MINUTES
UAF FACULTY SENATE MEETING #110
MONDAY, September 23, 2002
Wood Center Carol Brown Ballroom

I	The meeting was called to order by President Chukwu at 1:00 p.m.

	A.	ROLL CALL 
	
	Members Present:		Members Absent:
	Barnes, D.   			Bueler, E.
	Barnhardt, C.			Gladden, J.
	Berman, G.  			Goering, G.
	Box, M.   				Gradinger, R.
	Bruder, J.    			Luick, B.
	Bult-Ito, A.   			McBeath, J.
	Chukwu, G.  			Whiteledge, T.
	Curda, L.      			Zhang, S.
	Dinstel, R.   			Zilberkant, E.
	Duffy, L. 				
	Hannigan, M. 			
	Holton, G.      			OTHERS PRESENT:
	Illingworth, R. 			Fitton, J. 
	Leguard, J.  			Gregory, G. 
	Ma, Z.    				Hannon, R. 
	McCarthy, P. 			Kopacz, E. 
	McRoy, P.    			Layral, S.
	Morrison, J. 			Lind, M.
	Newberry, R. 			Martin, W. 
	Odess, D.     			Morrow, P.
	Patil, S.   				Pope, C.
	Pinney, P.				Reichardt, P.
	Schneider, W. 			Seifert, R.
	Simmons, B.  			Thomas, K.
	Weber, J.				VanHaastert, C.

	NON-VOTING MEMBERS PRESENT:	NON-VOTING MEMBERS ABSENT:
	Ledlow, L.   - President, UAFSC	Miller, D. - President, ASUAF
	Woodall, D.  - Dean, CSEM		Graduate Student, GSO
	Joseph, B. - Executive Dean, CRA
	Ron Slominski, University Registrar

	B.	The minutes to Meeting #109 (May 6, 2002) were approved as distributed via e-mail.  

	C.	The agenda was approved as distributed via e-mail.

II	Status of Chancellor's Office Actions
	A.	Motions Approved:
		1.	Motion to approve the M.A. degree program 
			in Applied Linguistics.
		2.	Motion to approve the list of the 2001-2002 
			degree candidates.
		3.	Motion to approved "W" syllabus requirements.
		4.	Motion to amend the definition of Graduate 
			Scholastic and Academic standing.
		5.	Motion to amend the Appeals Policy for Academic 
			Decisions Other Than Assignment of Grades.
		6.	Motion to amend the Grade Appeals Policy.
		7.	Motion to amend the UAF Regulations for Emeritus 
			Status.
		8.	Motion to amend the UAF Policies & Regulations for 
			the Appointment and Evaluation of Faculty.
		9.	Motion to add a "pre-major" admission status to 
			the baccalaureate degree.
	B.	Motion Denied: 
		10.	Motion to suspend approval of all classified 
			research.
	C.	Motions Approved by the Administrative Committee and 
		the Chancellor:  
		11.	Motion to amend the UAF Policies & Regulations for 
			the Appointment and Evaluation of Faculty.
	D.	Motions Pending:  none

III	A.	Comments from Chancellor, Marshall Lind - 

Chancellor Lind welcomed all the new members of the Senate and said how much he appreciates their willingness to participate in Senate activities.  He appreciates the work of the Senate and believes very strongly in the shared governance effort.  He is looking for ways to improve communication with the Senate.  He has invited Godwin Chukwu, Senate president, for occasional attendance in the Chancellor's Cabinet.  Looking at ways to share information.  Looking at ways for the Faculty Senate to work more closely with us on the budget.  

From the Chancellor's standpoint, we are off to a good start this semester.  Enrollment figures will be released later today.  They are anticipating a 4-5% increase in credit hours and something close to that for headcount.  A related piece is the retention rate for first time full time freshmen, last year compared to this year.  It looks like we will be up 7-8% from 61% retention rate to close to 70 percent.  We will keep an emphasis on that effort.  

In addition to the enrollment increase the Chancellor is excited that progress continues to be made on some of the facility repairs and renovation.  On Saturday we had the opportunity to rededicate the Brooks Building.  It is very different and the Chancellor thinks it will serve as a great place for the support of our programs to Alaska Native students and rural students, as well as serve as a location for some general classroom needs.  There is a series of activities this week including many presentations, panels, and special days.  

UAF is looking at several things in terms of the budget this year.  The Board of Regents' met last week and was offered several different options by statewide administration.  The Board will be taking final action on the budget for next year at their November meeting.  Without adding anything new--just to maintain the things we are currently doing--we are looking at an increase of $15 million.  The cost of things continues to rise.  In order to keep the momentum going we are going to need an additional $15-18 million from the legislature.  In addition to that, the board is trying to sort out the tuition matter.  What is being proposed is an increase in tuition.  In the past it has been a 3% increase.  They are looking at a 10% increase next year and the following year.  It will have a major impact on what students will be paying.  The Board is also proposing that we do everything we can for an additional 5% enrollment increase the next year.  The increase in enrollment plus the increase in tuition will enable us to do the things we need to do in terms of maintaining the momentum underway in terms of the university's growth and direction.  The Chancellor indicated that we need to take into account some of the programs in the rural sites.  They do not have the same level of service that we have in the larger communities.  There is always a tendency to make comparisons to the community colleges.  Tuition rates are traditionally lower at community colleges than at four-year institutions.  We have an integrated partnership with community colleges and how do we separate those costs out.  There is some differentiation between the lower and upper division courses.  We have to keep the momentum going in terms of the University.  We will need the money.  There are still a lot of unknowns including the outcome of the elections and the support from the legislature.  

There is information available on what the operating budget plans look like.  It is a working document at this time.  At the capital side, the university is optimistic that there will be a successful passage of the general obligation bond.  There are good indications that it will meet with a favorable vote.  One of the things we need to do is encourage people to get out and vote.  There are many pieces of the general obligation bond that are important to UAF.  On the bond issue is $9 million for the first phase of the Lena Point Fisheries Research Center in conjunction with NOAA.  This is a project that has been in the works for over 10 years.  It is extremely critical for the future of our graduate level research activities.   A second piece is $21+ million for the first phase of the BICS Building (Biological, Informational and Computational Center).   The third piece is $2 million for the move and initial work on the old courthouse building for TVC.  There is also $2 million for a portion of the West Ridge Research Building.  We are going ahead with that building regardless of the bond issue, because we must try to get it completed by January 2004.  In addition, we have dollars in the bond issue to help complete the facility at Bristol Bay Campus.  Anchorage has the first phase of their science facility on the bond issue as well.  

Peter McRoy indicated that the budget is important to the Faculty Senate and they should be involved in the planning process.  The issue was referred to the Provost for comments.  

	B.	Comments from Provost, Paul Reichardt -

Paul Reichardt introduced two new administrative representatives:  the new registrar, Ron Slominski and the new faculty liaison, Eva Kopacz.  She will be attending the Statewide Academic Council meetings as well as the Faculty Alliance. 

Provost Reichardt indicated that after a number of years we have found a home for the office of Faculty Development in 222 Bunnell.  Joy Morrison spends much of her time there as the Director of Faculty Development.  Included in the complex is a room that can serve as an informal faculty lounge or meeting place and there is a reading room. The Provost hopes faculty will stop by and visit and that rural faculty will use that as a meeting place when they are in town.    

Provost Reichardt provided an annual report on Promotion and tenure review as part of the agenda.  There should be a correction on the section dealing with Promotion/early tenure, 4 years:  there were 2 yes at all levels; 1 yes at all levels except campus committee; and 1 yes at peer and dean/director, no at campus committee and provost, withdrawn.  Larry Duffy asked a question on unit criteria.  The Senate will be confirming an ad hoc committee at this meeting.  

Provost Reichardt then spoke on the budget development process and the opportunities for Faculty Senate involvement.  An overhead was displayed which showed the flow of the initiative process.  It portrays the process that has been used during the past couple of years.  In terms of developing a request--a call for proposals was distributed on September 15th.  Proposals were due October 30th.  A series of topical review committees was established during that time:  one in Distance Education; one in IT; one in Engineering; one in Health; and one in Education.  All of the committees had a majority of faculty put forward by the Senate.  By December 15th the review by committees recommendations went to the Provost.  He then worked with Deans and Directors to put forward a tentative package of academic proposals to the Provost Council for final discussion on January 16th.  The President of the Faculty Senate is a member of the Provost Council.  A final set of recommendation was then sent to the Chancellor's Cabinet along with recommendation in the areas of Student Success; IT; Distance Ed, and Administration.  Provost Reichardt felt there was significant faculty input to the development of all but the Administration proposal.  The Chancellor's Cabinet then on January 23 put the UAF operating proposal forward to the President.  He has not heard from statewide what the process will be this year.  In the past the call has been for additional faculty lines.  This year when we are looking at limited budget requests, other things rise to the top.  Infrastructure needs are the most important this year--IT support; library support; more efficient processes for handling proposals and grants; and additional travel money.  The Provost feels that this year's process may be quite different.  He invites the Faculty Senate to look at how they would like to be more formally involved.  Michael Hannigan asked about the compressed dates.  Peter McRoy asked about the formula for subdividing the state funds to the various units.  Reichardt indicated that reallocation of the base budget has not been considered in his recollection.  To review reallocation to the base budget in any fashion we would need criteria for reevaluation.  Larry Duffy indicated that two years ago a new Strategic Plan and an Academic Development Plan focusing on areas of excellence were development.  He asked if the incremental budgets were staying faithful to the plans.  Provost Reichardt feels that the vast major of new curriculum, reallocation, and budget allocation are faithful to the plans. 

The capital budget proposal for FY04 has become a six-year plan.  It was determined several years ago and has been an annual verification of those needs.  It includes the Lena Point fisheries building and the biological and computer science building.  The exception is the third part of the plan, which is driven by program, and enrollment needs and includes the Courthouse.  Reichardt would invite the Senate to provide a contact person to review a rendition of the FY04 operating budget proposal and capital budget.

Provost Reichardt has a reminder on the Academic Development Plan.  This is the year to do a first review of the plan.  Should see that coming in the next two months. 

	C.	Guest Speaker - Claudia Clark, Dean, Enrollment Management -

Claudia Clark, Dean of Enrollment Management, spoke about enrollment and indicated that enrollment figures have been influence by web registration.  The availability of paying and registering on line has made the numbers in flux, but it does look like the headcount is up 5% at the main campus.  Student credit hours is also up 5%.  

Enrollment management is a new office.  The main purpose of enrollment management is to bring together key elements of recruitment and retention for students.  The concern at UAF is to keep students once they are here.  We need to be more connected to students.  We need to be more responsive to their concerns and needs.  We also need to elevate the level of services we provide.  That could mean streamlining services we do offer.  Advising is a huge element of retention.  Students need to understand what they need to do and understand the university system.  Many of our students are first generation students.  They don't have a lot of information about how it all works--what the expectation of students is; what it's like to be a student in a college class.  This is true for all students.  Those kinds of things faculty need to be aware of and generally keep in mind.    An ongoing issue of advising is availability for students, especially at the department/school level.  This many increase as we begin admitting students into a pre-major status.  

Here at UAF enrollment management has combined and number of different offices under one office.  In the past they have operated independently and so it was more difficult to respond in an organized fashion.  Now there is a point office.  We have admission, academic advising center, financial aid, first year experience program, and the registrar's office.  

One of the big things that happen this fall was a surge of freshmen enrollment.  This impacted registration and raised a concern about having enough courses for these freshmen, as many of the 100 level courses were closed.   This demanded a rush over the Labor Day weekend.  CLA really stepped up and added a number of new course sections in a number of areas.  We need to predict and anticipate our needs for spring and next year.  Along with this issue is a need to look at rooms and times to schedule courses and how rooms are scheduled.  

Several people have made suggestions about streamlining the registration process.  Routinely students complain about the process.  One of the obstacles is how to handle the required advisors signature.  How we get that may evolve.  It may be an electronic sign off so that students don't have to stand in line.  We are working toward a more paperless system and doing more things online.  A lot of that will fall on the registrar's office.  Those are the key issues that will come before the you in the near future--concern about course scheduling; flexibility of adding/dropping sections; upper division sections to see if there is ways to shift resources to make sure freshmen and sophomores are taken care of; and really looking at the registration system and how it impacts faculty.  Part of strengthening the process is the use of the faculty web system.  Hope to have a few workshops on using the faculty web system where we can access different student information.  

Larry Duffy asked about the impact on housing with a 5% increase in enrollment for the next few years.  Joy Morrison asked about the coordination recruitment efforts of high school visits by faculty. He also asked how faculty can be involved in revisions to the registration process.  Brett Simmons asked about the 5% enrollment increase and what affected that increase.   Provost Reichardt indicated that in the past two years what we have developed and advertised has been the vocational/technical area.  This has led to a lot of growth.  Another area of growth has been in graduate programs with the development of new/revised professional program such as Teacher preparation/ Education and new programs in Justice and Rural Development.  Another area is the new faculty that replaced the RIP faculty--their grants and research programs are just getting up to speed.  Chancellor Lind indicated that the retention rate increase has played an important part.  The fourth year with the Alaska Scholars program has certainly helped us.  Bernice Joseph ask about the connection with the College of Rural Alaska and the transferability of student between the rural campuses and Fairbanks MAU.  The Emerging Scholars Program at Kuskokwim Campus is very successful.  Claudia Clark said that the role of the rural campus sites in the recruiting and retention efforts is important.  We have to pay attention to the way we make services accessible to everyone.  

IV	Governance Reports

	A.	President-Elect's Comments - P. Pinney

Pete Pinney welcomed everyone to a new Faculty Senate year.  He would like faculty at all levels to know that he is accessible to them and is willing to come visit departments and hear their concerns.  The Senate newsletter has been distributed and his phone number and email address is included.  Next month the focus of the newsletter will be on faculty/student resources and in November the topic will be registration.  

	B.	President's Comments - G. Chukwu

Godwin Chukwu welcomed everyone--the new senate members, returning members, and the new administrative representatives [Bernice Joseph and David Woodall].  This summer he has been involved in forming an ad hoc committee on Classified Research.  In order to assist the committee in drafting a policy, an informational workshop was held on September 6th.  Guests were invited to give their viewpoints.  The Ad Hoc committee took their comments into consideration in formulating a draft motion, which will be forwarded to the Faculty Affairs Committee.  

Godwin Chukwu indicated that he would be conducting some of the Senate meetings from rural campuses--December meeting from Nome and the April meeting from Bethel.  (Pete Pinney will be in Dillingham in February.) 

An issue that arose in the Faculty Alliance was a proposal by a member of the Board of Regents proposing History of Alaska as a core requirement for graduation at all MAU's.  The Alliance discussed the issue and a motion was put forward to not recommend that history be a requirement for graduation in such a manor.  Such requests must go through appropriate faculty committees.  

One of the main aims for this Senate leadership is to reach the faculty.  In an effort to do that both the President and President-elect have been visiting the different college/school meetings.  One of the common messages is the establishment of unit criteria.   

Godwin Chukwu indicated that he has found a gap between the Senators and the faculty.  He encouraged all Senators to report to their faculty on Senate actions.  A memo was distributed soliciting faculty volunteers for academic program review. 

The Provost is up for review this year under the process that we established on the evaluation of administrators. 

David Woodall asked about appropriate venues for the Senate members to give reports to the colleges.  Godwin Chukwu recommended that Senators attend departmental meetings.  

	C.	Staff Council - L. Ledlow

Larry Ledlow, President of the Staff Council, provided the following written report.  

Staff Council Report, September 2002

Introduction
I offer a hearty, "Welcome back!" to all governance representatives.  As we commence another academic year, a certain buzz descends upon the campus.  A sense of renewal kicks in with the arrival of students for the new semester.  Many of us are refreshed from summer adventures.  Our freezers brim with fish, garden vegetables, berries, and perhaps moose or caribou.  New photographic reminders of various achievements adorn our desks and hard drives.  They all serve to sustain us into winter, when a different season’s activities will capture our attention.

Inevitably, the enthusiasm with which we embraced summer will fade.  Before it does, however, I have appealed to Staff Council representatives to direct some of the momentum to consider solutions to some very pressing issues facing UAF staff.

Discrimination
During our June 2002 meeting, UAFSC passed a motion to Amend UA Nondiscrimination Statement, Policy #04.01.020.  The motion recommended a change to include “sexual orientation” to the list of specifically excluded discriminating factors, and it was very similar to one passed earlier in the year by UAF Faculty Senate.  Unfortunately, President Hamilton received the recommendation with little enthusiasm.  During a discussion with him at the June Board of Regent’s meeting, he reiterated to me his concerns about drawing too many legislators’ attention to the topic of sexual orientation at the university and thereby placing certain benefits at risk.  President Hamilton stated he would take the motion under advisement, and in effect, we agreed to disagree.

I believe the principles of tolerance and diversity encompassed by our work on the motion and debates over it have not been lost.  The President’s reaction was disappointing.  However, we need to acknowledge the political facts of life beyond Fairbanks.  I consider a change in policy very important, but it is essentially window dressing.  The reality on campus is what must be addressed, and we have many other options to pursue.

In particular, Staff Council must work more closely with the Faculty Senate, ASUAF, the Office of Multicultural Affairs (OMA), and other campus bodies to develop viable plans to promote the principles we espouse.  OMA and Staff Council have agreed to continue sponsorship of the forums on campus climate.  We held two such forums last year, and two more are scheduled for October and December.  Through the Governance Coordination Committee, I hope to synchronize our activities better with Faculty Senate and ASUAF.  In the meantime, I have formed an ad hoc committee within Staff Council to address in more detail discrimination-related staff issues on the UAF campus.

Healthcare Costs
Substantial increases in healthcare costs are probably first and foremost in most staff members’ minds.  Besides medical costs far outpacing inflation across the industry, UA-specific increases have arisen as a result of some very large claims, and increasing number of employees, and several other factors.  Mike Humphrey from Statewide Human Resources addressed the Council during the June meeting.  He stated at the time employees could expect health insurance charges to be about $35 dollars a pay period starting January 1, 2003.  More recent calculations suggest the potential impact could be even greater.   This represents a 500 to 700 percent increase in weekly paycheck contributions!

The near-term crisis is extreme, and it impacts nearly all of our colleagues across the UA system.  Considerable effort has gone on at Staff Alliance during the summer to understand the nature of the crisis and to work with Statewide to propose alternatives, both near- and long-term.  In July, President Hamilton sent out a memo inviting the Staff Alliance to name members to a Health Care Review Panel.  John Mitchell (Statewide Administration Assembly) and John Mun (UAA) were named to the panel, and UAFSC president-elect Rory O’Neill has also joined the panel.  

Job Reclassification
University Regulations 04.05 concerning the job family classification system have already been promulgated.  Re-classification of the Information/Computing Systems (IS) staff was completed in early summer.  A very small number of individuals in the IS group have appealed their classification. (Regulation R04.05.035 covers appeals of the job classification.)  Group 2 of the reclassification project includes facilities engineering, finance and research staff, and this phase should be completed this fall.  Statewide HR maintains the project schedule on their web site at the URL http://www.alaska.edu/hr/classification/Timeline.pdf. 

For approximately 10% of the IS staff, an unanticipated result of the reclassification was a change in exemption status under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).  “Non-exempt” implies an employee whose wages are paid hourly.  An employee exempt under FLSA is a salaried worker.   Most IS employees changing status under FLSA went from exempt to non-exempt.  Jeannine Senechal, SW Director of Compensation, has stated employees may also appeal the change in this status.  Staff members changing to non-exempt status and feeling they may be due unpaid overtime from their work as an incorrectly classified “exempt” employee should address the question first with their supervisor.  If necessary, employees may then proceed to their local HR representative for further clarification.

Potential Reduction in Force at Geophysical Institute
In early June, I became aware of some effort within UAF HR to develop special procedures for handling a possible reduction in force (RIF) at the Alaska SAR Facility (ASF), part of the Geophysical Institute (GI).  In April, employees were informed of a possible RIF in the coming year due to major changes in funding from NASA, the primary funding sponsor.  During my monthly meeting with the Chancellor on 6/6, I spoke of my awareness, and I asked permission to speak with Carolyn Chapman about providing some input (via Staff Council) on the procedures under development.  He agreed, and he also acknowledged that GI Director Roger Smith had recently spoken to him about this topic.  No other details were forthcoming from Chancellor Lind, however, and I subsequently wrote a memo to Ms. Chapman citing my interest in making available Staff Council for review and comments on the specific procedures to be developed.  I consider this an important issue for the Council, because (a) the RIF could impact a significant number of constituents, and (b) precedents could be established, which in turn could be applied to staff members elsewhere at UAF if fiscal uncertainty continues in the coming years.

GI HR Manager Deon MacMillan has drafted the RIF policy, and it is currently under review at several levels.  Ms. Chapman and I have spoken several times during August and September.  When the draft is stable, we will have an opportunity to make comment.  I have formed an ad hoc committee for this purpose, bringing together a small but knowledgeable group to provide employee input into the process.

Organizational Assessment
Taking time for introspection is a requisite to ensure any department or organization is moving in a positive way to meet its mission and strategic objectives.  Organizational quality assurance is not a sweeping, formal part of UAF business practices, but important related activities do take place.  Staff Council frequently conducts and participates in various studies and surveys.  However, methodologies are not consistent, and usually results are not tracked over time to note improvements or divergence from recommended actions.  Therefore, I have charged the Ad Hoc Committee for Organizational Assessment to develop more formal processes and guidelines for Staff Council to conduct evaluations of working conditions, staff needs, management performance, and other quality assurance-related dimensions.  Through these actions, I hope to make our recommendations to administration more quantitative and, hence, more meaningful.

	D.	ASUAF - D. Miller

Derek Miller, ASUAF President, was not available for a report.  

V	New Business

	A. 	Motion to confirm membership on the Ad Hoc Committee on Unit Criteria, submitted by Administrative Committee

Pete Pinney presented the motion and it passed unanimously.  

MOTION PASSED:
============

The UAF Faculty Senate moves to confirm the membership on the Ad Hoc Committee on Unit Criteria consisting of one member from each of the following committees:  Curricular Affairs; Faculty Affairs; Faculty Development, Assessment, and Improvement; and Faculty Appeals & Oversight Committee.

	EFFECTIVE:  	Immediately

				***************

AD HOC COMMITTEE ON UNIT CRITERIA

Curricular Affairs - Gary Holton
Faculty Affairs - Dan Odess
Faculty Development, Assessment & Improvement - Abel Bult-Ito
Faculty Appeals & Oversight - Julie Riley

****************

VI	Discussion Items

	A.	Discussion of KUAC Gubernatorial debate between Fran Ulmer and Frank Murkowski on October 17th.  

This is an issue that was brought forward from the Faculty Affairs committee.  Godwin Chukwu met with the Chancellor, Provost, and Debra Damron at a meeting to discuss the question.  A memo from the Faculty Affairs Committee objected to the process to be followed in the debate.  A meeting was held with members of the Faculty Affairs Committee, the Administrative Committee and the KUAC manager, Robert Hannon.  Also attending was the Chancellor and Rich Seifert.   After discussion between the concerned members, this issue was resolved.  

Robert Hannon spoke on the language changes to the advertisement on the debate.  The structure of the debate will be more inclusive.  Rich Seifert spoke about his concerns about the structure of the debate.  Robert Hannon indicated that this is a KUAC news production and is not intended to be a public event in the same way the League of Women would host.  This is a television production.  KUAC is involved in a new statewide partnership to broadcast all the election programming.  All the candidates will be covered at some time.  This is a news event to provide an in-depth debate between the top two leading candidates.  

	B.	Discussion on Classified Research

Pete Pinney indicated that they have been looking at issue of participation, publication, and physical location for procedures on classified research at UAF.  At present we have no policy.  We are combining proprietary research and classified research in the discussion.   We have draft language on proposed policy.  The ad hoc committee on classified research will meet one more time before it is sent on to the Faculty Affairs Committee.  They will have a chance to solicit more public participation through a meeting or forum on lower campus.  The timeline is that he hoped to have draft language up for consideration at the next Senate meeting.  Ron Illingworth reminded the Senate and members of the Faculty Affairs Committee that there are two unions and items shared with United Academics should also go to ACCFT.  Some of those faculty do have tripartite appointments, which includes research.  

	C.	Discussion on Recognition of Outstanding Senators

This is a proposal that Godwin Chukwu put forward.  Many senate  members work very hard behind the scenes.  Godwin Chukwu feels that those who work hard should be recognized.  David Woodall feels that faculty involvement in governance is very important and he supports a reward process that recognizes the level of involvement.  Jane Weber feels that all senate members are involved in the process and it would be difficult to select one individual.  Larry Duffy stated that the role of governance on campus has to be revitalized with all the interests tugging at faculty's time.  A sizable reward may give prestige and highlight the work of the Senate.  Paul Reichardt indicated that we would have to find non-public funds to finance the award.  Peter McRoy indicated that the idea needs to be refined and criteria developed before it comes to the Senate as a motion.  The Administrative Committee will work on drafting a motion.  

	D.	Discussion on Ad Hoc Committee on Academic Advising

Godwin Chukwu stated that the Chancellor has an Academic Advisory Board, which is chaired by Jin Brown.  The Curricular Affairs committee sent a memo suggesting that the faculty be more involved.  Ron Illingworth indicated there was a discussion about some of the need in the area of student advising.  Some of that need was highlighted today with Claudia Clark's discussion about student advising.  Looking at the membership on the Academic Advisor Board, there were a couple of issues that surfaced in that assessment.  One was a need to look at the advising.  We need to have faculty involved--faculty who are advisors and faculty who could influence the directions those things might take, be it through the Faculty Senate or others.  There were a number of subset issues.  A proposal was made to have a Faculty Senate committee or subcommittee or working group that would focus on student advising as an issue.  This could be either totally Faculty Senate or could be connected to the Chancellor's initiative in this area and would bring in much more faculty involvement than appears to be in the existing Academic Advisory Board.  Godwin Chukwu received a memo from Jin Brown, which suggested that we get more faculty involved in the existing board.  The Chancellor indicated that if there were willingness for more faculty to participate with the advisory committee, they would be welcome to work with that committee.  

Joy Morrison indicated that there will be two training sessions set up for faculty advising.  She encouraged all faculty to attend.  

Jane Weber indicated that she was the Senate representative to the Chancellor's board and that they would definitely welcome more faculty members to that committee.  The Board met last spring and has not met this fall.  Godwin Chukwu will work with Ron Illingworth to increase faculty participate in the committees.  

VII	Public Comments/Questions - 

Godwin Chukwu said this was a time for faculty to come before the Senate with concerns.  He has been spreading the word at his visits to the various schools and colleges.  

Eva Kopacz spoke about her role as faculty liaison to the statewide administration.  This position was established to get a faculty voice and to give faculty perspective.  She will also bring issues back to the faculty as they come up.  For instance, when the president of the Board of Regents' recommended that Alaska history become part of the core requirements across all of the campus, she brought that issue to faculty for input to give back to the Board of Regents in terms of what would be the positives of that and limitation and what was the recommendations of faculty.  She will continue to do that throughout the year.  She will also be going out to extended campuses and other MAU's to attend faculty meeting and hear what their concerns are and bring them back to administration.  She would welcome input.  

Larry Duffy spoke about the need to establish a specific time for public comment at the beginning of the meeting for those who wish to speak before the Chancellor, Provost and the Senate.  

VIII	Committee Reports 

	A.	Curricular Affairs - R. Illingworth

A list of issues to be reviewed this year was distributed as a handout.  

Issues included:  Transfer core acceptance at the associate level; proposed changes to the Foreign Language "bonus credit" option; proposed changes to the AAS degree; proposed changes to the AA degree; changes to various certificates to bring them into compliance with NWASC Accreditation requirements; new certificate and degrees; summer session study loads; university academic dismissal policy and community college open admissions policies are in conflict; probation policy is not working--lists are not received by faculty advisors or programs responsible for student advising in a timely manner.  

Dan Odess observed that there are many ways to find out when classes are scheduled, where they are scheduled, etc.  Methods of disseminating information don't seem to correspond with one another.  He asked if Curricular Affairs could address this issue.  

	B.	Faculty Affairs - P. McRoy

A report was attached to the agenda.  Some of the issues are continuing from last year.  One of the current items that will be controversial will be parking.  Godwin Chukwu indicated that he had received a memo from Rick Caulfield, chair of the Master Planning Committee, asking for a faculty representative on the Chancellor's Advisory Committee on Parking.   Peter McRoy indicated that he would prefer to have a different committee composed of Senate members, Staff Council members and students--not one that has a token faculty member on it.  Faculty Affairs will look at this issue.  In the meantime, Godwin Chukwu will appoint a faculty member for the Advisory Committee on Parking.

Larry Duffy agreed with Peter McRoy and indicated that faculty perspective may be very different than the administration.  What faculty bring to discussions is values versus management.  Getting involved is important. 

	C.	Graduate Academic & Advisory Committee – M. Murray

A report was attached to the agenda. 

	D.	Core Review - D. Schamel

A report was attached to the agenda.  Joan Leguard asked a question about adding courses to the Core.  She felt that the Faculty Senate should discuss what impact extra courses in the Core will have on colleges.  

	E.	Curriculum Review - G. Holton

The committee is composed of the college/school curriculum chairs and will meet at a later time.  

	F.	Developmental Studies - J. Weber

The following report was distributed as a handout.  Developmental Studies program at UAF was reviewed last year.  The committee is tasked to develop a plan to implement the reviewer's recommendation.  One recommendation was for mandatory placement.  They have given this recommendation to Curricular Affairs.  

Minutes of The Developmental Studies Committee
September 5, 2002 and September 19, 2002

Present 9/5/02:  Barbara Alexander, John Bruder, Rich Carr, Kat Gustafson, Cindy Hardy, Marjie Illingworth, Ron Illingworth, Bernice Joseph (Dean, CRA) Joe Mason, Mary Matthews (SSS), Debbie Moses, Greg Owens, Jane Weber.

Present 9/19/02:  Patty Baldwin, John Bruder, Rich Carr, John Creed, Sarah Fuhrmann, Cindy Hardy, Marjie Illingworth, Ron Illingworth, Wanda Martin, Joe Mason, Debbie Moses, Greg Owens, Jane Weber.

The developmental studies committed met and addressed the following:

Developmental Studies Assessment Report-

The report of the assessment team who visited our campuses last spring has been submitted in its final form to Bernice Joseph, CRA Dean.  She and Jake Poole, Claudia Clarke, Paul Reichardt, and Blanche Brunke met to discuss the report and are committed to working on its recommendations.  They also agreed to ask Jane Weber to act as coordinator of this committee's efforts to develop a plan to implement the report's recommendations.  As a result, the committee will meet more often this year, and will, as needed, meet face-to-face.

The meetings for fall are scheduled as follows:

Thursday, September 19-2:00-3:30 p.m.

Thursday, October 3-2:00-3:30 p.m.

Thursday, October 17-2:00-3:30 p.m.

Saturday or Sunday, October 26 or 27 (face-to-face).

The committee began its discussion on September 19 with recommendation 5-"Make placement mandatory."   Though this is a topic the committee has debated with no resolution for many years, we agreed to consider the recommendation in principle separate from a discussion of its implementation, which we agree raises complex practical considerations.  The committee passed the following motion:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Motion:  The Developmental Studies Committee of the UAF Faculty Senate recommends instituting mandatory placement of UAF students based on a current assessment of students' levels of preparation in math, written English, and reading.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

We are providing this motion to the Curricular Affairs Committee since they have an interest in this topic.   We will be forwarding this motion, with rationale, to the Faculty Senate for action once we have a response from Curricular Affairs.

At our next meeting, October 3, we will discuss recommendation #8: "Insure consistency between exit criteria for lower-level developmental courses and entry criteria for higher-level developmental and introductory level courses."  We will also continue discussion of implementation of these two related recommendations.

The next meeting will be October 3, 2:00-3:30 p.m.

	G.	Faculty Appeals & Oversight - P. Layer

The committee met on Friday and elected Paul Layer as chair.  They finished up old business, which was the review of Vera Alexander as Dean of SFOS.  One of the tasks of this committee is administrator review.  This year's review is the Provost.  An ad hoc committee will be established for that review.  For this committee, we need representation from all colleges/schools.  Currently there is no representative from the School of Management.  There is one vacancy from SALRM and SFOS.  The committee serves as a pool for faculty appeals and grade appeals.  It is critical that they have representatives from all units on campus.  

	H.	Faculty Development, Assessment & Improvement – A. Bult-Ito

The following report was distributed as a handout.  Abel Bult-Ito thanked Provost Reichardt and Joy Morrison for the efforts and commitment to the Office of Faculty Development.  It is a very important development and faculty will receive a lot of benefits with that office.  He encouraged all faculty to look at the Faculty Handbook that is on the web and give feedback.  

Minutes of Faculty Development, Assessment, and Improvement Committee 
Tuesday, 9 September 2002 / 9 a.m.
Chancellor’s Conference Room, 330 Signers’ Hall

Committee Members Present:  Abel Bult-Ito, Paul McCarthy, Joy Morrison, Roger Norris-Tull, Channon Price, Ann Wilson, and Shunpu Zhang

Committee Members Absent:  Gerald Berman, George Charles, Linda Curda, E. Thomas Robinson, and Jim Collins

First order of business was the election of Abel Bult-Ito as Chair of the committee.

Old business:  We briefly discussed issues that kept us busy during the last academic year, which included:

1.	Issues of early promotion and tenure
2.	Importance of unit criteria
3.	Needs Assessment for Faculty Development survey
4.	Development of a Faculty Development Learning/Center
5.	Visit by Dan Wheeler and discussion of Faculty Development Needs Report
6.	Need to tie faculty development to assessment/evaluation
7.	Other methods of evaluating faculty (i.e., evaluation of teaching or syllabus)
8.	Discussion of UAF Faculty Handbook

Several of these issues came up during our subsequent discussions and will undoubtedly be on the agenda again this academic year.

New Business:
1.	Joy Morrison, Director of the Office of Faculty Development, discussed the Faculty Handbook and its wealth of information for UAF faculty.  The committee commends those involved for a job well done and would like to recommend that all senators and other faculty take a look at this web resource.  The following is some additional information:  UAF has recently designed a web-based handbook for faculty.  On it faculty will find pertinent information about UAF, Appointment and Evaluation, Instruction & Curricula, Research, Scholarly & Creative Activity, Service, Faculty Development, Resources, Governance and Benefits.  The Handbook is still in draft form and we need your help to assess the site's functionality and to determine what should be added, deleted, or changed.  Please take a few moments to peruse the Handbook and add your comments.  There is an electronic survey form on the Home page of the site.  Please submit your comments by October 11, 2002.  The site address is http://www.uaf.edu/univrel/proof/fac_handbook3b/index.html.

2.	The Office of Faculty Development was recently created and Joy invites everyone to pay a visit.  The committee would like to thank Joy and Provost Reichardt for their commitment to this major and exciting development.  Here is some pertinent information:  The Office of Faculty Development is housed in 222 Bunnell and consists of the director's office and a meeting room with conference table.  It is available for any faculty gatherings, brown bag lunches, small training workshops, etc.  The Provost's Office of Faculty Development provides professional development opportunities for all faculty at UAF in the areas of teaching, learning, and scholarship.  Assistance with travel, mentoring, promotion & tenure, and instructional technology (through the Faculty Technology Resource Center) are some of the programs offered.  Regular workshops, panel discussions, and seminars will be held throughout the year for faculty.  Although these are specifically designed for new faculty, they are open to all faculty, and can be audio-conferenced to the rural campuses if requested.  The Office has a variety of faculty development resources such as books, newsletters, videos as well as Change magazine from the American Association of Higher Education and the Chronicle of Higher Education.  It offers tea/coffee and some quiet space for faculty and all are welcome.  URL: http://www.uaf.edu/provost/faculty_development/, Phone: 474-5055, Fax: 474-5811, E-mail: facdev@uaf.edu.

3.	Joy reported on a very successful Alaska Women in Higher Education Conference: Leadership for the New Millennium.  This women's leadership conference was organized by UAF and UAA offices of faculty development.  Joy is working on having the second Alaska Women in Higher Education Conference here at UAF during the fall of 2004.  Other conferences related to faculty development were discussed.  Please contact Joy for information and travel support!

4.	Roger Norris-Tull reported on a teaching assessment he is performing for a faculty member going through the 4th year review this academic year.  Roger has already completed a preliminary conference, will attend a lecture this week, and meet with the faculty member afterward to discuss the results.  Roger indicated that he has done this successfully with several faculty in the School of Education and he is very excited about these efforts and hopes that they will work well and be beneficial to the faculty members.

5.	Ann Wilson reported that the Tanana Valley Campus will have another Adjunct Faculty Support Group meeting on Saturday 19 October 2002 from 9am-1pm in the Downtown Center.  Four different tracks and three events in each track are planned, which for example may include Blackboard training.  Everyone is welcome and breakfast, drinks, and a sandwich lunch will be provided.

6.	The committee also discussed the Faculty Mentoring Program.  The general consensus was that this program needs some improvements.  Some departments may not place enough emphasis on this program, some junior faculty members have expressed dissatisfaction with their mentor or the information they provide, and there might be some (unavoidable) inherent problems related to the mentor also being the evaluator for tenure and/or promotion reviews.  Maybe we can start discussions by addressing issues such as "how to get a (good) mentor" and "what questions to ask the mentor."  We will continue discussing this issue.

7.	The next meeting of the committee is scheduled for 9:00 am on Tuesday 15 October 2002; the committee will meet in the Office of Faculty Development conference room, Bunnell 222.

8.	The meeting was adjourned at 10:10 am.

IX	Members' Comments/Questions - 

Larry Duffy spoke about the way issues are brought forward to the Board of Regent's, specifically the academic issue of requiring a history course.  

X	Adjournment

	The meeting was adjourned at 3:35 p.m.

	Tapes of this Faculty Senate meeting are in the Governance 
	Office, 312 Signers' Hall if anyone wishes to listen to the 
	complete tapes. 

	Submitted by Sheri Layral, Faculty Senate Secretary.