MSU FACULTY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
                          February 26, 2003
                                   
MEMBERS PRESENT:  Gipp, Sherwood for Giroux, McDermott, Kommers,
Schlotzhauer, Metz for Linker, Leech, Taylor, Howard, Jones, Nehrir,
Conant, Weaver, Sunner for Amend, Levy, Bogar, Jelinksi, Pratt,
Fisher, Lynes-Hayes, Prawdzienski, Kempcke.

MEMBERS ABSENT: Young, Morrill, White, Anderson, Stewart, Chem Engr,
Yoo, Lefcort, Locke, Lansverk, Bond, Idzerda, Lynch, Knight, Hoffman.

OTHERS PRESENT: Bandyopadhyay, Fedock.

The regularly-scheduled meeting was called to order by Chair Rich
Howard at 4:10 PM.  A quorum was present.  The minutes of the February
19, 2003, meeting were approved as distributed.

Chair's report - Rich Howard.
     - The Board of Regents will meet March 3 to consider two issues.
          - A job description for the Commissioner of Higher Education
          search will be prepared.
               - February 20, the regents and system-wide faculty
               leaders met with Elaine Hairston of Academic Search
               Consultants to discuss the characteristics desired in a
               new commissioner.
               - This discussion will be used as a basis for the job
               description.
          - System-wide transfer of courses will be discussed.
               - A committee chaired by Deputy Commissioner Joyce
               Scott has been working on transferability proposal,
               which will be presented.
               - Student Regent Hur will present a proposal to create
               a common course numbering system.  It appears that the
               proposal would be detrimental to the four-year schools,
               although it may be workable in the two-year schools.
     - Amendments to Faculty Handbook Sections 618, 733, 734, and 463
     (Post-Tenure Review) and Section 802 (Definitions for Formal
     Review of Faculty) have been forwarded to the President.
     - Issues that have arisen regarding two proposed amendments to
     the Faculty Handbook, Section 1312.00 (Conciliation and Grievance
     Complaints - Deadline for Filing) and Section 620.00 (Role,
     Scope, Criteria and Procedures) are being discussed with the
     President's Office.
     - As follow-up to discussion at last week's meeting regarding the
     academic calendar, the Chair sent a memo to Vice Provost Fedock
     requesting that the Calendar Committee be reconvened to look at
     one-day holidays.  Can they can be eliminated from the academic
     schedule or minimized because of the affect they have on the
     instructional program?

Faculty Affairs Committee report - Walter Metz.
     - The Faculty Affairs Committee recommends adding the following
     wording to Faculty Handbook Section 812.00 C (Responsibility of
     the Candidate to Submit Dossier) ", and all the letters conveying
     recommendations from the most recent formal review (if such a
     review has occurred within the past 7 years)."
     - During discussion, it was suggested wording be added to make it
     clear the letters are those from MSU.
     - The Faculty Affairs Committee will rewrite the addition and
     bring it back to the Council.

Report from UPBAC - Rich Howard and Warren Jones.
     - A draft of the Instructional Program Evaluation Matrix,
     discussed previously by Faculty Council, was distributed.  The
     scale will be standardized at 0-3, not 0-4, as printed.
     - It is anticipated some of the categories will be used for FY04
     budget decisions, but appropriate information will not be
     gathered in all of them in time to be used.
     - Information that will be used for FY04 includes the Key
     Performance Indicators (efficiency); the Delaware study
     (productivity); and soft data such as program demand, state and
     national need, and strength and reputation.
     - UPBAC has received the budget amendments for all of the vice
     presidents.  The total is $3 - 4 million.  It is not known if
     there will be money to fund any of the  amendments without
     reallocation.  There does not appear to be a process in place at
     this time for reallocation or reduction of budgets, if that
     should become necessary.
     - UPBAC approved money for raises on promotion and tenure as a
     cost of doing business, so it will no longer be a budget
     amendment.
     - UPBAC next meets March 18.

As there was no further business, the meeting adjourned at 4:45 PM.


Joann Amend, Secretary              Richard Howard, Chair