MSU-BOZEMAN FACULTY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES November 7, 2001 PRESENT: Sherwood, Engel, Kommers, Peed, Linker, Leech, Benham, Stewart, Larsen, Jones, Ross, Nehrir, Levy/Bandyopadhyay, Bogar, Jelinski, Idzerda, McKinsey for Pratt, Lynch, Lynes-Hayes, Kempcke. ABSENT: Young, Hatfield, Morrill, White, Anderson, Howard, Mooney, Lefcort, McMahon, McClure, Locke, Lansverk, Henson, Fisher, Butterfield, Griffith, Carlstrom. The meeting was called to order by Chair John Sherwood at 4:10 PM. A quorum was present. The minutes of the October 31, 2001, meeting were approved as distributed. Chair's report - John Sherwood. - There has been an excellent response from faculty to open their classes to regents' visits on November 14 and 16. Regents will receive a list of the classes and may attend as many of them as they would like. - The report by the MSU athletic program consultants has been received. It can be accessed at the MSU Home Page. - MSU's need to develop a plan to adequately finance the athletic program is a major concern of the report. Computer Fee Allocation Committee Nominees. - The following faculty have been nominated for the computer Fee Allocation Committee: - Gary Bogar (Mathematics) - Janis Bruwelheide (Education) - Shawna Lockhart (Mechanical Engineering) - Richard Wojtowicz (Libraries) - As there were no further nominations, Jack Jelinski moved the four names be forwarded to the Provost's Office as nominees. The motion was seconded and carried. The Provost will appoint two faculty to the committee. Faculty Affairs Committee report - Ron Larsen. - The committee is continuing to discuss the possibility of an ombudsman at MSU. - Currently, the faculty conciliation process is not well used. It might be possible to use some of the features of an ombudsman model to facilitate conciliation on this campus. The need for additional funding may make it difficult to fully implement an ombudsman approach to conciliation. Student Entrance and Transition Initiative - Jeff Adams and Courtney Stryker. - A committee will identify potential barriers students and parents face during entrance and transition into MSU. - Before the end of the calendar year, data will be gathered from parents, students, and other sources. The committee, which will include faculty and students, will come together early in the new year to consider the data. Much of the work will be done in small groups, and the work will be completed before the end of the academic year. - Jeff Adams and Courtney Stryker are currently gathering information for the committee. - Pat Lynes-Hayes volunteered to serve on the committee as a Faculty Council representative. Writing Proficiency Graduation Standards Task Force. - Phil Gaines, English, will chair the task force. - As part of the restructuring of the university system, it was agreed there would be proficiency-based admission (writing and math). A goal was also included to expedite student progress through the university and to develop proficiency requirements for receiving a degree. Each campus is to develop its own standard of proficiency. - By May, 2002, MSU is to have a committee in place to develop a standard and to outline what the writing proficiency standard might be. The standard could be a written exam, an upper-division writing course, or something else. - The task force will include members from each college (two from CLS) and a Faculty Council representative. - Sandy Levy agreed to represent Faculty Council on the task force. Recruitment and Retention Task Force Update - John Sherwood. - The regents specified that 1% of this year's tuition increase be used to enhance to quality of instruction. - Almost $1 million has been spent for this purpose. Expenditures include additional MTAP scholarship awards, additional class sections, improvement of several large lecture rooms, increases in GTA and GRA stipends, and an on-line student application system. - During discussion, Provost Dooley stated that the Equipment Fee Allocation Committee allocates money to the Registrar's Office, and the available money has not always been completely used as designated (to fill requests for repair or purchase of classroom equipment). Faculty may request money for equipment in Registrar-controlled classrooms through department heads. - It was stated that the effort to improve large classrooms will affect a lot of students. The Carr Report recommends that some of each tuition increase be used to fund Athletics. It is the belief that some of each increase should be used for academics and to improve classrooms, also. As there was no further business, the meeting adjourned at 5:00 PM. Joann Amend, Secretary John Sherwood, Chair