Institutional Planning Committee Minutes
November 20, 2002
The Institutional Planning Committee met on Wednesday, November 20 in the Odum Library Conference Room. The meeting was called to order by the chair at 3:05 PM.
Note: Several members had conflicts with the meeting date and time. A quorum was initially not present, however the chair suggested and those present agreed to discuss issues and attempt to reach consensus, but make no binding decisions until the entire group was present.
Present were Susan Thomas, Lynn Bell, Marsha Krotseng, Michael Crowe, Blake Pearce, and Jerry Siegrist. Excused were Kurt Keppler, Frank Barnas, Bruce Caster, Linda Bennett Elder, Louis Levy, and Ruth Stonestreet
Jerry Siegrist introduced Tabitha Straier, a graduate student working in the Department of Educational Leadership. Tabitha has graciously agreed to serve as recorder for the remainder of the year.
Minutes of the October meeting were approved as written.
The chair presented the bylaws as revised from Ruth Stonestreet’s notes and previous documents. A number of changes were made to bring IPC bylaws in line with the current university structure and changes presently under way. They included:
Article III, Membership:
Changing the wording from "Director of Institutional Research and Planning" to "Director of Institutional Research and Policy Analysis" (Michael Crowe)
Deleting the position of "Director of Institutional Effectiveness and Planning" (Position unfilled)
Adding the position of "Chief Planning Officer and Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs" (Marsha Krotseng)
Adding an SGA approved student(s) as a non-voting member of the committee.
It was also suggested that the chair confer with the Committee on Committees to determine if a representative from COSA can legitimately be added to the IPC and to determine the status of the Department of Developmental Studies. It was further suggested that the chair explore the addition of a Graduate Faculty representative with the Committee on Committees.
Article IV, Officers:
The issue of continuity among committee officers was discussed at length. The expressed concern is that a one year term, particularly for the chair, does not provide sufficient time to become familiar with the duties, functions, and charges given the committee before rotating to past-chair. Several suggestions resulted in a proposal that the appointed individual serve one year as chair-elect, two years as chair, and a fourth year as an ex-officio chair. If adopted, this would take effect for the 2003-2004 academic year. This discussion will be continued in January.
Article VI, Procedures:
It was agreed that each member shall be permitted the use of a proxy once per semester.
Other:
Grammatical and typographic changes were made throughout the bylaws. The chair will incorporate those changes and bring it back for discussion/approval at the next meeting.
Marsha Krotseng briefed the committee on progress made toward the eight goals. She indicated that committees are presently meeting and refining their action steps by looking at both short and long term goals and the priority placed on them. She hopes to see this process completed by January so that high priority short term action steps can be incorporated into the budget process. The planning website lists goals, committees, action plans, and meeting minutes. Jerry noted that it is changing almost daily as committees meet. Marsha also indicated that the University Planning Council is in the process of being formed, and several committee members expressed an interest in how the IPC will "interface" with the Planning Council.
At the October meeting it was suggested that the IPC look at the eight goals in light of the eleven University System goals. Marsha indicated that the system goals were embedded throughout the university goals. The chair distributed copies of both and asked committee members to study them and compare them with revisions as they appear on the Web. With the original action plans being revised, modified, and prioritized, this will be a continuing process for the committee.
Lynn Bell reported that she recently attended an AAUP meeting in Atlanta on Shared Governance. She addressed the issue of the "Institutional Mission" noting that the mission should reflect what the university has been and what we wish it to be. It should incorporate historical tradition, global values, and be unambiguous. It should also be reflected in the student and faculty handbooks and should reflect the university’s classification. Michael Crowe indicated that Carnegie had recently revised classifications and that VSU is listed as a Masters I institution. The question was raised, "Does the mission drive the goals or do the goals create the mission?" Lynn suggested that when the goals are in place the university should revisit the mission statement for fit.
The members present discussed meeting days, dates, and times for the spring semester. The consensus was that Wednesday afternoon prior to the Faculty Senate meeting should continue to be a workable time for most of us. Jerry will also poll the members absent.
The meeting was adjourned at 4:20 P.M.
Respectfully Submitted,
Jerry Siegrist, Chair