November 8, 2002
Statewide Meet and Confer Notes UNOFFICIAL
Meeting began at 8:35am
Members were introduced and the agenda was overviewed. MnSCU explained why Sr. Vice Chancellor Linda Baer was not present and added that she would like to meet separately with members of the IFO Executive Committee to discuss academic affairs matters. I was stressed that it is important that she be present for these statewide meet and confers.
The IFO added that we understand we never have enough time at our statewide meet and confers to discuss every item on our agenda(s) and we are trying to look at alternative ways to accomplish discussions on these items outside of meet and confer but not as a substitute to meet and confer. No decisions can be made outside meet and confer.
According to MnSCU Sr. Vice Chancellor Baer has full authority.
Graduate Programs:
MnSCU stated that they would have the members of their taskforce on graduate education ready by next week. MnSCU noted the problems they are having with the nursing field and that more money has been requested in this area of health care.
Taskforces:
The IFO requested a list of all of the MnSCU taskforces that would include faculty representation, the name of the taskforce, the charge, the list of members, the primary contact, etc. We need to get a handle on this.
MnSCU stated that they need to do some housecleaning with their committees.
The IFO stated their concern with the funding of these committees.
MnSCU is aware of this situation and is in the process of working on some guidelines.
The IFO asked MnSCU to bring their committee requests to the statewide meet and confers before they request faculty representation. The Chancellor thought that was a good idea.
A conversation happened between the staff of the Office of the Chancellor and the Chancellor himself. A staff member questioned the Chancellor on if he was serious that all taskforce requests should come through our statewide meet and confers? The nature of this discussion was based on the fact that we only meet and confer every 7 to 8 weeks and the time frame we’d be dealing with if this were the case. The Chancellor reminded his staff that his workplan was released four months ago, so the “last minute” taskforce creations should not be happening.
The IFO reminded the Office of the Chancellor that our faculty are overwhelmed with taskforce requests (135 faculty volunteers have been requested from MnSCU over the last 11 months). We need to be able to talk about which taskforces are essential to the mission of MnSCU.
The Chancellor stated that he predicts that there will be times that we will not need faculty involvement or some times where every state university would be involved. The issue of faculty involvement now needs MnSCU management attention. I’d be willing to appoint two of my staff members to compile this database (of all of the MnSCU taskforces) (staff members were named and appointed).
The Chancellor stated that there are only 200 teachers of color in our system. This is a problem and we are in a desperate situation.
Salary Grid:
The IFO stated that the MnSCU salary grid is being used inconsistently on each of our state university campuses. Mistakes are being made and this grid is confusing.
MnSCU stated that they are training each of the campuses on how to use this grid and would be willing to share these training materials with the IFO.
An IFO staff member stated that in the past the IFO has been invited to attend these training sessions. It was also stated that the IFO invites MnSCU to attend their meetings MnSCU should reciprocate.
Anti-Racism:
The IFO learned that in June of 2002 there was a meeting with all of the state university representatives to discuss matters affecting faculty of different persuasions, race, gender, etc. The IFO requested to know the outcome of that meeting.
MnSCU stated that no decisions had been made and it was a time to discuss multicultural initiatives. A memo was distributed dealing with the overview of that meeting.
Salary Equity:
A word of thanks was given to MnSCU on their work acquiring a consultant.
Budget Request:
The IFO expressed serious concerns with the potential budget cuts.
The Chancellor stated that they painfully arrived at their request of $107M and with $67M from tuition and we know this is not going to even cover what we need. We need to impress upon the new governor that we signed a contract and we need to hold true to it.
The IFO acknowledged that we need $353M to continue our current operations. If our contract isn’t ratified it will cause damage to the whole system.
The IFO expressed their concern that this issue had never been brought to a previous meet and confer.
A MnSCU originated budget document is being produced around January 2003.
There was a lengthy discussion on the new governor.
Peer Study:
The IFO wondered where the peer study reports have gone.
MnSCU stated that they were concerned with previous results that may hinder the MnSCU system so they are reluctant to continue this compilation of data. We are still discussing these issues.
2-Year Institutions Offering 4-Year Degrees:
The IFO asked MnSCU the status of this topic.
The Chancellor replied that Fond du Lac is very serious about their request to independently offer a 4-year degree(s). Nothing has been decided. This is a complex issue. We are failing them with the teachers they need. They have shared their curriculum with us and it is a strong curriculum. Their program is impressive.
The IFO asked if we’ve/they’ve addressed why we aren’t meeting Fond du Lac’s needs. This is about partnership.
Student Financial Aid:
The issue of increasing student financial aid was discussed.
Associates in Fine Arts Degree:
MnSCU is investigating what other state’s programs exist. This degree would be akin to our AS degree. We are meeting on this.
The IFO expressed their concern that they have never been included in any of these discussions but that they were having a meeting in a couple of weeks with the Academic Affairs department.
Meeting adjourned at 11:45am