Minutes of the
NIU Board of Trustees
Academic Affairs, Student Affairs
and Personnel Committee

November 15, 2000

The meeting was called to order by Chair Barbara Giorgi Vella at 11:02 a.m. in the Clara Sperling Sky Room of Holmes Student Center. Recording Secretary Sharon Mimms conducted a roll call of Trustees. Members present were Trustee Robert Boey, Student Trustee James Barr and Chair Vella. Trustees Manuel Sanchez and Gary Skoien were connected by teleconference link. Also present were Committee Liaison Lynne Waldeland and Board Parliamentarian Kenneth Davidson. With the presence of a quorum, the meeting proceeded.

Chair Vella announced that the Committee would act on a request to deliver the educational administration master's degree in a new off-campus area and a proposal for a new emphasis in earth science education. The Committee will be asked to endorse a collective bargaining agreement, she said, and hear a presentation on faculty salary benchmarks. We will also deal with the important issue of accreditation as a marker of institution and programmatic quality.

The first request is for off-campus degree authority for the Master of Science in Education and Educational Administration in Region 6, which is the South Metro Consortium, Dr. Cassidy explained. This degree program is designed to prepare teachers for leadership positions in educational institutions and help them meet the requirements for Illinois Type 75 General Administrative Endorsement. The school districts in Region 6 have asked NIU's Department of Leadership in Educational and Sport Organizations in the College of Education to offer this degree program to help prepare their teachers for leadership positions such as assistant superintendents, principals, assistant principals, curriculum coordinators and department chairs. The schools in this region are currently experiencing a shortage of individuals who are prepared for these positions, and it is expected that the shortage will increase because they have a number of retirements coming up over the next several years. Our Department of Leadership in Education and Sport Organizations has already begun to work with the teachers in the school district by offering courses in Region 6, and now the department is seeking authority to offer the entire degree program off campus in the South Metro Consortium. The department feels that this request for the off-campus program supports the college's and the university's goal to increase partnerships with Illinois public schools and that it will help to meet the continuing professional development needs of the public school teachers in that region and assist the school districts in improving the quality of education they are providing to their own students. The Master of Science in Education degree in Educational Administration requires 33 semester hours of course work. The courses cover content in several areas, including the foundations of education, curriculum organization, supervisory behavior, the structure of educational organizations, research methods, policy issues, finance, law and other areas. It also requires that the students complete an internship in which they have an opportunity to apply the theoretical knowledge they have received in their classroom courses in real life settings, and that is an important aspect of the degree program. The department will offer the courses in the evenings and on weekends so that they are convenient to working professional teachers in the public schools, and they will be offered at sites in the region so that classroom teachers can attend the courses. The department also plans to incorporate the use of technology into the students' learning experiences in their course work so that they can develop expertise in the use of instructional technologies and will deliver some of the courses on site. Other courses will be delivered to the teachers through video teleconferencing.

We anticipate that between 25 and 30 students will enroll in this program in Region 6 each year. The costs for delivering the program in the South Metro Consortium will be covered by tuition and course delivery fees. The university recommended Committee endorsement of this request for an off-campus degree program in Educational Administration in Region 6 and asked that the President forward it by means of his report to the Board of Trustees for approval at its December 7, 2000 meeting. In answer to a question from Trustee Boey, Dr. Cassidy said that Region 6 includes the cities of Kankakee and Joliet. Dr. Waldeland mentioned that this program is currently being offered at Naperville, Rockford and Hoffman Estates. This request is for a new site where the program is not currently active. As you may remember from some other presentations for off-campus requests, Dr. Cassidy said, the approval is now for a consortium area which encompasses several community college districts, so we are able to serve the region more efficiently by having approval for a larger area. Chair Vella asked for a motion to approve the request for degree authority at off-campus sites. Trustee Boey so moved, seconded by Student Trustee Barr. The motion was approved.

Agenda Item 6.b. - Requests for New Emphasis in Existing Degree Program
In an undergraduate degree program, Dr. Waldeland said, a formal subdivision is called an emphasis. The reason these are proposed, approved and placed in the catalog is so that they can appear on the student's transcript. That is the importance of having them recognized as a formal entity. Dr. Waldeland asked Dr. Cassidy to make this presentation.

This request is for the approval of a new Emphasis in Earth Science Education that would be offered within the existing Bachelor of Science degree in Geology. In initiating this request, Dr. Cassidy said, the Department of Geology is addressing two major changes that are occurring in the teaching profession and in science education in the public schools. The first of these changes is related to how teachers must demonstrate their continuing competence as classroom teachers. There are new standards for K-12 students, and these standards require that students be able to demonstrate their academic abilities at different levels as they progress through their curriculum. These standards have been developed nationally, and the state of Illinois has adopted these standards for its public schools. Since the public schools will be evaluated on these new standards, the science teachers who will be teaching the curriculum have to demonstrate that they can provide the education students will need in order to meet the new standards, Dr. Cassidy said, so new standards for teacher certification have been adopted. Essentially, these standards require new teachers, after their initial certification for a period of four years, develop a professional development plan for the next five years in order to be recertified as teachers. The plan has to be approved by the state, and teachers have to demonstrate to the state review committee that they have met their goals in advancing their own knowledge to remain current in the discipline in which they teach. This process will occur every five years over the career of the teacher.

In addition to the changes for continuing certification as a teacher, Dr. Cassidy continued, Illinois public schools are also changing to a new integrative approach for the teaching of science. This approach requires science teachers to not only have knowledge and expertise within their own science discipline, but to also have knowledge of other science areas in order to teach the students and help them integrate the knowledge across science disciplines into their learning. The department feels that this new approach to delivering science education in the public schools fits very well with the discipline of earth sciences because earth science has always been an interdisciplinary program and requires expertise of faculty members to draw on their knowledge from a broad science background. When the department designed this new emphasis for earth science education, they kept this multidisciplinary perspective in mind. Another rationale for the proposal for a new emphasis in earth science education is that it will help to distinguish the students who are preparing for different careers in earth science, Dr. Cassidy said. Some students are preparing to become practicing professional geoscientists, others are preparing for careers in earth science education, and this emphasis will help prepare them better for that. In addition, the new emphasis can be helpful to teachers who are already practicing in the public schools. These teachers will be required to meet the recertification requirements, and the emphasis will give them an opportunity to return to higher education to advance their own knowledge and develop this broader perspective on science. The emphasis is comprised of between 17 and 18 semester hours of course work that includes content in teaching the physical sciences; field geology; educational psychology; the history and philosophy of education; teaching exceptional children in regular classrooms; and a geology-related clinical experience in middle, junior high or senior high school settings, depending upon where the teacher plans to be teaching. Students who elect this emphasis also have to complete core requirements for the bachelor of science degree in geology. Those requirements include additional courses in geology, courses in chemistry and mathematics and semester hour courses in which the students elect courses in chemistry, physics, the biological sciences or philosophy relating to the philosophy of education.

All courses are specified for the new emphasis are currently being taught in the university, Dr. Cassidy said, so the university will not incur any new costs for the emphasis in earth science education. The request received approval from the curriculum committees in the department, the college and at the university level as well as the concurrence of the Provost. The university recommended that the Academic Affairs, Students Affairs and Personnel Committee endorse this request for a new Emphasis in Earth Science Education and ask that the President forward it by means of his report to the Board of Trustees for approval at its December meeting. In answer to a query from the Trustees, Dr. Cassidy said that the degree would be a B.S. in Geology, and a notation would be made on the transcript that the student has completed the Emphasis in Earth Science Education. This is in response to new standards for recertification for all teachers in the state of Illinois, regardless of what subject they teach. It can be a combination of activities that can include continuing education as well as academic education. Chair Vella asked for a motion to endorse this request for a new emphasis in Earth Science Education. Student Trustee Barr so moved, seconded by Trustee Boey. The motion was approved.

Agenda Item 6.c. – Collective Bargaining Agreement
Mr. Steve Cunningham, Associate Vice President for Administration and Human Resource Services, stated that this bargaining agreement is with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW). They represent approximately 18 electricians and electrician foremen in NIU's Physical Plant. This is a five-year agreement, and it incorporates prevailing wage increases as they are established by the Department of Labor each year during the course of the agreement. Chair Vella asked for a motion to approve the IBEW collective bargaining agreement. Trustee Boey so moved, seconded by Student Trustee Barr. The motion was approved.

Agenda Item 6.d. – University and Programmatic Accreditation
Accreditation is a subject we really have not discussed much with this committee, Provost Waldeland said, and we should because it is one of the key quality control mechanisms for educational institutions. Accreditation involves a panel of external experts coming to campus and visiting university or individual programs with an eye toward their quality, their resources, whether or not they are current with the discipline nationally and so forth. We thought that it would be important that the Board realize that this kind of very important time-intensive activity goes on and is a kind of ongoing effort to be sure that we are offering the best quality programs possible. All universities in the nation participate in regional accreditation. NIU is accredited by the North Central Association. It has a public school wing, she said, and a Commission on Institutions of Higher Education, which is the one that accredits us. NIU comes up for North Central Association accreditation every ten years. We prepare a very in-depth self-study prior to a visit of three days or so from a team of eight to ten site visitors. North Central's next site visit is scheduled for 2004, the Provost said, and we are already beginning to organize to be ready for it. The preparation of the self-study usually predates the visit by two years.

We also have a kind of campus wide accreditation for our education programs, Dr. Waldeland said, and that is from the National Association of Teacher Education institutions (NCATE). The next NCATE visit is scheduled for 2001, so a lot of preparation is being done for that right now. Fortunately for the university, NCATE has decided to coordinate its visits with state program approval. Our students must graduate from an Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) approved program if they are to be licensed in the state of Illinois. In previous years, the Provost said, the ISBE has come one year and done a full-fledged review of all of our education programs, and NCATE came another year. NCATE has decided to try to coordinate with the state-level approval processes so that the education programs can go through their extensive reviews all at one time. Many individual programs also undergo specialized program accreditation. Programs in all seven colleges participate in accreditation. Sometimes the accreditation is by college, which is true in the case of the College of Business. The American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) accredits all programs of a college of business. In the College of Engineering, the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) accredits just the undergraduate engineering programs in the college. They do not deal with graduate programs.

Each School in the College of Visual and Performing Arts -- Art, Music, and Theatre and Dance -- has program extensive accreditation. All of the schools and departments in the College of Health and Human Sciences have accreditation for various programs and clinical activities. A few programs in Liberal Arts and Sciences -- chemistry, public administration, the psychology clinical program -- are accredited, and the College of Law holds American Bar Association (ABA) accreditation. The value of accreditation, Dr. Waldeland said, is an external validation of the quality of our programs. We have internal validation by having our faculty engaged in a continuous review of our program currency, our program activities, where our graduates find employment or if they get into good graduate schools. It is very useful, when it is available, to have external validation as well. In a few professions, students must have graduated from an approved or accredited program if they are to be allowed to sit for a licensure test or to practice in a particular field. This is a kind of baseline report for you, Dr. Waldeland said, showing all of the programs that are accredited to give you a sense of the dimensions of this activity. Each year we will update you on programs that have undergone this rigorous external evaluation for accreditation and received renewed accreditation.

I would like to speak for the Board and for this Committee and commend you for all the work and effort that goes into this accreditation activity, Chair Vella said. We appreciate the work, and we know how important it is. It is important for the university to stay current, she said, and it is important the university stay committed to excellence. 

I have just enough experience to know how much effort goes into reviewing some of those programs, Trustee Boey commented. Asked if the IBHE had any part in accreditation, Provost Waldeland answered that they do not have a role in accreditation, though they do ask the universities to do regular program reviews. Information about accreditation is included in those program reviews. What constantly amazes me, Trustee Boey said, is that for all the effort that you and staff put into preparation, they find people who want to come here and spend a week going through that review process. That speaks well for the commitment on the other side, he said, because that requires a tremendous effort of them as well. John La Tourette was a North Central visitor, Dr. Waldeland said, and often used to talk to us about things he had learned from site visits. He would come back and figure out ways that someone else had managed to do something more efficiently or more creatively, she said, and we benefited from that. Dean Fred Kitterle is now a North Central visitor, and I believe Dean Harold Kafer is also. There are a number of NIU faculty in individual programs who serve on the accrediting bodies of their particular disciplines. Gary Skoien and I were asked to represent the Board of Trustees to meet with the NCAA for the athletics reaccreditation, Trustee Boey said, and I thought that was very interesting. Some groups ask specifically to have an opportunity to meet with trustees, Dr. Waldeland said, and the North Central Association hopes that their visit in 2004 can include a meeting with trustees.

Agenda Item 6.e. – Faculty Salary Benchmarks
Human Resource Services monitors how NIU's salary levels compare with the national picture, Provost Waldeland said, and especially with our relevant comparison groups. Mr. Steve Cunningham gave a PowerPoint presentation on faculty salary benchmarks.

We are talking about ranked faculty salaries, Mr. Cunningham explained, which includes assistant, associate and full professors. Faculty salary data is good to use from a comparison standpoint because it is well benchmarked in a uniform way nationally. The protocols for reporting faculty data are very well established, so there is a reliable salary comparison between the NIU campus and other campuses in the benchmark peer groups. The faculty data is also reasonably consistent with how well our other staff and administrative positions compare with other universities, he said. If our faculty are in good shape from a salary standpoint, then, generally, so are our other staff on average.

We have a number of benchmarks, Mr. Cunningham said. Today we will focus on the IBHE peer group. The IBHE selects approximately 45 universities to be in our comparison peer group. We also benchmark against schools in the Mid-America Conference and NASULGC, the National Association of State Universities and Land Grand Colleges. The American Association of University Professors (AAUP), does a very large national study that is published in the Chronicle of Higher Education annually. The Mid-America Conference (MAC) average shows that NIU is at slightly over 100 percent for full professors. For associate professors, we are at 96.5 percent, and 96.4 percent for assistant professors. The level of comparison changes, depending upon the benchmark. We look good in the Mid-America Conference, he said, but the National Association of State Colleges and Land Grant Universities (NASULGC) organization has a number of large research universities. Now that NIU is a member of that group, being at the median for NASULGC becomes a benchmark we want to look at. NASULGC includes the large flagship universities such as the University of Illinois and Southern Illinois University, Mr. Cunningham explained. There are 210 universities in the NASULGC group, Dr. Waldeland said, and NIU is number 210. They include public universities only, so it would not include some of the private universities in our area such as Northwestern or the University of Chicago. Before we were a member of NASULGC, Mr. Cunningham said, we looked to the MAC-NASULGC midpoint and plotted our averages by department in the Mid-America Conference and averaged those and the NASULGC to see how we compared to our goal of reaching the midpoint. We have the IBHE peer group medians where we are slightly less than 100 percent, except in the assistant professors and the AAUP Category I, which includes public universities. What we see here is pretty much the maintenance of status quo for the last two fiscal years. They have been good increment years for the university compared to previous standards with a five percent average increase for both years. However, universities throughout the nation were also having better than average increment years because of the economy. So, unfortunately, he said, we did not gain a lot. Though we did, in most cases, hold our own, there is a little slippage, and we will continue monitoring this.

We will now focus more specifically on the IBHE peer group and look at the three ranks, Mr. Cunningham continued. Several years since 1980 were selected to get a trend line. With full professors the trend line is relatively stable, approaching the median but slightly less than the median. For associate professors, there is a declining trend. For assistant professors, there is an inclining trend, he said, so we are optimistic in the progress we are making with assistant professor salaries. We do have to be aware of the issue of salary compression.

We also looked at the percent change in salaries over time for the three ranks. We are at the median average salary rates for full professors in the IBHE peer group. It is increasing slightly, but relatively stable. For associate professors, the rate of change is also lower, but we do see it increasing. With assistant professors, there is no clear trend line, but it is slightly upward. Any given year there can be considerable variance by virtue of the different increment guidelines at the universities, and the hiring and retention or resignation of faculty can also change the averages. So, generally, we demonstrate an increasing rate of change in salaries compared to the other IBHE peer group institutions. However, despite the increasing rate of change, we are working hard to maintain our average salary comparisons and median salary comparisons in the peer group.

Next, Mr. Cunningham said, we consider the effect of cost of living, which is a significant factor in this area, and, is a real objective institutionally, that we work with to have effective salaries both in terms of average and real terms. If the peer group is arrayed in terms of what the precise local cost of living factors are, Northern ranks fifth or sixth among the 45 universities. When we recalculate the average salary, factoring in the differences in cost of living, however, our status declines considerably. For full professors, where we were toward the middle on the top graph for peer average salaries, he said, when the differences in real terms are factored in, we have a significant loss in comparability. The same is true of associate professors and of assistant professors. This demonstrates a real issue for NIU. It is something that we discuss with the IBHE every year at the Big Picture Meeting, but it is a factor as the region develops and grows that we are going to have to increase and be concerned with.

Moving from the IBHE peer group into the Mid-America Conference, Mr. Cunningham went on to say, we have the same comparisons. When the differences in cost of living were factored in with the MAC as well as the IBHE, it significantly reduced comparability in real terms in all cases. We see the same effect with respect to the cost of living for full professors, associate professors and assistant professors.

Looking now closer in to the state of Illinois, Mr. Cunningham said, our goal is to maintain a third place standing for our faculty ranks among the public universities in Illinois. We have maintained that for full professors. Given the scope of NIU and its the NASULGC status, third place is definitely appropriate for us. However, for associate professors, we are now ranking sixth, and for assistant professors, we are now ranking fifth. In previous years, we have been somewhat higher, so we are seeing a need to focus hard to maintain our level of standing in comparison to the other public universities within the state of Illinois. One challenge we have there is that the level of appropriations for salary increases are usually level for the universities. Therefore, if you are seeking to increase your standing, he said, it requires increased reallocation efforts on the part of the universities.

In summary, Mr. Cunningham said, Northern has a very good record and the Board of Trustees has a very good record of prioritizing salary competitiveness. It is our top strategic priority. We spend 80 percent of our budget on personnel. How well we compare in salaries is very, very significant to our performance as an organization. You saw that we are in a somewhat tenuous position with respect to comparability. This is true not only of faculty salaries but also staff and professional salaries, generally. We look to increase movement toward the NASULGC average over time. Our increment guidelines for Fiscal Year 2002 are a strong merit based program fairly consistent with traditional guidelines. We have very good methods of distributing increments on the basis of merit in the colleges. Secondly, additional increases targeted to the retention of critical faculty and staff, looking at longer term issues of growth and position, scope and long-term merit. Thirdly, an increase in our comparison to benchmark groups also incorporating the cost of living. These three priorities are the major things that we try to address each year in our increment programs, he said. In FY02, we will additionally focus on civil service staff, again emphasizing clerical and paraprofessional salaries. We integrated an enhanced increment of 2.2 percent for clerical and secretarial salaries in FY99, which greatly increased our level of comparability in the state. However, we are seeing a need to refocus on those groups as we move forward in time. Also in FY02, we intend to focus on the temporary faculty who teach in the core competency disciplines.

In closing, Mr. Cunningham said, we appreciate the attention and focus that the Board and the campus community have given to salaries. Northern has a very good record of reallocating resources toward salaries in addition to appropriated resources, and we look forward to continuing that in the future.

The Chair then asked for a motion to adjourn. Student Trustee Barr so moved, seconded by Trustee Boey. The motion was approved. The meeting was adjourned at 2:50 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Sharon M. Mimms
Recording Secretary