ATTENDEES: Andersen, Jesudason, Martins, McKinnon, Mishra, Mooney, Romberger, and Vincent

APOLOGIES: Collins, Dagdelen, Ganesh, Petr, and Walls

GUESTS: Arthur Sacks - Associate Vice President for Academic and Faculty Affairs, Tom Boyd - Dean of Graduate Studies, John Humphrey - Geology and Geological Engineering, Veronica Graves - Human Resources, Robert Applegate - President, CSM Graduate Student Association, and Regina Hutchings - ASCSM Undergraduate Student Representative

Mishra, Senate President, called the meeting to order and welcomed the guests.

COMMENTS FROM GUESTS:

1. Arthur Sacks - Budget requests are due March 12. Budget hearings to consider the budget proposals are scheduled for later in March.

2. Tom Boyd - Nigel Middleton, EVPAA, has approved the Senate's action on the changes for graduate degree requirements. These changes will be reflected in next year's CSM Graduate Bulletin. Each department/division will decide how current graduate students will be grandfathered into the new system.

   Engineering, Chemical Engineering and Economics and Business have submitted proposals for changes in their MS degree program. These proposals will be discussed by Graduate Council at their March meeting.

3. Robert Applegate - CSM Graduate Student Association has awarded travel grants for this semester.

   Research fair will be held April 19, 2007 in Ballroom B of the Student Center.

   Robert represented the CSM Graduate Student Association with other students from the state of Colorado at the state capitol. The purpose was to have the state match the amount of the tuition increase.

4. Regina Hutchings announced that ASCSM approved the revised reorganization of ASCSM. The ASCSM bylaws will be revised to reflect this change.

DISCUSSIONS:

1. Background Checks - Veronica Graves discussed with the Senate a proposed policy on background investigation. This background check will be conducted on all faculty and/or staff who have been made an offer of employment.

2. Core Curriculum Proposed Changes (see 2/20/07 Senate Minutes - Committee Updates - A.3.1) - The issue is should Systems 101 be in the distributed science core where it would be an elective for various programs or should it remain in the main core. Tom Boyd spoke in favor of the change and John Humphrey spoke for those opposing the change. A motion made by Martins, seconded by McKinnon to approve the proposal submitted by the Curriculum Committee to create a distributive science core that would include SYGN 101 was passed by a vote of four in favor, three opposed and one abstention.

APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES: The February 20, 2007 Faculty Senate Minutes were approved.

OLD BUSINESS:

1. March Faculty Forum - Mishra announced that Governor Ritter will address the Mines community on March 20. Time and venue will be announced by the President's Office. This will replace the March Faculty Forum.

2. Committee Vacancies - Andersen announced the following committee vacancies for 2007-08 academic year:

   Senate Committees:
   

   • Academic Standards and Policies 0, plus Senate chair
   • Committee on Committees 1, plus Senate chair
   • Committee on Evaluation 1, plus Senate chair
   • Faculty Affairs 3, plus Senate chair
   • Faculty Oversight Committee on Sports and Athletics 1, plus Senate rep.
   • Readmissions 2, plus Senate rep.
   • Student Scholastic Awards 1, no Senate rep.

   University Committees:
   

   • Board of Student Publications 3, no Senate rep.
   • Budget 1, plus Senate rep.
   • Calendar 1, plus Senate rep.
   • Faculty Handbook 1, plus Senate rep.
   • Safety 2, no Senate rep.
   • Technology Fee 2, no Senate rep.
   • Undergraduate Student Affairs 1, plus Senate rep.

   Andersen will distribute a committee volunteer interest form to all eligible CSM faculty.

   Anderson informed the Senate that three Senators will conclude their term on the Senate and will need to be replaced. Nominations forms will be distributed to eligible faculty this week.

3. Grade Appeal Process - Boyd has drafted a revised version of the grade appeal process based on advice from CSM legal services. The Graduate Council will discuss the revised version at their March meeting.

NEW BUSINESS:

1. Hydrology and Geo Tech Programs - Mishra announced that these programs might request a seat on the Graduate Council. These would be separate from the departments.

2. CSM Faculty Senate Distinguished Lecturer - A letter seeking nominations for the 2007 CSM Faculty Senate Distinguished Lecturer was e-mailed to the faculty this week under Mishra's signature.

3. Board of Trustees March Meeting - McKinnon will give the Senate report to the Board of Trustees at their March 9, 2007 meeting.

4. Withdrawal Dates from Courses - Mishra will check with the Registrar for the current policy.

COMMITTEE REPORTS:

1. Senate Committees
   1. Sports and Athletics - McKinnon stated that it is a "sad" situation - lines are being drawn on whether activity or academic credit should be given for physical education courses.

2. Senate Councils
   1. Undergraduate Council - A motion to accept the Undergraduate Council's recommendation to approve two minor degree programs - Explosive Engineering and Explosive Processing of Materials - was made by Vincent, seconded by McKinnon and passed unanimously by the Senate.

3. University Committees
   1. Budget - Mooney submitted the following Budget Committee Meeting Minutes for the Senates information.
      

      Colorado School of Mines Budget Committee
      February 22, 2007
      Meeting Minutes recorded by Jean Yeager

      Voting Members Present: Kirsten Volpi, Nigel Middleton, Harold Cheuvront, Peter Han, Bob Siegrist, Terry Parker, Vaughan Griffiths, John Dorgan, Linn Havelick

      Non-Voting Members Present: Dan Montez

      Guests: Geoff Barsch, Anna Aguirre, Arthur Sacks, Tom Boyd

      Committee Update
      N. Middleton reviewed the make-up of the budget committee this past year after the resignation of Vice President Robert Moore. After Vice President Moore left, President Trefny appointed N. Middleton as interim chair of the committee. With the recent appointment of K. Volpi as Vice President for Finance and Administration, N. Middleton will return the chair of the committee to K. Volpi. This action will follow the rules of the Faculty Handbook, which states that the chairperson of the budget committee shall be the Vice President for Finance and Administration.

      CSM Budget Process for FY 2007-08
      G. Barsch distributed material that describes the CSM Budget Process for FY 2007-08. The material on the All Funds Budget restated the commitment that the CSM Board of Trustees adopted last June to develop a new budgetary process for the institution. The material notes the "Budget Principles" and "Operational Principles" of an All Funds Budget process. G. Barsch stated that some of the key factors are:
      

      • The School is going to an "All Funds Budget Process"
      • Will review department-by-department budgets instead of NACUBO categories' as done in previous years to set the budget
      • The budget will now be built from the base-up, bringing a better sense of all the components.
      • Budget planning will include a five year time horizon
      • Establish a reserve
      • Budget forecasts will be developed for three quarters during the fiscal year.

      G. Barsch stated that hopefully this document will provide a more concise picture of how an "All Funds Budget" process works. He hopes to distribute this material to every academic and administrative unit of the School in the next few days. B. Siegrist and J. Dorgan questioned the wording on the second page, first bullet of "Operational Principles" in the All Funds Budget document. It states that indirect cost return and allocation from charge out will be allocated centrally by vice presidents. K. Volpi said the wording is in draft form and needs to be changed pending the research retreat.

      G. Barsch reminded the committee that this is a draft document and some areas will need more clarification. He stated that budget roll-forwards will go through a multi-step process. The first step will be to reconcile all budget balances at the end of the year to make sure that there are actual funds supporting the budget balances. This step in the process will not start until July 1. The second step in the process will be eliminating and resolving any deficit balances. After these processes are done, the president and vice presidents will centralize the balances and may begin to allocate remaining balances.

      K. Volpi stated that if the School has a surplus in revenue at the end of the year, the Executive Committee will then decide if the surplus should be used to fund "on top" requests for next year or used to fill in the School's structural deficit. G. Barsch informed the committee that a plan is being proposed to fully budget Plant Facilities for work they do across campus which would essentially eliminate charging for internal labor costs.

      T. Parker raised the question if the Budget Committee will still provide the same function to the budget process as in the past. G. Barsch responded that the function of the Budget Committee would remain the same as stated in the current Faculty Handbook.

      Considerable time was spent by the committee discussing how current year allocations will be reviewed; the involvement of the Executive Committee in approving roll-forward balances; and the process concerning reviews and analysis of budget requests. G. Barsch continued the discussion by reviewing the FY07-08 Campus Budget Process Schedule. The key to the timing of the schedule will be when the Executive Committee hearings take place. The week of March 12 is the current deadline for departmental budget requests. All academic departmental requests should be submitted to N. Middleton.

      N. Middleton informed the committee that he wanted very brief narratives from department heads on justification of their budget requests. G. Barsch concluded by reviewing the examples of templates that will be used for budget requests.

      FY 2007-08 State Update

      FY 2007-08 Tuition Proposal. On Feb. 15, 2007 CSM's 2007-08 Tuition Proposal was submitted to the Colorado Commission on Higher Education CCHE), the General Assembly's Joint Budget Committee (JBC), and the House and Senate Education Committees. The proposal requests a 3.5% increase on our tuition rate, plus implementing the fourth year of the School's five-year tuition restructuring plan. This would increase the full-time enrollment status for undergraduate resident students to 14 credit hours. This would mean a total 7.4% revenue increase. Governor Owens recommended a 7% increase in total revenue for research institutions. D. Montez stated that it is not clear as yet what Governor Ritter administration will recommends.

      CCHE Changes. D. Montez informed the committee that a new Director to CCHE, David Skaggs, has been appointed. Two new commissioners will be appointed to CCHE in the next month or so.

      Legislative Updates. D. Montez stated that higher education has come to an agreement of the allocation of approximately $49M of new funds. CSM would receive about $1.7M or 8.5% increase to our current base (a combination of stipends and fee for service). He informed the committee of other bills in the current legislative session that we are currently monitoring.

      Capital Development Update. D. Montez reported that so far our requests for capital construction supplemental funds for the Berthoud Hall Classroom and the Marquez Hall building look good. These requests are in SB07-181, the FY07 Capital Construction Supplemental bill. SB07-181 has passed out of the Senate and is headed for the House.

      The Capital Development Committee (CDC) is prioritizing the FY08 projects and currently CSM's two projects, HOJ/Classroom Improvements and Brown Hall are ranked #31 and #47 on their list. CSM has four projects on the controlled maintenance funding list which right now looks good for funding at almost $4M. These projects deal with steam pipes, fire safety, replace corroding water pipes, and Brown Hall HVAC.

      Next Meeting: Thursday, March 8 at 4:00pm in the Board Room.

   2. Handbook - McKinnon informed the Senate that the Budget Committee will not change.

   3. Sustainability - McKinnon announced President Scoggins has requested the Sustainability Committee to look into what would be required of CSM to participate in the Seattle Mayor's Agreement.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

1. The next Senate meeting will be March 27, 2007 in Hill Hall room 300 at 2:00 pm.

2. Senate retreat will be March 30, 2007 from 8:00 am to 1:00 pm in Hill Hall room 300.

The meeting adjourned at 3:57 pm.