MINUTES UAF GOVERNANCE COORDINATING COMMITTEE SPECIAL MEETING Friday, May 23, 1997 Library 341 I Steve Nuss called the meeting to order at 8:10 a.m. MEMBERS PRESENT: MEMBERS ABSENT: Craven, J. Andrews, S. Frey, B. Combellick, M. Long, P. Dexter, C. Martin, W. Jaing, M. Nuss, S. Pierce, R. OTHER PRESENT: Robinson, T. Mosca, K. Schatz, M. B. The agenda was adopted as distributed via e-mail II BUSINESS A. FY99 Budget Planning The Coordinating Committee forwarded the following list of priorities to Chancellor Wadlow for consideration. MEMORANDUM TO: Joan K. Wadlow, Chancellor FROM: Steve Nuss, Chair Governance Coordinating Committee DATE: May 27, 1997 SUBJECT: Governance Priorities for FY99 Budget The Governance Coordinating Committee met on May 23 to prioritize the FY99 budget assumptions per your request. The topic sparked lively debate and the three governance groups (faculty, staff, and students) worked well together prioritizing a list that will be beneficial to UAF. A number of these items compliment each other and all lend to attracting and retaining students, as well as providing a quality education. The following is a list of prioritizes compiled by the Coordinating Committee: 1. Instructional pool to address the needs of under served students at UAF $250.0 While this was not on the original list, this item was overwhelmingly number one on all three governance groups' list. At the present time, there is not enough funding to staff all courses in general education at UAF. This initiative will fund term lecturer positions in all areas of general education requirements so that students at UAF can graduate in a timely manner. We feel that this will address the issues of retention and graduation that are so important to our well-being. 2. Outcomes Assessment and Excellence in Professional Programs (Meeting Accreditation Needs/Mandates) $500.0 This is a revised edition of the original line item under this heading. We agree on the necessity for the monies to be distributed in this category because accreditation is an essential part of academic excellence. We would approve these monies only if ALL professional programs were given funds from this pool to meet their accreditation needs. For example, the Music Department has not received necessary funding to meet accreditation needs. Accreditation, especially for the professional schools, is critical for maintaining academic credibility of programs among students and their parents and with UAF peer institutions. Recent visits have identified deficiencies that need correction. They are costly; they are urgent. For example, UAF is presently working towards remedying equipment deficiencies identified by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology in anticipation of the next site visit. Five more accreditation visits for engineering, journalism and teacher education programs during 1996-97 are likely to identify more deficiencies that will require funding to correct. With the changing characteristics of higher education in the United States, accrediting agencies are modifying the standards by which educational institutions are measured. At the institution level, the overall accrediting body, the Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges, has implemented a new standard which requires all institutions to implement a comprehensive educational assessment process for measuring student achievement. Comprehensive assessment is costly; for example, some institutions find that $10 per student can be required to fund the comprehensive assessment that is requested. 3. Enrollment Efficiencies/Retention $300.0 The Committee was in agreement that enrollment efficiencies and retention are important and deserves high priority. However, the descriptive paragraphs are unclear as to the intent. We believe that the Banner System, per se, does not need more funding but the efforts to make this a tool for advising and improving its function will facilitate retention and aid in a more positive attitude for the use of this and related resources. During the spring of 1996 UAF began to implement new ideas to broaden responsibilities campus-wide for all aspects of enrollment management to include recruiting, retention and overall friendliness of UAF to students. To maximize these efforts, resources will be needed to fund organizational and technological changes within the enrollment and record- keeping functions of the university. Some examples include: improved computer networking at the campuses, implementation of scanned student records, on-line registration, and a computer catalog on the World Wide Web. At the same time as these changes are taking place, UAF will be involved in implementing BANNER, the new statewide system of student information. This change will greatly affect how UAF offers enrollment services since faculty will need computer access to the student information system for advising and registration. This system carries with it a need for increased computer capability. Once this system is on- line, funds will be needed to update equipment in many offices across the campuses. 4. Faculty and staff development and training, as well as the development of faculty and staff to support distance education $250.0 This is slightly changed version of the last item of your memorandum. In addition to the reasons given in the original memo, we believe that the funds should include instructional development, as well as the development of distance education. Educational excellence depends on the quality of education and how this education is presented to the students is of the utmost importance. UAF would not be attractive to perspective students if we were not using the latest and most innovative methods to deliver this education. 5. Computerized Campus (Accessibility of Information Technology) $200.0 The Committee agrees that the UAF network needs improvement and adequate funds for proper maintenance. However, these funds should not be used to cover services which should be provided by UACN at Statewide. The technology fee which will go into effect this fall will assist in meeting the need of a computerized campus, but will not take care of the whole issue. Improving and maintaining the UAF network is critical and costs money. US News and World Report says "how a school uses technology in the instructional process is crucial." (1996 College Guide) The development of the Internet, the World Wide Web, and collaborative computing makes a state-of-the- art computer network fundamental to the learning environment. Students must graduate with strong computing skills or lose any competitive edge in the marketplace. Faculty must also have the ability to teach their students using the latest technologies, thereby improving the quality of instruction, as well as the ability to serve more students in wide-ranging geographic locations. We know regular contact with students is directly related to retention; we can maintain contact with efficient and effective delivery of courses and services using technology. At the campus and systemwide level, efforts have been made to reallocate resources to keep abreast in the rapid development of electronic tools to increase effectiveness and distance deliver a wide array of courses throughout the system. Over the last two years, UAF has invested about $250.0 of private funds, provided by MAPCO and Usibelli Coal Mine--and its own budget--toward this goal. The UA System has also made available more than $200.0 over the last two years to enable UAF to provide better access to programs and broader course availability. This initiative supports a staff position to oversee network administration and planning, as well as several internships for engineering and/or computer science students to learn network management through real life experiences and gain valuable employment skills. This initiative will also fund key software and hardware associated with network management. 6. Training Student Lab Workers/Longer Lab Hours $150.0 Understanding technology, especially computing technology, has become essential for almost every profession. In evaluating whether a campus takes computing technology seriously, reviewers look at the quality of help for students who have software problems. UAF has developed computing labs to assist students and to facilitate their learning. However, demand for increased hours and assistance from trained staff to help students as they work on projects is not being met. This initiative will fund a full-time staff position to train student lab workers and monitor the on-going operations of the lab. It will also allow increased opening hours and allow the installation of basic software applications (e.g., word processing, spreadsheets, etc.) for use by students. 7. Improving Success at Rural Campuses $50.0 The Committee felt that there are new and innovative ways to cover this area without creating an additional position. To reflect this change, the funding level should be decreased to $50.0. There is technology available which would enable the student to have access to information regarding employment and job readiness. Most rural campuses have no counseling staff and depend on faculty and staff members as substitutes for the counselor's role. This is useful for helping students at registration and throughout their academic progress, but is inadequate. The need for full-time vocational counselors at rural campuses to improve rural student success was expressed at the 1994 Native Summit held at the Fairbanks Campus. This initiative will place counselors, some shared, in Bristol Bay, Interior- Aleutians, Chukchi and Northwest. These positions will focus on employment including job readiness skills, training for job upgrades, and preparing students for jobs forecast by the Dept. of Labor as up and coming fields. These positions will also provide educational counseling for students seeking information about job opportunities related to further study such as teaching, or those who intend to pursue baccalaureate/graduate level degrees. 8. Science Initiatives for Rural Students $100.0 The Committee felt this item was noteworthy and should be in the top eight priorities. Since the increments will be packaged differently than in the past, a suggestion was made to include statistical information regarding the number of RAHI students who attend UAF after graduation. Including information regarding attendance at UAS and UAA may also sway other legislators when taking these increments into consideration. This program is a viable program which also lends to enrollment and retention and should be expanded. This year a large number of qualified students had to be turned away because of insufficient funds. The following items are in no particular order, but the Coordinating Committee felt that they should be given consideration if funds are available. Meeting New Demands for Library Services, Including Distance Delivery $200.0 The Committee felt strongly that the items covered in this priority should serve the entire university community and not just focus on rural sites. There are resources available such as access to Lexus/Nexus that the University does not already subscribe, which would benefit ALL students. Building Alaska Tourism Industry $100.0 Value-Added Alaska Fisheries Products $250.0 Exploring Alaskan Issues with Help from Graduate Students $250.0 Science and Technology for Arctic Environmental Health $200.0 Value-Added Forest Products and Forest Regeneration $250.0 Earthquake and Volcano Hazards $92.0 Arctic Botany $66.0 Alaska Native Language and Culture $200.0 Compliance with State and Federal Mandates $100.0 The item of Quality of Educational Environment on Campus was deleted because the items listed have been met. If you have any questions regarding these priorities, do not hesitate to contact me at 5896. SN/kam ********** III ANNOUNCEMENTS - none IV The meeting was adjourned at 10:20 a.m. A tape of this Governance Coordinating Committee meeting is in the Governance Office, 312 Signers' Hall, if anyone wishes to listen to the complete tape. Submitted by Kathy Mosca, Staff Council Secretary.