November 17, 1997

Board of Regents Meeting Nov. 20 & 21

November 17, 1997  NR 24-1997

The Board of Regents of the University of Alaska will meet Thursday and Friday, November 20 and 21, 1997, in the campus center cafeteria on the UAA campus in Anchorage.

Committee meetings will begin Thursday at 8 a.m. and continue until 5 p.m., when the regents will be given a tour of the UAA housing project. The audit committee will meet Friday morning beginning at 7 a.m.

The full board meeting will begin Friday at 9 a.m. and is scheduled to conclude at 5 p.m. At 5:30 p.m., the Board of Regents will meet in joint session with the State Board of Education at the Anchorage School District board room at 4600 DeBarr Road. The meeting is expected to conclude at 7:30 p.m. The highlight of the meeting with the Board of Education will be a report from the university's Professional Education Coordinating Committee, which will be preceded by an update on the status of the UAF School of Education with the National Council on Accreditation for Teacher Education (NCATE).

Agenda items for the Board of Regents meeting are listed here by committee of origin:

Planning and Development Committee

The board will consider a recommendation from the Planning and Development Committee that would direct UA President Jerome B. Komisar to re-engineer functions and organize the administrative system according to the following seven points:

  1. Maintain a strong presidency with the ability to concentrate on policy issues but responsible to the Board of Regents for both the executive and service functions;
  2. Endorse the concept of a President's Council;
  3. Clearly distinguish between executive and service functions;
  4. Maintain a university-wide system that avoids unnecessary duplication to the maximum extent possible;
  5. Assure that re-engineering of functions and organization results in new reduction of administrative costs of at least $2 million per year for a total of $10 million over the next four years beginning with FY99;
  6. Keep operational authority closest to customers; and
  7. Assure that this be done in a form in which actual savings can be projected and reported.

Academic and Student Affairs

  • Receive a report on the accreditation of the music program at UAA by the National Association of Schools of Music Commission on Accreditation, and the accreditation of the journalism and public communications program by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications.
  • Consider approval of a bachelor of human services degree program at UAA.
  • Consider approval of a certificate in industrial technology program at Prince William Sound Community College.
  • Consider amending Regents' Policy 10.09.01 which established the Sydney Chapman Chair in physical sciences at UAF to provide for appointments of a limited duration instead of permanent, tenured appointments.
  • Consider approval of a motion to direct the UAF School of Education to continue the planning underway with the Professional Education Coordinating Committee for strengthening UA professional educator programs through collaborative program delivery, and to report on progress at the February 1998 meeting of the committee.
  • Receive reports on the practice of employment of international students within UA, and on new pedagogy related to the use of instructional technology.

Finance, Facilities and Land Management

  • Consider approving a revised project budget of $33.8 million, up from a previously approved total of $33 million, for the UAA student housing project. UAA officials have said the Municipality of Anchorage has implemented new inspection and permit requirements resulting in $200,000 of unanticipated expense, and that soil conditions in the construction area prompted unanticipated site work totaling about $600,000. The new proposed total falls within the total legislative capital authority of $34.8 million for the project.
  • Consider approval of an expenditure of $65,200 for the Egan overpass deferred maintenance project at UAS from FY97 capital funds.
  • Receive a report from UAF on preliminary discussions with the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District regarding the feasibility of a joint project to renovate and expand the Hutchison Career Center to accommodate growth in vocational education.
  • Consider approval of the 1998 land management development plan.
    Receive reports on deferred maintenance, the Brooks Building at UAF and status of capital projects.

Human Resources

Receive the labor relations report from Jim Johnsen, director of labor relations, and the annual grievance report from Patty Kastelic, executive director of the statewide office of human resources.

Committee of the Whole

Discussion of Academic Year (AY) 99 tuition rates. No action is requested on the proposed increases in tuition until the February meeting. The delay will provide opportunities for discussions with students and give regents the opportunity to review and discuss the proposal. The following schedule summarizes the academic year 1999 tuition rates that would take effect under the current policy, and it also sets forth the AY99 tuition rates as recommended by the President's Council:

The President's Council estimates that implementation of its proposal will result in additional revenue of approximately $1.2 million in resident tuition, assuming constant enrollments. The council also recommends that the non-resident surcharge be increased by 3 percent from $150 to $154, which would result in approximately $50,000 in additional revenues in AY99.

  • Review a draft of the FY99 budget book that will be prepared for the Alaska Legislature, and receive a report on revised budget reports and the FY98 budget plan.
  • Receive reports on fall 1997 enrollments at UA, and receive a report from Vice President for University Relations Wendy Redman on the university's public information plans.
  • UAF Chancellor Joan Wadlow will report on the University of the Arctic, an international consortium of which UAF is a member.

Audit

Receive reports on the FY97 external financial audit, a review of recently completed audits and the status of the FY98 annual audit plan.

All meetings of the Board of Regents and its committees, except for executive sessions, are open to the public.

On the days of the meetings, telephone messages may be left at the UAA campus center: 907-786-1215; fax at 907-786-6422.

For more information: Bob Miller, 907-474-6311