Deans Council Minutes (2001-2002)
BIS Committee Member Support: Dr. Kathleen Lukken provided background as to the goal of the BIS Capstone project. The student has to prepare a Capstone which brings all three disciplines together. The student selects a faculty member from each of the three disciplines to be their BIS Capstone Committee representative.
Dr. Judith Elsley, BIS Program Coordinator, would like to see how the deans feel about an honorarium being given to faculty who participate as a BIS Capstone committee member ($100.00). The thought behind the honorarium was to attract more faculty into participating as a BIS Capstone Committee member.
Discussion included: Concerns were raised about the other areas faculty participate in and are not compensated (i.e.: Graduate Committee, Master's Programs, Senior Thesis, student teaching, advising, directed readings, etc.). This honorarium for BIS Committee members would set a precedence for other programs throughout the university.
One recommendation included balancing the faculty workload to find the balance for participating in BIS, Honors, etc., and not have faculty members take on more than their fair share.
Another recommendation was if there were funds available for an honorarium, put the money into a general salary fund for the department.
The consensus was to not pay the honorarium and for Dr. Judy Elsley to meet with the deans/chairs of each college to get recommendations for faculty they want involved in BIS Capstone Committees.
Another issue raised (this is from the student's point of view) is that BIS students do not have a specific college they belong to by choosing three disciplines. The colleges don't recognize the BIS graduates at commencement or convocations. It seems as though the student isn't seen as a minoring student of any of their three concentrations either.
The impression of the BIS program is seen as the least favored program to participate in. The colleges like the idea but don't see those students as a major or a minor of any of the departments. The idea of paying faculty is just a band aide -- how do we make this program more a part of existing programs? We need to fix this issue. If more faculty participate in the Capstone committee, the involvement will make the faculty take more responsibility.
There are some faculty who have accepted the Capstone Committee position and yet have not provided feedback to the student. The deans want to receive feedback from Dr. Elsley as to which faculty are not providing feedback on Capstone projects.
Changing Minds Campaign - Guest: Sandy Sowerby Sandy discussed upcoming "Changing Minds" advertising slogans. The ideas were passed around and deans provided feedback as to which slogans would be appropriate. These ads will be on buses during the Olympics. One thing that cannot be in the ad is the word "Olympics".
Summer Enrollment: Enrollment numbers were distributed and discussed. Summer enrollment is up 16.14% over last year and fall is up 5.5% from this time last year. There is a program being implemented to send out postcards to potential incoming freshmen students with their own website url. It will be specific as to the student's interests. One concern raised was how we need to retain students beyond the first week of the semester. We need to put together the bus schedule, be available to students on campus and around the different buildings to answer questions. Maybe there is a way to have traffic rerouted as to have only one-way traffic driving on the north side of campus. The deans volunteered to assist during the first week of school to assist students.
Budget Reductions: The governor's letter was distributed identifying WSU's budget reduction. This reduction is being classified as a "hold-back". It will be a 2.5% of ongoing tax funds. Deans were asked to cut 1.5%, with 1% absorbed centrallyl. The following items will not be reduced: Salaries and benefits
Class sections - Deans were asked to consider holding open positions and to not do any hiring in January or February due to Olympic activity. Deans were asked to work with Betty on getting the dollars transferred.
Copier Leases - Guest: Cindy Stokes: Discussion included: The way WSU will be proceeding with copier use is to not lease any further machines by departments. A list of copier lease expiration dates was distributed. The reason for doing no further leases is the approximate 10% finance charge on each lease. By obtaining a copier from the Printing Services group, copier costs will go down substantially.
The options for copier acquisition include: Purchase a copier for the department directly;
Printing services can purchase the copier and do a lease back to the department without the finance charge; Purchase a copier to be shared between departments.
Printing Services can still complete large/specialty copy jobs for the campus faster and more cost effectively. The deans were asked to review the copier lease expiration report and identify which copiers are to be removed and what/if any replacement is needed. Cindy will be contacting the deans individually for their decision. Deans were asked to note that nothing can be done about the current copier until the lease is ready to expire. There isn't a way to get out of the lease without paying the finance charge anyway. WSU's decision is that no further copiers will be leased.
Adjunct Faculty: There will be seven workshops starting in August for Adjunct Faculty who do not have a great deal of experience teaching higher education. The workshops are being coordinated through the Teaching and Learning Forum. The deans were asked to provide the names and home addresses of their 2001/02 adjunct faculty. The lists are to be sent via email to Kathleen Lukken. Invitations to the workshops will be sent to adjunct faculty at the end of this month (last week of July). Deans were asked to review the draft of the workshop invitation letter and provide feedback to Kathleen. It was requested to have the letter include "Academic Resume Required"; and "Academic Credentials Within the Discipline Required".
Announcements:
- Department Chair Retreat: August 22, 2001. The time decided on was 7:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. Breakfast will be served from 7:30-8:30 a.m. The sessions will be be handled panel style. Sessions will begin at 8:30 with department chairs choosing 2 out of 3 topics: (each session will last 45 minutes). Developmental Math: Dixie Blackington/Georgine Bills, Dave Eisler will set up panel.
- WSU Online: Managing Online Degree Programs, Michael Vaughan will set up panel. Adjunct Faculty: Kathleen Lukken will set up the panel.
- There will be a special speaker coming in on September 25th, 2001, Richard J. Light. There will be one large group meeting and then breakout sessions. The speaker talks about student success and also trains students on how to interview other students. A draft of the agenda will be sent to the deans for feedback.
- The technical colleges have a former Regents member as their recruiter.
- The deans received an updated list for doing survey phone calls. Deans were asked to double check STAARS prior to making calls to ensure only active students are surveyed. Deans are to document results.
Meeting Adjourned at 4:52 p.m.