October 27, 2021 Minutes

Faculty Senate Meeting Minutes (Inspiration Hall, NAH)

10/27/21

3:10pm – 4:30pm

Please wear a mask.

I.            Call to Order

a.       The meeting was called to order at 3:12

II.            Attendance Reminder

III.            Approval of FS Minutes from October 13, 2021

a.       Tomas Gedeon moves to approve. Gary Caton seconds. None opposed. No abstentions. Minutes are approved. 

IV.            FYI items

a.       Africana Studies Grant

i.      Nov 5 or 17

ii.      Email [email protected] if interested

b.       Dyslexia & Innovation Conference Oct 28 & 29

i.      www.montana.edu/dxi 

c.       Faculty Excellence Grants due Nov 15

i.      https://www.montana.edu/facultyexcellence/grantsawards/feg/  

d.       2022 Awards of Excellence, submissions due November 02, 2021

i.      https://www.montana.edu/provost/faculty/awards/index.html  

e.       Box Migration, no longer available in March 2022

i.      https://www.montana.edu/uit/boxtransition/ 

ii.      Trainings Thursdays at noon - https://bit.ly/3BBdeKl 

f.        Honorary Degree Nominations due Oct 29

i.      https://www.montana.edu/calendar/events/39034 

g.       Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences internal grants

i.      Scholarship & Creativity Grants Program, due October 2, 2021 and March 1, 2022 https://www.montana.edu/research/internal_awards/s_and_c_grants_fy2022.html  

ii.      Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (HASS) Grant Program, due March 1, 2022 https://www.montana.edu/research/internal_awards/hass_rfp2022.html 

h.       Senator Hour, Monday 11-12 and Thursday 10:30-11:30 via WebEx

V.            Information Updates: 

a.       Committee Requests

i.      Recreational Sports and Fitness Advisory Board

A.      Please let Bradford or Michael know if you are interested. 

b.       Lecture Capture Transition – Colin Smith

i.      Where it begins

A.      July 2017: MSU transitions from Camtasia Relay to TechSmith Knowmia

B.      April 2020: Lecture capture adoption increases threefold in response to COVID-19

C.      February 2021: Knowmia announces retirement of Knowmia Enterprise services

ii.      Overall usage

A.      Knowmia adoption peaked in August 2020 with 14,400 users. This semester we have roughly 10,500 users in the system this term and over 92,000 discrete pieces of media hosted on Knowmia servers.

B.      Post-Knowmia Retirement

a.       Peer Reviews – what are other intuitions using?

b.       OCHE Engagement

i.      Missoula and Billings also effected by retirement announcement

c.       Reference checks conducted

i.      Havre

ii.      Boise State

d.       Panopto selected as preferred MUS vendor

e.       System wide agreement signed with Panopto

C.      Moving forward with Panopto

a.       Service upgrades

i.      Adaptive streaming

1.       Not offered by Knowmia

ii.      Automatic video captioning

1.       Resized video to suite your preferred format

iii.      Searchable content (captions, slides/text)

1.       Knowmia is voluntary caption system

a.       That could be an issue

2.       Search will pull captures from videos you’ve searched/watched

iv.      Web based screen recorder (Chrome OS support)

1.       Knowmia needs to load users before they can record 

2.       Knowmia doesn’t support Chrome OS

v.      Capture multiple video streams

1.       Webcam and the screen you’re using at the same time. 

2.       Document camera can be used as a video source.

vi.      Robust integrations available

1.       Single sign on

2.       LTI syncs Brightspace

3.       Webex integrations-looking at this and at Teams as well.

b.       Upcoming Challenges

i.      Establishing system integrations

1.       LTI between Brightspace and Panopto

ii.      Content migration

1.       Completely free migration process.

2.       Will move from Knowmia automatically

iii.      Link Migration

1.       Roughly 43,000 TechSmith links in Brightspace (D2L)

a.       Both active and inactive courses

2.       Website links

a.       775 TechSmith links across 38 sites and 148 unique web pages

c.       Transition Timeline

i.      October 2021: Complete implementation of Panopto (SSO, Brightspace integration)

ii.      November 2021: Begin faculty/staff communication campaign

1.       Presentations and emails across campus

iii.      January 2022: Open Panopto up for pilot group and new users. Knowmia remains online.

1.       Anyone who wants to move over can.

iv.      January 2022: Begin regular series of trainings for instructors and staff on utilization of Panopto

v.      May 2022: At close of term, turn off recording in Knowmia. New content must be created in Panopto but existing Knowmia videos remain active.

vi.      May 2022: Begin export of existing Knowmia content to Panopto

vii.      Mid-August 2022: Content migration complete. All pre-existing Knowmia content available in Panopto

viii.      August 2022: Content migration complete. All pre-existing Knowmia content available in Panopto

ix.      Start of classes Fall 2022: Terminate contract with Knowmia. Site shuts down, no access to Knowmia hosted content. All users transitioned to Panopto. 

d.       Actions needed from end-users

i.      Attend trainings – offered across Spring, Summer and Fall of 2022

1.       Asynchronous “how-to” documentation to be provided in addition to live trainings

ii.      Double check D2L and website links prior to start of classes

1.       Links will be automatically transitions using 3rd party service provider

D.      Questions:

a.       Some of us teach at the time trainings take place. If you could provide a variation of times that would be great. 

i.      We are planning to offer a wide arrange of days/times, and also video trainings. 

b.       Can make the transition in the Spring 22. 

c.       Original plan didn’t offer to move those links automatically. The Provost office made that happen. 

c.       Update on Faculty – Provost Mokwa

i.      Links will be automatically transitions using 3rd party service provider

A.      Data Sources:

a.       MSU Office of Planning Analysis  https://www.montana.edu/opa/kpi/index.html 

b.       Montana University System Operating Budgets  https://www.mus.edu/data/operating_budgets/FY22/MSU-FY22-Operating-Budget-Summary_final.pdf  

B.      Head count is up about 20%

C.      Undergrad FTE is up %25

D.      Retention rate and graduation

a.       We are making good progress

b.       Do have a ways to go

c.       SP established a target of %85

i.      We are on a good trend

d.       4 and 6 year graduation rate

i.      Good progress on 6 year

E.       Degrees Awarded

a.       You will get RSVP emails for graduation. Limit on tickets. Tickets are free. 

b.       Want to open up all entrances instead of standing in line and everyone comes through the same entrance. 

F.       Average 23.4 departures per year

G.      280 faculty hires. Many to fill lines that have departed. 

H.      This will be updated with 2021 data.

I.         Haven’t had as many hires due to the moratorium. 

a.       Doing everything we can to catch up

b.       Still operating under the moratorium

c.       Have gotten some lines approved. 

i.      Bring your requests forward

ii.      800 requests have been submitted. By and large, they’ve been approved. 

d.       See the light at the end of the tunnel. The moratorium will not last forever. We are making headway and progress. 

i.      Challenge right now is trying to find individuals to fill the vacancies. 

1.       Cost of living vs. salary is an issue. 

2.       Data has been presented to compare cost of living increase in Bozeman to other places in Montana. 

ii.      Have gotten the okay to raise some salaries. 

1.       Staff at the low end of the pay scale are getting raises. 

J.        General Fund Expenditures by Programs   

K.       The bold line “Current, Unrestricted Expenditures”

L.       We are still behind in state support compared to all other MUS schools. 

a.       900-1,000 short, per student

i.      They only support us with our resident students. We have to make it up with non-resident students. 

b.       Making progress. Still working on it. 

M.    Total student FTE divided by the total number of instructional faculty on an FTE basis. Tenured and Non Tenured track faculty. 

a.       Enrollments are bouncing around. 

b.       We need to increase the rate at which we hire faculty. 

N.      Questions: 

a.       Tomas Gedeon: Concerned about staff. We are losing a lot and will lose more. NTT can’t afford to live here. 

i.      Maybe we should be more flexible. Weren’t fitting into the right pay category. They leave and we lose that experience. 

1.       Not good if Taco Bell is paying more than we are. 

b.       Andy Hansen: Is there an option to hire replacement faculty?

i.      We have been getting permission to proceed in hiring for positions that have been left vacant. 

ii.      Where we haven’t made progress is increasing the number of lines we can open. 

c.       Sarah Stoneback: Front office position has been vacant since last Spring. Students have been filling it. That is not sustainable. 

i.      Are these types of positions also in moratorium?

1.       Yes. All positions are affected. 

2.       We are getting some approved. 

a.       Please put forward the request. 

d.       Rob Maher: Can we use our auxiliaries in some way to help those who are not being properly compensated?

i.      Pay for their cat card?

ii.      Pay for parking?

iii.      Auxiliaries is completely separate funding. We would have to use other funds. I will look into that and see if there is something we can do. 

VI.             Undergraduate Courses and Programs

a.       Courses – First Reading (Please note that there will be additional courses for first reading that will be sent prior to the Senate meeting. CPC is meeting on Tuesday afternoon, after the agenda is distributed)

i.      ACT 243 : Avalanche 2 Training (Spring 2022)

ii.     ACT 244 : Advanced Rock Climbing (Spring 2022)

iii.    HLD 406 : Leading Adaptively in a Complex World (Spring 2022)

iv.    PSCI 348 : Multicultural Politics in the United States (Spring 2022)

v.     PSCI 452 : Politics of Community Development (Spring 2022)

b.       Courses – Second Reading

i.      ASTR 372 : Stars and the Milky Way (Spring 2022)

ii.     GRMN 396 : Service Learning (Spring 2022)

iii.    HVC 145 : HVAC-R Welding, Brazing and Pipe Joining (Spring 2022)

iv.    PLUM 170 : Plumbing Codes (Spring 2022)

c.       Programs – First Reading

i.      ASHC-AS: Associate of Science Pre-Healthcare Option

VII.            Graduate Courses and Programs 

a.       Courses – First Reading

i.      EMEC 555 : Current Topics in Orthopaedic Biomechanics

ii.     MSSE 511 : STEM Methods for Teachers

iii.    NRSG 673 : Writing for Scholarly Projects

iv.    ACTG 522 : Accounting Analytics-TITLE CHANGED FROM ACCOUNTING INFORMATION SYSTEMS II

v.     University of Washington School of Medicine is undergoing curriculum changes effective summer of 2022

A.      MEDS 503 : Foundations of Clinical Medicine-TITLE CHANGE FROM CLINICAL REASONING, CREDIT CHANGE FROM 3 TO 4

B.      MEDS 510 : Fundamentals of Medical Science & Research-TITLE CHANGE FROM MOLECULAR & CELLULAR BASIS OF DISEASE

C.      MEDS 515 : Cancer, Hormones, & Blood-TITLE CHANGE FROM ECOLOGY OF HEALTH & MEDICINE-FOUNDATIONS I, CREDIT CHANGE FROM 1 TO 7

D.      MEDS 520 : Infections Invaders & Immunity-TITLE CHANGE FROM INVADERS & DEFENDERS, CREDIT CHANGE FROM 8 TO 7

E.       MEDS 530 : Muscles, Joints, Bones, & Skin-TITLE CHANGE FROM CIRCULATORY SYSTEM, CREDIT CHANGE FROM 13 TO 6

F.       MEDS 535 : Medicine, Health, and Society-TITLE CHANGE FROM ECOLOGY OF HEALTH & MEDICINE-FOUNDATIONS III, CREDIT CHANGE FROM 1 TO 2

G.      MEDS 540 : Cardiovascular System-TITLE CHANGE FROM BLOOD AND CANCER, CREDIT CHANGE FROM 4 TO 6

H.      MEDS 542 : Air, Fluids, & Salts, TITLE CHANGE FROM MUSCULOSKELETAL, CREDIT CHANGE FROM 2 TO 7

I.        MEDS 550 : Head, Neck, & Gut-TITLE CHANGE FROM ENERGETICS & HOMEOSTASIS, CREDIT CHANGE FROM 8 TO 6

b.       Courses – Second Reading

i.      None at this time.

c.       Programs / Certificates – First Reading

i.      None at this time

d.       Programs – First Reading

i.      None at this time

e.       Programs – Second Reading

i.      BCHM-MS : Master of Science in Biochemistry-ACCELERATED VERSION OF AN EXISTING PROGRAM

ii.      CHEM-MS : Master of Science in Chemistry-ACCELERATED VERSION OF AN EXISTING PROGRAM

A.      These two programs are intended for students who will get a Masters in an additional year. 

B.      Questions about these not having a program of study

f.        Programs Inactivations – First Reading

i.      SEBM-CERT : Graduate Certificate in Science and Engineering Business Management-Low interest. No enrollment

ii.      SEPM-CERT : Graduate Certificate in Science and Engineering Project Management-Low interest, No enrollment

VIII.            Old Business

a.       Climate Crisis Response

i.      THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that Montana State University Faculty Senate:

A.      Acknowledges the urgency of the climate crisis and strengthens its commitment to taking bold climate action by joining communities and other post-secondary institutions around the world in declaring a Climate Emergency.

B.      Stresses the need for MSU to join the Presidents' Climate Leadership Commitments (formally the American College & University Presidents' Climate Commitment) and develop a comprehensive Climate Action Plan and submit annual evaluations of progress.

C.      Affirms that MSU should commit the necessary resources to ensure an immediate, rapid, and sustained response to address the climate crisis, including the initiation of an expansive and deliberate capital campaign to ensure adequate and sustained funding.

ii.      Colter Ellis: Love this proposal. Respect the co-signors. We could make some important tweaks

A.      CSAC voted against this proposal. 

B.      Would like to push for the University to do better on Climate Change. Fear this could impede that. 

C.      What are the practical applications of B and C? Maybe we can make it easier to get behind. 

D.      Would like to see a majority of us vote in favor of this. 

E.       Colter Ellis Moves to table this so that we can talk about it more. 

a.       Gary Caton seconds. 

b.       Jerry Johnson: Letter addresses the sustainability plan. We are confusing this with that plan. We have no input on that plan. The resolution gives the faculty the chance to make a strong, largely symbolic statement. As this moves forward, quit conflating this resolution with the plan. Different committees, different goals. 

c.       Tomas Gedeon: From the outside in, I see them being similar. What are the differences? 

i.      Gary Catron: How are the goals different? 

1.       The sustainability is more board, multiple topics. This is about climate change and trying to get the faculty to make a statement about faculty doing something about climate change. 

d.       Colter Ellis: Like the effort to press climate change and push it further than the sustainability office ever will. IF we frame it in a way so that it can work in combination with the other plan. It only has that symbolic clout if we can show strong support of faculty. 

e.       What are the goals of the statements in this resolution? Seems we are making a statement about a certain organization that I know nothing about. Would like to know a little more about the capital campaign we are trying to make with this. 

f.        Megan Van Emon: Agree it should be tabled. There are a few things that faculty in ANRS are worried about. Per the by-laws, do we have the purview to do this? Our climate plan hasn’t been updated in 10 years. Faculty agree climate change is a serious issue, but the lack of detail and how we are supposed to respond as faculty is an issue. 

g.       Tomas Gedeon: We can either go very general, or we can go into greater detail of how we want to do it. Do we have that knowledge? We need to decide which way we want to go. B and C are more specific. A is more broad. 

i.      Jerry Johnson: Money is sometimes important to accomplish things. It should say that there should be funding behind this. “Capital Campaign” is not a good phrase to choose. For faculty to not support the students who are the generation that will have to live with what we leave them, is a slap in the face. 

1.       Get involved in the edits if you feel you were not able to give your input. Get engaged. 

h.       Andy Hansen: Resolutions have impact if they ae dressing an issue that is relevant to the body with the issue. I support the need for our campus to be more active in the fight against climate change. Could we approve our ability to understand the issues? We need more knowledge about the problem that this resolution is trying to fix. 

i.         Vote to table: None opposed. No abstentions. Vote on the resolution is tabled. 

IX.            Senators’ Open Conversation

a.       None

X.            Public Comment

a.       Nick Fitzmorris, ASMSU and SECAC, Office of Sustainability

i.      ASMSU resolution passed in the fall: At the campus level, if we are working toward carbon neutrality, we need administrative support. Senate wants to support the sustainability framework. More important to have a unified voice behind it. 

b.       Mark Fiege, History and Philosophy

i.      Biggest issue we face. I lecture about this because it’s important. I would love to tell my students and my kids that we are doing everything we can as faculty to do what we can. Please all come together. The time is now. 

 XI.            Executive Session

a.       Faculty Senators Only

XII.            Adjourn

a.       Meeting was adjourned at 4:41pm.

REMINDER: Next meeting is in SUB Ballroom B