Faculty Assembly

University of North Carolina

Minutes of the Ninetieth Meeting

September 16, 1994

The ninetieth 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 September 16, 1994. The meeting was called to order by the Chair, William Kane at 1:30 PM with 41 delegates in attendance. The delegates were asked to introduce themselves, and the officers were introduced.

Kane then introduced President Spangler.

President Spangler's Report.

President Spangler reported that, according to preliminary figures, the University has over 160,000 students enrolled this fall. He reviewed the recent activities of the Board of Governors and the General Assembly, and introduced Ken Grogan, Associate Vice President for Finance, who gave an overview of the University budget for the current year. After Mr. Grogan's remarks, Mr. Spangler recognized D.G. Martin and R.D. McMillan for their work with the General Assembly. He congratulated Jay Robinson for his election as Chair of the North Carolina Board of Education, and announced that Dr. Richard Thompson will join the General Administration as Interim Vice President for Academic Affairs. Mr. Spangler concluded his remarks with a review of the status of recent Faculty Assembly resolutions. (The text of Mr. Spangler's remarks is attached.)

Questions and Answers.

Q. L. Hough (ECU). Library faculty did not benefit from the full salary package. Is there an equitable remedy for this?

A. K. Grogan. The definition of eligibility came from the General Assembly.

Q. A. DeCasper (UNCG). Why was there no merit increase for SPA employees in the salary package?

A. K. Grogan. Our understanding is that the State Employees preferred an across the board package.

Q. M. Parish (UNCW). Is it possible to allow for UNC faculty to teach at other campuses within the system?

A. W. Little. That is under consideration.

Q. W. Kane (WCU). Do the budget flexibility provisions still require annual reports of the use of funds?

A. K. Grogan. Yes.

Deborah Langsam (UNCC) introduced E.K. Fretwell, past Chancellor at UNCC and Chair of the Governor's Educational Standards and Accountability Commission. Dr. Fretwell reported on the activities of the Commission. In particular, he expressed the Commission's concern over young people's lack of communication and number skills, as well as the lack of ability to work in teams and apply knowledge. The Commission hopes to develop a realistic and workable list of standards.

Chair's Report.

Kane announced that the Assembly's meeting dates for the remainder of the academic year will be November 18, 1994, February 3, 1995, and April 21, 1995.

The following items were distributed to the delegates:

1. a list of delegates and their addresses,

2. a list of standing committee assignments,

3. a report on the disposition of Faculty Assembly resolutions (attached),

4. information on the North Carolina Faculty Forum List-Server (attached), and

5. a copy of an editorial by R. Edgerton in Change on excellence in teaching.

The session was adjourned to committees at 3:00 PM.

EVENING PLENARY SESSION

The second session was called to order at 7:10 PM by Chairman Kane with 41 delegates in attendance.

STANDING COMMITTEE REPORTS

Planning and Programs (Peter Petschauer - ASU)

Petschauer introduced Troy Barksdale, Assistant Vice President for Planning, who gave a brief review of a recent survey of 1991-92 UNC graduates.

The Committee discussed a draft of the UNC Long Range Plan, 1994-1999. There was much discussion about the ramifications of universities requesting authorization to plan new programs without corresponding reductions in existing programs.

The Committee has begun the process of collecting data on the schedules for the campuses.

The Committee discussed the implications of the reduction of student/faculty ratios to 16/1 at the comprehensive campuses.

The Committee will consider preparing resolutions on ecological concerns and class size.

Budget (William Keech - UNCCH)

In the coming year, the Committee will consider

1. The preparation of a document summarizing general state and university budgeting procedures,

2. the preparation of a report on faculty participation in the budget process on each campus,

3. the issue of the budget line definition of teaching faculty.

Faculty Welfare (Etta Gravely - NCA&T)

Gravely reported that the Committee discussed the information on faculty morale gathered from the campuses last spring, and that some of the information was incomplete. She asked that the head of each delegation send the following information to her by November 1, 1994. Has the campus conducted a faculty morale survey since January 1, 1990? If so, please share with the Committee a copy of the survey instrument, details of the population surveyed, and the response rate.

Kitty McCollum provided the Committee with information concerning the cost of financing a health insurance premium for the category of employee and spouse. The cost would be more than the category of employ and family. In the light of this information, Gravely offered a formal motion that Faculty Assembly Resolution 93-6 be rescinded. After some discussion, the motion passed.

The Committee will also address the rights and privileges of domestic partners and dependent children at a future meeting.

Faculty Governance (George Bailey - ECU)

The Committee will consider the following items this year:

1. whether the use of mediation, arbitration, or an ombudsman would improve the effectiveness of faculty grievance processes;

2. means for improving faculty and administration preparation for participation in shared governance;

3. consideration of a resolution that faculty evaluations be balanced with administrator evaluations;

4. consideration of recommending that the current emphasis on faculty accountability be balanced by emphasizing the creation of new procedures for holding administrators accountable.

Professional Development (Harmon Watson - FSU)

Watson distributed an interim report on the recent Conference on the Evaluation and Enhancement of Teaching. A final report will be prepared using the results of the various campus action groups which are following up in the conference. The Committee stresses the importance of faculty participation in the evaluation of teaching.

Academic Freedom and Tenure (Thad Dankel - UNCW) Dankel distributed the Committee's white paper, Improvement and Evaluation of University Teaching, and expressed the Committee's pleasure over the President's distribution of Suggested Guidelines for Evaluation of Teaching (Resolution 93-9).

Topics for the Committee in the coming year include:

1. gathering information on the emerging practices of peer evaluation on the campuses, especially classroom visitation;

2. consideration of using classroom visitation only for the improvement of teaching, not for determining rewards;

3. a possible resolution urging faculty involvement in the formation and operation of centers for teaching excellence;

4. a possible resolution recommending expert evaluation of instruments and procedures used in the evaluation of faculty;

5. the gathering of information on movements to establish "standards" for educational outcomes.

Committee requests that each head of delegation report by November 1 whether on their campuses there are perceptions of administrative pressures to alter grade distributions for reasons such as countering grade inflation, increasing retention rates, or influencing reappointment, promotion, or tenure decisions.

On behalf of the Executive Committee, Kane presented Resolution (94-1) , thanking John Moskop, Joseph Johnson, and John Stevens for their work on the Conference on Evaluating and Enhancing Teaching. The resolution was approved by the Assembly.

There was no further business, and the meeting was adjourned at 8:10 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

Paul Duvall, Secretary