Draft 2
03.30.09.01
Dist. After Exec. Com. of 3/30/09
From Planning and Finance Committee
Senate Information Item on 4/8/09
Senate Action Item/Approved on 4/22/09
Note: Report transmitted to President Bowman on 5/28/09 for approval and request for responses from Vice Presidents.
To: Academic Senate
From: Planning and Finance Committee
Re: 2009-10 Institutional Goals and Priorities Report
Date: March 25, 2009
The Planning and Finance Committee seeks the Academic Senate’s endorsement of the priorities listed below for submission to the President.
Introduction
The achievement of the ideals embedded in the university mission statement and Educating Illinois is a shared obligation of all members of the university community. Whatever the University does should be explained in terms of how it contributes to moving the University in the right direction towards reaching these goals and ideals. These goals can be achieved only over time, through the development, implementation, and thoughtful assessment of policies and programs intended to make the ideals of the mission statement and Educating Illinois real in the lives of students, faculty, staff, and alumni.
The Planning and Finance Committee has developed a list of priorities on which it believes the University should focus over the next few years in the specific fulfillment of its mission and strategic plan. The Committee has produced priorities reports since the 2003-04 academic year. We have engaged in conversations about the many cross-pressures facing university finances, goals, and ambitions. Additionally, we have reviewed the latest version of the Educating Illinois document and the responses to the 2008-09 priorities report we received from the Vice Presidents for Academic Affairs and Student Affairs. The recommendations offered in this report are grounded in these consultations, reviews, and conversations.
Priorities
1. Continue efforts to improve competitiveness of faculty, staff and graduate assistant salaries with the effect of achieving at least peer group median salaries within 3-5 years.
The Academic Senate acknowledges and appreciates the continuing efforts of the university leadership in addressing salary compression and inversion issues and calls on them to continue their work on this multi-year, fundamental institutional priority with the goal of achieving and surpassing peer group medians for Illinois State University faculty and staff. This plan should continue to combine mid-year, targeted pay raises to address salary inversion and compression and under-rewarded merit within categories of employees who are below peer group medians, with annual general merit-based raises. Since the salary of full professors is on the average further below peer groups with a lag of about 9.7%, in comparison to associate professors with a lag of about 5.5%, and since there is no opportunity for promotion-related pay increases for full professors, the Committee recommends that higher priority be given to addressing full professors’ salaries.
For maintenance of transparency in this process the Senate asks the president and the Provost to charge the deans and chairs to share with faculty/staff the criteria and specific methods used in determining their raises. The Committee also recommends that the focus of the program remain on increasing median salaries (as opposed to averages) since the use of medians will result in a more equitable distribution of funds. Further, we recommend that within colleges/programs/units, wherever possible, discipline-specific median salaries be used as the basis for determining the raises.
In recognition of the importance of attracting and retaining highly qualified graduate students and the important role that these students have in contributing to teaching and scholarship, the Committee recommends that the university leadership allocate additional funds to increase the number of graduate assistantships and to raise median graduate assistants’ stipends to be commensurate with median GA stipends in our peer institutions.
The Senate also urges the university leadership to continue to review the salary of other employees to ensure fair and equitable treatment of all, including negotiated employees.
2. Enhance student experience.
The Academic Senate calls on the university leadership to continue devising and implementing strategies to enhance the student experience at ISU. Particular attention needs to be paid to the following: 1) providing necessary resources toward increasing enrollment capacity in majors based on student demand and workforce needs so that qualified students who have been admitted to the university can be accommodated; 2) improving classroom technology, wireless service, classroom furniture, and equipment across the campus; 3) continuing efforts in creating learning environments and programs such as YearOne and alternative spring break to help students integrate into the university community; 4) enhancing student advising; 5) continuing to offer small class sizes, especially for first-year students, to help in their transition and retention and to promote a small-college atmosphere; and 6) diversifying the student body, the faculty, and the curriculum in support of our educational mission.
The Planning and Finance Committee believes that an enhanced educational experience will improve student retention and performance and will make students more committed to this institution and its future.
3. Enhance library resources.
The Academic Senate supports the university leadership in their continuing efforts in increasing the resources of Milner Library. We have a particular responsibility to maintain Milner, the cornerstone of the university, in a condition that is at least comparable to our peer institutions.
4. Increase operating budgets.
The Academic Senate calls on the university leadership to continue working with deans, chairs, directors, and other unit administrators toward enhancing department and unit operating budgets. Specific attention needs to be paid to enhancing research, travel, and technology budgets.
5. Continue efforts in enhancing the safety and security of the campus.
The Academic Senate supports the university leadership in their efforts to develop and maintain an updated safety and security plan for campus, including investment in equipment and technology, developing safety procedures and communicating them to faculty, staff and students, and training and informing the campus community. In addition, we support the university’s efforts in adding officers to the Campus Police Department and increasing the visibility of the campus police.
6. Explore expanded programming.
The Academic Senate calls on the university leadership to continue exploring the feasibility and desirability of offering an increased number of distance courses, as well as courses during the summer and winter breaks, and expanding international exchange programs. This exploration should include the potential implementation of new distance courses and consideration of alternative summer school and winter break offerings for existing students as well as an expanded pool of students that might include off-campus and international students.
There could be many benefits associated with distance, summer, and winter break course offerings if such courses can be offered successfully with a high level of quality. The advantages include increasing the educational capacity of the university during periods that facilities and other university resources are underutilized, increasing the availability of courses that would lead to higher flexibility in student schedules enabling them to complete their degrees in a shorter period of time, providing additional employment opportunities for faculty, and producing new forms of income for ISU.
7. Improve facilities.
The Academic Senate supports the university leadership in identifying the Fine Arts and Library projects as the two top priority capital projects.
Requested Administrative Action
The Planning and Finance Committee asks the President to charge the Vice Presidents to make a formal, written response to the recommendations above, either supporting or rejecting them. The Committee requests that those VPs that agree with these goals and are taking steps to fulfill them explain what they are doing to support these goals. Moreover, and in accord with the Memorandum of Understanding between the University administration and the Academic Senate, if an administrator rejects or opposes a recommendation or recommendations, the Committee expects that the administrator explain this position to the Committee.
As this is an administrative process, the Committee asks the President’s office to receive these reports and then forward them to the Planning and Finance Committee no later than November 10, 2009, to inform the Committee’s 2010-2011 Priorities Report. The Committee further asks the President to use the transmission of these reports as an opportunity to update the Senate on the University’s progress in each of these areas through whatever means the President finds appropriate.