{"id":1392,"date":"2019-10-09T15:39:11","date_gmt":"2019-10-09T21:39:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/faculty-staff\/?p=1392"},"modified":"2020-10-09T15:40:13","modified_gmt":"2020-10-09T21:40:13","slug":"october-2019-minutes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/faculty-staff\/2019\/10\/09\/october-2019-minutes\/","title":{"rendered":"October 2019 Minutes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Minutes of the Faculty Senate<\/strong>
\nDWR 205
\nOctober 17, 2019<\/p>\n

Present: Senators Zia, Logan, Huang, Oden, Boumtje, Lowther, T. Schroeder, S. Schroeder, Tucker, White, Wise, Fanning, Wilson, Shirey, Hurdle
\nEx-Officio: Leigh Labit, Jennifer Rowsam, Trey Berry, David Lanoue, Donna Allen, Roger Giles, Kim Bloss, Amanda Anderson<\/p>\n

Call to Order at 3:41<\/p>\n

Proxies \u2013 Wilson proxy for Testa; Oden proxy for Stanford
\nI. Approval of Minutes:
\nMinutes from October 17, 2019 [motion \u2013S. Schroeder, second \u2013 Oden]\n

II. Special Orders of the Day:
\nPresident T. Schroeder discussed the budget meeting called by the administration. The COLAs were addressed during the meeting. He summarized that the three ways to get a COLA increase is tuition, increase enrollment, or retain better. President T. Schroeder discussed that since an enrollment increase and an increase in tuition were not likely, the only way to possibly get a COLA would be retention. Also discussed that COLAs were unlikely for this year and that overloads would be necessary. He made the point that faculty don\u2019t normally discuss retention; so, this is a learning process for all. He said that the meeting was not what he thought it would be. He had 2 pages of questions that he didn\u2019t ask because he felt like to focus was more on retention, than on budget. He discovered during the meeting from Vice-president Reed lab that fees roll over from year-to-year. He emphasized that shared governance is important. Also, he asked that if there is a decline in the residence hall occupancy, then why did we build them? He asked that if we are growing, then why are supplies and services being cut? He was also concerned that if minimum wage has increased, but student worker budgets haven\u2019t, that is problematic. He also asked how the new trap shooting program is being funded and why is the office beside Dr. Berry\u2019s office? Another concern is the Love and Loyalty campaign. He said that the faculty don\u2019t receive updated and that the funds need to be considered for professorships and endowed chairs. He also asked if donors realized the needs of academic departments. He is surprised at how the budget process is not more transparent. He suggested that the faculty be more involved in the budgeting process and emphasized shared governance. He asked Dr. Lanoue to clarify.<\/p>\n

Dr. Lanoue indicated that he agreed with President T. Schroeder\u2019s summarization of the budget and retention meeting. He explained that COLAs are based on new money and that sources of new money are enrollment, retention and tuition increases. Dr. Lanoue said that it is not wise to have a budget based on growth. He wants input from all level.<\/p>\n

He emphasized that we must be careful about tuition increases as well as inflation. Students are pressed economically. However, SAU has not given up on enrollment. There is a drive to be creative in offering new programs. SAU is working on a number of different programs to help entice new students\u2014engineering, public health, etc. He apologized for not being clearer. Dr. Lanoue said that he doesn\u2019t know if the new programs may or may not be successful. Because basing a funding model entirely on enrollment is not wise, it is important to explore retention strategies, as well. Also, the state of AR is not growing in population\u2014we will not succeed on recruitment only. He explained that the recruitment staff is excellent, but SAU will also need help from everyone to increase retention.<\/p>\n

Dr. Lanoue discussed shared governance, and he felt that it was important. He also said that he understands the reasons that President T. Schroeder didn\u2019t ask budget questions. However, he wants to hear all the questions and that he wants the faculty to have has much information as possible about the budget. As far as residence halls, SAU needed to find a place to house our students. We would not want to send the students home. Because there were not many rental units, new residence halls were necessary. Dr. Lanoue responded that there has been feedback that students would be willing to pay more for a private room. So, if the residence hall occupancy declines, then revenue could be generated in that way.<\/p>\n

Dr. Lanoue said that the drop in enrollment was anticipated. However, the enrollment decline has come sooner than was anticipated. Another analysis is the Scholarship Task Force, which is in place to discuss the discount rates. He said that we can\u2019t compete against every program or initiative that other schools use; however, we want to hold our market share. It is important to talk strategically and allocate resources effectively.<\/p>\n

President T. Schroeder asked if our growth coincided with a scholarship increase or recruitment.<\/p>\n

Dr. Allen answered said that scholarship amounts have not increased scholarship levels, but because the freshman class is larger, the amount spent on scholarships has increased. Also, the higher retention rates have increased the amount of scholarships given. She mentioned that some of SAU\u2019s counterparts have more scholarship dollars given, but we can try and keep up with everyone else. We have to be strategic.<\/p>\n

Senator S. Schroeder explained that is frustrating to see small academic programs go without money and resources when there are new programs and Trap Shooting teams being added.<\/p>\n

Dr. Berry spoke and explained that SAU has worked very hard to come up with creative academic programs \u2013 marine biology, game design, international business, BFA in a state school–adding the Trap Shooting team is similar. We want to draw students through academic programs as well as activities. So, we have tried adding a Trap Shooting team. There have been donation from donors who specifically give to certain areas. For example, a financial gift from banks and others in town have helped to fund the new programs. There will be 45 students on the Trap Shooting team in the fall. Also, we are going to focus on boosting current academic programs, new academic programs, athletics, and student affairs activity. The Trap Shooting coach is across the hall from president because it was an empty office so that the University can help him because he wasn\u2019t from academia. He explained that 2\/3 of the students on trap team would not be here if it were not for the trap shooting team. Publicity is because they are new and that is necessary to encourage interest.<\/p>\n

President T. Schroeder explained that he is not surprised that there was a donation to the Trap Shooting facility to faculty that there was a donation to the facility. He is concerned that there doesn\u2019t seem to be the same initiatives to help academic departments.<\/p>\n

Dr. Berry said that he disagreed that there was not the focus for fundraising for academic programs. So, he asked for President T. Schroeder\u2019s permission to get Josh Kee to speak at the next meeting about the fundraising initiatives for faculty and academia. President T. Schroeder agreed.<\/p>\n

Senator White added that information is not disseminated to faculty properly. He emphasized the importance of administration and faculty working together. He asked what the expense was to start a program and what is the percentage of revenue that SAU makes per student?<\/p>\n

Senator Tucker added that there are existing programs need more attention, but don\u2019t get money from the foundation. He wanted to know why funds were put into new initiatives and not current programs.<\/p>\n

Dr. Lanoue added that there are restricted and unrestricted funds, which can limit how funds are distributed. He explained that sometimes donors specify the fund designation.<\/p>\n

Senator Tucker shared that Dr. Rudy Eichenberger donated $10,000.<\/p>\n

Dr. Berry stated that there are some exciting opportunities in the area of fundraising. He said that he couldn\u2019t discuss details at this point due to confidentially. However, there are great opportunities coming up.<\/p>\n

Dr. Lanoue explained that Josh Kee makes trips to visit donors in which he invites faculty and staff to join him. He stated that there is faculty representation on the budget committees. However, he said that there is room for improvement in sharing information with the faculty. He said that he is happy to take greater responsibility that messages get conveyed back and forth. We have representative processes, but we need to take better steps to make sure that information gets disseminated.<\/p>\n

He shared that the Nursing program has been accredited. Also, the College of Business had good report.<\/p>\n

III. Committee Reports:
\nSenator S. Schroeder reported on Handbook committee progress. Annotations by Dr. Lanoue will be combined. The HR policy will has been revised to replace old paper-based student evaluations. There was a handbook change regarding which faculty members are eligible to vote for Faculty representation. The revision would allow full-time instructors to vote for their representatives.<\/p>\n

Motion passes<\/p>\n

Senator White gave the Faculty Senate Budget Committee Report
\nMembers of the Faculty Senate and Vice President Reed met on Friday, October 4.
\nThe next committee meeting is scheduled for Friday, November 1, 2019.
\nFaculty Senators present at the meeting included Senator Lowther, Senator Logan, Senator Zia and Senator White.
\nThe following is a summary (in no particular order) of topics that were included in the 10\/4\/19 meeting:
\n\u2022 Vice President Reed offered to provide the budget committee members (Senators Lowther, Testa, White and Zia) printed copies of the current budget book to help guide the group in answering questions and finding data in future meetings.
\n\u2022 SSCH (student semester credit hour) as another revenue lens as opposed to FTE (full time equivalent)
\n\u2022 Discussion of the approximately 30 metrics utilized by the State to determine performance funding
\n\u2022 What kinds of qualities contribute to a student choosing SAU?
\n\u2022 A formalized budget review process analogous to the class schedule process.
\n\u2022 Discussion of how much of SAU\u2019s SSCH production earns real cash to the University\u2019s revenue.
\n\u2022 Discussion of how much the residence halls contribute to the real cash revenue of the University.
\n\u2022 Discussion of the actual expenses attributed to SSCH production (e.g. anything placed on any transcript).
\n\u2022 Discussion of the actual expenses attributed to the operation of residence halls.
\n\u2022 Discussion of student-debt (when they owe money to SAU) policies and class registration.
\n\u2022 Discussion of instructional costs by faculty classifications.
\n\u2022 Discussion of SAU\u2019s fixed costs
\n\u2022 Philanthropic works in progress\/attainted that directly impact faculty salaries and benefits.<\/p>\n

Scholarship Task Force needs a motion and 2nd need vote because there it is not a standing committee. [motion \u2013Logan, second \u2013 Oden]\n

Senator White gave the SAU Scholarship Task Force report
\nThe SAU Scholarships Task Force is an ad hoc committee tasked by President Berry to consider ways to leverage our scholarship offerings to meet student needs while supporting the long-term goals of the institution.
\nMembership of this task force includes all four academic deans (Bachri, Bloss, Langerbein, Sronce), VP-Lanoue, VP-Reed, VP-Allen, Associate Dean of Enrollment Services-Shelly Whaley, Assistant VP of Enrollment Services-Sarah Jennings, Director of Recruitment \u2013 Makenzi Hamilton, Director of Financial Aid \u2013 Marcela McRae-Brunson, Executive Director of the Foundation \u2013 Macy Braswell, Director of Enrollment Relations \u2013 Amanda Anderson, and Senator White.
\nThe whole task force met on Sept 26. President Berry appointed Dean Bloss and Assistant VP-Jennings as co-chairs of the task force.
\nThe whole task force met again on October 7, 2019.
\nSubcommittees were formed on Oct 7, 2019. Senator White is participating in a subcommittee that is studying work study and performance scholarships and requirements. This subcommittee met on October 16th.
\nThe next scheduled meeting of the whole task force is scheduled for October 21, 2019.
\nSummary:
\nNo formal recommendations have been made as of this report.
\nThe task force is concerned with meeting the needs of emerging and growing populations such as the nontraditionally-aged students.
\nThe task force has been informed that other institutions are utilizing our publicly available scholarship information in a manner that benefits them on the initial offering despite the fact that our scholarship offerings typically serve the students with more services and products over the long-term.
\nWorkstudy, Leadership and Service (Performance) scholarship requirements are being researched and considered.
\nIV. New Business
\nPresident Schroeder – Cell phone policy needs to be discussed at the next meeting.<\/p>\n

Motion to adjourn
\n[motion \u2013Logan, second \u2013 Oden]\n

V. Meeting adjourned at 4:55<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Minutes of the Faculty Senate DWR 205 October 17, 2019 Present: Senators Zia, Logan, Huang, Oden, Boumtje, Lowther, T. Schroeder, S. Schroeder, Tucker, White, Wise, Fanning, Wilson, Shirey, Hurdle Ex-Officio: Leigh Labit, Jennifer Rowsam, Trey Berry, David Lanoue, Donna Allen, Roger Giles, Kim Bloss, Amanda Anderson Call to Order at 3:41 Proxies \u2013 Wilson proxy… Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":564,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[8422],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1392","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-minutes","7":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/faculty-staff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1392","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/faculty-staff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/faculty-staff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/faculty-staff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/564"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/faculty-staff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1392"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/faculty-staff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1392\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/faculty-staff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1392"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/faculty-staff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1392"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/faculty-staff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1392"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}