Minutes of the
NIU Board of Trustees
ACADEMIC AFFAIRS, STUDENT AFFAIRS
AND PERSONNEL COMMITTEE
April 24, 1997
CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL
The meeting was called to order by Committee Vice Chair Susan Grans at 10:40 a.m. since Chair Myles had been delayed in transit. Recording Secretary Mimms conducted a roll call of Trustees. Members present were Trustees Manuel Sanchez, Student Trustee David Marquez and Vice Chair Grans. Also present were Committee Liaison Carroll Moody and Board Parliamentarian Ken Davidson. In the absence of a quorum, but having informational matters to receive from university staff, Parliamentarian Davidson advised Trustee Grans to proceed informally until the arrival of a quorum, at which time a regular meeting could be convened. Trustee David Raymond and Committee Chair James Myles joined the meeting in progress.
VERIFICATION OF APROPRIATE NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING
Confirmation of Open Meetings Act notification compliance was given by Board Parliamentarian Ken Davidson.
UNIVERSITY REPORTS
Agenda Item 6.a. – Report on IBHE Action on Programmatic Actions Taken by the Board of Trustees in May and June 1996
Provost Moody called on Lynne Waldeland to make a report on the disposition of program actions of the Board of Trustees. Dr. Waldeland related that at its May 1996 meeting, the Academic Affairs, Student Affairs and Personnel Committee had endorsed two new programs recommended by the President — the B.S.Ed. in Health Education and the Master of Science in Taxation. The IBHE approved the Master of Science in Taxation on January 7, 1997. The IBHE did not take forward the university request for the new B.S.Ed. in Health Education. The university was given some reasons for the IBHE's decision and asked the IBHE to reconsider the university's and Board of Trustees recommendation. Members of the Board should have received copies of that letter. The university is waiting for a response.
Also at the May 1996 meeting, the Board approved three new program minors: a Minor in Marketing, a Minor in Electrical Engineering Technology and a Minor in Manufacturing Engineering Technology. The IBHE approved those three minors as "reasonable and moderate extensions of existing degree authority" on August 7, 1996. The Board also considered plans to offer several programs at off-campus sites: the Master of Science in Education in School Business Management at Hoffman Estates, the Master of Public Administration at Hoffman Estates and at the Quad Cities via distance education, and the B.S. in Technology at the Rockford Education Center. All three of these requests were approved by the IBHE on October 1, 1996. Also in that same package was a request for off-campus authority for the Master of Science in Taxation (M.S.T.) at Hoffman Estates which was approved by the IBHE in conjunction with approving the new M.S.T. degree program on January 7, 1997.
Upon the arrival of Trustee Raymond, a quorum was declared and the Committee returned to its regular meeting agenda.
MEETING AGENDA APPROVAL
Trustee Sanchez moved for approval of the Agenda. Student Trustee Marquez seconded the motion. The motion was approved.
REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING
It was moved by Student Trustee Marquez and seconded by Trustee Raymond to approve the minutes of the May 16, 1996 meeting. The motion was approved.
UNIVERSITY REPORT
Agenda Item 6.b. – Request for New Degree Authority at an Off-Campus Site Provost Moody asked Lynne Waldeland to present this item. Dr. Waldeland noted that the Department of Finance in the College of Business has offered a significant number of courses in support of the Master of Business Administration at the three off-campus sites where the M.B.A. is offered: Hoffman Estates, Rockford and in rental space at the Hewlett-Packard Center in Lisle. Making one more course available at these sites would enable students to complete the entire finance program at the three off-campus sites. The program has concluded that it can make the additional course available and that it has the class capacity to accommodate additional finance students. Professionals in the region have shown an interest in being able to complete a Master of Science in Finance at off-campus locations. This program is particularly attractive to people in banking and in finance positions within large corporations. The university requested that the proposal endorsed by the Provost and the President to make the Master of Science in Finance available in the College of DuPage District (Hewlett-Packard Center), the Elgin Community College District (Hoffman Estates Center), and the Rock Valley College District (Rockford Center) be endorsed by the Committee and recommended to the full Board for approval.
In answer to a query from Trustee Sanchez, Dr. Waldeland replied that Northern Illinois University and the University of Illinois-Champaign/Urbana campus are the only public universities that offer the Master of Science in Finance in the state. DePaul offers a finance specialization within its M.B.A. program.
Vice Chair Grans asked for a motion to endorse the off-campus program request and recommend to the Board for approval. Trustee Raymond so moved, seconded by Trustee Sanchez. The motion was approved.
Agenda Item 6.c. – Recommendations for Faculty Promotions, Tenure and Promotions with Tenure
Dr. Moody briefly reviewed the process used in making the decisions for promotion and tenure to be recommended to the Board. Each year, faculty members on probationary contract (through their sixth year of service at the university) are evaluated in their progress toward tenure. In the third year, there is a particularly rigorous review of probationary faculty members to let them know if they are proceeding toward a positive recommendation and where there are shortcomings to be addressed. At that time, there are some who decide not to continue on at the university. In the sixth year of the probationary period, the department evaluates faculty members on whether they meet the criteria of the university, their college, and the department. Those recommendations go to a college personnel committee and then are reviewed by an all-faculty university personnel committee. The university has a dual track personnel system which means that department chairs, college deans, or the Provost can submit a contrary recommendation to that of the faculty committees. In this case, both sets of recommendations go to the President, who then makes a final recommendation to the Board.
When asked by Trustee Sanchez what role, if any, the teaching ability of a professor, as opposed to the publishing record, played in the review of the candidates, Dr. Moody replied that all evaluations of faculty, whether for promotion, tenure or for merit salary increase each year, use three major components to determine eligibility: (1) teaching, (2) scholarship and (3) public service. Chair Moody stated that the University Council Personnel Committee, which he chairs, recently has discussed adding other requirements for submission by departments on faculty accomplishments such as peer evaluation of classroom performance and teaching portfolios to be made available for inspection. Trustee Sanchez thought it important the record reflect that many of NIU's Trustees place a tremendous amount of importance on the evaluation of teaching expertise in personnel decisions.
Vice Chair Grans called for a motion to endorse the recommended promotion and tenure listings on pages 11 and 12 of the President?s Report. Trustee Sanchez so moved, seconded by Trustee Raymond. The motion was approved.
Agenda Item 6.d. - Faculty and Staff Sabbatical Leaves
Dr. Moody briefly described the process for granting sabbatical leaves which is similar to the promotion and tenure process, except that sabbatical leaves are normally granted to tenured faculty only. A proposal must be submitted by faculty to their departments describing a sabbatical that will strengthen the professional development of the faculty member. Departments evaluate and rank the proposals and submit them to their colleges. The proposals are once again evaluated and ranked within the college and forwarded to the university-level personnel committee, which does the final ranking of the proposals. The President has final approval of the recommendations for sabbatical leaves.
Vice Chair Grans asked for a motion to approve the sabbatical leaves as recommended in the President?s Report. Student Trustee Marquez so moved, seconded by Trustee Sanchez. The motion was approved.
Agenda Item 6.e. – Report on Retirement Incentive Plan
Vice Chair Grans asked Steve Cunningham, Assistant Vice President for Administration and Human Resources, to give a brief update on the retirement incentive plan. Mr. Cunningham distributed materials that summarized the internal retirement enhancement plan and noted that this is the second retirement incentive plan introduced at this university in the past five years. The packet of materials contained copies of letters to employees announcing the plan and describing its internal provisions. Cunningham observed that the retirement planning process is somewhat ad hoc at many universities, but that Northern does an effective job of managing this issue, fitting the strategic needs of the university and providing positive solutions for NIU employees in terms of their employment planning. Kate Romano, Assistant for Administration Services, is extensively involved in a great deal of the retirement counseling and delivery of planning seminars conducted by Human Resource Services. This retirement program will help the university deal with enrollment-related budgetary effects on the university income fund, and the savings will be reflected in the university internal budgets beginning in FY98. At the same time, Mr. Cunningham said, we are trying to provide good options for employees in planning for retirement and to coordinate this plan with any potential legislative enhancement programs that may develop.
There are about 500 people in the pool who were 55 as of January 1997 and otherwise eligible to retire under SURS. A very large percentage of the employee population is eligible to retire during the next five to ten years. The plan was that eligible employees would elect a retirement date between February 1, 1998 and June 1, 1998 for noninstructional and instructional employees respectively. In exchange for these retirement agreements, the employees will receive a 10% income adjustment or one month's salary, whichever is greater. This enhancement changes the income basis upon which the retirement calculation is made and therefore augments the permanent annuity. There was broad-based participation. Enrollment ended April 30. Participation thus far has been sufficient to provide colleges and divisions with increased options in dealing with the budget process starting in FY98.
Agenda Item 6.f. - Report on Process for IBHE-Mandated Review of Graduate Programs
Provost Moody called the Committee's attention to a list of all the graduate programs offered at Northern Illinois University included in the meeting materials. The IBHE called for a review of graduate programs in all public universities during this 1996-97 academic year. A special committee was created, half of the members coming from the Graduate Council and the other half from the Academic Planning Council, to review the university's graduate programs. During the fall semester, the departments completed their reviews using a format created by the Provost's Office. The special committee has been meeting throughout the spring semester. It plans to make its recommendations to the full Academic Planning Council and Graduate Council by the first week in May. The recommendations will then be communicated to departments, colleges and the Council of Deans. The AASAP Committee will be provided with an update at its June meeting. A report the university's review activity will be included in the university's annual productivity report due to the IBHE on August 15.
To a question from Trustee Raymond, Dr. Moody replied that regular program reviews are done on an eight-year cycle according to a calendar established by the IBHE. To assist in developing a new policy statement on graduate education, the Board of Higher Education called for colleges and universities to review their graduate programs and to make a report to the IBHE. The purpose of the review was to look at programs for strengths and weaknesses and for fit with the mission of the institution. Dr. Moody said that he thought NIU's graduate programs fit extremely well with the university's mission. We would be a very different university, he said, if we did not have graduate programs; and our region would be less well served. The IBHE has not clearly defined what direction it will go after it receives the productivity reports from the universities this year. Trustee Myles asked that the university keep a record of the number of minorities involved in any programs that might be eliminated in the future.
President La Tourette commented that this review of graduate programs emerged out of the IBHE's P•Q•P process introduced under the chairmanship of Art Quern. Perhaps his replacement, Lieutenant Governor Kustra, will review and take a new look at this whole process. It was Dr. La Tourette's opinion that Dr. Kustra was more inclined to decentralize and respect the judgments of the individual boards relative to the missions of the university and the programmatic responses the universities have developed or will develop in the future in order to carry out those missions. He hoped that the university and the Board collectively, could convince Dr. Kustra that his basic approach is appropriate ? that there should be decentralization and more respect for the judgments made on campus so long as they are consistent with the university's mission and receive the support of the governing boards.
Trustee Myles stated that he and Trustee Raymond had an opportunity to talk with Bob Kustra at a recent Association of Governing Boards (AGB) Conference, and both thought that Dr. Kustra was going to bring about some positive change for the universities. Trustee Raymond said it was clear that Dr. Kustra wanted to change the culture at IBHE and create an environment with a freer flow of ideas and input.
Trustee Raymond asked if this process was over and above the normal program reviews, and Provost Moody replied that it was. Trustee Raymond said that if the university has to continue responding to these special requests, it will use a lot of resources. Having just retired from a major corporation that went through all kinds of restructuring, Trustee Raymond said, he saw a lot of people spending a lot of time in meetings evaluating what they were doing rather than doing things to help serve the customer.
Agenda Item 6.g. – Report on Recruitment and Enrollment
Dr. Moody asked Dr. Rosalie Hewitt to give the Report on Recruitment and Enrollment. She reported the following new initiatives for the Office of Admissions for this recruitment year:
1. Adding two new recruiters -- one for expanded recruitment in central and west central Illinois and another with a specialty in student financial aid.
2. More systematic involvement of academic departments in contacting prospective students. This is made possible by an e
lectronic prospective student database that we have just created.
3. Additional open houses for admitted students on campus and off campus at community colleges and at the Rockford Education Center. All open houses included advising deans and representatives from several academic and student services units.
4. Having the assistant coordinator of community college relations travel to several community colleges to provide evaluation of transcripts on-site for new transfer students.
5. Expanding the on-campus minority reception to include admitted Asian American students and families as well as African American and Hispanic/Latino students and families.
Dr. Hewitt named a few units that had contributed substantively to the recruiting effort: the Office of Publications in creating print and radio ads focusing on undergraduate faculty, academic programs and student services; the Office of Student Financial Aid in its new capability to provide estimated award letters to admitted students; the University Honors Program's involvement in telethons, open houses for honors-eligible students and arrangement of tours to scientific, technological and computer facilities on campus; Educational Services and Programs' creation of an on-campus program for prospective students and parents interested in CHANCE alternative admissions; and faculty and staff from colleges and departments being involved in open houses, tours of facilities and telephone contacts.
Fall 1997 freshman applications, admissions and confirmations are higher than last year. The increase includes more students from all ethnic and racial groups, including African American, Hispanic/Latino and Asian American. Fall 1997 new transfer applications, admissions and confirmations are also higher than last year. Minority admissions overall are increased over last year, with increases most notably in African American and Hispanic/Latino students. At this time of year, housing deposits and orientation reservations are the best indicators of new student enrollment patterns. Housing reports a substantial increase in those who have sent in housing deposits compared to this time last year.
Orientation reservations for both freshman and transfer students are brisk. April orientations have included an increased number of transfer students. Students who had been admitted by April 30 have been invited to attend one of four April orientations. These spring orientations were created last year so that new transfer students could have the same opportunities as continuing on-campus undergraduate students to register for fall classes using the university's telephone registration system. The College Advising Offices were hosting an afternoon orientation and advising program for new transfer students the day of the Board meeting. New freshman reservations for summer orientation were also coming in at a faster rate than last year. Several changes were to be made in summer orientation this year to improve upon the family involvement which has been a successful component over the years at NIU.
The hallmarks of recruitment this year have been, first, the engagement of all units and departments in the university and activities contributing to increased contacts and services for prospective students, and second, the efforts of all programs to include parents and families in open houses and orientation events.
Trustee Myles applauded the efforts being made to recruit and retain minority students and faculty at NIU. He stated that at the AGB Conference there was a report on Proposition 209 in California, about which there was a great deal of controversy. Trustee Myles said that, even though a majority of the California Board of Regents voted in favor of it (14 to 10), the chair recommended that they not implement the proposition. Trustee Myles said his concern about this and other legislation in Texas was the decrease in minority enrollment already being reported. The University of Texas Law School earlier reported 65 African American law students enrolled in the freshman class. Since the Texas court decision on affirmative action, that figure has dropped to five. Trustee Myles stated that he saw a trend coming in that his granddaughter and most of her friends in the Chicago schools are tending to move more toward historically Black colleges rather than schools like Northern Illinois University and Illinois State University. This is a trend he said we should watch, with the possibility of legislation like Proposition 209 moving across the country.
Trustee Grans reported that she had visited about six high schools in the Rockford area in the last week; and in visits to their counseling offices, she saw NIU material prominently displayed in all the schools. The counselors and the teachers told her that NIU is one of the most accessible schools in terms of recruitment because they can actually find a teacher if the student has a question. A couple of years ago, when I went into those same schools, Trustee Grans said, the NIU material was not displayed like it is now. She said that when students are given choices, they tend to gravitate toward the schools friends attend. The best press in the world happens if friends say they had a good experience at NIU.
To a question asked by Student Trustee Marquez, Dr. Hewitt answered that the recruitment focus effort in the central and west central areas of the state is a new one and was proving to be a good move for the university. When asked about percentages for fall 1997 enrollment, Dr. Hewitt said that applications were up about seven percent and that she would have more definite figures at the June 12 meeting. Trustee Raymond asked that Dr. Hewitt also give the Board some statistics to track the trends in applications and acceptance over the last several years.
Agenda Item 6.h. – Progress Report of the Provost's Advisory Committee on Minority Student and Staff Recruitment and Retention
Dr. Bernard Ray, Chair of the Provost's Advisory Committee on Minority Student and Staff Recruitment and Retention, reported on the activities of this committee. A total of four meetings have been held this year. The staff who serve on the committee are Mr. Bob Burk, Director of Admissions; Dr. Michael Gonzales, Director of the Center for Latino and Latin American Studies; Mr. George Gutierrez, Director of University Resources for Latinos; Mr. Leroy Mitchell, Director of the Chance Program; Dr. Rosalie Hewitt, Associate Provost; Mr. Lyndon Perkins, Assistant to the Dean of the Graduate School for Minority Recruitment; Mr. Burt Simpson, Program Coordinator for University Programming and Activities; Dr. Admasu Zike, Director of the Center for Black Studies; Mr. Steve Cunningham, Assistant Vice President for Administration and Human Resources; Student Trustee David Marquez; and former Student Trustee Willie Fowler make up this committee. The committee has reviewed the report of the Board of Regents Task Force on Minority Concerns. In response to the recommendations presented in the task force report, the committee itemized and reviewed programs and activities currently in place at NIU to recruit and retain minority students. The committee recognizes, as does the task force report, that there are distinct issues relative to recruiting and retaining minority faculty and staff professionals compared to students. The committee will continue to assess efforts to retain and recruit minority students. It is the view of the committee that several initiatives used in the past to recruit and retain minority faculty and staff should be reexamined and reinstituted where possible in order to give the university the best chance of recruiting and retaining them. At the April 4, committee meeting, these recruitment and retention activities for faculty members and staff members were discussed. These activities included:
1. administrative internship opportunities for minority faculty and staff;
2. opportunities for temporary administrative assignments as these opportunities open;
3. visiting professorship opportunities;
4. incentive plans for academic departments to recruit and retain minority faculty; and
5. target of opportunity hires for minority faculty.
It is the Committee's view that it is crucial for the university to address the retention issues associated with minority faculty and staff due to the strong links that these professionals can create in strengthening retention activities for minority students. Dr. Ray stated that, in his view, the committee had worked diligently to identify and discuss the programs and activities which have measurable success in recruiting and retaining students as well as to study activities designed to recruit and retain minority faculty which attained levels of success in the past but which are currently inactive or in need of strengthening.
Trustee Myles asked if the subject of tenure had arisen when discussing the retention of faculty. He recalled that during his hearings with the Board of Regents, that was one of the big problems expressed by some faculty. Dr. Ray said that the topic of tenure had not yet been discussed. The committee had begun with the charge of examining the Board of Regents' Task Force report, and the report is comprised of recommendations that describe processes for increasing retention and recruitment efforts for minority faculty and staff. The committee has attempted to identify activities currently in place at NIU and how those activities correspond to the recommendations. However, Dr. Ray did say that the issue of tenure is one that will be noted and can be addressed in future committee deliberations. Provost Moody said that in the five years he had been in the Provost's Office, there had never been a minority faculty member turned down for tenure.
Student Trustee Marquez, a member of the Advisory Committee, said he had been unable to attend the meetings due to class scheduling conflicts and asked several questions regarding the committee report. He stated that he agreed with Trustee Myles that the tenure question for minority faculty should be looked into.
NEXT MEETING DATE
Vice Chair Grans said that everyone would be notified of the next meeting date.
OTHER MATTERS
Vice Chair Grans recognized several young people who were present at the meeting for "Take Your Daughter to Work Day." She said it was a great opportunity, whether it is a daughter, a son, a niece or a nephew, for students from the fifth or sixth grade up to juniors and seniors in high school, to see what their parents or aunts and uncles do. It is a wonderful opportunity to expose them to why they should stay in high school and pursue a higher education. She thanked the young students for being present. Vice Chair Grans then entertained a motion to adjourn. Trustee Sanchez so moved, seconded by Trustee Myles. The motion was approved.
The meeting was adjourned at 11:47 a.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Sharon M. Mimms
Recording Secretary
|
