UFS Meeting – March 12, 2013

1. UFS Meeting – March 12, 2013 Brian Aynardi

2. Remarks by President Erickson • Thanked ARSSA for quick action on implementing early registration status for active military personnel/veterans (new policy effective Spring 2014 • Called on faculty to provide extra seats in classes and try to accommodate these students in the interim • Attempting to use current state budget as a floor and have budget increases in future • Asked representatives for more funding for Ag research and Cooperative Extension (Land Grant Mission) • Very modest increase in tuition • Small salary increases starting October 1 for faculty • Effects of sequestrations: could be in ~$40M zone, especially for Federally funded programs • Paid accepted students is on par with previous years (500 more at UP, 500 less at Commonwealth campuses • Changes to BoT may be made this week with regards to structure • 78 of Freeh recommendations implemented • There will now be a focus on refurbishing old buildings as opposed to building new facilites • Adding faculty for both the Children’s Protection Center in Hershey and for Natural Gas research initiative

3. Legislative Reports • Senate Self Study • All motions were passed, including the development of discussion forum for senators • Original legislation called for anonymity, but it was amended (by a vote of 1 more for the amendment than opposed to amending legislation) of 200+ senators • Informational reports will now be online to reduce length of UFS meetings (yesterday’s meeting: 3 hours) • Office of UFS will be more transparent with Deans, committee chairs, etc. • Read more on the Self-Study at senate.psu.edu

4. Informational Session Informational session presented regarding shared governance: -Idea was to have BoT made aware of the report -Includes that 2 faculty members be voting members of the BoT -Call on the floor to have the Senate endorse the report as a body -Senate voted unanimously to endorse the statement

5. Joint Diversity Task Force • Will be comprised of 3 groups: • Administration • Faculty • Students • 4-5 members will be selected from each group • List of candidates has been made but no selection has yet taken place • Candidates have not been made aware of their consideration

6. Student Life Committee Update on St. Patty’s Day by VP Sims • 33 establishments downtown (Tavern Owner’s Association) did NOT serve alcohol • Fraternities did not host parties and residence hall students were limited to one guest • Large police force and PA LCB presence downtown • Aforementioned steps allowed police to focus on rental homes and apartment complexes • Ambulance trips to Mt. Nittany down ~1/3 • Overall it was a success, and the goal for next year is to promote an event that brings all people downtown

7. Student Life Committee Update on Career Services by Jeff Garvis • Spoke regarding the centralized/decentralized nature of career services • Most colleges and schools have their own career services program • Students may receive mixed advice from the two sources • Companies pay big money to host banquets for students they wish to recruit • Very decentralized institutions do not rank well • Websites to be launched by Career Services soon for both students and employers to gain visibility

8. Internationalization at Commonwealth Campuses Update provided by Andrea Dowhower • International programs are lacking at Commonwealth campuses, though all but one of the campuses has been certified as an “international campus” • International enrollment varies greatly from ~230 students at Harrisburg to 3 at DuBois • Faculty/staff are forced to assist students in unconventional ways to make-up for lack of services • Many international students don’t have a place to go during breaks/holidays (Possible implementation of “Host families” and alternative spring break opportunities • For students in residence halls, it is a large financial cost for the University to keep them open for only a few studetns • Enrollment numbers may be deceiving – not all international students speak the same language, practice same religion, etc. • Lack of community and resources for students who bring families • Abington and Harrisburg provide very good services for international students, but there is no residence halls at Abington, so housing is an issue

9. Internationalization Programs at UP • Dr. Barry Lee and myself are researching both CIC and non-CIC institutions for services for international students • Possible ideas include having international students provide on-camera advice/experience from Penn State to students from their home country via Survey Research Center (no scripts) • Possible development of focus groups from UP and CCSG

10. HAVE A NICE DAY!