Meeting called to order at 3:10 p.m. on January 29, 2018
MINUTES SUMMARY
I. Roll – The following senators were absent: Baldwin, Ballestero, Bauer, Boucher, Dwyer, Finkelhor, Golomski, Herold, and Simos. Barnett, Berst, Bstieler, Gass, Pillet-Shore, Ramsay, Scherr, Shipe, S. Smith and Tenczar were excused. Victoria Dutcher, Rob McGann, and Nancy Targett were guests.
II. Remarks by and questions to the provost – The provost welcomed the senators back from the break. She said that her office is working on many budget issues. It is her strong desire to continue delivering programs to our students, and she said that there is no reason to believe that we can’t do that. She noted that the Board of Trustees heightened interest in the system budget has to do with issues in other parts of the USNH system. We are still aiming to meet the 3% operating margin goal set by the trustees. She said that it is important to the system board that we maintain a constant strategy to review and revisit our programs, which we do. She added that there are independent metrics that rank UNH among the most efficient institutions in higher education.
She said that the elements that brought us to our current budget situation include flat-funding by the state, a modest raise in tuition, raises provided to our employees, and other increases such as utility bills. All of these things have worked to create the gap in our operating margin that we are trying to close.
A senator asked about the motion passed last May, Senate Motion #XXI-M13 to establish a no-tobacco policy on campus. The provost responded that after that motion was passed, she met with President Huddleston about the matter. She said that he wanted input from a broader constituency, as the initial input was mainly from faculty and students. The chair said that the president wanted more feedback from staff and other groups on campus. The provost said that the president also wanted to know how such a policy would be institutionalized, should it be put into place. She said that the work on carrying out this motion is still in progress; the idea has not been tabled.
A senator asked how non-academic units on campus are being scrutinized during this budget crunch. Nancy said that all RC units have to meet the targets, both academic and non-academic. A senator asked why we are having so much trouble this year reaching the 3% operating margin, and asked why that number in particular has been selected. Nancy said that, in the past, the target margin has varied from 2-5%, and that it’s only been in the last three to five years that the trustees have standardized to a 3% operating margin. She noted that part of the current issue may be the definition used to calculate that 3%, and asserted that we can find new ways to provide the same bottom line. Using three to five year averaging, or shifting definitions might be helpful. She noted that the operating margin is for the benefit of the bond rating we can secure on our borrowed funds, in order to keep the interest rates low. It was pointed out that Moody’s Investor Service (one of the two largest rating agencies) says that averaging is an acceptable practice, but the Board of Trustees rejected that option.
A senator asked if, as the Board of Trustees tries to shrink the budget deficit that they perceive, they are considering the loss of tuition that could occur if programs deemed “less profitable” are eliminated in an effort to be more financially efficient, thus making UNH a less desirable institution. Nancy said that that is her job; to maintain the programs that attract students while dealing with budget issues. She reminded the group that UNH is not running under a deficit; the issue is that our “cushion,” or operating margin, simply is not as large as the trustees would like it to be. This planned surplus provides resources to build our programs.
A visitor to the Senate asked the provost about the eighteen lecturers whose contracts will not be renewed next fall, seeking a reason for the non-renewals, and asking how this decision will impact academic programs. She said that conflicting messages are circulating regarding the basis for these non-renewals.
The provost replied that each contract and faculty member have unique circumstances, and that the decisions to not renew the contracts were made individually. She acknowledged that a large number of those not renewed were contracts with faculty in the English as a Second Language program (ESL), and pointed to the sharp drop in enrollments by foreign students as a cause to reduce the number of faculty in that program. She added that other contracts were not renewed because of credentials; the university is seeking to engage individuals with the highest terminal degree as instructors.
A senator who is a lecturer in ESL said that while she is happy to still have her job, it is difficult to understand why she was retained when so many of her colleagues were not. She asserted that it would have been helpful to all lecturers to be alerted to the raising of standards for renewing contracts, such as urging lecturers without PhD to begin seeking additional training towards that goal. The provost acknowledged her suggestion.
III. Remarks by and questions to the chair – The chair greeted the senators and said that there is an issue in COLA that needs to be brought to their attention, involving the double-counting of courses for both Discovery credit and credit within a department for the major. He noted that when the Discovery program was set up, department chairs were given a say in how those Discovery courses would be counted. In May 2016, the COLA dean put a halt on any double counting of courses in COLA. Last week, the chair met with the COLA dean to initiate discussion of this issue. He plans to meet again with the associate dean of COLA to continue that discussion in the hopes that a resolution can be achieved. The Senate’s opinion on this matter needs to be expressed, that departments retain authority over their programs and curricula.
The chair asked Jim Connell, Senate Parliamentarian and a member of the Discovery Review Committee from 2015, to offer some history on this topic. Jim said that Discovery was adopted in 2008, and at that time there were no specific rules about double dipping (or double- counting). Outside of COLA, there were no special rules regarding the practice, and currently it is allowed in all other colleges. The ad hoc Discovery Review Committee reviewed the practice, and there was some surprise on the part of the committee members from other colleges that COLA was not allowing double-counting. After consideration and a conversation with the associate dean of COLA, the Discovery Review Committee recommended that double-counting should be allowed, and that it was important for the policy to be uniform across all colleges. Their report went to the Senate Academic Affairs Committee, which then presented Senate Motion #XX-M24 on May 2, 2016, to allow double counting in general, but to leave the specific decision about the practice in the hands of the individual departments. The AAC also mandated a 5-year review of the program.
Scott Smith, Senate vice chair and the past chair of the Senate Academic Affairs Committee, reported that all of the members of the AAC supported motion #XX-M24. He noted that one member of the committee pointed out that some departments offer courses within multiple Discovery categories. It seemed reasonable to allow department chairs to make decisions regarding the appropriate use of courses for both Discovery and major credit, and in the motion they note that chairs may limit double-counting to two courses if they prefer. Scott went on to say that all of the COLA chairs took a formal vote to support the Senate’s recommendation, and that after advising had been completed that spring, the COLA dean put a pause on the practice. He asserted that the dean’s action countermanded the votes of the Faculty Senate and the COLA chairs. It is the Senate Agenda Committee’s view that the Faculty Senate has control over this rubric, and that we need to urge the dean to follow suit, as this is a matter of shared governance.
One of the student representatives to the Senate said that they have been in COLA for three years and have never been allowed to double count courses. Scott responded that agreements have existed between the deans and some departments to prevent the practice. Senate Motion #XX-M24 is an attempt to rectify that inconsistency.
The chair said that he would keep the group apprised of any changes in the situation, and that he welcomes feedback from the Senate members on this matter.
He also urged all senators to remind their departments to respond to the survey sent out from the Senate Research & Public Service Committee (RPSC) regarding the implementation of promotion and tenure standards in their units.
There are now two job searches open which the senior vice provost for academic affairs has asked the chair to announce. The first is for a new faculty director for the Discovery Program, and the other is Associate Vice Provost for International Programs. Scott noted that there is also a search beginning for a new director for the Honors program.
IV. Conversation with the UNH VP for Enrollment Management – The chair welcomed Victoria Dutcher, Vice President for Enrollment Management, and Rob McGann, Director of Admissions, to discuss the status of enrollments at the university. Victoria noted that the number of degree-seeking students at UNH-Durham has been relatively static from 2014-2017, with a slight increase in undergraduate enrollments, no growth in graduate enrollments, and a decrease in international enrollments. Against the projections of high school graduates across the nation, New England is among the hardest hit with declining numbers. She asserted that our continuing success in drawing in new students is due to the high quality of instruction at UNH.
She explained that the tuition discount rate is the percentage of tuition given back to students as financial aid. Competition has driven the discount rate up as high as 60-70% for private institutions. This has raised the expectations of families that all institutions should provide a similar discount rate. These discounts encroach on operating revenues, and are not a viable long-term strategy. She said that enrollments and net tuition revenue need to be balanced and managed throughout the university, just like someone would manage an investment portfolio. Ups and downs in the overall growth pattern are to be expected.
It is projected that our freshmen reenrollments will decline from 3068 in 2016 to 2677 in 2020 if there are no changes, but changes in our marketing and programming could help. Victoria said that the “Granite Guarantee” is an example of a shift in how we promote financial aid to New Hampshire residents. The Guarantee ensures that any Pell-grant eligible NH undergraduate will pay no tuition to attend UNH, and began in Fall 2017 here in Durham. This draws in more high-need students. In its first year, we expected 285 students to access the program, and ended up with over 400 qualifying students thanks to the success of the campaign. In Fall 2018, Keene and Plymouth State will also offer the Granite Guarantee.
One way that the administration plans to draw in more new students is to expand into international markets. In the past, we have relied heavily on Navitas for connections to international students, but for Fall 2018 we have launched our own International Freshmen Direct program. UNH still has some brand power internationally and it is Victoria’s hope that we can increase our international enrollments from 35-40 per year as we have done in the past to our goal of 200 direct enrollments for Fall 2018.
Our funnel status for Fall 2018 indicates the potential for another record-breaking year for applications. The admissions office is completing and reading applications faster than in the past, and the quality of admissions to date is holding steady. Our financial aid award packages are being sent out more quickly, and the expansion of initiatives to recruit the best and the brightest students continues. Our resident applications are down, non-resident and international applications are up. UNH-Manchester undergraduate applications are down, with a focus on their master’s programs. The School of Law is seeing an increase in applications for Juris Doctor (JD) and a decrease in master’s applications. The Durham graduate student numbers are up substantially for spring and summer, but down for fall.
Victoria reported that 82% of our net tuition revenue still comes from Durham undergraduate tuition, which is not sustainable in a shrinking market. For this reason, emphasis is being placed on the growth of our professional master’s programs.
Regarding retention and graduation rates, Victoria said that if we could improve our first to second year retention from the current 86% to 90%, it would mean an additional 120 students per cohort, or 480 students total over four years.
She said that her office is working to establish a venue for drawing feedback from faculty.
Rob McGann, Director of Admissions, said that the number of white high school graduates applying to UNH is down, and the number of multicultural applications is up. As populations change, our predictive measures of success also need to change. Providing a “test optional” possibility to students may encourage more of the students who might not have previously considered UNH to do so now. In this way we can begin to reduce barriers, both perceived and existing. Standardized testing has been a barrier to higher education for a significant population. Rob asserted the importance of making the process of admission clear and accessible to all, particularly to reach underserved populations. He reported that there are ongoing validity studies returning consistent results regarding inputs. High school grade point average (GPA) is the most predictive element for first year success in the university setting. Standardized testing is not as predictive, and our admission office does not accept or reject students based solely on their test scores. He said that there are those who would correlate standardized test scores with graduation rates, but he said that the correlation is not clear. A number of non-academic variables, including family income and parental educational background, offer a more clear indication of student success by indicating family support and expectations for students’ success. With a third of our students being first generation college students here, Rob said that we can see the impact of the culture created by the academic environment here on our students’ likelihood to graduate.
Other non-academic challenges also exist, including testing anxiety and societal biases that impact student success on standardized tests. He noted that women tend to have lower entering SAT scores, but consistently have higher high school GPAs.
Rob said that Temple University and the University of Delaware have gone with test-optional application, and that in the first year, about 20% of applicants utilized that option. A senator praised the idea.
Another senator asked if we are taking into account the needs of our rising population of minority students. She noted that last May our students of color pressed the administration for better preparation and support systems to facilitate a positive educational experience, and asked if the university has the resources to provide minority students with what they need to succeed. Victoria replied that the larger critical mass will drive the need to increase our support services in response to that need.
A senator urged that we look to the expanding working adult population as a valuable source of students today. Victoria said that our emphasis on professional master’s programs is designed to appeal in part to the working adult population. She said that we need to do more to appeal to this group. One potential issue is the lack of flexibility of schedule that appeals to this demographic.
Victoria said that they would like to use Fall 2019 as a start date for test-optional applications. She is impressed with how intentional our admissions staff is in reviewing every application. She would love feedback from faculty, and urged the need for a quick turn around on this; in order to set up the new applications for the Fall 2019 cycle, a decision would need to be made in the next 30 days.
Rob noted that a pilot of the test-optional application could be done, over a one-, two-, three-, or four-year period. Such a trial period would allow us to discover unintended consequences of implementing the program.
The Graduate Student Senate representative asked if immigration and visa issues are being taken into account by the admissions office. Victoria said that we are seeking variety in the countries and programs of recruitment. Our goal to bring 200 international students to UNH next year may seem high, but the number is relatively low in comparison to other institutions our size. As far as immigration and visa issues, we do not have many resources right now. She noted that Canadian universities are booming right now because of these issues in the USA right now.
A senator asked why the university couldn’t go all the way and eliminate the use of standardized test results altogether in our admission process. Victoria pointed out that New Hampshire instituted the SAT as a state metric three years ago, and said we can’t ignore that fact. She also said that SAT scores are used for other decisions beyond admission to the university: scholarships and admission to the Honors Program also utilize students’ SAT scores beyond straight grade point averages, areas where stringent criteria are important. Rob pointed out that the SAT tests offer additional data points beyond simple scores, adding that the university has a history of using this kind of data responsibly so as not to penalize or advantage one student population over another.
The chair said that the Academic Affairs Committee will work with Rob and Victoria on this going forward, and thanked our guests for their time.
V. Approval of the Senate minutes from December 4, 2017 – It was moved and seconded to approve the minutes of the December 4, 2017 meeting of the Senate. Two corrections were suggested in Item XIII. Thus adjusted, the minutes were unanimously approved, with four abstentions.
VI. Discussion and vote on Agenda Committee motion urging units to provide travel reimbursement for non-Durham senators – Erin Sharp, representing the Senate Agenda Committee, brought forward the motion presented at our last meeting as follows:
The faculty senate urges units located off of the UNH-Durham campus (UNH Manchester and UNH School of Law) to establish a policy for the reimbursement of travel expenses incurred by their elected faculty senate representatives who must travel to the UNH-Durham campus to attend faculty senate and faculty senate committee meetings.
A senator asked what the response of the administration has been to this suggestion. Dan said that he approached the provost, whose office provides the funding for the Senate office and its expenses, and she was amenable to the idea.
The motion was put to a vote and passed, with 52 votes in favor, 1 vote opposed, and 2 abstentions.
VII. Proposed charter for the Discovery Committee - Jim Connell, representing the Senate Agenda Committee, shared the draft of a charter for the existing Discovery Committee. He offered some history on this committee, noting that it was established on March 9, 2009 by way of Faculty Senate Motion #XIII-M11. Since that time several changes have been made to the structure of the committee, in particular the addition of CCLEAR faculty to the Senate (which created an ambiguity regarding who could vote for, and serve as, members of the committee), and Senate Motion #XX-M14 from April 2016 which explicitly defined Discovery as a permanent committee of the Faculty Senate. The standing Senate committees are populated by senators who all have voting rights in the Senate. Permanent Senate committees are populated by election rather than appointment, and may have other committee members who do not have Senate voting rights.
Rather than have the elements of the Discovery Committee organization scattered among various motions and statements, it seemed wise to bring all of these documents together to create a charter which codifies the existing parameters of the committee, and establishes a place for further amendments, if necessary.
The Agenda Committee worked closely with the current faculty director of Discovery, and with the approval of the SVPAA and the provost, this charter draft is presented to the Senate with the original language preserved as much as possible. The membership of the committee is comprised of representatives from all colleges with undergraduate programs that would utilize Discovery courses and guidelines. The Discovery Committee chair is the ex-officio director, with an elected vice chair established so that meetings may be scheduled and held in the absence of the director.
Jim moved that the Senate adopt the charter of the Discovery Committee as here presented. This motion will lay over until the next Senate meeting.
VIII. Campus Planning Committee report on AEDs – Bill Berndtson, chair of the Senate Campus Planning Committee (CPC), reported on Automated External Defibrillators (AED) on the UNH campus. Bill reported that his committee met with Jim Hakala, UNH Assistant Emergency Management Director and paramedic, who informed them that in the late 1990s, there were about 13 AEDs in our buildings. Now the units are included in all renovation and new construction projects, with the goal to outfit one building at a time. There are now 152 static units in the 231 buildings on the Durham campus. The athletics office has some traveling units. There are also units on Appledore Island, the Gulf Challenger, and the Gulf Surveyor. UNH-Manchester has about five units, and the School of Law in Concord has about six units. At this time, there are no units in the dormitories.
Each unit costs about $1,500, with additional maintenance costs to replace the pads every 18-24months and replace the battery about every 5 years. Maintenance on the units is covered through the Energy Management Office.
Bill demonstrated a website where the location of each AED unit on campus can be found. That URL is:
https://maps.unh.edu/Html5Viewer/Index.html?configBase=https://maps.unh.edu/Geocortex/Essentials/REST/sites/UNH_AEDs/viewers/UNH_AEDs/virtualdirectory/Resources/Config/Default
The CPC discussed the legal and safety aspects of AED use with Linda Spang, attorney and EMT paramedic. She encourages faculty to take a class for training to use the units. She said that technically, if an individual is not trained, they could be held liable for injuries caused due to the incorrect use of an AED. She is not aware of any such cases, and New Hampshire does have good Samaritan and other laws in place to protect from such liability. Unless a user is obviously negligent, Linda said the likelihood of a lawsuit is slight. She said that the AED units are designed to not function unless certain medical criteria exist. She also said that Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation is more often indicated than the use of an AED. If an emergency occurs, the first step is to call 911. If the use of an AED appears needful, the radio dispatcher will ask if the caller is trained and, if not, the dispatcher will walk the caller through the procedure. The American Heart Association promotes the use of CPR before looking for an AED, as time is of the essence in such emergencies.
A senator asked how often the units are used, and Bill did not know that answer. Another senator noted that the AEDs in Morse Hall are there due to the presence of electrical equipment. It was asked how many attendees have been trained to use AEDs, and about twenty people raised their hands. Bill noted that AED training is available on campus, but not very common. CPR training is offered by McGregor Emergency Services at two levels. The intensive level is for first responders, and there is a second level for the general public which is about two hours long. CPR training is also available through the Red Cross, the fire department, and UNH emergency preparedness personnel.
The Senate chair thanked the CPC for their report, and suggested that the committee return with a motion regarding the accessibility of these units and publicity regarding the availability of training to use the AEDs.
A senator noted that, in a related campus safety issue, the recent snow and ice storms have left the sidewalks and parking lots extremely slippery and dangerous. Faculty, students, and staff with disabilities are having a particularly hard time navigating these areas.
IX. New Business – There was no new business.
X. Adjournment – Upon a motion and second to adjourn, the meeting was adjourned at 4:53 p.m.