Faculty Assembly
Faculty Assembly Meeting Minutes
March 22, 2005
Members present: Christopher Abelt, David Armstrong, Deborah Bebout James Beers, Chandos Brown, Elizabeth Canuel, Clay Clemens, Alan Fuchs, Beatrice Guenther, Nancy Gray, Katherine Kulick, David Leslie, Tom Linneman, Alan Meese. Robert Orwoll, Ann Reed, Ron Rosenberg, Wanda Wallace, Tom White.
Ex-officio member present: Robert Archibald
Members absent: Robert Diaz, Lu Ann Homza
Others: Geoff Feiss, Sarah Stafford (APAC)
I. Call to order. President Abelt called the meeting to order at 3:32 P.M.
II. Approval of Minutes. The minutes for the meeting of 22 February 2005 were approved unanimously without changes.
III. Announcements. Chris Abelt announced that the modifications to the By-Laws for the Assembly have been forwarded to the BOV and will be considered at their April meeting.
Beatrice Guenther responded to questions about the number of awards recommended by the Faculty Research Committee (FRC). The FRC recommended the award of 45 Faculty Research Awards (FRAs); because one application was incomplete, 44 FRAs were recommended. There were 53 applications for Summer Research Grants (SRGs). Of the 31 SRGs recommended, 6 went to tenured and 25 to untenured faculty. The bulk of the awards to tenured faculty were supported by funds provided by the Christopher Wren Society.
IV. Provost's Report.
The Provost noted that the College is trying to finalize its budget. The proposed
budget will attempt to keep proposed increases to tuition and fees within the
range of our peer institutions. The proposed increases are as follows:
Approximate increase to tuition/fees: 9% in-state; 3% out-of-state
Faculty Raises will be in range of 5.8-6%; consistent with target to get us
to 60% in 3-years.
Administrative Salaries: 4% salary increases.
Classified employees: 2% plus $50 for every year after five years of service
The Provost announced that the College has begun the process of beginning to develop its 6-year financial plan. By Oct 1, the College must submit a 3-part plan: (1) enrollment plan, (2) 6-year financial plan, and (3) academic program plan. Legislation Sub-section B lays out 10 goals that must be addressed in restructuring plan. Eight of goals pertain to academic program (enrollment, time to degree, quality of programs, etc.). SCHEV has been empowered by the act because they are responsible for setting standards and providing assessment. In response, six new positions have been added at SCHEV. A planning group has been established, including members of SCHEV and college/university administrators, that is discussing the procedures that will be used to conduct these assessments. SCHEV and members of the administration at the participating colleges and universities hope to use reports already produced in order to avoid duplication of effort. Draft plans must be submitted by October 1st. However, SCHEV must submit standards by October 1st. These means that the colleges/administrators and SCHEV must work closely.
Part of plan is to provide 100% of financial aid to in-state students. State currently provides 20%. Some of tuition increase must be used to support financial aid.
Governor plans to veto part of plan that limits graduate assistantships to U.S. Students.
Our plant projects increases in graduate enrollment. Most of this increase is expected to be in the School of Business. Some possible in Arts & Sciences once Integrated Science Complex is on-line.
The Provost announced that Mitchell Reiss has moved to a new position in the Provost's Office. He will be working on large fund raising events. Provost Feiss is considering whether we need to replace the Associate Provost position.
V. Athletic Policy Advisory Committee (APAC) Report (Sarah Stafford): APACs
presentation included two parts: one was to provide information to the Assembly
about the committee's mission and reporting structure. The second was to deliver
a report to the Assembly,
Mission and Reporting Structure:
Stafford noted that APAC had strengthened and formalized its relationships and
outputs. It also made changes in its chain of command. A Mission statement was
drafted in 2002. As part of this Mission Statement, it established direct reports
to the President of the College and the Faculty Assembly.
APAC has added reports to the Faculty Assembly to its formal calendar. APAC's job is to notify entities if there is a problem, it is not required to solve problems. Copies of the mission statement and calendar were distributed.
The functions of the committee include: monitoring academic matters pertaining to student athletes, financial oversight, provide advice in response to various NCAA issues, and reporting.
Report:
Student Performance: The College's academic progress rate fourth in nation (trailing
Ivy's).
GPA: average 2.92 (lowest was 2.59 in football). Consistent with past years.
Freshmen Profile: Lower number of freshmen athletes this year. Percent in-state vs. out-of-state athletes differed this year. Stafford noted that the number of athletes is granted by the institution (BOV) but acceptances vary year-to-year.
Profile By Major: Wide variety of majors. Majority in social sciences but athletes across all departments.
VI. Fair Use Policy Draft (Abelt): A draft document outlining a Fair-Use policy
for the College was distributed prior to meeting. Abelt opened the floor to
discussion of the draft document.
Several questions were asked and discussed. It was noted that the policy pertains to classes that appear in catalog or are part of offerings of the institution. This would included programs such as the Chancellor's Academy.
Does this policy override journal policies? Policy was written in generic but not to supercede journal policies.
Recent article that has been published but is not in library's holdings yet? It was recommended that the instructor provide a link to site. The Provost noted that in cases where it is possible to link to a journal site, it is better to do so.
Reasonably limits student's ability to retain or distribute material? Not as important for printed material vs. piece of music or other. Cannot print unless file is downloaded.
Need to be as vigilant as possible.
Once a paper is accepted, only an abstract can be distributed unless you have copyright privileges. The Provost recommended that instructors contact the publisher when in doubt.
Foreign videos have been copied in the past because the format is sometimes incompatible with our equipment. The Provost responded that it is OK to make copies and allow them to be available in the language lab but it is not appropriate to post the films in a place with general access.
Penalties? Penalties will most likely arise because a holder of the copyright decides to bring a case against a faculty member or the institution. If a faculty member follows the guidelines in the fair-use policy, the institution will provide legal defense. If the fair-use policy was not followed, faculty members could be responsible for their own defense. The Provost pointed out that the responsibility lies with faculty member, not institution. An institution is obligated to have a policy and promulgate that policy.
One faculty member noted that the institution is responsible for IT and its security. Wording to reflect this should be added to the draft document.
The Provost will designate someone at W&M (probably someone at the Swem Library) to address questions of faculty and staff. It was suggested that a Frequently Asked Questions section be added to our website.
Following discussion, Clay Clemens made a motion to approve the Fair-Use Policy document distributed by Abelt and amended to reflect that the institution is responsible for IT and its security. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously.
VII. New Business (Abelt): Abelt proposed a motion, on behalf of the Assembly,
to congratulate Gene Nichol for his selection as the 26th President of W&M.
The motion was seconded and passed unanimously.
There being no additional business, the meeting adjourned at 4:40 pm.
Respectfully submitted by E.A. Canuel, Faculty Assembly Secretary.
