UC.08.10
October 6, 2008
University Senates Conference
June 26, 2008
University Senates Conference (USC) met in Chicago at the Student Center West with Vice President Rao and President White in the morning. Discussions focused on intellectual property and courseware ownership, the Global Campus, support for faculty, and exit interviews for faculty. A business meeting of USC followed.
The meeting with President White and Vice President Rao included discussion of the following:
- Global Campus (GC). VP Rao reported that the Global Campus may emphasize undergraduate degree completion opportunities. This is being discussed by the GC advisory council. Areas needing expansion within GC are the number of students enrolled and number of programs offered.
- Intellectual Property and Courseware Ownership. USC member Joe Finnerty is working on revisions to the language in the General Rules on courseware ownership related to faculty rights. The revisions will be shared with the appropriate administrative staff and legal counsel for review.
- Exit interviews. President White confirmed that exit interviews are inconsistently offered through the three campuses, and VP Rao elaborated that response rates vary as well. USC suggested that data from exit interviews would be beneficial to the University in addressing retention issues.
- Support for faculty. VP Rao indicated that a line item was added for faculty professional accounts for UIC and UIUC. Each campus is exploring how to make funds available to faculty.
The business meeting addressed the following matters:
- Approval of the May 28, 2008 minutes and classification of Senate minutes.
- Review of Vice Presidents. USC will request again the goals and accomplishments of the Vice Presidents as part of the annual review cycle.
- Campus reports. UIC reported that the Chancellor search is completed with the recommendation to appoint Paula Allen Meares; UIUC provided an update on the Academy on Capitalism and Limited Government Fund.
The meeting adjourned at 1:15 p.m.
Nancy P. O'Brien (information supplied by USC Secretary Connie Sailor)
USC Representative to UIUC Senate Executive Committee