National-Louis University
Faculty Senate

REPORT TO THE NLU BOARD OF TRUSTEES - (July 2002)

The members of the Faculty Senate are pleased to offer our sixth semi-annual report of our recent achievements, our current work-in-progress, and our concerns. We continue to be encouraged by the growth and composition of our Board of Trustees, a group that we recognize to be perceptive and committed to the success of National-Louis University. As you go forward with the planning, decisions, and processes involved in the future of NLU, we ask to participate. The astuteness of decisions and the commitment to action will depend on the quality of democratic forums involving all stakeholders. Faculty involvement is essential, as is the development of a process through which the work of the faculty and the trustees will be collaborative and integrative. In spite of the concerns we address below, the faculty is steadfast in its commitment to the mission of this university, to the students, and to assuring academic integrity.

Achievements:

• The Senate has drafted a policy called "Adequate Cause for Dismissal of Tenured Faculty." Without such a policy, the university jeopardizes the "freedom of thought, inquiry, and scholarly and artistic expression that are fundamental and essential to the maintenance of the academic community." While the policy describes procedures for dismissal reviews, hearings, and actions, these would be a last resort. We believe that "a dismissal proceeding is a symptom of failure and it is in the best interest of all parties, through the hiring process and the on-going monitoring of professional growth, to cultivate conditions in which dismissal will rarely, if ever, occur."
  
  
• The Senate has established, in conjunction with the Office of the Provost, a joint faculty-administration Task Force to develop a "Policy for the Rights of Faculty Pertaining to the Closing of Campuses and Programs." The program closings in the College of Arts and Sciences in 2000-2001 occurred without the benefit of a university policy on faculty rights. There is an urgent need for a policy that specifies the rights of the university and the faculty in decisions about closings of campuses and programs.
  
  
• The Senate proposed and the full faculty voted its approval to establish a Senate Committee on Out-of-Chicago Area Campus Affairs. It is our position that our faculty in Centers has had an inadequate voice in our governance system and that this committee will be a vehicle to bring forward their collective interests.
  
  
• The Senate proposed and the faculty voted its approval to establish a Senate Finance Committee. This committee will provide a vehicle for faculty to meet with the Vice President of Administration to obtain information, to proactively report to the Senate, to advise the administration concerning financial affairs like cost containment and budget efficiencies, and to interact with the Board of Trustees' Finance Committee.
  
  
• In addition, the following constitutional amendments were passed by the Faculty Association:
  
  
  • That the words "doctoral degree" in the Faculty Handbook regulations surrounding tenure and promotion be changed to "terminal degree."
    
    
  • That the Institutional Promotion and Tenure Committee must approve any credit granted by an administrative officer towards tenure or promotion to a faculty member embarking on a tenure track.
    
    
• In collaboration with the Executive Vice President, a Task Force on "Intellectual Property" was appointed in January. In conjunction with this project, an outside expert/consultant was commissioned to speak to the whole faculty and to be available to the task force on an as-needed basis. The Task Force has completed its work and we look forward to approving these two policies very soon.
  
  
• The Senate Faculty Welfare & Compensation Committee developed "A Proposal to Invest in Faculty." This proposal, based on a thorough analysis of faculty salary data, contains information on several topics: Adjusting base salaries in general; Ensuring that salaries and benefits are high enough to attract, retain, and motivate highly qualified individuals; Increasing the financial rewards of promotion; Helping faculty members become more productive by increasing support staff and development funds; Assuring that faculty members have adequate time for professional and program development; and Providing for faculty input on budgetary decisions. There is a 5-year plan to adjust salaries of tenure-track faculty to the 60th percentile of AAUP Type II-A institutions by 2006-07 that was approved by the Senate and forwarded to the Provost in March.
  
  
• The Senate sponsored a seven-part series of forums on "Teaching with Technology." In these focused discussions, faculty members presented what they have been learning as they infuse more technology into their teaching. These sessions were broadcast live through our interactive video classrooms, were supported by a web page of resources and asynchronous discussion boards, and will culminate in recommendations that will be brought to the Senate.
  
  
• The Senate Web page has been expanded to include the Constitutions of the Faculty Association and the colleges and Library, Faculty Association news, an Adjunct Council site, and a "collaboration tool' to enable focused discussion by the faculty.
  
  
• The first Adjunct Council convened in March with representatives from all three colleges and the Library. A roster of representatives is posted on the Senate Web page.
  
  

Work in Progress:

• Relationship to the Board of Trustees. The faculty is sincere in their desire to have more communication and collaboration with the Board. We believe that it is a reasonable expectation that university faculty members and the trustees interact. To expedite formal and potentially beneficial interaction, we ask you to consider our recommendations that:
  
  
  1. The Board of Trustees create a permanent faculty voting position on the Board to be filled for a three-year term by a faculty member elected by the Senate.
     
     
  2. The following three standing committees of the Board of Trustees (BOT) invite ex officio participation of the Chairpersons of the corresponding Faculty Senate standing committees (BOT Finance Committee - Senate Finance Committee; BOT Academic Affairs Committee - Senate Academic Planning Committee; BOT Student Life Committee - Senate Student Academic Standards Committee).
     
     
• These recommendations reflect the kind of commitment we envision as appropriate in constructing the future of NLU.
  
  
• Faculty Input into Administrative Review. The faculty has had no regular means of providing input into appraisals of administrative performance. The Senate is continuing to study the review purposes, audiences, and instruments. The plan is to make a recommendation by year's end.
  
  

Concerns:

• Timely Access to Accurate Data. Reviewing the viability of our academic programs is the responsibility of the Senate Academic Planning Committee. Academic policy requires that we submit all existing programs to a schedule of regular reviews, and conduct immediate reviews of any program in question. Expressed in our last report, and reiterated here, is our concern that we continue to lack a system for gathering accurate data in a timely way and producing up-to-date reports in a coherent format. Consequently, we have limited ability to conduct thorough reviews and make informed recommendations based on data.
  
  
• Salaries. For the last two years, NLU faculty members have had no general salary raises. According to the Parsons Consulting Group Study, our average faculty salary is far below the average of faculty salaries at comparable institutions. Last year, the Senate Faculty Welfare and Compensation Committee recommended a 3-year "salary adjustment" plan in order to bring NLU faculty salaries within 60% of those faculties at comparable institutions. However, the plan was funded for only 33% of what the first year required. This year that committee has recommended a 5-year "salary adjustment" plan, but without significant funding we face a serious erosion of faculty recruitment and retention. We have a very weak competitive position relative to similar universities.
  
  
• Forecasting, Enrollment, Revenue and Budgets. The university is ending the year with almost a $3 million deficit largely due to problems we've experienced in the areas of recruitment, enrollment, budgeting, and data-processing systems. While we are heartened by the significant changes that have been made in personnel and systems, we see that adequate funding, monitoring, and accountability must be established in order to ensure a positive recovery and the future development of these functions.
  
  
• St. Louis Center Closing. The fact that the closing of programs at the St. Louis Center occurred without meaningful consultation with the faculty either in St. Louis or elsewhere is a matter of considerable concern to the Faculty Senate, particularly when a process was established last year whereby the Senate Academic Planning Committee (SAPC) would conduct emergency reviews of programs thought to be in jeopardy. Early warning, timely data-based reviews, and responsible consultation with faculty would obviate the necessity for such radical acts by involving stakeholders to work on solving real problems. The Faculty Senate has been expecting to participate in the academic and fiscal review of university programs in an effort to ensure that we remain academically healthy and financially viable. We have invented and implemented processes to this end, but have been frustrated by the lack of data provided to our review committee. In the case of the St. Louis Center closing, the SAPC was confidentially informed of the strong possibility of the closing, but the "emergency review" process called for by the Academic Planning Handbook was averted due to an artificial distinction between closing a "Center " and closing "programs". No one on the Faculty Senate was informed of the impending closing. The Senate wants to work collaboratively with the administration, but cannot do so when faculty are not actively involved in the process that leads to such drastic action.
  
  

While the financial crisis of the University is daunting, the faculty remains committed to being part of the solution. The faculty is ready to collaborate with the Board of Trustees to make the necessary changes to carry the University through these difficult times.