Meeting of the Faculty Alliance

Friday, September 16, 2005

8:00am – 9:30am by audioconference

 

 

Minutes

 

1.         Call to Order and Roll Call

 

            Members present:

 

Members Present:

 

Lynn Shepherd, Chair of the Alliance; President, UAS Faculty Senate

Greg Protasel, President, UAA Faculty Senate

Paul Layer, President, UAF Faculty Senate

Chuck Craig, President-elect, UAS Faculty Senate

Kerry Morris, 1st Vice President, UAA Faculty Senate

Ginny Mulle, Representative, UAS Faculty Senate

Tim Hinterberger, Representative, UAA Faculty Senate Graduate Affairs Board

Shirish Patil, President-elect, UAF Faculty Senate

Abel Bult Ito, Representative, UAF Faculty Senate

 

Others present:

 

Pat Ivey, Executive Officer

Ted Kassier, Senior Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs

Roberta Stell, Provost, UAS

Lynn Waugaman, Provost’s Fellow, UAS

                                                                                                           

2.         Adopt Agenda

 

MOTION: passed without objection

 

“The Faculty Alliance moves to adopt the agenda for the September 16, 2005 meeting.  This action is effective September 16, 2005.”

 

3          Approve August 26, 2005 minutes

 

            This item was postponed until the next meeting.

4.         Report from the Chair                     

http://gov.alaska.edu/faculty/2005-09-09.GovernanceReport.html

 

Meetings with Statewide administrators

Past-Chair, Tim Hinterberger, and I had an opportunity to meet with the President and several Statewide administrators in early August for updates on issues of concern.  We gained perspective on upcoming budgetary challenges and learned of efforts to have academic program planning play a larger role in the budget development process.  We were told that academic program reviews are an integral part of a newly initiated analysis of funding distribution within the System.  We learned that funds from BP/Conoco Phillips are available for Sharing Scholarship and Excellence in Research & Teaching and will make those opportunities more widely known to faculty.  Interim VP Saichi Oba told us about studies of needs-based financial aid, elasticity in tuition charged at the community campus level, and drop-off in retention in the junior year. There was news of cooperative efforts among Provosts in academic program planning as well as news of more restrictive university policies on transferability of GERs and admissions. 

 

Tim and I discussed with President Hamilton the failed search for a Vice President of Academic Affairs, appointment of Interim VPRAA Craig Dorman and reiterated the need for faculty participation in conducting a second nationwide search for a VPAA next year.  We were informed of Provost Ted Kassier’s appointment to the new position of  Senior Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs.  This renewed our concerns that SW administration continues to expand without support for a Faculty Liaison or similar position, in which faculty get release time from teaching or research commitments to concentrate on numerous SW issues and present a faculty point-of-view in SW planning efforts.

 

Interim VPRAA and SAVPAA

 

In a meeting with VPRAA Craig Dorman and SAVPAA Ted Kassier, I sought clarification of Ted’s role as Senior Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs and ways in which he could liaise with Faculty Alliance and provide more opportunities for dialogue.  We discussed the need for faculty representatives to participate in academic program planning efforts at initial stages instead of being informed of progress when substantive decisions and resource allocations have already been made.  Since appointment of another Faculty Liaison has been denied, efforts are underway on a trial basis to have representatives of Faculty Alliance participate in meetings of seven SW Councils and serve on their work groups when appropriate.  In Spring 2006, Faculty Alliance will evaluate the extent to which representatives’ participation has been meaningful and whether the time needed to sustain these efforts is feasible given other job responsibilities. Representatives will review documents provided by Council Chairs, voice faculty points-of-view and contribute an academic perspective in Council meetings, and then report to Faculty Alliance on significant issues.

 

Distance Education

 

A recent HDEP report from the Educational Technology Team underscores the need to provide faculty with initial and ongoing support in order to assist them in successfully transforming courses taught in the classroom to those taught at a distance.  The report will be useful in discussions with the ETT and Distance Education Steering Board about timeframes for developing courses, course quality, and allocation of resources.  Faculty Senates are reviewing ETT’s draft document on Supporting Students at a Distance, and the Alliance will provide a response.

 

Transcription of certificates

 

A SW task force undertook a study of certificate programs in order to recommend better ways of capturing the numbers of students who complete those programs and having data about those ‘completers’ show up in accountability measures.  Community campuses provide many students with opportunities to complete certificate programs, but Banner data may or may not capture their successes in terms of workforce development or graduation rates.   Faculty Alliance and Senates have been considering a report from the task force about ‘occupational certificates’ and how the requirements for those differ from requirements for  ‘workforce certificates’ or ‘departmental certificates.’  The Alliance and task force will work together to delineate differences in program requirements and recommend ways of documenting successes. 

 

5.         SAC Report

 

Ted Kassier reported Alliance preferences to the Systemwide Advisory Council regarding changing the phrase “MAU” to “university”               , and the Alliance approval of the external agreements. Kathy Gruenig is writing the September 13 SAC minutes. There is a refocus of the operating budget reviews.  Last year, an academic component was introduced, and because of that, and because there are two new chancellors, the academic component of the review was provided by the deans.

 

It was unclear as to who was going to be at the operational reviews this year.  The deans will not be making the presentations and there has been no mention of who is attending this year.  The president determines who attends.  Kassier believes that  all are open meetings but will check on that.  The UAA operating review is October 28, UAF is on Oct 21 and Monday October 24 is  the statewide operating review.  Robbie Stell said the purpose of the meeting has changed and president is limiting the scope of the reviews to whether or not the strategic plans are working.  President Hamilton structured the questions for the academic review.  President Hamilton used to stay a couple of days but this year, the reviews are not going to be as long.  The provosts and vice chancellors for administration will run through the budgets for their universities.  Alliance members commented that  when the president opened it up to deans, this was a step in the right direction.  The reviews are all in writing and are open for distribution.  SAC wanted the deans there to answer questions but are still uncertain how things are going to happen.  Bult-Ito is concerned that this means further erosion that academics are being shut out.   Kassier summarized Alliance’s two key questions to which he needs to get the final answers:

 

What is the status of having deans at the operational reviews?

What is the status of having faculty on the systemwide advisory councils?

 

SAC talked about the upcoming budget, performance based budgeting, and the operating review.  Next week during the Board of Regents meeting, provosts and engineering deans from UAA and UAF will meet to discuss how to integrate programs, will discuss needs-based financial aid, and also discuss attendance by Alliance members at the various councils.

 

6.         Old Business

 

6.1        Faculty Representation on Statewide Advisory Councils

 

Lynn developed a paper outlining roles of Alliance representatives to statewide advisory  councils  and emailed requests to the council chairs.  Kassier has talked to Craig Dorman about issuing a formal joint invitation, so took the initiative and have received responses from SAC, RAC, HRC, ETT and ITC (Eva is still on ITC). 

 

After the Alliance gets representation on the systemwide advisory councils, how does that information get back to the Alliance, by sending council Agendas and minutes to all Alliance members or just to the point person?  The point person approach is better for Paul Layer.

 

 The consensus was to send the information to the Alliance representative on the advisory council and to Pat Ivey for archiving. Alliance representatives will provide written reports to senate presidents and they decide if it makes onto the Alliance agenda.

 

SAC and Council meetings are generally not scheduled any further out than a month to six weeks.  The next SAC meeting is Tuesday September 27 at 9am. SAC generally meets every other week.

 

Lynn Shepherd will serve on SAC, and the Educational Technology Team.  Paul Layer will serve on the Research Advisory Council.  Shirish Patil will serve on the Business Council.  Ginny Mulle will serve on the Student Services Council. Abel Bult-Ito will serve on the Human Resources Council.

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6.2       Senior Tuition Waivers

 

            MOTION: passed unanimously

 

“The Faculty Alliance moves that the existing policy relating to senior tuition waivers should not be changed.  This action is effective September 16, 2005.”

 

The needs-based financial aid report will be on the Board of Regents agenda and should be placed on the October Alliance agenda.

 

 

 

 

6.3       Occupational Certificates                                                   

 

UAS voted for 16 credits.  Sense of the senates is that they would welcome transcripting of any number of credits but the minimum number of credits applied to the occupational certificate should be 16 -20 credits.  Other certificates can be called something else and be less than 16 credits but don’t call them occupational certificates. Paul Layer is now okay with nine credits.  Not sure what is going to happen with workforce certificates.  The goal here is presentation of both occupational and workforce certificate policy and regulation to the Board of Regents for action in December.

 

6.4       Academic Unit Establishment

 

There is a lot of vague language and the lack of precision effectively reduced protection of programs and gives a lot of discretionary power to the president.   UAF Faculty Senate has not taken this up. Centers and institutes should not be able to offer academic programs; that’s why there are academic departments and colleges.  This item needs to be brought to the senates, and requires a lot of input from UAA and UAF especially because UAS has no centers and institutes.  At the next meeting, the Alliance needs another copy of the proposed changes inserted into existing policy and regulations.

           

6.5       ETT “Supporting Students at a Distance” Report

 

Senates need to assign the report  to some senate group for discussion and input to the senates and the Alliance.   The actions resulting from the report effects every faculty member.

 

6.6       Other Old Business

 

There was no other old business.

 

7.         New Business

 

            7.1        Amend Alliance Calendar   

 

MOTION: passed without objection

 

“Except for the October meetings, the Faculty Alliance  will meet on the third Friday of the month from 3:00pm-4:30pm. This action is effective September 16, 2005.”

 

Approved meeting dates:

 

Wednesday, October 12, 2005, 6:00pm-8:00pm, Fairbanks*
Thursday, October 13, 2005, President's Retreat, Fairbanks
Friday, November 18, 2005, 3:00-4:30pm
Friday, December 16, 2005, 3:00-4:30pm
Friday, January 20, 2006, 3:00-4:30pm
Friday, February 24, 2006, 3:00-4:30pm
Friday, March 24, 2006, 3:00-4:30pm
Friday, April 21, 2006, 3:00-4:30pm
Friday, May12, 2006, 3:00-4:30pm

 

            7.2       September 20-21, 2005 Board of Regents

 

Issues to be presented to the Board of Regents include the Alliance motion on the senior tuition waivers, announce that Alliance is sending representatives to the statewide advisory councils.

 

7.3       Other New Business

 

There was no additional new business

 

9.         Senate Reports, UAA, UAF, UAS

 

The UAF Faculty Senate’s first meeting is Monday, September 19.  Ted Kassier has been invited to attend. The UAF Provost has issued report on the tenure and promotion process. In summary, UAF has a process that works and won’t be undertaking a massive review.

 

Next Friday, UAA Faculty Senate will be hosting an all-faculty assembly. There is a new student evaluation instrument and the senate is developing a process for evaluating deans, directors and the chancellor. Tim Hinterberger is in charge. 

 

Fairbanks has developed tools and is willing to share with UAA and UAS.  One of the tools is survey results kept on file in the governance office. 

 

UAS having a problem with online evaluations and will be working using UAS On Line but it has a lot of flaws.  UAS is in the process of working out the bugs and getting students to do evaluations on line. 

 

UAA moving away from home-grown to a national tool.  UAA has an executive vice chancellor for administration who has assured that there will be money for this.

 

10.        Agenda Items for Next Meeting

 

Agenda items for the next meeting may include, but may not be limited to items listed in these minutes.  Deadline for submitting agenda items is ten days in advance of the next meeting which will be held on October 12, 2005.

 

11.        Comments

 

There were no additional comments.

 

12.        Adjourn - The meeting was adjourned at 9:29am.