November 2020
November 2020
FACULTY REPRESENTATIVE ASSEMBLY MEETING
November 13, 2020
Attendance: Venkat Reddy, Tom Christensen, Suzanne Scott, David Weiss, David Moon, Mary Coussons-Read, Minette Church, Lynn Gates, Margaret Harris, Deborah Kenny, Kathy Prue-Owens, Monique French, Martin Key, James Van Scotter, Andrea Bingham, Monica Yoo, Diane Stutey, John Lindsey, Darshika Perera, Suzanne Cook, Leilani Feliciano, Claire Rau, Christine Robinson Coon, Roger Martinez, Emily Mooney, Erica Allgood, Wendy Haggren, Lei Zhang, Kirsten Ortega, Matthew Jabaily, Michael Landon-Murray, Thomas Aicher, Glen Whitehead, Stephen Suh, Laura Eurich, Larry Eames, Karin Larkin, Dave Anderson
Call to Order / Approval of Minutes:
Motion to approve the minutes from October 9, 2020 meeting by Monica Yoo
Seconded by Karin Larkin
Motion passed with 26 in favor, 0 opposed and 1 abstention
Reports of Visitors:
Venkat Reddy, Chancellor:
The Chancellor wanted to mention the recent very sad loss of faculty member Michelle Neely and the focus this has brought to the mental health crisis. It is important that faculty and staff get support in a campus-wide initiative which treats mental health the same as physical health, without any stigma. Covid-19 cases are going up very fast in the community and we are seeing more than we did since the start of the pandemic in March. We are also losing health care workers to Covid. Please be on high alert and follow all the precautions the CDC recommends. We are glad we made the decision to go remote after Thanksgiving. Feel free to go remote now if you think you can. We are still discussing Spring Break. One idea is to replicate Fall semester and have the break at the end of the semester instead of the middle. We are lagging 25% of enrollments for Spring right now. Students are not happy with remote learning and are taking a gap semester. This is not a good sign because they may not come back – we need to take a thoughtful approach to this. The vote regarding returning students’ money to them did not pass at the Board of Regents meeting, which is helpful or we would’ve been hit with a very big loss. Stephany Spaulding is our new Interim Associate Vice Chancellor for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion and leads our commitment to all to enhance diversity and inclusion on campus. We will have a national search for this position and we are reviewing what leadership should look like in this area. Governor Polis restored the $2.8 million for Cybersecurity, with 15% going to Cybersecurity scholarships. We were able to hire some tenure-track faculty with that money. We are continuing to work with the Regents and President’s office on the furlough status for January, but the drop in enrollment could be an obstacle. We are trying to get some relief and the Spring census will be a determining factor. There are still too many uncertainties. The Chancellors are working with the CU System online initiative. Duplicating programs and how to deal with that issue are concerns.
Tom Christensen, Provost:
As you know, classes are going remote after Thanksgiving with some exceptions and the campus will be open. We are now planning classes for next Fall and we’re currently keeping the same modalities. We’ve extended the drop deadline to the end of classes for Spring semester. Fall room capacities are the same for now. We can add the third rank of Principle Instructor above Senior Instructor and can extend contracts to 3 years. We should establish a baseline for promotions and put together a committee to look at policy revisions. We are working on a revision of the campus RPT policy with the removal of external letters for primary review – we will need a committee for that too. Mountain Lion Research week is next week. Please attend this virtual event to support our students. We are seeking input on how to handle faculty evaluations this Spring. Some impacts of the pandemic won’t be felt till next year for faculty evaluations, so we will need input for next year too. We still need to do merit evaluations also.
Suzanne Scott, Executive Director of Budget & Planning:
The Board of Regents approved the FY21 budget of $127.6 million. Fall semester came in better than expected and Spring semester is 92% of Fall. FY20 is projected for $143.5 million, with an expected revenue of $178 million, creating a shortfall of $35 million. This is why there are furloughs and budget cuts to operating expenses and reserves at the campus and department levels. We should receive $6.5 million in Coronavirus relief funding. The FY22 budget will have full restoration of higher ed funding of $34 million, with some monies going to Cybersecurity. We will need to watch enrollment. We are developing training modules for the budget model within the next month. We are also meeting with all the Deans and working on the governance structure. This allocation model is at the college level. New budget software is being tested and should be live in April 2021. We are looking at a 3% tuition rate increase cap with no employee compensation increase.
Officer Reports:
Past President’s Report
No report
Reports from Standing Committees:
Faculty Advisory Committee on the Budget
Faculty Minority Affairs Committee
PRIDE:
Working on improving gender marking options in HR system
Intercollegiate Athletics:
Not present – no report
Misconduct in Research, Scholarship & Creative Activities
Reports from Representatives:
FCQs Choice in Merit Reviews – some faculty expressed concern about the proposal mentioned in the LAS meeting that faculty may not/will not be able to choose to use their FCQs because it would undermine those faculty members not using them. It seemed to suggest that faculty who get good FCQs, and want to use them, don’t have the same Covid-19 challenges as other faculty. It is problematic for faculty to use FCQs (and/or use this year) as a proxy for how challenging this time has been for everyone. If a clear strong statement is made that the selection not using FCQs will not be held against faculty, this could mitigate concerns allowing faculty to choose to use their FCQs and not undermine the faculty members choosing not to use them.
Grade Forgiveness Update – this is still in discussion with SGA
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Resolution based on last month’s discussion: Should waitlisted students have access to Canvas course content while on waitlist?
Motion 1:
The Faculty Assembly Executive Committee moves that the Faculty Representative Assembly adopt the following resolution:
BE IT RESOLVED that students who are on the wait-list for a course will be granted enrollment in the Canvas course shell.
(Motion passed with 19 in favor, 5 opposed and 4 abstentions)
NEW BUSINESS
Motion 2:
The Faculty Assembly Executive Committee moves that the Faculty Representative Assembly adopt the attached resolution . . .
(Motion passed with 24 in favor, 0 opposed and 0 abstentions)
Motion 3:
The Faculty Assembly Executive Committee moves that the Faculty Representative Assembly adopt the attached resolution . . .
(Motion passed with 25 in favor, 0 opposed and 1 abstention, with changes as noted)
Adjournment:
Motion to adjourn the Faculty Assembly Meeting by Monique French
Seconded by Karin Larkin
Motion passed unanimously
Meeting adjourned at 2:25 p.m.