November 3, 2004

David Rosenbloom called the meeting to order at 1:45 p.m.

Present: Professors Ahrens, Arneson, Bennett, Burke, Douglass, Durant, Fantie, Flug, Heintze, Jacoby, Karch, King, La Salle, Loesberg, Mardirosian, Richardson, Riley, Rosenbloom, Schaeff, Vogelsong, Weaver. Provost Kerwin, and Dean of Academic Affairs Broder.

Absent: Professors Leap, Streitmatter.

The minutes of the October 6, 2004 meeting were approved.

Report of the Provost
Neil Kerwin’s report covered the University College; the Kogod deanship search; planning for Summer 2005; the Academic Calendar for 2005-2006; and the Project Team on Academic Computing.

University College
Provost Kerwin reported that a group of faculty had generously agreed to participate in a workshop to develop a pilot for the University College. He said the group would meet on Friday, November 5, and Saturday, November 6, to outline model seminars for each of the General Education areas. The group would also be asked to address other recommendations in the report from the University College Project Team, with an emphasis on using American’s own history, to the extent that it is feasible, as a tool in teaching.

The faculty in the workshop will also work with staff from Campus Life and from Admissions to flush out broader aspects of the program, which includes elements of residential life and many aspects of service learning. After the work on the content is complete, the recommendations will be brought back to the Senate for discussion. They will also be circulated to the campus community.

Dr. Kerwin noted that he was doing work separately to understand the broader implications of adopting the University College as a university-wide requirement.

Kogod Deanship Search
The search for a new dean of Kogod School of Business is well underway. Dr. Kerwin said the search committee had met half a dozen times and also conducted a town meeting. The ads for the position have been placed and considerable attention is being paid to nominations submitted by the faculty. The schedule still calls for the airport interview stage to occur in late January, with a winnowing of the semi-finalists to a finalist pool that will come to campus sometime in March. Dr. Kerwin said he expected to make a decision and an appointment in April.

The search team is being ably supported in its efforts by Charles Bunting and Stephen Leo from the A.T. Kearney Education Practice.

Planning for Summer 2005
Dr. Kerwin reported that planning for Summer 2005 was moving along reasonably well. He said the outcomes of several focus group discussions had revealed the following information about the university’s summer sessions.

• Summer is more popular right now among graduate students, especially those in professional degree programs, who see summer as a regular semester.

• Undergraduates do mention cost as a factor in their decision to attend a summer session. They therefore often decide to study at home at a community college or at a public institution.

• Faculty indicate they would like to be paid more during the summer. They would also like to raise, once again, the issue of having summer teaching count toward the load overall.

With respect to the plans, Dr. Kerwin said the number of online courses will be doubled in Summer 2005. The budget for that session will be conservative, in order to avoid the disappointments of the last two fiscal years.

Academic Calendar
Dr. Kerwin reported that since the Senate had passed its resolution at the October meeting, there had been considerable discussion on campus on the matter of the 2005-2006 Academic Calendar. The faculty, it appears, generally support the proposal to eliminate the Fall Break and replace it with a full week at Thanksgiving. There was, however, considerable disagreement in some quarters of the faculty regarding this option. The graduate students and students in the Washington College of Law support the proposal, but the undergraduates remain opposed and would like to retain the Fall Break.

Dr. Kerwin noted that a number of alternative proposals had been suggested. He said he would therefore take more time to consult with constituencies on campus, with a goal of reaching a decision before Thanksgiving.

Project Team on Academic Computing
Dr. Kerwin then advised that as part of the reorganization of the Office of Enrollment Services and the establishment of a new Office of Information Technology, President Ladner had requested that the Provost create two projects teams: (1) a Project Team on Retention, and (2) a Project Team on Academic Computing. Dr. Kerwin said he will convene the Project Team on Retention in the spring semester, after the current work on the Advisement Task Force is complete. He will also convene the team on academic computing, to ensure that Information Technology is fully informed about the hardware and software policies that best promote the academic mission of the institution.

Dr. Kerwin said he was inviting expressions of interest with regard to the second team. With or without those expressions of interest, he intends to rely heavily on the Committee on Information Services as a strong base for the project team’s work.

Report from Provost Kerwin and Vice President Myers on Budget
Turning to the subject of budget development, Dr. Kerwin provided an orientation to the move to a two-year budget cycle. He said that change, which was first adopted in fiscal years 2004-2005, was intended to achieve greater efficiency in the budget process and to also implement multi-year initiatives in the 15-point plan. The move also resulted from a greater degree of confidence in the ability to predict, with reasonable levels of certainty, the revenue component of the budget. He noted that the next step in the current two-year budget planning process was for the Board of Trustees to consider the budget formulation criteria. At its meeting the Board would focus on a pricing strategy for tuition, housing, and related fees. The Board would also consider expenditures that require special attention, such as the historical priorities with regard to faculty development and faculty compensation.

Don Myers, vice president of finance and treasurer, also commented on components of the budget formulation criteria. He highlighted three broad categories that he said were emerging as part of that process:

• The university will continue to gather data on AU’s pricing strategy, compared to its peer institutions, on both a national and regional basis. In the last five years, the university has clearly moved toward a market-driven pricing strategy. The goal this year will be to set a strategy that allows AU to stay in tune with the marketplace.

• Some of the priorities in the 15-point plan require a multi-year funding strategy. Those priorities will roll over into the next two-year budget formulation criteria. Included are compensation for faculty and staff and investments in the infrastructure.

• A number of significant external factors will have an impact on the next two-year budget. Those factors include health care costs, energy costs, and increases in property and casualty insurance.

Vice President Myers then distributed copies of President Ladner’s report on the budget for fiscal years 2004-2005. A copy of that document is appended to the record copy of the minutes. He said the university community should take pride in the fact that AU had been able to stay within the operating budget during the last fiscal year. It appears, he added, that the university should be able to keep the operating budget in equilibrium this year too, assuming there are no unforeseen shock losses.

He then went through a slide presentation that gave an overview of the university’s financial picture. He noted as highlights of that presentation:

• AU remains 94 percent tuition dependent.
• The current operating budget is $329,000,000.
• Approximately 50 percent of the budget is for personnel costs.
• Financial Aid makes up 18.7 percent of the expenditures.

He also reiterated the importance of the safeguards that are built into the budget—the enrollment contingency fund, which is intended to offset any deficits in enrollments, and the transfers to the quasi-endowment.

Recommendations of the Instructional Budget and Benefits Committee
Janice Flug, chair of Budget and Benefits, provided an update on the committee’s recommendations regarding the budget planning cycle. She said based on the data that were available, the committee was calling for the Senate to recommend to the Board of Trustees a tuition increase range of 5.25 to 6.5 percent. She said the committee hoped the Board would agree to a high-end range that would allow enough discretionary funds to maintain the quality of education and services provided to the university’s students. A copy of the report from the committee is appended to the minutes.

During the discussion, the Senate considered a suggestion for an even narrower range at the high end, such as 6.0 to 6.5 percent. It was noted, however, that the Board was inclined to look at a broader range.

Action: The Senate voted unanimously to endorse the committee’s request to send forward to the Board a recommendation for a tuition increase in the range of 5.25 to 6.5 percent.

Janice Flug then provided an update on benefits, noting that the university’s Benefits Advisory Team had recommended that the university move forward to offer long-term care insurance to its employees. She said AU would serve as the gateway, with employees paying the entire amount, but receiving a discount as a group.

Chair’s Report on the University Council Meeting
David Rosenbloom gave a report on the University Council meeting that took place on October 22nd. He said the Council had discussed the budget process and the academic calendar. They also heard an update on the Army Corps of Engineers project, where it was noted that many of the delays with this project relate to the Corp’s budget. The Council also heard details about campus improvements. Professor Rosenbloom said there is a vision to unify the architecture of the campus. Specific facilities projects include moving the Student Health Center to McCabe, the completion of the Katzen Arts Center, and the completion of plans for a new home for the School of International Service. The Council also discussed to project to build a new university in Nigeria and the A New AU campaign.

Open Discussion
Bob Karch, chair of the Committee on Faculty Development, announced that the Senate would hold an Open Faculty Forum on Wednesday, November 10th, in McDowell Formal Lounge from 12 noon to 2:00 p.m. He said Faculty Development, in concert with other committees working on issues that are central to the faculty, decided that one way to gather information was to bring the faculty together to discuss the issues. He indicated that the committee chairs would take a few minutes at the meeting to update the faculty on the Summer Session, the Four-Course Load, Benefits, and other issues.

John Richardson reported that the School of International Service had asked Sarah Bayne of Human resources to come to an SIS Council meeting to talk about the problem of finding primary care physicians for faculty and staff who are enrolled in CareFirst. Ms. Bayne said HR shares that concern, and she asked that faculty provide feedback that Human Resources may use in negotiating with CareFirst.

Katherine Kravetz, Washington Semester Program, shared some information about a provision that Congress recently passed called the Medical Savings Plan. She said she would talk more with the Budget and Benefits Team about the implications of that provision.

For the Good of the Order
David Rosenbloom announced that the Emeriti Luncheon was scheduled for Friday, November 19, 12:00 noon – 2:00 p.m., in Mary Graydon Center, Dining Room 5. He said the speaker would be Maryann Barakso, a dynamic faculty member in the School of Public Affairs. Her topic would be “Governing NOW: Grassroots Activism in the National Organization for Women.”

Bob Karch announced that the National Center for Health and Fitness, along with the Department of Athletics, was presenting a conference called Strong Women’s Saturday on November 6. He said the environmental activist Erin Brokovich would be a featured speaker. Marion Nelson, from Tufts University, the author of Strong Women Stay Young, would also speak at the day-long event.

John Douglass announced that on Thanksgiving at 8:00 p.m., PBS would present a prime-time special called “Children Will Listen.” Documenting the power of arts in education, the show was directed and produced by AU School of Communication Professor Charlene Gilbert, with production credits for 16 AU SOC students.

The meeting was adjourned at 3:40 p.m.

Over the past several years American University has made good progress on where it is ranked on various surveys. For example, on the latest U.S. News and World Report survey AU moved up from 99 to 86th. The Princeton Reviews’ 2005 America’s Best Value Colleges recommends AU along with 76 other colleges nationwide for it outstanding academics, low-to-moderate tuition & fees, and generous financial aid packages (AU Website). These rankings reflect the increased support that the University has given to academic priorities and the services provided to the students. In order to maintain this progress the Senate endorsed the recommended academic budget priorities that the Committee had put forth. As a reminder, the academic budget priorities are:

Academic Budget Priorities FY06 and FY07

• Faculty Salaries AAUP1
• New faculty lines (at least 9 additional tenure-track faculty lines)
• Graduate financial aid
• Library – base increase
• Technology
• Adjunct salaries
• Funding over two year period – summer initiatives, cash, incentives for innovative new programs
• Faculty amenities: travel, faculty development
• Wellness program
• Classrooms – classroom improvements, renovation of classrooms, and increase number of classrooms

The Committee did not have comparison data when we discussed a possible range for the tuition increase. However, there is some recent data available on private and public universities average tuition increase for this year. According to the College Board, the average tuition increase for undergraduates at public universities increased by 10.5 percent. For the same time period the average increase at private universities was 5.7%. A recent article on the CNNMoney website noting the ten most expensive colleges based upon information from the Chronicle of Higher Education, George Washington University was listed as the fifth most expensive college for tuition and fees ($31,710). GW had a one-year increase of 8%.

Based upon the information that we have available, the Committee is recommending that the Senate recommends to the Board of Trustees a tuition increase in the range of 5.25% to 6.5%. The amount of discretionary monies available will be limited and if the tuition increase is not sufficient to enhance the academic priorities necessary to maintain the quality educational experience for our students, the Committee and University will need to make difficult funding choices.

With respect to the housing increase, the Committee will defer to Gail Hanson, VP for Campus Life, for her recommendation.