OUS Provosts’ Council Meeting
The OUS Provosts’ Council met on March 3, 2005 from 10:30 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. in the conference room of the OUS Government Relations Office in Salem.
Attendees: Lorraine Davis, Chair, UO; John Miller, EOU; John Moseley, UO; Earl Potter, SOU; Sabah Randhawa, OSU; Michael Reardon, PSU; Jem Spectar, WOU; Dave Woodall, OIT (by phone); Sam Connell, OHSU (for Lesley Hallick); Maureen Sevigny, IFS; George Pernsteiner, Yvette Webber-Davis, and Helen Stampe, OUS.
1. Academic Program Proposals
PSU – Ph.D. in Biology
· Michael Reardon reported that the establishment of a Ph.D. in Biology will provide doctoral opportunities by producing Ph.D. graduates to serve local needs and by enhancing their research programs. This program will give the department the ability to more easily recruit excellent graduate students, not only from the Portland area, but also nationally and internationally.
· The program has a different focus than other programs in the state. OSU and UO are supportive of this program.
· It was the consensus of the Council to approve the program for external review. Michael and Bill Feyerherm from PSU will work with Lorraine on the external reviewers. The program can also proceed with the ODA notification process.
PSU –
Graduate Certificates in (a) Transportation, (b) Computer Security, and
(c) Food Marketing and Logistics
· Michael Reardon reported on three graduate certificates: Transportation is designed to build the technical and analytical knowledge of those who wish to enter the transportation field or to further develop the skills of professionals already working in the transportation field; Computer Security is to educate professionals for the IT security workforce in the areas of computer security and forensics; and Food and Marketing Logistics is to provide an industry focus for PSU’s MBA students targeting the food industry.
· Question was raised on what number of credits does PSU require for graduate certificates. One certificate program has 17 credits; other two have 21 credits. Each institution that wishes to offer certificate programs is to have a policy on certificate program requirements, including the number of credit hours in place.
·
Michael said he would follow-up on the policy they have
and get back to Lorraine with the information. After conferring with Michael,
Lorraine will ask the Council whether they want to approve the certificates via
e-mail or have further discussion at the next meeting.
OSU
– Graduate Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages
· Sabah Randhawa reported that this proposed certificate is a 24-credit hour program that aims to produce practitioners equipped with a sound theoretical foundation and sufficient practical experience to be successful in the wide range of settings that offer ELS/EFL courses and programs.
· Question was raised as to how current the data and supporting information was, as the initial proposal made reference to 2002-03. Lorraine shared a list of concerns with Sabah, who will take it back to the department for review.
· It was agreed that Sabah will resubmit the proposal. After distribution, Lorraine will ask the Council whether they want to approve it via e-mail or have further discussion at the next meeting.
SOU –
Undergraduate Certificate in Nonprofit Management
· Earl Potter reported that the proposed 28-credit hour certificate program will address topics areas such as human resources management, marketing, and nonprofit program planning. In addition to the 28 credits of coursework, students complete 300 hours of internship with a nonprofit organization.
· PSU offers a certificate program in Nonprofit Management and UO offers a minor in Nonprofit Administration, as well as a graduate certificate in Not-for-Profit Management. It was noted that the proposal lists PSU’s certificate program, but not UO’s. Earl said he would make a change in the proposal to include UO’s certificate programs.
· Question was asked when the program would be operational. Earl said it would be Fall 2005 and would add a paragraph to the proposal to indicate that.
·
It was agreed that Earl will resubmit the proposal.
After distribution, Lorraine will ask the Council whether they want to approve
it via e-mail or have further discussion at the next meeting.
Name Changes
· PSU – Request to change the name of the School of Urban Studies and Planning to Nohad A. Toulan School of Urban Studies and Planning was presented and approved. This name change will go forward to the Board’s consent agenda in April.
· EOU – Request to change the name of the B.A./B.S. in Physical Education and Health to B.A./B.S. in Physical Activity and Health was presented and approved.
2.
Tuition and Fees
There is proposed legislation that would freeze tuition and fees. After review and discussion, the Provosts’ Council agreed to develop a resolution to be presented to the Board on March 4, 2005, as follows:
Resolution:
The OUS Provosts’ Council
expresses its serious concern over the proposal to uniformly return to a
“12 to 18 credit at no cost” plateau. The reasons for this concern
are as follows:
1. The campuses are uniquely
different, serve varying types of student populations, and need to maintain and
continue to evolve different tuition structures to best serve these
populations.
2. Any revenue-neutral change
back to the previous/traditional plateau system will lead to a large tuition
increase, typically greater than 20%, in the per credit costs for credits 1
through 12, most seriously disadvantaging part-time students but also full-time
students in the 12 to 14 credit hour range.
3. Any change that is not
revenue-neutral will disadvantage all students, since all OUS institutions will
have to reduce course offerings and access if budgets are reduced below current
levels.
The evidence from all campuses is that our current tuition structures have not reduced overall carrying loads to a significant degree, if at all, while providing much more equity to different student populations, including students taking varying numbers of credit.
3. Legislative Issues and Update
Acting Chancellor George Pernsteiner joined the Council to share information and format for performance indicators he was preparing for presentation to the legislature. He sought the advice of the provosts as he had with the Presidents. The Chancellor also asked the provosts about the status of their campus policy on sexual harassment and consensual relationships. Only two campuses have sent in their reports to date and the others are needed as soon as possible. He has asked Ben Rawlins, OUS General Counsel, to collect the responses.
4.
Interagency Commitment Agreement
Yvette Webber-Davis reported on the status of the Interagency Commitment with OUS, Vocational Rehabilitation Services (VRS), and Oregon Commission for the Blind (OCB). The Commitment is a continuing relationship to enhance state partnerships and is limited to those students who are both OUS students and VRS/OCB clients. Discussion followed. The Council agreed to recommend approval of the agreement.
5.
OSU’s Integration of
Information Technology Service Report
The Provosts’ Council discussed the consultants’ report titled Oregon State University: Integration of Information Technology Service Organizations regarding the merger and integration of OUS’ Information Technology Services unit and OSU’s Information Services department that was prepared by the Strata Information Group. Concern was raised about the proposed fifth site operations and the role of the Provosts’ Council. Discussion followed. Sabah indicated that he will discuss the concerns raised with Curt Pederson from OSU, and either he will report back to the Council or have Curt attend a future meeting to address the issues.
6. Orbis
Cascade Alliance – Regional Library Services Center
Discussion
was postponed to the next meeting.
Submitted by Helen Stampe