ACADEMIC SENATE MINUTES

Wednesday, October 8, 2003

(Approved)

 

                                                                                                                                                                        Volume XXXV, No. 3

 

Call to Order

Chairperson Lane Crothers called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.

 

Roll Call

Senator Borg called the roll and declared a quorum.

 

Approval of Minutes of September 24, 2003

Motion XXXV-14: By Senator Rinker, seconded by Senator Fryman, to approve the Academic Senate minutes of September 24, 2003. The minutes were unanimously approved.

 

Chairperson's Remarks:

Senator Crothers: Thanked President Bowman for his help in funding the Noam Chumsky Lecture. There were approximately 3,000 people in attendance. The Kiplinger Report ranked ISU as number 73 for the “best buys in public universities”. The Presidential Search Committee will have its first meeting to review the files of the candidates on Friday, October 10, 2003.

 

Student Government Association President/Student Body President’s Remarks: No Report

 

President’s Remarks: Excused Absence

 

Provost’s Remarks:

Provost Presley: I will have comments during the Faculty Caucus.

 

Vice President of Student Affairs’ Remarks:

Senator Mamarchev: The Student Government Association hosted the IBHE Student Advisory Council meeting. Almost all of the public universities were represented by their various student government associations. There will be a blood drive in the Bowling and Billiards Center Activity Room on Thursday, October 9, from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

 

Vice President of Finance and Planning’s Remarks:

Senator Bragg: The interviews will begin on Friday for the three candidates for the Assistant Vice President of Human Resources. Per the ISU Report on the web, candidate resumes will be available in Julian Hall 202 and also at the open presentations. The schedule for the open forums is:

 

Timothy Walker, Illinois Department of Employment Security, Oct.10 from 10:30 a.m. to noon in Turner 104A. 

 

Karen Mueller, Right Management Consultants, Chicago, Illinois, Oct. 13 from 10:30 to noon in Stevenson 401.

 

Elinor Nelson, The Employment Relations Consultants, Dublin, Calif., Oct. 16 from 10:30 to noon in Stevenson 401.

 

We are deep into the budget preparation process, both in asking the Board of Trustees to approve the current year’s internal budget and preliminary preparations for the FY05 budget. I shared with the Administrative Affairs and Budget Committee draft documents on the FY04 budget. We are monitoring revenue projections in the state very carefully. The picture does not look good. State revenue is not increasing at a rate that we would like to see. We will meet with the IBHE again and representatives from the governor’s office to understand what the implications might be for the institution.

 

Senator Crothers: The state’s revenue projections are flat, but given the realities of SURS and other kinds of taxes on higher education, that doesn’t necessarily mean that the budget will be flat for public universities.

 

Senator Bragg: That is right, but the budget was predicated on revenue growth that we have not yet seen. 

 

Committee Reports:

Academic Affairs Committee

Senator Armstrong: The revisions to the Repetition of Course Requirements Policy will come before the Senate as an information item on October 22, 2003. The committee discussed the 124-hour program limitation and some of the problems of programs that exceed that limit. We are also looking at the guidelines for school designations. The committee expects to receive a report on the review of the General Education Program at its next meeting.

 

Administrative Affairs and Budget Committee

Senator Hampton: Administrative Affairs continues its discussion of the proposed Consensual Relations Policy. Professor Chris Horvath, Chairperson of the College of Arts and Sciences College Council, joined the discussion. The committee will also meet with the Rules Committee to discuss the history of the policy. The Administrative Affairs Committee was joined by Senator Baum and Senator Burk to discuss the Administrator Selection Policy. Senator Bragg provided the committee with a draft of the University’s internal budget.

 

Faculty Affairs Committee

Senator Wylie: Faculty Affairs addressed the award money usage issue. The Provost sends an award letter to each recipient. Faculty Affairs has recommended that an attached document be sent with the letter clarifying the usage of award monies. It will cite the University policy, the state policy and the Title 44 government policy that addresses that issue. This item will go to the Executive Committee for placement on the next Senate Agenda as an information item.

 

Planning and Finance Priorities Subcommittee

Senator Kurtz: The Planning and Finance Priorities Subcommittee met with Joe Rives, Director of University Planning, to discuss draft updates to Educating Illinois.  Dr. Rives also discussed with us the directions in which the Planning and Finance Committee might move this year in working with the document.

 

Planning and Finance Majors and Sequences Approval Subcommittee

Senator Plantholt: The committee, joined by Dr. Elizabeth Chapman and Dr. Joe Trefzger of the University Curriculum Committee, continued its discussions about how to get more realistic and fuller information about budget implications for new sequence and program proposals.

 

Planning and Finance Program Review Subcommittee

Senator Borg: The committee met and has outlined short-term and long-term goals for reviewing and possibly adjusting the policies on program review and coordinating them with whatever budgetary implications might be appropriate. We do plan to have something to bring to the full Senate by the end of the fall semester.

 

Rules Committee

Senator Coliz:  The Rules Committee has acquired a faculty nominee for the Parking Advisory Board. The committee discussed the Consensual Relations Draft Policy and will meet with the Administrative Affairs Committee to continue to discuss the proposed policy. The Rules Committee will present CAS Bylaws revisions as well as part one of several Blue Book revisions as information items at the next Senate meeting.

 

Honorary Degree Committee Election – Faculty Representative (Rules Committee)

The Senate unanimously elected Senator Ken Jerich as the faculty representative for the Honorary Degree Committee.

 

Honorary Degree Committee - Ratification of SGA Election (SGA President)

The Senate unanimously ratified the SGA election of Jaquie Philbin, SGA University Liaison, as the student representative for the Honorary Degree Committee.

 

CAS Dean Search Committee Election – Student Representatives (SGA President)

By ballot, the Senate elected two student representatives to the College of Arts and Sciences Dean Search Committee. The students elected were Chad Shaffer, Student Body Vice President, Political Science and History Major, and Jeff Helms, Biology Major.

 

Information Items:

09.26.03.01                                  Provision of Recommendations on University Priorities  (Planning and Finance Committee)

Senator Kurtz: Last year, the principle charge of the Planning and Finance Committee was to develop a document setting out what we believed should be the institutional priorities for the next one to two years and, secondly, the next three to five years within the context of the action items in Educating Illinois. At the same time, we were asked to indicate those items in Educating Illinois that we thought could be put on the back burner. The committee brought forth a document and it was ratified by the Senate. I believe that document did perhaps have a major impact on the budgetary decisions that were made in terms of institutional priorities. This year, we are continuing to do the same thing in our committee; that is, we intend to bring forth a document that sets forth what we believe should be the institutional priorities for the next one to two years and the next three to five years within the context of the updated version of Educating Illinois.

 

We would like to do a better job this year in terms of soliciting the widest possible campus input into this process. To do so, we would like to put into place a portion of what we discussed last year as an ideal institutional process for establishing institutional priorities. Therefore, we offer the following proposal for soliciting campus input:

 

“College Councils (or equivalent bodies), A/P Council, Civil Service Council, and SGA will provide recommendations on University priorities (from Educating Illinois) for the upcoming fiscal year and for the next 3-5 years to the Planning and Finance Committee, which will summarize for submission to the Senate and thence the President.”

 

Senator Reid: Are you saying that these units can only make recommendations that come from Educating Illinois?

 

Senator Kurtz: They are free to make any recommendations they chose. The committee will make its recommendations on priorities in terms of the University’s strategic plan.

 

Senator Reid: Do I understand that your report is only going to be a summary of these submissions with no deliberations of your own?

 

Senator Kurtz: We will summarize and may make a separate set of recommendations. The committee has not yet decided on that.

 

Senator Hampton: Is there any deadline or timeline?

 

Senator Kurtz: Not at the present. We are waiting to see how the update on Educating Illinois turns out in terms of its approval. That will take place at some point in the spring semester.

 

Friendly Amendment:

Senator Crothers: As the proposal reads, “will provide recommendations”, it indicates that we are ordering these various bodies to provide recommendations. I suggest revising that to “will have the opportunity to provide recommendations”.

 

Senator Hampton: Another possibility is “will be asked to provide recommendations”.

 

Senator Kurtz: I accept Senator Hampton’s friendly amendment.

 

Motion XXXV-15: By Senator Kurtz, seconded by Senator Rebolledo, to move the information item to action. The motion was unanimously approved.

 

Motion XXXV-16: By Senator Kurtz to approve the revised proposal: “College Councils (or equivalent bodies), A/P Council, Civil Service Council, and SGA will be asked to provide recommendations on University priorities (from Educating Illinois) for the upcoming fiscal year and for the next 3-5 years to the Planning and Finance Committee, which will summarize for submission to the Senate and thence to the President.”

 

The motion was unanimously approved.

 

11.16.01.11     Religious Observances Policy - Policy on Review Cycle (Administrative Affairs and Budget Committee)

The Administrative Affairs and Budget Committee had no recommendations for amendments to the current Religious Observances Policy. This policy is on a three-year review cycle.

 

Motion XXXV-17: By Senator Hampton, seconded by Senator Borg, to move the item to action. The motion was unanimously approved.

 

Motion XXXV-18: By Senator Hampton to approve the current policy without revision. The motion was unanimously approved.

 

 

11.16.01.05     Display of Flags on Campus Policy – Policy on Review Cycle (Administrative Affairs and Budget Committee)

The Administrative Affairs and Budget Committee had no recommendations for revisions to the current Display of Flags on Campus Policy. This policy is on a three-year review cycle.

 

Senator Borg: In the initial statement of the policy, it reads that the U.S. flag will only be flown at half-staff on the recommendation of the governor or the President of the United States. Can the President of ISU make this recommendation?

 

Senator Hampton: I believe it has to be the governor or the U.S. President.

 

Senator Armstrong: With reference to other official flags, does this apply to flags of other nations?

 

Senator Hampton: Our committee will investigate these issues and resubmit this policy to the Senate when we have the answers.

 

Communications:

Program Proposal – Approved by the Senate on the Consent Agenda 9/24/03

09.09.03.02     Biomechanics Sequence in Kinesiology and Recreation

 

Food Industry Science Sequence Proposal

Senator Crothers stated that he had asked that the Food Industry Science Sequence Proposal be removed from the Senate’s Consent Agenda. The proposal has been referred to the Academic Affairs Committee to review its budget implications.

 

NCA Reaccreditation

Senator Plantholt: I am the Senate representative on the NCA Accreditation Committee, co-chaired by Dr. Jan Shane and Senator Paul Borg. The committee has been quite active and pulled together a number of subcommittees. You can find information on the committee’s activities on the Provost’s web site. The initial visit by representatives from the NCA will be on November 19 and 20.

 

Budget Session - No Report

 

Adjournment

ATTENDANCE/MOTIONS