The October 16, 2007 meeting of the University Committee was called to order in Moln D135 by Dennis Rome, Chair.  Also attending were members Chris Evans, Stu Hansen, Peggy James, Frances Kavenik and Greg Mayer.  Guests were Interim Provost Jerry Greenfield and Prof. Lori Allen.   E. Zepp was present as Secretary of the Faculty. 

1) Call to Order:

              The meeting was called to order at 3:35 P.M.

2) Minutes:

              The minutes of the meeting of October 2, 2007 were approved 5-0-1.

3) Announcements

              Prof. Seredycz has agreed to serve on the FYE Committee; Prof. Gurnack has agreed to serve on the Committee on Advising.

A motion to suspend the order of the agenda was approved 6-0-0.

5) New Business:

b) Interim Provost Greenfield: issues related to CTS

     Interim Provost Greenfield remarked on the level of active hostility between faculty members and CTS, to the point where it has become counter-productive to other things.  He noted that communication from CTS to faculty had not been good, and that there had not been a larger sharing with the campus of the why and the what CTS had been doing.   While some concerns may have been exaggerated, there is a real issue here and people need to be satisfied.  There will be more academic input.

     He suggested several steps to work on communicating more effectively with faculty and academic staff for teaching and learning.  Jim Robinson is willing to take on a role to facilitate communication.  Pat Eaton has been moved from part-time overseeing the Help Desk to full-time D2L and faculty/staff support.  The Technology Advisory Committee might be revived (Administrative Committee), although the Information Resources Committee (Faculty Committee) has as its role looking out for the interests of faculty.  If the TAC were revived, it should be recast.  The Vice-Chancellors should hold regular meetings with CTS, as they have competing priorities.

     There will be a coherent set of things from the academic direction:

--The Help Desk: CTS initiated an outside consulting review of the help desk and other aspects.  There would be a cost if we were to partner with this consultant; we would do that if it were clear that it would provide us with a higher level of service, including expanded coverage in terms of available hours.  Any contract would include penalty clauses if stipulated service goals were not met.

--The Spam issue: a new hardware solution is being tried (“Barracuda”).  A particularly positive aspecxt of the hardware is that the SPAM gets stopped prior to entering the server.

--Suggestions from the Deans:

              i) Direct conversations with end users

              ii) Orientation sessions for people with thin clients

              iii) Set a regular schedule for meeting with faculty departments

              iv) Clearly communicate rationale/benefits for changes

              v) Address perceptions that CTS does not care about/respect faculty

              vi) Separate out faculty academic computing

              vii) Identify a CTS liaison with faculty

              viii) Do test runs with “real” end users

     He further noted that the Director of CTS had been hired with the specific mandate of upgrading our system; we lag behind the other comprehensives with regard to currency and capacity.  The rationale for the move to Active Directory was that it was a necessary preliminary for other changes to get us current and create a more stable, secure environment.  Some of the issues that have aroused concern here are common practices at other UW campuses, including storage limits, for example.  Attachment limits also exist.  The new server will create positive changes in terms of off-campus access and enhancing service to Mac users. 

 Interim Provost Greenfield left the meeting at 4:20 P.M.

5) New Business:

              c) Ranger Welcome: Prof. Allen

     Prof. Allen presented the beginning assessment report on the Ranger Welcome.  There will be a motion at the Senate to extend the program another three years, and the report will be presented to the Senate as background.  Questions or comments should be sent to Prof. Allen, Interim Chair of the FYE Committee.

Prof. Allen left the meeting at 4:30 P.M.

The agenda was resumed.

4) Unfinished Business:

a) Administrator evaluations: ready to go out.

             

b) Chapter Seven: Parts need clarification.  There are amendments which were not included in the chapter (predating Prof. Feldt).  An ad-hoc committee should be established.

Members agreed that there are two major issues: defining the difference between a grievance and a complaint, and establishing a time-line on investigation of complaints.

Greg Mayer, Dennis Rome, Bob Canary, Norm Cloutier, and Sue Norton were suggested for the ad-hoc committee.  The Secretary of the Faculty will contact these people.

c) Recruitment and Hiring Practices: the Chair will meet with the Chancellor to find out the status of the Hiring Task Force report.

 

5) New Business:

              a) Replacement for Prof. Folker on Academic Policies Committee—first runner-up Greg Mayer; replacement for Prof. Martiinez on First Year Experience Committee.

              This item was TABLED until the next meeting.

              d) Approval of October 23, 2007 Senate Agenda

                            The agenda was APPROVED 6-0-0

              e) Approval of October 25, 2007 Faculty Meeting Agenda

                            the agenda was APPROVED 6-0-0    

6) Miscellaneous Business:

              There was no further business.

7) The meeting was adjourned at 5:30  P.M.

Submitted by Evelyn Zepp, Secretary of the Faculty