Koederitz noted the following correction to the minutes of the January 23, 2003 Academic Council, (Volume XXXII, Number 4, Section 2, A, 3):

Don Madison pointed out that both the Graduate Faculty and the Academic Council are required to approve new graduate programs or major changes to existing programs. However there is no established procedure for the order of such approvals and he suggested that such a procedure should be established. After discussion, it was suggested that this matter should be referred to the committee considering bylaw changes.

A. PRESIDENT'S REPORT - This report was presented by Academic Council President Lenn Koederitz.

1. Presently, the UM System is considering a Tuition Benefit which would allow the spouse and/or dependents of University employees to attend any UM campus, paying only half of the tuition cost. A "Rule of X" retirement plan is also being considered, where "X" would equal employee's age plus years of service, to equal 85. UM is opposed to bringing the university health care insurance plan under the state plan.
2. IFC is developing a workload policy draft. Koederitz is serving on the planning committee.
3. UM President Floyd is favoring salary increases of 2-4% for university faculty and staff. Also, President Floyd is planning to act within 30 days on all grievances that have been on hold. None involve UMR.

B. CHANCELLOR'S REPORT - This report was presented by Chancellor Gary Thomas.

1. The status of the state's budget is constantly changing. Currently, the consensus is that FY2002 will be $300 million short of anticipated revenues. Governor Holden has proposed the securitization of tobacco settlement monies (selling future worth of the settlement for present value) netting $350 million in cash. This income would cover $150 million shortfall from this year and $200 million next year. Education will take a cut of $82 million, with $21 million coming from higher education.
2. The Board of Curators supports a 2% minimum raise across UM. Thomas feels that a 2% increase is insufficient and that a 4% increase is necessary.
3. Fees will likely increase by 3.2%, without further cuts or withholdings. It's possible for UMR to operate with a declining deficit despite 2% salary increases and a 3.2% fee increase as long as there is increasing enrollment, high retention of current students, and increased indirect cost recovery.

C. PROVOST'S REPORT - This report was presented by Provost Y.T. Shah.

1. Shah distributed a handout outlining the progress in the academic areas. The fourth week Winter Semester enrollment is up 6.9%. The President's Day Open House attracted record numbers of students. In Research, new awards through January total $18.3 million, up 14% over last year. President Floyd has endorsed the Missouri Transportation Institute proposal, a $5-$7 million per year effort related to the research, development, tech transfer and education needs of MoDOT. Undergraduate and Graduate Studies is pursuing an advising network for all students at UMR. Distance Education Enrollment has increased by 78 students from last year. The International Affairs office has moved from Student Affairs to UMR Global.
2. Henry Wiebe, Harvest Collier and Shah are spearheading CERTI (Center for Educational Research and Teaching Innovation) providing the campus with a strong focus on strategies and resources to improve student learning.
3. The revision of UMR's 42-Credit Hour General Education Transfer Policy, posted at http://provost.mst.edu/42HourTransferPlan.html, needs to be reviewed and approved by the Academic Council.
4. Shah explained that retiring faculty are being replaced, as money is released. There are 20-25 faculty searches currently in progress. Many faculty who elected to take VERIP are continuing to teach part-time.

2 REPORTS AND RESPONSES

There was a motion to modify the meeting agenda to include a report from the Ad Hoc Committee on Administrative Review. There was a second and the motion passed.

A. ATHLETIC - This report was presented by Jeff Cawlfield.

1. Cawlfield presented the conclusions of the Athletic Task Force, formed in Fall 2001 and chaired by Jack Ridley. The Task Force forwarded their report to the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, Debra Robinson, and Chancellor Thomas.
2. The Task Force concluded that UMR Athletics were very important and positively affected the student athletes, who maintain a higher GPA and graduation rate when compared to non-athletes. Athletics has a good balance of male to female teams and is ethnically diverse.
3. The Task Force indicated a concern with the competitive conference in which UMR participates. The Athletic Department is exploring the possibility of finding a different conference for competition.

B. CURRICULA - This report was presented by Thomas Schuman

1. There was a motion and second to approve the degree and course changes generated from the February 6 Curricula meeting.
2. There was a motion and second to separate DC 0057 and DC 0058, with corresponding course changes, from the report. The motion passed.
3. After discussion, there was a motion and second to postpone the report. The motion failed.
4. There was a motion and second to table DC 0043 through DC 0064 because of the reference to "general education requirements." After discussion, the amendment and second were withdrawn.
5. The Academic Council voted to approve, with one abstention, the February 6 Curricula report, with the exception of DC 0057 and DC 0058, and corresponding course changes.
6. There was a motion and second to postpone DC 0057 and DC 0058 (and corresponding course changes CC 5521 through CC 5585). The motion failed.
7. There was a motion and second to accept DC 0057 and DC 0058 and CC 5521 through CC 5585. The motion passed.
8. There was a motion and second to approve the revised curriculum for Engineering Management. The revisions were approved by Curricula, but not distributed to Academic Council members seven days in advance of the meeting. The motion passed.

C. PUBLIC OCCASIONS

1. There was a motion and second to approve the Public Occasions Dates for 2003-2004. The motion passed.

D. TENURE - This report was presented by Jerry Cohen

1. Cohen reported on the status of questions concerning Joint Appointments. The committee decided that the administration should refer and adhere to the Best Practices of Joint Appointments document.
2. The following motion was presented by Don Myers:
Academic Council recommends that the Provost develop a written policy, to be included with UMR Policy Memorandums, for Joint Appointments of Tenure Track Faculty. The Policy should provide sufficient guidelines to channel promotion and tenure issues as well as funding and assignment issues.
There was a second and the motion passed.

E. AD HOC COMMITTEE TO PROPOSE CHANGES TO UMR FACULTY BYLAWS - No report presented.

F. AD HOC COMMITTEE ON ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW - This report was presented by Carol Ann Smith.

1. Smith presented the following resolution on behalf of the Ad Hoc Committee:

That there be established a permanent standing committee, to be known as the Administrative Review Committee;
That the Administrative Review Committee be charged with setting the policies and procedures for review of administrators on the UMR campus, such as type of questionnaire, schedule of reviews, etc.;
That the Administrative Review Committee be charged with conducting the review of administrators, overseeing the sending of the evaluation instrument to the evaluating persons, overseeing the collection and collation of the resulting evaluations and, along with the officers of the Academic Council, reviewing and forwarding the results of the evaluations;
That the Administrative Review Committee be composed of a representative from each of the four schools and college, such representatives to be full-time, tenured faculty members with an administrative component of 50% or less;
That the members of the Administrative Review Committee be nominated by R.P.& A. (with the possibility of nominations from the floor) and elected by a vote of the Academic Council;
That the members of the Administrative Review Committee serve for two years, terms to be staggered with the election of two members each year;
And, that the initial year's elections be for two members with two year terms and two members with one year terms, the determination to be decided by lot.

2. There was a second and the motion passed.

A. ACTION ITEMS

1. Academic Dishonesty Cases
The Student Conduct Committee has conducted a survey of the faculty concerning Academic Dishonesty. The committee hopes to make a report of their findings in April.

A. Current Academic Council Parliamentarian David Van Aken has asked to be excused from his duties. RP&A recommended that Robert Schwartz be appointed. There was a motion and second to elect Robert Schwartz as Academic Council Parliamentarian. The motion passed.

B. The revision of UMR's 42-Credit Hour General Education Transfer Policy is posted at http://provost.mst.edu/42HourTransferPlan.html. Please direct comments to Harvest Collier or Lenn Koederitz. The policy needs to be discussed and approved by the Academic Council at the April meeting.

C. STAFF COUNCIL - No report submitted.

D. STUDENT COUNCIL - No report submitted.

E. COUNCIL OF GRADUATE STUDENTS - No report submitted.

Respectfully submitted,
(electronically submitted, 2/26/03 - 3:55 p.m.)
Lenn Koederitz, President

*Minutes of the Academic Council are considered official notification and documentation of actions approved.