Associate Deans and Academic Support Group Meeting

MINUTES Associate Deans and Academic Support Group Meeting January 15, 2008 8:30 – 10:00 am CU 299

Present: Laura Goodwin, Sara Potter, Rene Galindo, Tammy Stone, JC Bosch, Cliff Young, Ellen Stevens, Peggy Lore, Barb Edwards, Pam Erickson, Roxanne Byrne, Linda Olson, Cindy Hashert, John Lanning, Linda deLeon, Patty Godbey, Christine Stroup- Benham

The minutes from the 12.18.07 meeting were approved.

Announcements/Updates (handouts):

 Ellen mentioned that the spring 2008 new faculty orientation will be offered only online. She also asked the schools and colleges to send her the names and CU employee identification numbers of new faculty members so that she can contact them about Spring 2008 workshops.  Cynthia announced that the library will be closed during DNC week (August 23- 29), but electronic resources will be available.

Calendar Items: No calendar items were presented.

Discussion Items: 1. IPEDs Feedback (handouts): Christine distributed graphs showing comparisons between UC Denver and our consolidated peer institutions. Some of the highlights:  UCD has a large population of part time students  UCD has more Hispanics and women students  UCD’s tuition and fees are lower than our peers  UCD graduation rates are lower than our peers  UCD awards fewer bachelor degrees and more masters degrees than our peers

2. Change in HLC Practice (handout): The Higher Learning Commission has informed us that it can no longer grant “blanket approval” to institutions to open new sites without seeking prior Commission approval for each site through its formal change processes. We will need to provide HLC with an updated list pf all off – campus sites (current sites and ones proposed for the near future). We will develop a form to collect this information from schools and colleges. The group had several questions and comments:  If part of the program is delivered online, does that “count” as part of the “50% or more?” (answer = no)  Does this include programs being offer entirely D2? (answer = yes)  We need to include New Directions, which reports to the Provost.  Does this include international sites? (answer = no)  Should we include the School of Public Health?

Information Items:

 Classroom Emergency Procedures Guide (handouts): A letter and DVD packet will be distributed to all faculty the first week of class. The group had several questions and concerns regarding these procedures. [Follow up note: Laura sent the questions to Mike Moreland and his answers are provided, below.] 1. How long is the DVD? It might be a good idea to indicate in the cover letter about how much class time it will take to show it to the students. Mike Moreland’s answer: The DVD is currently in production, so until the final edits are completed, I don’t know the actual run time. Realizing the impact that this could have, we purposely kept the information succinct and to the point. Brevity is the key with emergency messages, and it works to our advantage as we know we will be encroaching class time. I estimate that the video will be less than 10 minutes in duration. 2. Who is going to monitor the extent to which the faculty members comply with the request to discuss the procedures in the classes? What are the consequences if faculty members don’t participate? Mike Moreland’s answer: We have had discussions with the Metro State Student Government President, Jack Wylie. He indicated that he would contact representatives from the other two institutions to help us with this project. Specifically, they would give us a rating on how successful outreach was and how effective the messages were. If you have other ideas on how we do this assessment, I would be willing to listen. 3. Could the DVD be put on a website? That way, faculty and students could view it on their own time rather than use class time. Mike Moreland’s answer: We are looking into the possibility of placing the video on a secure site that is password protected so that instructors could have access to the information, but to put emergency information out on public domain may not be the best solution for security purposes. 4. It would be far better to post evacuation routes in each classroom (as hotels have in their guest rooms), rather than asking each faculty member to figure out his/her plan. (They thought that the “pick your own route” plan could result in chaos in a real emergency.) Mike Moreland’s answer: The concept behind asking the instructor to come up with a plan is multi-dimensional and does require participation on their behalf. With the hundreds of class rooms on campus, I do not have the resources available to accomplish what would be an insurmountable task. In just a few minutes time by utilizing the faculty who has intimate knowledge of their own environment, we can collect this valuable information. By sending it back to me, I can start to assemble the information in a format that could then be re-distributed to these buildings and posted upon completion. We are asking each institution to assist in this process by having the discussions and collecting the information on behalf of the campus population that has identified evacuation routes as an immediate need. In review of these “Plans” we can make adjustments prior to printing and posting, to avoid the situation that you have described in your e-mail. 5. In the case of an emergency requiring evacuation, what is the plan for disabled students? Who will inform the faculty about what they should do if they have students with disabilities in their classes? Mike Moreland’s answer: This issue is addressed within the Buddy System guidelines. Identification of a route, asking the individual about what assistance they may require, and following the guidelines included. This is something that will be further developed as we draft additional emergency plans on campus, including identification and labeling of “Safe Zones” which do not currently exist to my knowledge. In lieu of a more formal plan, I believe what we are distributing is valuable information that can assist the instructors. 6. The emergency system should be tested. Mike Moreland’s answer: I assume that you are referring to the Auraria Emergency Notification System, which sends text messages during a life and death situation. Our implementation of the system includes periodic testing of the system, beginning the last week of January. 7. The information needs to be shared with administrative assistants, advisors, the Learning Resource Center, etc. (i.e., all the non-faculty who come in contact with students and faculty). Mike Moreland’s answer: I wholly agree with your last point, but this program will evolve over time. We had many conversations over the last semester, and wanted to get the information into the hands of the instructors prior to the beginning of class and go from there. Any of the information that we develop is available to all, but I would defer to you on how we get this information to the groups that you have identified. Note: There is contact information contained within the materials and the DVD, and I have enclosed the other materials within the packet, which will accompany the letter from the Provosts. 8. Are there legal implications for faculty, given that this is a voluntary process? [Follow up: Laura will talk with Manuel Rupe about this question.]

The group also asked about the status of the 3N Notification System. Danielle will attend a meeting in the near future to give us an update.

 A Guide to Faculty Retirement at the University of Colorado (booklet)

 At our next meeting (2/5/08), Mark will join us from 8:30-9:30am to discuss the Strategic Plan. Please review the latest version for our next meeting: http://www.ucdhsc.edu/admin/upac/