MSU FACULTY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
February 20, 2002
PRESENT: Young, Morrill, Sherwood, Engel, Kommers, Peed, Linker,
Leech, Benham, Howard, Stewart, Lewandowski for Jones, Ross,
Nehrir, McClure/Amend, Locke, Levy/Bandyopadhyay, Bogar,
Jelinski, Idzerda, McKinsey for Pratt, Fisher, Lynes-Hayes,
Butterfield, Kempcke,
ABSENT: Hatfield, White, Anderson, Chem Engr, Mooney, Lefcort,
Weaver, Lansverk, Henson, Lynch, Griffith, Carlstrom.
The meeting was called to order at 4:10 PM by Chair John Sherwood. A
quorum was present. The minutes of the February 6, 2002, meeting were
approved as distributed.
Chair's report - John Sherwood.
- The ombudsman survey is being distributed this week. Please
encourage faculty to fill it out and return it.
- UPBAC met yesterday to receive a report regarding the budget
deficit in the Athletics Department. UPBAC will vote on this
proposal after discussing it.
- The current deficit is to be paid from contingency funds
left from renovating the stadium. The three-year period
that these funds had to be kept in reserve has now passed.
- Of the $1.5 million in contingencies, it is proposed
$1 million be used to cover the existing deficit.
- $344,000 would pay off bonds for the sound system and
score board.
- It is proposed the larger issue, how to keep the deficit
from recurring, will be managed in the following way:
- There will be a $170,000 reduction in the Athletics
Department budget.
- Student athletic fees will increase to about the
average of Big Sky Conference student fees.
- There will be a $1.00 surcharge on tickets for events
in the Stadium and Fieldhouse.
- A greater effort will be made to increase donations.
- $100,000 will be spent to build four additional sky
boxes, which will rent for $24,000 per year. Rent
will increase on existing sky boxes.
- After brief discussion of the budget proposal, Michael
Peed moved money not be allocated to build the sky boxes.
The motion was seconded. The motion was tabled.
- Student enrollment for Spring Semester has been determined.
There are a few more students enrolled than projected, but there
are fewer non-resident students than last year, so tuition and
fees collected is about the same.
Update from the Strategic Planning Committee - Bruce Morton, Chair.
- The charge to the committee is attached to today's Faculty
Council agenda.
- The committee has met three times. For now, it meets Mondays
and Fridays at 3:00 pm. Monday meetings are work/discussion, and
Friday meetings are educational. Individuals are invited to
discuss topics in their area of expertise (student demographics,
physical plant, etc.).
- Representatives from Institutional Research and the Budget
Office attend every meeting, to provide information, and Joann
Amend provides secretarial support.
- The Strategic Planning Committee replaces the Long Range
Planning Committee and the Strategic Planning and Budgeting
Committee. It is to be a link between strategic planning and
resource allocation and as such, reports to UPBAC.
- UPBAC and Deans' Council are already working on the FY03
budget, so input into the budget process by SPC will be somewhat
limited until the FY04 budget cycle.
- SPC will discuss MSU's strengths, weakness, opportunities and
threats (SWOTs). The first two are internal, the last two are
external. Using discussions held during Fall Semester by UPBAC
and others as background, SPC will distill three key items from
each of the four categories for UPBAC to consider.
- Acknowledging the difference between strategies and tactics,
how will the division of labor between SPC and UPBAC occur?
Bruce responded that "strategic planning" is not the same as
"planning". The university must develop a frame of thinking that
asks, "What must MSU do to leverage its assets?" Unique
opportunities and problems need to be recognized. Biases and
preferences are not helpful to the process.
- Faculty are able to have input into SPC discussion by reading
the minutes, which will be posted at the President's Office
(Annual Planning & Budget Cycle) web site, and attending Friday
meetings, in particular. All meetings are open and the community
is welcome to join the discussions.
- Regarding the time frame, the committee hopes to identify the
SWOTs within the next month.
Academics Subcommittee of the NCAA Certification Self Study - Chris
Lamb, Chair, and other members of the subcommittee.
- Four areas are being considered during the self study:
governance, academic integrity (academic standards and
predictors, academic advising, how student athletes handle missed
classes and tests), fiscal, and equity/sportsmanship/student
athlete welfare.
- MSU's student athletes come into the university with high
academic predictors and have a high graduation rate.
- The subcommittee has met with each head coach and is currently
gathering information from faculty: Are student athletes able to
pursue majors of their choice and reach their academic goals? Is
there erosion of the class day and class week? If so, how does
that affect student athletes?
- During discussion with Faculty Council, it appeared that for
the most part, faculty interaction with student athletes and
coaches has been good. Students and coaches keep faculty posted
about missed classes, and an effort is made to make sure athletes
take missed tests in a way that is fair, although there are
occasional problems with this (taking a test under poor
conditions on the trip or taking it after returning to MSU with
test results already posted). Student athletes appear to be
well-disciplined and motivated in their class work, although labs
and studios can present a problem for them. Some curricula, such
as nursing, architecture and art require time periods in clinical
settings or studios that make it almost impossible for the
student athletes to attend. Some concern was expressed for the
erosion of the class day and class week.
- Grade checks do not appear to be annoying to the faculty
present.
- There was agreement that generally, having student athletes in
class is a good experience. There does not appear to be pressure
from coaches to give better grades to student athletes. Instead,
coaches seem to be proud they can recruit high quality students.
Is a few cases, student athletes seem to feel a certain degree of
entitlement, but this does not seem to be a significant problem
for most faculty.
As there was no further business, the meeting adjourned at 5:10 PM.
Joann Amend, Secretary John Sherwood, Chair