2008-2009 University Senate
Monday, March 9, 2009
3:30 pm, Campus Center Assembly Hall
John Delano, Chair
Minutes
Present:
Sandra Austin, Hassaram Bakhru, Henryk Baran, Kristina Bendikas, Zakhar Berkovich, Tom
Bessette, R. Scott Birge, Irina Birman, Lance Bosart, Christine Bouchard, Ray Bromley, Daryl
Bullis, Andrew Byon, Sairam Chinnam, Richard Collier, Randall Craig, Edward Cupoli, Kristen
Davison, John Delano, Sue Faerman, Nicholas Fahrenkopf, Susanna Fessler, Richard Fogarty, Sally
Friedman, Robert Gibson, Eric Hardiman, Reed Hoyt, Allen Israel, Richard Johnson, Donald
Keenan, Laurence Kranich, William Lanford, Eric Lifshin, Carolyn MacDonald, Jean McLaughlin,
Candace Merbler, George Philip, Susan Phillips, Lawrence Raffalovich, R. Michael Range, Alex
Rias, Joan Savitt, Lawrence Schell, John Schmidt, Morton Schoolman, Benjamin Shaw, Malcolm
Sherman, Daniel Smith, Lawrence Snyder, Eszter Szalczer, Daniel Truchan III, Edward Waltz,
Robert Yagelski
Guests:
Jonathan Bartow, Katie Murtha, Bruce Szelest, Edelgard Wulfert
The meeting was convened at 3:33 pm.
MINUTES:
The minutes of February 9, 2009 were approved with minor changes and with revisions submitted by Michael
Range concerning the clarifying amendment on graduate courses.
PRESIDENT’S REPORT BY INTERIM PRESIDENT GEORGE PHILIP:
The Interim President’s report began with the situation on the budget. He stated that the University had hoped to
retain a larger portion of the tuition increase but that hope is dwindling. The hope now is that there will be some
relief next year with a possible 50/50 split of the tuition increase. The 90/10 split calculated September enrollment
numbers. Instead of receiving 10%, there was a net of $380,000 SUNY wide. Research money will be affected
by a 10% tithe. There is uncertainty about a 21% in-state graduate tuition increase.
Governor Paterson has called for greater flexibility, which the Legislature understands. The Assembly’s lack of
understanding of this is reflected in their opposition to a pre-audit process that could save the University money. It
was previously thought that the federal stimulus package would generate $125M for higher education but new
information indicates it will only provide $40M for all SUNYs, CUNY and independents. Additional moneys are
being considered from discretionary funds.
The President reported on SUNY Buffalo’s 20/20 bill, a pilot program in which they would be a model for greater
autonomy. Other university centers have expressed interest in the legislative bill and asked that it be amended to
include all four university centers. Candace Merbler informed the president that the 20/20 bill contains serious
anti-labor language and cautioned him before involving UAlbany.
UAlbany has made a request independent of SUNY for a line item of $2.5M to reduce the impact of the tuition
increase, and increase the level of scholarship support for students. The money would also provide greater access
to UAlbany. At this point, there is good support from legislative delegates on both sides.
The President reported that the Budget Advisory Group (BAG) completed its work February 27, and results will be
shared with the University community. The focus of the group’s work is in developing principles and making the
budget decision process more transparent. BAG will solicit input from the University Senate and other campus
constituencies such as CSEA. The President said he will make final decisions based on all incoming information.
The new SUNY Chancellor, Nancy Zimpher, has appeared at official events which have included UAlbany
Advocacy Day. She also attended an on campus event for Community Engagement. The event was attended by
Syracuse University Chancellor, Nancy Cantor. The President expressed a positive outlook for the new leadership
coming to SUNY.
US Senator Charles Schumer visited the campus on February 23 to announce a new tax break for students and
families paying college tuition. The provision contained in the federal stimulus package will allow families
making up to $180,000 a year to deduct up to $2,500 paid in tuition per student, per year.
UAlbany Advocacy Day was very successful in the showing of support for the University. There were several
legislative participants and many advocacy visits. Over 500 students participated at the rally. The President
extended thanks to all faculty and staff who participated, extending special thanks to Candace Merbler for her
support and the support she was able to provide through UUP.
Town hall meetings have been scheduled to discuss the environmental review process. The uptown campus held
one on March 3 and was well received.
The President discussed campus safety and talked about two recent events. Both were armed robberies, one on the
uptown campus and one on the downtown campus. He is receiving numerous calls related to student safety. He
praised UPD for the great work they do with the resources they have. Although they will not be cut in the budget
process, they are understaffed. He stressed the importance of everyone’s awareness that they not become victims.
He made a plea for students not to walk alone late at night and stressed that students are vulnerable. UPD makes
many arrests of nonstudents on campus during weekends. The President urged people to contact Chris Bouchard
and UPD if they have any questions, and to get the word out concerning safety.
The President answered a few questions, one regarding IFR money. He said that $40 million of campus generated
revenues will be taxed. He was then asked if that would apply to indirect costs from federal grants. He said no but
federal grants that go through the Research Foundation will be affected which could be about $1 million for
UAlbany.
PROVOST’S REPORT BY SUSAN PHILLIPS:
The Provost gave updates on projects and events.
The First Year Experience Task Force finished its work before the holidays and has produced a draft report. The
Task Force is reviewing feedback on clarifications, and a final report should be produced shortly.
The final report of the Going Forward Plan indicates interest in three areas: enhancing critical thinking and
analytical skills, developing student skills for success, and investing in and retaining high quality faculty and staff.
Work is being done of the snow cancellation policy. William Hedberg, Human Resources and the Provost’s Office
have been working together on the details.
The Provost’s Office will be working with Information Technology to look at IT priorities across Academic Affairs
and try to develop a sense of priorities on which to focus.
The Provost discussed recent developments concerning the financial tsunami relating to graduate student support
and offered clarification. Graduate student admissions begin January 1 and competitive programs have early
deadlines. It is an unfortunate confluence of timing on how the budget will affect departments. She then presented
her version of “Graduate Tsunami 101”. She informed everyone of the need to be prepared for the 21% increase in
graduate student tuition, combined with the reduction of University wide state aid including a reduction of state aid
for graduate student support. This could mean losing many incoming and current students. The campus is
attempting to navigate how best to fit the reductions while offering programs and maintaining quality. The
decision model that was sent out to deans included honoring commitments and increasing flexibility. The intent
was not to prescribe but to share an algorithm. The schools and colleges will have to figure out how things will
work. She is looking for feedback and invites discussion on these issues.
The Provost provided some good news—that money has been preserved for doctoral student fellowships.
UNIVERSITY SENATE CHAIR’S REPORT – JOHN DELANO, CHAIR
Budget Advisory Group (BAG): This group, which was formed in close consultation among the UAlbany Senate, Interim President Philip, and
Provost Phillips, held its first meeting on January 13th where it received its charge from Interim President Philip. Budget information was
presented and discussed at the weekly 2-hour meetings. Consistent with its charge, a 7-page final report was completed on February 27
describing a set of principles and priorities that it believed should be considered when dealing with the upcoming financial challenges.
ITLAL Survey: On Tuesday, February 17, five members of the Senate Executive Committee met with the ITLAL Director, Bill Roberson, to
learn about midterm course survey that was announced to the faculty on February 12. During that meeting, information was provided about the
goals and intent of the ITLAL survey, which was reported to the Senate Executive Committee (SEC) at its regular monthly meeting on February
23. The SEC concluded that the ITLAL survey was designed to be helpful to faculty who had volunteered for this interim survey of student
perceptions of their courses. The information acquired from the survey would be shared only with the faculty member responsible for the course.
By conducting this survey midway through the semester, faculty could promptly receive information about student perceptions of their courses
that could assist those instructors in making improvements to their courses during the latter half of the semester.
UFS Ethics Survey: On Thursday, February 19, the Senate Chair was notified of an Ethics Survey that had been developed by the
University Faculty Senate (UFS) ad hoc Committee on Professional Behavior, Ethical Conduct and Institutional Integrity. That ad hoc
committee requested that the Ethics Survey be administered throughout the SUNY campuses. The UAlbany Senate Chair promptly
brought this matter to the attention of the SEC. Following a review of the survey’s questions at the SEC meeting on February 23, the SEC
concluded that the questions were ambiguous and could lead to misinterpretations. The SEC concluded that the Senate Chair should not
distribute the UFS Ethics Survey to all members of the UAlbany faculty and administration. On March 5, an e-mail was received from a
UFS member at another SUNY campus arguing that UAlbany’s SEC should reconsider its decision. That e-mail was forwarded to SEC
members by the Senate Chair with the invitation that the matter could be reconsidered at the next SEC meeting on March 23, if desired.
Thus far, the latest arguments have not proven to be persuasive for our reconsidering the original decision not to participate in a flawed
survey bearing on important matters.
Electronic SIRF: The Office of Institutional Research is piloting an electronic version of the SIRF assessment among four departments
during the current Spring semester. This initiative was described by Bruce Szelest and Bill Roberson to three SEC members (Henryk
Baran; Eric Lifshin; John Delano) on Wednesday, March 4. Based on the results of this ongoing pilot, a task force of faculty, staff, and
students will likely be constituted to examine ways that the electronic SIRF can become a more effective instrument for course
assessment. This matter will be discussed further at the next SEC meeting on March 23.
Present and Past Chairs of the UAlbany Senate met with a MSCHE Committee on Friday, February 20, to reply to questions prepared by
members of that committee bearing on the effectiveness of governance at UAlbany.
Freshman Year Experience (FYE) Task Force: A report from the FYE Task Force, which has been meeting regularly since early summer
2008, is near completion (albeit later than December 2008, which was the original goal). Its findings and recommendations will soon be
widely distributed to the UAlbany community for comment. Meetings have been scheduled during the next two weeks for representatives
from the FYE Task Force to meet with the Council on Academic Assessment, Undergraduate Academic Council, and the Senate Executive
Committee to discuss the FYE recommendations.
Revised format for Senate meetings: Senate meetings have been too staid and quiet during the current academic year. This silence
contributes to the notion that the monthly Senate meeting are serving merely to ‘rubber stamp’ bills, resolutions, and amendments that
have been worked out by others at preceding levels of the governance process. While a great deal of effort does occur prior to agenda
items reaching the Senate, SEC members agreed with a suggestion offered by the Senate Chair at the February 23rd SEC meeting that
more background information should be provided for agenda items during their introduction to the full Senate, especially contentious
issues that were raised during earlier governance review and how those issues were argued. This background is intended to encourage the
needed thoroughness and vigilance during all steps in the governance process.
UNIVERSITY FACULTY
SENATE REPORT
SUNY Morrisville
February 5-7, 2009
SENATE PRESIDENT
The President of the University Faculty Senate is Carl Wiezalis
(Professor of Respiratory Therapy Education, Upstate Medical,
Syracuse).
As a member of the BOT, Carl continues to work on the
search for Chancellor. He has an important role on a
candidate screening sub-committee. He cannot say much
about progress of the search.
John J. O'Connor replaced John Clark who resigned as
Chancellor in December. John Clark continues to lead
the 60th Anniversary program leading to a scholarly
conference to be held April 3-5, 2009 here on the Albany
campus.
Carl continues to push sustainability working with
Maureen Dolan (UFS) and Phil Wood (Vice Chancellor
for Capital Facilities) Phil Wood has the formal
responsibility for all thing sustainable within SUNY and
has been receptive to help from Carl. They are in process
of re-constituting the Chancellor's Task force on
Sustainability, to be chaired by Presidents Ray Cross
(Morrisville) and Neil Murphy (Environmental Science
and Forestry). Carl Wiezalis and Maureen Dolan are also
developing a UFS Sustainability Committee. They hope
to have a "committee without boundaries" working
largely over the internet. Carl meets regularly with Liz
Clark and Beth Kempter of SUNY's Governmental
Affairs Offices in Albany and in Washington D.C.,
looking for help on green projects.
Budget will be discussed in detail by Jim VanVorst.
Ram Chugh continues to develop the SUNY Retiree
Service Corps and recently met with Phil Smith, President of
UUP. President Smith invited Ram to speak at the Spring
Delegate Assembly.
Written report available.
HAROLD SILVERMAN, SENIOR VICE PROVOST
Transfer and articulation are still very important
Transfer website up.
Waiting for final report from Comptroller on audit of
SUNY's assessments...
By law, we need a master plan every four years. Will
have something but it will be brief.
Course Re-Design Initiative is now underway as pilots.
Current re-negotiating Elsevier contract.
JOE HILDRETH, JOINT COMMITTEE ON
ARTICULATION AND TRANSFER
Committee continues to work with strong interest from the
BOT. There are four elements to program:
Transfer website
Student Appeal process (Provost's Office)
Transfer Review Committee (TRC) for appeals on courses
Faculty development conferences.
Current emphasis is on getting TRC up and going and it is with
William Lanford (Albany) and Johanna Halsey (Dutchess
County) as Co-Chairs.
JANET NEPKIE, ETHICS COMMITTEE REPORT
Janet briefly reviewed the situation. There are lots of policies to
deal with issues related to student conduct, much less for faculty
and administrators. At present, committee is collecting policies
from all campuses. She pointed out that SUNY is way behind
most large universities and proposes that we might develop an
Ethics Institute for SUNY. More to come.
RAY KRISCIUNAS, SEAVICE LEARING TOOLKIT
New booklet "Service-Learning, A Toolkit" is finished and is
available.
JIM VAN VOORST, CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER.
Reviewed all three budget cuts this year (2008-09).
Governor sticking to his plan to keep cutting base.
Ten percent of tuition increase was supposed to go to
campuses, but actually did not (because of the way it was
estimated).
Note that budget cuts are "permanent" but many of the
techniques found to meet shortfall for the current year
are one-time opportunities. Cuts for 2008-09 will have to
be addressed again in 2009-10, in addition to new cuts.
In summary, the State is on track to reduce general
revenue funding for SUNY by about $530M out of a
$1600M, i.e. a reduction of over 30%. Because of tuition
increases, campus budgets have a smaller cut.
Question/comment: How are campuses with large graduate
enrollment going to pay graduate student tuition for its TAs
after the tuition increase? Response: the budget allocation
for such tuition has not increased since circa 1998, i.e. is
way underfunded now. The current tuition increase will
make this more difficult.
Note: A letter from the Board of Trustees to the Legislature
concerning the 2009-10 budget and a brief summary of the
Executive Budget Recommendation were given out and are
available.
NORM GOODMAN FOR EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
The Executive Committee met Feb. 5 The major points of
discussion were:
No Chancellor yet.
History of SUNY Conference April 3-5 at Albany
Kavita Pandit, Provost's Office reported on Transfer
and Articulation progress, international education in
SUNY, Economic Development, Audit by Comptroller
about assessment in the major, new Mission Review
Resolutions on assessment and on the budget were
passed.
JAKE CRAWFORD, PRES. STUDENT ASSOCIATION
Reported on how student feel about tuition "theft" and
urged senators and their colleagues to sign petition at
www.studentassembly.org
REPORT OF AWARDS COMMITTEE
New award for Excellence in Classified Service
announced.
REPORT OF OPERATIONS COMMITTEE
.Supports a resolution changing Farmingdale from
Specialized and Statutory Colleges to Colleges of
Technology/Agriculture.
REPORT OF GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE
Resources for Governance Leaders and Future Leaders
will be available on UFS website. These include:
"Orientation Guide for New University Faculty
Senators", "Orientation Guide for New Campus
Governance Leaders", a powerpoint presentation aimed
at newly tenured faculty members.
REPORT OF GRADUATE AND RESEARCH
COMMITTEE
Research road show very popular
Offered a resolution supporting more budget for SUNY
research
REPORT OF STUDENT LIFE
SUNY Campus Traditions Book available
New booket on Service Learning: A Tool Kit is now
available.
Continue to be concerned about Student Health
Services.
REPORT OF UNDERGRADUATE COMMITTEE
Will revise policy on contact/credit hours
Will update Guide for the Evaluation of Undergraduate
Programs
Planning an annual undergraduate research symposium
to be held at Capital with representative from all
campuses.
SECTOR CONCERNS- University Centers
Concern about the number of administrative
appointments at University at Albany made without
benefit of formal searches.
Concern about the budget's impact on the number of
new students joining graduate programs. For some
programs the number of new students may be reduced
to zero.
Support for new contract with Elsevier
Worry about effect of budget cuts on the number of
minority students.
Support a reduction in redundant campus assessments
Concern and support for aspects of the UB 20/20
proposal.
RESOLUTIONS
Resolution on Consultation and Collaboration- Passed
"...calls for transparency and appropriate consultation between
local administrations and faculty governance prior to major
decisions on ...resources..."
Resolution on Assessment Streamlining-Passed
"...reduce multiple layers that now exist..."
REMINDER OF THE FACULTY SENATE PAGE
Although material is slow to appear on the site, eventually the
full text of motions passed should appear:
http://www.suny.edu/facultySenate/.
Respectfully submitted,
William Lanford, SUNY Senator
lanford@albany.edu
GSO (GRADUATE STUDENT ORGANIZATION) – NICHOLAS FAHRENKOP, LEAD SENATOR
President Glenn Pichardo has stepped down as President of the Graduate Student Organization due to an increased academic workload.
Vice President Amy Jones will step up as President and still carry out the duties of VP. Appointing a VP for the remainder of the semester
is being considered. On Thursday March 26th the African-American Scholar Society & Friends (AASS&F) will be presenting a speaker,
Channel 6 News Reporter/Anchor, Ken Screven. He was the first African-American News Reporter in the Capital Region. The event will
be in University Hall at 7PM. At April 17th GSO will be hosting a networking event in the NanoFab North Rotunda featuring local alumni
for each school and college. April 18th has been the date set for the Richard Bailey memorial walk in Washington Park. Questions,
comments or suggestions can be sent to gso@albany.edu . More information on GSO: http://www.albany.edu/~gso
STUDENT ASSOCIATION REPORT – DANIEL TRUCHAN III
Student Association elections are on March 23-24. Mr. Truchan asked that faculty announce this in their classes. Positions to be filled
include President, Vice President, Senator-At-Large, University Council, and SUNY Assembly Delegate. Students will vote on whether
or not to continue the Student Activity Fee. The fee allows the Student Association to provide many services and activities to students.
Failure to approve the fee would mean loss of the SA budget and the group services and activities it supports.
Mr. Truchan has scheduled a meeting with UPD to discuss safety issues.
Upcoming events include SUNY Palooza on March 10 which is a state-wide student lobbying day. Parkfest is scheduled for April 4th in
the SEFCU Arena.
Jacob Crawford has resigned from his position as president of the SUNY Student Assembly. Melody Mercedes, currently the vice
president, will assume the role of president.
MSCHE STEERING COMMITTEE REPORT – REED HOYT, UNIVERSITY SENATE
REPRESENTATIVE
At the March 3rd meeting, C. Anderson, M. Earlywine, S. Faerman (co-chair), T. Gage, R. Hoyt, E. Lifshin, K. Loscocco, D. McCaffrey,
S. Messner (co-chair), Lana Neveu, M. Sutherland, B. Szelest, L. Trubitt attended.
The process for selecting a chair for the visiting team continues. GOV has provided names for committee members unable to continue.
The current process differs from the process ten years ago in that the report is meant to be more analytical than a compilation of data. Are
we benchmarking appropriately rather than dwelling on comparisons with other institutions? Is the appropriate officer looking at the
practices of peers and aspirational peers?
Document management was discussed at length, including issues of formatting, cross-referencing, grouping, and overlapping of data
among committees, but with the concern that the libraries and information technology are covered in the report.
Thorough committee reports were made. The committees are at various levels of finishing their initial drafts, which are due 6 April according to
the timeline. The surveys were found to be very useful. Committees and their subsets continue to gather data and hold interviews.
The question of redundancy between the Going Forward plan and the MSCHE process was raised. Going Forward involved far more people than
MSCHE. They are parallel processes; some of the material collected from the Going Forward plan can be a resource for MSCHE.
COUNCIL/COMMITTEE REPORTS
CAA (Council on Academic Assessment) – Henryk Baran, Chair
The Council met on February 25th and first reviewed and adopted the minutes from its February 4th meeting. The Chair reported to the
Council on the response of the Senate Executive Committee to proposed changes to the Charter dealing with CAA and Program Review
Committee functions; he also shared with Council members broader SEC concerns regarding the relationship between governance and
university administration. There was an extensive discussion of these matters, with members looking for ways to balance due concern for
the letter and spirit of the Charter with efficiency in the program review and assessment process. It was agreed that members of
Governance Council be invited to the next CAA meeting in order to discuss these various matters, and that a draft justification of the
proposed amendment be prepared. The Council then discussed the relationship between the General Education Assessment Committee of
CAA and the Committee on General Education of UAC. Finally, the Council turned to a discussion of a draft assessment Action Plan
document: several suggestions were made regarding some of it, and further discussion of this text is envisioned.
CAFFECoR (Committee on Academic Freedom, Freedom of Expression, and Community Responsibility) –
Malcolm Sherman, Chair
The committee met February 25 to discuss further planning for the Faculty Forum on freedom of speech issues.
CERS (Committee on Ethics in Research and Scholarship) – Carolyn MacDonald, Chair
CERS has received input from university counsel and other parties and met this week to begin discussion of additional changes to the
misconduct policy.
COR (Council on Research) – Lawrence Schell, Chair
The Council on Research met on Wednesday, March 4th. Several guests were present including Kathryn Lowery, Vice President for
Finance and Business who was invited to speak on the indirect cost return budget. VP Lowery presented detailed figures describing the
use of indirect cost return funds for 2008-09 and discussed questions from the Council.
VP Videka reported on several initiatives that are being considered; leadership change at the Center for Functional Genomics and the
Gen*NY*Sis Center for Excellence in Cancer Genomics; implementation of research activity for College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering;
and notification of indirect cost return allocations to units (distribution will be according to the University’s policy this year).
The FRAP–A review committee reported that letters of award and refusal had been distributed to applicants along with comments on the
proposals.
The subcommittee on centers and institutes will be meeting to consider two applications for new centers.
CPCA (Council on Promotions and Continuing Appointments) – Eric Lifshin, Chair
CPCA continues to process cases now on a weekly basis to meet the increased Spring Term demand.
GAC (Graduate Academic Council) – Laurence Kranich, Chair
GAC met on March 2. The Council approved three items: (1) a proposal by Rockefeller College to suspend admission to the Master of
Arts in Public Affairs and Policy Program, (2) a proposal to revise the Bachelor’s/Master’s (BAMA) combined program billing policy,
and (3) a proposal to amend the criterion for determining student status (undergraduate vs. graduate) within a combined Second
Bachelor’s/Master’s program. The Council also approved a new member of its Committee on Admissions & Academic Standing. In
addition, the Dean of Graduate Studies notified the Council that due to the current budget crisis all PhD programs have been assigned
to one of three categories: one group will not be permitted to offer assistantships to new students for ’09-‘10, a second group will have
their number of new-to-program assistantships reduced, and a third group will be permitted to maintain their current level.
Subsequent to the meeting, programs were informed individually of their category. No comprehensive listing has been made available.
These decisions were made without consultation with either UPPC or GAC, in violation of University Senate Charter Sections X.2.4,
X.4.3, and X.4.5. In addition, the set of instruments used to assess and rank programs within these three categories was not approved by
GAC, in violation of Charter Section X.4.5.1, and does not include placement records or any measure of the success of program
graduates. In addition, the Dean of Graduate Studies notified the Council that due to the current budget crisis roughly half of the
PhD programs will not be permitted to offer assistantships to new students for ’09-‘10, a large group will have their number of
new-to-program assistantships reduced, and a third group will be permitted to maintain their current level. Subsequent to the
meeting, programs were informed individually of their category. No comprehensive listing has been made available. These
decisions were made without consultation with either UPPC or GAC, in violation of University Senate Charter Sections X.2.4,
X.4.3, and X.4.5. In addition, the set of instruments used to assess and rank programs within these three categories was not
approved by GAC, in violation of Charter Section X.4.5.1, and does not include placement records or any measure of the success of
program graduates.
GOV (Governance Council) – R. Michael Range, Chair
GOV met on March 2nd and discussed the draft of a Senate Handbook that Past Chair Hoyt had submitted to the SEC on 2/23/09. Since the
completion of such a handbook is one of the responsibilities of GOV, the Council agreed to work on finalizing the document by the end of
the semester. A subcommittee has been appointed to review the draft and suggest revisions as needed. GOV also completed discussion and
revisions of last year’s proposed IRCAP amendment (Initial Review Committee for Academic Programs) to address concerns that had
been raised on the senate floor in May 2008. Also, in light of the amendment on graduate courses approved by the senate at the 2/09/09
meeting, the proposed amendment has been refocused on undergraduate programs and courses. The proposed amendment will be
submitted to the SEC at its next meeting.
As already reported at the 2/9/09 Senate meeting, at its February 2nd meeting GOV finalized and approved a proposed Charter Amendment
intended to ensure better consultation between the administration and the elected faculty governance bodies. This amendment is introduced to the
senate today under New Business. The Governance Council also approved to include in its reports to the SEC and the senate the following
background information regarding this amendment. The last few years have seen successive turnovers in the senior management of the
university. This situation has led, on occasion, to unsatisfactory implementation of the principles of consultation with the Faculty through its
elected governance bodies as embodied in the Faculty Bylaws and the Senate Charter. Some examples:
In 2005, just a few months after his arrival, the President formed the Selective Investment Committee without involvement of the
University at Albany elected governance bodies. While it certainly is the prerogative of the president to form advisory bodies as she
or he chooses, such advisory groups cannot qualify as “consultation” with the University at Albany elected governance bodies under
the Bylaws, unless certain principles have been followed in the formation of such groups. Furthermore, recommendations still needed
to be reviewed and approved by UPC, thereby leading to redundancy and duplication of effort.
A draft of the 2005 MSCHE Periodic Review Report was sent to the UAlbany Senate Executive Committee and to Faculty and Staff
by Interim Provost Mumpower on May 05, 2005. As acknowledged in that message, the PRR was due on June 1, 2005. It is
difficult to see how this very short time frame at the end of the semester would allow for the level of consultation called for by
MSCHE guidelines. (“The preparation of a PRR, just like a self-study, should involve various campus constituencies including
faculty, staff, administration, and the board of trustees. Prior to submitting the PRR to the Commission, representatives of these
groups should have adequate opportunity to discuss and respond to the draft PRR.”)
( http://www.msche.org/publications/PRRhandbook08081114133252.pdf )
Since the URPAC committee (a budget advisory group created by former President Hitchcock) was effectively dissolved in 2005,
there has been no University at Albany elected governance bodies’ input in any budgetary deliberations, contrary to what is stated in
Bylaws I.2.2.3. That same article also calls for the administration to provide “detailed annual reports ……on actual budget
expenditures.” No such reports have been provided. The Governance Council welcomes the Interim President’s recent formation of a
Budget Advisory Group. This is a step in the right direction.
Senate Charter X.2.8. calls for formal representation of UPPC on budget advisory bodies established by the President and Provost.
The nonexistence of such budget advisory groups since Spring 2005 is contrary to the intent of this article. This situation has been
corrected with the recently created Budget Advisory Group.
Over the past few years, a number of senior “Interim” administrators have been appointed to positions without the “Interim”
qualification. For several of these positions, it has been traditional and an accepted “best practice” to form an appropriately
representative search committee that makes recommendations to the president. If such search committees were formed in these
situations, the University at Albany elected governance bodies were not involved at all.
The selection and appointment of the current chair of the MSCHE Self-Study Steering Committee was done by the then Officer in
Charge without any consultation with University at Albany elected governance bodies. The appointment was later confirmed by the
Interim President. A co-chair was added after Senate Officers had raised the issue, referring to the MSCHE guidelines which
include such co-chairs as an appropriate model, among others, for the Steering Committee.
LISC (Council on Libraries, Information Systems, and Computing) – Lawrence Raffalovich, Chair
LISC has invited Trudi Jacobson, from the Library User Education Programs, to discuss student use of on-line information, and how they
are taught to evaluate the quality of information that they find.
The Information Technology Committee has been constituted for the Spring semester. Members are Larry Raffalovich (Sociology,
LISC)and Chris Haile (CIO, LISC)as co-chair, Bruce Dudek (Psychology, LISC), Randy Craig (English), Robert Summers (CAS Dean's
Office), Hui-Shien Tsao (CSDA), and Carolyn Malloch (Disability Resources Center, LISC). Efforts to recruit members from other
Schools and Colleges were not successful. The IT Committee met on March 2.
At the March 6 meeting of LISC, Mary Casserly, Acting Dean and Director of Libraries replaced Frank D'Andraia as an ex-officio
member and Chair of the Library Committee for this semester. The Council heard a report from the IT Committee. Council also heard a
presentation from Trudi Jacobson (University Libraries) on resources for students and instructors on the use of digital media.
UAC (Undergraduate Academic Council) – Joan Savitt, Chair
UAC report for meetings of 2/11, 2/25, and3/4/09):
1--UAC approved changes in the Women's Studies Major. As a point of interest and a possible model for other departments, we note that
these changes revised subcategories within the major that previously consisted of one required class and one chosen from a short list to
two chosen from a short list which now includes the previously required class as one of the options. Such a change gives students a better
chance to complete the degree on schedule by introducing a bit more flexibility into the requirements and also allows the major to offer
previously required courses on a less frequent basis, should it choose to do so.
2--UAC voted to approve the framework of the Criminal Justice Honors program, but some of the courses need to be renumbered to allow
them to be taught as shared resource courses. UAC hopes to bring this bill to the floor 3/9.
3--UAC discussed the Transfer Credit Appeals process which is being created by UA under a SUNY mandate. This process is only for
students transferring from SUNY community colleges. UAC notes that UA already has a number of processes in place to deal with these
matters which are available for all students.
4--UAC determined that the intent of the bill allowing appeals for inclusion on the Dean's List after incomplete grades have been resolved
was that of permitting retroactive appeals. Therefore, any student whose degree has not yet been awarded and whose appeal is justified
will receive retroactive mention.
5--In the spirit of going green, the Vice Provost and Dean for Undergraduate Education reported that her office is no longer printing
certificates for students whose names are placed on the Dean's List. Instead, students are being notified by email and the Dean's List
mention is being placed on their official transcripts.
6--Further related to incomplete grades, UAC has noted that students who are engaged in courses where the work of the course is
expected to be completed after the end of the semester, such as a research project spanning the entire academic year, often receive I grades
at the end of the first semester which block them from automatic consideration for Dean's List. UAC recommends that all such courses
appear on transcripts as a set of component courses, each one tied to its proper time frame, rather than as a single course bearing an I
grade until all the work is completed. That would mean that 3 credits of research could be reported as 1 credit in the fall and 2 in the
spring, etc. in a course that would be repeatable for variable amounts of credit. UAC offers this as a recommendation to all departments
and urges such courses be created or that existing research courses be modified to permit such registrations.
7--UAC approved the SEC's and GAC's revisions to UAC's policies for Second Bachelor’s Degrees originally passed by UAC 2/5/09.
8--UAC discussed some implications of minimum class size regulations on degree completion possibilities in departments with small
numbers of majors.
9--UAC discussed why students might take sequential or less advanced courses out of sequence with or without permission of the
department, and urged that departments who wished to prevent such actions to design their own restrictions (CF math, Russian).
10--UAC will hear a report from the Task Force on the First Year Experience on March 18.
ULC (University Life Council) – Daniel R. Smith, Chair
The University Life Council met on March 4, 2009 and discussed the following issues:
Request for teaching faculty members on a new committee concerning Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer issues. The
committee will advise the Provost and Vice President of Student Success.
Charter Amendment to the composition of the University Life Council which would renew the formal consultative relationship between
UAS and governance. Such an amendment would, in part, address an alteration to ULC membership which eliminated the Chair of ULC
as a UAS Board member during the Charter and Bylaws re-write of 2004. SUNY Central in 2004 simultaneously ordered all auxiliary
services to reduce the sizes of the boards.
Consulted with the provost’s office on formalizing the announcements of classes cancellations due to inclement weather. The provost’s
office is considering a protocol where an announcement of class cancellations would be made at set times: for example 6am for all
classes, 12PM for afternoon and evening classes, and somewhere between 2-4pm for late afternoon and evening classes. Comments on
this proposal can be directed to Dr. William Hedberg in the Provost’s Office. Dr. Hedberg has been consulting extensively with student
groups, and faculty/staff. ULC members felt as a group that altering the protocol to include announcements at set times would be prudent.
Continued discussion of the University Smoking Policy. ULC will be forming an ad hoc committee to include representatives of EAP,
Health and Counseling Centers to explore some options.
Next meeting is scheduled for March 18, 2-3:30PM in Campus Center 375.
UPPC (University Planning and Policy Council) – Reed Hoyt, Chair
The UPPC met on 27 February 2009. We approved the discontinuation of the Graduate Certificate in Urban Education and discussed
further a proposal for professional staff instruction with input from the Provost’s Office. The proposed suspension of the MAPAP (Master
of Arts in Public Affairs and Policy) raised some questions to be put to the GAC and were considered at their meeting of 2 March. There
is now a bill pending for both councils as of 6 March. The next UPPC meeting will take place on 19 March at 10:00.
NEW BUSINESS
Update on Membership of Senate Councils—Richard Collier:
Senate Secretary Collier informed Senate members that Ann Withington had resigned her position on UAC and
Richard Fogarty has been asked to serve in her place. Mr. Collier asked for a motion to approve. A motion was
made, seconded and the membership change was approved.
Combined Baccalaureate-Master’s Degree Programs (UAC; GAC):
UAC Chair Joan Savitt introduced the bill which will determine when to begin collecting graduate tuition. The bill
proposes that students will be considered graduate students for purposes of tuition, financial aid and headcount at
the time students enroll for the 13th credit of graduate coursework, whether or not the student has completed the
bachelor’s degree. Both UAC and GAC recommend support of the bill.
A motion was made to approve the bill. The motion was seconded and passed.
Discontinue Graduate Certificate Program in Urban Education (UPC; GAC):
GAC Chair Laurence Kranich discussed the proposal which he stated seemed to be a result of a change in the 2004
regulations requiring that urban education be integrated in all programs in the School of Education for purposes of
wider distribution of the content. Currently, there are no students in the program. It was discussed that this
process is actually a deactivation of the program, not a discontinuance which would require action by the State
Education Department. A motion was made to approve the proposal, seconded and passed.
Second Bachelor’s degree (UAC):
UAC Chair Savitt introduced the bill which is jointly sponsored by GAC, though it is mostly an undergraduate
proposal. While the proposal is restrictive to those who already have a degree and are applying for a second
bachelor’s, it favors students who have not yet completed a degree, making resources such as financial aid
available to them. Only students who possess a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution may apply.
Students must make regular progress towards the degree and this will be monitored by the major department
admitting a student. The mechanism for removal will be withholding the AVN number for registration by the
advisor.
Carolyn MacDonald expressed dissatisfaction with the bill on the basis of the rationale, making the argument that
obtaining a second bachelor’s degree should not be made more difficult in times when a career change could be
necessary. Chair Savitt countered that argument, stating that with limited resources, this favors those students who
have not yet received their first bachelor’s degree. Vice Provost Faerman supported this stating that students can
get coursework through General Studies and there is nothing that precludes anyone from taking courses and
pursuing career goals.
There was a discussion regarding minor requirements. Students are not required to complete a minor unless
required to do so as part of the major. Vice Provost Faerman indicated that she supports that requirement.
A motion was made to approve the bill. The motion was seconded and the bill was passed.
Amendment on Consultation (GOV):
The amendment was introduced by GOV Chair Michael Range. Chair Range provided background that during the
last four to five years with the interim leadership, there have been occasions where consultation with the
administration, as spelled out in the bylaws, has not been observed. In discussions with GOV Council, there was a
consensus that the administration needs to know what is required in the Senate Charter and Bylaws. The
amendment calls for an additional charge to the Senate Chair in Section IV.1.3 to “advise the President on the
principles of consultation”. Chair Range referenced specific examples where consultation had been less than
optimum as indicated in the report that was distributed.
Bruce Szelest discussed that clarification was needed on the second bulleted item concerning the 2005 Periodic
Review Report to MSCHE and that the information was factually incorrect. He indicated he would provide
documentation that would communicate the facts and clear the record.
At this point, a motion was requested to extend the meeting for a ten minute period. The motion was made,
seconded and approved.
Chair Range said he would take Mr. Szelest’s suggestions into consideration.
[Added 4/6/09: Corrections have been made in the 3/9/06 GOV report. The second bullet has been replaced, and
the last bullet has been revised. See also the GOV report to the Senate of 4/6/09.]
There was a brief discussion about whether charter amendments need to be signed by the president. The consensus
was that they do if they involve consultation. The amendment will be revisited at the next Senate meeting.
ADJOURNMENT:
The meeting was adjourned at 5:05 pm.
Respectfully submitted by
Gail Cameron, Recorder
