Report to the MU Faculty by Rex Campbell Chair, MU Faculty Council Fall, 2006

MU Faculty Council Shared Governance with a focus on academic policy 30 elected members plus 4 non-voting members

2006 – 2007 Council Officers Chair – RRC Vice Chair – Jenice Prather-Kinsey IFC (Intercampus Faculty Council) Representative – Frank Schmidt (Frank is chair of IFC this year) Recorder – Clark Gantzer Board of Curators Observer – Laura Schopp Interim Web Editor – Sudarshan Loyalka Parliamentarian – Bryan Garton Staff – Rebekah Hart

Council Committee Chairs Academic Affairs – William Lamberson Diversity Enhancement – Wilson Watt Faculty Affairs – Edward Adelstein Fiscal Affairs – Tom Phillips Student Affairs – Michael Devaney

Three Types of Issues Finished Issues In Process Issues Future Issues

Issues – Finished Grades (William Lamberson) A new grade: “Fn” To be given as the final grade when a student drops out of school during the semester without officially withdrawing To be given as the final grade when a student drops out of school during the semester without officially withdrawing For administrative use only For administrative use only Will show only an “F” on the transcript Will show only an “F” on the transcript

Issues – Finished Family Leaves The Family Leave Policy that was approved by the MU faculty last spring is now in effect The IFC is now reviewing at President Floyd’s request, all types of leaves

Issues – Finished Non-Tenure Track Faculty A Brief Review – This creates four types on NTT faculty with three ranks in each: Clinical Clinical Extension Extension Research Research Teaching Teaching Assistant Professors, Associate Professors and Professors in each This policy is completed and is being implemented on all campuses

Issues – In Process Non-Tenure Track Faculty – (Edward Adelstein) On Columbia campus – we are in the process of adding NTT faculty as non-voting members of the Faculty Council

Issues – Finished Resolution on Diversity (Wilson Watt) The Faculty Council recently passed a resolution stating our commitment for equal treatment of all groups on campus regardless of their gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation or any other characteristics This was done in response to a comment made at the last Board of Curators’ meeting concerning “Queer Theory” courses

Issues – In Process Faculty Grievance Process (Robert Youngquist & Robert Torres – co-chairs) MU has a new three year experimental process We have finished the first year Seven grievances have been entered and are in process The new policy is working much smoother than the old The addition of a highly qualified investigative officer (Laurie Mintz) has been a major contribution Nevertheless, there are a few places where changes will need to be made

Issues – In Process Calendar (William Lamberson) Two versions are currently being considered The difference between the two is the starting date for the second semester either January 12 th or 19 th The 19 th seems to be the preferred version This will be voted on at the next Council meeting, November 2 nd

Issues – In Process Proposed “new” undergraduate multi- college degree program in “professional studies” It is a major revision of the General Studies Program Provost Foster is taking the lead in this Discussions are still in the early stages of what the degree might contain and all other aspects

Issues – In Process Academic Program Reviews (IFC) The Board of Curators is requiring that all academic programs be reviewed All 144 UM programs are being reviewed at the UM system level The program costs per credit hour are being computed based upon faculty salaries and other course costs and course enrollments (revenues)

Academic Program Reviews The basis for comparison is the results of a national study done at Delaware If a MU program costs are greater than 150% of the national average for the discipline, it will be subject to an individual audit In some cases, there will be extenuating explanations for the higher costs

MU Biological Sciences (partial example only) Unit National % Unit National % Departmental Average Cost per SCH: $193 $208 93% Costs minus Income - $66 SCH Fall SCH per Total Faculty FTE: % (Instructional Productivity) Research/Service per Ranked Regular Faculty FTE: (Grants Productivity)$177,683 $146, % Also included enrollment trends, degrees generated and number of majors and scholarly and service activities Let me emphasize that it is credit hour production that drives units cost efficiency

National Average Cost Per Credit Hour ($) National Average Cost Per Credit Hour By Discipline These are available for individual disciplines

Issues – In Process Spellings Report on the Future of Higher Education Frank Schmidt will discuss the IFC and MU FC initiatives on “accountability”

Issues – Future A few observations on the changing higher education Nation wide, there is movement towards undergraduate degree becoming even more of a general credentialing degree Nation wide, there is movement towards undergraduate degree becoming even more of a general credentialing degree In the not to distant future, almost everyone will be expected to have a degree In the not to distant future, almost everyone will be expected to have a degree Much like high school diplomas are today Much like high school diplomas are today

Issues – Future More and more students will start their post-high school studies in community colleges and then transfer to four year institutions This change has already impacted the UM metropolitan campuses UMSL has almost no freshmen students currently (about 4%)

Issues – Future This shift means that we must rethink our educational process including how we relate to community colleges Whether we think it is correct or not, transferability of courses from one institution to another will be mandated by state and federal authorities

Issues – Future Because more people will have the undergraduate degrees, increasing numbers will attempt to further differentiate themselves by getting a graduate degree We need to develop a “general studies” master’s degree

My Closing Thoughts The University of Missouri I entered in 1961 was very, very different from today’s university I strongly suspect that unless you are nearing retirement age, the MU from which you retire will be very different from that of today. The rate of changes will not slow down, rather it is increasing Changes are very difficult for conservative organizations like universities Good Luck!

The Faculty Council solicits your suggestions for campus academic policy issues that need to be addressed Please contact your college representative or send your suggestions to me What are your questions or comments?

Thanks