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