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November 29, 2001
TABLE OF CONTENTS
REPORT FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA
RESOURCES COMMITTEE (Continued)
PROGRAMS COMMITTEE (Continued)
REPORT FROM THE ARIZONA FACULTIES COUNCIL
INQUIRIES, REQUESTS, REPORTS, AND COMMENTS FROM REGENTS AND MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL OF PRESIDENTS
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MINUTES OF A MEETING
ARIZONA BOARD OF REGENTS
November 29, 2001
A meeting of the Arizona Board of Regents was held November 29, 2001, at the Arizona Cancer Center Peter Kiewit Auditorium in the University of Arizona Health Sciences Center, Tucson, Arizona. President Kay McKay called the meeting to order at 10:56 a.m.
| PRESENT: | Regent George H. Amos, III |
Also present were: President Peter Likins, Dr. George Davis, Dr. Patti Ota, Ms. Judith Leonard, Dr. Elizabeth Ervin, Dr. Saundra Taylor, Mr. Joel Valdez, Dr. Randy Groth, and Ms. Janet Bingham, University of Arizona; President Lattie Coor, Dr. Milton Glick, Mr. Paul Ward, Mr. Steve Miller, Dr. Christine Wilkinson, Dr. Tom Trotter, Mr. A. J. Pfister, and Dr. Gary Krahenbuhl, Arizona State University; Acting President John Haeger, Dr. Jeanette Baker, Dr. Sarah Bickel, Mr. Kurt Davis, Mr. Josh Allen, and Mr. A. Dean Pickett, Northern Arizona University; Executive Director Linda Blessing, Board Counsel Joel Sideman, Secretary to the Board Judy Garza, Dr. Art Ashton, Dr. Thomas Wickenden, Mr. Matt Ortega, Ms. Louise Houseworth, Mr. Dave Harris, and Ms. Norma Salas, Central Office Staff; and Dr. Andrew Jackson, Arizona Faculties Council.
Regent Jewett led the Pledge of Allegiance.
Delores Grayam, representing the Tucson Civil Rights Coalition, stated her opinion that there was a lack of due process associated with the resignation of former President Owen Cargol. She also stated her opinion of other personnel actions undertaken by the universities.
Bill Bickel, a UA faculty member, said he believed there was a lack of due process associated with the resignation of former President Owen Cargol. He also stated there had been a lack of due process in faculty hearings in prior years because faculty had not been allowed to be represented by counsel.
Ray Quintero, UA Student body President, informed the Regents about the "No More Than Four" program wherein the students are lobbying the legislature to take no more than 4% from the university budgets.
Karen Moses, ASU Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), spoke on the Leadership Characteristics to be used in the conduct of the ASU Presidential Search. She said CSW supported leadership criteria calling for ASU's next president to have a demonstrated commitment to achieving cultural and ethnic diversity in the student body and among faculty, staff, and administration. She asked the Regents to make sure the criteria they adopted clearly incorporated goals, values, and experiences that build on ASU's current philosophy and that are consistent with the Board's stated vision for women. She also asked that opportunities for interaction with the finalists interviewed on campus be offered to groups and units representing the diverse constituencies at ASU, in addition to any general sessions open to the university community.
Michael Johnson, NAU Student Body President, spoke in support of the Regents' decision regarding former President Cargol. He also gave his support to President Haeger.
Ted Pope, Director of Academic Programs at Arizona International College (AIC), spoke on the proposal to disestablish AIC and why he believed the item should be tabled until an independent commission could make a thorough analysis of the college's operations, accomplishments, and potential.
Blaise Rastello, AIC Alumnus, spoke on behalf of continuing AIC and what he believed would be the potential losses incurred if AIC were disestablished.
Josiane Peltier, AIC faculty, asked the Regents to postpone the closing of AIC to appoint a commission to study the long-term viability of a fourth public institution for Arizona.
Olivia Sloan, AIC student, requested the Board establish an oversight committee as was called for in the original framework describing AIC, and ask the committee to look at the viability of AIC.
Andrew Polito, AIC student, asked the Regents to study the benefits of AIC before disestablishing the college.
Stephen Adams, AIC student, asked the Regents to table the vote on AIC as he believes AIC is an outstanding example of what is needed in education in Arizona.
Regent Molera entered the meeting at 11:40 a.m.
Richard Mahoney, former Secretary of State for Arizona, described his early involvement with AIC. He asked the Regents not to take a "wrecking ball" to AIC.
Dr. Jim Madril, parent of an AIC student, asked the Board to continue AIC.
Alicja Mann, mentor of arts at AIC, said she did not believe AIC had been given a chance to flower and she asked the Regents to give it that chance.
Arthur Naiman, author and publisher of non-fiction books, said he lives in Tucson and it is important to him the community be exciting and culturally vibrant. He believes this can only be accomplished with the university's help. He believes AIC is the single most creative, valuable and innovative part of the entire university system. Closing AIC will degrade the quality of life for everyone.
Robin Hoover, President of Humane Borders, Pastor of First Christian Church, and a frequent lecturer at AIC, said many of the AIC students had provided valuable community service. He asked the Regents to keep the college open.
Dick Basye, said he was a citizen who was concerned about the University of Arizona's purchase of Tucson Electric Power Company building. He asked for an investigation of either poor judgement or incompetence in this matter.
Regent Stuart chaired this portion of the meeting.
Former Regent John Munger addressed the Board to give his perspective of AIC. He said he understands the financial problems. He said AIC was never intended to be a burden on the University of Arizona. It was intended to eventually be on its own; a different kind of college to offer a choice to Arizona students. He asked the Regents to continue AIC and ask the legislature to fund it as a fourth university. He believes the experiment of a different type liberal arts college has been successful.
Regent Jewett said he had served, as a citizen, on a committee to pick corridors in the Tucson area where it was believed AIC would have the greatest chance of success. He asked why the Regents had placed AIC at the Research Park as the committee had determined that was not one of the better sites. Regent Munger said the Regents had no money for buildings and buildings were available at the Research Park. Also, the Regents had agreed prior to any work by the committee that AIC would be located at the Research Park if it were purchased. This was part of the agreement to start AIC and to secure the Research Park. The Regents were surprised when the committee was asked to consider various sites.
President Likins explained the history of AIC funding and why he believed it would not become self supporting. He stated the financial necessity for the disestablishment. Provost George Davis explained the rationale of closing AIC for financial reasons and the opportunities available for AIC students at the University of Arizona.
Regent Gignac said the letters and emails from supporters of AIC had raised some good questions that should be addressed, such as faculty spending more time teaching and advising. She said it appears there are some students who have been successful at AIC who will need extra help to succeed at the larger university.
Regent Amos said AIC was originally proposed to help with enrollment growth. ASU East, AIC, and the expansion of distance learning would accommodate enrollment growth. He said he believed AIC was an outstanding example of a liberal arts college. He asked the Regents to table the issue and appoint a commission to study the issue of whether there is still a need for a fourth university and whether AIC would meet that need.
Regent Robinson said, in support of the faculty and students who were not aware they were under a probationary period, the Regents should allow a grace period or table the issue to allow more discussion as to how AIC can be salvaged in some form. Regent Molera said he believed the presidents were in a delicate position because of expected budget cuts. He believes the universities have strong presidents who should be trusted to run the universities. They will have to live with the budget cuts they make. Therefore, he will support President Likins' request.
Regent Amos said he believes a college like AIC is very important as the biggest complaint the Regents receive is faculty spend too much time in research and not enough time teaching. He moved to form an independent commission, with Regents involved if they wish, to evaluate the need for AIC or a fourth university. The recommendation would be made to the Regents before May of 2002. The motion was seconded by Regent Robinson. The motion failed with Regents Gignac, Herstam, Jewett, Molera, Palacios, Stuart, Ulrich, and McKay voting no and Regent Amos and Robinson voting yes.
Regent Stuart said he was a college graduate with a liberal arts degree and understood the value of such. However, in this case he believes the cost of AIC is too high and tabling the issue will only postpone the inevitable. Therefore, he moved to disestablish Arizona International College and its degree programs: the Bachelor of Arts in Fine and Performing Arts; Humanities; Language and Culture; Liberal Studies; Natural Sciences and Mathematics; and Social Sciences. The College and its academic programs will be phased out according to the detailed plan being developed by the AIC Transition Team. The motion was seconded by Regent Herstam and passed with Regent Amos voting no.
The meeting recessed at 1:16 p.m. Regent Meaker left the meeting at this time. The meeting reconvened at 3:00 p.m.
Regent Herstam chaired this portion of the meeting.
Governor Hull joined the meeting for this discussion. Regent Herstam moved to appoint Dr. John D. Haeger as President of Northern Arizona University and to authorize the Board President to execute a multiple-year employment contract with Dr. Haeger that incorporates the terms and conditions as summarized in the Executive Summary, with one change. He moved to extend the ending date of the multiple-year appointment from June 30, 2004, to June 30, 2005, with an understanding this change required a waiver of Board Policy 6-1101 which generally places a 3-year limit on presidential appointments. Regent Herstam said he believed the extension of the term was warranted as a way of demonstrating the Board's support for Dr. Haeger's leadership and for the entire NAU community. The motion was seconded by Governor Hull and passed unanimously.
President Haeger's annual salary level will be $180,000 with an annual housing allowance of $46,993, an annual automobile allowance of $8,394, and an opportunity to participate in a cash balance defined pension plan equivalent to $32,400 (18% of salary). He will have the same fringe benefits as all other NAU administrators. He will receive reimbursement for actual out-of-pocket moving expenses in the event he moves to a new residence. The contract will include provisions relating to termination of employment, including payment of liquidated damages, and will incorporate provisions regarding annual performance assessment and compensation review. Dr. Haeger will retain his tenured faculty appointment as a professor of history at NAU.
President Haeger said he was honored by the appointment and was excited about leading NAU into the future. Governor Hull said she would like to add her congratulations to those of the rest of the Regents and she knew Dr. Haeger would do a sterling job as president.
The Governor left the meeting.
Provost Davis said it is incredible to him how far the University of Arizona has come in the last ten or fifteen years in regard to assessing, in a deliberative way, how well it and the students are doing both in curricular and co-curricular activities. He introduced Economics Professor Ken Smith who has been on point in the assessment of student learning outcomes at the University of Arizona.
Dr. Smith reported on the progress at the UA in advancing student learning through outcomes assessment. He said the Student Outcomes Assessment Plan was developed in 1995 and it was to be decentralized, faculty driven, and integrated into the normal planning processes of the university, especially being reviewed and evaluated within the context of academic program reviews.
In the fall of 1998, it was determined there was progress in some areas, but progress was not as consistent as it should be. A pilot project was developed with twenty academic programs across eight colleges to begin to demonstrate examples of good assessment programs and develop a cadre of experienced faculty and staff. In the fall of 2000, the plan was implemented across the campus under a schedule developed by the Provost.
The objective is to obtain a complete cycle of student learning outcomes assessments with all undergraduate, graduate, and campus life programs by June 2003. The university wants the faculty to understand the importance of having well-defined goals for what students need to know and should be able to do and how specific courses support the development of these abilities. The university also wants students, parents, and the public to know the expected learning outcomes for each academic program. This is a cultural transformation to a model of learner-centered education.
Dr. Smith used the College of Science as an example of the good will and success the campus has had in making this a positive experience. Professor Judy Parrish, Associate Dean, has been coordinating this effort in the College of Science. Dr. Smith focused on the department of ecology and evolutionary biology to underscore the extent to which the university is looking at knowledge, skills, and attitudes of mind. All of this is to help the university produce graduates who are imaginative, creative, ethical thinkers with analytic skills that can communicate clearly in diverse environments.
Provost Davis introduced Dean of Students and Associate Vice President of Campus Life Melissa Vito. Dr. Vito told about a campus climate survey done in 2001 versus one carried out in 1996. For example, in the 2001 survey, 77% of the students view the quality of faculty members as excellent which is an improvement of 8%. The level of support faculty members give students is seen by students to have improved by 19%.
Regent Ulrich complimented Dr. Vito and her staff for all the work involved in the surveys.
Regent Palacios chaired this portion of the meeting. Mr. Matt Ortega joined the meeting for the Public Awareness Committee.
Mr. Kurt Davis joined the meeting for this discussion. Mr. Ortega briefed the Regents on the budget plan passed by the House of Representatives in the special legislative session. He said the legislature is now focused on the budget and new legislation has not yet been introduced.
Regent Palacios said she had been working with staff on ways of improving communication during the legislative session. Mr. Ortega will be sending out weekly legislative alerts and updates during the session regarding relevant legislation. Because the Board meetings fall in late January and March, Regent Palacios said she believed there was a need for some type of mechanism for communicating positions on bills to Central Staff. She asked Regents to think about the problem and be ready with suggestions at a future meeting.
Regent Palacios described the proposed State of the Universities Report. It will include a message from President McKay indicating strengths and upcoming challenges, highlights of Board progress over the previous year, a visual representation of university benefits to Arizona, and statistics on size, scope, and character of the system, including quick facts. It is hoped the document can be released to the legislature early in the session. She asked Regents to contact Mr. Ortega with any comments they might have regarding the document.
Regent Palacios reminded the Regents there was a plan to release two reports–this one and a more detailed annual information report containing more specific information and highlights that would be distributed some time in September. Past reports have been distributed to the legislature and business groups. She asked for Regents to call Mr. Ortega if they had any ideas as to how or to whom they would like the reports distributed.
President McKay reported on the editorial board meetings she attended with the presidents. Regent Palacios reported she had met with each of the universities' institutional advancement or public affairs vice presidents and discussed a range of issues including each university's communication plan. A system communication plan is also being developed. There are changes being made to the Board website to improve readability and navigation and work is continuing on converting Board fact sheets into multi-media formats. Legislative outreach includes substantial work on the budget discussion and on the value of Proposition 301 funding, specifically ARU and the Regents Innovation Fund.
Regent Jewett reminded the Board of its discussion at the last study session on athletics and the conclusion a more detailed look at athletic programs was needed. A subcommittee of Regents was formed which included Regents Jewett, Ulrich, and Herstam. He reported the first meeting of the subcommittee was held yesterday and was attended by the university presidents, athletic directors, faculty leaders, and Regents Jewett and Ulrich. The group identified five goals within two categories to strengthen the athletic programs at the universities. The two categories are academic improvement and fiscal reform.
Within the academic improvement area, the group identified the following goals: looking at ways to improve the measurement and reporting of graduation rates and academic progress of student athletes; strengthening academic support services and exposure to academic enrichment opportunities for student athletes; and gaining a better understanding of the appropriate roles and responsibilities of faculty athletic representatives and evaluating the need for establishing terms for those representatives. In the fiscal reform area, the committee identified the goals of looking at ways of improving cost containment mechanisms; and developing a standard coaching contract agreement that supports both intercollegiate athletics and provides incentives for student athletes' academic success.
The subcommittee is in the process of developing a draft short-term action plan for achieving these goals and will provide a progress report at the January Board meeting. Regent Gignac said she had forwarded a memo with fourteen points for consideration after the last meeting. Regent Jewett said her memo would be considered as the committee moves forward. Regent Amos cautioned against getting Arizona too far ahead of the rest of the nation and endangering the athletic departments.
Dr. Andrew Jackson said the Arizona Faculties Council (AFC) is strongly encouraged by the dialogue that has begun between Regents, staff, AFC, and other stakeholders. The AFC appreciates being involved as athletics has long been an issue with faculty. The AFC supports the goals the subcommittee developed with the caveat the focus on enhancing academic support services for student athletes is important, but it should be recognized athletes are not the only ones needing student support services.
Regent Palacios asked for a copy of the goals to be sent to the Regents. Regent Jewett said a matrix action plan is being developed and will be sent to Regents as it is pulled together.
Items on the Consent Agenda, which are marked in these minutes with an *, were considered as consent matters and were adopted upon motion of Regent Amos, seconded by Regent Stuart. There was no individual discussion of these items. Regent Gignac abstained from Item 13, Appointment to University Medical Center Corporation Board of Directors as she is a member of that Board.
The Board adopted the August 9 and 10, 2001, Executive Session and the September 25 and 26, 2001, Regular Meeting minutes.
The Board appointed Mr. Leo J. Brennan to the University Medical Center Corporation (UMCC) Board of Directors for a term effective October 2001 through October 2005. The UMCC Board of Directors appointed Mr. Brennan to membership, pending ABOR approval, at its September 27, 2001, meeting.
The Board authorized NAU to refund the callable maturities of the 1991, 1992, and 1992A System Revenue Bonds according to the terms and conditions identified in the bond resolution, to take all needed related actions, and to enter into a resolution reviewed by Board Counsel, if the refunding, after consideration of all issuance costs, results in net present value savings to NAU.
The Board authorized the President of Arizona State University or the ASU East Provost or designee to sign and enter into a lease agreement with the Williams Gateway Airport Authority for certain property at the airport known as Parcel 22 (approximately 2.3 acre parcel) for the purpose of constructing and operating a flightline facility to be used by ASU East Aeronautical Management Technology Department flight training programs, consistent with the terms summarized below, and to take all appropriate actions to complete negotiations and to enter into such related documents as needed. Funding for this ground lease agreement and operations and maintenance for the flightline facility to be constructed on Parcel 22 will be from ASU East all-other operating funds.
The basic terms of the ground lease will include an initial term of 30 years with an option for 2 additional 5-year renewal terms; a net lease with a rental rate of 29¢ per square foot per year with consumer price index and or periodic market adjustments; and lease terms consistent with applicable Williams Gateway Airport minimum standards and ABOR policies. Upon termination or expiration of the lease, all improvements constructed on the leased premises will become the property of the Williams Gateway Airport Authority.
The Board approved appointments of new members to the AzHEC Commission and the CENAHEC, MAHEC, and WAHEC governing boards for FY 2001 through FY 2003 as listed below.
Rosters for the full commission and boards are presented, with the new approvals indicated by asterisks.
Arizona Area Health Education Center System Advisory Commission Members - Edith Auslander, Paul Babbitt, Jack Beveridge, Joel Brill, *Debra Brown, Warren "Bud" Day, Catherine Eden, Herschella Horton, *John Lewis, *Nick Lund, *Robert "Bob" McLendon, Thomas McWilliams, Eladio Pereira, Anthony Vuturo, and *Raymond Woosley. Members Ex-officio with vote (during term of office as presidents of local AzHEC governing boards) - *Roy Lopez, Abel Estrella, Robert Heiligman, Dorothy Kervahn, and Jose Munoz. Members Ex-officio without vote - Linda Blessing and *Carlos "Kent" Campbell.
Central Arizona AZHEC (CENAHEC) in Superior - Roy Lopez, Lori Martinez, Carol Ciallella, Hector Salazar, Seraphine Elam, Roni Kerns, Jilliam Kolossa, Patrick Peters, Brenda Wallace, Ricki Williams, *Linda Yarrington, and Bob Zache.
Maricopa AZHEC (MAHEC) in Phoenix - Robert Heiligman, Steven Goldstein, Judith Black Feather, Anthony Vuturo, Karla Birkholz, Mary Briden, *Irma Bustamante, Jacqueline Chadwick, *Doris Marshall, and Susan Sisley.
Western Arizona AHEC (WAHEC) in Yuma - Dr. Jose Muñoz, Alejandrina Orpineda, Margaret Smith, Barbara Castañeda, Ruth Grothe, *David Hogate, Harry Kilb, Patrick Olague, Charis Victoria, Christine Harrington, and Jackie Switzer.
Flexible spending accounts enable employees to contribute pre-tax dollars from their pay to an account from which they are reimbursed for health care and/or dependent care expenses resulting in an income tax reduction for the employee.
Currently, the ABOR flexible spending account plan permits an employee to contribute up to $2,000/year for family medical/dental expenses. The university human resources directors have reviewed the medical/dental claim reimbursements over the past two years and recommended the maximum amount an individual employee may deposit in the medical/dental flexible spending account be increased from $2000/year to $3500/year.
The Board adopted the Third Amendment to its Health Care Plan, effective January 1, 2002, thus increasing the maximum compensation that an employee may elect to contribute to their flexible spending health care account in any plan year to $3,500. The Board also authorized its Executive Director to execute the revisions to the Plan document. Because open enrollment for the flexible spending accounts began on November 1, the Board's Executive Director authorized an increase in the limit for the health care account, pending formal Board approval.
The Board approved settlement of the Camille Kimball litigation and authorized ASU to enter into an appropriate settlement agreement in which ASU's contribution to the financial settlement will be $57,500. Ms. Kimball will execute a complete release and waiver of all pending and potential claims against the Board and ASU.
The Board authorized the University of Arizona to enter into a contract with the National Institutes of Health to support the Clinical Center for the Osteoarthritis Initiative. The proposed amount of the contract is $3,196,397 for the first year of the project with a total anticipated funding amount of $15,328,409 for the life of the project. The contract period is 7/15/02 through 5/14/09.
The Board received a written report on fall enrollment 2001. Overall, Arizona University System headcount enrollments increased 3.3%, from 105,842 in Fall 2000 to 109,375 in Fall 2001. Overall, FTE increased 4.2% from 92,276 in Fall 2000 to 96,603 in Fall 2001. Headcount for ASU Main was 45,693, ASU West 5,804, ASU East 2,403, NAU 19,728, and UA (including UA South) 35,747. Full-time equivalent (FTE) enrollment at ASU Main was 41,157, ASU West 4,387, ASU East 1,542, NAU 17,057, and UA (including UA South) 32,460.
The title of Regents' Professor is to honor tenured university faculty members whose exceptional achievements have brought them national or international distinction. The title serves as recognition of the highest merit and also represents unusual contributions to the quality of the individual's university.
At the request of ASU, the Board approved the appointment of Professor Geoffrey Clark, Department of Anthropology in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences; Professor Gerald Heydt, Department of Electrical Engineering in the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences; Professor Mark Klett, School of Art (Photography) in the Herberger College of Fine Arts; Professor Jane Maienschein, Department of Philosophy and Biology in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences; and Professor Sumner Starrfield, Department of Physics and Astronomy in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences as Regents' Professors, to take effect on August 15, 2002, and carry a salary increment of $5,000.
The Board approved the Progress Report on Articulation and Transfer for Arizona Public Postsecondary Education for transmittal to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee. The report is in response to a budgetary footnote included in the community college and university budgets for FY 2000 and FY 2001. The report includes highlights, background information on the groups involved, and a detailed report on two processes: articulating postsecondary academic programs and courses and jointly identifying and meeting the state's postsecondary needs. The model for articulating postsecondary academic programs and courses has been developed over a five-year period and is now fully implemented. The cooperative process for identifying and meeting postsecondary needs has been successful, resulting in an absence of issues regarding unmet needs.
Regent Jewett chaired this portion of the meeting. Dr. Art Ashton joined the meeting for this discussion.
Regent Herstam reported the ARU Subcommittee interacts with the members of the Council of Presidents and the ARU Project Management Team (PMT). The ARU PMT plans and recommends ARU activities and processes that include academic program grants to support e-education in areas of identified need and seamless student services to support e-learning students.
The ARU Board Subcommittee met with the ARU PMT on November 5, 2001, and approved a $326,000 allocation for the following seamless student services: 1. Contract to revise and update the Azdistancelearning.org web site to an ARU web site: $115,000. 2. Modify the existing Arizona Course Equivalency Tracking System (ACETS) for ARU articulation and transfer support: $76,000. 3. Retain campus coordinators to support seamless student services at each of the three universities: $135,000.
The PMT reported on progress in soliciting an e-leaning grant proposal to address teacher preparation issues–concentrating on secondary level science and math. A successful workshop was held at ASU with 55 attendees who were enthusiastic and left with a clear sense that a collaborative proposal could be drafted.
The PMT also reported on progress in soliciting an e-learning grant proposal to address the nursing shortage. The universities reported they are taking an active role in addressing nursing shortages and health care issues in a comprehensive manner. An ARU e-learning grant proposal is expected to be submitted to the ARU Subcommittee in December.
Regent Herstam chaired this portion of the meeting.
Ms. Louise Houseworth, Ms. Gale Tebeau, Ms. Kathy Bedard, Mr. Josh Allen, and Mr. Dick Roberts joined the meeting for this discussion. Ms. Houseworth said the Fall Update identifies budget reallocations and other significant revisions since the Board approved the initial All Funds Operating Budget (All Funds) in June. It reflects actual budget allocations instead of initial estimates and actual carry-forward balances instead of estimated balances. The budget reductions under consideration now in the legislature will be included in the Spring Update of the All Funds.
Regent Gignac asked questions about the net revenues as a percentage of total revenues and was told they are monitored on a monthly basis. Upon motion of Regent Herstam, seconded by Regent Gignac, the Board approved the Fall Update of the FY 2002 All Funds Operating Budget.
Dr. Milton Glick, Dr. Patti Ota, Dr. George Davis, and Dr. Tom Wickenden joined the meeting for this discussion. Regent Herstam reminded the Regents they had reviewed a paper on the need to increase flexibility for the universities in the management of financial aid and to improve oversight for the Regents.
Dr. Wickenden said the review was structured to answer four basic questions: 1. What are the Board's goals with regard to financial aid? 2. How are these goals implemented through the Board's policy framework? 3. What problems have developed over time in the management of financial aid programs? 4. What solutions to these problems does the Board want to pursue? He focused on the third and fourth questions.
Dr. Wickenden said the review of management practices shows the accumulation of policies and budget practices has resulted in separate programs that hinder flexible management. In addition, the application of policy goals in different ways in different programs is a hindrance to Board oversight. He gave five specific examples where the lack of flexibility and the lack of oversight create problems and offered three sets of solution strategies that could be pursued.
First, redefining the tuition obligation of teaching assistants to eliminate the confusion between assistantships and financial aid. Second, integrating some of the Board's policies to achieve more comprehensive policy limits, changes that would not need to affect the amounts of aid currently allocated for need or merit and would allow more flexibility for the universities to manage these programs. Third, development of an integrated, comprehensive report that would describe the budgetary implications of all aid programs and give the Board a look at the bottom line net tuition revenue. The three strategies were illustrated in the meeting materials.
Regent Ulrich asked the members of the Council of Presidents to consider the issue and come back with a plan as to how these suggestions could be implemented. Regent Herstam said he believed there was Board interest in having a Study Session in the Spring to consider suggestions. Regent Gignac said she believed the Regents' policy should be simple--guidelines on how the money is used for undergraduate versus graduate, resident versus nonresident, and need-based versus merit based. The Board should understand at some point how this will be placed in the budget request and reflected in the expenditure authorization and therefore the All Funds Operating Budget with its Fall and Spring updates.
Regent Palacios said, in addition to what has been mentioned, she would like to see the waivers versus financial aid and people who have jobs. She would like to know if those things can be stacked. Regent Herstam said he believed the Board would expect a Study Session in the Spring.
Mr. Dave Harris and Dr. Mernoy Harrison joined the meeting for this discussion. Regent Herstam said ASU was requesting Project Implementation Approval for the renovation of 12,600 square feet within the Physical Sciences C-Wing at an estimated cost of $3.5M. This project was approved by the Board as part of ASU's FY 2002 Capital Development Plan in August 2001 and will be funded with plant funds.
Dr. Harrison said this is space vacated by the Cancer Research Institute which is being renovated to accommodate the Departments of Chemistry and Biochemistry for research needs. Upon motion of Regent Gignac, seconded by Regent Ulrich, the Board granted Project Implementation Approval and early construction demolition to Arizona State University Main Campus for the Physical Sciences C-Wing Renovations Project.
Mr. Dave Harris, Mr. Joel Valdez, and Mr. Tim Pickrell joined the meeting for this discussion. Regent Herstam said the University of Arizona was requesting authority to redirect $1,577,000 in currently available proceeds from Certificates of Participation (COPs) to the Tucson Electric Building for modifications and improvements. The proceeds are available due to savings in the Mount Graham Power Line project. The recently purchased Tucson Electric Building will house the university's Facilities Management Department which is scheduled to be relocated from Main Campus.
Regent Gignac asked how the COPs would be paid for and was told the money would come from the Facilities Management Department. Regents Gignac and Herstam suggested that guidelines for use of COPs and bonds should be a Board policy and be incorporated into the policy manual.
Upon motion of Regent Ulrich, seconded by Regent Herstam, the Board authorized the University of Arizona to redirect not exceeding $1,577,000 of currently available proceeds from the University's Certificates of Participation, Series 2000A, to make modifications and improvements to the former Tucson Electric Power Company property at 220 West Sixth Street, Tucson, Arizona, and to make conforming amendments to the COPs financing documents and to take related actions and to enter into all necessary agreement, as provided in a resolution reviewed by Board Counsel and staff.
Mr. Joel Valdez and Mr. Dave Harris joined the meeting for this discussion. President Likins said the University of Arizona was trying to establish a closer relationship with Pima Community College on its new Northwest Campus.
President Likins said there are four contingencies that must be worked out before this can be done. Mr. Valdez called the Board's attention to the contingencies listed in the meeting material: 1. Budgetary authorization for the debt service is not revoked in the current legislative special session; 2. Construction cost for the University Building does not exceed the amount that can be financed with the budgetary authorization of $450,000; 3. The terms and form of the Ground Lease and related transaction documents are acceptable to the bond insurers and other parties whose approval is required for COPs financing; 4. The terms and form of the Ground Lease and related transaction documents are acceptable to counsel for the University and the Board.
Upon motion of Regent Jewett, seconded by Regent Ulrich, the Board authorized the University of Arizona to enter into an Intergovernmental Agreement, Ground Lease, and related documents with Pima Community College for the construction of a University Building, according to the terms and conditions set forth in the Executive Summary. Approval is contingent upon final agreement between the University and Pima Community College on the terms and forms of agreement, and upon the four contingencies listed above. Because the construction will be part of Pima Community College's construction contract, with the architect and contractor selected under the procurement rules of the State Board of Directors for Community Colleges, compliance with Board of Regents procurement rules is waived.
Regent Stuart chaired this portion of the meeting.
Ms. Tonya Drake and Ms. Lori Goldman joined the meeting for this discussion. The Board was requested to review, as a first reading, proposed revisions to undergraduate admission policies. Proposed recommendations include maintaining the exception for students who graduate from non-accredited Arizona public charter schools; editorial changes in response to audit recommendations; providing coherent and cohesive language throughout the policy; and deleting duplicative language within the policy.
Regent Gignac asked about data for home-schooled students and was told the universities are not tracking that information as there are only 17 home-schooled students in the system. Regent Gignac said one inconsistency that could be corrected is using either higher education or postsecondary education throughout the policy. Regent Ulrich asked if anything had been done in this policy that would differentiate charter school students from public school students and was told no.
Provosts Davis and Glick, Dr. Tom Wickenden, and Dr. Elizabeth Ervin joined the meeting for this discussion. This item included an update on the universities' plans to align their teacher preparation programs with Arizona's professional standards for teachers. A summary of current grants that support teacher preparation through various university centers and colleges was provided. There is also a report describing how learner-centered education has been incorporated into university teacher preparation programs. Finally, there was a status report on the federal mandate that every state develop a report on teacher preparation and licensing which includes a listing of the pass rates of graduates from each teacher preparation program on that state's teacher tests. According to this item, the pass rates for the universities' teacher preparation programs will not be published until April of 2003.
Regent Gignac asked if the universities were receiving information concerning their students who were taking the certification test. Dean Taylor said the universities were still getting aggregated data from test scores. However, conversations with Regent Molera and Mr. David Garcia left them hopeful disaggregated data would be available soon so, among other things, the universities would know what areas the students are passing and what areas are a cause for concern. Regent Gignac asked for this Report to be used at the next Arizona Education Conference Committee meeting. She also asked the University of Arizona to address what is happening at UA South as well as at the main campus.
Regent Molera said he believed there should be coordination between the universities and the Department of Education based on the purpose and the direction that should be taken in regard to accountability and deficiency in teacher preparation. He said there needs to be a meaningful measure that shows absolute progress as well as progress in individual subjects such as mathematics. If there is no progress, what do you do about it? How does this information translate into information that benefits teachers? He believes this would lead to purposeful accountability.
Provosts Davis and Glick, and Dr. Elizabeth Irvin joined the meeting for this discussion. Regent Amos moved to authorize the implementation requests as presented in the meeting material; implementation of one new degree program, M.S. in Computational Biosciences (ASU); implementation of one Minor in Geographic Information Science (UA); the establishment of the Ceramics Research Center in the Herberger College of Fine Arts (ASU); the Arizona Center for Phytomedicine Research (UA); and The Center for Professional and Technical Writing (NAU). The motion was seconded by Regent Ulrich. Regent Gignac asked about the status of the UA South Bachelor of Applied Science Degree and was told the UA hopes to bring this to the Board in the early Spring. The motion passed by voice vote.
Provosts Davis and Glick joined the meeting for this discussion. Provost Glick reminded the Regents they had recognized it was necessary to set special fees for certain high market graduate professional programs because of the cost of the programs and the special accommodations that are made. He said the high market programs are very volatile in the market place and the universities, in order to remain competitive, need the ability to announce their fees in October and the Board doesn't hold its tuition hearing until April. Also, in many cases the universities are custom preparing programs for a given industry or given corporation. They need the ability to negotiate, within some Board-set parameters, price for these specially designed programs; and to be able to do this quickly. To prevent the necessity of holding multiple tuition hearings, the universities are asking the Board to allow them to bring, during the normal tuition hearings, a request allowing a special fee, within a range that will be proposed at the tuition hearing, to be charged for a certain program for the next three years. Dr. Glick said the universities would come back to the Board annually and report on the actual fee charged.
Provost Glick said the universities were not bringing any specific programs today; they were just asking for Board permission to bring this type of request forward during the tuition process. He described the types of programs that might fall under this request. He also said every request of this type would include a set aside for financial aid for students that cannot afford the fee and a set aside for overhead to the university, recognizing there are real institutional costs for these programs in addition to the college costs.
Regent Robinson asked if the law schools could use this policy and was told they could. She noted first-year law students are not allowed to work and wondered if this would disadvantage them. She was told it would not. Regent Herstam said he was against the request because he was very protective of two things, selecting presidents and setting tuition. The range and the three-year time frame bother him. Regent Gignac suggested the universities come back with examples of what they were asking for, using a real program to illustrate the request.
President Coor said most of the tuition setting process applies to the large university population of undergraduates, graduate students, and most professional programs. These requests are for a very different student population, a market in which the dynamics are different and the need to respond to that market is different. It is similar to the need for having flexibility with academic calendars to meet the needs of learner-centered courses. These fees could be set several times a year; but that would conflict with the legislative mandated tuition process.
Regent Jewett said he would like to hear about the individual programs, but he does not like to approve a process that does not have criteria or a listing of programs attached. Provost Glick said he would be happy to bring each program as there is a need; however, that would necessitate a full tuition hearing each time. President Likins suggested there be presentations, on a case-by-case basis at the April tuition meeting, on alternative pricing policies for these fees in the way Dr. Glick had described. In this way, the Regents would approve a process that would ultimately provide a fee, within a range, with a three-year planning horizon, with the caveat the universities could not set those fees. The universities would plan within the range the Regents approved in April; then bring each individual package, previously approved within a range, back to the Board for approval with a particular fee.
Upon motion of Regent Stuart, seconded by Regent Gignac, the Board moved to table the item until the January meeting.
Regent Gignac said the SBDCC heard about the status and future of Arizona Learning Systems (ALS) and considered a marketing plan. The SBDCC will elect its officers for the next year at its meeting tomorrow. At a special meeting in November, the SBDCC appointed Pete Gonzalez as the new Executive Director for the Board.
Dr. Andrew Jackson reported the Arizona Faculties Council (AFC) wished to express its appreciation for being able to work with the Regents on the Learner-Centered Education Workshop. Three areas of concern are: 1. The need for faculty development in the area of learner-centered education; 2. The need to continue the focus that learner-centered education is a combination of changes in technology and methodologies, resource requirements, and lessons learned; and 3. The need to realize there is a change in faculty work load when there is a change from one paradigm to another and a method to create incentive programs for faculty to become interested and buy into the process of revising their method of delivery.
Executive Director Blessing said these leadership characteristics would be used in the search for the new president of Arizona State University. She said twenty-four forums had been held to gain input on these characteristics from faculty, staff, students, and community people. She said the comments from the representative of the Commission on the Status of Women who spoke at Call to the Audience would be incorporated into the leadership characteristics or the summary of forums. She said Regent Ulrich, Chair of the Search Committee, had asked the members of the committee to consider both the characteristics and the summaries from the forums when considering prospects for the job.
Upon motion of Regent Gignac, seconded by Regent Herstam, the Board approved the statement of "Leadership Characteristics" to be used in the conduct of the ASU presidential search process.
President McKay reminded everyone there was an optional tour of the University of Arizona Integrated Learning Center tomorrow afternoon and asked anyone who was interested to let Secretary to the Board Judy Garza know.
President McKay reminded the Regents there had been a discussion at the Board Retreat in August of forming an Ad Hoc Business Advisory Team. She announced she had asked Regents Jewett and Ulrich to serve as Co-chairs. Upon consultation with the Co-chairs and the universities, she will be appointing the business representatives.
Regent Amos said he had requested the members of the Council of Presidents consider a tuition waiver for victims of the September 11 tragedy. He asked for an update. President Coor said Harvard committed a million dollars to the families of the victims. It was determined that the process of identifying and determining victims was so substantial that they turned to a group called the Citizens Scholarship Foundation of America, a Minnesota based endeavor. Harvard made the first contribution to what is now a multi-source creation of something called a Families of Freedom Scholarship Fund. The commitment is that 100% of the dollars donated will go directly to students who are dependents of those lost in the recent terrorist attacks. The students can go to the institution of their choice. All universities will be contacted to ask for contributions and to make sure their students who are eligible know about the program. Dr. Coor recommended the universities work through this fund with either scholarships or cash contributions.
Regent Amos said he would like the members of the Council of Presidents to consider how the Arizona universities could participate in this fund and report back to the Board in January.
The meeting adjourned at 5:50 p.m.
SUBMITTED BY:
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Judy E. Garza
Secretary to the BoardAPPROVED BY:
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Kay J. McKay
President
ATTEST:
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Gary Stuart
Secretary