University of North Carolina
Minutes of the Eighty-seventh Meeting
November 19, 1993
The eighty-seventh meeting of the Faculty Assembly of the University of North Carolina was held in the Board Room of the General Administration Building in Chapel Hill on November 19, 1993. The meeting was called to order by the Chair, William Kane at 1:10 PM with 49 delegates in attendance. After a round of applause in honor of President Spangler and the General Administration for their efforts on the Bond Issue, Kane introduced President Spangler.
President Spangler's Report
President Spangler responded to criticism from the North Carolina Center for Public Policy Research concerning progress toward the goals of the Board of Governor's Report on Teaching and Tenure, by outlining steps that have already been taken in response to the Teaching and Tenure Report. He mentioned Administrative Memorandum 338, which instructs the campuses to insure peer review in the teaching evaluation process, the fact that an Ad Hoc committee of the Graduate Council is studying procedures for dealing with Graduate Teaching Assistants, and that the Board of Governors has a committee working on the establishment of teaching awards.
President Spangler concluded his remarks with a report on the status of several of the resolutions passed by the Faculty Assembly. The text of the President's report is attached to these minutes.
Vice President Little then reported on this year's enrollment figures for the University. The FTE estimate for the year is 130,045, an increase of 1.1% over last year and the headcount estimate is 150,330, a 1% increase. The average SAT score of new freshmen is 967, the highest since 1968. The number of beginning M.A. students increased by 1.5% this year, while the number of beginning Ph.D. students decreased by 10%. First time Professional student enrollments are up by 3%.
Questions and Answers
Q. S. Hoffman(UNCG). Will there be coordination between the statewide and local teaching awards to avoid conflicts?
A. Spangler. There are potential problems there, and that is the kind of question we want the Committee to address. Little. The Chief Academic Officers have been asked for input on the teaching award question. Suggestions from anyone are welcome, and may be sent to me or Dr. Carroll.
Q. P. Hunter(NCA&T). Shouldn't the campus Faculty Senates be asked for input in addition to the CAO's?
A. Little. The request to the CAO's was an attempt to gather information about experiences that the various campuses have had with awards.
Spangler. There is faculty representation on the awards committee.
Chair's Comments (William Kane-WCU)
Kane reminded the Assembly that the Faculty Assembly is, in a sense, the official "spokesman" for the faculty in the various campuses of the University, and that it is appropriate for the Faculty Senate of any campus to offer resolutions for consideration by the Assembly, and that it is important for the delegates to carry information from the Assembly back to the campuses. He distributed two documents:
1. A report on the disposition of Faculty Assembly resolutions, and
2. A copy of an editorial, "The Tasks Faculty Perform," by Russell Edgerton from Change, which addresses issues of faculty responsibility and effectiveness in the area of teaching.
Kane remarked that it is important for the faculty to understand public opinion concerning the University and that it is important that the faculty neither turn the University toward their selfish purposes nor create the perception that they are doing so.
Q. J. Walls(ASU). Do we know the time-table for the Committee on Teaching Awards?
A. Kane. The Committee was just formed.
R. Carroll. No report is anticipated before the March meeting of the Board.
Kane recognized Kate Brinko, Ed Niel, and Ben Ward, who will meet with the Academic Freedom and Tenure Committee. The Plenary Session was adjourned at 2:10 PM.
EVENING PLENARY SESSION
The second session was called to order at 7:10 PM by Chairman Kane with 49 delegates in attendance. Three documents were distributed:
1. a report on expenditures under budget flexibility,
2. a copy of Administrative Memorandum 338, and
3. an excerpt from Senate Bill 27, which establishes the Legislative Study Commission on the Status of Education at the University of North Carolina.
Kane gave a brief report on the features of budget flexibility and how funds were moved in the past year, as described in 1. He also reviewed some of the topics to be considered by the Legislative Study Commission, and suggested that these would be relevant topics for the committees of the Assembly to consider.
The minutes of the September 17, 1993 meeting were approved as submitted.
As specified in the Bylaws, a Nominations Committee was elected. Only five nominations for the committee were received, and they were elected. The Committee members will be: Etta Gravely(NCA&T), Larry Hough(ECU), Pamela Hunter(NCA&T), John Stevens(UNCA), and Joan Wall(ASU).
STANDING COMMITTEE REPORTS
Faculty Governance (George Bailey - ECU)
The Committee discussed topics for the Faculty Senate Chairs to address when they meet with the Assembly. The Chairs will be asked to discuss whether UNC code requirements are being followed on their campuses and whether they are satisfied with the form they take.
T. Dankel(UNCW) requested a show of hands to indicate how many campuses had secretarial support and offices for their Faculty Senates. Nine heads of delegations indicated that there was secretarial support and seven indicated that offices were available.
Faculty Welfare (Etta Gravely - NCA&T)
The Committee discussed the cafeteria of benefits and advantages of consolidation. They plan to gather information on salary equity, personal leave policies, and the proportion of EPA teaching positions devoted to non teaching positions.
The Committee introduced a Resolution (copy attached) on Health Care Premium Schedule Inequities(# 93-6). After some discussion, the Resolution was approved.
Planning and Programs (Peter Petschauer - ASU)
Petschauer reported on a study of the schedules of the UNC institutions. The study shows a gradual improvement in the number of days students spend in class.
Roy Carroll distributed a report to the Board of Governors on the enrollment estimates for the 1993-94 year, together with copies of the "Report on Institutional Assessment Within the University of North Carolina 1992-1993." The report contains statistics on freshman academic performance, retention and graduation rates, and numbers of degrees confirmed.
The Committee discussed the question of faculty workloads. It was noted that the Faculty Handbooks tend to focus on teaching loads and office hours. The Committee is interested in developing a more realistic definition of workload.
Academic Freedom and Tenure (John Stevens - UNCA)
The Committee, with the help of their guests, held three workshops on the evaluation of teaching. Kate Brinko, Coordinator of Faculty Development at ASU, led a discussion on Peer Evaluation; Ed Niel, Director of Instructor Training, Center for Teaching and Learning at UNCCH, led a discussion on Student Evaluations; and Ben Ward, Director of the Center for Teaching Excellence at WCU, led a discussion on Teaching Portfolios. The results will be written up and distributed.
The Committee is sponsoring a visit by Russell Edgerton, President of the AAHE, for a meal- time discussion at the February meeting of the Assembly.
The Committee is joining with the Professional Development Committee in its plans for a conference.
The Committee urges faculty to become part of an electronic bulletin board, The "North Carolina Faculty Forum Network," sponsored by the North Carolina Governance and Education Forum.
The Committee plans to send committee member Thad Dankel to the Second AAHE Conference on Faculty Roles and Rewards.
Professional Development (John Moskop - ECU)
The Committee welcomed three visitors: Ben Ward of WCU, Ed Niel of UNCCH, and Kate Brinko of ASU. The Committee reviewed a draft of a proposal for a conference on "Enriching and Evaluating University Teaching." The Committee proposes, working jointly with the Academic Freedom and Tenure Committee and the Institute for College and University Teaching at WCU, to plan and present this conference with financial support from the General Administration and the UNC institutions. The conference would bring together faculty leaders and administrators from each of the campuses to explore objectives, strategies, successes, and problems in fulfilling our shared commitment to excellence in university teaching. Committee members discussed possible times, places, participants, format, and budget for the conference. A revised proposal will be forwarded to the General Administration for action in the near future. The Committee also discussed programs and practices in the area of faculty professional development and teaching support at UNCCH and ASU with Ed Niel and Kate Brinko.
Moskop made a motion that the Assembly endorse the Committee's efforts toward the conference. The motion passed with no dissent.
Budget (Patricia Campbell - ECU)
Vice President Felix Joyner met with and briefed the Committee on the current University budget situation.
The Committee is working toward a survey of faculty participation in the budget on each campus. Committee members will contact representatives from each campus to gather information.
The Committee is also gathering information about UNC faculties and benefits as compared with other universities.
There was no further business, and the meeting was adjourned at 8:45 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Paul Duvall, Secretary