HE.03.12
September 29, 2003

University of Illinois
Urbana-Champaign Senate
Final-Information

HE.03.12 Report on the IBHE Faculty Advisory Council Meeting, May 2, 2003.

The FAC met at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Chancellor Sylvia Manning welcomed the group and engaged in an hour’s discussion of higher education issues. She stressed the need for faculty to look beyond the department and college to see the issues confronting the entire campus/university. The entire campus/university is “hitting the wall” and there is no money to give anyone: it is not a matter of giving to one unit and not another. The problem is national; all of higher education is sharing in the misery. We have a massive public relations issue. Higher education is seen as wasteful/bloated and not crucial to the state while K-12 is seen as needing funding even through the state is not willing to fund it.

We need faculty much more active as individuals in reaching out to legislators. It is urgent that each faculty member educate a legislator or another person about our needs. Personal letters and contacts are key. Diane Gilleland noted that form letters/postcards are not delivered to the office/individual addressed while individual letters and phone calls are logged. (Post cards mailed in one case were simply bundled up and delivered to the agency involved.)

The campus/university borrowed money from 2004 and current non-state sources to meet 2003 take-backs by the state. That money must be repaid next year out of FY’04 state funds. Chicago will convert some positions to student workers both to provide them employment to which they do not have to commute and to save resources. We also face a range of issues that do not contribute to our ability to solve our problems: line-item budgeting is terribly costly demanding more administrators to do it.

We must cut expenditures, which demands the freedom and flexibility to do so. Regulation of tuition will not solve any of our problems. If the state takes control of income funds, they may choose not to return them to us leaving us unable to meet student demand.

Higher education has been a house divided with some faculty groups claiming we have a bloated administration. Need to define “administration” and “administrative costs” carefully. Many performing direct educational service to students are classified as “administrators.” The Joyce bill freezing tuition by enrollment year and maintaining a flat tuition rate appeals to students and family ignoring the fact that little else (gasoline, interest rates, cost of food) is guaranteed. What tuition rate should be set? What exceptions granted? (Expect massive numbers of student petitions.) Governor wants a 5% limit on tuition increases. We need freedom to set tuition. The argument that financial aid to fifth year students is wasteful cost the university significant dollars when we covered those losses.

We need to be clear that the quality of the labor force is basic to attracting and retaining companies. The quality of the labor force is what brought Boeing to Chicago.

Diane Gilleland of the BHE discussed the assessment program in Illinois. She stressed that the program seeks to ensure that assessment is a faculty driven process with a focus on improving program quality at the individual institution. The responsibility of the BHE by law is to assure that the institutions are in fact engaged in continuous assessment to maintain and strengthen quality and prevent substandard instruction. Individual programs are asked to define desired student learning outcomes, determine if they are being achieved through evaluations during and at the end of the academic program. BHE accepts program evaluations by external profession accrediting agencies. A wide variety of end of program evaluations may be used such as capstone courses, senior projects, feedback of graduates and employers, tests, etc. The institution must ensure and monitor the evaluations and flag programs that need attention and then decide upon an appropriate response whether elimination, freezing admission to the program, adding staff, providing other resources, adjusting the curriculum, etc.

She discussed the Pew initiative and indicated Illinois may not participate due to lack of interest by institutions. The goal is to develop a test of critical thinking abilities as one measurement tool. The project does not see this as a “single outcome measure” for all of higher education as some believe.

The remainder of the day was devoted to work by the various committees and the business session. The committees reported on their various projects: several action items will be submitted to the May 30 meeting for presentation at the June 2 BHE meeting. The FAC developed plans of the remaining two meetings of the current year and for the transition to the next year. Committees will be reconstituted and their initial agendas set at the June meeting rather than waiting until the fall. A nominating committee to develop a slate for electing of officers for next year was named with the election to take place at the May 30 meeting.

Ken Andersen, FAC Chair
UIUC Senate FAC Representative