UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON FACULTY SENATE COMMITTEE REPORTS

BUDGET & FACILITIES COMMITTEE, Chair:  Richard Willson

BFC met last week.

Peter Copeland reported on John Rudley's Campus Facilities Planning Committee meeting, which he attended on short notice as the representative of the BFC.  A permanent representative will be appointed.

The committee discussed the analysis, presentation and distribution of the salary data – the BFC expects to have its first report out in the next six weeks.

The BFC Chair also attended the May 2 meeting of the Committee on Committees to coordinate with them on the areas of interest of committees with charges related to those of the BFC.

COMMITTEE ON COMMITTEES, Chair:  Katy Greenwood

Since the last Senate meeting, the Committee on Committees has focused on three agenda items through electronic discussion and via meetings on May 2 and May 7: 

1.   The status of faculty input to university purchasing, plant operations and budgeting via the various Senate appointed committee structures. 

Committee on Committees continued to focus on the structure and scope of faculty input into the broad realm of facilities, plant operations, and purchasing.  Following the April 11 meeting with Dave Irvin, Associate Vice Chancellor/Associate Vice President for Plant Operations in which  the role and scope of the University and possible overlapping roles with the Senate Budget and Facilities Committee were discussed, the Committee on Committees gathered information from Judy Myers, Chair of the Purchasing and Plant Operations Committee in 2005-06, from Richard Willson, present Chair of Senate Budget and Facilities Committee and from  Karl Titz, prior Chair of the BFC and a member of PPOC during the past two years.  

Action Taken:  Committee on Committees appointed faculty members to fill the vacant slots on the University Purchasing and Plant Operations Committee for 2007-2008 and requested  Donna Kacmar, Architecture, to serve as the Chair of  this committee with the following charge:

A.  Lead the Purchasing and Plant Operations Committee in defining the role and scope of this committee through appropriate interaction with the Faculty Senate’s Budget and Facilities Committee and the Campus Facilities Planning Committee.

B.  Take up a special focus on the Science-Engineering-Research Building (SERC) and report back to the Committee on Committees regarding (i) What challenges are involved and what plans exist to complete the building? and (ii) How can faculty have input into the use of this building?

2.  The status of faculty input into decision-making regarding Information Technology and Telecommunications through potential committee structures. 

Committee on Committees is continuing to study the recommendations and proposed governance structure from the present Information Technology and Computing Committee (ITTC).  COC has appreciated the hard work and detailed proposal from the ITTC; however, the COC is continuing to gather information on how faculty input might best be facilitated. 

Action Item:  Committee on Committees has requested that the same members of the ITCC continue on this committee for the coming year and will work with this committee to recommend to the Senate a viable committee structure during Fall, 2007. 

3.  The status of faculty input into decision-making regarding Human Resources and all facets of the Human Resource benefits packages available to faculty. 

Committee on Committee met with Joan Sigler, May 7, to discuss the status of the Human Resource Faculty Advisory Committee.  During the transition year from the previous administration to the present one in Human Resources, the advisory committee has not met. 

Faculty members have been appointed to this important committee for 2007-2008; Chair of the Senate Faculty Affairs Committee holds an ongoing appointment on this committee; and Joan Sigler is committed to begin to schedule meetings during Fall, 2007. 

EDUCATIONAL POLICIES & STUDENT AFFAIRS COMMITTEE, Chair:  David Mazella

Notes from April 20, 2007 Meeting 

Present:           D. Mazella (Chair), D. Bruxvoort, G. Trail, Y. L. Mo

Guests:            J. Antel (Chair, UH Enrollment Management Task Force, and Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences), E. Hugetz (UHS Associate Vice Chancellor and UH Associate Vice President for Planning and University Outreach), L. Barlow (Executive Director, Institutional Research, and Interim Registrar), J. Kotarba (President, Faculty Senate) and S. Ferimer (Chair, Faculty Senate Scholarship & Community Committee)

David Mazella opened the meeting by explaining that the Educational Policies & Student Affairs Committee (EPSAC) had voted against the Drop Policy six to nothing, until a number of concerns were answered.  These concerns had been shared in writing prior to the meeting and included:

1.  How this proposed policy was to be enforced?  And who would enforce it?  What sort of grandfathering was contemplated for currently enrolled students?  And were the Dean’s offices and advisors prepared for these changes in September?

2.  What would happen to students who violated these policies?  Or to students who asked for Ws but were turned down?  Would they be forced to take courses or pay fees that hitherto they had not before, or accept Fs where previously they would have received Ws?

3.  Whether the policy would be more effective, and less potentially damaging to enrollments, if phased in rather than immediately imposed in September?

4.  What kinds of exceptions would be countenanced for health, family, and work obligations, and who would decide those exceptions?

5.  Whether taking control of absentee Ws from faculty and giving discretion to the Deans and advisors after the final drop date was the best solution?

6.  Most importantly, since one foreseeable consequence of these changes would be far higher numbers of Fs than previously, what kind of an impact would this policy have on enrollment numbers, retention, graduation rates, and so on?

It was also noted that a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document on the new a Drop Policy had been distributed to the EPSAC prior to this meeting.  The document is available from the Senate Office.

John Antel gave a brief background on the history of the UH Enrollment Management Task Force (EMTF) and talked about its membership.  He pointed out that the EMTF had invited the participation of the then Chair of EPSAC, the then Chair of the Undergraduate Council and the Chair of the Undergraduate Council Academic Policies & Procedures Committee.  The EMTF was trying to be inclusive.

Dr. Antel mentioned the EMTF worked on improving Freshman Admissions, adopting the 20% rule and the SAT rule.  The Drop policy was raised as part of the retention problem.  Unlimited drops appear to lead to low graduation rates.  He said everyone is concerned about enrollment numbers and SCHs, but graduation numbers are also a concern.  There is also growing concern about the capping of hours.  At present the cap is 45 units above the degree plan, but the legislature is considering moving that cap to 30 hours.  Ed Hugetz added that the cap is for hours attempted.  This becomes an economic issue for students.  Once they pass the cap, they have to pay out-of-state tuition which means instead $3,500 they have to pay around $10,000.  If the State adopts a 30 hour cap, UH could face a train-wreck scenario.

Dr. Antel stated that Mr. Hugetz, Libby Barlow and he have looked at the supporting data.  There is a pattern.  Dr. Barlow said that looking at a 1999 cohort, all the students who graduated had completed all their courses, but of that group the students who didn’t graduate, 85% didn’t complete courses.  She said there is a correlation between completing courses and graduating.  Dr. Barlow added that two-thirds of the drops occurred in the week before finals.  Dr. Antel said this is a chronic problem.  It affects the students who drop classes and risk not graduating.  Those students take seats, blocking other students from getting into the class, possibly delaying their graduation.

Dr. Antel said that other universities offer fewer drops, but have a tradition of grading passing/not passing or satisfactory/unsatisfactory.  Six drops is the new limit, but UH may go to fewer drops, especially with transfer students.  Paired with the new policy is the plan to hire more high quality advisors.   The salaries for advisors has been improved.  There are also new methods of advising and tracking students’ progress that will be rolled out with the PeopleSoft program.  Included in this are plans to place students in cohorts like the Scholars Community.  EMTF is also working with the Dean of Students Office to improve Orientation, which will soon be mandatory for all freshmen.  EMTF will also be looking in the future at Financial Aid, and how it might be better tailored for untraditional students, who need to be able to work at the same time as receiving Financial Aid for their schooling.

At the April 18, 2007 Faculty Senate it was recommended that representatives of the UH Health Professions Advisory Committee be invited to this meeting because of concerns about how the Ws would affect students seeking to go to medical schools.  Joaquin Diaz-Saiz, the Chair of HPAC, noted that having a large number of withdraws would not help a student get into medical school.  Other points made in the ensuing discussion were that while good grades are important, being prepared for science classes is also important.  Repeated drops indicate a lack of preparation and/or aptitude.  Advising is seen as key in catching problems early and keeping students on track.  UH is trying to build a sense of community with students by block scheduling and cohorts to keep the same groups of students together.  Dr. Mazella noted that these changes had the potential to move the bottom 5-10% of students out of the student body altogether, and that the university should be monitoring the situation with those students.

Joseph Kotarba asked what the Senate should be looking for in the future.  Dr. Antel replied that the EMFT would file an annual report.  The group plans to assess the 20% rule for Freshman Admissions.  The concern is for retention and maintaining diversity.  Mr. Hugetz said UH needs to monitor GPAs.  He added that faculty figure prominently in the retention of students.  Dr. Antel suggested there needed to be an early warning system, especially for freshman classes.  It’s hard to tell who is at risk for dropping/failing if there is only a mid-term and 1 final test or project.  Students should have some tests early in the semester (within the first three weeks) to check on aptitude/progress.  George Trail said that he tries to work with his students, but 50% don’t complete their four-page paper assignment.  Dr. Trail expressed concern about Ws becoming Fs.  Dr. Antel said that the EMTF and Undergraduate Council would have to watch the incidents of incompletes (Is).  Lawrence Williams said that UH has started questioning doctors about students’ claims for medical withdrawal.  Dr. Antel pointed out that with the new PeopleSoft system, there will be flagging of possible problems -- students will have notices that require them to talk with an advisor or faculty member prior to being able to register.  Dr. Mazella noted that these changes rely heavily on the ability of PeopleSoft to provide accurate information to faculty on students’ W status. 

The group encouraged the EMTF to advertising the changes.  Set up a Website and send out e-mails to let everyone know of changes being made.  Dr. Antel offered to make a presentation to the Faculty Senate.  Dr. Antel said that next year the EMTF would be reviewing Is, working on problems with students in the University Studies Division (USD), and looking at Financial Aid.  Dr. Antel promised to continue to brief the EPSAC committee about progress with advising and financial aid next fall.

FACULTY AFFAIRS COMMITTEE, Chair:  Mark Clarke

DATE:            25th April 2007
TIME:             12:00 PM
LOCATION:  MD Anderson Library, Room 220U
COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT: Drs. Clarke, Eichberg, Kugler, Manny, Middents, Sansgiry and Schiff.
COMMITTEE MEMBERS ABSENT: Drs. Kadish, Linzer and Williams. 
AD HOC COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT: Drs. Wynne Chin and Dale Rude.

AGENDA ITEM #1:  Minutes from 3-28-07 meeting

ACTION:  A motion to accept the minutes from the 3-28-07 FAC meeting as written was made by Dr. Middents and seconded by Dr. Eichberg.  The motion was unanimously accepted by the committee and the minutes were entered into the record.

AGENDA ITEM #2:  Presentation by Dr. Dale Rude

ACTION:  Dr. Rude made a presentation to the committee concerning faculty pension choices at UH. His presentation detailed the various choices and options available to new faculty and present faculty with regard to retirement plans. The thrust of his presentation was that little or no information concerning how to make choices concerning retirement plans for faculty is provided by the University or Human Resources. His suggestion was that he was willing to set up an ad hoc committee under the auspices of the Faculty Senate to provide such information to the faculty as a whole.

After discussion with Dr. Rude concerning the format of how such information could be disseminated to faculty, the following guide-lines were suggested by the committee with regard to the charge of the ad hoc committee.

• the ad hoc committee should be chaired by Dr. Dale Rude.

• two Faculty Senators (one drawn from the FAC, the other from the BFC) should serve on the ad hoc committee to serve as reporting lines to the Faculty Senate.

• the ad hoc committee would report annually to the Faculty Senate on their activities.

• the committee’s responsibilities would include setting up a web-site hosted on the Faulty Senate Web page that contained independent information on the retirement choices and options open to faculty members.

• the ad hoc committee would be responsible for developing an orientation seminar/tutorial for incoming faculty on retirement choices and options (focused on faculty rather than staff issues) that would be presented as part of the new faculty orientation process and incorporated if possible into the University Human Resources orientation process.

• the ad hoc committee would be responsible for developing information for existing faculty that would be disseminated to the faculty as a whole under the auspices of the Faculty Senate office.

• the ad hoc committee, prior to posting information on specific retirement plans and investment strategies under the auspices of the Faculty Senate, should seek approval from General Counsel with regard to liability issues on the nature of the advice/information.

Based on the above guide-lines, a motion was offered by Dr. Sansgiry and seconded by Dr. Kugler as follows:  “the FAC recommends to the Faculty Senate that an ad hoc committee be formed under the leadership of Dr. Dale Rude that will serve to formulate and implement a series of mechanisms to inform faculty of their choices and options concerning retirement benefits at the University of Houston.”

The motion was accepted unanimously by the committee and entered into the record.  

AGENDA ITEM #3:        College By-Laws Update

ACTION:  At present, all colleges have either competed or are in the process of reviewing their by-laws relative to the FS-COUG guidelines formulated by the Faculty Senate. The committee recommends that links to each colleges by-laws be placed on the FS website.

AGENDA ITEM #4:   GLBT Resolution Update

ACTION: The chair reported to the committee that the FEC had decided to invite Dr. Maria Gonalez fOR the GLBT alliance to present directly to the FEC rather than the full Senate. After this presentation, the FEC is now in the process of formulating a proposed resolution for consideration by the Senate as a whole.

AGENDA ITEM #5:      New Business

ACTION:  The committee discussed the possibility of forming a sub-committee to review faculty benefits in general. In addition, the possibility of identifying central funds to support faculty development leave was also discussed.

SCHOLARSHIP & COMMUNITY COMMITTEE, Chair:  Suzanne Ferimer

The chair met with Admissions to discuss what faculty could do to help recruit students.  In the Fall, faculty will be asked to allow high school students to visit their classes. 

The Chair also met with the Homecoming Committee.  Details will be forthcoming this event.

AD HOC COMMITTEE ON PLANNING, Chair:  Steven Craig

Report not yet available