24 February, 2003 FPC Meeting Minutes
February 24, 2003
Room 158 Norman Hall
Members Present: Jim Archer, Phil Clark, Maureen Conroy, Vivian Correa, Silvia Echevarria-Doan, Bridget Franks, Lamont Flowers, Paul Sindelar, Jane Townsend, Nancy Waldron, Elizabeth Yeager
Others Present: Dean Catherine Emihovich, Larry Deutsch
Correa called the meeting to order at 2:05 p.m.
Agenda and Minutes
1. Approval of the agenda for February 24, 2003.
Clark made a motion to approve the agenda. Franks seconded the motion. The FPC unanimously approved the agenda.
2. Approval of the minutes of the February 10, 2003 Meeting.
Sindelar made a motion to approve the minutes. Yeager seconded the motion, and the minutes were unanimously approved.
Reports from FPC Committees
· College Curriculum Committee.
The next CCC meeting is scheduled for March 3.
· Undergraduate Admissions/Petitions Committee.
This committee has not met since the last FPC meeting.
· Graduate Admissions/Petitions Committee.
The next meeting is March 7. There are presently no petitions awaiting review.
· Faculty Affairs Committee.
The next committee meeting is being arranged.
· Research Advisory Committee.
The committee is considering feedback regarding a draft of an IDC policy. The revised document will be sent out for faculty review. Information about faculty recommendations for the activities and support from CARE have been sent to Dean Emihovich.
A faculty forum was held on February 24 with regard to the college research requirements for doctoral programs. There was a good discussion about the topic by a number of faculty that attended. The discussion explored various issues and perspectives about the research requirements, but there was no clear consensus on the topic.
The next committee meeting is Thursday, February 27
· Student Recruitment and Admissions Committee.
In response to the newly adopted admission policy, the committee will be exploring the idea of a viable alternative to the GRE. Discussions will also continue regarding the college wide requirement for GRE and moving admission decisions to individual departments. The committee is interested in polling departments to determine sentiments on these issues.
As a result of the COE strategic planning meeting that was held in December, there was a recommendation to improve graduate student recruitment and retention in the college. An advisory group could be formed to address this issue and work with the Graduate Studies office.
Denise Yates from the Office of Graduate Minority Programs is scheduled to attend the next committee meeting on April 3rd .
· Long-Range Planning Committee.
The next faculty forum is scheduled for March 3. Notes from the February 3 forum will be posted on the FPC website.
Report from the Dean
Dean Emihovich presented a general overview of the 2003-2003 COE budget. A handout of the COE budget was provided. The COE Constitution requires the Dean to provide a budget overview to the FPC in the fall and the spring of each year. The fall presentation was postponed as a result of delays in budget information being sent from the Provost to College Deans, and also to provide the new Dean time to become familiar with the COE budget.
The Dean noted that the 2002-2003 budget was developed and negotiated by Interim Dean Nelms. Department chairs submitted projections about instructional costs (GA’s, TA’s, adjuncts) for the year. When core instructional costs were covered the remaining money was dispersed across departments for additional areas such as clerical and travel costs.
The budget represents general fund money available to the college, not IDC or development money from the UF Foundation. Also, salary savings held by departments through grants are not represented in this budget.
Emihovich noted that she intends to work with the Deans and Department Chairs to develop a funding formula for future budget allocations. General criteria that will be considered are 1) areas that are productive and 2) assuring that resources flow to that have been designates for growth in alignment with the college and university strategic plan.
There are concerns that the college will be facing more budget cuts before the end of the current fiscal year. Last year, there was a 4% call back of budgeted funds from the provost. Emihovich negotiated the return of a portion of these call back funds when she became Dean. Last year not all units on campus were hit with the call back of funds like the COE. Any future call backs may first occur in units that were not involved this past year.
The college needs to have a contingency plan in place, in case of a call back of funds this year or in the future. If the COE has to come up with cash to return to the Provost, there could be a significant reduction in the summer budget. The goal for next year is to hold a reserve as part of the on-going budget.
The proposed revisions to the FPC committee structure were noted, particularly the addition of a budgetary affairs advisory group. This would allow for timely faculty input through a standing committee that the Dean could call on when in need of feedback about budget issues. Last year, Interim Dean Nelms pulled together a budget advisory group made up of chairs and FPC members to discuss how the college would address budget cuts.
Questions were asked about maintaining current enrollments in a time of dwindling resources. Emihovich stated that it is important to maintain enrollments at present levels as she negotiates with the Provost about needed resources for the College. She noted that we presently do not know our exact contributions to the university in areas such as student enrollment, credit hour production, etc. The Dean has asked Larry Deutsch to develop college estimates in these areas that can be used during future negotiations with the Provost about college resources.
Some issues that will be considered during budget planning for the coming year are:
· Raising stipends for TA’s and GA’s to a more competitive rate.
· Release time for new faculty hires to provide support for more research time and lower teaching loads.
· Developing a formula that provides resources for future investment in the college
Unfinished Business
· Tenure & Promotion Guidelines
Initial discussion focused on whether to forward the T & P Guidelines to the COE faculty for vote or to proceed with an FPC vote on the policy. Members spoke in favor of proceeding with an FPC vote due to the extensive process used over the past two years to solicit and respond to faculty input on the proposed policy.
The committee report on the proposed Tenure and Promotion Guidelines constituted the main motion for approval. Clark seconded the motion.
It was noted that the T & P Guidelines are consistent with university policies presently under consideration by the UF Faculty Senate.
A friendly amendment to the motion, presented by Waldron and seconded by Townsend, suggested a rewording of the first full sentence on the last page of the document. The amendment passed by unanimous vote.
“….. supports that the department and college will should provide in order to help the candidate address the committee’s recommendations.”
The FPC voted to approve the Tenure & Promotion Guidelines, with 10 voting in favor of the motion and 1 abstention.
- Final Graduate Admissions Policy
Dean Emihovich recently sent a message to the faculty regarding the revised Graduate Admission Policy. Correa recognized the work of the Student Recruitment and Admissions Committee over the past two years with regard to issues addressed in the final policy that was presented and accepted by the Graduate School. The FPC saw an initial version of the policy, and subsequent revisions were reviewed by the SRAC. It was noted that the FPC needed to approve the final policy accepted by the Graduate School.
Archer made a motion to approve the policy on Graduate Admissions – Continuing Professional Development for Teachers. Yeager seconded the motion, which was unanimously approved.
Adjournment
Clark moved that the meeting be adjourned. Townsend seconded the motion. The meeting was adjourned at 3:55 p.m.
