Tuesday, January 20, 2015
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Those present: Ivan Avramidi, Penny Boston, Michelle Creech-Eakman, Iver Davidson, Mary Dezember, Sue Dunston, Tom Engler, Sara Grijalva, Nikolai Kalugin, Corey Leclerc, Lorie Liebrock, Lisa Majkowski, Subhasish Mazumdar, Navid Mojtabai, Shari Montazeri, Warren Ostergren, Clint Richardson, Snezna Rogelj, Mark Samuels, Bill Stone, Kevin Wedeward, Nadir Yilmaz. Lyndsey Lewis keeping minutes.
The meeting was called to order at 3:50 pm.
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Motion was made by Mark Samuels to approve the minutes, seconded by Penny Boston. Minutes were approved unanimously.
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Guidelines for Part Time Pay – Ken Minschwaner
Dr. Minschwaner explained that this was brought first to the Council of Chairs before Faculty Senate to determine if there were any important issues. The guidelines were developed by the Combined Faculty/Staff Budget & Research Committee. He welcomed any feedback. The guidelines are for part-time instructors.
Grandfathering: The committee supports grandfathering instructors who are teaching a course they taught previously, if the new pay schedule would lead to a cut in pay.
Flat rate across disciplines: The committee supports the same pay scale for all disciplines, but with a scale based on course level. This is intended as a base pay scale and can be increased at the discretion of the Vice President for Academic Affairs. For example, pay increases based on performances may be considered for Part-Time Instructors who have taught for multiple years.
Minimum enrollment limits: The committee recommends minimum enrollment limits of 10 for lower division, 8 for upper division, and 5 for graduate level courses. Minimum enrollments will not be applied to courses that are listed as specific requirements in any degree program.
Bonus for high enrollment: The committee does not recommend additional compensation for enrollment above a set number of students. However, a maximum class size may be specified by the department chair, in consultation with the instructor and the Vice President for Academic Affairs. If demand exceeds this maximum, additional sections (to be paid at the standard rate) may be required.
Exceptions: There must be provisions for exceptions to the pay schedule.
An example might include an engineering course needing a unique talent, for which that person is not available in town and has to come to Socorro from Albuquerque.
Dr. Minschwaner stated that the committee did not discuss overload pay and this guideline is for part-time instructor pay only. Dr. Ostergren explained that the issue of overload pay is an issue that could be addressed separately. There are many factors that go into the overload and it is dealt with on a case by case basis.
Dr. Engler raised some questions regarding the flat rate across disciplines. In terms of state generated money, sciences get paid more than humanities and engineering courses as it requires more work and costs more money. Therefore, the state has developed a system where those courses receive more money per credit hour. Dr. Minschwaner noted that the justification could also be a supply and demand. He suggested they include a statement in the guidelines recognizing the state formula and the justification of a different approach.
Dr. Engler asked if the number of minimum enrollment limits for part time instructors should be used for all courses and how the committee determined these numbers. Dr. Minschwaner stated that the numbers were roughly based on the understanding on what it takes to make a class break even. Dr. Ostergren noted that there are other factors involved and to use these numbers for all courses would be inappropriate.
Shari Montazeri explained that these are guidelines for the majority of the courses. Academic Affairs will work with each department to determine what the outcomes are based on the situation and individual needs.
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Accreditation & Site Visit – Mary Dezember
Dr. Ostergren asked for faculty to read the report and bring up any issues in advance before the HLC visit.
Dr. Dezember gave an update on where we are at with the HLC visit and what to expect.
Quality Initiative – The final impact report, which included using the Student Research Symposium as an assessment tool on campus, was submitted to HLC. Dr. Dezember, Dr. Soliman, Dr. Pias, and Lisa Majkowski attended a results forum that dealt with assessment. NMT was one of a few groups that were asked to present in the Showcase Session of Results Forum. The quality initiative was completed with a “clean” review. NMT was also selected to present Quality Initiative at HLC Annual Conference in April 2015. The next Student Research Symposium is April 16
. This is being continued although the Quality Initiative is ending and a new one will be on the way, we can't let this one end. We need sustainability and will be expanding other assessment methods on campus. Dr. Frank Etscorn will be the keynote speaker.
Assurance Argument – This is essentially what has been looked at in the past. The self-study is now a 35,000 word report. The document has been written but is being revised due to the word count. Evidence files are being collected and linked appropriately to report in the HLC Assurance system. President Lopez approved the draft in late December. The final draft should be available on the NMT website for NMT community from January 28 to February 11, 2015. It will be submitted to HLC no later than February 23, 2015.
Public Comment about NMT to HLC – This was aimed to reach our students, alumni, public, and other constituents. There was an advertisement in the Albuquerque Journal and El Defensor Chieftain. A banner was hung in Fidel and flyers have been distributed across campus. A survey for students created by HLC was emailed to students. Reports of all these methods were sent to the HLC Legal Department.
The Evaluation Team visit will be here on March 23 and 24, 2015. There appears to be no conflict of interest with who will be visiting. Dr. Dezember isn't sure what to expect from the Evaluation Team visit. She has spoken with other reviewers to get an idea on what we can expect. A reviewer stated that they pull syllabi and view websites. We should have the Student Learning Outcomes on the syllabi. There is a federal compliance aspect to this report. There will be a federal compliance panel that will review that information separately from our site visitors. We can also expect Strategic Planning and Accreditation alignment, Integrated Planning and Assessment, and Student Learning Assessment informing budgeting and planning. Dr. Dezember will notify everyone as she finds out more information.
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Combined Engineering and Arts & Science Faculty Request – Tom Engler/Bill Stone
Dr. Engler noted that this faculty request was also prepared last year. These are recommendations to Academic Affairs listed by priority:
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Petroleum Engineering – tenure-track assistant professor position. This is relative to the fact that they have growth in enrollment and have research needs. They have the highest student to faculty ratio.
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An addition of a fulltime tenure-track assistant professor in engineering. There is an overload in engineering science courses. Looking for someone who can primarily instruct a multitude of engineering sciences classes. This will free up a lot of engineering faculty to do more research in their home department. This position will focus on trans-interdisciplinary research and/or engineering education.
Dr. Stone reported on the Arts and Science's needs which are prioritized after the Engineering needs.
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Biology – tenure-track assistant professor position. This is a top priority as we are moving forward to create the new PHD in Biotechnology, along with the new environmental science program, and with the number of trans-disciplinary efforts involved.
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Math – tenure-track assistant professor position. With the increasing overall student body, the pressure for the Math department is beyond what the current faculty can handle.
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Chemistry – experimental Biochemist - tenure-track assistant professor position. Sally Pias is a Biochemist but a “dry chemist” and we would like to also have a “wet chemist”. Also, the Biochemistry is going to relate to the Biomedical, and water quality and environmental issues.
The five listed were an optimistic view of what we might hire. The remaining requested positions were listed on a handout in alphabetical order.
Dr. Ostergren asked if the chairs agreed with these priorities. No additional comments were provided.
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Fire Marshall – Navid Mojtabai
Dr. Mojtabai briefly mentioned that updates on electrical outlets for MSEC Labs have not been completed since the last fire marshall's visit. Dr. Ostergren will send out an email on what is important and needs to get taken care of before the visit.
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Community Education Catalog Changes – Lillian Armijo
Postponed to February meeting
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By unanimous consent the council of chairs adjourned at 4:57 pm.