Council of University System Faculty
CUSF Meeting of October 20, 2003
Draft
Minutes
CUSF
General Meeting at FSU
October
20, 2003
Delegates
Present:
A.Arthur(CSC),Z.Berge(UMBC),V.Brannigan(UMCP),M.Garner(SU),J.Gelatt(UMUC),
S.Gibson(UB), S.Jacobs(UMB), J.Lombardi(FSU), M.McClive(FSU), R. Morgan(CES),
M.Mumper(FSU), E. Onyeozili(UMES), D.Parker(SU), D.Pryor(TU), L.Richardson(UB),
F.Robb(UMBI), C.Stevenson(CES), M.Siegel(Chair), B.Stuart(UMCP), J.Tenney(UMBC),
P.Thut(UMB), J.Zimmerman(TU)
Guests:
Dr.
Catherine Gira, President FSU, Dr. Stephen Simpson, Provost FSU, Dr. Randall
Rhodes, Faculty Senate Chair FSU, Dr. Donald Langenberg, USM, Dr. Gertrude
Eaton, USM
Dr.
Siegel called the meeting to order at 10:00am.
Dr. McClive introduced FSU President, Dr. Catherine Gira and Provost, Dr.
Stephen Simpson. Dr. Gira welcomed
everyone to FSU. She noted that the
Board of Regents met at FSU on October 17, 2003, and passed the proposed tuition
increase. Dr. Gira reported on the
three Regent Working Groups that will impact faculty.
The Working Groups are:
Public
Corporation, chaired by Regent Johnson
Resource
Development, chaired by Regent Wood
Effectiveness
and Efficiencies, chaired by Chairman Kendall
Dr.
Gira noted that this will be a challenging year for faculty and that these
Working Groups, especially Effectiveness and Efficiencies, will require a great
deal of educating for the Regents. Many
of the new regents are not from higher education and issues such as Faculty
Workload, Time to Degree, etc. are new to them. Dr. Siegel asked how well the
Presidents are educating the public on the effects of the current budget cuts to
the various campuses. Dr. Gira
noted that some have attempted to get the message out, but much more work needs
to be done in this area. The budget
was presented as a flat budget, however with all of the unfunded mandates and
various cost increases in healthcare, utilities, etc, it was actually a
substantial budget cut. Also, she encouraged CUSF to partner with students for
ideas on getting media attention for the budget problems of the USM.
Provost
Simpson welcomed CUSF to FSU, and remarked that he was on the original group
that helped form CUSF. He was happy
to see that the group was still so robust and active.
Dr. Siegel asked what would be the most effective way for CUSF to have
input on the Faculty Workload document and future discussions on this issue.
Dr. Simpson responded that the AAAC would be a good avenue to use for
these issues. Dr. Siegel noted that CUSF should be brought into the loop
before documents become final.
Dr.
Simpson agreed and noted that AAAC is sensitive to these faculty concerns.
Dr. Siegel noted that Dr. Richardson would be attending AAAC meetings for
CUSF this year and will keep the council informed of issues arising from that
group.
Dr.
Lombardi introduced Dr. Randle Rhodes, chair of the Faculty Senate at FSU.
Dr. Rhodes discussed the concern of FSU faculty to be proactive in budget
issues, instead of reactive. They
are discussing Retrenchment Policies, how to deal with future furloughs, should
they be needed and issues arising from outside accreditation bodies.
The
minutes of the September 16, 2003 meeting were approved.
Chair’s
Report: Dr. Siegel gave the following information
Report from Board of Regents Meeting- Dr. Siegel reported to the Board that CUSF was
working on the issues concerning Faculty Workload, the ART document and
legislative action plans. The Board
will be arranging regional meetings with legislatures.
Dr. Siegel encouraged everyone to contact their campus presidents to find
out the time and location of these meetings. It will be very important to have
faculty participation in these meetings.
There was discussion of the appeals procedure for bringing concerns to the Board of
Regents and the Chancellor. Also,
the issue of evaluation of upper level administrators was discussed.
Dr. Siegel noted that CUSF needs to study any existing evaluation tools
that are in place at USM campuses and work toward a uniform document for all
campuses.
Dr. Siegel reported on the progress of the Student Project Day in Annapolis.
She is pursuing the logistical needs of this possible event, and noted
that it would be a positive statement to legislators about research and creative
efforts that take place on the USM campuses.
Dr. Zimmerman noted that this should highlight the faculty involvement
with the students in their research projects, and that the selection of the
projects would be crucial for the success of this project.
It will require involvement from all of the USM campuses.
Also, ways for getting the Executive Branch of the legislature involved
was deemed critical for success this type of program.
Dr. Siegel is working with the USM Legislative Liaisons on this.
Regent
Florestano was interested in seeing CUSF work with the ART document, to
incorporate information on faculty involvement in community outreach and
services.
At
the Board meeting, Dan Purcell, acting chair of the Student Council, reported
that the students will be responding to the tuition increases, and they want to
see the student evaluations of faculty used more intensely in faculty
evaluations. After much discussion
of this matter, the issue was tabled by the chair in the interest of time.
Dr.
Siegel reported that Effectiveness and Efficiency Working Group will be looking
at Regional Centers and faculty workload at these centers.
Additional
Reports: Dr.
Richardson reported that the AAAC primarily discussed faculty workload.
Dr.
Siegel requested all CUSF members to review Retrenchment Policies at their
institutions. Also, each campus
should submit a brief statement of the financial hardships suffered, due to the
recent budget cuts, and each campus should submit a copy of the basic faculty
appointment letter. The appointment
letters should be sent to Dr. Parker. He
is working on the section of the ART document dealing with appointments and
hiring
Dr.
Brannigan reported that the Senate Chairs meeting was rescheduled for October
24, 2003. He will send out a
reminder and agenda.
System
Report:Dr.
Siegel introduced Dr. Gertrude Eaton, Associate Vice Chancellor, Academic
Affairs. Dr. Eaton distributed information on the Regents Faculty Awards.
CUSF needs to establish a 5 member committee to review the nominations.
Dr. Brannigan suggested that past award recipients would be good candidates for
this committee. Dr. Langenberg noted that it would be good to have past
recipients at the Student Projects Day in Annapolis, to highlight the excellence
of the faculty work in the system. Regents Faculty Award Nominations are due to USM by December
1, 2003.
The
New Chairpersons Workshop will be held on January 16, 2004 at USM.
A letter will go out shortly to notify campuses of this meeting. As this
was not offered last year, those department chairs that are new within the last
two years will be invited to attend.
Old
Business: Faculty
Workload Document
Dr.
Eaton reported that a request came for additional information on what the
Faculty Workload Report covers. The
document The Workload of the University
System of Maryland Faculty, was developed by the System office to give a
basic description of who faculty
are, and a simple discussion of the guidelines for faculty workload. She
reported that this had been reviewed by campuses and CUSF, but now it has been
requested that the document be reexamined.
There was lengthy discussion on the document and how it measures
workload. It was suggested that
there needs to be a section describing what the average per week workload of
faculty, and a description of what a teaching hour means. Also, it was suggested
that a section describing the exceptions of faculty carrying more than the
average should be added, as there is a section describing those that have
exceptions for carrying less than average.
In the interest of time, the chair referred this issue to the Academic
Affairs Committee, to be discussed at lunchtime.
MEDN Dr. Donald Langenberg expressed his thanks for the support of CUSF.
He is chairing the Maryland Education Data Network (MEDN), which was
founded to develop a comprehensive data network for collecting student data and
statistical educational data for students from K-16 and beyond.
Currently there is no comprehensive network to collect educational data,
and make it available to students, parents, teachers, professors, administrators
and public policy makers. The
vision is to have a comprehensive student record online from kindergarten
through college, regardless of the number of schools or colleges a student
attends.
Dr.
Langenberg distributed information on the Futures Working Group, which will
develop clear definitions and explanations of the elements needed for the MEDN
and will respond to issues such as privacy and confidentiality, accessibility
and cost. He noted that project
will probably require 5-10 years, or more.
Some states have started this process, or are looking at it and they be
consulted in the planning process.
The
MEDN has members from USM, MHEC, technical advisors and members from
institutions from around the state. They
are looking for input. Think about
functionality, what you would like to see in the system and concerns.
Contact Dr. Langenberg at dnl@usmd.edu
with questions, comments and concerns.
November 19, 2003 at UMBC, Albin O. Kuhn Library, Room
767. A parking pass is needed for
parking at the meters on the Walker Avenue Gargage. Please contact Joyce Tenney, tenney@umbc.edu,
if you did not receive a pass at the FSU meeting.