March 2025

 

UCCS Faculty Representative Assembly Meeting

Friday March 14, 2025

 

Attendance:  Joel Tonyan (President), David Havlick (President Elect), Monica Yoo (Past President), Kylie Rogalla (Secretary), Jennifer Sobanet, Lynn Vidler, Kathy Kaodis, Laura Austin-Eurich, Melissa Benton, Dylan Harris, Cathy Simmons, Les Tekamp, Douglas Risser, Sara Hagedorn, Todd Endres, Assma Sawani, Robert Mitchell, Henriikka Weir, Markus Moeder-Chandler, Margaret Harris, Marina Eckler, Aaron Corcoran, Michelle Dorne, Gabriel Martinez Mercier, Catherine Simmons, Rosely Conz, Matthew Beckwith, Douglas Risser, Colin Mahoney, Suman Lakkakula, Zhe Li, Evan Taparata, David Weiss, Jian Ma, David Moon, Birgitta de Pree, Gordon Stringer, Jennifer Zhon, Janet Giddings, Mark Ferguson, Solveig Olsen, David Anderson, Jena McCollum, Jon Forshee, Karin Larkin, Norah Mazel, Julie Torres, Emily Mooney, Suzanne Cook, Robin Kempf, Robert Mitchel

 

Call to Order / Approval of Minutes

Motion to approve February 14, 2025

           Moved by: Dylan Harris

           Seconded by: David Weiss

           Last Meeting Minutes Approved

 

Reports of Visitors:

Jennifer Sobanet, Chancellor - Presented by Interim Provost Lynn Vidler

  • I want to just say that we really appreciate having Robin Parent and her vast knowledge and experience to help us as we navigate the Federal Transitions
  • Sustainability Summit: We are looking to have a lot of attendance at the summit this year and we encourage you all to attend and encourage your students to attend. We have been doing a lot of work in the area of sustainability and this will be a great event to showcase this work.
  • GRITT Conference is happening today. We have over 400 people attending this conference and it has some great speakers.
  • Vice Chancellor of University Advancement, Communications, and Engagement: We have posted that position on Monday and there is a lot of interest in this position. I think this is going to be another really big search with a lot of people applying. We are hoping to have someone in this position by June so that there is an overlap with Martin before he leaves. We will be keeping Martin on a short contract to help as a liaison with our community partners.
  • Thank you for connecting with us when you have question such as meeting about the federal transition. Please don't hesitate to reach out to us through Joel or your Dean/Vice Chancellors with questions or thoughts. We want to help answer those questions

 

Lynn Vidler, Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs

  • Faculty Affairs Office: Thank you everyone who provided feedback. I have decided to move forward with the Faculty Affairs Office but with a 4-year term instead of the originally proposed 6-year term. We have funding secured for those four years and we can revisit once the funds are spent.
  • Shared Governance/Academic Freedom Policy: Thank you everyone who joined the review committee. We are working to get the first meeting scheduled.
  • Dean Searches: We have 3 searches currently in progress. Committees are currently reviewing applications and will moving to phone interviews soon. We want to thank the co-chairs and the committee members as they review these applications. Campus Visits will start the week of April 7th and continue the following 2 weeks. HR will work with candidates on scheduling those visits.
  • Higher Learning Commission Accreditation: We are in year 8 of our 10 year cycle. HLC will be visiting in April 2027 so we are getting a steering committee set up along with various other committees to prepare.
  • Policy Updates: We are making good progress on the Grievance, Office Space, Rights & Responsibilities, and Discontinuation policy. They are all moving forward. The only policy that is being a bit delayed is the Differentiated Workload policy. We are waiting on some data that is being gathered to help determine how much it could cost. The Deans are still reviewing the budgetary implications of the policy but conceptually, everyone is on board.
    • Question: Can we change the word from "Shall" to "May" allow these differentiated workloads?
      • That is what the Deans are suggesting. There is a concern about the equity of that across departments. The data that we are gathering will help with this decision
    • Question: It would just lead to it won't happen if there isn't budget, correct?
      • It depends. It will put it in the Dean's hands.
    • Question: What about "should"? It is a little stronger language than "may" but also allows for some wiggle room. 

Kathy Kaoudis, Vice Chancellor for Administration and Finance

  • State Budget Update: We are monitoring the state budget situation closely. The figure setting meeting was on Tuesday but it actually didn't happen. The state as a whole is at an about $1.2 billion shortfall. On Monday, March 17th, there will be a meeting to help decide what the initial numbers will be at the state level. Since the shortfall is so much more than expected, it is looking like higher education will be given less than initially planned. We expect to know more in the next two week than we do now. It does have a dramatic effect on our UCCS budget. Our enrollment is slightly down right now for fall. Many thanks to David Moon who is working on a video that will go through our budget in detail.
    • Question: Are there resources that we can get to learn more about the state budget shortfall?
      • The best resources are from the legislation itself. We can send out those links. You can also follow the Gazette or Denver Post
  • Sustainability Summit: Please go and sign-up for April 17th's summit. The topic is "Our Power, Our Planet"

Robin Parent, Vice Chancellor of Strategic Initiatives and Chief of Staff

  • Federal Transition Update:
    • On March 5th, there was a message sent out from President Saliman and the chancellors that really described the process that the system is going through. That message is included on the Federal Transition Website.
    • The Department of Education has laid off a good number of people. One of the message that we have been receiving about these layoffs is that there is no impact in financial aid. We are paying very close attention to what is happening in the DOE.
      • How are we supporting Fulbright Scholars?
        • We haven't seen any formal language from CU System with guidance. There have been a lot of speculation on what this looks like for Fulbright. We are monitoring and will share communication once we get information from the system level.
    • We are also preparing for the potential Government Shutdown. We have been preparing communication depending on what happens. A shutdown is not new territory. We have delt with this before.
    • Public Service Loan Forgiveness: We are looking at where higher education fits into the Executive Order restricting PSLF. The PSLF is a law and must go through a negotiated rulemaking process before any changes can be made to it. As of right now, there will be no immediate impacts. We will keep an eye on this.
      • Comment: I have been removed from my Income-Based Repayment plan. This is and will affect a lot of people; faculty, staff and students.
    • UCCS Funded Projects: We are being asked by the system to provide information each week and they are monitoring them closely. We will have support from the system with thing that are impacted by stop orders.
    • PhD Project Federal Government Investigation: UCCS has received a notice that we will be investigated about our involvement with the PhD Project. We are working with the legal team and understanding our engagement with that. At this point, we are not concerned about it. 

 

Report of the President – Joel Tonyan

  • Faculty Assembly Service Award: Congratulations to Minette Church! Dr. Church will be recognized at the Campus Awards Ceremony on April 17th at 4pm in Berger Hall
  • Thank you everyone who voted on the constitution revisions and the Office Space Policy. The constitutional changes will be on the ballot. 

 

Report of the President-Elect – David Havlick

  • Election: After contacting current representatives and we will need 1 person from COB, 3 from Beth0El, and 2 reps for LAS Social Sciences. If you know of anyone that would be a good representative in these positions, please do nominate them or yourself. Please reach out to me if you would like to nominate. 

 

Report of the Past-President – Monica Yoo

  • Nothing New to Report

 

Committee Reports

 

Representative Reports

  • Jennifer Zohn, College of Nursing & Health Sciences
    • SUNY Brockport Use of Electronic Devices in the Classroom Policy
    • Harvard Devices in a Classroom
      • This is something that I have been thinking about and wanted to bring to the assembly to think about and consider. While there are certainly positives to using electronic devices in the classroom, they can also be used in a distracting way. We do have a disruptive behavior policy on campus but we were wondering if it would be useful to have a university wide policy specifically on electronic devices in the classroom. Faculty would still be able to decide what is appropriate in their classrooms but would provide language that could then be used in syllabus. We have taken a loot at the website of SUNY Brockport and the Harvard Devices in a Classroom policy to provide some examples. What are thoughts on this?
        • Question: Have conversation been had with Disability Services about this?
          • This would be something to consider as conversations move forward.
        • Comment: This would be a good topic for the FA Committee on Teaching to consider.
        • Question: Why are the syllabi statements insufficient?
          • I don't think it is insufficient but in my perspective, if there was guidance from the university level, it would be helpful. We would then have consistent language across the campus.
        • Comment: Might be a departmental consideration based on the discipline and the relevance of device use within the discipline.
        • Comment: Seems like a more generic question on syllabi policy enforcement than on a particular topic.
          • I was surprised that we didn't have language at the university level about device use in classrooms.
        • Comment: Surveillance from devices could also be an important element of this conversation. Faculty could easily be recorded without their knowledge.
      • Joel: We will take this conversation over to FACT for a deeper conversation on how we want to move forward.
        • Question: How do faculty go about leading a new policy for the university?
          • We would need to be solving a need that a campus policy would resolve.
          • From Policy 100-001: 5. Examples of justifications that may require the development of a new policy or a change in existing policy include, but are not limited to:
            a. Changes in federal statutes, Colorado statutes, or a court decision affecting the University.
            b. Changes in Board of Regent Laws and Policies, or University Administrative Policy Statements.
            c. The chancellor, vice chancellors, deans, directors, and the OPR may initiate the formulation of a
            new or revised policy.
            d. The faculty may initiate the formulation of a new or revised policy through Faculty Assembly.
            e. Staff members may initiate the formulation of a new or revised policy through Staff
            Association.
            f. A request approved by the Student Government Association for a new policy or revised policy
            may be submitted through the Office of the VCSS.

 

Unfinished Business

  • Charge for the Faculty Assembly Reappointment, Promotion, and Tenure (RPT) Committee
    • This will be moved to next meeting.

 

New Business

Guest 1: Angela Bender & Andrew Archuleta, Human Resources

  1. Faculty Pay Structure Presentation
    1. We are current working on our project to improve pay equity and help find a strategy. We currently have 3 possible strategies that we are looking to get feedback on. This will be a place to start discussion with all of you. [View strategies in the linked presentation]
      1. So far, the first suggested model, Ranges Based on CIP Codes, is the Dean's favorite suggestion.
      2. With compensation as a whole - it will tell us how close we are to market and where we are with our faculty
        1. Question: What is "Market"?
          1. It is what the market dictates to hire. We get national data on what other universities pay and then it is also adjusted to other peer institutes.
        2. Question: How does cost of living factor into market?
          1. There is a national average for cost of living. Colorado Springs is 8% above that national average. With those data sources, it is considered in the market numbers.
        3. Question: Does market consider zip code or that someone could be paid more in the professional field than as an instructor?
          1. It is considering that and similarly situated institutions.
        4. Question: Does it consider someone who has another job compared to other that will be teaching for a full time career?
          1. So the market gives us a range to tell use where we want to be over time. This will give this range
        5. Question: One thing that I have noticed is that there is a really wide range of salary for staff positions compared to faculty positions. Why is there such a wide range for these positions?
          1. So Model 1 would make the structure would look more like staff. We do a minimum to mid-point range for staff and this model would do something similar for faculty. The final salary would depend on experience, certificates, education, etc. The lower ranks would have a smaller range compared to a higher rank.
        6. Question: Where does the money come from the ranges?
          1. Typically salary savings. It would also be likely that we would hire a new position at a lower range from who was in the position previously.
        7. Question: If UCCS cannot pay for merit increases, how can we pay for this?
          1. So this model would be a place to start. This would not happen tomorrow. It would be something to put into place to start then we could look at what we are doing now and evaluate what the model dictates. It will take years to officially implement but it will be a place to start to put this model into place. When we do get to a place that we have the money, then we can move into the model. We can see where faculty salaries are based on the market and then we can look at compression. That data will inform leadership on where money should be spent. Having a structure will allow us to see where we are at and how we can get closer to market or address compression. Currently we can't make recommendation because we don't have the data. The faculty data project will help us make a plan on where to put future funds.
        8. Question: If we can't do anything with salaries, is there anything that we can do with benefits?
          1. We have been having conversations with the Committee on Personnel and Benefits. The system does control our benefits but I think we should do more to talk about our benefits. This is a great option to look into.
        9. Question: Would the data be available to faculty?
          1. Yes. One of the intentions with the model is to show you your range, what you are paid, and what percentage you are within that range.
        10. Question: Is the percentage of an increase from assistant to associate consistent across campus?
          1. So HR is not involved with promotions.
          2. Comment: Promotions vary by year based on salary increases. It is not based on dollars available treating them as mandatory. the % changes each year based on the salary pool since the last pool of promotions.
        11. Question: Is there movement for IRC to get housing help?
          1. That is a great question. Not sure but will bring this up at Personnel and Benefits
  2. Qualification Data Project
    1. We want to have accurate data so that we can then pursue these models. As of yesterday, we have gotten 175 out 565 of the faculty that we are requesting from have responded. Please do communicate the importance of participation to your colleagues. We cannot move forward until we have this data. There are only positive things that will come from responding to this.
      1. Many faculty are afraid to do this. They don't understand why you don't already have this data. Maybe you need to explain why you are reaching out for this data.
        1. None of this data is going to be used to lower anyone's salary. We won't be able to make informed decisions if we don't have everyone's data. We will then have to take data from what we have that isn't accurate and will have to make recommendations about compression with incorrect information which won't help us address compression accurately. We need clean data so we can move forward.
        2. We have sent out communications, talked with Deans, done presentations for departments and for you all in FA - Please let us know what else we can do to communicate the importance of this.
      2. Question: Why doesn't Watermark count for this?
        1. Watermark does not include previous years of experience or experience from outside of UCCS. We want to count all of your experience.
      3. Question: Why are you only asking for administrator experience?
        1. We are not. We are asking for every kind of experience that you have had.
      4. Question: What is considered "full-time"?
        1. We are counting all 9-month faculty as full-time

 

New Business: Resolution on Federal Transition

 

 

Motion to Adjourn

Laura Austin-Eurich motioned to end the meeting; Robert Mitchell seconded; passed. 

Next meeting: Friday, April 11th, 2025, 12:00-2:00 pm in Hyflex Format; Dwire 103 or MS Teams