Faculty Advisory Council
February 13, 2019
8:00 – 9:00 a.m.
Hill 339
MINUTES
In attendance: David Hough, Jamie Atkinson, Sarah Baker, Megan Boyle, Tammi Davis, Jeni Hopkins, Kayla Lewis, Debra Price, Kim Roam, Tuesda Roberts, Sharon Lopinot
Guest: Judy Gregg
1. CAEP Update
Judy Gregg updated the group on CAEP. The Self-Study was uploaded in AIMS on January 29th. The Self-Study will be critiqued by the CAEP Site Team once that group has been assembled, and then we will receive a preliminary report back. We do not know who is on the CAEP Team yet, but we will be able to address questions they have after the Site Team contacts us. This is called the “Formative Feedback” phase. The CAEP Site Team visit is scheduled for November 3 – 5, 2019. Judy said the MSU COE CAEP Writing Team will continue to gather information from until that time. Dean Hough stated that he finds every facet within every Standard to be fully addressed in our Self Study Report. The only areas he believes CAEP might site to be weaknesses are those programs that have not reviewed data to make changes that have been assessed for effectiveness. The Dean and Judy agree that our strength is our Continuous Improvement Seminar meetings wherein program faculty review CIQAPPs. The CAEP Site Team will also want to see what we have been doing since our Self Study was submitted. Judy handed out information on evidence that the Writing Team is looking for that needs to be collected continually. Judy is going to discuss this with EPPC later today and at department meetings and at Leadership Council. Information should be emailed to Judy and Travis Marler. They will put it with the right standards and cross-reference as needed. Regarding meetings, include a list of those attending, their titles and a short summary. This should be anything related to students and partnerships. Send information on presentations if they pertain to a standard. Also send information on research. The Dean is going to talk to department heads on how to gather information regarding program changes that have been made and why based on the University curriculum review process and course evaluation processes.
2. Recruitment & Marketing Proposal
The Dean handed out a draft document regarding a proposal which needs to be submitted to the Provost by March 5th, regarding increasing enrollment, retention and enhancement. The Provost’s Office has allocated $500,000 for this purpose. All colleges will be applying for funds. The Dean estimates our college will receive around $70,000. Everyone briefly read through the proposal and thought it was a good proposal for our college. Dean Hough asked if we were leaving anything out of the proposal that is in need of funding. It was suggested that we ask newly admitted students if there was a “Bear”, or teacher, in their building that influenced them. We will focus on recruiting students, which would involve producing short videos, traveling to schools, the Bear Partnership week-long residential program or a recruiter.
3. Budget
The college deans have with President Smart on two occasions to discuss the budget for FY 20. Details will be discussed with the Executive Budget Committee next week. Dean Hough believes COE should develop a prioritized list of budget areas, so we will have direction should we be asked to develop a plan in the near future. The Dean handed out information on student enrollment and the number of faculty by departments Fall 2012 – Fall 2018. In Fall 2015 we had 2,151 students and 62.6 faculty. Fall 2018 shows 1,852 students and 66.4 faculty. This does not include per course or summer teaching. Enrollments are down, especially students from underrepresented groups. Unless the budget situation changes by May 2019, the University would need to identify approximately $5 million. Most of the COE budget, 98%, is for personnel so this is where we may need to look to make cuts/changes. The Dean asked if we should be strategic or cut across the board. The FAC supported strategic cuts in areas where enrollments are low, not where programs are growing. The Dean’s Student Advisory Board discussed that some classes could have more students in them (re: lecture classes) and some (methods) should be reduced in size. Some classes could be combined or eliminated. Dean Hough said we need to look at credit hour production. If recruitment and enrollment goes up cuts would not be necessary. The University is currently down about 600 freshmen for the fall. Tuition can only be increased so much. We need to come up with a plan. If things change we would make adjustments. Everyone agreed that our number one priority is students, increasing class size is not good, and tenure track faculty should be protected. If clinical faculty are cut, how do you absorb the classes? The deans would like to see a new policy created that would allow them to move resources so there is flexibility to work with programs not producing to those that are growing. Everything comes down to personnel. We are an expensive college. The Dean will also be discussing this topic with Leadership Council and Budget Committee this week.
Meeting adjourned at 9:21 a.m.
Submitted by Sharon Lopinot, Executive Assistant II