FACULTY SENATE MEETING
Minutes, November 15, 2007
Senate
Members: G. Boudreaux, C. Bell, K. Cole, L. Dohse, P.
Downes, B. Haas, J. Hartsfield, M. Harvey,
H. Holt, K. Krumpe, A. Lanou,
J. McClain, C. McKenzie, M. Moseley, D. Pierce, B. Sabo,
B. Wilson, J. Wood; K.
Whatley.
Visitors: S. Baxley, S. Byrd, T. Card, H. Johnson, Y. Koslen, B. Larson,
P. McClellan, J. McKnight,
G.
Nallan, A. Ponder, A. Shope.
I. Call to Order and Announcements
Dr. Downes called the
meeting to order at 3:20 pm and welcomed Senators and guests.
Announcement
The Executive Committee
has revised the order of business to allow for more discussion. This will reinforce the need to receive
reports in writing prior to the meeting.
Reports from campus organizations will be near the end of the
agenda.
II. Approval of Minutes
The minutes of October 18, 2007,
were approved as written.
III. Faculty Welfare and Development Committee
Report
Dr.
Perceptions of
Administrative Offices Survey
Testing of
the on-line perceptions of administrative offices survey will be conducted next
week with plans to administer the survey this semester. Faculty and staff will be encouraged to
complete the anonymous survey.
IV. Institutional Development
Committee/University Planning Council Reports
Dr.
First
The following documents were
distributed for First Reading:
IDC
1: Criteria for Masters Programs
IDC
2: Intent to Plan Anthropology major in
Sociology Department
Dr. Downes encouraged Senators to read IDC’s April
13, 2006 report to Senate for more information on masters programs. IDC April 13, 2006 Report re: Masters Programs
V. Academic Policies Committee Report
Dr. Bill Sabo
reported for the Academic Policies Committee.
First
Reading: [Unanimously approved by APC]
The following documents were distributed for First
Reading:
APC 2: Change credit-hour
limit for MATH 499 and STAT 499.
APC
3: Change the narrative for
MLA; Reduce number of years allowed
for completion of program.
APC
4: Change the course
descriptions for MLA 520, 540, 670 and 680.
APC
5: Change the course
descriptions for MLA 670 and 680.
APC 6: Change requirements for the MLA degree.
APC 7: Adding New Literature and Language Courses: LIT/LANG
368 and LANG 466.
APC 8: Prerequisite Changes to LANG 461, 463, 465,
497, 499.
APC 9: Add requirements for declaring a
Concentration in Creative Writing.
APC 10: Add
new courses, LANG 368 and 366 to list of available courses for the Creative
Writing
minor;
Add an application to the process for declaring a minor in Creative Writing.
APC 11: Add new course: PHYS 107, Introductory
Physical Sciences.
APC 12: Changes to requirements for Minor in Classics.
APC 13: Addition of ENVR 360 to the list of Ecology
and Biology electives for ENVR majors in
Ecology
and Environmental Biology.
APC 14: Change of course title and description of ENVR
341;
Adding
BIOL 342 and cross listing it with ENVR 341.
APC 15: Change credit hours for EDUC 314; Reduce hours
in licensure areas requiring EDUC 314.
APC Approved as Minor Proposal:
APC 1: Change the frequency of offerings for MATH
191 and 480.
Senators were
asked to carefully review APC Documents 3, 4, 5, and 6 regarding the MLA program.
VI. Executive Committee Report
Dr. Downes introduced the following lists as issues the
Senate Executive Committee considers high priority matters:
Ongoing concerns:
·
Shared
Governance (UNC Faculty Assembly’s major focus at this time)
·
Strategic
Plan: continuing clarification, plans for
implementation
Diversity: aspects, planning and the new
Diversity Action Council (DAC)
· University Planning Council: its success, to date, according to its
official list of Duties
· University Budget; Academic Affairs budget:
its share, its division
· Graduate Programs at UNCA
· Faculty Service (“Fully Engaged Faculty”):
expectations, rewards
· Development of newer faculty’s campus
leadership
· Support of student initiatives: e.g., new
Immediate concerns:
·
November
2007: Survey of Perceptions of Administrative Offices
·
Graduate
Programs at UNCA
·
Provost
Search
·
Student
Rating of Instruction
VII. Administrative Reports
Academic Affairs report from
- Dean of Admissions
The search for a Dean of Admissions has failed. The administration has engaged Performa, an
admissions consulting group, to improve our applications processes and to work
on staff development in Admissions.
Performa will provide four people on a rotating basis – one of them will
be on campus for one day a week each week and one will be named the Interim
Director of Admissions. They will work
with Pat McClellan and through Jamie Marcus and Barkley Barton with all of
Admissions. They will also advise us on
the timing for a new search but will not be involved in the search
process.
Dr. Whatley
applauded the work Ms. McClellan has done with the Admissions Office and
thanked Admissions staff for their work.
Over the weekend 250 applications were processed. The highest over the
weekend number previously processed was 95.
On Monday, another 212 applications were processed. The increase in applications is due in large
part to the open houses we have had this year.
She thanked faculty for talking with students and families. At this point last year we had 1150
applications – we now have over 1300.
These students are likely to be the highest quality and most interested
in us as an institution.
General Administration General Education
Study
General Administration collected the general
education requirements from schools in the system in response to the Board of
Governors’ and Legislature’s interest in how classes transfer within the NC
system and how we coordinate with the community college system so that students
can graduate within a reasonable time.
Vice President Harold Martin reached the conclusion that general
education requirements are specific to institutions and each has its own character.
There are
things we can do to work with the community college system. If they have a 40-hour general education core
(part of the articulation agreement) or an AA or AS degree, students can
transfer in and will have met the general education requirements for sophomore
level and below. Students will be
required to take ILS 379 and Humanities 324 and ILS 479 or Humanities 414. UNCA is working very closely with AB Tech to
have advising expertise on their campus for students interested in
transferring. We are also teaching a HUM
324 course on their campus to facilitate the transfer of those students to
UNCA.
Dr. Martin is
recommending to President Bowles and to the BOG that they talk to the General
Assembly about letting us handle transferring by agreeing to some principles,
such as working to make it easier for community college students to transfer
and getting information to them in a timely way but not by looking at course by
course equivalencies amongst all the institutions and the community colleges.
Dr. Downes
will thank Dr. Martin, on behalf of the Senate, for his sensitivity to what the
university is trying to do.
Minimum Admission Requirements
The Board of Governors is preparing to institute
system-wide minimum admission requirements.
Dr. Whatley noted these will not affect UNCA as our minimum admission
requirements surpass those proposed.
Question
Dr. Hartfield asked if students were required to leave campus
during the Thanksgiving break. Dr.
Whatley said yes; the campus closes and for safety reasons we cannot leave
students in the dorms unsupervised.
International students are placed locally. Students who need a place to stay over the
holiday should contact Student Affairs.
Changes in the
Ms.
Dr. Krumpe
asked what acceptance rate was anticipated.
Ms. McClellan said in recent years $50,000 - $60,000 has been awarded
with a forty percent yield. We would
like the average scholarship to be $2,000 - $2,500 and the minimal scholarship
to be $1,000. Approximately 120-150
students will be invited to apply.
Dr. Holt
asked if there was a minimum GPA requirement to apply for the scholarship. Ms. McClellan said in the past, students had
to meet two of three requirements:
Provost Search
Dr. Bruce Larson reported that the
search committee met with Chancellor Ponder and everyone had an opportunity to
share their individual thoughts about each candidate. The expectation is that an announcement will be
made after Thanksgiving break.
Dr. Sabo said
in the past, the search committee sent a short list to the decision-maker or at
least ranked the faculty responses. Was
there no formal short list in the traditional sense? Dr. Larson said all four candidates were
discussed in the same way. Dr. Sabo
asked for clarification -- so essentially the only ranking or preference list
the Chancellor has is what she learned in the meeting and heard from the
comments? Dr. Larson said yes, that is
correct.
VIII. Reports from Campus Organizations:
Chancellor’s Staff Advisory Committee
report from JoAnne McKnight
The Initiative Committee of the UNC
Staff Assembly has been working on a UNC Distinguished Staff Mentor award. General Administration hired Ernest &
Young to visit the campuses to determine the skill sets needed for staff
members in financial arenas; this may be expanded to include technology and
admissions. They have begun identifying
exemplary staff members who fulfill the skill sets as well as staff members who
need more training.
Student Government Association report
from Tristyn Card
Tristyn Card had not arrived when
the Senate was ready to receive the SGA report.
Dr. Chris
Bell, as a member of the Transportation Committee, distributed a Transportation
Fee Resolution passed by the SGA. The
resolution proposed that the transportation fee be reduced to $30 for all
students and then have a $70 parking fee for only those students who park on
campus. Currently all students pay a $70
transportation fee whether they have a car on campus or not.
Dr. Bell said
the expectation is that revenue will increase.
There are plans to make it more attractive not to bring cars on campus –
such as a regular shuttle service for areas with high concentrations of
students. The Transportation Committee
passed the resolution and it will be talking about various options. However, it does not want to move forward
without extensive discussion with the community and without a plan. The recommendation is that faculty and staff
rates remain the same.
Dr. Whatley
noted that the way this proposal ended up being revenue positive was to
increase the parking rate of faculty and staff.
That is one of the reasons it was postponed for discussion throughout
the spring semester. She expressed
additional concerns:
·
Students
who bring cars on campus will pay a higher transportation fee than the faculty
and staff do ($100 versus $70 that faculty and staff pay.)
·
It
produces a financial disincentive but it also might disadvantage students who
need a car on campus because of work responsibilities.
·
The
only way we can pay for the shuttles is to increase the parking fee for faculty
and staff as well as to increase the parking fee for students. This will need a lot of discussion because it
is a very sensitive issue.
Dr. Bell
emphasized that the proposal is coming from the students. SGA is strongly in support of this change in
the fee structure. The numbers he saw
from Mr. Koslen did not assume that faculty and staff would be paying more to
make this revenue positive.
Dr.
Hartsfield asked if this included the cost of the shuttles. Dr. Bell said it does not include the cost of
the shuttles. This increases the revenue
but it also increases the cost. Steve
Baxley would have to explain this and he will be at the meeting with Ms.
Card. Dr. Krumpe said he was perplexed
with the preliminary information over how this could be revenue neutral and he
was anxious to hear Mr. Baxley and others explain how revenues would be positive.
Dr.
Hartsfield suggested that students who chose to ride the shuttle should pay for
the shuttle to offset the cost -- just as students who bring cars to campus
should pay a user parking fee. Dr.
Moseley added that we should also be capturing revenue from members of the
Dr. Sabo
suggested that the Transportation Committee review the master plan, make the
calculations and send the report to IDC.
The administration should be preparing this information so we can
discuss it intelligently. Give us a plan
with a short report with appendices where we can find the information. Among the questions to be addressed are: How many parking spaces there are? How many do we need? How many are projected? What is the cost involved? What is the cost of the shuttle? Dr. Bell agreed to schedule a report from the
Transportation Committee next spring.
Five minute recess.
Tristyn
Card reported for the Student Government Association on the following:
Continue discussion of the SGA
Transportation Fee Resolution
Ms. Card said that the
Transportation Fee Resolution only deals with students and fees that students
should pay. The $30 transportation fee
paid by all students could provide for such services as covered bike racks and
a campus shuttle. If students chose to
park on campus they would pay a $70 user parking fee.
Mr. Koslen said approximately 2960
student parking permits were issued in 2006-07.
The number of parking permits issued with the new fee structure would
depend on whether or not students who live in the dorms would be deterred by a
$70 fee. He believed revenue would
increase by $6,000 to $9,000 -- but a lot depends on the alternatives offered. If a campus shuttle or covered bike racks are
offered as an incentive for students to use other modes of transportation, then
that would affect the number of perking permits issued. Parking demand at certain institutions has
gone down significantly because good alternatives have been offered. We cannot quantify that for students
here.
Mr. Koslen said the total income is
around $330,000. The revenue would
increase to $368,000 with the proposed changes.
He found no other campuses in the NC system or COPLAC schools that have
a required fee only for students – they have a user fee. Steve Baxley added that this is based upon
accepted literature, research on other campuses, what happens when fees are
increased and when people are charged a user fee for service.
In response to Dr. Hartsfield’s
question, Mr. Koslen said estimates for running two shuttles around campus
servicing faculty, staff, visitors, student parking lots and nearby apartments
is about $65,000 a year – a net loss of $30,000. Dr. Moseley said this would be a powerful incentive
for students who had cars not to register them and to park nearby as some
freshmen do now. This will impact
Dr. Krumpe said more than 2960
students attend the university when factoring in part-time students. Part of the problem is non-permitted people
parking on campus. How big an influence
does that have on this problem?
Mr. Baxley said there is no commitment
to run a shuttle. There is some belief
that it is a good idea to run a shuttle. The larger question about parking is
legitimate and it is tied to the current reorganization. Campus police is moving back under Student
Affairs before January 1st but the Transportation Department will
remain under Campus Operations. The
support that campus police gave will disappear before the end of the
semester. We will have one person
patrolling the parking lots. The only
way that will work is if we manage to subsidize staff. The difference in the budgets we have
discussed would more likely be due to increasing staff for parking enforcement
than due to use of a shuttle. How much a
problem that would solve is a difficult to answer.
Dr. Krumpe suggested that many
problems can be solved through enforcement – not by giving tickets or by
booting vehicles – but by contracting with towing services to patrol campus.
Ms. McKenzie asked where the current
revenue of $330,000 come from. Mr.
Koslen said the revenue comes from faculty, staff, students,
Mr. Baxley suggested having a dialogue
not just on parking but on many transportation issues. One of his goals is to have a philosophical
idea of the university’s direction in terms of transportation management by the
end of the fiscal year; this includes enforcement, shuttles, and a strategic
plan to have two-thirds of our students on campus, which has tremendous
implications for us, the least of which is parking. With the help of the Transportation Committee
they have started to address these issues.
He wants to bring these issues to CSAC, the Faculty Senate and UPC, and
not repeat prior mistakes made when addressing transportation issues in the
fall. These larger issues need to be
addressed in the spring. He is here
today to support Ms. Card.
Dr. Downes asked if the resolution
would impact future decisions in ways that we need to think about. Mr. Baxley said they were interrelated. There is still a lot of concern on the part
of the administration that would probably echo questions we have heard
here. But the Transportation Committee,
who has been addressing this for a couple of months, and the students who have
been a part of that process, feel strongly that this needs to go forward and
that we need to make a statement on having a traffic management program at UNCA
that is sustainable. The resolution
passed the Student Senate unanimously, including commuter representatives.
Several senators applauded the
resolution as it encourages students to leave their vehicles at home. However, this is a $30,000 unfunded mandate
to the university. We also need to
consider the impact on the community when students part on side streets and at
businesses on Merrimon. Dr. Krumpe asked, in light of making the
spreadsheet balance, are these the right numbers.
Mr. Johnson said if this passes, it is
the responsibility of the Transportation Committee to implement the plan. If we cannot afford a shuttle it is our
responsibility to make a prudent judgment and perhaps put the resources toward
enforcement.
Dr. Wood moved a Sense of the Senate
Resolution: “We endorse the principle of
a differential rate [in the student parking fee structure] and applaud the
students for their initiative.” Dr.
Moseley seconded the motion. The
Sense of the Senate Resolution passed without dissent and became Senate
Document 0607F.
IX. Old Business
There was no Old Business.
X. New Business
There was no
New Business.
XI. Adjourn
Dr. Downes adjourned the meeting at
5:05pm.
Respectfully submitted
by: Sandra Gravely
Executive
Committee