The University of Southern Mississippi
Faculty Senate Meeting
September 13, 2002
Union Hall of Honors
2:00 p.m.
Members Present: College of the Arts: Kimberley Davis, S. Nielsen, T. Lewis College of Business: D. Duhon, T. Green College of Education & Psychology: T. Hartsell, E. Lundin, J. Olmi College of Health & Human Sciences: J. Bethel, S. Hubble, M.F. Nettles College of Liberal Arts: D. Cabana, A. Miller, M. Dearmey, P. Gentile, S. Malone, J. Meyer, M. Norton, L. Nored, S. Oshrin, B. Scarborough College of Marine Science: J. Lytle College of Nursing: K. Masters College of Science & Technology: D. Beckett, P. Butko, B. Coates, M. Cobb, R. Folse, M. Hall, M. Henry, G. Mattson, L. McDowell, G. Russell University Libraries: T. Graham USM-Gulf Coast: D. Alford, Kathy Davis, J.P. Smith
Members Represented by Proxy: College of Education & Psychology: J. Rachal (J. Olmi) College of International and Continuing Education: M. Miller (Clifton Dixon) College of Nursing: A. Brock (K. Masters) USM-Gulf Coast: S. Naghshpour (D. Alford)
Members Absent: College of the Arts: College of Business: J. Crockett College of Education & Psychology: J. Palmer College of Health & Human Sciences: S. Graham-Kresge
1.0 Call to Order 2:00
2.0 Approval of Agenda: Moved D. Duhon. Second J. Olmi. Approved.
3.0 Approval of Minutes for June 21 meeting. A. Miller: Add name to attendance list. Moved: B. Scarborough. Second: J. Olmi. Approved
4.0 Forum Speaker: President Shelby Thames: Recognize Carl Nicholson in attendance. He is a friend of the University, and we appreciate what he does. I will talk about state of the University and challenges that we've faced since May 1 when I became president.
Budget Building: We had to look at the budget, which had to be done in three weeks. I worked with L. McFall, deans, and vice presidents. What were the challenges of the budget? [from slides] $3,470,865 reduction in state appropriation from legislature, $600,000 decline in other revenue; $1.5M in one time monies had been used to offset cuts previously. So, the total was $5,570,865 in revenue reduction. There was an increase in fixed costs of $2,439,494 (for promotion raises, utility increases, insurance increases). So we were looking for $8,010,359 for FY 03. Fortunately, we had retained $3.75M in holdback from last year, as required by the Board. We still needed $4,260,359. The Board required $3.5M for another holdback in anticipation of a budget reduction this year. The total needed was $7,760,359. A tuition increase offset this by $2,740,000. There was a $5,020,359 net loss in the budget for FY 03.
Hard times require tough decisions, and we made uniform cuts across the university. I don't like this approach, but had to revert to it. Much of the cut came from non-filled positions ($7.76M). This was not particularly fair, because some colleges had more unfilled positions than others. Some saved money by holding open positions. In some cases, good stewardship cost positions; that wasn't right, but we had to do it. We won't do it that way in the future.
Faculty Input: Start faculty representation in the budget process at the department level, not in the president's office. Faculty representation at the College level is critical; this is where the budget originates. Find out what your realistic needs are with an understanding our financial situation, and make recommendations. FS president will participate in cabinet level except where personnel issues are involved.
Tuition: Over the years, USM did not raise its tuition when it had the opportunity. This was a USM decision, not a Board policy. We have been behind our sister institutions. We asked and were given approval to have parity. In AY 2002, there was a 15% increase ($1,708/semester). Almost 13% was approved this year. Fall: $1,845/semester (15%). Spring: $1,937/semester (4.98%). There has been a 28% in 2 years. This helps us balance the budget without cutting too far into the "red meat" of the university. The projected increased revenue from tuition for FY03 is $3.4M.
New Administration: How could we amalgamate the Gulf Coast into the Hattiesburg operation, so that we can exist as one university? We had different GC units reporting to different administrators, and needed to bring them together under one leadership. By taking this approach, we have amalgamated research and instruction, so that GC is a comprehensive unit. We had to replace Dr. Griffen who went to Georgia. We needed to mix the Hattiesburg and Gulf Coast mentalities, so I asked Tim Hudson to go to the Coast. I asked Jay Grimes from the Gulf Coast to serve as Hattiesburg Provost. We needed an Associate Provost for Institutional Effectiveness (Maureen Ryan), because we're under a mandate from our accrediting agencies to perform institutional effectiveness on a daily basis. We appointed a dean of the Graduate College (Jim Hollandsworth), and a VP for Research to replace Don Cotten who resigned. Dr. Angeline Dvorak (formerly of Mississippi Technology Alliance and Institute of Technology Development) was best qualified to help USM take advantage of its research potential and location in the growth part of the state. Linda McFall continues as VP for Business and Finance, and Joe Paul as VP for Student Affairs. Lisa Mader was selected to direct Marketing and Public Relations.
Mission Statement: IHL Board instructed institutions to rethink mission statements. We altered ours some, got Cabinet and Dr. Cabana involved, and submitted a new mission statement, which was approved at the August IHL retreat. In the past those issues were controversial; people have thought that some institutions wanted to take programs from others. This is not that environment. The intention is to make sure that mission statements are appropriate for the day and for ten years ahead. The statement is available at: www.usm.edu/usmweb/mission.html
Workload and Efficiency: IHL Board is requiring efficiency and accountability for all universities. We'll be looking at efficiency and want your participation. It's an opportunity to show how valuable we are and what we do. One thing that we need to do better is to adequately communicate our value to the state. We must do that. This is an opportunity. USM should expect no less. We should know how efficient we are. This requires looking at workloads and at institutional effectiveness, workload for everybody, your president included.
Scholarships and Discounting: There was also a concern about giving away tuition (scholarsips and graduate assistantships) on one hand and charging more on the other. The IHL Board had concerns over whether this is a good return on investment. We need to be able to defend scholarships to the IHL Board. J. Paul and L. McFall put together numbers to show that scholarships are financially attractive ways to improve your university. The numbers show that $15M investment is leveraged to create $40M in revenues and services. We showed that a reduction in scholarships would hurt the university. I believe the IHL Board believes that USM is a good steward of appropriated funds.
Faculty Appreciation: We need to find ways to show that we appreciate what faculty and staff do. We need an annual event to recognize and reward faculty scholarship. I also want your ideas. How can we appropriately recognize faculty members given the restraints? We will listen to your ideas and do those things that are most effective.
Goals: We need to improve our faculty and staff salaries. This will be hard to do. We will try to change the attitude of the legislature.
We will try to get to the $100M level in research funding. This frees up money in the general budget. Dr. Dvorak and I have had intense discussions on how to get to $100M.
We need to improve our physical infrastructure.
We need to grow to 20K students. We're stretched already, but you're either moving ahead or falling behind. Let's grow our population, and demand what we need to teach those students. When our population is going up the legislature has to pay attention. We need to grow this university.
We need to increase our average ACT score, because that's a perception of quality. We need to be seen as the first rate institution that we are.
We must achieve the $100M capital campaign goal (now at $78M).
Questions:
E. Lundin: I'd like to thank Dr. Thames for his presentation [applause].
B. Scarborough: You talk about excellence, but your talking more about grants and economic development than about the many other areas of the university. It seems that in building faculty with a truly national reputation, you shouldn't try to increase course load.
S. Thames: I'm a teacher and have been in the classroom since 1964. I'm one of you. I know what it is to do a good job in teaching and I know how hard it is. Excellence is excellence. There's not just a dollar associated with it. Let's do an excellent job in the classroom. If you write grants, do an excellent job at that, too. Do an excellent job in public service. We don't want to be excellent in one thing; this is an excellent university. I apologize if you got the wrong view of that.
J.P. Smith: In a previous experience with the legislature I know that they have particular interest in teaching loads. I'm concerned that they don't have understanding of workload vs. teaching load. We have different work condition than community colleges; we have to produce research.
S. Thames: I didn't say teaching load. You're right. The workload is what's important, not just the number of classes you teach. We need to be effective in what we do. That's why we say "work load assessment." We're going back to the Board of Trustees and say that we don't just look at teaching loads. That's a part, but not all, of what we do. We're not a junior or community college. We're in the top 10% in America. We have to excel at everything we do.
D. Beckett: A number of people have suggested that research at USM will be on the Polymer Science model: dollars for a product. Others do knowledge for knowledge's sake. How would such research rank? In terms of tenure and promotion?
S. Thames: Is Gary Stringer here? If he were I would turn this question over to him. Years ago, I helped him to fund his research, because I thought it was important. He generated more than $1M to keep that work going. I understand what you're saying. I understand that there are differences in responsibilities in the arts, social sciences, business, and in the sciences. Tell me and convince me why what you're doing should be represented as research. This is an opportunity for you to communicate what you're doing, and it is what the Board wants. It doesn't have to be tied to dollars, but it is helpful when it is. There are very few fields in which research dollars can't be found. It may be that you haven't pursued it. I know that this is the case for many of you, because we used to bring in $3M year and now $62M with basically the same people and programs. What happened? People are learning how to write proposals and what agencies to go to. There's more money in homeland security than you can imagine, if you will think about what you can do to get in the homeland security loop. It's financially attractive for you. You can pay yourself one third of your salary in the summer. You don't have to teach; you can do research. You can buy computer, supplies, have graduate and post doc students work for you. You can build your careers. I want to be in the position that I have to worry that you might leave for better offers. Bringing in dollars will help you personally. I want you to be happy when you come to work. If you can get dollars, go for it. If you can, it's good to have, but not absolutely necessary.
D. Alford: I've been asked to report the number of external dollars and publications this year, and that will be combined with teaching numbers. I'm sorry that I'm late, but I've been meeting with Coast's first honor society. I don't see this type of work represented in this efficiency formula. Can you tell me, is that not important or how will it be explained to the Board?
S. Thames: Everything we do to help the student will be given credit.
D. Alford: We're evaluated on service, but how will this be considered in efficiency?
S. Thames: We do three things (teaching, research, service) but want to add a fourth, economic development. We want to help to develop new businesses, and help some of you become millionaires. I want to be able to say that 10 millionaires came from the university, that they took good ideas generated here and made them successful from a business point of view. Those people will give back to the university, fund research programs, hire our students, and contribute to the economy of the state. We ought to do economic development when we can. How do you weigh that? It varies from department to department, but we want your input on how you should be evaluated.
B. Scarborough: Will there be significant faculty input on this metric?
S. Thames: Some of you may want to use a metric approach. There are two deans doing that, and I take my hat off to them. They are looking for an appropriate way to value your work. They are looking for faculty input. The entire faculty needs to be involved. We can start from the ground up: from the faculty to the chairs to the deans to the provosts. It won't work if you don't do that.
B. Coates: Will this evaluation be by college?
S. Thames: I don't know. I don't know what you all are going to come up with. We're willing to listen to anything that you want as long as it's reasonable, it represents productivity, and it represents what you're expected to do in a comprehensive, Carnegie I institution.
B. Coates: Do you have ideas on how to increase ACT scores?
S. Thames: Retention and recruitment. We lose good students and we don't know why. Dr. Paul is studying this. We need to recruit high ACT students. The president is taking an active role in recruiting high ACT students. I had students in the president's box at the last ball game. They are going to find it hard not to come to Southern Mississippi.
J.P. Smith: One of the best-kept secrets on the Gulf Coast is the quality of the USM faculty there. That's a different niche than the other institutions down there.
S. Thames: I don't disagree with you. We've set up a mechanism where that doesn't have to be the case next year. You need to talk to Lisa Mader. I guarantee that she will respond to that. We're making a big commitment to the Coast. Tell us what you want to do, and work with Lisa Mader.
J.P. Smith: Can you elaborate on this commitment?
S. Thames: Can you tell me what we've committed? You live and work there. Can you not see a commitment?
J.P. Smith: Our management arrangements are changing. I think that it would help if you elaborated on your ambitions.
S. Thames: I don't want this GC and Hattiesburg discussion anymore. We are all the University of Southern Mississippi. We want our degree programs to be of the same quality. We want the faculty to be treated the same and salaries comparable. We want to help you set up the right environment: educational center, new library. Stennis and Marine Sciences bring in a research component. It's a new day, but you need help determine what this new day will be. We want basketball games and fine arts on the GC, and we need a fine arts facility on the GC.
T. Green: Do you have any plans to lobby the legislature change our curriculum to integrate with the Casino industry?
S. Thames: It seems to me that we already offer the hospitality management and business courses they need. Much of it is marketing. I want to send Tulane back to New Orleans.
J.P. Smith: We have a better faculty than Tulane.
S. Thames: That's another reason to send them back to New Orleans.
J. Olmi: There seems to be an implication that we've been inefficient. You made a statement about caring about faculty leaving for better jobs. We care about faculty leaving, but I don't see anyone else caring. There's been no special session, no IHL summit, no collective discussion.
S. Thames: Are you putting me in this?
J. Olmi: I don't know who to put into this group. I hear rhetoric, but see no action. It calls for action, and we're not seeing it. We're being asked to do more. Now there's a restriction on copying, and we have to generate money to make copies. The things we need to get funding are in shorter supply. We're doing more with less, and the implicit statement is that we're inefficient.
S. Thames: This is our opportunity for us to explain to Mr. Nicholson, the 11other board members, and the legislature what we do. One of our major problems in this state is that the legislature does not understand the value of higher education. I've been dismayed that we've had three years of budget reductions. I will do everything I can to make it known that this is a good faculty. Give them the support that they need. I can't guarantee instant success, but I can guarantee instant effort and awareness.
M. Dearmey: More harm has been done in the past three years than good in past 15 years combined. Our salaries used to compare well with MSU, UM, and the Southeastern average. Now people are leaving. Morale is low. Is there any chance that the approximately 100 lost positions could be restored, or are we frozen at low salaries, reduced copying, diminished library allocations, and less travel? Are there any flickers of hope, besides research grants?
S. Thames: The Board of Trustees doesn't like this, either. The legislature makes decisions. We are voting citizens; our students are, and we need to be heard. If we can be more effective, smaller faculty and staff and larger student body, then we can have more money to go to fewer people. Then the people can have more. Can we teach more students without losing quality? There are ways to make more money available to ourselves, but we also have to push the legislature and bring in more research dollars.
K. Davis: I thought that the IHL Board determined the allocation.
C. Nicholson: We allocate legislature's allocation according to FTE. USM has 23% of students so it gets 23% of the money.
S. Thames: Does the higher enrollment ring a bell now? If we increase enrollment, then we'll get bigger piece of the pie. Is that right Mr. Nicholson?
C. Nicholson: That's right.
M. Henry: If I heard you correctly, there is a key role for all faculty in helping to determine method of measuring effectiveness. There is a key role of FS.
S. Thames: I have no problem with that. I think that Dr. Lochhead has asked for time to share his model with you.
Five minute recess.
D. Cabana: We submitted six prepared questions. I will pursue the possibility of written response.
5.0 Officers' Reports
5.1 President's Report: D. Cabana: As you may recall Sue and I reported at the June meeting on our initial meeting with Thames, in which we discussed a number of things including the search process for vacant postions. He communicated that he would fill as many administrative positions internally as possible. These would be by appointment rather than by search. I did get to talk with J. Grimes and T. Hudson, but not the others. I have raised the question of searches on three different occasions. He felt that we needed to be expeditious in the interest of continuity and stability. He dealt with the budget in the same way. It appears that, probably, some kind of search will be used to select the dean of the Honors College. There was no discussion before filling provost positions about reorganization until about a week before. Then I was consulted, but in fairness, the commitments made when Sue and I met with the president were kept. By the time we met with the candidates, the decisions had pretty much been arrived at. Dr. Asper's selection to fill J. Grimes position was done by an informal internal committee. For the time being, Mark Miller's position of assistant dean [Continuing and International Education] will not be filled. Mark was appointed to the dean's position, but as far as I know, there was no search process. The president announced in Cabinet that Maureen Ryan would be named Associate Provost for Institutional Effectiveness. The primary responsibility is to deal with SACS accreditation. It appears that there is some concern that there are things that need to be done that haven't.
D. Alford: Is this a new position?
D. Cabana: In title it is. T. Richardson is filling dean position in an acting basis. The president's decision to appoint was based on saving time and money by promoting from within.
You have a copy of the revised mission statement. This was done quickly. It is very general. It does appear that mission statements were part of an annual updating and review process at IHL. This put to rest the concern that this was a move to change what this university does vs. what others do.
D. Duhon: So, what's our mission? [It's very general.]
D. Cabana: It's intended to be with broad brush strokes.
G. Mattson: So this is our mission now? It's been approved.
D. Cabana: Yes, I believe that the Board approved it in August.
R. Folse: Many programs are missing from this document.
D. Cabana: I wouldn't have mentioned any programs, but this is a greatly pared down mission statement.
S. Malone: Do I understand that the other institutions' mission statements were a paragraph long and ours is two pages?
D. Cabana: Yes, with one or two exceptions. The mission statements for UM and MSU are relatively brief.
S. Malone: Liberal Arts is not mentioned.
D. Cabana: More are missing than included.
T. Green: Was there a glaring difference between institutions?
D. Cabana: This is two pages longer that the rough draft that went into cabinet.
J. Olmi: So this is a done deal.
D. Cabana: I will verify that IHL Board took a vote in August.
J.P. Smith: This resembles a brochure given to the presidential candidates.
B. Coates: This is more of a description of what we are, not a mission. It's not where we want to go.
D. Duhon: A mission statement should guide you in the future.
D. Cabana: Tuition scholarships and out of state waivers were issues raised by Mr. Klum. J. Paul gave a presentation at August IHL Board on how revenues at USM, UM, MSU compare. We are in the ballpark with them. UM statement masked categories using professional schools that we don't have. I think the Board was satisfied with the presentation, and that the concerns of Mr. Klum have been put to rest. A telling figure given was that every dollar spent on grad students generates three other dollars. I think they were surprised.
From Cabinet, enrollment is up slightly, largely as a result of freshmen on the GC. Tulane's enrollment was considerably less than what they'd anticipated (145-150). The Committee on Committees will meet in October to cover committee structure and reorganization.
M. Dearmey: FS worked up a framework after B. Ginn left for a grievance committee. What happened to it?
D. Cabana: I'll find out.
G. Russell: I think there's more need for a grievance committee than ever before.
M. Hall: The process should be consistent with legal guidelines.
D. Cabana: Toby has put out committee preference sheets, and you need to indicate your preferences before you leave. I've asked D. Duhon to chair the Academic and Governance Committee. We need to provide input on the evaluation/effectiveness measure being developed.
S. Oshrin: There's already one in place. I heard from my dean this morning.
D. Cabana: I spoke to the provost, and there may still be a crack in the door.
J. Olmi: Is this coming from below or from the dome. There seems to be a contradiction.
S. Hubble: It's coming from the dome.
J. Olmi: President Thames was implying that we'd create our own.
S. Hubble: I think that the evaluation decision that S. Oshrin is referring to is the work of the committee on student evaluations of faculty that I chaired.
D. Cabana: They'd like something in place by spring semester.
D. Duhon: Which already have metric besides Science and Technology?
K. Masters: Nursing. The idea is to give us credit for what we already do.
M. Henry: What I thought I heard [from the president] was that we have an opportunity for input, and that it could be a FS opportunity. Maybe D. Duhon should ask which deans have something in place. Find out what these metrics are. We can look across colleges. The president has opened that door.
D. Alford: In my department, the administration named chair without input, a junior, untenured faculty member. This was permanent, not on an acting basis. There were specific actions to keep it secret.
D. Cabana: My intent is for D. Duhon to act expeditiously to get a report on evaluations, and M. Henry makes a good point about looking internally. I also have information from other schools. Next week, I will get correspondence out to all of the deans.
5.2 President-Elect's Report: M.Henry: No report.
5.3 Secretary's Report: T. Graham: Please indicate your first and second preferences for committee assignment on the sheets provided at the back of the room. Also, verify your information on the membership list being circulated.
5.4 Secretary-Elect's Report: J. Olmi: See proxies above.
6.0 Committee Assignments
6.1 Academic and Governance: [Covered during FS president's report.]
6.2 Budget: D. Cabana: I will set up permanent standing budget committee. The objective is to increase significantly the role of faculty in budget deliberations. Whether administration chooses to use them remains uncertain. This committee will shadow the budget process.
B. Scarborough: From the president's comments, it seems that involvement is: 1) on the college level, but there's no mechanism, and 2) Don meeting with cabinet. There doesn't seem to be room for the 3-person committee.
D. Cabana: The suggestion is that each college select a senator to participate. They will sit in on budget deliberations with the deans. I'm not sure how that will work. I had hoped to increase FS presence at the Cabinet level where budget decisions are concerned, but it appears that the FS president will be the representative there as was the case two years ago. We still should have committee of representatives from the colleges, working with the deans on the college level. This would be 12-15 people, and it would give us more input than we've had.
J.P. Smith: A committee pulling together information could be good leverage for the person at the cabinet meeting.
G. Russell: Cuts will not be across the board. There will be choices among colleges/programs. Is FS ready to participate in this?
D. Cabana: Yes, it could mean bringing those things to the light of day.
If the senate doesn't object, I will move ahead. I want Myron Henry to chair; he has knowledge of how the budget works. Executive committee will hammer out rest of committee, but you should decide who you want to represent your college. There will be 12-15 including some from outside FS.
7.0 Committee Reports
7.1 UFSA: Art Kaul: My term ended in July. Ivory Phillips from JSU elected president of UFSA. There is a disputed election at JSU: I. Phillips vs. Vernon Archer. The president recognized Phillips. Phillips was elected president of UFSA. But, Phillips also may be in line for an administrative appointment, so that may change things.
M. Henry: I thank Art for his work at the state level. It's what's made it go, and we hope that events don't derail it. [applause]
7.2 Transportation and AAUP: B. Scarborough: Had a transportation meeting Tuesday. Royce Pierce has been terminated but still here and chaired meeting. We're deciding who the next chair should be. Enforcement seems better this year, with a full compliment of ticket writers. I'm still trying to get a gated lot. Visitor passes is one of the greatest abuses. I think that we should no longer issue them, and distribute passes to deans and directors, instead. At the gate, they can't ask if ligitimate visitor. We need visitor lot, but there's nowhere to put it.
Ki. Davis: Can a person with visitor pass be ticketed in meter spot if expires?
B. Scarborough: Yes.
J. Olmi: I run a clinic. It would be helpful to be able to mail out passes to visitors.
S. Oshrin: I think Transportation has tags like that.
G. Mattson: Can you get a sticker instead of a hangtag?
B. Scarborough: Only if you have a convertible.
M. Cobb: What about limiting visitor passes to student parking?
D. Cabana: Is it that difficult to recognize a student at the guardhouse?
B. Scarborough: They were forbidden from asking.
Regarding AAUP, we're working on a constitution to be voted on 9-25. We submitted a press release for PR on 8-22, but it never appeared. We'll go straight to the press, now. Before we adjourn, I'd like to share presidential and faculty salaries around country.
8.0 Old Business
8.1 Technology Security: D. Cabana: The technology report was to be revised and forwarded. It was in legal office this summer. The report is supposed to be coming to cabinet, but I don't know when.
M. Henry: We discussed the "seize for any reason" language, and changed to "impound for any appropriate reason." It was changed back. I feel uncomfortable about this language. If we seize computers for any reason, then what's next. I'd love to move that we move to have it changed back.
Moved: J. Pat Smith, Second: B. Scarborough, Passed.
9.0 New Business
9.1 Appointment of Art Kaul as UFSA Representative: D. Cabana: I suggest that we continue to ask A. Kaul to serve in this capacity. Moved: D. Alford, Second: M. Henry, Passed.
9.2 Appointment of Standing Budget Committee: D. Cabana: I need a formal motion to form standing committee.
D. Duhon: Do we need this to be a standing committee?
D. Cabana: Yes.
D. Duhon: Don't want to try as ad hoc?
D. Cabana: I want to communicate how important this is to us.
D. Alford: We've tried this for three years.
D. Duhon: Are we setting ourselves up for failure?
J.P. Smith: We're building a group of people knowledgeable about the budget.
D. Duhon: I'm not objecting, but I would have thought that Don would have simply set up the committee.
D. Cabana: This is somewhat of a departure, and I'd like for FS to concur. I think that it's important for the administration to see FS concur.
M. Dearmey: University Administrators think they control the media. They don't, and AAUP can go to the media any time it wants. Why don't we have a committee go over and ask to be admitted to the meeting and take a Student Printz reporter? Make a big deal out of it.
D. Cabana: I hope we can press the issue by reminding the president of his remarks today at FS.
M. Dearmey: Everyone knows that this is a 3-4 person deal. That's when the money is allocated. This business of starting at the ground up is a diversion. We need someone in there with the president and the provost.
M. Henry: The chain of command of the university doesn't necessarily allow the opportunity to raise questions. A faculty committee can raise questions. This is an important start.
D. Cabana: I know it's a baby step, but it's beyond what we've had in past years. Sherry and Sue have said that we can't give up our small place at the table. It's not what we want, but if we have a college-level input then at least the committee can report back on what the deans have agreed to on the college level.
Moved: D. Alford, Second: S. Nielsen, Passed.
9.3 Interim Senate Appointments: D. Cabana: We need to make three one-year appointments to replace individuals no longer on FS. Lisa Nored for Rosalba Scott, Jerry Waltman for Kate Green, Anna Brock for Sybil Harrison. We welcome all of you.
Motion to approve: M. Dearmey, Passed.
9.4 Formal Endorsement of Grade Inflation Report: D. Cabana: Provost wants to take this report to Council, but will wait to act on it until FS has responded. FS covered it at the August retreat. Provost J. Grimes would like the endorsement of the concept of the report, not specific recommendations. He wants indication of support for the work of the committee to address grade inflation. Moved: J.P. Smith; second, R. Folse.
D. Alford: This suggests that staffing and budget decisions be based on grading levels? Isn't that kind of serious?
D. Duhon: Evidence seems to support that some departments have lower standards and higher enrollment.
D. Alford: My program has high standards, and there is competition to get in, so you would expect the students to perform well.
D. Duhon: The problem is that there doesn't seem to enough of a relationship between student performance and grades.
J. P. Smith: The grade is a tool, not objective achievement. But you can't let it wash out. The whole cluster of these measures is to bring this issue of grade inflation under scrutiny.
D. Alford: I have many non-traditional students--bright, hard working people over 35--and they make high grades. I object to the generalization.
D. Cabana: Much discussion is yet to take place on this. Provost disseminated articles asserting that maybe grade inflation isn't as bad as thought it may be on national level. But Frank Glamser's numbers justify looking closer at it. We're just asked to endorse the proposal that grade inflation be studied further.
D. Alford: These are written as recommendations.
D. Cabana: We're not endorsing the recommendations.
J. Olmi: Are the recommendations part of the report?
D. Cabana: Yes, but I'm not asking you to vote on the recommendations, just the body of the report. These will be addressed further.
J. Olmi: We need to clarify this, then.
M. Dearmey: If you vote for this, then you're voting for the recommendations.
D. Cabana: We don't have to vote specifically on this report. We can relate a position on studying the issue further.
D. Duhon: Academic Council has studied this for 3 years. These are their recommendations. There was discussion, but they basically agreed that these were possible solutions and that the recommendations should be considered. I suggest that we accept the report as presented. Let's vote it up or down.
D. Cabana: That is the motion on the floor.
B. Scarborough: This is certainly a problem on national level and here. ACT scores are low, but we see high scores in disciplines that should be rigorous. I think something needs to be done, and I congratulate the committee on its work.
M. Hall: Professors can make grades fall into a curve, but many of us teach a body of knowledge that needs to be covered. The yardstick is nationwide and measured on national certification exam. I can have classes that have many good grades or many low grades depending on who students are.
A. Miller: There's nothing here that mandates a particular distribution of grades. It just says that grade distribution should be looked at.
D. Duhon: The data is available on the Web. The most common grade in the undergraduate program at USM is an A. The average graduate has above a 3.0 GPA. Our students aren't that good based on ACT scores. I move the question.
D. Cabana: The motion is to send to the provost an endorsement of the work in this report to continue the process of examining grade inflation. It's not necessarily an endorsement of the recommendations.
D. Duhon: I thought that we were endorsing the report as submitted to Academic Council.
D. Cabana: That was the original intent; that's what is on the floor.
M. Henry: I would endorse, but I think that recommendations 2, 3, 4 need further study. Can we support all but those?
D. Cabana: The question has been called.
Vote: 17 yea; 18 nay; Fails
G. Russell: Motion: FS expresses concern about grade inflation and it commends the committee on its work and urges further study. Passed
D. Duhon: The Committee is not in existence.
M. Henry: Motion: Endorse the report and recommendations with the exception of recommendations 2, 3, 4.
J.P. Smith: Need a motion to reconsider.
M. Henry: Motion to reconsider; second J.P. Smith; Vote: 21 yea; 6 nay; passed.
P. Butko: Why don't you like 3? How about just 2 and 4?
D. Duhon: The guiding principle was not that the distribution be individualized, but looked at in terms of the department or college.
M. Cobb: I have reservation about number 1.
D. Duhon: Amendment motion that FS will endorse the body of the report, but will endorse no recommendations because we have concerns about many of them; second, Ki. Davis; vote: passed
J. P. Smith: We have amended by substitution, and we're through.
10.0 Announcements
10.1 April Meeting on the Coast: D. Cabana: Will be at the Marine Science Institute.
M.F. Nettles: It's on Good Friday, during the holiday.
D. Cabana: We may have to change. That evening we may have some reception at the Provost's home and next morning a trip on the Institute's craft. It's okay to bring spouse/significant other. Consider whether we'd want to do this.
Move to adjourn: S. Nielsen; second, Ki. Davis
9.0 Adjournment 4:55 p.m.
B. Scarborough shared regional faculty and presidential salary information.