March 14, 2002
Present:
Birkeli, Buchanan, Brown, Duttera, Geeter, Gulley, Hearn, S. Johnson, Kraemer,
Lawrence, McClanahan, McCoy, McMullen, Pinkerman, Rowe, Sauter, Simmons, Smith
and Whitney.
President
Gulley welcomed the Council and discussed recent events in the community. Mr. Pinkerman led a prayer to commence the
meeting.
President
Gulley opened the meeting with a request for ratification of the January and
February minutes. Dr. Hearn moved
that the minutes being accepted as they are, Mr. Geeter seconded Dr. Hearn’s
motion and it carried with no objections.
President
Gulley asked Dr. Simmons to give an update on the international awareness
objective, #3.10.2 of the Strategic Plan.
Dr. Simmons’s report is attached.
He stated that the Interim Term is the strongest avenue of support for
this objective. A strong increase was
seen from January 2001 to January 2002, and more opportunities will be
available during January 2003. Dr.
Simmons stated that he has met with Laura Vickery, of a consulting firm in
London that recruits U. S. students to study in Ireland and England for a
semester. This is not an exchange
program, a study abroad program that we can offer to our students. Please seek information for any students
that may be interested in this type of program from the Dean’s Office. No changes are needed in the Strategic
Plan. The report was accepted by common
consent.
Dr.
McClanahan reported that the Steering Committee met on Tuesday, March 12
to secure updates on the 40 internal recommendations. He foresees that by the time the addendum goes to the printer,
two or three recommendations will not be complete. Those are: the Technology Plan, evaluation of the Orientation
Program for Graduate Students (takes place in late May/June), an evaluation
cycle of the Graduate Program. The
latter two will be in process and could be a recommendation, but will not be
completed. A rough draft of the
addendum will be circulated for review, to be returned by Monday, March 18th
at noon; so that it can be printed and mailed on Friday, March 22nd
to the members of the visiting team.
Monday, March 25th is the deadline to turn in documents for
the Library. The Hospitality Committee
is working on arrangements for the visit.
Institutional Effectiveness goals and assessments are completed and
turned in. Dr. Donna Wilkinson, our
SACS liaison, has been reassigned, so she will not be with the visiting
team. Dr. Jim Rogers will be her
replacement. President Gulley expressed
his gratitude to Dr. McClanahan and all members of the Steering Committee for
their hard work.
Dr. Johnson reported some adjustments are being made in the organization of the Interim Term. These changes are being driven by the need to collect fees up front to better facilitate the planning for the classes and enable instructors to obtain better travel rates. The term course offerings have grown from 32 in 2001 to 40 during 2002. Enrollment has increased from 368 in 2001 to 445 in 2002. Teaching evaluations show that faculty has changed their teaching methods, as the use of lecturing as a primary method of teaching has decreased between the two years. Students report that the courses helped them become better critical thinkers. An area needing some fine-tuning is the consistency of student expectations of the Interim Term classes. The 30-hour-per-week student involvement stipulated in the Interim Term Guidelines is being met in some classes, not in others. General expectations about the amount of work expected are diverse. A consideration is that the 30-hour requirement should be stated in every syllabus. The Interim class offerings for 2003 include six travel classes. Three of the six will travel together in Italy, while studying different subjects: Dante, architecture and photography. Dr. Birkeli asked if it
IPC Meeting Minutes
March 14, 2002
Page 2
would be appropriate to have college-wide presentations
of work completed during the Interim; Dr.
Johnson stated that this merits some consideration. Dr. Buchanan questioned that since the pre-registration for Interim will be in spring, could this format restrict new freshmen (that meet the age requirement) from getting into classes? The discussion focused on working Interim registration into the summer orientation program. This will need to be reviewed further.
Reverend
Rowe reported on item #3.9.3, Alumni Participation. A copy of his report is attached. The Leadership Council has identified
Northwest Metro Atlanta and Jacksonville, FL as geographic target areas. Direct mail appeals have been made to
increase support for scholarships and increase exposure. May Day weekend will be Family Weekend. Faculty and staff will meet with parents and
have an opportunity to identify those interested in positions within the Parent’s
Council. Item #3.10.1 of the
Strategic Plan is similar to item #3.9.3, reaching out to constituents with the
same plan for the target areas. Dr.
Birkeli suggested that a specific time be determined during Family Weekend,
during which faculty could be available in their offices for visiting with
students and parents. Friday afternoon
after the Honors Day Program was a suggested time. Rev. Rowe stated that he currently plans no changes to the items
in the Strategic Plan.
Ms
Whitney reported on the Five-Year Financial Plan draft, #5.1.1 &
5.2.1. She stated that it shows
positive outcomes and that the Board has approved the draft. A copy of the report is attached. Increased revenues and expenditures are
illustrated on the charts. The
strategic initiatives are those items planned in the Gateway to Excellence
as priorities.
Ms.
Whitney updated the Council on salary comparisons to our peer institutions,
#5.3.1. A copy of the data is
attached. American Association of
University Professors (AAUP) supplied the data. Ms. Whitney commented that she would pull further information
regarding the tuition costs of those institutions ranking above LaGrange
College in faculty salary to get a comparison of that data.
Ms.
Whitney stated that she plans to do further work on the Professional
Development Funds, item #3.8.1. She
plans to track spending over several years to see if the College is improving
efforts in this area.
President
Gulley reminded the Council of the next meeting, April 18th, after
the SACS visit.
Respectfully submitted,
Shirley Harrington