forum_200512
PROVOST'S FORUM
8 December 2005
This forum began at 8 AM with perhaps ten people present. By the end of the forum, there may have been twenty to twenty-five people present.
The Provost began his formal presentation by noting that approximately twenty-one faculty searches are moving along. Ten of these are for new positions and the other eleven are replacements. One to two replacement searches have been put off until next year. This sheer volume of searches is putting a toll on our resources.
Provost Kapelke noted that David Krause has informed him that the Sabbatical Committee (chaired by Jeff Schiff) has completed its work in reviewing eight applications for Fall 2006 and will soon send its recommendations on these applicants; the Provost will inform those faculty that are to be granted sabbatical in mid to late January 2006. Interviews for nine faculty who hope to go on sabbatical in the Spring 2007 term will occur early in the spring term. The Provost here noted that postponing sabbaticals is not a good idea; he stated that sabbaticals are for the professional benefit of a faculty member. He further encouraged faculty to take advantage of sabbaticals for their professional welfare and mental health. He further opined that what a faculty member who has had a sabbatical brings back to the college helps improve the quality of teaching.
Negotiations have gone well with Pfac. The negotiating team has been, in part: Steve Kapelke, Margaret Sullivan and Annice Kelly for the college and Joe Laicona and Peter Insley for PFAC.
[In fact, Pfac's own web site states "We have tentative agreement on a new contract, pending ratification by the Board of Directors on December 15 and by the members of P-fac immediately thereafter"].
The Provost then noted that an invitation was made to CFO Mike DeSalle to discuss the renewal of the pension plan; however he was not able to come to this forum. It is the understanding of the Provost that the current defined contribution plan will be continued for calendar year 2006 while the new "plan" is devised. The Provost further noted that the institution's contribution may increase.
The Critical Encounters in the Arts series was next discussed by the Provost. This year-long theme will be "examined" college-wide and for 2006-2007 deal with HIV and AIDS [In particular, the Dance Department will have a performance during that year choreographed by Peter Carpenter]. Topics for the series will change year-by-year as decided upon by the Teaching and Learning Committee. Faculty will have the opportunity to bring Critical Encounter in the Arts topics into their classes but no faculty will be required to do anything with this subject. Outside organizations will be brought in to these "topics"; community organizations can and will be brought in to also. The Provost then noted that it is his hope that all the Critical Encounters topics will deal with all of humanity; in fact future topics may include world hunger and human rights. Topics for this series would hopefully be identified perhaps three semesters ahead of when they might occur.
QUESTION/ ANSWER SESSION OF THE PROVOST FORUM
(I HAVE DONE MY BEST HERE TO CAPTURE THE ESSENCE OF THE Q/A SESSION).
Question
Can you provide us with an update on the teaching load adjustment plan?
Answer (Provost Kapelke)
There will be a special meeting of the Academic Affairs Committee of the Board of Trustees immediately after this forum to consider the plan.
Question
Can you update us on the Associate Provost position search?
Answer (Provost Kapelke)
Applications are being received and the search is moving forward.
A concern was noted here about the recent period where e-mail was down and the lack of communication about this problem. The Provost stated that our e-mail should never be down and that the college community should have known more about this difficulty.
Question
What about student use of OASIS?
Answer (Provost Kapelke)
Students should use OASIS for email. This is part of our culture and students should use OASIS.
A opinion was offered here that there may be a way to re-direct email from OASIS to personal email addresses. A further concern about how slow OASIS is during registration was raised by several faculty. The Provost responded by noting that OASIS is designed to handle the "needs" of our student body.
Question
What is occurring with the review of the tenure process?
Answer (Provost Kapelke)
I have a charge from the Academic Affairs Committee of the Board of Trustees to look at the tenure process in the Spring. Currently, the tenure process is cumbersome and workload intensive for both faculty and the administration. I want to look at the way we do the process.
A concern was brought up dealing with registration clearance of students and the need for faculty to be around in the "J-session" time period. The Provost noted that a goal of our new academic calendar is to give faculty time to work professionally. However, faculty, according to the Provost, should have an obligation of four to eight hours of registration "duty" during this "J-session". Provost Kapelke feels, though he is not involved in the registration process, that department chairs could deal better with scheduling faculty during the "J-session". A faculty noted that people are happy about the opportunity to work professionally during this time; registration complicates this.
Deans are already considering class cancellations and perhaps students should not wait until the last minute to register.
[This is complicated because a good percent of students are not able to register due to unpaid balances].
Questions
Can we close the "spigot" so students can still register but the process is slowed down? Can there be a disadvantage for students who wait to register? What about adding fees for those who register later? Would Mark Kelly make these decisions?
Answers (Provost Kapelke)
Mark Kelly and I would be involved in making such decisions. The idea of adding fees [for late registrants] might not be a bad idea. A larger discussion needs to occur on these issues and this would include I, Mark Kelly, Murphy Monroe, department chairs and faculty.
Other points brought up on this issue included the possibility of closing down registration during the holidays to give students an incentive to finish registration before the end of the semester. Financial aid issues to students were noted as a concern though such students could perhaps still be advised and cleared. A sense of urgency might be good for students to use OASIS.
Notes submitted by
Keith Kostecka
CCFO President
