Feb. 25 Faculty Policy Council Meeting Minutes

Absent: None

Dean Glenn Good (Deans’ Office), Tom Dana (Deans’ Office), Albert Ritzhaupt (Chair, Technology Committee)

Approval of Agenda

David Therriault (moved), Shelley Warm (second) APPROVED

Approval Minutes

David Therriault (moved), Tim Jacobbe (second) APPROVED

Dean’s Report

President Machen is optimistic about UF’s budget based on state revenue projections. They are trying to garner the necessary support for a 75 million dollar package over the next 5 years. There is a deep concern with the impact of a possible federal sequestration. Reduction in research funds is already being reported and proposals have been moved to other funding cycles. An impact on student loans and financing is also anticipated.

The Deans continue their work on RCM policies. Budget preparations based on RCM is still challenging due to the continued tweaking of policies during the budget year. There will be another Dean’s position open due to retirement (Dentistry). The College of Education is working with Tom Mitchell’s development office to match donors with the COE agenda. There may be two donors potentially interested in $1 million gifts.

Searches: The search for Math Education will be renewed for next year. SESPECS has submitted three candidates who are being considered by the dean.

College budget is still in good shape. It was pointed out that the COE should not be punished in the budget allocations for having been frugal. Dean Good assured that the conversation at the university level reiterates that additional investments to colleges that are in the red are loans to be paid back. It is important for us to think about “game-changing” faculty in different areas.

University Senate Report

James McLeskey provided a summary via email to all faculty.

Announcements

Spring Faculty April 22, 2013 3:00-5:00pm Terrace Room

Dean’s Annual Budget Forum April 25^th, 2013 9:00-11:00am Terrace Room

FPC Committees’ end of year reports are due on April 15^th, prior to the Spring Faculty meeting. Dorene Ross will notify chairs.

Action Items

Summary of Discussion of Technology and Distance Education Report

Albert Ritzhaupt, chair of the Technology and Distance Education committee, was present during the discussion of the report. FPC members acknowledged and agreed with the concerns raised in the report. It was pointed out that some of the responses were linked to the challenges currently experienced with the Moodle learning management system.

Issues that were raised/findings highlighted:

Teaching online: There is a discrepancy between increased online teaching and faculty’s preference for face-to-face teaching. Discomfort or unfamiliarity with technology and inability to keep on top of new technologies were seen as major barriers to online teaching. A shared understanding of what technologies can best support different ways of learning needs to be developed.
Professional development: What kind of professional development is needed? It was suggested that working with faculty one-on-one on actual courses and/or in relation to specific needs might be most effective.
Communication: There is a need for a pro-active distance education office and systematic, college-wide communication. This could, for instance, be in the form of a regular newsletter and updates that provide examples of useful technologies and how they can be used.
Support: It was noted that it can be challenging to access support during non-office hours when instructional activities often occur.

Motion to strongly support the recommendations of the Technology and Distance Education Committee Needs Assessment Report

James McLeskey (moved), David Therriault (second). Motion passed unanimously.

Next steps

– The Technology and Distance Education committee will present the recommendations to the Distance Education and Technology Office and ask for the development of a plan of action

– Thoughtful discussion is needed at the School level of the report and recommendations

Discussion Items

FPC agreed to share written guidelines for the FPC Committee End of Year report and responsibilities for FPC chairs with the appropriate individuals. It is hoped that these guidelines will provide continuity from year to year.

Committee Reports

Ad Hoc Committee on Academic Affairs

Reporter: James McLeskey

Committee is focused on activities to support the recruitment and retention of doctoral students. Next meeting will be March 21.

Agenda Committee

Reporter: Holly Lane

Agenda was set.

Budgetary Affairs Committee

Reporter: Dale Campbell

Tom Dana shared information about revenue generation through state appropriation with the committee. These materials will also be available on the FPC website, under BAC. An important issue is the time from doctoral candidacy to graduation. This is an important criterion for funding. Schools may want to look in more detail into these data to understand why some students do not make adequate progress. Another current concern is the gradual drop in enrollment that is observed. This negatively affects credit hour generation and hence state-appropriated revenue.

Any recommendations for issues or information to share at the Dean’s Annual Budget Forum are still welcome.

Next meeting has been scheduled for the third week in March.

Curriculum Committee

Reporter: Ester de Jong

Initially assigned task of reviewing assessment plans for degree programs was removed.

Diversity Committee

Reporter: Danling Fu

The Diversity Committee reviewed the results from the student diversity survey. The report is ready and will be on the April FPC Agenda.

Elections Committee

Election committee is waiting for all the candidates to put a slate together. For the senate, only HDOSE members are needed since SESPECS and STL senators are continuing.

Faculty Affairs Committee

Reporter: Tim Jacobbe

Committee ranked applications for sabbatical and shared rankings with the Dean.

Lectures, Seminars, & Awards Committee

Reporter: Danling Fu

Committee had revised criteria for the graduate teacher award. They reviewed applications, ranked them, and selected awardees. The committee also reviewed and ranked applicants for the graduate student awards for service, teaching, and research.

Long Range Planning Committee

Reporter: Shelley Warm

Next meeting has been scheduled for Feb. 28, 11:30.

Research Advisory Committee

Reporter: Joe Gagnon

Committee will be meeting Feb. 26 to vote on the candidates for the UF Research Professor position.

Technology and Distance Education Committee

Reporter: Linda Eldridge

Committee will be meeting Feb. 26 at 1pm.

Other business

Policies regarding student concerns are available online via the UF ombudsman. It was noted that it is important to implement this policy consistently.

Adjournment

Motion to Adjourn

Linda Eldridge (moved), Danling Fu (second)

APPROVED

Meeting adjourned at: 3:50pm

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