Penn State Mont Alto Faculty Senate Executive Board minutes, February 17, 2016
In attendance: Chair Somjit Barat, Hanifiah Harvey, Brian Sensenig, Kendra Sites, Robin Yaure, Ermek Nurkhaidarov, Mike Doncheski.
Meeting began at 2:04 pm.
Robin Yaure opened the discussion with a question about travel. It seems the latest directive from University Park is buckle down on expenses and recycle money, presumably because of the current state budget stalemate. Is there a freeze on travel? What does this mean? Does this affect money left in things like the professional development fund?
Response from Mike Doncheski is funds already allocated are considered spent and are not expected to be taken back. Until there is some sort of public announcement about the situation, no freeze is in place.
The board thinks it is a good idea to give a heads-up to the faculty and perhaps reference consideration of summer travel.
This led to a secondary question about clarification of travel and the broader topic of budget cuts when budget is settled. Should faculty not go to travel that is already registered and scheduled? It is the feeling of the administration that if you are registered and paid to go, you should go. Otherwise, faculty is losing money and the campus is losing money
Mike Doncheski then went over introducing a psychology major program to the campus. An ad hoc group has been working on details of a bachelor’s degree program. Thus far, there is no clear cut answer on how to bring in new students (which is the goal of the endeavor) without cannibalizing existing programs. Comparative situations at other campuses show there is some attrition to existing programs such as HDFS, but in the end there are two healthy programs in place.
Some questions asked about the proposal were: Is there a direct correlation between HDFS and psychology? Will the implementation be cost effective? Is it a good idea to bring in something new that may upset the current status in an environment of declining admissions?
The plan would involve hiring two new faculty members for the 4 year program, which does not need an overwhelming number of students to pay for the salary. Adding the program will give our campus another chance to entice students to Mont Alto when there are lot of nearby campuses who already have the program.
A draft prospectus handed out and the agreement of the board is to charge curricular affairs committee for recommendation to proceed with a timeline of spring break for a response.
Hanifiah Harvey then asked a question about the faculty webpage for Mont Alto, specifically about individual profiles. What exactly is the process for updating the current information? Who is the person to talk to? What are the rules? Can faculty update the information themselves or do all updates need approval? Is there any way to make the process easier and more expedient?
It seems some people have been told to do themselves and some people have been told they cannot do it themselves. It is the opinion of the board to consult Debra in the PR/Marketing department and get feedback on the process of making changes in a timely fashion.
Next, the key process from police services was briefly re-visited. Brian Sensenig reported the results of a sit-down meeting with Chief Wagner, which basically reiterated all of the points that were previously discussed. The bottom line is that police services are willing to work with faculty and the administration on whatever process they want to implement to allocate keys. As long as faculty have a completed key form from Charlene and call ahead, there should be no problem is picking up a key at the police services building. However, keep in mind that there may be times no one will physically be at the office; in which case faculty just needs to call the department number and someone will return to assist.
A question for clarification was asked about the number to call: it is not the 911 emergency. The department phone is x6070. It is not clear if this is the number that is currently posted on the door of the department. Police Services will be asked to clarify and clearly post the number to be called if the office is locked.
Kendra Sites then closed the meeting with two items. First, there was a question about the modified schedules. Is it a class modification schedule or a campus modification schedule? There seems to have been conflicts created because of pre-arranged meetings suddenly interfering with class sessions. Perhaps calling it a “Campus Modified Schedule” would make it clear that everyone needs to adjust times on these days?
Another question for clarification: If the campus closes at 4 pm, does that mean classes that started at 3:30 end at 4? What is the rule for classes that start but end past the 4 pm close time?
A side note to the question was about the notification itself. Can the linked to the modified schedule be included in the posted announcement?
Lastly, the deadline for EPR is approaching and it would be a good idea to remind faculty to have them completed. It was asked about the involvement percentage (faculty who have completed the forms) and if Mike can directly contact anyone who has not submitted their reports.
Meeting ended at 2:52 pm.