Minutes
of the University Council Meeting
The
spring, 2005 University Council meeting was convened at
President
Kupchella called the meeting to order and welcomed the Council members and all
others in attendance. He briefly
explained the organization and duties of the Council.
President
Kupchella reviewed challenges for the coming year, which include the fact that
public funding remains flat and could decline; the number of
The
President reported that, despite the continued increases, relatively low tuition
and generally high satisfaction with UND are excellent reasons for attending
UND. Satisfaction with student services and programs exceeds the national
average with 93% of alumni being satisfied with their UND experience. An area
for improvement is satisfaction with faculty and advising engagement. This area
needs to improve in order to avoid declining enrollment.
President
Kupchella discussed the increased admission standards for next fall and the
provisions in place for admitting students who fail to meet those standards. He
also explained how the new provisional admit policy is effective for students
who are not quite academically prepared for studies at UND. President Kupchella then answered questions
from the floor.
The
President introduced Jim Grijalva, Chair of the 2004-05 University Senate, and
turned the meeting over to him. Mr. Grijalva began an end-of-the-year
activities report by thanking Vice Chair Sue Jeno, the members of the Senate,
and the Office of the Registrar staff for their hard work and support of
University Senate. He gave a brief summary of Senate duties as defined in the
UND Constitution.
Mr.
Grijalva highlighted the major policy changes adopted by University Senate
during 2004-05, including: revisions to the Intellectual Property and Copyright
policies; a new Provisional Admission Policy and a Non-Degree Admission Policy;
the Harassment and Discrimination Policy, the Faculty Sick Leave Policy; and
the Faculty Grievance Policy regarding Employment Controversies. Mr. Grijalva reported that the University
Senate was also involved, through UND’s representative to the Council of
College Faculties, with decisions regarding State Board of Higher Education
policies such as the ACT writing requirement exemption. Senators were also involved in the Strategic
Planning Process, Part II, and the Provost Search Committee process.
Mr.
Grijalva called for questions from the floor or items to be addressed. President Kupchella addressed a question
about the possibility of the University Children’s Center closing. Due to low
enrollment, the Center is being increasingly subsidized by the University.
There were many comments regarding the need for the Center and the role it
plays as not only a child care center, but as a training center for teachers
and a valuable recruiting tool for the University. The President assured the audience that the
matter will be studied thoroughly before a decision is made regarding the
future of the Center.
The
spring, 2005 meeting of the University Council was adjourned at
Respectfully
submitted,
Nancy
Krogh, Council Secretary