University of North Carolina at Asheville FACULTY SENATE MEETING Minutes, December 8, 1988 Senate Members: S. Browning, A. Comer, L. Friedenberg, M. Gillum, A. Hantz, M. Marshall, C. Mitchell, L. Nelms, P. Nickless, S. Patch, C. Prokop, D. Sulock, A. Wengrow, K. Whatley, B. Wilson, L. Wilson Alternates: C. Altimus, M. Boyd Visitors: J. Buckner, A. Combs, T. Cochran, J. Garrett, G. Kormanik, B. Larson, M. Roeders, J. Stevens, R. Straub The December 8th meeting of the Faculty Senate was called to order at 3:35 pm in the Whitman Room of Ramsey Library by Chair Charles Prokop. Dr. Nickless presented the minutes of the November 10th meeting. Dr. Hantz moved to table the minutes until January 26 as two senators did not receive the document. This motion was seconded by Dr. Mitchell and was unanimously approved. Dr. Prokop stated that Drs. Gentile and Larson attended the Faculty Assembly meeting on December 4th. Dr. Larson substituted for Dr. Stevens. Dr. Larson gave the Faculty Assembly report as Dr. Gentile had a prior commitment. Dr. Larson stated that at the first Plenary Meeting President Spangler spoke about the budget for the next biennium - 1989-91. He indicated that requests for faculty salaries were the largest in recent years, notably 12% for 1989-90 and 8% for 1990-91. President Spangler expressed his desire that the bulk of these increases go for merit. This engendered some discussion, with some of the Assembly representatives arguing that merit increases may be divisive and subject to favoritism. Ray Dawson of President Spangler's staff presented information relating to: (1) regular term enrollments for 1988-89; and (2) the UNC Program for Further Increases in Minority Presence Enrollment. This document, dealing with the Consent Decree under which the system has operated since 1976, shows that the system's black enrollment had increased 24% during 1976-86. The Consent Decree will expire 12/3/88 but the University will continue to use the programs which have expanded black/minority enrollments. Felix Joyner of the President's staff presented information relating to: (1) Health insurance costs - they will be increasing substantially; and (2) a new line item in the budget for Faculty Development - $2,650,000 for 1989-90 and $2,650,000 for 1990-91. Roy Carroll of the President's staff spoke briefly about Faculty Governance. The essence of his discussion was that faculty and administration should interact cooperatively rather than adversarily. Dr. Larson attended the meeting of the Professional Development Committee. The committee examined returns from 15 of the 16 UNC schools relating to their Faculty Development activities. These materials will be compiled and ultimately Page 2 distributed to each campus. Dr. Larson stated that Dr. Gentile attended the meeting of the Planning and Programs Committee. At that meeting the College Graduate Survey currently in process was discussed, as was an Inventory of Undergraduate Degree Programs in Education Subject to the "Second Major" Requirement. The evening Plenary Meeting consisted of committee reports. No resolutions were considered. A Senate file with a copy of the budget requests for the next biennium will be placed on reserve at Ramsey Library for faculty review by Chair Prokop. This file will be maintained and hold documents that come to the Senate that may be of general faculty interest. Dr. Wilson gave the Administrative report. UNCA gained approximately 100 new students during pre-registration. New student applications for next semester indicate a 60% increase in Freshmen and a 37% increase in Transfer students. The quality of accepted students has increased 30 points above a year ago, with SAT scores around 940. Dr. Wilson stated that this may be deceptive in that fall semester admissions are typically stronger than spring semester admissions. However, for the first time in recent history, the caliber of students entering this winter will be comparable to students who enter in the fall. Dr. Wilson anticipates approximately 200 new undergraduate students (Transfers and Freshmen) for next semester, and 42 graduate students are expected to enter the MLA program. If these figures are correct, and if retention rates are comparable with rates in the past, UNCA should be close to the 2% window. Although the situation could change, GA will probably not reduce UNCA's budget if the figures are this close. Applications for next fall have increased 38% ahead of last years' at this time and SATs are about 50 points above last year. This is skewed as UNCA accepts the higher quality students first. The net result is that interest still appears to be high by better students. Dr. Browning asked if Dr. Wilson had any geographical information on these students. Dr. Wilson did not have the information, but stated that Institutional Research is now generating this data. Dr. Wilson stated that at the annual system-wide VCAA meeting held December 4-5th, he learned that there has been a hiring freeze on all unfilled SPA positions as of Friday, December 2, 1988. UNCA has three vacancies comprised of one clerical and two Facility Planner positions. Dr. Wilson explained that this is a freeze on dollars such that if another position becomes vacant in the spring, UNCA could either fill that position or fill a previous vacancy as long as we remand the number of dollars resulting from unfilled positions as of December 1. The State is $400,000,000 short in projected revenue and this is an attempt to recoup some of the revenue. As other vacancies occur, a decision will have to be made to decide which position is more urgently needed. In answer to Ms. Nelms' question, Dr. Wilson stated that the Enrollment Services vacancy was an EPA position and was not effected by the hiring freeze. Also, freezes are not anticipated for faculty or EPA administrators. Dr. Wilson stated that the last candidate interviewed (Jim Walters) is no longer interested in the Enrollment Services position. Dr. Wilson met with Joanne Garrett and the Executive Committee in an effort to Page 3 resolve problems in the registration procedures. He identified four criteria which should be met in any registration procedure: (1) a no wait policy for students (minimal), (2) no incentive for missing classes, (3) when a student gets to the final point of registration and finds the class closed, he or she should have access to a faculty advisor, and (4) availability of output on course need or student interest while something can be done about it. The group concluded that the on-line process has some potential but it is unlikely to meet all four of these criteria. UNCA will use the on-line process this spring but changes will be made to spread out the time in order to decrease the waiting period. UNCA is committed to implementation of another alternative by spring registration or at least a substantial revision of last Fall's registration. Dr. Wilson stated that Dr. Garrett looked into the telephone touch-tone registration system and learned that it would cost $40K for the equipment. In response to Dr. Friedenberg question regarding the March 1st catalog deadline, Dr. Wilson stated he was waiting for additional information and would look into the matter again. Dr. Prokop began the Executive Committee report by distributing the spring schedule for Senate meetings. A general announcement to this effect will be forthcoming. Dr. Prokop also distributed data from Institutional Research regarding information on SAT scores, enrollment, and high school class rank for UNCA and other schools in the system. UNCA ranked fifth on SAT scores. However, the range between third and fifth place was three points. Discussion ensued concerning SAT scores in general, impact on school image, and SAT scores as a predictor of college success. UNCA's SAT scores are not representative of our students as only entering Freshmen scores are used and UNCA has a large body of Transfer and Non-Traditional students. Dr. Prokop announced that all documents from last year's Senate and this year's have been approved. Dr. Prokop attended the Faculty Assembly meeting on December 4th and met with other Senate Chair's across the state. He attended the Governance Committee meeting. It was his impression as he listened to the concerns of some of the other Senate Chairs that the UNCA faculty has a very good working relationship with the administration in comparison to the relationships that exist at some of the other institutions. The major topics of discussion at the Governance Committee meeting concerned: (1) Fixed terms for chairs, (2) Evaluation procedures for chairs and administrators, (3) The addition of procedural errors as grounds for appeal of tenure and nonreappointment decisions, and (4) Errors in receipt of salary that had occurred on some campuses. Dr. Prokop offered to elaborate on any of these issues about which Senators had questions. Regarding errors in salary disbursement, faculty members at some institutions had experienced problems when their institution shifted their fiscal year to coincide with that of the State (July-June). In the process, it was discovered that some Page 4 faculty members were owed past paychecks, some as a result of fiscal year changes and some as a result of not being paid for one or more initial months in their contract. For example, if a faculty member received his or her first paycheck at the end of September of the first year of service and this paycheck contained only one month's pay, this faculty member could be one or more months behind in pay because his or her contract actually began at the start of the fiscal year rather than the first of September. It is not known how many institutions have this problem, although Dr. Prokop is not aware of any such cases at UNCA. Faculty members at other institutions who have discovered the problem have done so by calling personnel and asking if they were owed any paychecks. The Governance Committee is attempting to learn just how widespread the problem is. The Student Government Association has been communicating with the Chancellor regarding the possibility of adding a student representative to the University Planning Council. The Student Government Association will route a proposal though the Faculty Welfare Committee for adding a student representative to the UPC. Dr. Prokop encouraged FWD and IDC to work closely together on this issue as there is substantial overlap between the two committees. Dr. Prokop reported that at the November meeting of the Board of Trustees the deletion of the word "undergraduate" from the UNCA Mission Statement had been approved. However, prior to the meeting the Board had been mailed the same copy of the Mission Statement that the Senate had received in November. This was the copy including the erroneous additions of the words "and sciences" and "athletic teams." The copy the Board actually acted upon had these two phrases deleted. Several Board members raised the question of adding these two phrases to the Mission Statement, and Chancellor Brown strongly emphasized the need for faculty input on such an issue. The Board has requested that the Senate consider adding "and sciences" and "athletic teams" to the Mission Statement, and asked that we report back to them at their next meeting. Dr. Prokop also noted that he had done some catalog research, and every catalog published since the 1982-1983 catalog has contained the phrase "and sciences". "Athletic teams" has not appeared in any catalog. The approved Mission Statement appears on page 19 of the Report of the Institutional Self-Study of UNCA, dated 1982. It contains neither of these phrases. Mr. Wengrow made the following motion: "The Faculty Senate affirms its confidence in and commitment to the institutional Mission Statement as passed in November 1981 and believes it would be unwise to amend the statement at this time. We anticipate that the Mission Statement will be reviewed by the appropriate committee of the next institutional self-study for re-accreditation in 1990-92." The motion was seconded by Dr. Nickless. During discussion it was noted that institutions typically mention only educational activities in their Mission Statement. Dr. Gillum pointed out that several members of the Senate had reviewed the catalogs of other institutions, and noted that athletics were very rarely, if ever, mentioned. After further discussion, Dr. Browning called for the question and the motion was restated. The motion was then amended to read: "...institutional mission statement as stated in the 1982 Report of the Institutional Self-Study of the UNCA (page 19) and Page 5 amended at the November 10, 1988 Senate Meeting...". The amended motion was unanimously approved and became Senate Document #0788F. Dr. Friedenberg reported for the Academic Policy Committee and moved acceptance of APC #4 Renumbering of Pscyhology 323 to Psychology 423. Dr. Mitchell seconded the motion. Discussion followed concerning cross-listing an undergraduate course at the 600-level versus the 500-level. Dr. Combs stated that the 600 numbering had to do with the MLA program and not the undergraduate program. In a friendly amendment the motion was amended to read "...cross-listed as an MLA course." under the Rationale section. APC #4 was unanimously approved as amended and became Senate Document #0888F. Dr. Friedenberg will distribute the Spring schedule for APC meetings next week. Dr. Browning reported for the Institutional Development Committee. IDC received a proposal from John Stevens and Mike Ruiz which in essence was a proposal for a permanent office for Undergraduate Research. The Planning Council discussed this at great length and concluded that undergraduate research was viewed not as a program, but as an activity that had the potential to be involved in all programs on campus. In that light, the Council unanimously approved the concept of undergraduate research as something which they hoped UNCA would become known for and would develop in various ways. However, the Council was concerned about creating addition positions for a director and a secretary, and the paraphernalia necessary to support such an operation. The Council questioned whether UNCA could afford to do this, if in fact it was necessary, and whether or not there might not be a more efficient way to coordinate various activities on campus such as the Undergraduate Fellows, undergraduate research activities, Honors Program, etc. The Council did not approve the notion of an office or a Director of Undergraduate Research. The Council did recognize the need that someone, with some type of title, would have to be responsible for a certain amount of administrative work involved with undergraduate research activity, particulary as it related to the Annual Conference, The Journal, etc. It also recognized the need for some secretarial support. Some council members question whether the secretarial position should be full-time or whether a secretarial station could serve more than one such activity on campus. The Council thought these were administrative problems and asked the VCAA to please come to the Council in January with an administrative proposal to consider. Dr. Browning thought the Council would be forwarding a formal resolution once the administrative issues were resolved. Faculty are encouraged to give suggestions to Dr. Wilson. Next, Dr. Browning stated that the Council had a continuing conversation with Chancellor Brown regarding UNCA and the Carnegie classification versus the UNC General Administration classification, and the potential levels of fundings the institution might receive. The agenda items of quality growth and state-wide presence were also discussed. Dr. Page 6 Browning felt that faculty input was needed in these discussions as the institution will be addressing the question of whether UNCA is unique as compared to other public institutions that offer an undergraduate baccalaureate degree and claim to have some focus on liberal arts education. Mr. Wengrow and Dr. Prokop affirmed the seriousness of this matter and encouraged faculty participation. The next meeting will be held Thursday, December 15th, at 2:15 PM in Room 004 of Rhoades Hall. Dr. Cochran stated that two Thrust proposals were complete, one was in draft form, and another proposal was expected before the end of the semester. Dr. Nickless reported for the Faculty Welfare and Development Committee and moved FWDC #1 Changes in the Administration of the Feldman Professorship Fund Prize. Ms. Marshall seconded the motion. In a friendly amendment the words "University Teaching Council" replaced "Distinguished Teacher Award Committee" under Section II. Dr. Nickless also accepted as a friendly amendment the suggestion to add "...or creative writings in the arts." at the end of section 2. Discussion followed concerning making any changes in the original bequests. Ms. Marshall amended the amendment contingent upon a meeting with Ruth Feldman to ensure she accepted this wording. The Senate Chair will contact Mrs. Feldman. Dr. Nickless called the question. FWDC #1 was unanimously approved as amended and became Senate Document #0988F. Dr. Nickless then presented FWDC #2 Changes in Tenure Policies and Regulations for the first reading. Dr. Nickless stated that the Rationale section summarized the three broad categories of changes. These consist of: (1) typographical errors and clarification of language; (2) changing appeal of non-reappointment decision based on procedural error from Grievance Committee to Hearings Committee; and (3) changes which affect who will participate in decisions on hearings and tenure committees. Dr. Prokop noted that this document arose initially from the ad hoc committee established by the Executive Committee last year. Dr. Nickless accepted a typographical correction on the bottom of page 4, section 5.C., to include the words "of proof" in the brackets. Dr. Gillum asked what would happen if the Hearings Committee determined that there had been a material violation of procedure. The person has a "no decision", appeals the hearings on the grounds of procedural violation, and a violation is found. A lengthy discussion followed. Dr. Nickless stated that a rehearing would occur. Dr. Prokop encouraged the Senate to notify faculty about this document and stated that he would get a larger room for the January 26th Senate meeting. Under Old Business Mark Boyd discussed the computer situation and pre-registration. He concluded that there was inadequate equipment and staff to handle registration, and this has been remedied. Also, there was no back-up equipment or staff and there was a power outage. Dr. Boyd stated that he has seen on-line registration work very nicely at other schools and the software was adequate to Page 7 handle registration. The fundamental problems were that 3/4 of the students were at the terminal getting closed classes and advisors needed to use more common sense in giving advice. Discussion followed concerning closed-classes and making this information readily available to faculty. Ms. Marshall stated that communication needed to be improved and noted that she gave incorrect advice about when her advisees might register because she wasn't notified of policy changes. Dr. Hantz suggested that the Advising Committee look into the possibility of the automation of freshmen registration so that more time could be given to sophomore through senior advising. After further discussion, Dr. Boyd stated he would try to answer any questions faculty may have concerning the computer and or pre-registration problems. Under New Business, Dr. Browning requested that Chair Prokop discuss with Dr. Wilson how UNCA can develop a system insuring accuracy in documents like the catalog, handbooks, policy manuals, etc. Dr. Prokop adjourned the meeting at 5:20 PM. Respectfully submitted by: Sandra M. Gravely Pamela Nickless Page 8