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Faculty Senate Fall Plenary
October 26, 2007
SUNY Cortland
Welcome
by Pres. Carl Wiezalis, Cortland President Erik Bitterbaum, and
Cortland’s faculty senator, Dr. Mary Ware. Dr. Ware welcomed us to
her campus. She spoke warmly and proudly of Cortland and her long
affiliation with the Faculty Senate. She encouraged us to bring new,
younger blood to the UFS. So to all of you, beware, we are looking….
Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton spoke movingly of the constitutional crisis
in our country, the tax cuts for the wealthy, Pres. Bush’s refusal to fund
medical coverage for our children (710 billion dollars spent on the military
and Iraq in this year alone!) She recommended that we reclaim our own
citizenship, study an important issue, use our voice as citizens, read outside
our fields, and see ourselves as citizens who are responsible for our country’s
health.
Dr.
Muriel Howard, president of Buffalo State, spoke of VSA, Voluntary System
of Accountability. Public institutions will each have their own college
portrait on the VSA website. Each portrait will have a 3-5 page
presentation, determined by each institution. Some of the items that may
be included are: demographic information, graduation rate, tracked success of
students (including students who transfer in and out of the institution),
retention rate, college cost estimator. Student perceptions and student
opinion surveys can be found at the site. Service learning will be
examined. Dr. Howard recommended that VSA could be used as a marketing
tool.
One of
the controversial pieces of VSA involved the learning
outcomes. Accrediting bodies and the U.S. Department of Education
are asking for this information. Standardized tests online to evaluate
critical thinking are being considered. A section of VSA entitled Reporting
Learning Outcomes shows learning gains from freshmen year to senior year.
Buffalo State has already tested their freshmen and seniors. They found
that their students are meeting some student expectations. Reportedly,
there are links where we may post our opinions. This theoretical model should
afford each institution three years to present any data it wishes.
Learning outcome sample sizes vary. AASCU and NASULGC fees are
waived. She encouraged us to investigate and strongly consider the VSA
initiative. Dr. Howard believes that public institutions should let
people know what a fine job the public schools are doing. Reportedly,
this information, if put on the web, could save admissions offices a tremendous
amount of time.
According to Dr. Howard, we are going to have to deal with assessment.
Dr. Spelling has pressured the accreditation organizations to demand assessment
information. Dr. Howard stated that we have been outsmarted. The
Spellings Commission did not pressure the institutions directly. The
Commission came in through the back door.
Faculty senators raised some strong questions. “Is it healthy to
compare our institutions? Is it healthy to sample 100-300 students on a
large campus? Will such a small sample give an accurate snapshot? Is it
appropriate to utilize information initially gathered for program improvement
to now be used for comparison of institutions?
Dr. Howard then left Cortland to go to South Korea!! Pres.
Wiezalis reported that 8 SUNYs had volunteered to engage in this
program. Provost Palm is not going to push this
program. (This was a direct quote. But I do not like the
phrase.) So at this point this thorny issue may not be on our
plate. We may be able to sit out Spellings. We expect that her days
are numbered, along with the current federal administration.
SUNY Assessment Initiative by Patty Francis (who will be leaving SUNY
Central and going to Oneonta)
National
outlook Spellings’ Commission Report
Spellings
outfoxed us by going after the accreditation agencies. These agencies are
now looking at student learning and institutional effectiveness. There is
a good level of congruence between VSA requirements and SUNY Assessment
Initiative. SCBA requires externally-referenced measures for assessment of
math, critical thinking and writing.
VSA pilot will kick off Nov. 7, 2007. SUNY campuses voluntarily
piloting the VSA program: ESF, Albany, Buffalo State, Oneonta, Purchase,
Canton, Cobleskill, and Maritime. They will have 4 years to get their
student learning outcomes data up.
She summed up that most campuses were in compliance with the necessary
assessment policies. Approximately 400 major assessment plans are submitted
annually. A better mechanism is needed for campus feedback.
Carey Hatch, Asst. Provost for library and informational services,
made a presentation on SUNYConnect. A program that is empowering campus
collaboration to improve library services. We still have 18,000,000 volumes on
the shelves. Usage on our electronic journals is phenomenal. His
department continues to investigate new information “discovery tools.” A
new SUNY Digital Library Proposal is a program to expand access to scholarly
electronic content for every student, faulty and staff in the State University
of New York. University wide negotiated pricing and licenses results in
lower costs for ALL campuses.
Razy Kased presented a SUNY Student Senate Assembly update. He
mentioned concerns: maintaining reasonable SUNY tuition rates, campus
security in light of VT, and greening of SUNY.
Several people spoke of promoting Service Learning in SUNY:
Dr. Erik Bitterbaum, Cortland President; Dr. J. Richard Kendrick, Jr., chair
of the Sociology/Anthropology Department and 4 students; Dr. James
Heffernan, executive director of New York Campus Compact. Dr. James
Heffernan, executive director of New York Campus Compact, relayed a student’s
comment to him, “The right way to improve one’s self worth is to help
improve the self-worth of others.” He encouraged us to get students
involved, get them registered to vote, get them reaching out to the community.
Dr. Heffernan told us that NYS is 50th out of 50 states for
volunteerism and our college students are 49th out of 50! Dr,
J. Richard Kendrick, Jr., is in charge of the SUNY Cortland Institute for Civic
Engagement. Their web site may be reached at www.cortland..edu/civicengagement.
Their list of activities was impressive. Their impact in the community
must be very positive. Four charming students presented their personal
experiences with community involvement. The range and depth of their
experiences were remarkable. We were encouraged to incorporate service
learning into our courses.
The Vice Provost for Diversity and Educational Equity, Pedro Caban,
presented his agenda. After giving us some information on his background he
told us that he hopes to position SUNY as one of the most successful university
systems in the area of diversity. Building alliances is one of his
goals.
Sector Concerns:
University Centers- concern raised over articulation agreements
that do not seem to work for transfer students. The committee recommended
that the following options be considered to smooth the way for transfers:
entrance exams for transfer students; summer programs or bridge programs;
increased contact between two-year schools and university centers.
Stipends for graduate assistants should be raised. Questions were raised
about VSA and whether it should be imposed without the consultation of
governance. Quantification of faculty course load was also discussed
University Colleges-concern raised over the VSA presentation and the
apparent loss of consultative responsibilities of UFS. Questions were
aired about the installation of cameras on campus without faculty
consultation. A concern for mentally disturbed students was posed.
The task force that was formed following the Virginia Tech tragedy is divided
between those who advocate a lock down mentality with strong police management
and those who wish to see student mental health issues addressed. One campus is
revisiting academic advisement and would like to establish a best practices
panel. Reportedly, Lloyd Constantine, Gov. Spitzer’s aide, would like the
SUNY system to adopt the Florida plan, codifying course numbers across the
system. For example, every introductory psychology course would have the
same number. There are obvious concerns here. There is no way to
verify that every school is teaching the same material in the same
manner. There is a fear that the culture of consultation has been
lost.
Health Science Centers-raised 5 points
a public health newsletter
a health care summit
SUNY conference for the 45 different licensed health care professionals to
identify their commonalities
a health education/care czar at SUNY System Administration dedicated to
health care issues
the hiring and firing of clinical faculty on yearly contracts without tenure
to allow the institutions to meet their financial bottom line expectations.
Colleges of Technology discussed comprehensive 5-year plans.
Specialized Schools discussed the number of schools that are adjusting to
new presidents and the number of them who are in the midst of presidential
searches. There was a good deal of discussion over the School of Ceramics
and the remarkable angst suffered over its future and the future of the two
Alfreds. Diversity was also examined, including gender and class
diversity.
raised the topic of merit vs. need scholarships (I don’t think I said
this.)
Campus
Governance Leaders- The CGLs remained concerned by the lack of regular,
effective consultation on many campuses. Additionally support for
effective campus governance must be increased. This includes clerical
support, release time for the CGL and others, office space, printing costs
etc. They discussed the VSA. None of the leaders had been
consulted. Two were told that their schools had “volunteered” to test out
the VSA. The CGLs noted that VSA does not and cannot measure students’
growth from internships and volunteerism. Additionally it was stated that
the executive summary of the “White Papers” was elitist with little concern for
campuses other than the University Centers with no mention of agriculture
programs
Saturday, October 27
Milton Johnson of the Community Colleges reported to UFS. He
touched on the issue of transfers and the difficulty they have with adjusting
to 4-year schools. He would recommended the establishment of centers of
public engagement on the community college campuses to address social
issues. He attended the first Board of Trustees meeting with new members,
Carl McCall and Carl Hayden, present. SUNY is responsible for more than
half of the charter schools in the state. There may be conflict between
board members about the role of SUNY with charter schools.
President Carl Wiezalis met with Lloyd Constantine. Two
highlights are the governor’s aide recommended that the SUNY system strive to
hire full-time faculty and that faculty pay increase. Constantine talked
of tuition waivers for children of UUP. Discussion ensued as to how that
might work. The Governor and his administration support our service
component.
Every campus should send a team to the Energy Summit in early
November. Contact Central Administration to register. Students
should be included. Registration is $100 per person.
Severe problems continue between Alfred Ceramics and Alfred
University. SUNY is deeply involved in the attempt to resolve the
matter.
Reports and Resolutions
Executive Committee-Norm Goodman
Diversity contributes to the quality of education. Provost Palm is
reportedly reconsidering the mission reviews process and MOUs. The
committee will also address transferability and the problems students face. A
resolution opposing the VSA implementation was enthusiastically passed (see
attached).
Campus Governance Leaders-Susan Camp
CGLs
continue to recognize the need to cultivate a strong relationship between
administration and faculty governance. Each time a new President or
Provost comes to campus, governance must collegially educate the administrator
as to the imperative role of governance in wise decision making.
CGLs will
develop a resolution for next Plenary regarding the engagement of
administration and faculty governance and support (monetary, clerical assigned
time) for strong, wise governance.
CGLs will
develop a template (letter plus other information such as a section within the
UFS Governance Handbook,currently in revision) to share with new CGLs,
Senators and administrators to foster effective administrator/governance
relationships.
CGLs
indicated the need for various mechanisms for faculty from specific disciplines
to communicate across SUNY.
The CGL’s will present a resolution for policies and training to support
CGLs on campus.
Graduate Committee-Peter Nickerson
This committee is addressing issues of guidance for gaining external
research funds. The committee is supportive of the upcoming energy
conference.
Governance Committee-Sharon Cramer
The committee recommends updating the SUNY Governance handbook every 4
years. They would also like to see an exploration of best and
most-promising practices.
Awards Committee-Sandra Michael
There is still a problem with campuses knowing about the awards
process. CGLs are encouraged to distribute the information to the
faculty. New guidelines will give a 5-year interval between Chancellor’s
Awards for Excellence, rather than the previous 10-year. Discussion
ensued over the Chancellors’ Awards eligibility for management-confidential
professionals who might be teaching a course a year.
Undergraduate Committee-Pat Carey
The new Internship Guide was highlighted. It is an instructional
booklet that suggested to me that Oswego is way ahead of the curve.
Student Life-Ed Feldman
The committee is still looking for data from some of the campuses. In
response to Susan Camp’s question, they will send out a list of the campuses
that have responded. The Critical Incident Task Report will recommend
1. an increase in mental health counselors, particularly on community
college campuses;
2. education of staff and faculty on potential behavioral risks to
identify;
3. a timely 24-7 emergency response processes in place, with an awareness
that a strict lockdown was not realistic; passive messages on cell phones
and email will be incorporated;
4. post-emergency support services.
If our campus has formulated practices they should be sent to Ed Feldman so
that a statewide best practices could be established.
Operations Committee-Joe Petrick
Resolution for a Comprehensive SUNY Digital Library was passed
No old business.
No new business.
**Resolution on the State University and the "Voluntary" System of
Assessment (proposal)
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