Meeting,
Amended and approved 12/11/03
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Members Present: |
E. Ametsbichler H.
Ausland, M. Bachmann, D. Beck, T. Bedunah, F. Brown, N. Browning-Bradley, C. Bruneau, G. Burns,
K. Canty, J. Carter, G. Cobbs, J. Crepeau,
D. Dalenberg, L. Dent, S. Derry, E. Dove, D. Doyle, E. Edlund,
P. Fandozzi, R. Field, D. Fillmore, C.
Gajdosik, L. Gillison, S.
Greymorning, L. Hayes, T. Herron, N.
Hinman, W. Holben, C. Johnston R. Judd,
S. Kalm, C. Knight, B. Knowles,
J. Laskin R. Ledbetter, M. |
|
Members Excused: |
C. Brewer, P. Dietrich, C.
Gajdosik, J. Gritzner, K. Kane, C. Krussel. D. Schuldberg, D. Six, S. Stiff |
|
Members Absent: |
T. Deluca |
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Ex-Officio Present: |
President Dennison, Provost
Muir, Vice President Duringer, Registrar Bain, Dean Fetz,
Dean Forbes |
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Guests: |
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Chair Knowles called the
meeting to order at
Registrar Bain called roll.
The motion to approve the
Communications:
President Dennison, University’s financial situation
Any time the budget is
discussed, enrollments are involved.
There are roughly 300 non-residents who are not here this fall, which
translates into a larger number next fall.
Administration and Finances estimates about 446 fewer non resident
students next fall, approximately 49 fewer residence students, with 129
additional graduates, 54 additional Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE)
students. This leaves a challenge of roughly a $4 million dollar deficit.
In October Vice President Duringer mentioned a plan involving Enrollment Services,
with participation across campus, to address the decline through targeted
recruitment. The $200,000 campaign will
aim for larger markets where students typically come from, as well as aim for
students profiled to matriculate in larger numbers. The funding will be rea
Conservative estimates of the campaign rea
What we do know about next
year is that Washington Universities are limiting the number of transfer
students from community colleges. Both
the California State University System and the
Five hundred thousand
dollars will be taken out of the current $2 million dollar contingency fund to
reduce the amount extracted from budgets. The current plan is to take roughly
$825,000 out of existing budgets proportionately by the percentage originated
from the general fund. Academic Affairs
reduction will be half of this percentage, currently 73%. Other sectors will be reduced in accordance
with their percentages. Retention of year-end balances and enhanced business
practices will also save. The deficit
can be dealt with in this way. This
proposal will be discussed at the SBPC.
Funds equivalent to the 1% quality initiative will not be impacted by
this plan. Searches are continuing for
these faculty positions.
Provost Muir
The twelve searches are
underway for the faculty lines identified in the proposals to get tenure track
faculty in front of first year students.
The University will move into
phase two of the admission standard plan next fall. This will involve intersecting grade point
averages with test scores. Phase one
established the provisional admissions category for students that did not meet
the current standards set by the Board of Regents. If these students continue
to perform they will be admitted to the University. Phase two is really the beginning of this
admission standard.
Planning for the next phase has involved revised catalog copy and recruitment
materials to inform students of the new admissions requirements. The preliminary review of data is on track;
approximately half of the students will not be admitted to the main
campus. The goal is to place students at
the appropriate campus. The
The President asked the
Provost to comment on the extensive assessment in phase one. The whole plan is on the agenda at the Board
of Regents meeting next week, and there has been excitement regarding a
proposed initiative to limit the number of resident enrollments at
The
Provost responded that there has been extensive data analysis of potential
impact of various scenarios to evaluate disparate
impacts. The analysis focused on the success of the provisional students. It is estimated that between 50 and 150
students will not be admitted to the mountain campus as we move to phase two. The
students, who are not admitted, are not denied access but are directed to the
appropriate campus.
The
President clarified that enrollment standards have not been increased as yet.
The plan to increase the standards will be evaluated and voted on by the Board
of Regents at the appropriate time.
The Provost stated that
enrollment management includes a plan to increase scholarships in order to
replace students who are not prepared to succeed with students who are
prepared. Specific funds have not yet been carved out for this, although
scholarship funds have been increased for high end students over the last
several years. The targeted recruitment
plan includes scholarships to attract out of state students who are more
talented as well.
The additional money for the
state is drastically down from the original 73 million. There is talk of reserving a portion of these
funds for next years fire season. He is still hopeful that a portion of the
money will go to higher education for tuition relief. The final numbers should be known by November
15th after the completion of corporate tax collection.
At the Regents meeting next
week ASUM will talk with Montana Association of Students (MAS) about the
difference in tuition relief proposals.
Another topic will be the Montana Public Interest Research Group (MontPIRG) proposals.
One proposal opens up that type of fundraising to any student
group. Another specifies UM student
groups and eases the reaffirmation requirements. While a third requires student groups to go
through student governance. ASUM’s official position
is that fundraising should be open to all student groups out of fairness and
there is value in easing reaffirmation requirements, but does not support any
specific proposal.
On
SB19 …The Associated Students of The
One idea that might be sent to
Another pending resolution would send plus/minus
grading to student initiative. This referendum is still under consideration and
would require a 2/3 vote to pass. SB30…Let
It Be Further Resolved to give each member of The
Associated Students of the
Let It Be Further Resolved
that the initiative shall be held on a University of Montana Main Campus, the
College of Technology East Campus and the College of Technology West Campus for
a period of two days before the end of the Fall Semester of 2003, at a time of
the Elections Committee’s choosing.
In response to an inquiry
regarding the action of resolution SB30,
Senator Ausland asked about
the academic freedom issues reported in the Kaimin
and what this means for faculty.
The resolution had a
SB27-11/12/03……Therefore Let It Be Resolved that the Associated
Students of The University of Montana urge the faculty to devote careful
consideration to standards of professional ethics in the presentation of
educational material as well as in the evaluation of students' academic work;
And Let It Be Further Resolved
that the Associated Students of The University of Montana will strive, in the
allocation of student activity funds and the selection of visiting speakers, to
observe the principles of fairness, balance, and inclusion.
UFA President Michael Kupilik
Kupilik reported on the
Inter Unit Benefits Committee meeting.
There has been some concern
that the Teachers Retirement System is insolvent. The TRS trust fund is solvent. TRS is a benefit defined system so no matter
how the fund changes the members benefits cannot change. Under state constitutional law TRS members
contributions cannot be raised without a corresponding raise in benefits. A two
tier contribution system can be instituted, however this would not affect the
University because there will be no new TRS members. There can be an un-funded
liability as long as it can be amortized in 30 years. Currently the amortization of the un-funded
liability is about 23 years for TRS. The Public Employees Retirement System
(PERS) is right at 30 years.
The current growth rate of
the fund is about 61/2 percent. To stay
within the 30 year limit 8 percent is needed, and it doesn’t look like this
will happen. Which means by the end of
this year the TRS system will be right at 30 years. The impact for Teachers Insurance and Annuity
Association College Equities Fund (TIAA-CREF) members is that the next time the
Legislature meets they are going to have to address this problem. There are a number of options. The legislature could implement a two tier
contribution system, lower the benefits for new members, or they could kick in
more money to the fund. Thus the likelihood of an equa
The state is putting more
money into health benefits this biennium. There is the possibility of a small
surplus this year. However, a deficit of
$700,000 is predicted for next year. If
the deficit occurs there could be an estimated $38.00 increase for spouse and
dependents. The Inter Unit Benefits Committee as a usual course addresses rate
changes immediately to avoid going into reserves. Thus, there is the
possibility of a recommended rate change as early as next year.
A committee was instituted
to look into differential payments for the health benefits plan (high income
members subsidizing low income members rates). This proposal is sponsored by
Regent Mercer, and Thomas Schneider, Executive Director of the staff
union. Kupilik suggests faculty make
their voices heard. The
In regards to the Academic
Freedom resolution by ASUM, both sides came to see him and he informed them
that retention, promotion, and termination of faculty is negotiated through
collective bargaining and is a contractual issue. Any change in language to the contract would
require negotiations between the University and the
President Dennison asked
about the likelihood that the contribution to TIAA-CREF would be reduced from
4.9% back to 2% as it was in the early nineties. Kupilik responded that he
hadn’t thought of that possibility, but the union would fight against such an
alternative. It would make an unequal
situation even more unequal.
Senator
Kupilik was in complete
agreement. The
Senator Ausland commented
that even though it is not contractual, the spirit of ASUM’s
resolution goes beyond the spirit of academic freedom and responsibility, and
calls for professional ethics. The
Committee Reports:
Curriculum
motion
Hayes provided a summary of
the major proposals and concerns of
§
The Division of
Biology Sciences proposes a 3 plus 1 program in Medical Technology.
§
The Department
of Foreign Languages and Literatures proposes to change their name to the
Department of Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures.
The President noted that this will be a separate Regential item.
§
§
A new minor is
proposed in Astronomy.
§
The
Health
and Human Performance will offer several courses that are necessary for
accreditation in the Athletic Training Program.
These courses were previously offered by Physical Therapy. Physical Therapy dropped the courses due to
their own programmatic changes. HHP
resources will be stretched by this.
Other
controversial items are still being discussed in committee.
Senator McNulty expressed
concern regarding program changes in Computer Science and Wildlife Biology
because Mathematical Sciences was not consulted and their courses were involved
in the changes.
Senator
Senator Ausland commented
that Philosophy is still using the old department title of Foreign
Languages.
The curriculum motion was
unanimously approved.
The edit to the
general education ethics criteria
(perspective V) was unanimously approved.
Senator Ausland commented that it made sense to eliminate the language.
Traditional Letter Grading (A=Excellent,
B=Good, C=Satisfactory, D=Poor, F=Failure). The motion passed unanimously after
a brief discussion.
Hayes indicated the traditional language
is broken for two reasons. It is inconsistent because it uses both qualitative
and quantitative criteria and inaccurate because a C is not average work. The average at the University is about
2.9. The committee explored many options
and had some discussion regarding the term used for the C letter grade. Other considerations were fair and adequate.
Senator Greymorning inquired
about the impact on plus/minus grading.
Hayes indicated that there is more ambiguity with the current language
and the new plus/minus system.
Senator Schantz asked if
Hayes responded perhaps. It
seems that average and pluses and minuses don’t equate.
The military science minor
will be discussed by
Curriculum Motion
Priestley gave a brief overview of
the major proposals and concerns raised by
§
The PhD in Biomolecular Structure & Dynamics is an
interdisciplinary degree involving Biology,
§
The PhD in
Neuroscience is in collaboration with MSU
The
Council approves the academic components of both the Neuroscience and Biomolecular Structure & Dynamics Ph.D. program, but is
concerned with the sustainability after 2007 when the current EpSCoR grant ends.
§
A new option in
the Master of Music in Musical Theater is proposed. The option involves a creative internship
with Missoula Children’s Theatre.
Priestley provided a
synopsis of a number of issues discussed with regards to the curriculum
review. Overall the review was
straightforward without significant problems.
Materials online sped up the process. There was concern expressed in
The Council is looking at
graduate increments. The issue seems to
be discussed every few years. This year
the council is going to show leadership and create examples of good and poor
graduate increments for reference.
The point was made that
programs pursuing PhD’s must make the PhD their main emphasis, not just an
add-on of the Masters program.
In response to a request for
clarification on the Council’s concerns regarding sustainability of the two
PhD’s, Priestley responded that EPScoR is providing
five teaching assistant lines for each program.
The assumption is that when the programs are off and running they will
acquire additional research funding.
However, if this does not occur, the new programs will compete with
resources in line with other programs.
Financial matters are not the purview of the
Winkler alerted senators to
the motion
that because it involves a by-law change will be voted on next month. As a point of history, the committee has a checkered
past. In 1971 there was a crisis that
was partially resolved by the creation of the committee. At that time it was
recognized that the adequacy and health of the library was essential to the
success of faculty. Issues of concern were the rapidly changing library environment
and the lack of resources. In 1972 the committee had a detailed charge.
In 1982 the charge was reduced to three sentences that were very general.
This resulted in the committee not knowing what to do.
The workgroup was made up of Dick Field, Karen Hill, Steve
Kalm. Kalm had experience as chair of
the committee. We found that this need
to reaffirm or renegotiate the charge has occurred at many other universities
as well. The workgroup reviewed past
chair reports, research of other university charges, and communications with
Dean D’Andraia, the Provost, the
Chair Knowles clarified that
the motion is a bylaw amendment and requires a 30 day review period. The process has been somewhat laborious and
painful. Please read the motion and come
prepared to discuss and vote next month.
It is standard procedure
that
Senator Holben stated that
it seems the primary function of committee would be communicative: to let us
know what is happening in the library and let the library know what the faculty
are thinking.
Senator Ausland commented that
although there are periodic needs to evaluate the committee, the disorientation
of the committee derived from a minor misstep in the eighties reorganization,
at which time the committee ceased to be a committee of the Senate. He indicated he would have liked to have
something this detailed to work from when he was chair of the committee.
Senators
New Business:
Chair Knowles presented the Bylaw amendment
as mainly corrections that reflect current procedures.
Good and Welfare
Chair Knowles asked if there
are any concerns that faculty would like communicated with the Regents or their
faculty reps at the meeting in
Chair Knowles alerted
faculty to the change in next year’s academic calendar. Classes begin the week before Labor Day
because the alternative would have finals ending on Christmas Eve. Take this into consideration when planning
for next year. Labor Day is late next
year; the academic calendar will typically start after Labor Day.
In response to an inquiry about
intersession, President Dennison responded intersession will remain as is
unless changed. The progress will be
assessed again this year to see if there are enough students to be viable. He agreed to allow sufficient time to
evaluate. There appears to be a good
array of course offerings this year, which include several general education
courses.
President Dennison announced that the Office of Planning, Budgeting, and
Analysis has projected where UM will be for the next two bienniums. The projections take into account certain
historical assumptions and use methodology to predict what will happen.
Consideration was giving to what has happed to cohort groups in
The exercise needed to be done in order to be prepared. It is not a prediction, but it is helpful to
get a good sense of the parameters. The
Regents picked up on the information and disagree with limiting enrollment on
the main campuses. The President
offered that Bill Muse, Director of the Office of Planning, Budgeting and
Analysis could provide a brief presentation to the Senate.
Chair Knowles responded that
Senator Knight inquired
about the criminal background check procedure.
The President stated that there has been a policy in place for over a year
because of issues that have occurred on this campus and other campuses. Other campuses are also moving to adopt a procedure. It might feel unco
Chair Knowles commented that the Regents are very much in support of the
practice. The President indicated the
Regents are looking at other campuses to adopt the practice.
It was asked if it is
essential to state the requirement in the position advertisement. Perhaps those candidates who made it to the
final stages could be informed of the procedure prior to contacting references.
An important consideration
is to protect the privacy of candidates.
According to the President, references should not be contacted until the
candidate has been informed.
Senator Bachmann stated that
there must be other programs besides
Senator Knight asked what
happens when a candidate of the caliber of Dante or Chaucer has a prison record. Are they excluded from employment because of
the record?
The President responded not
necessarily. The information must be
made available, reviewed and a determination made. It has to be a judgment call, similar to
students. The University must be
informed of any criminal records so that a determination may be made.
The policy and procedures
are in place to prevent incidents such as those described in the Chronicle of
Higher
Senator Laskin stated that he
had been told that the advertisement must state upfront that employment is
contingent on the successful completion of a background check. The hiring department is not provided with
any details of the check, but only whether or not the candidate passes. The check only encompasses the last five
years.
Senator Winkler was under
the impression that the hiring department would be able to make the judgment
call. What if someone demonstrated
against the
Rather than debate the
issue, the President stated that the procedures will be clarified.
Senator Greymorning asked
how the issue of international faculty was handled given that laws in other
countries differ from the
Chair Knowles asked for a
motion to adjourn. It was forthcoming
and seconded. The meeting adjourned at