FACULTY SENATE MEETING

Feb 8, 2002

Driscoll Ballroomnoon-1:30 p.m.

Guests: Mark Rodgers, University Architect

Dennis Becker, Registrar

John Dolan, Vice Chancellor for Enrollment, Admissions

Susan Sadler, Senate President, called the Meeting was called to order at 12:10 p.m.

Minutes (distributed at meeting) provisionally approved. Corrections to be sent to mailto:dgrealy@du.edu

Brief report on Land Use Study (Rodgers)

Mark Rodgers shared maps and delineating the proposed "footprint" of the university showing the location of the new University Station light rail station that will be located on corner of Buchtel and University. Photographs and drawings were circulated. The Land Use Plan is not a master plan, but is intended as a survey or overview of the university's overall footprint (size). It does not determine sequence, funding, success etc. of building on campus.

Space and design are becoming issues, as they have not been in the past. The vacation of the Park Hill Campus has put the university's feet to the proverbial fire in terms of building but it is also providing tremendous opportunities. DU will be adding 1 million square feet of space, and increasing students from 6500 to 10,000. The change will have parking and traffic impacts. The question is "How do we maximize land use?" "What are the edges?" and "How do we maximize our resources for growth?" Significant change will be coming to campus, especially with the building of the light rail station. Overall demographics and number of people coming to campus will be affected, as will traffic patterns, etc. The university is actively exploring the possibility of a shuttle bus system for ease of access and security

Planners have submitted 3 schemes analyzing access. Optional features include a greensward, a central promenade, public vs. private access. None of these features are mutually exclusive. Draft is available on the university's web site: http://www.du.edu/news/neighbor/landuse.html. Each major division also has a copy.

The university's footprint will not be augmented without the consent of the neighborhood.

Footprint will not be augmented without consent of neighborhood. Rezoning and acquisition of land is possible, although we currently own enough land support existing programs. For a construction update, see: http://www.du.edu/news/release/construction.html

http://www.du.edu/news/neighbor/construction.html

Don Stedman (Chemistry) suggested that Planning Office's art consultants should consult university experts when implementing projects so as to avoid errors. Examples he gave were: Olin Hall, the chemical symbol for gold (Au) was changed to Argon Uranium (AU). The Latin inscription over the north door to University Hall is grammatically wrong, and the sundial being constructed on the south side of the Performing Arts Center are all wrong (equal angles wrong; angles should spread; a system of tie bars will be installed, but may not solve problem).

A question was raised about the university's overall parking plan, and about the Sturm Hall lot in particular. Could parking lots be more efficiently planned? Rodgers indicated that the Sturm lot was a temporary solution; that the grass will be restored after the Law School is built.

Is there a particular genre or characterization of the university's architecture? Rodgers: It's a spin off of neo-collegiate gothic, with the older buildings like the Evans Chapel and University Hall being left intact and integrated by strategic use of red brick, white trim, copper roofs, and design details.

Leon Giles (DCB): Is there anything that can be done about Penrose Library, i.e. to integrate it and increase its size? Rodgers: "We can put the College of Education on top of it" (NB: this was actually proposed at one point). The university may take 1 or 2 buildings for aesthetic reasons or for issues related to durability, function, or condition. Penrose Library doesn't meet the criteria. Although it's location is wrong and it's aesthetics can't be integrated, it is a "quintessential 1972 building."

Stephen Perkinson (Art and Art History): One of the fraternities has been condemned. I the university consulting to ensure that something nice replaces it? Rodgers: The Kappa Sigma House will be taken down and rebuilt along its original lines. Originally constructed in terra cotta rather than limestone, the building has not weathered well. The interior is shot, and not safe. The same process may be used with other Old Row fraternities. Each fraternity and sorority house will be assessed. The plan is to make each house more fiscally stable, especially when the university owns the land and the building (as opposed to long term leases).

Overview and discussion of Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act (FERPA) guidelines (Becker)

Becker distributed pamphlet guide on FERPA and presented an overview.

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 as amended [i.e., by patriot act]. Prohibits university from disclosing student personally identifiable information.

Students have right to inspect and review records, may seek to amend them.

The new web page for faculty will provide enriched set of information for faculty on students: APRs, advising records, will allow faculty to submit grades on the Web. Banner will automatically know if you have legitimate access to students records as a faculty member or advisor. FERPA requires that we annually notify students of their rights. We do this in several ways. See: http://www.du.edu/registrar/general/privacypolicy.html

Sadler: Re: Directory Information. We may disclose this information, but should we? Becker: The university makes it a general policy not to. Information on students is not sold.

Joel Cohn (Computer Science) what is the current policy about talking to students' parents? Becker: You cannot share information with parents without a signed release, although there are key exceptions. If a student is dependent according to IRS regulations, you can disclose to parents. Becker generally asks parents to have their students come in and sign a release if they (i.e., the parents) want information from the Registrar. We should not share non-directory information with parents unless there is a signed release or proof of dependent status.

Sadler: There is continuing concern about posting student grades in the departments. Becker: Dont ever ever do it. Any information personally identifiable to a student is a clear violation. The Registrar's phone number is on the brochure: (303) 871-3897. Come by, email, or call with questions.

Report on Ammi Hyde Interviews/Early Admission (Dolan)

Dolan distributed a PowerPoint slide handout detailing analysis of the Hyde Interview Process, along with a table entitled Fall 2002 Admission Progress At A Glance. Dolan reported that a Faculty Enrollment Management Committee (with Senate representation) meets 6 times per year. Meetings are an opportunity so share information and get good feedback.

Dolan gave his assessment of the Hyde Interviews. The DU admission application evaluation system is based on:

Academic rating scale: 1-9 points (Grade point average and test scores

Whole Person Score: 1-6 points (Activities, leadership, sports, volunteerism, and involvement in community).

Hyde Interview Score: 1-5 points (Score received from Hyde Interview team.)

Recommendations from school counselor and teachers.

Recommendations and notes from Hyde Interview team

Unlike the state universities, there is no one index for admission. All variables are considered. The Hyde Interview process has been integrated with the traditional matrix.

The process requires money, time and resource planning. The question is whether the costs of the process can be justified, given the fact that only 34 decisions were affected during this year's process. Dolan: We predict the yield rate will increase. The process is a good vehicle for faculty (72), staff (41), and alumni (170) involvement, and for building relationships for the university.

Will there be an assessment to see if Hyde has been effective and positive? Dolan: Yes. Admissions will be working with Sheila Summers Thompson (Office of Assessment) to look at the process. The process didn't hurt anyone. Students of color had better average than whites. Engineers did better than expected. Nothing unintended happened. There will be an attempt to track group persistence; all returned for winter quarter this year. There are currently 4.5 applications for every spot in DU's incoming freshman class. For this reason, fit it is increasingly important. Next steps are to solicit feedback from students, faculty and staff, to analyze logistics, to determine if marketing efforts are correct, and to decide on implementation for next year.

DU Scorecard reveals strength in numbers, especially in the number of Colorado Students (1378 or 33.7% of the pool; compare to 1191 or 32% last year). There appears to be a new trend in students with undeclared majors: 1124 over 920 last year. Is this a new trend? Is it a problem?

Dolan introduced Margret Korzus, from the Office of Admissions. Korzus discussed the cycle of undeclared applications, which she has observed over 20 years. DU has traditionally been an open forum for undecided students. The Core Curriculum and general education component permit this. Students don't have to declare major until the end of their sophomore year unless they are in Pre-med or Engineering. This culture was prompted in the 80s when admissions were so low. Access to faculty and mentoring and guidance for students allows it to continue. This generation will be a little less likely to commit themselves. In addition, it is easier to be admitted without a major, as undeclared students are not subject to admission ceilings, departmental standards, etc. Recently DU has opened more doors with its self-designed major and flexible core curriculum. Living and learning centers have encouraged exploration. Al Rosa (Engineering) observed, We are victims of our own excellence. Have the events of September 11 and the economic collapse of the "dot.coms" influenced how students look at priorities? Korzus: Remember, youre dealing with 17-year olds. Our publications dont seem to encourage students one way or the other. The Admissions Office does not admit students on the basis of majors.

Wayne Anderson (Philosophy) asked if this might be conceived of as a problem. Korzus: There are a number of criteria for determining fit. Faculty response is of utmost importance. There should be coordination of faculty contact with students once the admissions packet is sent out. Why is there a decrease in the percentage of students of color? Dolan: Perhaps it's the high-tech approach we're using. This year a CD view card with links to applications, etc. was sent to inquiring students. This practice might have eliminated some students of color, although those that did apply tended to come in over the Internet.

Tom Paskus (Education). Is there a 3-5-year plan to increase the number of domestic minority students? What is the strategy for next year? Dolan: We're still on track for the 5-year plan. It's early yet. All offers of admission will leave campus on March 1. Then we'll see.

Lucretia Peebles (Education): What % of students of color is from local area? Dolan: The vast majority. This is because initiatives like the Daniels Fund, West High school, and local partnerships increase the pool.

Linda Cobb-Reiley (Mass Comm) The Academic Planning Committee recently met with faculty. There appear to be problems with the measurement instrument. It is inconsistent in application; there is a lack of pre-testing. Will this change? Dolan: Yes, along with the redundancy in questioning. A number of partners across campus are fine-tuning the instrument used during first year.

Cathryn Potter (GSSW): The new process affected only 34 admission decisions. When process began, was the goal decision-making or increasing persistence rates? Dolan: At this time last year we had 3400 applications. We're looking for good way to sort. Were only looking for 1000 students per year, and the number of applications is increasing. There is a need to proceduralize, to ensure fairness and good fit. The Hyde Interviews are a tool to be used on front end. They did reveal 2 surprises. 1100 alumni were invited to participate; only 150 responded. 100 faculty were invited; 72 responded This is high. The right people are now making decisions.

Do you expect to see affected numbers (re: 34: in 17 cells on handout) increase? Dolan: Perhaps. Faculty comments are more important than other factors. The team aggregate showed that team members agreed.

Dennis Barrett (Biology): Margret indicated that students were not admitted according to division/major, yet you rattled off gender and program. Is this a change? We look at programs to see trends for marketing and recruiting. We are asking for awareness rather than shaping.

Barbara Wilcots (English): The University shifted budget priorities to pay for Hyde this year. Will this continue to happen in the future? Dolan: Yes. We anticipate doing so in the future. Money is tight. Old resources are being shifted to the Web. Off-campus receptions were fewer. Hyde gives us new opportunities.

There is an increase in the number of international students. How will Hyde facilitate this? Contact is Margery Smith (Intl Admissions). Unfortunately, Hyde may penalize those students. We'll keep an eye on it.

Andy Divine (Hotel, Restaurant Mgt). Has Hyde been ranked? Dolan: yes a longitudinal study will be conducted over 4 years. The process was made as robust as possible, then turned over to Assessment.

Do you do exit interviews with students to ascertain whether interview process was helpful in student decision making: Dolan: No, although a questionnaire sent out with acceptance letter. Each interview site has a manager who stays and visits with parents, etc. This provides additional feedback. No other schools are doing this. It is positive, and has changed perceptions of DU. Having faculty on-site in 23 cities is impressive. We're setting ourselves apart from other schools.

Continuing New Business (Sadler):

Wilcots: It's time for the Personnel Committee to decide on faculty awards. Email bwilcots@du.edu if interested in serving on the committee.

Sadler: The new Faculty Forum issue tabulates DU's sister institutions.

Guests and Speakers have agreed to remain for individual questions. Thank you to speakers.

Meeting adjourned at 1:30 pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Deborah S. Grealy, Executive Secretary

3/8/02