Attending: Lorrie Clemo (presiding); Michael Ameigh (recording).  Yvonne Petrella, David King, Linda Rae Markert, Mehran Nojan, Fritz Messere, Tim Nekritz, Rhonda Mandel, Cathy Santos, Rameen Mohammadi, Mary Beth Bell, Joseph Moreau, Nick Lyons, Allen Bradberry.

Campus power outage:

Allen Bradberry, Facilities Design and Construction, requested input from the Council regarding setting a preferable date to connect electrical facilities at the new Village townhouses to the campus electric system.  This switch will result in brief power outages in various locations on campus over the course of one day.  Options are Thursday, September 30^th or Wednesday, October 6^th.

Action Item:

• Deans and directors alert department chairs, ask them to report any concerns regarding events/activities that would be affected to the Provost’s Office by next meeting of the Council on September 1^st.

Telepresence:

Joseph Moreau, Chief Technology Officer, reported the campus has acquired two high definition videoconference display systems on permanent loan from Cisco Systems.  One will be installed at the Metro Center, the other on campus. These devices make it possible to create a virtual space known as telepresence where individuals on both sides of the display screen appear to be in the same room.  Joe asked the Council to recommend locations on campus that may be appropriate for installation of the second display system. He invited the deans to explore possible uses of the system for delivery of instruction.

Action Item:

• Deans discuss this development with department chairs, suggest possible campus locations for installation of one system.

Small Class initiative:

Lorrie indicated the percentage of small sections– those with 19 or fewer students enrolled – is lower than desired for high quality instruction.  That percentage is currently around 50 percent.  We would like to see the percentage continue to climb upwards.

Action Item:

• Deans will work with Rameen to increase the number of sections where there is the opportunity to do so before classes begin on Monday.

Tuition increases:

Lorrie announced the SUNY Board of Trustees has passed a tuition increase for out-of-state residents and all graduate students beginning in the current academic year.

Action Item:

• Mike will request an update from the Bursar on how students will be notified and re-billed, will report to the Council at the next meeting.

Travel policy:

The Council discussed existing policy regarding faculty travel to professional conferences and academic meetings in light of the current budget situation.  It was suggested the Council review that policy for possible revision.

Action Items:

• The deans will consult with department chairs, offer suggestions for allocating travel funds in the 2010-2011 academic year.
• Mike will report back to the Council next week on travel expenditures for the 2009-2010 academic year.

Update on Graduate Programs:

David King, Dean of Graduate Studies and Research, provided an update on graduate programs either currently offered, in development or under consideration for development.  Lorrie urged deans to encourage departments to continue sending forward proposals for consideration as degree and certificate programs.  Attention to various delivery formats and modes should also be encouraged. Examples might include cohorts, accelerated instruction, and self-paced modules.

Branch Campus plan:

Yvonne Petrella, Dean of Extended Learning, reminded the Council that deadlines are looming for the first phase of drafting the application for Metro Center branch campus status.  Deadline for preparing the application is December 1^st.

Action Item:

• Deans will propose by October degree and certificate programs to be included in the application.

Announcements:

1. Mehran noted that guidelines for cross-registration of courses were sent to deans.
2. Fritz mentioned that Step Africa will perform in the Campus Arena on Monday night.  Oswego students in Phi Beta Sigma will perform with them.
3. Mike announced a new initiative to replace aging high-volume copiers and printers with a fleet of Xerox ColorQube multifunction devices.  These machines will be connected to the campus network allowing faculty and staff to print, copy, scan, and fax from their desktops.
4. Tim announced website editors are beginning to train on the new campus web platform, Ingeniux.

- adjourned