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March 1, 2001 Meeting Minutes

Present:  B. Benavidez, C. Bettison, G. Cassel, J. Decker, L. French, G. Harmon, T. Heiner, T. Macias, A. Milligan, G. Muncrief, L. Olivier, R. O’Ryan, D. Rees, F. Vowell, K. Woodward

Guest:  C. Harrison, Gallup Site Manager

Note Taker:  B. Rock

The meeting was called to order at 2:00 pm by Chair, F. Vowell. 

D. Rees introduced C. Harrison, newest member on campus.  Then the members in attendance introduced themselves to Ms. Harrison.

Announcements:

A. Milligan inquired whether he would  be able to fill the position in his department?  A discussion ensued.  The Chair advised to operate under the assumption that we will hire.

G. Muncrief thanked the group for their collaborative efforts in regard to  programs put together for the Business Department.

G. Cassel stated April 30 as the date she will know about Vocational Service grant funding.

C. Bettison referred to the museum program schedule handed out last time and reminded the group of two new exhibits coming in this spring.  July 13-15, they will host the largest international gathering of the Casada family from Mexico on campus with a two-day pottery workshop--10:00 AM to 4:00 PM each day including a series of lectures and a kids workshop.

Items Discussed:

  1. Bus Drivers will not be here this summer.  This will cause an economic impact on the town, so Faye asked the members to think of another event to take its place.  For now each school district will train their own bus drivers.

  2. Walmart receipts need to be turned in quickly.  The current policy is Walmart bills the university once a week for current receipts.  Late charges are passed on the departments and offices.

  3. New baccalaureate programs approved by C& I to go to the Regents  are MIS, Rehab Services, the BFA, and a substance abuse program.

  4. Summer Formula Factors (see handout) A discussion ensued about whether Summer School is losing money on some undergraduate classes.  Faye suggested that we should strive to offer higher formula factor courses each summer in order to make money.  Questions included the following:
    • do small classes cost more, do large classes bring in more money,
    • do adjuncts generate more money,
    • should we offer more or fewer Gen Ed classes each summer. 

    Even though the university keeps the tuition, it is subtracted from the next allocation.  It was mentioned that there is a bill pending in the legislature to freeze university tuition rates.  Information is needed on what hours/classes students take in the summer.  If the group is interested we can ask Chris Casey to explain these formula factors at our next meeting. 

    The following questions were raised: is change driven by money concerns or by student need, and how to increase summer enrollment?  One member opined that the formula numbers are meaningless because the formula was generated so many years ago and does not consider the more technical courses offered in the last 10 years.

  5. Assessment—J. Decker reported that she and K. Gilbert did a presentation at the Assessment conference last week in Albuquerque, and WNMU was assessed in the middle of the pack. The Noel Levit Student Survey will assess all 9:30 Tuesday and 10:00 Wednesday classes.  The Assessment Fair for students will be April 3 and 4 ; all major programs are encouraged to have a poster display ready.  Next year’s Assessment Retention conference will meet about the same time as this year’s conference in Albuquerque and will address factors affecting degree completion..  Handouts for the retention committee are forthcoming.

  6. Faculty/Staff Satisfaction Survey will soon be coming soon.  The survey will be anonymous.

  7. Cash Receipts from campus remote sites.  The Chair asked that all campus units collecting money need to deposit it in  the Business Office promptly.    A discussion ensued about club money being difficult to access when it is needed for current projects.

  8. AQIP Strategy Sessions.  G. Cassel reported that the two sessions have been well received with close to 50 participants so far.  Good ideas were generated. The AQIP team will compile input from faculty and staff for a set of goals.  Advisement, funding, and student life issues resurfaced.  The group work will be reflected in outcome for accreditation.  Questions included the following:
    • Is another forum needed? 
    • Did everyone get to participate? 
    • Perhaps one more afternoon session is needed before the May 1st deadline for completion.
    • Where will the information go? 
    • How will it be used?  Answer: The information will go to North Central Association, plus our website, and in the “West Wind”. We need to back up our few vital goals with data.  Our goals need to be objective and measurable.  Annual reports go to NCA for tracking of our goal achievement.

    The team members are President Counts, all the Vice Presidents, G. Cassel, P. Lankford, C. Hayes, K. Gilbert, and G. Harmon. 

  9. Title V Grant.  Faye  stated it was due March 12 and its activities will grow out of the AQIP discussions. WNMU has hired Dr. Soaring Hawk, an adjunct in the School of Education, to write and research this grant.  It will  focus on faculty and staff development.  It will give faculty and staff training in technology and in pedagogy which will enable them to create learning communities.   WNMU needs better relations with regional high schools feeding our student population for general improvement.  Title V documents are on the Adamantite  drive. 

  10. Faculty Instruction Load Report.  Faye stated that some reports have been returned.  The rest are needed soon so J. Lawrence can complete her report.  Your reports need to be returned even if no corrections are needed.  We will distribute more copies if needed.

Priority Notes: 

* The March 1st deadline for informing teachers of their Summer School assignments and salary has been rescheduled for Monday, March 19th after Spring Break.

* The rest of the MBO appointments need to be made as soon as possible.

* The next Chair’s meeting will be March 22st.

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