MSU-BOZEMAN FACULTY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES January 16, 2002 PRESENT: Young, Sherwood, Engel/McDermott, Kommers, Leech, Benham, Howard, Stewart, Larsen, Jones/Lewandowski, Ross, Nehrir, Amend for McClure, Locke, Lansverk, Bogar, Jelinski, Idzerda, Lynch, Fisher, Lynes-Hayes, Butterfield, Kempcke. ABSENT: Hatfield, Morrill, White, Anderson, Peed, Linker, Mooney, Lefcort, Weaver, Levy, Henson, Pratt, Griffith, Carlstrom. The meeting was called to order by Chair John Sherwood at 4:10 PM. A quorum was present. The minutes of the December 5, 2001, meeting were approved as distributed. Chair's report - John Sherwood. - The MSU-Bozeman FY03 Strategic Priorities (attached to agenda) were approved by the Strategic Planning Committee. They focus on recruitment, retention, and quality enhancements. They will be used for the coming fiscal year, allowing time to develop longer-range priorities. - The 10-month pay period for AY faculty will go into effect with the 2002-2003 academic year. - The 10-month pay period will be the default for AY faculty. Faculty with summer salaries may choose a 9-month pay option for the academic year by requesting it through the faculty's academic department. - Proposed information technology policies for the Montana University System will be discussed at this week's Board of Regents meeting. (The policies may be viewed at http://www.montana.edu/itpolicy/.) - Generally, comments received by Chair Sherwood have mentioned the policies are overly-restrictive for a university. - The message to be taken to the Board of Regents meeting is that employee and student groups at MSU are not happy with the proposed policies. - Rufus Cone, a member of the committee that developed the policies, has some IT policies from other universities that appear to be better suited to the MUS. - University Governance Council Steering Committee will meet with the President's Executive Council January 31. - Issues the President wants to discuss include university planning, financial health of MSU, preparation for the next legislative session, and integration among the four MSU campuses. - Faculty and professionals have some agenda items they would like to bring to the meeting, also. Discussion with Marilyn Wessel, Dean and Director of the Museum of the Rockies (MOR). - The Museum of the Rockies was founded in 1957 by Dr. Merrill Burlingame and Dr. Caroline McGill. It began as a museum of western history. - In 1965, a Board of Trustees was established. The board includes students, faculty, two deans, and community members. - All MOR employees are employees of the State of Montana. The present building, dating back to 1972, is owned by the state and leased to the Museum for $300,000/year. - The Museum's operating budget for 2002 is $2.7 million. The university contributes a little less than one-third of the total, and the remainder comes from memberships, entry fees and Museum store sales, endowments and contributions. - The Museum of the Rockies is the only university museum in Montana, although there are about 9,000 of them nationwide. The MOR is the largest of the four fully-accredited museums in Montana. - The purpose of any museum, including the MOR, is to present information, much as a library does, but to present it in three-dimensional form. - About 3,000 MSU students per year are assigned work in the MOR. - Students at MSU may receive a minor in Museum Studies. It is a collaboration between the Museum, the Department of History and Philosophy, and other departments. The current cost of the minor is less than $10,000/year. - Curatorial staff at the Museum teach in several departments. Support for graduate students is available, especially in Paleontology. Last year, the five curators published eight articles in juried journals and one book. The Museum is involved in joint grant proposals with departments. - Looking ahead, a substantial expansion of the paleontology exhibit is anticipated. Greater emphasis on showing the public how research is conducted is planned. - The Museum is looking for sponsorship so MSU students would not have to pay an admission fee to visit. - The goal for admissions is 150,000 - 170,000 each year. The number of admissions was down somewhat in 2001, probably indicating the downturn in the economy. - The MOR works with the American Computer Museum and the Pioneer Museum, borrowing and loaning items for various exhibits. - New exhibits are developed during the year to provide new information for visitors. - The possibility of a paleontology graduate program at MSU is in early discussion. - The Museum views itself as the front door to the university and as an important recruiting tool for MSU. Faculty Affairs Committee report - Ron Larsen. - Sabbatical applications have been reviewed, and recommendations have been forwarded to the Provost. Final decisions are expected by the end of January. Proposed Change to the Course Drop Policy - Vice Provost Joe Fedock. - A recommendation to allow students to drop a course on-line or in person at the Registrar's Office was made by the Recruitment and Retention Task Force. The change would ease the amount of paperwork to be done early in the semester by not requiring the instructor or advisor's signature. - As written, the change would allow the dropping of courses during the first 10 instructional days of the semester. Course adds will still require the signature of the instructor and the advisor. - The instructor will have to check the class list on-line regularly during the first two weeks of class to know when openings in the class occur. Would there be a way to notify the instructor when a student drops the course? - It was pointed out that a "wait list" feature appears on Banner, and activating it would help instructors keep track of vacancies in classes. - It was pointed out that when students make unilateral decisions about dropping courses, the decision can have serious consequences, including delaying graduation by a year. Input from the instructor and advisor are important to students. - The issue of misconduct by a student with no consequences was discussed by the Recruitment and Retention Task Force. Any significant misconduct would most likely occur later in the semester. - A number of instructional days other than 10 can be considered, if it seems appropriate. - If there are significant concerns for the proposed change, please contact Provost Fedock or Faculty Council Chair Sherwood. - It was pointed out that currently, if a student does not attend the first three class periods in a class, the instructor has the option of dropping the student to make space for students on a waiting list. As there was no further business, the meeting adjourned at 5:10 PM. Joann Amend, Secretary John Sherwood, Chair