Attending: Dr. Tom Metzger, Chair; Dr. Estry Aug; Dr. Catherine Bender; Dr. Susan Neuman; Dr. Evelyn Talbott and Dr. Anthony Silvestre

The next meeting of the Committee will be on September 11, 2001 from noon to 1:30 p.m. in the 6th floor Conference Room in WPU.

1. March Minutes

The March minutes were reviewed and approved by the Committee.

2. Chair's Report

The Advisory Council on Instructional Excellence met. The CIDDE, which has a new tech lab, made recommendation to the Provost regarding hiring new staff and on expanding services in the area of course development and individual consultation, a development that this Committee has recommended in the past. The Council approved 15 proposals from faculty for funds for innovative teaching. The University Times should have a description of the proposals.

The University Planning and Budget Committee met. Its subcommittee on Attribution will be issuing its report soon. It is not clear yet what the salary increase will be this year, although inflation is 3.4%. The Parameters Subcommittee has considered a 4% raise in tuition but it would still leave a shortfall of 7.5 million dollars. The state budget for Pitt is limited to 3% but since it is not final yet, it may change.

Dr. Metzger attended a meeting on diversity hosted by students. A great deal of time was devoted to the website run by a student that has received press lately. Students raised concerns about a reduction in faculty in Africana Studies and about Asian Studies, which according to students focuses on Chinese studies and less on studies related to other Asian countries and cultures. The students are organizing a needs assessment.

The CAS Curriculum Review Committee has issued a report that recommends changes in the curriculum. A major change would be reviewing major aspects of the curriculum every 5 or 10 years.

3. Part Time Faculty Survey

The pilot survey was returned by 13 of 15 faculty. Dr. Talbott and Dr. Metzger met and reviewed the surveys. They incorporated many suggestions into the survey. The Committee reviewed the questions and a number of changes were made. The survey was reduced from 28 to 24 questions; a space was added for general comments (in addition, a space for comments follows each question); and language changes were made on a few questions. Dr. Metzger will discuss the survey at the next Senate meeting. The survey will be sent out in the fall. We expect the Senate to do the mailing and pay for data entry. The Committee will do the analysis. A report will be generated and sent to Dean's and the Faculty Assembly. A decision on whether to reissue the survey in 2002 will be made by the Committee after the analysis is complete.

4. Election of a Chair

The Committee decided to postpone the election of the Chair until the September meeting when newly elected members are present.

The Chair thanked Committee members Dr. Newman and Dr. Silvestre whose terms have expired.

The meeting adjourned at 1:30 p.m.