Present: Elizabeth Boretz (EOU), Scott Burns (PSU Geology), Nels Carlson (OHSU School of Medicine), Mina Carson (OSU History), Duncan Carter (PSU Liberal Arts and Sciences), Bill Danley (SOU Special Education), Elaine Deutschman (OIT Mathematics), Dan Edge (OSU Fisheries & Wildlife), James Earl (UO English), Peter Gilkey (UO Mathematics), Marye Hefty (OIT Communications), Solveig Holmquist (WOU Creative Arts/Music), Marc Levy (SOU Psychology), Jim Lundy (OSU Transportation Engineering), Steve Teich (OHSU Library), Craig Wollner (PSU Social Science), Robert Zimmerman (UO Physics)
Absent: Dick Fairley (OHSU Computer Science and Engineering), Jim Tooke (EOU Mathematics Education), Bob Turner (WOU Biology)
I. Welcome and Overview of the WOU College of Education by Dr. Hilda Rosselli,
A. Hired at WOU 5 months ago from Florida. Explained that she was impressed with the work ethic and emphasis on education at WOU.
B. Stressed the national reputation of WOU’s education college for making the connection between teaching and learning 20 years ago, which is now a key model across the nation (performance-based education).
C. Mentioned WOU’s education program detailed in the book Connecting Teaching and Learning, which was published by AACT and the Carnegie Corporation.
D. Discussed the symbiosis the education program places on preparing educators and conducting research.
E. Outlined how the school’s continuing reputation is based on outreach that includes:
1. 70 teachers working toward continuing teacher licensure
2. CREADE—Collaborative Reading Endorsement and Distance Education
3. Distance education serving distant communities
4. Bi-lingual preparation of teachers in the Salem Keizer School District
5. Partnerships with Chemeketa Community College
6. Partnerships (reaching out) to teachers in local high schools
F. Mentioned that a faculty member at WOU was honored as the Oregon Physical Educator of the Year for higher education (2001-2002).
G. Ended her presentation with her areas of emphasis:
1. The V formation (from how geese fly to reduce the effort of individuals)—all faculty will have a support group
2. A better database system for tracking student information
3. An improved public relations effort
4. Maximize the potential of a Center for Teaching and Learning
A. “The Oregon Legislature is in crisis.”
B. Stated that the impact of measure 28 going down has had a tremendous impact on the State Capital. The budget reality will now impact the streets. We are trying to save human resources without rewriting our total budget.
C. Received news from Paul Warner, the lead legislative revenue officer for the legislature. Something is seriously wrong with the economic forecast. On February 28 the budget forecast will be over $100M down. (This is for the remainder of this biennium.) The May forecast will be down as well.
D. Stated the need to find one-time revenue sources. Cannot use taxes for this biennium. Watch for a raid of the education endowment fund and tobacco settlement money.
E. Stated that we are in an “extremely serious” situation. We are taking apart our infrastructure. Then, the investment won’t come to Oregon. They will go elsewhere. “I am very upset. I am very worried…This [state] is in deep, deep trouble.”
F. Stressed the need for more provosts, deans, and faculty to come before the legislature and tell the human story about education. We must tell the story that we are the cutting edge of ideas, research, and bettering society.
A. Began with the comment, “We live in a state with a cave mentality—citizens against virtually everything.”
B. Explained that this year WOU should be “okay” in the current budget situation. The school poised itself for Measure 28 not passing with $100 surcharge on student tuition. Next year may be an entirely different situation.
C. Mentioned that WOU runs a very lean university. For example, he has 150 faculty, 7 divisions, 155,000 student credit hours per year, and 42 majors all led by Dr. Chadney and one assistant.
D. Emphasized his pride in the faculty at WOU. The faculty members are very hard working. This academic year they have 28 grants and contracts worth over $5M.
E. Mentioned his close collaboration with the education college (collaboration, cooperation, and communication).
A. Started with his overall concern with the “cut and cap” mentality of the voters. No other state has as serious an economy driving revenue down and such a mentality for cutting taxes at the same time. The economy is driving public services right through the safety net established in the rainy day fund.
B. Encouraged by the rhetoric of the leadership of the legislature. There seems to be a sense that this has gone too far—anti-government mentality is easing up. The sense is that we need a revenue solution.
C. Outlined how the OUS board is planning/preparing for the future:
1. Flexibility initiatives—the board and the legislature offloading decision making to the schools. This does involve tuition setting responsibilities
2. “If we must turn students away, let it be from a quality education.” We do not want to go below the quality level we have now. We favor enrollment limits in favor of quality, and the legislature must be a part of this.
3. There must be a screening process for admission into one of the seven schools, but this process should not be the ability to pay. The institutions should not be in charge of this. The state needs to be responsible for this.
4. The smaller the funding for public post secondary education the less viable is any kind of inter-segmental competition among schools.
5. The surest way to save a program is to propose to close it, but watch out for being starved to death (2% cut here and a 5% there). The politics for closing a school are not our greatest worry. We need to stand our ground.
D. Mentioned the board’s strategic planning committee discussing quality, affordability, access, enrollment management, and mission differentiation. All of this is search of a sustainable service level, which is different than the current service level.
E.
Discussed the importance of school’s
having marketable programs (and related this to mission differentiation)
Explained that one of the biggest successes of the union has been establishing a salary step system that has solved many of the faculty salary problems. The system is not popular with the administration but very popular with the faculty. Five years ago WOU was at the bottom of the OUS system related to salaries. Now the school is almost at the middle. From the approximately 220 faculty, 130 are members of the union.
A. Mentioned that the strength of the two types of representative bodies on campus (the faculty senate and the union) is that the faculty senate is very student centered. The faculty senate deals with student issues and academic issues.
B. Outlined that the faculty senate is dealing with taking some programs from 3 credit classes to 4 credit classes and is working on ways to reduce textbook costs
C. Stressed that the OUS schools may not be using their ability to collaborate to help all the schools.
A. Started with the comment, “Clearly the revenue system is a broken system.”
B. Stated that the governor is not looking at revenue generation at this time but is looking at cuts. We are faced with implementing substantial cuts. We are headed for another down revenue forecast for March (which will be out February 28) not only for the 03-05 biennium but for this biennium. This means another round of cuts. We can’t raise taxes fast enough for this biennium.
C. Mentioned that in Washington D.C. this week he heard from other budget officers in other states. “It is the most serious budget situation we have seen since WWII.” Oregon is not alone—the problem is nationwide. The tax systems have structural deficiencies in many states.
D. Stated his hope (“if I were to have hope”) that there will be a sufficient level of realization to fix the structural problem with revenue.
E. In answering questions, mentioned that states with broad-based sales taxes (no exemptions on services and goods) are doing better so far.
F. Outlined other ways to generate revenue including a statewide property tax. The state has constitutional authority to levy a statewide tax (and can do this even temporarily).
G. Listened to IFS members discuss ideas. One idea stressed by Mark Levy is the importance of better educating the public about the need for better public education.
H. Mentioned two education efforts occurring by concerned citizens outside education:
1. COF—Campaign for Oregon’s Future (led by Ralph Groner) for putting money into a public education fund.
2. Lind Lundquist—raising millions of dollars for a public education message.
Present: Elizabeth Boretz (EOU), Scott Burns (PSU Geology), Nels Carlson (OHSU School of Medicine), Mina Carson (OSU History), Duncan Carter (PSU Liberal Arts and Sciences), Bill Danley (SOU Special Education), Elaine Deutschman (OIT Mathematics), Dan Edge (OSU Fisheries & Wildlife), James Earl (UO English), Peter Gilkey (UO Mathematics), Marye Hefty (OIT Communications), Solveig Holmquist (WOU Creative Arts/Music), Marc Levy (SOU Psychology), Jim Lundy (OSU Transportation Engineering), Steve Teich (OHSU Library), Craig Wollner (PSU Social Science), Robert Zimmerman (UO Physics)
Absent: Dick Fairley (OHSU Computer Science and Engineering), Jim Tooke (EOU Mathematics Education), Bob Turner (WOU Biology)
A. Answered questions about IFS concerns that the OUS lobbyist (Mark Nelson) is lobbying for other causes that are in juxtaposition to the needs of higher education. Examples given for the concern were his lobbying against the tobacco tax that could have helped education. Greg pointed out that Mark’s sponsorship by RJR (tobacco company) subsidizes OUS’s use of Mark for higher education because the tobacco industry pays him so well. Explained that there is “no such thing as a lobbyist who doesn’t have clients you don’t like.”
B. Stated that PERS is a number one priority of AOF. He sees the two bills related to PERS passing—the 8% ceiling and the reduction of the board size. He believes a third tier to PERS is probable.
C. Discussed the May 3 AOF, AAUP, and IFS joint meeting.
D. Stressed the importance of contacting him with any questions related to AOF.
A Mentioned extensive discussions about quality and access issues resulting from the budget cuts.
B. Discussed the two new undergraduate academic policies: PSU wants to move their GPA up from a 2.6 to a 3.0 for freshman admission, and OSU has presented a draft for moving up their guaranteed admissions floor to a 3.25.
C. Outlined new program proposals including OHSU’s PhD in biomedical information and SOU’s undergraduate degree in early childhood development. OSU proposed combining the school of electrical engineering and computer science.
III. Budget and Finance Report, Bill Danley
A. Mentioned discussions of the Governor’s recommended budget that the chancellor is obligated to stay within. The OUS portion of the governor’s recommended budget is 7% of the total state budget, which is 6% below the 01-03 actual figures. This new budget supports about 13,200 students below the present level (if funded at the 80% peer funding level). So, the governor in essence is recommending that we drop 13,000 students from our system.
B. Explained that the Governor’s Package does not support the engineering and computer science initiative, enrollment growth, performance funding, $85M compensation package, and the small college support.
C. Explained that the OUS Board is saying that if we want to maintain quality we must cut students.
IV. Philip Conn, President of WOU
A. Gave some of his employment history. He has been at WOU for 6 months. Previously, he was a president at a North Dakota school. Has roots/employment history in the midwest and the southeast.
B. Expressed his delight at being at WOU. “WOU has a special place [in the OUS system] that is indispensable. The school concentrates on the total college experience in a nurturing, supportive environment. We offer the private school experience at a public school price.
D. Threw out an issue: Should OUS go to the semester system? He offered his reasons that this would provide cost savings: 1) two sets of textbooks instead of three, 2) one less registration and billing cycle, 3) in class during September when the school is operating now without classes, and 4) prevents the need for the three to four credit initiative.
E. Explained that at WOU the big issue is access.
F. Shared that in discussions with the other presidents, they believe the governor will not look for new revenue sources (taxes) until the citizens ask for this. Also, when the governor states no public employee raises, he believes this includes university faculty and staff.
G. Explained the meaning of school flexibility as used by the board and others in leadership:
· Ability to realize interest earnings
· Ability to purchase land and make other investments
· Few restraints on setting tuition
· Ability to establish academic programs at will based on market demands.
A. Repeated Kerry Barnett’s comment that OUS has been asking for 80% funding through the Deal, and this is a misrepresentation. We are asking for 80% of average of our peer institutions (which is 30% or 40% of what we need).
B. Passed on the comment by students that the financial packages in Oregon are creating an educated social elite in Oregon.
C. Reviewed his remarks to the board including the importance of PERS and an eloquent plea to honor (with salary, benefits, and the necessities to do the job) those who serve the state in higher education. Bill shared that he is telling legislators that IFS will support those who support taxes for education.
VI. PERS and Benefits Discussion
A. Discussed that 4,000 people have retired in 2003 (possibly related to beating the PERS decisions). IFS members are concerned that faculty will be replaced with non-tenured track faculty. Another concern is that a third tier of PERS will create class differences within the system.
B. Discussed that PSU is asking the PEBB board to opt out.
A. Discussed how the OUS board, the Deal,
and others are stating that students must be restricted at the campuses to
maintain quality. However, the reality is that these students are revenue
units, and the campus representatives do not see their schools limiting growth
for quality. In fact, schools reported planned growth. “Intentional
growth is occurring to make up the budget shortfall.”
A. OSU will host the next meeting in Salem on April 4 and 5. The plan is to meet at 11:00 to plan. Then, at 11:30 key legislators will join IFS for lunch until 1:00. From 1:00 to 3:00, we will meet with our legislators with prepared talking points related to higher education support (which Peter and Bill will prepare).
B. OSU—Faculty are establishing a fund within their foundation to help offset the surcharge fees to students.
C. WOU—Lab space is in short supply. There is no place to put the new students.
D. OIT—Private support is being pursued for a new allied health building.
E. PSU—An environmentally green building is being built. A long house is being built for Native Americans. A goal of 35,000 students has been set for 10 years. More offerings are being offered through community colleges. External funding for research has grown from $5M to $26M. PSU is actively recruiting research faculty.
F. UO—We have reached a critical mass at the instructional level. We cannot keep growing and maintain quality.
G. EWU—The faculty vote about a union will be known on Tuesday. If the vote fails, the union cannot start the process again for another year. Applications are up significantly.
H. SOU—The faculty senate has been working on ways to effectively communicate with the president. Twenty-two positions have been lost.
I. OHSU—The riverfront project may be finished in 2005. Historically the academic side has lost money and this has been made up by the hospital. This will no longer be the case. The academic side must become self-sustaining. The hospital is facing 150-200 layoffs.
A. Bill announced his retirement effective February 1 from SOU. He will be working full time for SOU until June. After June he will no longer be employed by SOU. IFS unanimously voiced the desire to have Bill stay his full term (until next January) as the IFS president because of the need for his experience during this legislative session. After much discussion, Bill agreed to announce no decisions until the April meeting and consider IFS’s request to remain as president.