Draft Committee Meeting Minutes - December 12, 2002

BOARD OF VISITORS
Academic Affairs Committee Meeting
December 12, 2002—12:15 p.m.
President's Conference Room

MINUTES (draft)

Ms. Delores Archer called the meeting to order at 12:15 p.m. The following individuals were in attendance:

Committee Members Present:

Ms. Delores E. Archer, Chairperson
Mrs. Teresa Carrington
Mr. Jack Ezzell

Committee Members Absent:

Mrs. Maria Ortiz
Dr. Caspa Harris, Jr.

Members of NSU Staff Present:

Dr. Alvin J. Schexnider, Interim Executive Vice President
Dr. Elsie M. Barnes, Acting Vice President for Academic Affairs
Dr. Dorothy L. R. Jones, Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs
Dr. Curtiss Wall, President, NSU Faculty Senate

Other Board Member(s) Present:

Cpt. Fred Garner

Ms. Archer called for the approval of the minutes from the August 12, 2002 meeting. The minutes of the August 12, 2002 meeting were approved.

• Outstanding Faculty Award Nomination. Because of budgetary cuts, the amount of the monetary award has been decreased, but the number of awards will remain the same.

Dr. Barnes indicated NSU solicited ten nominees; five were submitted to the Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs, from which three were submitted to SCHEV for consideration, and at least one has advanced to the next level.

The following three NSU nominees were submitted to SCHEV:

• Dr. Page Laws, Honors Program, Department of English and Foreign Languages

• Dr. Mou-Liang (Jim) Kung, Chair, Department of Computer Science

• Dr. Raj Chaudhury, B.E.S.T Lab and Department of Physics

Dr. Barnes and Ms. Archer reiterated the competitiveness and stringent criteria of the award.

Dr. Barnes provided an overview of the ratios for (1) faculty to student and (2) part-time to full-time faculty. Specifically, noting the following trends:

• There has not been any significant difference in the overall ratio between faculty-to-student, from 15:1 to 16:1. (These numbers were recalculated in 2000 to reflect the new peer group.)
  

• The decrease in the number of adjunct teaching faculty and the increase in class size were two trends discerned.
  

• Mrs. Carrington questioned the lack of significant change in the numbers given the current budget situation and how to appropriately address constituents who questioned whether NSU was adversely affected by the budget cuts. Drs. Barnes and Schexnider acknowledged Mrs. Carrington’s concerns. They both provided background information relative to how Dr. McDemmond’s vision and fiscal management have positioned NSU in these tight budgetary times. There was consensus, however, that the University should enlighten various audiences, as appropriate, on the actual impact not reflected in the ratios as depicted. Thus, Mr. Ezzell recommended that the University develop a "Talking Paper," which members of the Board could use to assist them in answering questions regarding NSU’s fiscal position during the Commonwealth of Virginia’s tight budgetary situation.
  

• There has been a decrease in the number of small undergraduate class sections--classes with an enrollment of 2 to 9 students decreased by 3 percent, while classes with an enrollment of 20 to 29 students increased by 5 percent.
  

• There has been a decrease in the percent of lower-division enrollments taught by full-time faculty. This reflects a greater reliance on adjunct faculty, which is one of the consequences of budget cuts. Furthermore, as indicated in NSU’s Report of Institutional Effectiveness (ROIE) on SCHEV’s web site, "A higher percentage of courses taught by full-time faculty is assumed to be a positive indicator of academic quality, whereas a lower percentage of courses taught by full-time faculty may be a positive indicator of fiscal efficiency, since part-time faculty are generally less expensive than full-time faculty."

Dr. Wall indicated the Faculty Senate appreciates the open channel of communication and frequent dialogue between the Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs and the Faculty Senate.

He indicated that he would be negligent in the performance of his duties if he did not indicate the concern that some faculty members have relative to class size, especially at the upper division level, in light of the budget cuts.

Some discussion ensued about faculty teaching loads, whether these teaching loads hampered faculty from doing research, and what really motivated faculty members to do research.

Dr. Barnes and Dr. Schexnider elaborated on the vision and desire of NSU, which includes providing faculty members with the necessary incentives and infrastructure to conduct more research.

The Committee thanked Dr. Barnes for her excellent presentation, which facilitated the type of in-depth discussions Board members felt they should have. Also, the members reminded Ms. Archer that although her term for chairing the Academic Affairs Committee is ending in January, she may be chairing it again.

The meeting was adjourned at 1:50 a.m.

	Respectfully submitted,
	_______________________________
	Elsie M. Barnes, Acting Vice President for Academic Affairs
	_______________________________
	Delores Archer, Chair

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