| Senate discusses budget, enrollment,
librarian search BY SALLY ACHARYA Early admissions are down from last year as part of what appears to be a national trend, but other applications for fall semester are up, Interim Provost Ivy Broder told the Faculty Senate last week. Broder said she is “optimistic” about regular admissions, with freshman applications up by about 6 percent. Private institutions are generally seeing a decline in early admissions, while public institutions are seeing the opposite trend, with early admissions showing a slight increase, she said. Early admissions continue to be “high quality,” she added, with an average grade point average of 3.34. The senate also voted to approve budget recommendations that included a tuition increase of 5.8 percent to 6 percent. The recommendations came from the senate’s Instructional Budget and Benefits Committee. Many in the senate felt that they didn’t have enough time and information for meaningful input. Discussions are currently going on about the process and how it might be improved in the future. The list of recommendations, which will be presented to the Board of Trustees, include the following:
- $581,000 to fund seven new full-time faculty lines in the 2008 fiscal year;
- $664,000 for an additional eight full-time faculty lines the next year;
- $3.9 million to fund a 3.7 percent merit increase and .25 percent market adjustment for faculty and staff in the 2008 fiscal year.
The senate voted to approve the report by a vote of nine to one, with five abstentions. It will be taken to the Board of Trustees meeting in February. The senate also voted in favor of a change in transfer credit policy to limit the credit students can take at other institutions, except for study abroad programs. In other business, Broder also noted that she search for a University Librarian has produced a “solid pool” of applicants, and off-site interviews are expected to occur over the next month. |
