October 2017

October 2017

October 2017

FACULTY REPRESENTATIVE ASSEMBLY MEETING

October 13, 2017

Attendance: Martin Wood, Greg Hoye, Susan Taylor, Michael Lightner, Sally Greene, Maja Krakowiak, Melissa Benton, Barbara Prinari, Norah Mazel, Andrea Hutchins, Pam Carter, Eileen Gerrard-Gough, Carole Traylor, Kaitlyn DeGhetto, Matt Metzger, Patty Witkowsky, Jugal Kalita, Les Tekamp, Michelle Dorne, Suzanne Cook, David Diamond, David Havlick, Leilani Feliciano, Andrew Lac, Sarah Treschl, Glen Whitehead, Kristi McCann, Wendy Haggren, Nicole Huber, Kathrin Spendier, Joel Tonyan, Michael Landon-Murray, Monica Yoo, Tabatha Farney, Carlos Duarte, Christine Robinson Coon, Elizabeth Daniels, Dave Anderson

Call to Order / Approval of Minutes:

Motion to approve the minutes from September 8, 2017 meeting by Barbara Prinari
Seconded by Pam Carter
Motion passed with 22 in favor, 0 opposed and 3 abstentions

Reports of Visitors:

Martin Wood, Vice Chancellor for University Advancement & Development: 
Here to address questions about a recent newspaper article about marketing and branding with a new agency we are working with for $6 million.  The article was not clear; this is not new money, but continuing budget money.  Our previous 5-year marketing contract ended and we put out for bid new contract proposals.  The Colorado Springs market is growing and there is a lot of competition.  The rule of thumb is that 3-5% of the total university budget ($8-$12 million/year) should be spent on marketing and we're functioning lower than that.  Printed communication is very pricey.  Marketing dollars get more expensive every year with both electronic and especially printed pieces being very costly.  How do we know if it is worth it and if it works?  We do track responses and we see if it brings in enrollment numbers every year.  Why do we print the UCCS Viewbook?  We have found through surveys that people still want the hands-on material and not all electronic information.  Due to heavy competition, you are conspicuous by absence if you are not doing ads.  It is important to have brand awareness.  We are getting huge enrollment numbers out of Denver now, and both Texas and California are big recruitment areas, which results in out-of-state tuition.  Retention is also a focal point.  Greg Hoye, Director of University Marketing, was also introduced and answered further questions.

Susan Taylor, Interim Associate Vice Chancellor for Undergraduate Education & Academic Planning: 
Academic Affairs update - the two dean searches (Business and Engineering) are progressing and they have been able to get their candidate lists down to ten or fewer and will be conducting telephone/video interviews in the near future.  The VCAF search is also proceeding well with a strong candidate pool.  They are hoping to schedule candidate campus interviews sometime in November or December, as are the dean search committees hoping to do as well.  The AVC for Inclusion and Academic Affairs search is near conclusion with an offer extended and negotiations in process currently.  The AVC for Research and Faculty Development position is changing from half time to full time.  A national search will be conducted with a probable start date of July 1, 2018.  The process of forming a search committee for this position is underway.

Michael Lightner, Vice President for Academic Affairs: 
We are currently involved in the ongoing process of review of Regent Policies.  Article 3 deals mainly with Human Resources, Article 4 covers the Academic Units, and Article 5 concerns Faculty.  Article 5 is very large and extensive.  EPUS of Faculty Council has been involved in tackling this review project along with the Provosts of each CU campus.  We are currently soliciting feedback from campus Faculty Assemblies, EPUS committees, general faculty as well as open public comments according to the timeline described and links provided in the Outline of Current Changes Being Considered for Regent Article and Policy 5 memo.

Sally Greene, Book Division Manager / UCCS Bookstore: 
In reviewing our buying decisions for textbooks, we look at past sales (if available), review enrollment increases/decreases and adjust accordingly, and we also look at cost effectiveness options.  We aim to be supportive of faculty and will work with them in both electronic and textbook format options.  A detailed memo with important information and helpful links for faculty is attached.

Tabatha Farney, Associate Professor / Director of Web Services & Emerging Technologies, Kraemer Family Library: 
There are some very useful library services available, one of them being Open Educational Resources (OER), which are teaching, learning and research materials that have been released under intellectual property licenses that allows for both their free and open use and repurposing by others.  Further information is attached.

Officer Reports:

President's Report

President-Elect's Report
No report

Past President's Report
No report; Research Task Force meeting next week

Reports from Standing Committees:

EPUS

Personnel & Benefits

Faculty Advisory Committee on the Budget

Faculty Minority Affairs Committee

Women's Committee

Non-Tenure Track Faculty

Teaching with Technology

Intercollegiate Athletics:
No report

Sustainability

PRIDE

Misconduct in Research, Scholarship & Creative Activities:
Not present - no report

Reports from Representatives:

Michael Landon-Murray has been working on a safety committee which has been reviewing the logistics and costs involved in getting locks put on all classroom doors, assembly room doors, etc.  There are three different locks that have been approved by the Fire Marshall, according to the rules and regulations concerning the types of locks that are permitted on certain types of rooms.  Maja has a room list spreadsheet to notate what rooms need locks and a cost estimate will be done based on this information.  Once this list is completed with the necessary information, it will be sent to the proper campus decision makers for their review and input.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS

Discussion 1:
Next steps in the FCQ redesign process - Faculty Representative Assembly voted in September to keep the current FCQ for the Fall semester, however, it was also voted to create a task force to redesign the FCQ instrument for the future.  The task force is charged with developing a new FCQ that is workable for online delivery as well as for hybrid, in-seat, condensed and other course delivery modes, to include the needs of many varied disciplines.  David Moon is the chair of the FCQ Redesign Committee, which is similar in composition to Faculty Assembly to assure campus-wide representation.  The faculty who participated in the FCQ pilots should also be on the committee.  This is a faculty-driven committee and there is no established timeline yet as it is still in the formative stage.

NEW BUSINESS

Motion 1:
The Teaching with Technology Committee moves to adopt the following resolution: Resolved, That the Faculty Representative Assembly endorses adopting Canvas as the University of Colorado Colorado Springs' learning management system.
(Motion passed with 28 in favor, 0 opposed and 4 abstentions)

Background for Motion 1:  A Canvas pilot program began last May and was well-received by both students and faculty.  CU Boulder and CU Denver will also use Canvas as their learning management system.  Canvas and Blackboard will run parallel during spring and summer courses.  Blackboard will expire September 2018.

Motion 2:
The Faculty Assembly Executive Committee moves to amend Section VI.B.1 of the Faculty Assembly Bylaws so that standing committees may consist of a maximum of ten members.
(Motion passed with 27 in favor, 0 opposed and 3 abstentions)

Motion 3:
The Non-Tenure Track Faculty Committee moves to update their bylaws as attached.
(Motion passed with 27 in favor, 0 opposed and 3 abstentions)

Motion 4:
The Faculty Assembly Executive Committee and the Personnel & Benefits Committee move to adopt the following resolution: Resolved, That the Faculty Representative Assembly urges Chancellor Reddy to continue the uncompensated merit adjustment this year, utilizing monies from a source other than the compensation pool.
(Motion passed with 29 in favor, 0 opposed and 1 abstention)

Discussion 1:
Revisions to Article 5 of the CU Regent Laws - Michael Lightner continued the discussion outlined in his memo regarding this topic.  The point was made that the current statement of academic freedom conflates freedom of speech with academic freedom, which are different concepts.  Therefore, it is proposed to separate out freedom of speech into a separate section in a different regent law.  The Board of Regents does reaffirm the importance of academic freedom.  Other items mentioned and/or discussed included individual versus collective faculty responsibilities regarding academic freedom, decoupling tenure from source of pay within the CU system, recognition of full-time long-term non-tenure track faculty, and the faculty grievance process.

Adjournment:

Motion to adjourn the Faculty Assembly Meeting by Pam Carter
Seconded by Barbara Prinari
Motion passed unanimously
Meeting adjourned at 2:03 p.m.