Faculty Meeting Minutes

February 5, 2021

Michael Orr, Dean of the Faculty and Vice President for Academic Affairs, called the meeting to order at 3:32 p.m. 

DOF/VPAA Orr welcomed everyone back to the first Faculty Meeting of the new semester, noting his appreciation for everyone’s continued vigilance and attention to safe practices as we continue to work through the pandemic.  He then briefly reviewed the procedures to be followed during the Zoom meeting and requested that anyone wishing to contribute to the meeting use the raise hand feature so that they could be called upon to speak.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

DOF/VPAA Orr asked if there were any corrections to, or comments regarding, the minutes of the Faculty Meeting held December 4, 2020.  Hearing none, he announced the minutes were approved.

OLD BUSINESS

There was no old business.

NEW BUSINESS

There was no new business.

REPORTS/OTHER

Faculty Development Committee

On behalf of the Faculty Development Committee, Associate Professor Silvia Carli announced that the deadline for the submission of nominations for the Ralph A. Ciancio Award for Excellence in Teaching is February 19, 2021.  She encouraged everyone to submit nominations on behalf of their deserving colleagues.

Committee on Educational Policies and Planning

On behalf of the Committee on Educational Policies and Planning (CEPP), Associate Professor Feryaz Ocakli, provided an update on spring 2021 evaluations.  He reported that, at this point, CEPP is currently considering the same process for the spring 2021 semester that was used in the fall 2021 semester.  After hearing from students and faculty members, CEPP was considering the possibility of not requiring student ratings (quantitative forms) at all and instead requiring departmental long forms be completed and made available for evaluative purposes. However, after hearing a variety of concerns from faculty about CEPP’s proposal including potential bias in qualitative forms, and the fact that the pandemic conditions are not yet improving, CEPP determined that a change in policy may not necessarily be appropriate at this time.  In addition, since the return rate for student ratings in the fall 2020 semester was only about 50 percent, CEPP is concerned about providing these evaluations to Chairs and Program Directors and the administration for evaluative purposes. CEPP expects that the return rate for student ratings in the spring will likely be similar to the fall given that we are still living through a pandemic and teaching conditions are not ideal.

DOF/VPAA Orr indicated that CEPP is planning to bring a motion to the next faculty meeting regarding spring semester evaluations and that there will be an opportunity for discussion and debate of the specific proposal.  However, in anticipation of the motion, DOF/VPAA Orr provided an opportunity for questions or comments.  An inquiry was raised concerning the student input from the students serving on CEPP with regard to this proposal.  Professor Ocakli indicated that the students were surprised about the low response rate as well and that CEPP did discuss whether the end of semester process of moving out of the dorms contributed to the low response rate as well as the effectiveness of the automatic email reminders. In response to further questioning concerning the response rate for the departmental long forms, Professor Ocakli reported that CEPP does not know the response rate as those are administered directly by departments, but he believes the response rate was about the same.   One faculty member suggested that science departments consider administering separate long form evaluations for the lecture and the lab portions for science courses,  as the lectures and labs are very different from one another and sometimes taught by separate instructors.

Faculty Executive Committee

On behalf of the Faculty Executive Committee, Associate Professor Casey Schofield invited questions or comments on the Committee of Committee’s report documenting the governance committee work during the fall 2020 semester (see attached).  No questions or comments were raised.

PRESIDENT’S REPORT

President Marc Conner welcomed everyone back to the new semester, noting that it’s always wonderful to see the excitement in the air as everyone returns for the start of the new semester.  Despite the anxiety and uncertainty of the moment we are in, President Conner indicated that he hopes everyone is taking care of themselves and can still find ways to immerse themselves in the excitement of a new term.  He then provided an update on the return to campus, noting that some important modifications have been made to our safety plan for the spring.  The modifications required pre-testing of every student within 72 hours of arrival; students were brought to campus into a safe shelter mode for two weeks during which they were required to shelter in their rooms, only venturing out to pick up food and attend in-person classes; and  testing was required twice a week for the first two weeks.  President Conner reported that the beginning of the semester has gone extraordinarily well, with only 4 positive cases out of 2,400 tests conducted upon arrival.  There was a fifth positive case from a student’s pre-arrival test that came in after arrival and a sixth positive case from a student already in quarantine. Currently, there are only 11 students in quarantine, and because students came to campus in safe shelter mode, contact tracing has been quite straightforward. 

President Conner stated that pre-testing was crucial to our safe return to campus, as 12 cases were caught in this manner, and those students are isolating at home before they return to campus. It’s a remarkably good start to the semester, thanks to the extraordinary preparation by our staff and our students’ responsibility for taking this virus so seriously. However, President Conner reminded everyone that we cannot let our guard down for a moment, especially as the local positivity rates are still higher than they were in the fall, the uncertainty of the virus variants continues, and the pace for vaccines to be administered to the general public is still in progress. Nevertheless, the semester is still off to a great start, with one more week of safe shelter mode and double testing.   He encouraged faculty intending to teach in person to feel free to resume in-person teaching in week two, as our students are eager for in-person classes to resume. President Conner then praised the work of the dining staff who are preparing pick-up meals for our students three times a day.  They have an amazing operation, and the quality of the food is outstanding.

Thereafter, President Conner provided an update on planning for the summer and fall.   He reported that, unfortunately, a number of the larger conferences that typically come to campus have already cancelled their programs for the summer, as it was impossible for them to plan and commit so far out.  Nevertheless, the College plans to go forward with in-person learning experiences, student internships, and summer research.  In addition, the college is hopeful that the Opportunity Program’s Summer Academic Institute can occur in person this summer.  President Conner affirmed that health and safety considerations will determine all of these decisions, but that we are hopeful for a vibrant, active campus this summer.  With regard to plans for the Fall, President Conner stated that plans are being based upon the assumption that the vaccines will be widely available for the general population by the start of the fall semester and that the presence of the virus will be dramatically reduced.  However, it is anticipated that some mitigation measures will still be in place including masking, some form of social distancing, and restrictions on large gatherings.  Taking into account these assumptions, it is the college’s intent to return to the normal, approved academic calendar for the fall semester with a September start date and a return to campus following Thanksgiving break.  Additionally, we will return to in-person classes and a return to campus work for most faculty and staff with normal class blocks and passing times. However, it is anticipated that we will have a process for accommodations for those employees who have health concerns or conditions where COVID might still pose a risk. President Conner stated that there is still much to be determined but this is the likely scenario in our current planning, and that we would continue to figure out these tough challenges together.

With regard to the COVID vaccine, President Conner encouraged students and employees  to get vaccinated.  He stated that the College did lend its support to getting the City Center designated as a mass vaccination site in Saratoga Springs, and he hopes that will help bring more vaccines into the community.  The College is also exploring the possibility of the campus being used as a vaccination site for our own community and maybe even for some residents of Saratoga Springs. The College will continue to advocate for all higher education workers to be eligible for the vaccine as soon as possible. 

President Conner then provided a few updates:

• Martin Mbugua will be stepping down as Vice President for Communications and Marketing and Diane O’Connor will serve as Interim Vice President starting March 15. A search for a new Vice President for Communications and Marketing will begin in the late summer or early fall.  VP Mbugua was the Cabinet representative on the search committee for the Vice President for Advancement and will be replaced by Donna Ng, Vice President for Finance and Administration. 
• The Creating our Future campaign closed at the end of December, raising a total of $229.4 million. The original goal was set at $200 million and then revised to $220 million; those goals were far exceeded and, in the six months that the campaign was extended, another $17.5 million was raised.  These are phenomenal results, especially during a global pandemic and recession, and certainly indicates the support for the College.  Everyone should take pride in this extraordinary accomplishment.
• The Campus Master Planning process is proceeding with the list of firms being narrowed down. It is anticipated that a firm will be selected by the first week of March.
• The budget parameters for FY ’22 will be released after the February board meeting and after final numbers on student enrollments are received.
• With regard to Admissions, applications for the incoming class are up by 7 percent from last year and exceed 11,000 for the second time in history. Our target class remains at 708. International applications in particular are up, and those applications include an increased request for financial aid as well.   Nationally, applications from domestic students of color are down, probably reflecting the disproportionate effects of COVID on communities of color. We have seen a reduction in applications from domestic students of color, though not as great as the national trend, and are hoping to make up in yield what we have lost in applications.

President Conner then introduced Associate Professor Grace Burton, who provided an update on the work of the Health Care Working Group. Professor Burton reported that the Health Care Working Group has been doing a lot of work behind the scenes in the last few months.  She then provided a recap of the recent community meeting held by the Health Care Working Group, noting that the meeting was recorded and is available on the website.  She reminded everyone that the Health Care Working Group is a subcommittee of the Institutional Policy and Planning Committee (IPPC) that was constituted in the spring 2019; it began its work at that time, held several open forums, and made presentations in Faculty and Community meetings in February, 2020.  Once the COVID pandemic hit, the committee took a hiatus. In the fall 2020 semester, the IPPC reaffirmed the charge of the Health Care Working Group; the original charge and the updated charge is to (1) review the college's health care benefits in the light of rapidly escalating costs; (2) gather input from the Community about how best to address the challenges that we are facing and (3) make recommendations to IPPC and to President's Cabinet.

To give everyone a general sense of the magnitude of the problem, Professor Burton stated that Skidmore is self-insured. By being self-insured, although MVP is the administrator of our plan. Skidmore pays the claims.  The approximate annual cost for the Skidmore health plan is about $16 million, of which the employee contribution approximates $3 million, or 19 percent of the total cost of the program.   This means that the College pays approximately $13 million, or 81%, of the cost of the Skidmore health care plan out of the operating budget.  Over the last two fiscal years, costs have increased about 25 percent, which is why we need to find a way to curb the rate of growth of health care costs for the college.

Professor Burton stated that the Health Care Working Group is seeking community input on possible changes to the Skidmore health care plan in order to address the real challenges that we are facing now and in the coming years. Over the next few weeks, there will be two different kinds of opportunities for the community to give input.  One opportunity will be online focus groups administered by our consulting partners that provide an interactive online tool that allows for real time responses from participants; the second opportunity will be a confidential survey that will be sent to all employees. Both the online survey and the focus groups will include a number of different topics including, but not limited to, elements of plan design, spousal coordination, and the potential of a high deductible plan.  Professor Burton encouraged every member of the community to participate in the online focus groups and to complete the survey as it will provide the Health Care Working Group with valuable insight.

Following Professor Burton’s report, the floor was opened for questions and comments.  In response to questioning as to how long Skidmore has been self-insured, it was reported that Skidmore has been self-insured for at least a decade.  One faculty member recalled that the reason Skidmore moved to being self-insured was a risk of regulation changes that were in conflict with state regulations that would have required the College to dedicate more funds to long-term reserves in anticipation of retiree health care costs. At that time, since the college workforce was relatively young, it was much wiser for the institution to devote funds to current expenses, as opposed to beginning a reserve strategy for the retiree costs.

Next, a question was asked about the College’s current health and safety policies (mandated masking and weekly COVID testing for everyone, including those who have been vaccinated) and the possibility that the College would relax some of those mandates in the fall assuming that the vaccine becomes widely available. President Conner stated that the possibility of relaxing some policies depends upon a myriad of factors, including recommendations by health and science professionals. Interim Director of Human Resources Sarah Vero further indicated that there will most likely still be mitigation measures in place for the fall semester, such as mask mandating, and that while public health officials are still gathering data surrounding herd immunity, it is premature for the college to be making any decision on whether or not we will be able to lessen our mitigation measures.  The College will continue to follow the CDC recommendations as well as the guidance of the local, state and federal health officials.  However, the College is hopeful that, by fall, we will be able to loosen some mitigation measures based upon the guidance of health officials. Additionally, in response to comments made concerning the efficacy of the COVID vaccine and whether the College would require it, President Conner stated that there is at this time no policy or expectation that all employees receive the COVID vaccine.

Thereupon, a question was asked concerning the return to in-person classes and social distancing guidelines for classrooms. President Conner stated that the assumption is that we will return to regular classroom capacity and the current prediction is that the extreme social distancing we’re currently practicing is not going to be required in the same way.  If, however, social distancing requirements remain in place as we move into the fall semester, President Conner stated that the college will look to make adjustments to facilities. In response to questioning as to whether faculty members will have the ability to choose the option of teaching online or in a hybrid situation in the fall, President Conner stated that the assumption is at this point that all faculty will be teaching in person again in the fall, barring any extraordinary health situation where an accommodation may need to be made. 

In response to a question raised as to whether the college has considered pay cuts for administrators or elimination of athletic programs, as many other colleges have cut administrators’ salaries and athletic programs within the last year,to address the budget challenges related to the health care plan, President Conner indicated that, despite the COVID pandemic and recession, Skidmore is in a very fortunate position this year of not having to cut programs, salaries, or crucial benefits.  Furthermore, VP Ng stressed that the goal of the review of the current health care policy is to address the rapid rise in health care costs, not to reduce the current cost.

Lastly, a question was asked regarding the return to in person teaching in the fall and the possibility that that would increase the risk of transmission of COVID . President Conner stated that the College will rely upon the advice of health care professionals and experts with regard to safety guidelines, but reminded everyone that the mission of Skidmore is based on an in-person, highly intensive, residential learning model.

DEAN OF THE FACULTY AND VICE PRESIDENT FOR ACADEMIC AFFAIRS’ REPORT

DOF/VPAA Orr began his report by clarifying that the State of New York is responsible for determining who is eligible for vaccines in higher education.  Currently, faculty eligibility for the vaccine is limited to in-person faculty or instructors.  He reminded everyone that his office can provide a letter confirming eligibility if any faculty member falls into this category and did not receive an eligibility letter already. DOF/VPAA Orr noted the inequity of vaccine eligibility, pointing out that staff members, such as employees who work in the dining hall, residential life, custodial operations, and facilities interact regularly with students but are not currently eligible for the vaccine (unless they fall into one of the other categories that makes them eligible for the vaccine). The Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities in New York continues to lobby the Governor’s office to expand the vaccine eligibility for those working in higher education. Certainly, as  the supply of the vaccine increases, we are going to see an expansion in eligibility, but at this point, eligibility is limited to in-person instruction during the current semester.

DOF/VPAA Orr then reminded everyone that, last semester, we decided to return to our usual attendance policy for this semester. As described in the Faculty Handbook, the policy allows each individual faculty member to set their own attendance policy. However, DOF/VPAA Orr urged faculty to continue to be flexible, recognizing that students may be required to quarantine and we don’t want to encourage students who do not feel well to come to class.

DOF/VPAA Orr then addressed the College’s inclement weather procedures. With classes being offered both in-person and online, inclement weather is likely to have a different impact depending upon the mode of instruction.  Thus, if there is a major snowstorm that requires a delayed opening or campus closure, a decision will be made about the impact on classes based upon the particular circumstances.  In general, if there is a  delayed start or campus closure, in-person classes will most likely need to be cancelled for that period of time.  If there is no reason to believe that internet service will be disrupted, then online instruction will be able to continue to go forward without interruption.  Certainly, if there is a closure or delayed start, any faculty member who is scheduled to teach in person may choose to switch to remote that day if they have communicated this option with their class in advance.  If, however, the weather event is of such major significance that it could disrupt our infrastructure for online learning, online instruction may need to be cancelled.  The College will continue to use email and the emergency notification system to communicate the inclement weather procedures.

Concluding his remarks, DOF/VPAA Orr announced that the Registrar’s office will shortly be sending out the call to departments and programs for the fall master schedule.  Departments and programs will then have until mid-March to enter their schedules with the master schedule anticipated to be released to students at the end of March.  

DOF/VPAA Orr then opened the floor for comments or questions.  In response to questioning concerning the issuance of vaccine eligibility letters for faculty teaching in the fall, DOF/VPAA Orr indicated that, based upon current New York State guidelines, he is unable to issue those letters at the present time.  It should be possible to issue those letters during the summer. However, we are anticipating that the vaccine distribution will be more widespread as we move through the summer and that it may not be necessary to provide eligibility letters for faculty teaching in the fall. Thereupon, a question was raised concerning the procedures for ensuring that students are complying with testing.  Cerri Banks, Dean of Students and Vice President for Student Affairs, responded that students are still required to use the Coverified app which indicates whether or not the students have complied with testing.  If students have not complied, they are contacted to find out why they haven’t been tested and then, depending upon the circumstances, the student may go through a conduct process. 

There being no further business, DOF/VPAA Orr adjourned the meeting at 4:47 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,