Minutes of the University Committee
for December 8, 2003

Call to Order:

The meeting was called to order at 12:08 PM by Prof Gary Wood, Chair. Present in addition were Profs Sylvia Beyer, Chris Evans, Doug DeVinny, James Kinchen and Don Kummings, members; and Prof Walter Feldt, Secretary of the Faculty.

Business:

University Planning Council - Budget Subcommittee Recommendations
The Committee discussed a follow-up report from the Provost on the implementation of the University Planning Council's (UPC) Budget
Subcommittee.

The Provost reported that the Pre-Engineering program had temporarily limited its offerings due to low enrollments.

Some discussion ensued concerning the comprehensive program review conducted by the Committee on Academic Planning (CAP) in the spring of 2003. The Secretary of the Faculty was directed to provide and promote a link to the CAP Retreat report, issued during the summer of 2003, which expressed concerns about several UWP programs after concern was expressed that affected departments were not appropriately notified of CAP's concerns.

The Provost also reported that the Committee's review of the implementation of the Faculty Workload Policy was ongoing. Due to a misunderstanding concerning the handling of original documentation, some departmental submissions from the spring of 2003 were inadvertently misplaced and some were never received.

The Secretary of the Faculty was asked to obtain new, or original, submissions from the Departments of Health, Physical Education and Athletics, Psychology, Criminal Justice, History and Business so that the Committee can complete its review.

Resolution on Office Hours
Prof Wood reported that he had negotiated wording for a proposed resolution on office hours for instruction staff with the
Academic Staff Committee and that the resolution was now ready for submission to the Faculty Senate at the Early Spring Meeting.

Faculty Representatives Meeting - December 5, 2003
Prof Wood reported that the Faculty Representatives for the UW System had met, via teleconference, on December 5.

Concern had been expressed by some representatives concerning the proposed policies on transfer of credits from the Wisconsin Technical College System (WTCS). The UW-Stevens Point representative pointed out that WTCS transfer students who took introductory psychology at a technical college and then took introductory psychology (presumably the same course) at UW-SP performed worse than students who had not taken the WTCS course

Also discussed was a bill in the legislature to require that sabbaticals be funded from grants and gifts. The bill is still active.

A fight between the UW-Platteville Chancellor and the faculty concerning the elimination of an academic program was also discussed.

Concern was also expressed that the conversion to PeopleSoft software on several campuses was creating increased work for departmental program assistants.

At the US level, Congress has discussed financial aid distribution and the role of professional accreditation agencies in driving curricular
matters at universities.

Raid on Fund 128 Reserves
Prof Wood reported that due to legislative action, campuses have had to use Fund 128 reserves to fund student aid intended to partially
offset the large increase in tuition for the 2003-05 budget. This has resulted in losses to many UWP funds. While these, by formula, will be
more than offset by financial aid to UWP students, the losses to the reserve funds are never less alarming.

Perhaps more alarming, is, due to a veto by Gov Doyle, there is no sunset provision to the legislation, i.e. campuses will continue to have
to raid reserve Fund 128 monies to provide a student aid fund in future years. Since such funds are not inexhaustible, this could create a fiscal crisis on many UWS campuses in short order.

Of immediate concern, were raids on funds involving income from ticket sales when expenses were not concurrently entered. This could place such events as the annual Small Print Show, sponsored by the Art Department, in jeopardy. Also in peril were other events that have
historically benefited the University.

Some funds were protected, including those collected through student fees.

The "hit" for the campus for FY 2003-04 was about $213K. The Committee agreed that this practice was outrageous and unwarranted.

Prof Wood agreed to distribute a listing of the sources of the "give back" for this fiscal year.

First Friday - Reincarnated?
The Committee discussed possibly resurrecting having First Friday events. Historically, these were funded and conducted by the University
Committee as socials that encouraged discussion of common concerns mixed with snacks and libations. They, originally, were conducted on the first Fridays of most months during the academic year, hence the name.

It was agreed to ask Chancellor Keating if such events could be held at the University House (i.e. the Chancellor's residence) on a
periodic basis. The source of funding was unclear.

Small Print Show Reception
On a related matter, Prof DeVinny reminded the Committee that there would be a wine and cheese reception associated with the Small Print
Show on January 19.

Next Scheduled Meeting
The next regularly scheduled meeting of the University Committee will be held on Tuesday, January 20, at 2:00 PM in Moln D135.

Adjournment:

The meeting adjourned at 1:15 PM.

Respectfully Submitted,

Walter T Feldt
Secretary of the Faculty