General Faculty Meeting
October 6, 2015, 3:30 p.m.
Broun Hall Auditorium
Minutes
A full transcript is available for this meeting.
Call to Order
Senate Chair Larry Teeter called the meeting to order at 3:30 PM. The minutes of the March 10, 2015 General Faculty Meeting were approved without modification.
Remarks and Announcements
Office of the President: Jay Gogue, President
Dr. Gogue remarked that from a national perspective there are a couple issues. First is the cost of both compliance and audit. At Auburn that cost is about 85 million dollars a year. There is an effort to look at compliance and audit to see if there are ways to be more efficient. The second area has to do with student debt. Student debt issues predominately reside within the for-profit institutions, over 70%.
He also stated that the second year of the strategic plan is out and there is a document that covers the details about what has happened with the institution the past year. Within this document you will find that the freshman ACT averages 27.3 and has been growing over the past few years. We have also gone from the low 60’s to a 73% six year graduation rate. It is 49-50% for a four year graduation rate. There are also 7360 students enrolled in online courses which is a significant increase.
The new budget year starts October 1st. The budget for all four divisions was 1.16 billion dollars. The new money that came from the state was about 2 million dollars. The money that came in from private giving was over 200 million dollars.
Salary increase was 3% permanent base and colleges added another .5% resulting in an average of about 3.5% on campus. The board also approved a 2% onetime allocation.
He also indicated the appreciation for the breadth with which cooperative extension has tried to expand their programs into broader areas. He also complimented a number of people who have been involved in the economic development activities in the state. Following, Dr. Gogue then complimented and made comments about activities or research going on in each of the schools and colleges.
Questions:
Michael Stern, Economics: Asked the president how raises work in Athletics?
Don Large commented that athletics follows the same guidelines everyone else at the University follows. Athletics identifies their own base monies and follow the same guidelines. Their process would be the same in that their department head would have approval of up to the same amounts that work in the general fund, and ultimately the athletic director’s raise would have to be approved by the president.
Michael Stern, Economics then followed with the question: Does someone in Samford Hall review athletics raises before they get finalized?
Don Large then stated that he looks at everyone except for Jay Jacobs. The president signs off on his.
Michael followed with a question about whether athletics must provide a justification letter for raises that exceed 8%.
Don Large then followed by stating that anything over 8% would require justification letters and go up to Jay Jacobs. If Jay Jacobs were to receive greater than 8%, it would require further approval.
Michael Stern then referenced an article in the Montgomery Advertiser about ticket revenues. He asked whether there is a review of ticket policies or how they are handled.
Don Large commented that internal audits are conducted of both ticket allocations as well as the receipts and allocations for Tigers Unlimited. He also stated that there is no evidence that there is any wrong doing.
Michael Stern then asked whether Auburn has a regular review process for ticket allocations and how that policy is determined?
Don Large stated that there are annual audits.
Michael followed by indicating that he is not asking how the money is handled but rather who decides what the priorities are and the way tickets are handled in general? He asked whether it is purely an internal athletics decision. He asked whether the CIA committee is involved.
Don Large stated that it pretty much is an athletics decision, but the levels of giving have certain criteria that are reviewed and audited each year to make sure the requirements have been met. However, he was not certain that he understood the nature of Michael’s question.
Michael Stern then elaborated with some examples.
Don Large followed by stating that athletics follows the same policies for their expenditures and revenues.
Dr. Gogue then suggested that David Benedict come to the Senate and respond to Michael’s concerns.
University Senate: Larry Teeter, Senate Chair
Larry Teeter introduced the Senate Executive Committee and Administrative Assistant Laura Kloberg. He reminded everyone of the senate schedule and the opportunity to participate in shared governance by volunteering for a committee online or consider accepting the invitation to volunteer when approached by person. He reviewed current committee work like the updating of the copyright policy, development of a policy on undergraduate certificates, investigating competency based credits, developing an annual leave sharing plan and how it can be implemented at Auburn, evaluating 403b plans, as well as parking access for faculty and staff on nights and weekends.
Questions:
Michael Stern, Economics asked whether the ad hoc team formed to look at clustering in athletics had completed its work.
Larry Teeter, Senate chair responded that the committee has submitted a draft of the report to the Provost.
Michael Stern followed by asking when the draft was submitted to the Provost, whether they were able to question athletic officials, and whether they will report to the Senate?
Larry Teeter responded that they submitted the report around August, they questioned the athletic officials in their first meeting, and that it will be up to the provost as to whether it will be reported to the senate.
Information Items
1. Changes in the Course Materials Process and Landscape; Presenter: Russell Weldon, Assistant Director, Auburn University Bookstore
Russell reviewed changes coming in December at the Auburn University Bookstore. Students will be able to charge up to $1,000 each semester towards their e-bill for course materials and supplies. This means that the bookstore has to have books on the shelf sooner as students will be able to purchase their course materials sooner. Russell emphasized that the bookstore is striving to improve the affordability, accessibility, and availability of course materials. The bookstore is requesting the help of faculty by submitting book orders as early as possible.
Since 2011, 38% of book orders come in within 6 weeks of class. There are 29,221 seats affected by bookstore orders. Student and parent feedback is important and has risen. The Auburn Bookstore is institutionally owned and operated. It is a low-profit operation in course materials. The focus of the bookstore has been on better student outcomes and providing choice. They strive to achieve operational excellence by evaluating every cent and making sure every cent spent has purpose. The bookstore strives to be transparent to the student and they want the student to receive the best savings from the bookstore. The bookstore shows a price comparison so the students can see whether they will save with other online options.
The bookstore wants a better relationship with faculty so that they can better serve the students. They urge faculty to submit timely and complete information and are open to feedback from the faculty.
Change in Course Materials (ppt)
2. An Overview of Auburn Global; Presenter: Dawn Sherman
Dawn reviewed the trends for international students who travel abroad to study. The number of students traveling abroad has been increasing and it looks as if the numbers will continue to increase. Auburn Global is a partnership that was formed between Auburn University and Shorelight Education. Auburn Global recruits, orients and provides support to transition students and promote student success. Auburn Global is working on goal 2 within the 1st priority of the strategic plan with the goal to diversify the campus. Student success within Auburn Global is promoted through pathway programs, student services, and professional development. Shorelight Education has 50 recruitment staff located around the world. There were over 1200 applications for Auburn Global and 310 students are taking part in the Auburn Global program this year. Once in Auburn Global, progression into the university requires the students to meet university or departmentally set standards.
Auburn Global (ppt)
Unfinished Business: Larry Teeter, Senate Chair
None
New Business and Announcements: Larry Teeter, Senate Chair
None
Adjournment: Larry Teeter, Senate Chair at 4:28