Meeting,
|
Members
Present: |
L.
Ametsbichler, C. Anderson, T. Atkins, L. Barnes, D. Beck, N.
Bradley-Browning, K. Canty, B. Cochran, A. Delaney, L. Frey, J. Gannon, J.
Glendening, S. Gordon, C. Hand, L. Hayes, S. Justman, M. Kupilik, B. Larson,
G. Larson, C. Lawrence, J. Lopach, J. Luckowski, S. McCann, D. McCrea J.
McNulty, V. Micheletto, C. Nichols, D. Potts, M. Pershouse, L. Putnam, B.
Reider, Y. Reimer, T. Seekins, L. Sheng, D. Shively, F. Snyder, J.
Sommers-Flanagan, A. Sondag, S. Stiff, D. Stolle, R. Stubblefield, D.
Swibold, H. Thompson, E. Uchimoto, N. Uhlenbruck, A. Ware |
|
Ex-Officio
Present: |
V.P. Foley,
Registrar Micus, Associate Provost Staub, ASUM President Helling
|
|
Guests: |
Jim
Lopach, Faculty Athletics Representative, Jim O’Day,
Director of Athletics, and Jean Gee, Associate Director of Athletics |
|
Members Absent: |
B. Allan,
R. Bendick Kier, F. Cardozo-Palaez, J. Crepeau, M.
DeGrandpre, P. Dietrich, B. Douma, W. Freimund, B. Halpap,
K. Hill, C. Loisel, M. Monsos, N. Nickerson, F. Rosenzweig, R. Skelton, G.
Smith, A. Szalda-Petree, M. Tonon, J. Eglin,
F. Glass, T. Seekins, P. Silverman, N. Tuleja, K. Unger |
Chair
Ametsbichler called the meeting to order at
Registrar Micus called roll.
The
9/14/06minutes were entered into the record.
Communications:
University Executive Vice President Jim Foley
Last spring, University Executive Vice President
Jim Foley hoped to inform the Senate
of the development of several commercials, but meeting agendas were full. He
will now explain the purpose of the commercials and show three of them. There
will be a total of 9 commercials. The
commercials are intended to get people excited about the university, to show
the sprit of the place and what makes UM special. The hope is that the commercials will be
helpful in recruiting students. The
academic deans were contacted to recommend inspiring faculty for the
project. The project was sent to bid and
was awarded to a Bozeman Company, the only company in
The first commercial showed various scenes from the symphony with the voice of Professor
Luis Millán; the second showed technology in the
The
marketing campaign will run for 18-24 months, depending on the cost-benefit
measurement. Currently the business and
science commercials are airing on cable because pricing is more
reasonable. Eventually the ads will run
on local stations and outlining areas of feeder schools.
The
commercials will be accessible via the website in a few weeks. Faculty may
contact VP Foley with any questions.
ASUM President Andrea Helling
ASUM
President Andrea Helling introduced herself and
described some of the issues ASUM will be working on this year. ASUM is opposed
to segways. It is working on the controversy over the
inoperable wheelchair lifts on the buses.
The students are also very interested in sustainability. Faculty may encounter students conducting
sustainability surveys. This year’s
priorities for student government are to be visible and accessible, to run a
smooth operation, and effectively lobby the legislature. Faculty are welcome
to contact her with any questions.
Vice
President Foley announced to the Senate that Andrea was elected to head the
combined associated student body of the Montana University System and UM is
honored to have her in the position.
UFA President Kupilik
UFA
President Kupilik provided an update from a three-day meeting of the Inter—Unit
Benefits Committee. The committee is
made up of 22 members, 11 from labor, and 11 from administration. The Human Resource Director Rob Gannon is UM’s representative from administration. Terry Gruba is the
MPA representative and Professor Kupilik is the
Mercer Human Resource Consulting Firm analyzed the financial shape of the
program and provided a report to the committee.
There has been a sharp increase in medical trends starting
At the end
of this year, the program will be different than it is today. A request for
proposals (RFP) has been issued for a third party administrator. The RFP calls for the cost of a program
different from our current program. It
is predicted that the cost for the claim indemnity program will increase but
the HMOs will not change. There will also be a steering program alternative
that mandates what institution a person goes to for services. The dental and vision programs will also be
changing. The vision program will have a
new provider with better benefits.
A major cause for the deficit is that discount agreements with hospitals were
terminated. There will be many
workshops and communications to educate all employees about choices. This is simply the initial notification.
Senator
Frey asked about the origin of the cost overruns.
Professor Kupilik responded that the majority of the deficit came from loosing
the hospital discounts. The report
contains several pages of data regarding expenses that he would be happy to
share, but didn’t know the areas offhand.
She then
asked whether the plan was to target those areas that had overruns.
He
clarified that the plan is to bring down the costs by offering a third
alternative. The hope is that more
employees will choose the HMO and steering plans because they are cheaper.
The claims
data analyzed by Mercer is from a database maintained for medical benefits for
all state employees. The 29.9% increase
is in individual claims not dollars.
UFA
President Kupilik has been appointed to the Campus Benefits Committee. It will
be active during this time. He
encouraged faculty to call him, Terry Gruba, or Rob
Gannon with questions.
Intercollegiate Athletics Report
The Athletics
Oversight Committee established as a result of the deficit two years ago
concluded that a report should be made to the Faculty Senate at the beginning
of each academic year. This report
should include issues that would interest faculty and provide the opportunity
for questions
Jim Lopach,
the Faculty Athletics Representative for the past 11 years takes the position
very seriously. His role is to ensure
the academic performance of the student athletes. Sometimes he has to investigate rules
infractions, but more importantly he has to investigate faculty members’ easy
grading of athletes.
Jean Gee,
Associate Director, Intercollegiate Athletics oversees academic services. The tradition of the orange progress cards
continues. She provided an overview of
the student athletes’ performance in comparison to the general student
population. Every semester, the student athletes have a higher GPA --3.0
compared to 2.86(spring) and 2.84 (fall) for the general student
population. They also complete more
average term credits and have a higher graduation rate--62% compared to 43% for
the general student population.
Athletics is always looking for ways for student athletes to do better,
but they are proud of the figures.
Professor
Lopach went over the reasons for ineligibility and rules infractions on the
handout. In the summer and spring,
student athlete transcripts are reviewed for eligibility according to
University, NCAA, and Bigsky Conference
regulations. Athletes have to measure
up to the academic progress rules that are more rigorous than the general
student population. Students may become
eligible by taking credits in the summer, and until this year, wintersession.
Starting this year wintersession will no
longer be considered as a separate semester administratively.
Last year, there were only three reported infractions to the NCAA and Big Sky
Conference rules. This is low and is
somewhat concerning, because it is nearly impossible to be in 100%
compliance. There is a cycle with rule
violations. When new rules are
implemented, there is an increase in infractions. Athletics has implemented a better education
system and communication is increasing for self-reporting infractions.
Jim O’Day, Director of Intercollegiate Athletics provided a
fiscal report. For the third straight
year, Athletics has finished the year in the black. The budget is approximately
11.5 million and they produce about 8 million themselves. This is remarkable at
their level. They are able to charge
more for the football tickets because of the popularity. This translates into fewer institutional
dollars being required. The President
provides 3.5 million each year to help with salaries and fee waivers. Other athletic departments receive 6 million
in institutional support. Athletics is
able to net about $300,000 each home game.
Peer institutions net approximately $100,000 or less. They bring in 3.2 million in revenue from
the football season tickets. UM’s closest competitor,
UM Athletic
coaches are informed not only to recruit student athletes, but to recruit
students.
The deficit
will be paid at the end of this year, two years ahead of time. The students would like football tickets to
be free rather than cost $4. This
equates to a $100,000 loss per game.
Also, until this year, there were student tickets available for resale
at a higher price for an addition $30,000.
This year, student tickets have sold out for every game. Basketball ticket sales bring in $450,000,
and that’s $100,000 more than Weber state, the second highest revenue
generating program in the conference.
Woman’s basketball brings in about $350,000 a year compared to
Senator
Potts asked for clarification regarding the 33 students academically
ineligible.
Professor
Lopach responded that there are approximately 300 student athletes in the
various sports. Most of the students flagged
as ineligible become eligible by taking courses during summer session or in the
case of declare-major violations, filling out a form. These standards are higher than any applied
to the general student population and the data is not alarming.
Assistant
Director Gee addressed a question regarding the repercussions of rule
infractions. The repercussion depends
on the fraction. Some infractions will
affect the eligibility of the student athlete.
If the infraction involves an extra monetary benefit, the student
athlete has to pay it back.
The third
infraction listed was fairly serious because the individual gave items of value
to a high school student and claimed to represent the university. Only coaches are allowed to recruit. The person involved almost lost their season
tickets and status.
Professor
Lopach explained that there are two categories of infractions, secondary and
major. There has not been a major
infraction since the late 1970s. With
secondary infractions students can be reinstated to eligibility once they
fulfill the requirements of the penalty.
Director O’Day explained that many of the infractions are
unintentional. He described a situation
where an individual bought lunch for a group of guests. Two of them were student athletes and had to
donate five dollars to a charity.
Senator
Frey asked what happens to the orange cards filled out by faculty.
Assistant
Director Gee explained that the cards are reviewed and if there is a concern,
strategies are discussed with the student, including study habits, time
management, tutoring, or more study table hours.
Senator Cochran inquired about whether the orange cards were a violation of the
privacy rights of students.
Assistant Director Gee responded that student athletes sign a Buckley release
form. There is an explanation of this on
the back of the orange card. Faculty
members can be provided with a copy of the form if requested.
Chair’s Report
Chair
Ametsbichler thanked President Dennison and Associate Provost Walker-Andrews
for their sponsorship and hosting of the Faculty Senate Social. It was attended by approximately 25 senators.
She and
chair-Elect Hayes attended the Montana University System Faculty Association
Representatives meeting and the breakfast meeting with the Board of Regents in
September. They had a conversation with
the Regents about the Governor’s 0% tuition increase proposal.
Senator Beck was also at an Indian Education for All meeting in Helena and was
informed by Commissioner Stearns that the Board of Regents will not ask the
legislature for money over 50 million.
Chair
Ametsbichler updated the Senate on the activities of the Provost’s Search
Committee. Members are currently calling
references and will meet next week to decide on candidates to bring to campus
for interviews.
The Western Montana RiteCare Childhood Language and Literacy Clinic
Montana Business Connections
O’Connor Center for the Rocky
Mountain West
Shafizadeh Rocky Mountain Center for Wood & Carbohydrate
Chemistry
Center
for Ethics
Senator
Thompson was curious about the configuration of an MUS online general education
core.
Chair Ametsbichler did not have any specifics.
Committee Reports:
Faculty Library Committee Chair
Senator
Ware highlighted a few of the items in the written report. The Faculty Library
representative meeting will be October 19th from 12-1. The goal of this meeting is for library reps
to network and learn about the allocation process and ho other departments make
allocations. He has consulted with
Bonner Allen, the new Library Dean with regard to the committee’s agenda items
for the year. The committee will review
the budget, look at the allocation process, and discuss scholarly communication
in terms of how the library can assure copyrights of authors, considering the
complications of the internet. He
encouraged faculty to communicate, preferably via email, any concerns or
information they would like to see the committee address.
New Business:
Chair
Ametsbichler went over the first reading of the Elections Procedures bylaw
amendment.
Unfinished Business:
The Recorder Bylaw
Amendment was approved by unanimous consent.
The Voting
Group Bylaw amendment was approved by unanimous consent.
The Voting
Group Article Amendment was approved by unanimous consent. The Senate was reminded that amendments to
the articles require a vote by the faculty at large and therefore will receive
an email to this effect.
Good and Welfare:
Senator
Beck announced that the site for the new Native American Building will be
blessed tomorrow morning at sunrise by representatives from all 12 tribes. Everyone is welcome to attend.
The meeting
was adjourned at