NCE Faculty Forums

Alison Hilsabeck, NCE Dean and Christine Quinn, Provost are offering open forum discussions centered around two strategic questions:

1) What are the biggest challenges facing education schools today?

2) What will colleges of education of the future need to look like?

During the May NCE Faculty meeting the concept of having these open forums surfaced and the Dean and Provost have scheduled the following times to have an opportunity to hear from faculty about these important issues. There will be alternate arrangements for Florida and Wisconsin faculty. Of course, faculty from other colleges can participate, particularly in areas such as teacher prep, which includes CAS coursework.

Each of the three forums will have a specific perspective to frame the questions around.

The dates, locations, and question perspectives are as follows:

Date & Time	Location	Perspective for Questions
Tuesday, May 31, 3:00-4:30 pm	Chicago Campus Room 5016	MED and Professional Development
Friday, June 3, 9:00-10:30 am	North Shore Campus Room 468	Doctoral Programs
Tuesday, June 7, 8:30-10:00 am	Chicago Campus Room 5016	Teacher Preparation

On Sorrow

It is truly saddening to see so many of our valued colleagues and coworkers leave NLU. The suddenness of the staff departures is truly hard, and there are so many people I will deeply miss, as will all of us.

While some faculty are retiring and beginning a new stage in their lives, others were not ready or prepared for the news they received.

Words cannot express the sense of loss we all feel, both personally and for NLU. I hope faculty can pull together and support one another at this time, both those of us still here and those who are moving on.

Mourning is a process that each of us experiences differently, and each of us needs to make our peace in different ways. One way is to attend the NLU Retirement Recognition Event on June 2, at 3:00 in Wheeling. Other colleges may be having their own events, such as NCE on Wednesday, June 8.

Meetings and Events, May 31 to June 3, 2011

Tuesday, May 31: University Leadership Council, 10 AM to noon, Chicago

Thursday, June 2: NLU Faculty Retirement Recognition, 3 to 5, Wheeling. RSVP to Eva Hernandez.

NCE will have its own retirement recognition event on Wednesday, June 8.

Strategic Planning Input Sessions and Blog

Many faculty ask about opportunities to have input into the strategic planning process. In addition to the faculty on the 3 design teams (academic excellence, student experience, financial viability) and the faculty on ULC that provide input to the design teams, faculty can participate in these university wide opportunities.

First, face-to-face and virtual input sessions will take place on this schedule.

Wednesday May 4 Chicago 3 – 4 pm

Thursday May 5 Virtual 10 – 11 am

Friday May 6 Northshore 10 – 11 am

Friday May 6 Wheeling 2 – 3 pm

Monday May 9 Lisle 3 – 4 pm

Tuesday May 10 Virtual 3 – 4 pm

The virtual sessions will be a combination of Centra and teleconference. Seating is limited and reservations are required. If you are interested in signing up for a session, please contact Gia Kastelic (gia.kastelic@nl.edu).

In addition to these conversations, a blog and discussion board have been created on the NLU web site: http://connect.nl.edu/StrategicPlanning/blog/default.aspx. The blog also contains copies of the current draft documents created by the design teams. Comments left in the blog and discussion forums will also be used by the design teams to guide their ongoing work.

Faculty Senate Highlights, April 2011

The NLU Faculty Senate met on April 20, 2011.

President’s Report
President Nivine Megahed discussed accomplishments for moving the University forward. Key interim and vacant positions have been filled (e.g., provost, VP for marketing). Better metrics are in place for managing enrollment, and NLU is beginning to see results. For nine weeks, applications have been higher than at the same time last year. The strategic planning process will address moving academics forward and focus on what must be accomplished over the next five years.

Dr. Megahed reported that approximately 20 faculty have accepted the early retirement offer. There will be a university-wide event to honor their legacy.

A question was raised about interim positions: Do those individuals who served in interim positions stay in the administration once permanent hires are made? The President asked that this question be tabled until June.

A CAS resolution recommending an administrative pay cut led to discussion about equity in view of faculty being asked to teach an additional course, no summer overages, and higher insurance costs. President Megahed responded that it is necessary now to look at how all resources are allocated rather than across-the-board pay cuts. This includes how faculty time can be allocated to help the University, i.e., less service, research, etc., during this budget crunch. This is a temporary situation and faculty should work with their deans to determine how to allocate their time.

Provost’s Report
Dr. Quinn outlined ways the institution is moving forward academically, including creating the Learning Commons, the undergrad and NCE grad advising centers, conversations about gen ed and adult learners, NLU’s online learning strategy, an improved academic planning process, the calendar conversion, and the credit hour conversion. Dr. Quinn announced that in May, several open forum meetings will take place to gather faculty input on the Strategic Plan.

Senate brought up the issue of student discipline and how necessary information about policy in general as well as individual students is communicated to the appropriate faculty, including adjuncts. It is apparent that correct policy and procedure are not clear to everyone. Administration promised that appropriate training will be provided to faculty and adjuncts. Senate will invite appropriate administrators to the May meeting to provide more information.

Faculty Welfare and Compensation Committee Report
Linda Gibbons reported that the FWCC continues to respond to faculty concerns. FWCC representatives on the Benefits Committee, along with Human Resource personnel Tom Bergmann and Holly Battaglia, worked together to make the insurance benefit increase as equitable as possible for all employees. She thanked Mr. Bergmann and Ms. Battaglia for their collaboration. The committee has submitted to the Administration a compilation of ideas on increasing workplace satisfaction for all employees without additional cost. The Administration is considering the suggestions

Graduate Advising Center
Steve Neer, Director of Advising, Assessment, and Development, presented an overview of the NCE Graduate Advising Center, which will launch in mid-May. Seven professional advisors located at the Chicago, Lisle, and Wheeling campuses will staff the center. They will travel to other campuses and off-site locations and work evening hours as needed. They will advise students on degree requirements and program deficiencies, serve as main points-of-contact for students, and lead retention efforts.

Academic Planning Subcommittee Report
Rebecca Lake reported on the work of the Academic Planning Subcommittee of Senate. The Academic Planning Task Force will work to implement a revised system for new programs and program revisions in Fall, 2011. Then they will work toward developing a new, simplified system for program reviews for implementation in Winter, 2012. To accommodate the change, the 10 program reviews remaining for this academic year will be postponed to Fall, 2011. Program reviews scheduled for AY 2011-2012 will be postponed until the launch of the new system. Programs will be able to choose from the old or new requirements, depending on the amount of work they have already done preparing their reports under the old system. These steps will allow for ample faculty input, especially from college academic planning units, and ensure that NLU moves forward with appropriate deliberation. More information on academic planning will be shared at the Faculty Association meeting

ULC Representative
Dr. Steve Thompson was elected by Senate to fill a vacancy on ULC. (Because of administrative changes since the Senate meeting, Senate will review ULC membership at its next meeting.)

Forthcoming Meetings
The next Senate meeting will be Wednesday, May 18, 2011, at 11:00 AM on the Chicago Campus. The Senate will meet in executive session at 9:30 AM that day, primarily to organize the agenda of the 11:00 AM meeting. Senate has agreed that all attendees of Senate meetings identify themselves by name when prompted by the NLU Meeting Place system, and those names will be announced aloud by the system to all meeting participants. Callers who do not identify themselves will be asked to hang up and reconnect, saying their names when prompted. As always, Faculty Senate meetings are open to all members of the NLU Community.

Senate agreed that the NLU Faculty Association Meeting will be on Friday, May 20, 2011, at 1:00 PM. Details on locations and teleconferencing are forthcoming.

Faculty Association Spring Meeting May 20, 2011

The National Louis University Faculty Association spring meeting will take place, as previously announced, from 1:00 to 3:00 PM CDT on May 20, 2011. In order to minimize the cost of parking in Chicago, the meeting will originate from the North Shore campus, with teleconferencing to Chicago, Wheeling, Lisle, Elgin, and all remote locations via NLU Meeting Place. Powerpoints will be broadcast using Centra. A separate meeting announcement will contain instructions for connecting to NLU Meeting Place and Centra.

This is a particularly important meeting because of the challenges facing our institution. As we all know, the sharp drop in enrollment and tuition revenue has forced the Administration to take a number of harsh measures, including increased load and reductions in force. At the same time, the Administration has launched a number of initiatives they believe will improve service to students, increase enrollment, and improve operational efficiency.

Senators, other faculty leaders, and I have worked very hard to represent faculty voice in a very challenging time, and this meeting is important for gaining an understanding about the impact your representatives have had in representing the faculty voice.

Obviously, it has not been possible to avoid the effects of a $10 million revenue drop on faculty. Nevertheless, despite numerous obstacles, Senate and other faculty leaders have brought faculty voice to bear on many decisions, and continue working to make sure that unaddressed concerns will be acted upon in the future.

During this meeting we will review the impact we have had despite the obstacles, and will design ways to ensure that faculty voice is represented as NLU attempts to rebuild over the summer and next year.

Though we have faced many challenges, Senate and I continue to advocate, and, in fact, have had considerable impact on many decisions. At the meeting, we will provide updates on:

• Administration’s promise, at Senate’s request, that the load increase be temporary as we work next year to replace the current disputed load policy with a policy mutually satisfactory to faculty and Administration.

• Respect for the tenure process and tenure in making decisions about reductions in force.

• Insistence on timely communication to affected faculty of reductions in force (rather than delaying).

• Addition of a second option to the Voluntary Early Retirement Incentive.

• Improved faculty input into benefits, including restoring the Benefits Committee.

• Reduction of increases in insurance costs, and a fairer allocation of the increase to all employees.

• Faculty input and improvements to the Academic Calendar revision.

• Increased opportunity for faculty input into the Strategic Plan (such as coming open meetings on the draft plan)

Other areas have been less successful, as we all know. We will address those areas at the meeting and develop plans to continue to press for satisfaction.

The meeting will include reports from President Megahed, Provost Quinn, and several senators. There will be time for Q and A, and if time remains, for small group discussion on these important matters:

• Faculty input on the Learning Commons

• Faculty input on the Graduate Advising Center

• Faculty input on increasing enrollment

• Faculty input on the Strategic Plan

• Faculty governance of Academic Planning

I look forward to your active participation in the meeting.

Agenda, NLU Faculty Senate, April 20, 2011

Call to Order (11:00 a.m.)

Approval of Minutes of March, 2011 Minutes

Acceptance of the Agenda

Reports (11:05 a.m. to 12:15 .p.m)

· President’s Report, Dr. Nivine Megahed (11:05 a.m. to 11:25 a.m.)

· Provost’s Report, Dr. Christine Quinn (11:25 a.m. to 11:45 a.m.)

· Financial Report, Kent Kay (11:45 a.m. to 12:00 noon)

· Steve Neer, Graduate Advising Center (12:00-12:15 p.m.)

Academic Planning Subcommittee Report, Dr. Renee Judd (12:15 p.m. to 12:20 p.m.)

Faculty Welfare and Compensation Committee Report, Michelle Turner Mangan and Linda Gibbons (12:20 p.m. to 12:45 p.m.)

New Business (12:45 p.m.)

· Election of New ULC Representative (12:45 p.m. to 12:50 p.m.)

Adjournment (12:50 p.m.)

Executive Session: Senate will meet in executive session at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, April 20, 2011, primarily to organize the agenda of the 11:00 a.m. meeting.

Next Senate Meeting: Wednesday, May 18, 2011 11:00 a.m. at the Chicago Campus.

Academic Planning and Admission Requirements

Senate is engaged on two key projects for the remainder of this year, revision of the academic planning process and revision of admission requirements.

The academic planning process was reviewed by a shared-governance task force jointly appointed by the Interim Provost and Senate. It delivered a report on the revision of processes for new program development, program revision, and program review. The report was turned over to a Senate subcommittee to finalize the recommendations and design an implementation plan. The subcommittee's intention is to implement the new procedures for new program development and program revision in fall, 2011. The revisions to the program review process need to be aligned with current college practice. Therefore, the subcommittee, and Senate, are considering suspending program reviews for next academic year while the program review process is reconsidered in light of college practice. The intent is to create a unified system of rigorous academic review that is non-duplicative at college and university levels, in order to simply the number of reports programs have to develop each year.

Admission requirements are being reexamined collaboratively with the office of the registrar, Senate Academic Standards Committee, and college-level bodies (e.g., college admission and retention committees). This work is ongoing and we anticipate it will be ready for Senate's attention at its May meeting.

Key Meetings, April 18-22

Monday, April 18 Faculty Welfare and Compensation, 1:30 PM. Contact Linda Gibbons and Michelle Mangan Turner for dial-in information.

Tuesday, April 19 Senate Academic Planning Subcommittee, 2:00 PM, Chicago. Contact Renee Judd for dial-in information.

Wednesday, April 20 Faculty Senate, 11 AM. Chicago Campus and dial in from all locations: 888-338-6900 meeting ID 199099. In addition to the usual reports, Steve Neer will be the guest of the Senate to discuss plans for the Graduate Advising Center.

Faculty Senate Highlights March 2011

It is with great sadness that I prepare these Faculty Senate highlights. National Louis University is facing a time of great challenge, and the changes are difficult for all of us. I would ask all faculty to be supportive of one another as we deal with the challenges, and always consider the long-term good of the institution and the faculty.

Faculty Senate met on March 24, 2011. These highlights contain additional updates as new information emerged. Senate members will provide additional information at NCE and CAS meetings this week, and bring faculty input from those meetings to Senate and the Administration.

March Senate Highlights
The President and the Provost discussed the university budget for next year. Budget heads have been asked to make cuts from their budgets to make up the shortfall in revenue, which has grown from earlier estimates in December. As a result, there will be reductions in force and changes to load. All faculty reductions in force will be communicated to individuals on April 1, 2011. Staff changes will be announced in May. Faculty load for next year will require faculty to teach one additional three hour course. Next year, a shared governance task force will examine load and create a definitive, permanent policy that is mutually agreed upon by Faculty, Administration, and Trustees. Next year’s budget will continue to support key faculty resources, including sabbaticals, professional development funds, and faculty excellence awards. Senate is inquiring into the availability of Professional Development Grants for next year, as well as full funding of this year’s grants (which were funded at only 50 percent for this year so far). The Library will be transformed into a learning center that consolidates services from other units of the university in order to focus on student success in a one-stop model. The University also hopes to fund (through donations) a Center for Teaching and Learning to enhance teaching excellence.

Bob Hiller, Vice President of Enrollment, reported on restructuring of the enrollment team. Consolidating staff at Chicago and Lisle has improved efficiency and allows for better support and management of enrollment reps. The enrollment group is also transitioning to Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software, a powerful package that allows representatives to keep track of all inquiries, applications, and application status. The changes have already resulted in improved results. The numbers of leads and applications are up significantly over the same time last year, though we will not see the impact of this activity on enrollment until next year.

Michael Lorenz, Registrar, reported on plans to simplify admission requirements. Currently, there is great diversity among requirements for different programs. (For example, different BA programs require different numbers of recommendation letters.) The Registrar has prepared a document that summarizes proposed changes, which has been presented to various governance bodies in the Colleges. Senate Academic Standards Committee will discuss the proposed changes on April 13, 2011, at 1:30 PM in a face-to-face meeting in Chicago. The purpose of the changes is to simplify the application process for enrollment reps and students, and to facilitate the movement of students between programs, in case students change their minds or wish to change programs.

Senate passed a revised academic calendar based on the new calendar model developed by ULC. Vice Provost Dr. Chris Davis is convening a steering committee to ease the transition to the new calendar and quarter hour system. Faculty Senate is in the process of identifying representatives to this committee.

Vice Provost Davis presented a report on the work of the Academic Planning Task Force. The report envisions that the work of Senate Curriculum Committee and Senate Academic Planning Committee will be realigned with the Faculty Constitution. SAC will concentrate on new course approval and academic review of existing programs. SAPC will focus on new program creation, revisions to existing programs, and program closings. A subcommittee of Senate has since met, and Senate has had a number of discussions with Administration regarding implementation of the changes. Senate now anticipates that the changes to new program development will be implemented for the 2011-2012 academic year. During that academic year, Senate will continue to examine the program review process in order to create a simpler, more streamlined review process that aligns better with College assessment reports and program reviews. Therefore, Senate is considering suspending all program reviews during 2011-2012 while the new system is developed and discussed throughout the institution. Suspending program reviews will also help faculty as we work through the changes to load and reduced staffing levels next year. The goal is to have an agreed upon load policy and a renewed program review policy fully in place by academic year 2012-2013.

Other Developments
The Registrar is working with colleges to create a streamlined process for scheduling, assigning faculty to courses, and ordering textbooks.

Senate Advocacy for Faculty
At NCE and CAS meetings, Senators and FWCC representatives will share ways Senate has advocated for faculty at this time which include:
● Voicing concerns about increased load and cuts (including equity issues)
● Expressing concerns about the academic integrity of giving only adjunct pay for summer
● Expressing concern about decreased release time for program coordination next year
● Requesting that any increase to load be temporary
● Voicing longstanding faculty disagreement with the current load policy in the Faculty Guidebook
● Requesting the appointment of a task force to create an agreed-upon load policy to replace the current disputed policy
● Requesting that the future load policy respect the priorities of research and grants that are in the new tenure policy
● Providing input into decisions about benefits (including health care)
● Raising our concerns about maintaining academic integrity with cuts
● Monitoring to ensure that cuts do not jeopardize tenure
● Providing input to the early retirement incentive plan that resulted in the second option

We have received satisfaction on many of these issues, such as the load increase being temporary, the appointment of the load task force, improvements to the early retirement program, and the timely notification of faculty. We are ready to hear your concerns.

These Highlights are informational only and do not substitute for the minutes. The next Faculty Senate meeting is April 20, 2011, at 11 AM on the Chicago Campus. An agenda will follow next week. We are working to schedule the next Faculty Association Meeting, which will be the last week in April or in May. We will discuss possible meeting times and arrangements with Faculty.

Key Meetings April 11-15

Senate Academic Standards Committee will meet at the Chicago Campus on Wednesday, April 13 at 1:30 PM to discuss proposed revised admissions standards.

NCE and CAS faculties will meet on Wednesday, April 13, in Chicago (CAS) and Wheeling (NCE).

Board of Trustees Meeting March 10, 2011

Yesterday, the NLU Board of Trustees met. They had a full day of meetings, including Finance Committee and Academic Affairs committee meetings at noon and 2:00, and a full board meeting at 5:30.

I am happy to let you know that the Board of Trustees passed the revised Promotion and Tenure policy last night. The policy will become effective on May 1, 2011. I thanked the board for their confidence in us and for their support of the notions of tenure and academic freedom in an environment where these concepts are under pressure. Of course, I expressed faculty's gratitude to Vice Provost Kathy Walsh and President Nivine Megahed for working so hard to create an agreed-upon policy to present to the board.

The board was very impressed with the process that faculty followed to build a policy that is clearly superior to its predecessor. They were also impressed with the policy itself. The board particularly liked the enhanced focus on research, the better articulation of excellence in teaching, the improved clarity, the emphasis on regular evaluation of faculty, and the clear differentiation of tenured/tenure track and non-tenured, which makes neither second-class citizens.

I would again like to thank everyone involved in developing this policy, including the Task Force, Senate, and all faculty who participated in meetings and/or research into the policy.

The BOT also began to engage with the budget challenges we are facing. They received a complete report on the university's finances, and in their executive session saw an overview of the ideas the administration is contemplating to balance the budget. Right now, no decisions have been made. I let the board know that we are working with administration to insure that there is faculty have opportunities to give advice and recommendations as the budget is developed, as well as ways to communicate with faculty leaders and faculty about the budget.

The BOT also made decisions about sabbatical applications. The board will act on promotion and tenure decisions at its June meeting.

Voluntary Separation Program Passed

At last night's Board of Trustees meeting, the Voluntary Early Separation plan was approved. This plan provides two ways for tenured faculty over 55 with 15 years of experience to retire early and receive a payment and subsidized health insurance.

All eligible faculty will receive an email on Friday. The entire faculty will receive a slightly different announcement on Monday, in case anybody was excluded from Friday's announcement. Any tenured faculty members who submitted retirement letters for this year but otherwise would have been eligible will be allowed to participate.

Nearly 80 faculty members are eligible, and the administration expects about 1/3 of them to participate, based on participation rates in previous plans. I believe that the participation rate will be closer to 50 percent, based on faculty interest.

It will be sad to lose so many colleagues, but it will be nice for so many to receive options about the next part of their lives.

This plan is good news for faculty who feel ready to retire. It will help save some money and give faculty options on how to move to the next stage of their lives.

March Senate Meeting Rescheduled

Senate has decided to postpone the Senate meeting scheduled for March 16, 2011 to THURSDAY, March 24, 2011 at 10:30 AM on the Chicago Campus. The reason for the change is to accommodate a number of schedule conflicts on March 16, such as conference attendance. Senate will resume its usual meeting pattern in April.

The March 24 meeting will conclude by 1:00. Senate will meet in Executive Session at 9:30 AM on Thursday March 24, primarily to organize the business of the 10:30 AM meeting.

As usual, all faculty will receive the agenda approximately one week before the meeting.

Key Meetings, February 28-March 4, 2011

Monday, February 28--Regular Senate Finance Committee POSTPONED to Friday.

Wednesday, March 2--University Strategic Planning process begins with an all-day visioning session. Senators and ULC members are invited, as are a representative sampling from the NLU community, including faculty, administrators, staff, BOT members, alums, and students, as well as members of the strategic planning team.

Friday, March 4, 9 AM--Senate Finance Committee. Teleconference only. Contact Andre Guerra for attendance information.

Budget, Finances, and Load

Administration has begun meeting with budget heads this week to begin making specific plans for the 2011 budget. These meetings follow on the planning meetings administration held in fall quarter, in which budget heads examined possible ways to cut 10 percent from their budgets.

The planning in December was responsive to actual results for the first 6 months of the year. As you know, we are further along, and now have close-to-actual results for Winter to add to the mix, as well as projections for Springs. All indications are that the shortfall for the year will be greater than we thought in November and December.

Your leaders in Senate are working with Administration to ensure that the Administration works fairly, appropriately, and with the best interests of the faculty and students in mind. We are also working to ensure that everyone follows the appropriate rules, procedures, and norms of our policies and the principles of constitutional and shared governance, and of the AAUP.

Meetings a Go-Go! (And a Gone-Gone!)

Several faculty have asked me about why the ULC meeting was cancelled for this month. Actually, ULC will have a strategic planning meeting next week, so this week's meeting is cancelled. It's just too many meetings.

ULC will be focusing on strategic planning in the next few meetings--5 to be exact, and Senate will be meeting with ULC in addition to its regular meetings. These are trying times, and all of us are being pulled in different directions.

In the meantime, Senate is trying to reschedule our March meeting. I have to be away the usual time of the meeting. Given the challenges NLU is facing, March will be a key meeting. I am hoping that the meeting will reschedule for March 3 in the afternoon. It's very hard to find a date when senators and administrators are all available. I will keep everyone posted.

No Rest for the Weary

This is shaping up as an exceptional year in the life of NLU and the faculty. In addition to dealing with enrollment and the budget, we are working hard to make changes in all areas of the institution, from the calendar project, to the reorganization of the enrollment department, to new leadership in all areas of the university.

In addition, as we work through these immediate changes, we are beginning the process of developing a new longer-range strategic plan.

Faculty have already engaged with two major changes, the inauguration of University Leadership Council and the development of a new Promotion and Tenure policy. ULC has the potential of completely changing the way faculty and administration interact, both within ULC and within current structures. All stakeholders (faculty, staff, administration, and even students) need to hold one another, and themselves, accountable that they are following the principles of shared governance.

The new Promotion and Tenure Policy has the potential of transforming NLU in the long run and short term, especially as many of our senior colleagues retire in the next few years. The higher expectations for scholarship, research, and inquiry will deepen our institutional commitment to scholarship, while the provisions of community engagement will ensure that we continue to serve the communities we value.

All of this being said, more work is facing the faculty, in particular. A Senate Task Force is working to improve and simplify the academic planning process. Improvements contemplated in the changes include a complete revamp and simplification of the program review process and a completely new academic planning process that integrates all stakeholders in the university in a procedure that will encourage innovative new programs that drive substantial enrollment.

Moreover, we as a faculty need to engage effectively in the process that is creating next year's budget. Issues such as load, class size, and appropriate faculty assignments will be vital as we move forward.

Faculty Senate and its committees are readying themselves for these task in the next few months. This is going to be a very challenging period of time, and the Senate is looking to the faculty for its support as we work to represent you.

Senate Highlights, February 2011

I am happy to let you know that Senate unanimously approved the Proposed New Promotion and Tenure Policy. To update everyone, after the Drafting Subcommittee finalized the draft following the Special Meeting, we reviewed all changes with the administration. All changes proposed by the Drafting Subcommittee were accepted, and the draft was forwarded to all Senators and faculty prior to the Senate meeting for their review. We should all congratulate ourselves for a job well done. I believe that the quality of our policy is an attestation of the hard work of the Faculty Task Force, which I would like to acknowledge again in these highlights.

Senate would also like to thank Vice Provost Kathleen Walsh and President Nivine Megahed for their invaluable contributions, their willingness to engage and consider all viewpoints thoughtfully, and their high standards of excellence. Senate owes gratitude to the NCE and CAS faculty, and their chairs, for allowing us to use part of their meeting times in order to hold the Faculty Association meeting in a timely and efficient manner. Senate also thanks Dr. Tom Heaney for acting as chair during a portion of the Faculty Association meeting. Of course, Senate also thanks the faculty for its high attendance, active participation at the meeting and throughout the whole process, and deep interest in ensuring that this policy is fair and appropriate.

NLU's new provost, Dr. Christine Quinn, was warmly welcomed by Senate. Dr. Quinn has been getting to know NLU and the faculty even before coming here, and commented positively on meetings she held with groups of faculty last month. Dr. Quinn and Dr. Megahed will oversee the strategic planning process, which will begin with an all-day retreat on March 2. Senate will be invited to participate in this event as will ULC.

Vice Provost Kathy Walsh reported that the Chicago area commencement will take place at the Arie Crown Theater. There will be two ceremonies, one undergraduate and one graduate. Vice Provost Walsh believes that the faculty will be seated on the stage for our graduates' special day. Dr. Claudia Pitts will represent faculty on the Commencement Committee.

Senators brought up the faculty concern that recently some policy changes have been made without any faculty consultation. Provost Quinn indicated that this issue had been brought up during the campus road shows and, as an issue, will be addressed.

Vice President for Finance and Administration Kent Kay reported that the university continues to anticipate losses for the winter quarter and the entire year. Mr. Kay and Marty Mickey are working with budget heads to draft their proposals for next fiscal year's budget. Mr. Kay also reported that the renovation of the second floor of the Chicago campus will begin in May and is projected to end in November. The atrium, therefore, will not be available for events during that time. Architectural drawings of the improvements will be presented to the community when they are available. This renovation is paid for by funds from the state awarded to the university.

Senate passed a revised English language proficiency requirement for admission. NLU will now accept scores from standardized assessments such as TOEFL and IELTS for admission. Dr Carol Melnick informed Senate that administration will be bringing a number of new academic policy changes to Senate and its committee in the near future, including a review of all admission requirements to undergraduate programs. Senate indicated that it will support fast, efficient review of these changes by appropriate faculty committees and faculty members within the programs. The purpose of the review is to make the requirements as uniform as possible to facilitate the work of the enrollment and admissions groups, without eliminating necessary requirements for individual programs or departments.

Faculty Welfare and Compensation committee reported that it is working on ensuring a fair transition to the new credit hour system as it rolls out. Senate is seeking a representative from Senate Curriculum Committee to serve on the calendar conversion project. FWCC and the Senate chair will continue to work with administration to ensure that policies that affect faculty welfare and compensation are brought forward to the committee appropriately. The Senate Chair and past chair will be particularly proactive to ensure that there will be no surprise announcements that grow out of the run-up to the Board of Trustees meeting. FWCC will also begin to consider discrepancies in salary between newly hired faculty and faculty who have been her for many years.

These highlights are provided as an informal update to faculty, and do not replace the official approved minutes, which will be forwarded to all faculty in the emailed version of these highlights. Minutes from the Special Faculty Association Meeting and the September Faculty Association Meeting will be approved at the Spring Faculty Association meeting.

Senate Passes Promotion and Tenure Policy

Thanks to the hard work of two Senate Task Forces, the Senate, and the input of countless faculty members who participated in surveys, came to meetings, spoke at faculty association or college meetings, the new, proposed Promotion and Tenure Policy passed unanimously at Senate today.

Promotion and Tenure Task Force Members

Bruce Boyer

Sherri Bressman

Mark Burnette

Scipio Colin,

Paula Jordan

Judy Kent

Claudia Miller

Rene Roy

Barbara Scheidt

Todd Price,Chair, 2009-2010

Susan McMahon, Chair 2010-2011

Senate Members 2010-2011

Sophie Degener

Nancy Harding

David Hoogakker

Seema Imam

Renee Judd

Rebecca Lake

James Nowotarski

Claudia Pitts

Brian Reynolds

David San Filippo

Kathleen Sheridan

Tim Collins, Chair

Senate owes thanks to two administrators who were invaluable and highly supportive in ensuring that our P&T policy reflects our mission and raises our standards: Vice Provost Kathleen Walsh and President Nivine Megahed.

The full approved text will route with the Senate Highlights.

Key Meetings, February 14-18, 2011

Monday, February 14: Faculty Welfare and Compensation, 1:oo. Teleconference. Ask Linda Gibbons for dial-in information.

Wednesday, February 16: Faculty Senate, 11:00. Chicago room 4025 and teleconference with meeting ID 199099.

Difficult Choices and Decisions

First, thanks to all faculty who participated in the Special Meeting on last week. It's really gratifying to see such interest and participation from so many faculty members, whether senior or just beginning their NLU careers.

One of the most difficult challenges facing our faculty is responding to the BOT's request to require promotion to associate professor in order to get tenure. This request has provoked controversy since it was communicated to Senate in fall 0f 2009 by Interim Provost Kathy Walsh.

According to the Task Force chairs, the Task Force engaged extensively on this issue during their year-long research. They discussed it extensively in the first part of their work, and during fall, when they were writing the policy, they talked with many faculty members. According to what the Task Force reported, most faculty they talked to over a period of months accepted the notion of requiring promotion to associate as a requirement for tenure. Therefore, they included it in the policy. Here is a comment from recent email traffic.

[T]hose we interviewed and talked with throughout multiple venues seemed to be fine with the requirement that someone be promoted before tenured, even if this were to occur within the same year. Therefore, the Task Force moved forward on this, making promotion a prerequisite to tenure since the BOT has said they don't understand the justification for why someone is worthy of tenure who had not met the criteria for promotion. This was possible in the past, I think, because the criteria for promotion to associate in the old policy were higher then than that for tenure. This is no longer the case.

Many faculty have wanted to know the reasoning behind the BOT position. Basically, they view tenure as a significant investment in an individual. To them, to merit this level of investment, the candidate needs to demonstrate continual professional growth and achievement. They believe that earning a promotion is an indicator that the candidate has the follow-through and commitment to merit this lifetime guarantee.

The Board of Trustee members also believe that most colleges and universities link tenure and promotion in some way, and that NLU is out of alignment with a fairly standard practice in higher education. As you know, faculty have received conflicting reports about about practices throughout higher education. In a recent email, the chair of the Task Force, Sue McMahon wrote:

Many others of us have also done the research and found that our practice is rare, if not nonexistent elsewhere. Further, the situation that resulted in assistant professors becoming tenured to NLU in the past was not because the policy explicitly supported such a decision. In contrast, the policy was so poorly written that the criteria for becoming an associate professor were higher than for earning tenure. This was genuinely problematic and one issue the Task Force worked hard to address because it created misunderstanding for faculty, P&T committees, administration, and the BOT.

At this point, we are better off avoiding an argument among ourselves on these nuances, and instead seek the best possible P&T Policy we can.

Many faculty have asked me whether we have tried to push back or negotiate on this. I have to report that when I tried, I received the strongest resistance I can recall in any kind of negotiation. One administrator told me that the BOT is "adamant" on this issue.

I don't think that faculty are of one mind on this issue. Obviously, some faculty feel very passionately about this subject, but the TF research over a long period of time showed that many faculty agree with this requirement, which is why they created the policy the way they did.

Senate will carefully consider all feedback from faculty as we finalize this policy and work to obtain the best policy we can.

Meetings, February 7-11, 2011

This week there are several important meetings of interest to all faculty.

Wednesday, February 9 Special Faculty Association Meeting, 9:30 AM Chicago and Wheeling Campuses, teleconference 888-338-6900, Meeting ID 199099. Powerpoints will be projected in both locations. You can teleconference from any location and view Powerpoints at Centra. A Centra meeting invitation will be mailed to all faculty on Monday and updated here.

Wednesday, February 9 NCE and CAS Faculty Meetings, 11:30 AM, Wheeling (NCE) and Chicago (CAS). If you connect remotely, you will need to hang up from the Faculty Association meeting and reconnect to the college meeting.

President's "State of the University" Presentations

Monday, February 7, 10:00 AM, Wheeling Campus & 2:00 PM, North Shore

Wednesday, February 9 1:00 PM,Lisle Campus

Friday, February 11, 10:00 AM,Chicago Campus
Monday, February 14, 2:00 PM, Webinar via Centra for Elgin and Milwaukee, plus anyone unable to attend other sessions.

Thursday, February 10, 2011 Senate Academic Planning Committee, 10 AM, Chicago Campus.

Senate Finance Committee, January 31, 2011

The Senate Finance Committee met on January 31. Kent Kay reported on the university's financial results to date. The enrollment decline continues, and enrollment for Winter is behind both plan for this year and actual results from last year. Spring enrollment is about 11 percent behind where we were at this time last year for Spring quarter.

The budget planning process will work from actual numbers for this year; expenses need to be managed to match this year's actual income, which is still a moving target.

The administration is committed to an open process for the budget. SFC reps will be invited into the budget process during March and April.

University Leadership Council, January 25, 2011

NLU President Dr. Nivine Megahed reported that enrollment continues a downward trend of ten percent. The budget situation underscores the importance of developing a focused strategic plan which eliminates things that do not serve that focus. The strategic plan will be directed to three areas: student experience, financial strength, and academic excellence.

ULC heard reports on 2 AQIP projects. Steve DiBenedetto and David SanFilippo, co-chairs, reported on the project to improve retention, success, and satisfaction. Their report recommends simplification of processes, training of faculty and staff so they can help students navigate NLU, early identification of “at risk” students, creation of a concierge service environment, and more.

Co-chair Holly Battaglia (faculty co-chair Anne Sullivan ) reported on the project to simplify the publication and communication of NLU policies, as well as to identify processes and timelines for the regular review of those policies. About 150 policies (and counting) were collected from throughout the university. Some of these policies are duplicative, competing, ambiguous, or outdated. The report recommends creation of an Online Policy Library, which indicates the owner of the policy, when it is up for review, and where else that policy is published. Both groups are finalizing their reports, which will be submitted to ULC, the president, and the NLU community.

Dr. Megahed announced that the strategic planning process will be co-chaired by Chris Davis, Vice Provost of Institutional Effectiveness, Tim Collins, Chair of Faculty Senate, and Joselyn Zivin, Vice President of Marketing. Since ULC will be focusing on the Strategic Plan, Dr. Chris Davis will act as the presidentially-appointed co-chair of ULC. Joselyn indicated that three teams would be formed, each representing one of the three areas of the plan: student experience, financial strength, and academic excellence. The members of these teams will represent a cross-section of the NLU community and be appointed by the President.

This report is condensed from the ULC Highlights distributed to the community earlier.

Meetings January 24-28

These meetings are scheduled for this week:

University Leadership Council: Tuesday, January 25, 10 AM to noon, Chicago Campus Board Room,888-338-6900, meeting ID 227240.

Senate will be meeting with administrators on Monday and Tuesday to finalize the P&T proposed draft.

Busy, Busy, Busy

I just heard that at least one NCE department has a meeting on February 11 that they cannot change. I am working to figure out a better date. I will keep everyone informed.

Promotion and Tenure Policy Update

At Senate's meeting on Wednesday, Senators agreed to postpone the Special Meeting for one week, to February 11, 2011, in order to finalize the draft of the proposed Promotion and Tenure Policy for your review.

The reason for the change is to allow your Senators more time. First, the Task Force, which did an excellent job, left a few areas for Senate to complete. In addition, Senate needed time to meet with the Task Force chair to get some clarifications of their thinking in areas where Senators had questions. Of course we shared the draft with Administration to get their input, and received a number of comments and suggestions. We expect to receive more as other administrators respond next week.

In order to incorporate all good suggestions, make needed clarifications, and come to closure with Administration, we need more time. We do not anticipate any problems or issues. Our work with Administration has been cordial and productive, and many of the suggestions we have received are in the faculty's and the institution's best interest. Dealing with all of these matters takes time. We want to present a policy that aligns the interests of the faculty and the institution. Therefore, we need the extra week.

The Special Faculty Association Meeting will take place on Friday, February 11 at noon. You will receive the draft policy one week from today, January 28. That gives faculty two weeks to review the policy before the meeting. The meeting will originate in Chicago, and there will be rooms with teleconference units for faculty to gather in Wheeling, Lisle, North Shore, and Tampa. Meeting Powerpoints will be broadcast via Centra, and faculty can view them on their laptops. (Powerpoints will be projected in Chicago only.) Faculty can also teleconference (via NLU Meeting Place) from any phone and view Powerpoints from any location with Internet connectivity. (We will not use Centra's voice capability because of previous bad experiences.) Senators will be present in each room in Lisle, Wheeling, North Shore, and Tampa.

We will consider feedback from the meeting to make adjustments to the policy. We hope to pass the final draft at our next Senate meeting on February 16, in time to be approved at the next Board of Trustees meeting, which is in March.

Summary of Important Dates
January 28 Faculty Receive Draft Proposed Policy
February 11 Special Faculty Association Meeting
February 16 Senate meeting
March BOT Meeting

Before the Special Meeting, faculty have two weeks to read the policy, ask their Senators questions, provide input to their Senators, and make suggestions. Faculty can continue to provide input up to the February 16 Senate meeting, and may attend the Senate meeting that day as well. If we need more time, we will try to carve it out. The reason we need to present the policy at the March Board meeting is because we want to have the new policy in place for faculty who are up for tenure and/or promotions in 2011-2012, though those faculty may elect to proceed under the old policy. If we wait until the June BOT meeting it will be too late because the cycle in the old policy will have started already.

Of course, faculty has already had numerous opportunities to contribute thoughts and ideas to the development of the policy. In fact, the initial impetus to examine the policy came from an NCE faculty member. Before creating the Task Force, Senate held several meetings, including some Special Meetings, and heard from many faculty, including many past and present members of college and institutional committees. The Task Force itself was comprised entirely of faculty from all three colleges and the library. From November 2009 to December 2010, the Task Force met extensively with other faculty from throughout the institution, including past P & T committee members (institutional and college), faculty on the tenure track, and faculty who had experiences to recount from their reviews. Faculty also had opportunities to provide input to the task force at several faculty meetings, including the NLU Faculty Association meeting on September 2, 2010 and two NCE and CAS faculty meetings. In its deliberations, Senate has met with representatives from the Task Force and from IPTC. This has provided very broad input from all over the faculty over an extended period of time.

Your Senators are working very hard on this policy draft. We look forward to working with you to finalize this important policy.

"What's Taking So Long?"

Several faculty members have asked me this question about the forthcoming draft of the proposed Promotion and Tenure policy. Faculty, particularly ones on the tenure track, are anxious to see the new policy. Everyone is confident that the Task Force did a great job, especially given the caliber of the individuals on the task force. I have included their names in a separate thank-you post.

So "What's taking so long?"

First, a couple of reminders. For faculty up for promotion and/or tenure next year, the policy draft allows them to go forward under the old or the new guidelines. The policy draft also contains a transition plan for faculty coming up for tenure and/or promotion in subsequent years. This will ensure that the transition is fair.

The Task Force left a few areas for Senate to complete. There were also a few items that came up that the Task Force felt were beyond their charge. Senate needs to address these areas. Moreover, the policy needs to be finalized in collaboration with administration. Both faculty and administrators have contributions to make the policy. The Task Force considered written input from administration, and also met with administrators. Nevertheless, this is the first time administrators have seen the draft. Senate needs time to meet with administrators to discuss their comments in a collaborative process.

All administration's ideas have been positive and helpful, and many are very pro-faculty. For example, administration has helped up improve the family-friendly provisions we want to include so faculty with important life events (a birth, an illness) and need to take a leave will still be able to move ahead with their tenure applications.

Your Senators are working very hard to finalize the policy so that the draft that reaches you is complete, accurate, and appropriate.

Here are the meetings Senate has held since the policy draft reached us from the Task Force.

December 15 Senate discussed the draft at its regular meeting. Senators agreed to read the draft over break and meet right after break to decide how to move forward. (The draft was received too close to the meeting date to have a substansive discussion at that meeting.)

January 5 At a Special Senate meeting, Senators decided to appoint a subcommittee to add missing parts to the draft, clarify it, and ensure it was organized. Representatives from IPTC and the Task Force chair were invited to this meeting.

January 6, 7, 10 Senate subcommittee, meeting with representatives from IPTC and the Task Force chair, reviewed the policy, added some clarifications, and ensured it was organized.

January 10 and 11 Senate Chair updated the draft based on previous meetings.

January 11 Senate Chair met with Interim Provost. A meeting was scheduled to go over the draft in detail.

January 12 Three hour meeting with the interim provost to go over the draft.

January 17 Provost provides written input for review and discussion with Senate (input was not formally accepted by Senate).

January 19 Senate decides to postpone the Faculty Association meeting to allow time to reconcile administration's comments.

January 20 Senate subcommittee reviews administrative input.

January 24 Meeting with Senate subcommittee and Interim Provost to reconcile administrative input.

The revised draft will go to faculty and administrators on January 27, which allows 15 days for review prior to the February 11 Special Faculty Association Meeting. That allows plenty of time for thought and consideration of the policy, especially given the ample faculty input in the development of the policy. Senate's goal is to approve a final draft at its meeting on February 16.

Thank You!

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank the members of the Senate Promotion and Tenure Task Force for their hard work since December 2009. During this time, they met regularly prepared two reports, and created a draft proposed policy for consideration by Senate and faculty. Here are members of the Task Force:

Bruce Boyer, English and Philosophy Department, CAS

Sherri Bressman, Elementary Education, NCE

Mark Burnette, University Library

Scipio Colin, Adult and Continuing Education, CAS

Paula Jordan, Field Programs, CMB

Judy Kent, Language Studies, CAS

Claudia Miller, Health Studies, CAS

Rene Roy, Fine Arts, CAS

Todd Price Education Foundations & Inquiry NCE, Chair, 2009-2010

Susan McMahon, Reading & Language, NCE, Chair 2010

I tend to leave off names in lists like these, so I apologize in advance if I omitted a name. Please let me know and I will add it.

Moving Forward with the Promotion and Tenure Policy

Faculty are very eager to find out details about the forthcoming draft of a proposed new promotion and tenure policy. Today at Senate we created a plan for sharing it with everyone and moving forward.

Right now, the policy draft needs a bit more attention before it is ready for everyone to see. Senators want to ensure that the policy reflects faculty input we have received over the months the policy has been in development. So we are adding a week to the schedule.

A Senate subcommittee will meet tomorrow, January 2o, to revise the draft submitted by the task force. Senate also feels it needs to go over the draft with administration before the draft is shared with faculty. We plan to have meetings with Administration the first part of next week. By Thursday, January 27, we plan to have a draft that is complete and ready for distribution. For this reason, we need to postpone the Special Faculty Association Meeting a week to February 11.

We will use feedback from that meeting to make adjustments to the policy. We hope to pass the final draft at our next Senate meeting on February 16.

Faculty will be able to review the policy beginning on January 27. Faculty can provide input to their Senators, ask them question, and attend the meeting on February 11. Faculty can continue to provide input up to the February 16 Senate meeting, and may attend the Senate meeting that day.

Of course, faculty has already had numerous times to contribute thoughts and ideas The Task Force was comprised entirely of faculty. The Task Force met extensively with faculty from throughout the institution, including past P & T committee members (institutional and college), faculty on the tenure track, and faculty who had experiences to recount from their reviews. The policy was also discussed at the Faculty Association meeting on September 2, and many departments elected to send in written commentary that day or after their meetings. The policy was discussed in two NCE and CAS faculty meetings, too.

Senate is confident that the Task Force created a strong document which only needed to be finalized. Senate is working very hard to ensure that the document that goes to faculty will reflect their input and the needs of the faculty and institution.

Celebrating a Milestone

I recently found out that I was elected to the Board of Directors of TESOL. This is a real honor for me, and I hope that my service on the board is a good reflection on our ESL/Bilingual Program, NCE, and NLU. Thanks to all of your for your words of congratulations!

Key Meetings, January 18-21, 2011

Wednesday: Faculty Senate meets at 11:00 AM CST on Chicago Campus. Teleconferencing is available at (888) 338-6900 Meeting ID 199099. Please place your phone on mute after you join the meeting.

The primary topic of this meeting will be the Promotion and Tenure Policy draft. Senate will also hear reports from the President, the Interim Provost, and the Vice President for Finance and Operations. The Vice-Provost for Institutional Effectiveness will give a brief report on Noel-Levitz Student Satisfaction survey.

What Is Shared Governance?

Discussion about the tuition waiver policy today at FWCC revolved in part around a topic that has been receiving increasing attention at NLU--Shared Governance. This discussion raises a number of interesting issues around this topic.

First, from a faculty perspective, the tuition waiver affects two areas of concern to Senate and its committees: faculty welfare/compensation and academics. Obviously, the tuition waiver is a benefit that has made a positive difference in many faculty member's lives. Moreover, the waivers are an academic issue since the waiver attracts and retains adjuncts. Though only 20 people take advantage of this benefit, many of those are our best adjuncts, and those graduates accrue over the years, so that now there are many in the adjunct ranks with doctoral degrees from us.

Of course, we need to consider whether we need this many of our own graduates, but that is a separate question. Putting aside that issue, it's clear that our tuition-paying graduate students benefit from the faculty in their classes. More importantly, the solution of cutting waivers does nothing to address causes of some programs having very few tuition paying students in their cohorts. This policy does nothing to address the need to ensure that all of our programs are vibrant and attractive to students and enroll sufficient numbers of tuition-paying students. We have great programs but they are not enrolling enough tuition paying students, which is a problem that is not being addressed right now.

At the FWCC meeting, administrators raised the issue of fairness. They questioned whether only faculty should give advice in matters such as this. This argument is a non-starter for me because it calls into question the very notion of shared governance we are trying to develop, rather than working in a shared governance way. It seems like all employee groups should have an advisory voice if we are really going to have shared governance.

Nevertheless, this position did not stop administrators from making a contradictory argument that an employee group should not be allowed power over its pay or benefits. If this were the case, then there would be no basis for having a Faculty Welfare and Compensation Committee in the board-approved Constitution. If we have such a committee, what is its role? It seems that at times the committee represents faculty interests, but it also needs to stand for the good of the institution from a faculty or an academic perspective. The institution needs to have pay and benefits that attract the faculty we need and are compatible with the institution's academic mission. Faculty have a role in offering advice on these matters. We need to remember to be motivated for the good of the institution, that is, stewardship, and not self-interest, in addressing these issues.

Though faculty and administrators have strong emotions about this issue, it's good that at least some of the debate is over the notion of shared governance. Shared governance is a common goal, and a notion we can co-construct with all stakeholders at NLU, not only in University Leadership Council, but in all areas. Faculty complain about administrators' actions, but we, too, probably need to act differently. During these discussions, it has been pointed to me that the development of the Promotion and Tenure policy has not modeled shared governance. In retrospect, I cannot disagree, and I have started to work to ensure that we have a collaborative process from now on. That being said, we were more open to administration in this process than adminstration was in the tuition waivers. We involved administrators from the start, had them provide written input, and they met with the task force on several occasions. That being said, the Academic Planning Task Force, which was formed about a year after the P&T Task Force, IS a an example of shared governance and a model for us going forward. So we are making progress, and every stakeholder needs to hold itself and one another accountable.

I hope that we can continue to frame our challenges at least partially in terms of shared govenance, and work toward a shared understanding of how we can work together more effectively. No one can happy about what happened to the tuition wavers, for in the best possible world we would not have to cancel then. No one became an administrator because that's how they wanted to spend their time. But we can use our discussion to continue to figure out how to construct shared governance here at NLU.