Call to Order

At 12:30 P.M., C.E.O. Jimmy Woods called the November 8, 2001 meeting of the NGCSU Faculty Senate to order.

• Members in Attendance: Kaye Biddy, Jack Broman, V.P.A.A. Phil Buckhiester, Carl Cavalli, Noel Campbell, Daria Cronic, Barry Friedman, Robert Fuller, Donna Gessell, President Nathaniel Hansford, Rufus Larkin, Brian Mann, Georgia Mann, Vicki McCard, Bonnie Morris, Wayne Morris, Judy O'Neal, Bill Shaw, Ann Sumners, Carl Weinberg, C.E.O. Jimmy Woods
• Members Excused: Dlynn Armstrong, Harriette Richard
• Members Absent: Susan Gannaway, Bud Reiselt, Ann Stucke, Dan Thompson, Mary Ann Westerfield
• Guests: Jason Pruitt, Linda Roberts-Betsch

C.E.O. Jimmy Woods submitted the minutes of the October 11, 2001 meeting for approval and called for any additions or corrections. Barry Friedman moved to accept the minutes. Rufus Larkin seconded and the minutes were approved as submitted.

President's Report: Dr. Nathaniel Hansford

• President Hansford began his report with a discussion of the new chancellor, Dr. Tom Merideth. Reporting that Merideth seems to have been well received by Governor and has developed a nice rapport with the Speaker of the House, Dr. Hansford told the Senate that positive feedback continues to come in about the new appointee and then asked for feedback from those assembled. Hearing none, he expressed his hopes for the new Chancellor's success.
• Hansford then announced that Bill Chatham, who is in charge of facilities at the system level will be retiring Jan 1. Chatham, says Hansford, has been instrumental in organizing capital projects and establishing an orderly process for their execution.

• Moving on to the budget, Hansford cited the current Chancellor's report. As per the System's requirement that institutions report the 2 budget-cutting plans by 10/15 (representing a 2.5 % & 5% recision), the Chancellor reported that the System reviewed its programs & looked at possibilities for its own cuts. Apparently, such cuts would allow institutions to revise their cuts to 2.25% & 4% respectively. Given an option to collectively accept the System's cutting plan or shoulder the full weight of the cuts themselves, 32 of 34 institutions favor system-wide cuts. The OPB is now looking at the System to see how the cuts will be made. Frustrations are widespread regarding cuts in travel funding and possibly faculty position funding, but nobody really knows what will happen. In the middle of November, institutions will know which plan will be implemented, and in December, the budget will be revealed.
• Dr. Hansford noted that both the new & current Chancellors are optimistic about what kinds of cuts will be made. Neither wants to see deep cuts because of the danger to long-term progress in the state's higher education system. Chancellor Portch apparently mentioned the past Governor's promise of money for higher education and the fact that current Governor Barnes has chosen to work toward changes & progress.
• Hansford then announced that the Chairman of the BOR will be Joe Frank Harris next year, and that there will be a revision of the funding formula. Tuition is expected to increase as in recent years, and this may manifest itself as a "tuition surcharge." The surcharge will not, however, be covered by HOPE.  Hansford again cited the Chancellor in announcing hopes for raises in faculty salaries of 4% for the coming year.
• Addressing capital construction, Dr. Hansford explained the process by which NGCSU will make proposals that the BOR will add to its "master list" of about 30 projects. Such new projects are added to the bottom of the list and, by floating approximately $150M a year in bonds, approved projects are funded on a 5-year turnaround. NGCSU is currently #12 for its library/resource center. Apparently, the opportunity for new bonds is currently much better than usual because of low interest rates, and the BOR may fund up to 300M in projects this year. This translates into about 8 projects, which would move NGCSU's library up to #4.
• All MRR (Maintenance, Renovation, & Repair) funding, says Dr. Hansford, is off the table. Evidently, any funds that are not encumbered will go back to the System. NGCSU has most funds encumbered so it didn’t lose much.
• Noting that NGCSU can’t deal financially with the major security issues that are coming up now, Dr. Hansford noted that NGCSU does have procedures in place and has reviewed them with the Sheriff’s Department.
• Asking for questions and answering the obvious one, he announced that the parking lot is asphalted but needs lights and stripes in order to be complete. It will, apparently, open a week from Monday (11/19). No parking regulations will be enforced until next semester; only warning tickets. Due to issues between contractors and subcontractors, he wants it totally finished before it is opened for parking.
• Dr. Hansford then expressed pride in the Task Force on Leadership & Military Excellence, the minor in leadership, the special $250K/750K funding initiative, and the fact that all are still in the budget. There is also, he reports, new funding for a new Minority Recruitment initiative. NGCSU will apparently get a $250K endowment for 2-3 Hispanic scholarships, as well a $369K to work with a after-school program that will bring parents in to help Hispanic students deal with the special problems they face. He ended his report by announcing that NGCSU has hired a Hispanic admissions counselor who should be able to work effectively with high school students and minority recruiting.

• The C.E.O. offered his complements to Barry Friedman, who has effectively arranged for the minutes of the meetings of standing committees to be delivered as required by Senate bylaws.

• Jason Pruitt announced that he wanted to cover 2 issues, starting with the pre-registration period of 10/22-26. Confirming truth to the rumor that upperclassmen were able to register early, he said that it was in fact only a few hours early. There was, it seems a "back-door entry" in the new version of Banner that allowed such early registrations. We need, said Pruitt, to customize the new version by removing links to certain functions that circumvent system security.
• Mr. Pruitt's second issue, also a rumor, amounts to the allegation that it was instructors who "turned students on" to the security holes. He went on to stress the importance of "time-ticketing" to privilege seniors and upperclassmen with early registration, and the fact that such ticketing protects the system from overload. He cited regrets that several graduating seniors got shut out of classes, but that he has little sympathy for those who don't take advantage of early registration privileges. He stressed that he is willing to work with students to get the schedule they need and asked for faculty cooperation in the effort.
• Continuing his explanation of the problems, Pruitt explained that on Monday (10/22), Mike Ferguson called to say that only seniors were are on the system but that it was slow. There was apparently a bug in the part of the program that checks for prerequisites; the result was an infinite loop. They turned prerequisite check off to clear the system, which resulted in a number of students registering for courses without the necessary prerequisites. He added that courses in progress in effect satisfy prerequisites as well, and thus, similarly allow students to register for classes without prerequsites. Course adds in January should catch any lack of prerequisite, says Pruitt.  They are still trying to develop processes to find out how many students are "illegitimately" registered for courses. He will also try to compile a lists of such students for distribution to faculty.
• Robert Fuller addressed the issue of students who pre-register in order to hold a place but then neglect to drop it, thus keeping other students out. This fills up core classes, he says, and it will be worse with budget cuts keeping the number of available sections down. He wondered (aloud) about the possibility of fees for drop-add activity and limits on registration hours. Pruitt confirmed that there are students who are registered for 18-19 hours have an have no intention of taking them all.  Fuller recommended that the Senate look at a solution to the problem. Pruitt reiterated his call for Faculty to be involved in the process and share ideas.
• Barry Friedman asked if we could determine whether or not seniors who need classes are blocked and then remove such "squatters" from such classes. Pruitt answered yes; we can do it and we will, especially if such students get into classes illegitimately through the security holes.
• Donna Gessell asked about the "scam" in which seniors who add classes and then "sell" them to other students in a sort of black market by arranging to drop a class and have the "customer" add it immediately. Pruitt said that he was aware of the scam, that it wasn't an exact science, and that up to $25 has been charged for such classes.
• Linda Roberts-Betsch said that she had had discussions about consequences and punishment for such behavior, but that the workload on the registrar to track down such "transactions" would be immense. Pruitt agreed, confirming that there are a lot of time-consuming options, and asked faculty to let him know of any specific cases.
• C.E.O. Jimmy Woods asked if there is a time stamp attached to registration records, to which Pruitt answered "Yes."
• Robert Fuller asked if there is a "waitlisting" function. There is, confirmed Pruitt, but it isn’t functional, adding that he would like to arrange a automatic system that enrolls from a waitlist. Apparently, it’s too complicated. He said that there is a product enhancement under development and refinement to do so, but that the currently available 'solution' isn’t sufficient.

• C.E.O. Woods then called for any further announcements. There being none, the meeting was adjourned at 1:12 p.m.

D. Brian Mann, Secretary, NGCSU Faculty Senate