O'Bryon (Associate Director, Medford Campus).   

Visitors: Mike Corcoran (RFC), Tom Keevil (Chemistry), Steve Thorpe (Education)  

ANNOUNCEMENTS  
 

Farrell: Career Fair coming up on Feb 27th: flyers available, tell students.  48 companies enrolled.  May 7 from 5-8 in Cascade F and G, a major fair, sponsored by Student Affairs, Residential Life and Access Center: have faculty members come and rep your discipline.    

Following a survey in the Ashland Daily Tidings about whether or not people supported a U.S. led war in Iraq, Dale Vidmar of the Library sent out an all-campus email alerting everyone to the survey and received many emails of thanks.  The president was the first to send a response to offer her support for the email or any other campus awareness programs about the potential war with Iraq.  The Tidings received 450 more votes than ever in a survey.  

7 dept interviews set up this week between Garth Pittman and departments to discuss what Faculty Senate's goals.  Ideas about how to get to program level?  
 

APPROVE MINUTES 1/06 and 2/03.  
 

All approved, but 2 abstained.  
 

REMARKS FROM THE PROVOST:  
 

Handout attached on current status of tuition increases, fall 2002 in comparison to fall 2003.  

Upcoming Corvalis meeting. 

Presidents have moved their meetings about 2 weeks before board meeting.  Some variety in thinking about tuition increases, single or double digit.  Numbers in handout reflect middle range of OUS institutions - almost dead in the middle.  Thinking about elasticity: increases in fee remissions and increases to new affordability pool.  This is still a discussion topic at the system level and around campus.  Introduced to AAAC this morning.  Idea is that about March 3 SOU will have to put our best proposal forward to system office.  Willing to take any comments via voicemail or email.  National scene: everyone is looking at substantive tuition increases.  State legislators will probably remain silent on this. 

Q&A between Provost and Senate

Q: Are we thinking about the maximum amount we can charge without losing students?  

A: If we push the maximum amount that the market will bear, dollars move towards budgetary shortfalls for next biennium.    

Q: Possibility of creating an academic elite in Oregon: only the students who can afford tuition.  Might have different mix than we have currently.  Not a good thing for our system.  

A: Relative to national averages, we are an institution that enrolls higher percentage of first generation students, and low income students.   

Mail Tribune had a real "let them eat cake" attitude towards higher ed.  

Q: Undergrad nonresidents pay more than non-resident graduates.  

A: Yes.  

Q: Some colleges raised tuition and then legislators reduced amount appropriated for higher ed.  
 

A: There is reason for concern.  But I haven't heard anything definite.  

Q: When this becomes final, how will it be communicated to the students?  Commitments to increase financial aid - how will they compensate for increase in tuition?  Where will money come from for this financial aid?  

A: Both the President and Diane Brimmer of Student Affairs have been meeting with Jonathan Bilden and will meet with Student Senate in April.  Increases in affordability pool are substantial: we will plough money back to the neediest of them.  This money will be taken from tuition increase money.  
 

Q: What institution is at low end of tuition raises?   

A: Portland State. Eastern, Western and OIT are over 20%. 

REMARKS FROM THE STUDENT SENATE

Meetings with Diane Brimmer and the President re: tuition fees.  End of March/beginning of April meeting with legislators.  

Looked like 10% increase according to subcommittee, but was not agreed to – the final increase will be less than that. 

Q: Salaries of student senators? 

A: We are cutting student senate salary pay and recommending alternative funding for executives.  
 

Q: Larger fall class?  Maybe more money coming in. 

A: We haven't gotten into that. 

ACTION ITEM: VOTING ON ACADEMIC POLICIES PROPOSAL 

Mike Corcoran: 

3 faculty contacted AP committee: One email response to proposal was: this would align us with other OUS schools.  Other email: Probation may help to minimize number of terms a problem exists.  Last email: seems a sound idea. 

Discussion:  

Q: Will the letter that will go out to students on probation come from Access Center?   

A: No, from registrar's office.  Access Center also takes some action for students on probation.  

There will be a warning letter: a letter for students who are not placed on probation or suspended but have had a bad term.  The Access Center will jointly draft it with our office, and we will send it out.  Will mention services available to students through Access Center.  

Motion from Kevin Talbert, seconded John Whitesitt. 

Motion passes unanimous. 

REPORTS 

Thank you to Election Committee.  Chairs have been elected.  Committee is working on Faculty Personnel Committee set for next year: administrative faculty rep needs to be replaced.  

Curriculum Committee report: (Katie Pittman) 

1st set of catalog changes were emailed to you. New courses and option for Business major.  Will be a printed catalog, deadline will be Mar 5th.  We should have print changes to you beginning of spring term.  If there is any changing in a dept's major or minor, it influences other departments' enrollments. 

We are voting on new courses (in Bio and Psych) and a new option in a major (Business).  
 

University Planning Committee (UPC) report: Minutes are attached. 

Talbert: Connie Anderson attended as alternate senate rep.  Meeting was occasioned by library building project.  Tight timeline: movement of RVTV to another facility. Students will benefit from this program expansion. Recommendation was to move RVTV to Webster Street where the university owns and rents housing to families.  Concern about effect upon families living on this site.  UPC has worked very closely with 3 families involved, finding alternatives for them.  

Technology Council met Jan 31st, Linda Wilcox-Young went as FS rep since Dale Vidmar couldn't go.  First meeting of tech council this year.  Unusual circs.  2 main items on the agenda:  Review report from external review that IT underwent last year, and recommendations for budget for next year.  We can make it available to FS (Kevin could email it to individuals.)    

External review came back positive and strong lauding IT group: did have recommendations.  In terms of budget. Tech council puts out request for proposals and then allocates funds.  But because of 70,000 budget rescinded, had to cut approved ideas.  16% reduction for next year.  Modified, smaller request for proposals to go out.  Keep tech fee at $50 per student per term.  Highest priority is to keep labs up to date.  Less a call for new projects, more to retain infrastructure.  Students were supportive.  

Q: Office computers in housing need replacement.  PCs need upgrades.   

A: We are not forcing all computers to undergo upgrades.  Administrators have to factor those costs into their budgets.  

Inter-institutional Faculty Senate: 

Danley: The minutes are draft minutes. 

Peter Courtney Pres of Oregon State Senate says Oregon legislature is in crisis.  We need one-time revenue sources or it will affect infrastructure. 

Roger Basset of OUS Board said he is encouraged by rhetoric of legislature.  They are beginning to talk together. 

Lane Chetterly: we have to do something about getting more money into the state, as the revenue system is broken. 

For the first time, we have a very cooperative legislature, but we don't have any money.  Board is trying to do all they can, and faculty in favor of trying to help the students.    

(We will read attached document and send comments back via email.)  

AAAC:  

Vidmar: Michael Parker's all-campus email went out Feb. 13, and recommended that we retain the service of Ken Mortimer to develop framework for strategic planning. Decided to move forward with Ken for his affiliation with National Center for Higher Educational Systems and ability to act promptly with us. 

Departments should take a look at their mission statements to help process along. 

Chancellor has decided to fund the first part of the service.    

Q: Looking at schedule, will Mortimer be meeting with deans and faculty?  

Provost: This is not the only visit Mortimer will be making.  Not the last contact with deans and other folks as well.  

A: It is also a tentative itinerary, see if we can work ourselves into other agenda.  

Q: Is he coming in to facilitate those questions? Or is he writing a written report? And contributing to the process?  

A: Both.  Establish benchmarks where other institutions are.    

Q: Purpose of first 3 days?  
 

A: Data gathering.  
 

Q: Whose process is he coming in to facilitate?  To help AAAC with process? Shouldn't the AAAC be setting the agenda?  

Provost: Mortimer wants to understand who all the dif players are on campus and how we do or do not communicate with one another.  

Q: Just a comment for the AAAC group: are we putting pieces together sufficiently?  The system will change very dramatically with increases in tuition.  Are we continuing on with our mission statement?  And is that the right thing to do in the environment that we are in?  

Q:  I would like to see the AAAC set the agenda.  I was astounded to hear that funds were no longer coming from a private party.  Can these state funds be used for other purposes?  

GP: It is a special fund coming from the Chancellor.   

(Explained by the Provost.)  
 

Discussion followed regarding the costs. 

Senators can email Michael Parker.  
 

Academic Policy Committee (Tom Keevil) 

We would like you to act on this in next meeting.  (Attached document.) 

Our general ed transfer requirements don't match with California's gen ed, as we require sequences and they don't. The general feeling is that students are transferring here for our undergraduate programs and we shouldn't be putting barriers in their way if in good faith they have met lower-div gen ed in other institutions.  
 

Keevil will welcome emails, questions.  
 

Comments: None of the 600 students being recruited nationwide to participate in online Criminology degree completion program had satisfied SOU’s gen ed rquirements. 

70-75% of SOU’s grads have been transfer students. 

OPEN DISCUSSION about Scholarship 

Role of FS. 

To unpack this issue about scholarship and tenure promotion.  Faculty  Develeopment committee worked with president to understand where she is coming from.  Produced this document in draft (attached).  

Responses from FS: 

Comment: I have concerns based on serving on Faculty Personnel committee and seeing applications turned down. People in rank need time to adapt to new standards.    

Pittman: Has there been a sea change in terms of requirements?  Do we need to go back and look at our institution?  

Discussion among senators about whether requirements have changed.    

What percentage of one person's work goes to committee work, scholarship, teaching? 

(Response to that was: it is a moving target, changes with needs of the department in any given year: nothing set in stone.)  

Various comments from members of FS on defining faculty scholarship:  

Colloquium and scholarship of teaching: This was a tremendous service, but not "scholarship."  A published paper on it was.    

Need for meaningful contextual statement for each person coming up for promotion and tenure.    
 

Concern about restrictions to out of state funding.  There has to be support.  

Need to change all the university advertising then?: the faculty is presented as mostly invested in teaching.  Mission statement has moved us to major, national arena, -- need to go to major conventions, refereed journals.  Got to have financial support for that.  

One thing I am not hearing: universities often give faculty credit for changing how they teach courses.  (Interjection: That is what counted in the past as research.)  
 

Provost: Conversation on this has been enlightening.  Different expectations dependent on department you're in and inside depts.  We have a chance for productive dialog with the president.  Nice time to open conversation up with her: a 30 minute slot in Faculty Senate meeting.