Faculty Senate Meeting Minutes
October 19, 2006

Senators: Doug O'Roark, Bill Tiernan, Judy Goodhart, Barbara Borst, Steve Werman, Josh Butler, Jane Arledge, Kristen Hague, Tim Casey, Tim Hatten

Guests: Cathy Barkley, Shannon Robinson

Minutes Secretary: Jessica Cowden

I. Classroom Building

The Faculty Senate attended a presentation given by the architects from Design West who are designing the new academic classroom building. Goals and concepts were discussed, including the need for flexible and safe facilities incorporating a design that would help establish a more consistent architectural direction for the campus. The architects will return in three weeks with more specific floor diagramming and 3D computer modeling.

Following the presentation the Senate discussed a number the positive aspects of the design as well as some concerns. Casey expressed the need to amend the room scheduling process to best fit the technological needs of each individual course and instructor. There was also discussion on the funding of the Houston Hall remodel.

II. Minutes Approval

The motion was made, seconded, and passed to approve the Faculty Senate minutes from September 21, 2006. (Arledge/Casey)

Hatten posed a question as to why the Senate doesn't receive and approve minutes from all of the standing committees. Arledge asked if the Senate should ask someone to transfer the structure and procedures of the standing committees to the new version of the Faculty Handbook and/or the MSC website. O'Roark suggested inviting a representative from Academic Policies to attend the next Senate meeting to discuss these issues. Hatten agreed to invite the committee chair to the next meeting.

The motion was made, seconded, and passed to approve the Curriculum Committee minutes from September 28, 2006. (Tiernan/Werman)
Discussion: The proposal has been made that curriculum changes be discussed and approved by the Department Heads at their meetings. It was suggested, however, that the status quo is working because there are representatives from each discipline on the Curriculum Committee who can identify potential inter-departmental problems. The Senate also felt that adding another step to the process would make an already lengthy process even longer.

III. Faculty Trustee Report

Doug O'Roark updated the Senate on the recent Trustee meeting that took place over Fall Break:
" The Legislature established a statute that all Boards must look at faculty pension plans to ensure that they are adequate for liability purposes. Tim Foster asked the Board if we should re-approach PERA to see if they might be able to offer the faculty a better plan. The possibility exists that the faculty could buy their way back into PERA. The study, however, suggested that reasonable options are already currently offered at Mesa State College.

" Variable tuition options are being discussed that would establish different tuition prices for different programs, specifically targeting programs that are more expensive to run. The current system forces students in low cost programs to carry the more expensive programs even though the high cost programs usually result in higher paid careers. The Board is closely examining the effects this system would have on recruiting and retention. Many schools are moving toward a variable tuition scheme.
o Discussion included the possibility for this issue to be addressed in increased lab fees rather than tuition.

" The Board is also in the process of restructuring WUE to reflect COFF tuition. Tuition rates for WUE students will increase as of next year.

" The state legislature passed a law last year requiring that all state Boards be balanced in terms of political affiliation representation. This will require some restructuring of the MSC Board.

" O'Roark encouraged the Senate to consider amending the Faculty Trustee position to be a 4-year position rather than 2-year. This would align the position with the term limits of the Board members.

" A handful of changes to the Policy manual were proposed that were not on the Board agenda and many concerns were raised over that issue. O'Roark and others convinced the Board to allow him to bring the proposed changes to the faculty before the Board discusses approving them at the next meeting.

IV. Conclude HR Application Form Issue

Hatten reported back to the Senate regarding a recent discussion with Barbara Case-King, Director of HR, during which he presented the Senate's motion from the previous meeting regarding the newly implemented HR application form. She stated that MSC will proceed with the process for this year and will possibly review at year end. She also respectfully declined the Faculty Senate's respectful request motion. Hatten was satisfied with the outcome, believing that substantive changes had been made. Senators Casey and Arledge respectfully disagreed.

Meeting adjourned at 5:20 pm

Respectfully submitted,
Jessica Cowden
Minutes Secretary