FACULTY SENATE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Minutes of September 13, 2006
(unapproved)

The Faculty Senate Executive Committee met at 2:00 PM on Wednesday, September 13, 2006, in 567 Capen Hall to discuss the following agenda:

1. Report of the Chair
2. Introduction and Report of the new Director of Public Safety Jerry W. Schoenle
3. Enrollment Management update
   Michael Ryan, Dean of Undergraduate Studies & Vice-Provost for Undergraduate Education
   John Ho, Acting Vice-Provost of Graduate Education and Dean of the Graduate School
4. The 2006 National Research Council Assessment of Research Doctoral Programs
   John Ho, Acting Vice-Provost of Graduate Education and Dean of the Graduate School
5. Report of the Distance Education Committee
   Profs. Phillips Stevens & Hank Bromley
6. Executive Session
7. Adjournment

Item 1: Report of the Chair

At the Chair's suggestion, the Committee approved cancelling next week's meeting because of the Dalai Lama's visit.

Professor Nickerson reported that the FSEC discussed, in executive session last week, the charges to the Faculty Senate Academic Planning Committee, in particular, the Provost's suggestion of the reorganization of the School of Informatics. The reorganization will be discussed as soon as possible, but only after obtaining input from the University community. Professor Lucinda Finley, Vice-Provost for Faculty Affairs, will be the representative of the administration to the committee. The Academic Planning Committee will also address the Memorandum of Understanding II, an agreement between UB and SUNY with regard to expectations for the future.

The SUNY Senate will meet in Albany from tomorrow (September 14) through Saturday to plan the agendas for the committees of the state-wide Faculty Senate.

The Professional Staff Senate Executive Committee met last week to discuss the annual Wellness Fair, in particular, how to extend it into a Campus Culture of Wellness, a year-round Fitness/Wellness Initiative, and how to organize and fund it.

Item 2: Introduction and Report of the new Director of Public Safety

The new Director of Public Safety, Jerry Schoenle, welcomed his return to Western New York after working in Arlington, Texas for eighteen months. He had served two years as an officer at the Attica Correctional Facility, then twenty years with the Buffalo Police Department, after which he spent five years as the Academy Director for Law Enforcement Training for all of Erie County. He has strong ties to the area, having been involved as a community activist in Amherst, as a member of the Town Planning Board, and had started the Eggertsville Community Organization.

He noted that the University Police Department benefits from having several veteran officers in its force, and that his long-standing connections to the Buffalo Police Department will help as the two forces work together on problems in the South Campus / University Heights area. President Simpson asked how the two forces coordinate their activities in this area. Mr. Schoenle replied that although they are separate entities --- for instance, the strong union of the Buffalo P.D. may not be able to approve of Mr. Schoenle's suggestion of joint patrols --- the city force regularly calls for assistance, especially in cases involving problem students in the University District. On the positive side, he noted, most students tend to be very respectful and cooperate with the police.

The problems are familiar: in addition to having to take several students to the hospital for forced alcohol examination, the police must also deal with cases of robbery and assault by some intoxicated students. The most common crime is theft arising from students' leaving their dorm rooms unlocked. Professor Dayton asked what role the University Police had in deterring crime. Mr. Schoenle thought the most important function in this area was "target hardening", educating students about how to avoid becoming victims of crime, teaching them basic personal safety guidelines. Also, a newly increased presence of police in the area has proven effective as a pro-active deterrent.


Item 3: Enrollment Management update

Vice-Provost Ryan reported on the academic profile of the freshmen at UB. Among the highlights he noted:

• The Mean High School average of accepted students is 93, that of enrolled students just slightly less at 92; similarly, the Mean High School rank of accepted students is 82% (=top 18% of the class), that of enrolled students 81%;
• 47% of the accepted students scored at or above 1200 on the SAT [critical reading and math] on a scale that ranges from 400 to 1600; the overall mean SAT average is 1178, the mean ACT score 26;
• Of the 1148 applicants who qualified for the University Honors Program, 291 actually enrolled, a number quite higher than the usual 200-250; and of these, 18 are Distinguished Honors Scholars, with a Mean High School average of 98% and an SAT score above 1500;
• 5% of incoming freshmen are international students from 30 countries (over 100 countries are represented by the overall undergraduate population).

The Office of Admissions is projecting an incoming full-time enrollment of 3334, surpassing a target of 3250 set in February, as well as 1550 transfer students. In terms of Mission Review Selectivity, the freshman class is comprised exclusively of G1 and G2 (as it has been since 2004) students, each group representing 50% of the class. For the period from 1998 to 2006, applications have risen by over 5,000, admissions and enrollments by over 500. The yield has been rising steadily from 29% to 32% overall, and from 22.5% to 25.4% among Group 1 Admits.

Among domestic students, 5% of the incoming freshmen come from out-of-state; although this percentage is down slightly from 6.2% in 2005, these most recent numbers represent a significant increase from 1.6% in 1995. Maintaining this upward trend in out-of-state recruitments will continue as a priority.

Although the mean SAT score is down from 1185 (2005) to 1178 (2006), Vice-Provost Ryan believes that UB has the best academically prepared freshmen class that UB has ever had; UB students on the average about 150 points above the national mean (about 175 above the New York State mean). One factor, suggested by the College Board, accounting for the [nationwide] drop in the SAT scores is the fact that fewer students retake the exam now; studies indicate that retaking the exam results in an average 30 points higher in the score. Of the UB students accepted, 35.2% took the exam only once, compared to 25.5% a year earlier. The mean GPA of transfer students at UB has been rising steadily.

Professor Ho, Acting Vice-Provost of Graduate Education and Dean of the Graduate School, reported that graduate enrollment at UB, which fell short of the 9,300 target by about 250 last year, will meet or slightly exceed that target this year; the number of new students increased to 3,004 from last year's 2,667. GRE scores have risen, with an increase in the verbal scores, the non-verbal scores holding steady. This year, for the first time, there was a minimum 3.0 GPA requirement for Ph.D. applicants; the Graduate School will ask departments this year to set this requirement for incoming M.A. students as well, although the final decision will be up to the individual departments. The Graduate School is also considering an increase in the application fee, at $45 currently among the lowest in the country; if there is an increase, the relevant unit will get some part of it in a revenue-sharing program. The units with highest graduate enrollment are Arts & Sciences (about 2000), Education (1300), and Engineering (1000). Those leading in meeting or exceeding enrollment targets are the School of Management, Social Work, and Nursing.

To Professor Wooldridge's question about the difficulties of processing international student applications, Vice-Provost Ho responded that, given the current environment with National Security, UB is actually ding quite well, and is lucky to have the assistance of lawyer John Popeil in this matter. Professor Rittner added that it would help immensely to improve communications on this issue, perhaps through a tutorial for those unfamiliar with the process, e.g., targeting/identifying specific problems and knowing what to do about them. Professor Danford noted that the School of Architecture, after investing heavily in building up its undergraduate program over the last ten years, is a victim of its own success in not being able to retain its best undergraduate students. In response to the rankings in U.S. News and World Report, Vice-Provost Ryan quoted a former Chair of the Engineering Dean's Council, "We are too good not to be better.", adding that several factors enter the rankings, including the institution's reputation, and UB is certainly looking into areas in which it could improve. Discussion then centered on enrollment targets as a result of negotiations between SUNY and UB, and as a function of balancing demand with available resources.


Item 4: The 2006 National Research Council Assessment of Research Doctoral Programs

Professor Ho then distributed summaries of the National Research Council's plan to assess doctorate programs once every ten years, last conducted in 1995, when "UB on the whole did not fare too well". The next review, now behind schedule, will be conducted this Fall and next Spring, and will be more than a "beauty contest". The study will consist of:

1. the collection of quantitative data through questionnaires administered to institutions, programs, faculty, and students admitted to candidacy (in selected fields);
2. the collection of additional program data on publications, citations, and dissertation keywords;
3. the design and construction of program ratings using the collected data.

A 15-person committee will conduct thee study, and their work will be supported by an 11-person panel that will address data collection. In rating and ranking, preliminary analysis will assign weights to key quantitative variables (to be identified either empirically or judgmentally). Once the weights are determined, the program rating is applied to the program-specific value of each variable. Another part of the preliminary analysis is an "anchoring study", or implicit derivation of weights, in which a sample of raters in each field is asked to rate a sample of programs on the basis of perceived quality of the program. Additional analyses may include and highlight highly specific components or program quality, labeled "Research Impact", "Student Support and Outcomes", and "Diversity of Academic Environment". Most important for UB is to submit the right data and to avoid the mistakes made in the last review.


Item 5: Report of the Distance Education Committee

Professors Stevens and Bromley presented to the FSEC the final report of the ad hoc Distance Education Committee. Included in the report, which is to be forwarded to the Faculty Senate Teaching and Learning Committee, are two recommendations:

1. The adoption of a general statement affirming that all existing policies governing instruction at UB apply to all activities bearing UB academic credit, regardless of the medium through which instruction takes place; and
2. The promulgation of guidelines addressing issues that do not arise in traditional face-to-face instruction. Such issues include
   1. ownership of course-related property,
   2. the use of externally copyrighted materials,
   3. technical support,
   4. advance notice to students of what technology and skills will be needed for successful participation in the course,
   5. student access to adequate, personal, and timely interaction with instructors and other students,
   6. access for off-campus students to services traditionally provided on campus (libraries, labs, advising, etc.),
   7. financial stability, i.e., funding sufficient to ensure completion of the program or course.

Incorporating these recommendations is the Committee's Draft Policy presented at the end of the report. Professor Adams-Volpe suggested that the report may want to reflect the new policy that requires off-campus students to pay the Technology Fee if they are to have any access to the electronic resources of the University libraries. Professor Rittner expressed considerable concern over the wording of Item II.A.2.c. addressing joint ownership of intellectual property in cases where "the university contributes support or facilities specifically to help create the given materials, beyond what is ordinarily provided to support the faculty/staff member's general work". Professor Bromley responded for such a case to apply, the University would (a) have to supply additional help in creating the materials and (b) that any division or sharing of property rights would need to be contractually settled prior to implementation or development of the materials. Professor Rittner also suggested explicitly including 'disability services' under Item II.F., "Student Services", and added that a statement in Item II.C. --- "All academic units shall ensure that adequate resources exist to support whatever mode of instruction they choose to employ" --- presumes something that is not always true.


Item 6: Executive Session




Item 7: Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at 4:07 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

Robert Hoeing
Secretary of the Faculty Senate


ATTENDANCE (P = present; A = absent; E = excused)

Chair:Peter Nickerson (P)
Secretary: Robert Hoeing (P)
Architecture & Planning: G. Scott Danford (P)
Arts & Sciences:Melvyn Churchill (P), James Faran (A), Debra Street (P), Kenneth Takeuchi (P)
School of Informatics: Joseph Woelfel (P)
Dental Medicine: Richard Hall (A)
Graduate School of Education:Jaekyung Lee (P)
Engineering & Applied Sciences: Cemal Basaran (A), Paschalis Alexandridis (A)
Law: Teresa Miller (A)
Management: Winston Lin (P)
Medicine & Biomedical Sciences: Daniel Amsterdam (A), Merrill Dayton (P), Linda Harris (A), James Hassett (A)
Nursing: Powhatan Wooldridge (P)
Pharmacy: Gayle Brazeau (P)
Social Work: Barbara Rittner (P)
SUNY Senators: William H. Baumer (P), Peter Bradford (P), H. William Coles III (P), Henry J. Durand (P)
University Libraries:Judy Adams-Volpe (P)

Guests:John B. Simpson (President), Michael Ryan (Vice-Provost / Undergraduate Education), John Ho (Acting Vice-Provost /Graduate Education), Phillips Stevens, Hank Bromley (Distance Education Committee), Barbara Burke (EDAAA), Kathleen Bissonnette (Student Affairs Director), Brianna Sieber (The Spectrum), Larry Labinski (Professional Staff Senate)

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