NOTE: At times, issues of confidentiality may require that some items discussed in meetings be excluded from these minutes.

PRESENT: Bill Barnes, Alan Gabrielli, Steve Hamrick, Joyce Mills, Mike Murphy, Dawn Ramsey, Zvi Szafran, and Wayne Unsell.

GUESTS: Monty Murphy, Facilities

Item 1: Facilities Update

Monty Murphy was welcomed and asked to speak on the status of several campus projects. Murphy reported that a handrail has been ordered and will be installed near the rear of Building B. Building D restroom renovations to provide handicapped access is completed for the men’s room and will begin in the ladies’ room as soon as a few other projects are completed.

Murphy stated that regarding Building J – two issues remain on the south end before it can be completed and those are the air balancing and the inspection by the state fire marshal. The fire marshal’s office has been notified and we are awaiting the inspection. Murphy anticipates that 2A will be complete by February 14 and that moving will begin the next week and will be coordinated with Wayne Unsell, Burt Matthews and Mike Murphy. Signs for the booths downstairs are still under construction. Dean Unsell will follow-up with Burt Matthews regarding these signs.

The Library renovation may still be a possibility pending availability of funding. Planning is still underway for the student reception area in Building B pending availability of funding.

An issue of standing water in several locations across campus was brought up. Murphy stated that facilities is aware of the problem and has secured an estimate the correct the problem but that no funding is available at the present time. He also stated that there are many projects that facilities would like to do but funds have to be assigned by priority and some project have to be postponed.

Murphy also reported that John Mills is meeting with Marietta Power & BellSouth to resolve the issue of unburied utility lines and that the GA DOT is actively working with facilities and others regarding the front entrance to the campus.

Item 2: Updates

Dr. Szafran addressed the following items:

Updated the deans on the status of the promotion and tenure packets for their areas and stated that copies of the signed cover sheets as well as supporting letters will be copied and forwarded to the deans, chairs, and faculty members. Final approval is pending Board of Regents approval.

Equity adjustment letters have been sent to the faculty involved.

The Construction Engineering proposal submitted to the system office several weeks ago was sent to Georgia Tech who have some concerns about the proposal. Dr. Szafran and representatives from the Construction Department will follow up with Georgia Tech for support.

Our clarification of mission statement has been submitted but has not made it on the Board of Regents agenda due to a backlog.

Graduate Studies Director interviews are being conducted this week and the committee will submit a list to Dr. Szafran by Friday. Input from the Council is requested before Friday. A decision will be made next week.

This summer’s schedule should be based on last summer’s budget.

Tech Fee proposals that were not funded previously should be sent to Dean Ramsey for ATAC committee consideration.

Item 2: Credit for Non-Credit Courses

Dean Ramsey brought up an idea of assigning credit for some courses currently taught in Continuing Education for non-credit and explained how this could benefit the University and increase our formula funding. This idea could yield many positive results but issues would need to be addressed. She also presented ideas to allow students to build their own certificate program and for the Council to consider resurrecting a previous proposal for a bachelor’s degree in General Studies. The Council agreed that the build your own certificate program is a good idea as well as reconsidering the B.S. degree in General Studies. Mike Murphy will forward a copy of the B.S. degree proposal to Dr. Szafran. Dean Ramsey will identify non-credit courses that might be appropriate for credit and the Council will study this idea further.

Dr. Szafran asked for input from the Council on the graduate enrollment problem and introduced a couple of ideas to increase our graduate student enrollment which included the following:

Offer better graduate assistantship packages, waivers, or scholarships to bring students in and recoup the losses we incur by the increased formula funding we will receive two years later

Target our current seniors with partially completed application packets for graduate study here, complete with financial aid information, graduate assistantship information, etc.

Item 3: Distance Learning Development

Dawn Ramsey presented a tentative plan for distance learning course development which included a list of courses to be developed for delivery on line next fall and spring. Courses were prioritized by the deans or department chairs and most were approved for funding. Priority is given to those departments committing to certificates or programs taught completely on-line. Ramsey stated that faculty receive funding for developing the course up front and are expected to teach the course the first time it is offered – either the next fall or spring. She also talked about the Distance Learning Taskforce and its role in assuring the quality of distance learning courses and in the development of an evaluation to be used for on-line courses.

Meeting adjourned at 4:50 P.M.