NIU Board of Trustees
Academic Affairs, Student Affairs and Personnel Committee Meeting
March 20, 2000

The Chair recognized University Advisory Committee member Sue Ouellette.  Dr. Ouellette said that since the Board would be looking at sabbatical leaves, she wanted to mention how important these are to faculty and how much the faculty appreciate the support and the opportunity to engage in this type of academic activity.

A similar process is followed with promotion.  All of the previously mentioned groups have to review the case and determine that it conforms to the department's and the college's guidelines for tenure and promotion.  Normally, someone who is eligible for tenure will be promoted to associate professor at the same time.  In the category from Assistant Professor to Associate Professor in our report, Dr. Waldeland said, some names are asterisked to indicate that these people are being recommended for tenure as well as promotion to associate professor.  Associate professor to professor is a little different.  Eligibility for promotion to full professor is considered six years after promotion to associate professor.  There is a special set of guidelines for the achievement represented in that promotion.

I would like to also call your attention to the fact that there are four people mentioned as receiving tenure only at the end of the report, Dr. Waldeland continued.  In three of the four cases, these are people who were hired at senior ranks.  One is a full professor; the other two were hired at associate professor levels due to their experience.  All are coming up for tenure now.  The fourth person is in an unusual field in which most of the normal outlets for publication are not available.  The department and the college did not feel that the record constituted a usual case for promotion to associate professor but places a high value on the work in science education done by this person.  We are very proud of the fact that in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences we take responsibility for science education, Dr. Waldeland said.  This is an unusual decision but one that has the full support of the college Council, the dean, the University Council Personnel Committee, and the Provost and President.  Dr. Waldeland asked that the Academic Affairs, Student Affairs and Personnel Committee endorse this year's tenure and promotion decisions and ask that the President forward them by means of the President's Report for Board of Trustees approval at its March 23 meeting.

Chair Boey asked for a motion to approve the recommendations for faculty promotions, tenure and promotions with tenure for 2000-01.  Student Trustee Davis so moved, seconded by Trustee Vella.  The motion was approved.

Agenda item 6.b. - Recommendations for Faculty and Supportive Professional Staff Sabbatical Leaves for the 2000-01 Academic Year
Dr. Waldeland emphasized that proposals for sabbaticals undergo a thorough review process before they are recommended to the Board.  The university is permitted to award one sabbatical for every 25 members of the faculty.  There are very explicit guidelines for proposing sabbaticals.  The work must be related to the person's area of expertise and must be something that the university believes will enhance not only the individual's expertise but his or her ability to contribute to the overall work of the department, college and university.  The proposals are scrutinized in departments by departmental personnel committees and ranked if there are multiple proposals from the department.  They then go to the college council where they are carefully looked at by faculty who are close to the discipline.  Then that group has to determine that these are proposals the college council is willing to forward, and they have to rank the recommendations from all of the departments, interweaving the proposals from all of the departments.  At this point, with the concurrence of the chair and the dean, the recommendations go to the University Council Personnel Committee.  That committee then determines how many sabbaticals will be funded from a list that always exceeds the number available.  First, they look at the number of sabbaticals generated by a unit and make sure that those units receive at least the number they have generated.  That always leaves some additional requests, dr. Waldeland explained, and that is the point at which the University Council personnel Committee has to exercise judgment on which of these most closely conform to the guidelines and the goals of the sabbatical process.  The University Council Personnel Committee has the option of declining to recommend a proposal if one comes forward that seems not to meet the requirements of the university.  The sabbatical leave recommendations listed on pages 20 through 12 of the Board Report reflect those recommended by the university.  Alternates are those people that will be allowed to fill in if any of the people on the final list are unable to take their sabbaticals.  Great efforts are made to be sure that departments let us know if someone cannot for some reason take a sabbatical, Dr. Waldeland said, so that someone else has an opportunity to fill that spot.  We strongly feel, as Professor Ouelette has said, that the sabbatical leave process is very important to maintaining the quality of the academic programs at this university.  It is a chance for faculty to engage in more extended research and artistry activities than they are able to in a normal academic year.  The work done on a sabbatical not only enhances the research or the artistry record of the faculty member, but it makes its way into the classroom and into work with individual students on theses and dissertations.  Dr. Waldeland asked that this list of sabbaticals be endorsed by the Committee and forwarded by the President to the Board of Trustees for approval at tits March 23 meeting.

Trustee Boey commented that having a couple of faculty members come back last year and give presentations on their work really helped the members of the Committee to understand sabbatical leaves much better.  It gave us an appreciation of how hard they worked on research during that period of time.  We encourage other members of faculty to come back to give us a similar presentation, he said.

In answer to a question from Trustee Vella, Dr. Waldeland said that everyone who receives a sabbatical must submit a written report within 60 days of the end of the term for which they had that sabbatical.  We really endorse that, she said, because it is something the external auditors check.  This is a requirement of the University Constitution and anyone who does not have a report on record will not be considered for another sabbatical.

Student Trustee Davis asked if there was a difference between the procedure for determining people who have sabbaticals with pay and those who take the leave without pay.  Dr. Waldeland stated that a request for a leave without pay would not come through this process.  Anyone requesting a leave without pay has to go through the department and the college and receive permission.  Sometimes someone asks for a leave without pay because of family or health issues.  There is also the category of educational leaves without pay in which someone may have an opportunity to work or teach elsewhere or do something that would really enhance the individual's expertise and bring new expertise into the department.  That is a highly individualized process that the department, the college, the Provost and, finally, the Human Resource Services unit have to agree fits with Board Regulations.  They are negotiated on an individual basis and are not in competition with sabbatical leaves.  In answer to a question from Trustee Vella regarding the length of sabbaticals, Dr. Waldeland explained that the third column showed whether the leave was for a single semester (fall or spring) or for a two semester (full-year) sabbatical.  Those taking the leaves have a choice of receiving either full pay for one semester or half pay for the full year.  Those who take full-year sabbaticals usually are able to supplement their income through a grant.  In a few cases, people take sabbaticals during two summers.  These are very often people in administrative roles who cannot be released during an academic year.  Because of the workload in their units or the availability of someone to help cover what has to be done in the summer, Dr. Waldeland said, they may take them then.

Chair Boey asked for a motion to approve the recommendations for faculty and supportive professional staff sabbatical leaves for the 2000-01 academic year.  Trustee Vella so moved, seconded by Student Trustee Davis.  The motion was approved.

Agenda Item 6.c. - Request for New Minors
Dr. Waldeland stated that this request was for a new minor within an existing degree program and for a new interdisciplinary minor that draws on the work of several programs and several colleges.  She asked Dr. Virginia Cassidy, Assistant Provost for Academic Planning and Development, to present these items.  Before beginning her presentation, Dr. Cassidy introduced Dr. Sherilynn Spear, Chair of the School of Allied Health Professions, in which the community health minor would be located, to the Board.

Dr. Cassidy stated that the requests for the two minors was brought to the Academic Affairs, Student Affairs and Personnel Committee after receiving approval from the respective departments, colleges and Undergraduate Coordinating council, and the Provost.  The proposed minor in community health is an 18-semester hour sequence of courses designed for students in social, behavioral and physical sciences, education and other fields who wish to understand the basic principles, methods and practices of community health.  The proposed minor requests 12 semester hours of course work in four areas -- the ecology of health, health promotion, epidemiology and the principles of public health organizations.  Six semester hours of course work will be elected in areas such as medical terminology, the elements of environmental health, economic issues in public health, community health research or the principles of health planning.  For more than a decade many students from other majors, including sociology, psychology, education and family consumer and nutrition sciences have expressed a desire to take courses in the community health program.  These courses allow students to gain experience in areas related to public or community health and complement studies within the students' declared major.  In the past, Dr. Cassidy said, it has been recommended that students simply enroll in elective courses in the community health major to meet their learning needs.  The availability of this new minor will provide students with formal recognition on their official transcripts of their studies in the area of community health.  The notation of this minor on the transcript will benefit the students in seeking employment upon graduation from NIU and in pursuing further studies at the graduate level.  The community health program in the School of Allied Health Professions, which is housed in the college of Health and Human Sciences, will administer this minor.  No additional funding is requested to implement it.

The second proposed new minor is the Interdisciplinary Minor in Environmental Management Systems.  This minor builds on existing courses in 12 departments within three colleges:  the College of Business, the College of Engineering and Engineering Technology and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.  To complete this minor, students must take 25 to 26 semester hours of specified course work.  The three courses that comprise the core f this minor are in chemistry, public policy and environmental science.  Students will then enroll in elective courses that reflect a multidisciplinary combination of basic environmental courses in business, engineering, natural sciences and public policy.  Nine to ten semester hours of course work in two areas that are outside the student's major area of study are required.  In their senior year, the students will complete six semester hours of capstone course work within Environmental Management Systems.  The area of Environmental management Systems is a fast-growing field that incorporates elements of business, engineering, natural science and public policy to implement locally based applied environmental planning.  Such planning is necessary to prevent pollution and other environmental problems.  An interdisciplinary approach to such problems will address the agenda of many organizations that focus on environmental concerns, governmental regulatory agencies and business.  This proposed minor was developed in consultation with officials of the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency who confirmed the need for an innovative undergraduate preparation to allow students o pursue careers in the area of environmental management systems.  The proposed minor will provide students with the opportunity to learn about new methods for monitoring and reducing environmental hazards, which should enhance their professional career opportunities.  The proposed minor will be administered through the Social Science Research Institute, and advisors in each of the three colleges have already been designated to assist students in meeting the requirements for this minor.  No new state resources are required to implement this minor.

Both of these proposed minors are consistent with NIU's mission to meet students' learning needs and to assist students in becoming particular citizens who can apply their knowledge to solving societal problems.  These proposed minors can also assist the university in contributing to the goals of the Illinois commitment by creating innovative educational offerings that prepare students for employment within the region and within the state.  Dr. Cassidy recommended that the Academic Affairs, Student Affairs and Personnel Committee endorse these requests ad ask that the President forward them by means of the president's Report to the Board of Trustees for approval at its March 23, 2000 meeting.

Dr. Cassidy explained that there are 12 departments participating in this minor, but those disciplines are in three colleges.  For example, Chair Boey said, you could have a Bachelor's Degree in Mechanical Engineering with a minor in environmental engineering.  Dr. Cassidy said that Harvey Smith, Director of the Social Science Research Institute, will be the coordinator of the interdisciplinary minor.  Within each of the three colleges, there is a designated individual who will guide the students in choosing their course work to meet the requirements for this minor.  Dr. Cassidy said that there is very high interest in this interdisciplinary minor.  The Environmental Protection Agency has made recommendations for the design of the capstone experiences.  These will give students experience in a setting off campus where they will be able to deal with some of the real life problems associated with environmental issues.

Student Trustee Davis said he though the requirement of 25 to 26 hours was very high for a minor since the normal range was usually 15 to 18 hours.  He asked if that would make it more difficult for students to finish in four years.  Minors are now typically between 18 to 21 semester hours, Dr. Cassidy said, so the fact that this one is a little bit longer does not really put it much beyond the requirements of other minors.  As far as increasing the student's time in school, she said, depending on the student's planning, they should be able to graduate in a timely manner.

Interim Provost Waldeland said this will not be much of a problem with the possible exception of majors in engineering.  Most of the majors that are likely to opt for this minor have fairly low credit hour requirements, usually anywhere from 36 to 39.  In the College of Business, in particular, 50 percent of the course work has to be taken outside business, so those students are looking for electives, she said, and this organizes a set of electives that might be very attractive.  A lot of though was given to that very point, Dr. Waldeland said, ad I think they settled on the minimum number of hours they thought would adequately cover the field.  Chair Boey asked for a motion to approve the request for the proposed minor in community health and the Interdisciplinary Minor in Environmental Management Systems.  Student Trustee Davis so moved, seconded by Trustee Vella.  The motion was approved.

I want to say before moving on that I think this kind of interdisciplinary effort is very exciting, Dr. Waldeland said.  Those of you in the room who are faculty members know that interdisciplinary work is hard.  It means that people from a lot of different disciplines and different perspectives have to come together, give a little and work by consensus.  We have never tried anything quite this ambitious with 12 departments represented, and I think it is attribute to the leadership of Harvey Smith to make people in widely different disciplines feel comfortable about the program's viability and potential for ongoing development.

Agenda Item 6.d. - Request for Degree Authority at an Off-Campus Site
Dr. Waldeland reminded the Board that the IBHE has changed its approach to off-campus degree approval in a very significant way.  Instead of requiring that we get approval in every community college district in which we intend to offer programs or course work, she said, we now are arranged into ten large regions.  We no longer have to seek degree authority in our own region, which allows us to offer off-campus programming in the community college districts of Rock Valley, Waubonsee, Kishwaukee, McHenry and Elgin.  Our Hoffman Estates and Rockford Centers are located in these areas.  However, NIU-Naperville is in the west suburban region, so NIU will need to seek degree authority approval for anything the university does not already have permission to offer there.  Dr. Waldeland said that NIU will also have to seek degree authority approval for any university offerings in Lake county, another area for which the IBHE is trying to foster programming.  Thus, today's requests will be for Region 1 and Region 3 instead of the community college districts that have always been used when proposals were brought to the Board for approval.  Dr. Waldeland asked Dr. Virginia Cassidy to present this item.

Dr. Cassidy stated that this request was brought to the Academic Affairs, Student Affairs and Personnel Committee after receiving the approval of the department of Educational Research, Technology and Assessment, the college of Education and the concurrence of the Provost.  She then introduced Dr. Gary McConeghy, Chair of the Department of Educational Research, Technology and Assessment, who was instrumental in developing this proposal.  The master of Science in Education in Instructional Technology is proposed to be offered in the North Suburban Region 1, which encompasses Lake County, and in West Suburban Region 3, which encompasses DuPage County.  This master's degree in instructional technology is a 39-semester hour degree designed to prepare students to integrate current and emerging technology into classroom instruction, distance education and curricula at academic institutions and other learning institutions including libraries, governmental agencies, corporations and businesses.  Students in this degree program design actual projects and participate in field experiences under the supervision of practicing professionals who serve as preceptors.  Projects and work-related experience provide students with the opportunity for solving real world problems in instructional technology.  These experiences can include designing web-based courses, developing instructional materials for specific work applications, or preparing plans to organize library materials among others.

Students completing a degree at either of these two off-campus locations will be held to the same academic standards as students who complete the degree on the NIU campus.  The regional and state demands for personnel with skills in instructional technology are high.  Based on recently published articles in the Chicago Tribune and the Chronicle of Higher Education, the demands for these personnel exceed the supply.  Further evidence of demand is demonstrated in the receipt by the Department of Educational Research, Technology and Assessment of more than 400 position announcements in the field of instructional technology.  Of these announcements, approximately 20 percent require advanced education and training, which this master's degree would provide for student sin these regions.  The programs for Region 1 and Region 3 are designed for individuals who are typically employed in the field of education or in training and development.  It is anticipated that most if not all of these individuals will continue with their current employment or seek advanced opportunities within the region.  Two or three courses will be offered in both regions each semester enabling students to continue their full-time employment while earning this master's degree in approximately three years.  The Department of Educational Research, Technology and Assessment in the College of Education will administer this program.  No new state resources are required to deliver this degree at these off-campus locations.

This proposed offering of the M.S.Ed. in Instructional Technology in Regions 1 and 3 will assist NIU in contributing to the goals of the Illinois Commitment by expanding work-related learning experiences, increasing the supply of instructional technology personnel to meet employment demands, and increasing access to learning resources by the Internet and other technologies.  Dr. Cassidy asked that the Academic Affairs, Student Affairs and Personnel Committee endorse this request for off-campus degree authority for the M.S.Ed. in Instructional Technology in Region 1 and Region 3 and ask that the President forward it by means of the President's Report to the Board of Trustees for approval at its March 23 meeting.  In answer to a question from Chair Boey, Dr. Waldeland said there are a total of ten regions encompassing what were previously 50 community college districts.  The university at one point had degree authority in 11 different community college districts, especially in education disciplines.  Chair Boey asked for a motion to approve the request for degree authority for the M.S.Ed. in instructional Technology in Region 1 and Region 3.  Trustee Vella so moved, seconded by Student Trustee Davis.  The motion was approved.

Agenda Item 6.f. - Fiscal Year 2001 Salary Increment Allocation Guidelines
The Finance, Facilities and Operations Committee also discusses salary increment allocation because it is a major budgetary issue, Dr. Waldeland said, but we always bring it to this committee as well because it involves personnel.  Given the absence of a quorum at this morning's Finance Committee Meeting, it was deemed appropriate to bring it to the Academic Affairs Committee as an action item for endorsement.  She then asked Associate Vice President Steve Cunningham to present the item.

Mr. Cunningham stated that the annual increment process is one of the most significant personnel events of the year, as well as one of the major budgetary events.  The increment base this year will approach $125 million, and of that base, approximately 70 percent of that is General Revenue funded, so is very significantly related to the appropriation.  The university then allocates funding from other fund sources to match a portion of the increment.  This year's increment is in a "3+1+1" model, he said.  This is derived by the IBHE recommended appropriation, which includes a 3 percent annual merit increment.  Another "1+1," or 2 percent, is intended for retention of critical faculty and staff.  The "1+1" is one percent funded by the state contingent upon a match of another one percent from the university.  Northern has an excellent record of reallocating funds to supplement state-allocated salary increases, Mr. Cunningham said.  Assuming that it is fully funded by the legislature and approved by the Governor, the increment would involve two components, the 3 percent annual merit and the 2 percent for retention of critical faculty and staff.  This is divided among three increment categories:  regular faculty, Supportive Professional Staff and exempt civil service, and hour civil service.  Each of these increment processes will involve two separate phases -- the 3 percent annual merit and the 2 percent, which is divided into exceptional long-term merit and position responsibility components as well as critical market and retention issues.  The position responsibility aspects are of particular interest to the Supportive Professional Staff Council, and we have conferred with our councils, Mr. Cunningham said, and Dr. Waldeland has conferred with the University Council personnel Committee.  This is a process where we really engage our system of shared governance in approving the guidelines.  Mr. Cunningham asked for approval of the FY01 salary increment guidelines subject to the approval of the FY01 NIU appropriation as recommended by the Illinois Board of Higher Education.  Chair Boey mentioned that the Finance Committee had spent some time discussing what long-term exceptional merit meant and through it was worth repeating to be sure the meaning was clear.

This year's increment is different from previous years in several ways. Mr. Cunningham said.  The ability of the university to continue receiving extra funding beyond a 3 percent basic increase is largely dependent upon meeting the legislative priority of allocating these funds for more than across-the-board annual increments.  It is important that we recognize not just annual merit but long-term and exceptional merit with this component of the increment.  In order to facilitate this, Mr. Cunningham said, we will basically have two separate increment components -- annual merit and funds for retaining critical faculty and staff.  As noted in the agenda item, this is divided for faculty and exempt employees into a 1.5 percent component for exceptional long-term merit and a half percent component for retention and market issues.  These will be allocated pursuant to plans that are approved in advance at the college and vice presidential level.  We are getting our guidelines approved and out early this year to allow time for then asked for a motion to approve the FY01 salary increment allocation guidelines.  Trustee Vella so moved, seconded by Student Trustee Davis.  The motion was approved.

Agenda Item 6.e. - Annual Report on Oral English Proficiency 1998-1999
The university brings a report to the Board annually on compliance with Public Act 84-1434, which requires that universities ensure the oral English language proficiency of all individuals who provide classroom instruction.  In order to do this, Dr. Waldeland explained, we are expected to have a complaint policy in place and to take appropriate steps to notify students of that policy.  The public act actually charges the governing boards with monitoring compliance.  The Board of Trustees has delegated the monitoring and the record keeping to the university.  But because you are the body ultimately charged with the responsibility for this, she said, we always bring this report to you to assure you that we have carried out the expectations of the law and kept appropriate records.  To eliminate any confusion, Dr. Waldeland explained that it stated in paragraph two that one must have a minimum score of 50 on the test of spoken English.  The resolution of complaint number three stated that 220 was a passing grade.  The test has been redesigned and recalibrated so that a score of 50 is now passing.

Dr. Waldeland went on to say that the university's compliance process is well-established.  We require that international students who are assigned teaching assistantships meet a minimum level of oral English proficiency on the Test of Spoken English.  We provide some support for students and for faculty who may need some help with pronunciation.  At the same time that we have been working to be in full compliance with the law, we have been trying to comply in a way that also emphasizes the value of international diversity.  We want to show our students that it is part of the richness of their NIU experience to be exposed to people from a variety of cultural backgrounds.  Over the years, Dr. Waldeland said, we have discovered that we rarely have many complaints.  We have found that when a student has a complaint that is classified by the student as the pronunciation of English, it often has more to do with cultural differences.  There are international graduate students who come from cultures in which it is impolite for students to ask questions of faculty; so, we have done a great deal to emphasize this in the training of people who go into the classroom.  Most departments have some kind of training for their graduate assistants.  And just this year, the university implemented a new teaching assistant development program so that we now have a universitywide office as well, which supplements department training.  It has been very popular, Dr. Waldeland reported.  We have had excellent support from faculty across the campus who have been willing to give workshops and work with graduate students on how to handle particular aspects of their teaching.  We advertise the oral English proficiency requirement and the university's policy on how to file a complaint, and the system is working fairly well.  Many of the international graduate assistants and, to some extent, faculty, who are concentrated in mathematics, science and engineering, which are fields where there is already a certain level of anxiety on the student's part about their success.  We find that if the students can get through the first week, things tend to work out pretty well.  We check with the department chairs every year to see how many complaints they receive and how they were resolved, and those records are kept on file.

There being no other matters, Chair Boey asked for a motion to adjourn.  Trustee Vella so moved, seconded by Student Trustee Davis.  The motion was approved.  The meeting was adjourned at 2:25 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Sharon M. Mimms
Recording Secretary