Faculty Senate

A.   WELCOME FROM THE FACULTY SENATE PRESIDENT

         Dan Edge

 

B.    ACTION ITEM

1.   Clicker Orientation

Jon Dorbolo will present a brief clicker orientation for a new Faculty Senate voting system, as outlined in the instructions. 

 

C.     COMMITTEE REPORT
        1. Proposed Bylaws Revisions

Kevin Gable, Bylaws and Nominations Committee Chair, will present for discussion proposed Bylaws revisions.

 
D.     SPECIAL REPORTS

1. Open Enrollment

Donna Chastain, Associate Director, Center for HR Innovation, Strategy & Planning, will provide information related to Open Enrollment. If you are unable to attend the Senate meeting, additional information related to Open Enrollment appears below in section E.1.
 

2. Interinstitutional Faculty Senate Report

Karen Hooker, Senior Interinstitutional Faculty Senate Senator, will report on the October Interinstitutional Faculty Senate meeting, including campus reports. 

 

3. Canvas

Lynn Greenough, Technology Across the Curriculum, and Shannon Riggs, E-campus, will present information related to the Blackboard to Canvas conversion.

 

4. AlcoholEdu and Haven

Jennifer Almquist, Associate Director of Equity and Inclusion, and Robert Reff, Substance Abuse Prevention Coordinator, will present information related to two new programs required for students.

 

5. Game Day Parking

Steve Clark, Vice President for University Relations & Marketing, will outline game day parking in relation to the October 16 football game.

 

E.     STATE OF THE UNIVERISTY ADDRESS

OSU President Edward J. Ray will present his State of the University Address titled “Sustaining Success.”

 

F.      INFORMATION ITEMS

1. Mandatory Open Enrollment & 2015 HEM Health Assessments

Upcoming Changes to Plans for 2015:

• • • • Medical Plans – additional Managed Careplans will be available in 2015 based on the county in which you live and/or work.  All counties will have at least two medical plans to choose from.
      • Vision Coverage – may now elect “to enroll” or “not to enroll” in the vision plan.
      • Dental Plan – may now elect “to enroll” or “not to enroll” in the dental plan separate from medical plan enrollment and/or opt out.
      • Commuter Flexible Spending Accounts being added.  Two types of commuter accounts will be available to save taxes on commuter expenses.

Open Enrollment/HEM Health Assessment – 2 Actions Required

• • • • Action #1: Open Enrollment Completion– to be completed between October 1-31, 2014: confirm your benefit elections, make changes, re-enroll in flexible spending accounts, AND indicate your HEM participation status for the 2015 plan year.
      • Action #2:  HEM Health Assessment Completion – to be completed between September 1-October 31, 2014:
        • If you have or will elect to participate in the HEM for 2015, you and your enrolled spouse/domestic partner must complete the HEM Health Assessment again between September 1 and October 31, 2014. You are responsible for ensuring that your spouse/domestic partner completes the health assessment by the due date. Your spouse/domestic partner will not receive separate notification of the requirement or due date.

If you do not complete Action #1:

• • • • You will be charged a $25 monthly ($50 couples) Tobacco Surcharge
      • You will be charged a $50 monthly Spouse/Domestic Partner Waives Other Coverage Surcharge (applicable only if spouse/domestic partner is enrolled)
      • You will be charged the higher tobacco user rate on optional life insurance plans
      • You will NOT participate in the 2015 HEM program 
        • An additional $100 per person deductible will be added to your plan’s standard deductible (family max of $300).  The additional $100 per person deductible is added to both the In Network and Out-of-Network deductibles. 
        • You will not receive the HEM monthly cash back incentive.  The cash back incentive is $17.50 per month for employee only or $35 per month for employee plus spouse/domestic partner.

If you do not complete Action #2:

• • • • You will NOT participate in the 2015 HEM program and will have an additional $100 per person deductible added to your plan’s standard deductible (family max of $300).  The additional $100 per person deductible is added to both the In Network and Out-of-Network deductibles.
      • You will not receive the HEM monthly cash back incentive.  The cash back incentive is $17.50 per month for employee only or $35 per month for employee plus spouse/domestic partner.  

For additional information on Open Enrollment, Help Sessions, and the 2014 HEM program visit: hr.oregonstate.edu/openenrollment. You may also visit the PEBB website at: www.oregon.gov/DAS/PEBB. 

For assistance with questions, contact OSU Employee Benefits at [email protected] or 541-737-2805.
 

2.  2014 Faculty Senate Meetings

Please reserve the following dates for Faculty Senate meetings for the remainder of 2014; check the monthly agenda to determine the location. All meetings are scheduled to begin at 3:00 PM: November 13 and December 11.

 

3.  Senator or Committee/Council Vacancies

Please notify the Faculty Senate Office if a sabbatical, leave or retirement will prevent you from completing your term as either a Senator or Faculty Senate committee/council member. If you are away more than one term, exclusive of summer term, a replacement is required. This information will assist us in identifying a replacement. Senators and committee/council members immediately continuing on a 1039-hour appointment may retain their position as long as the temporary appointment continues or until the end of their appointed/elected term, whichever comes first.

 

4.  Faculty Senate Elections – Faculty with Split Appointments

According to the Faculty Senate Bylaws, non-tenured faculty who have split appointments between two apportionment units may choose with which unit they wish to be apportioned for Senate purposes. For example, if a faculty member has a split appointment between Agricultural Sciences and Science, they may choose one or the other (FTE will not be split among units). This choice will determine Senate representation. Faculty not choosing where they wish to be apportioned, will be placed in an apportionment unit at the discretion of the Faculty Senate Office. Please contact Vickie Nunnemaker in the Faculty Senate Office by noon on October 15 to indicate with which unit you wish to be apportioned. When responding, please provide your name, the units you are split between, and the one with which you prefer to be apportioned. Tenured faculty will be apportioned in their tenure unit, with the exception of off-campus Extension and OSU-Cascades. 

 

5.  Faculty on 1039-Hour Appointments

Retired Faculty Senators whose terms extend beyond December 31, but whose 1039-hour appointment terminates fall term, are no longer eligible to serve as a Senator effective January 1. If you fall into this category, please contact Vickie Nunnemaker so a replacement can be identified to complete the remainder of your term. 

 

Faculty whose 1039-hour appointment ends fall term, but whose Faculty Senate committee/council term extends beyond December 31, are no longer eligible to continue serving effective January 1, unless they are filling a specified emeritus/retired position. If your 1039-hour appointment ends fall term and you are unsure of your appointment type, please contact Vickie Nunnemaker so a determination may be made and/or a replacement identified.

 

6.  It’s On Us Campaign
       Please read President Ray’s message: “It’s On Us To End Sexual Violence”

7.  OSU Policies and Standards

Effective July 1, 2014, OSU is now governed by Policies and Standards, rather than the former Oregon Administrative Rules (OARs). 

8.  Faculty Senate Webcast

       The June 12 Faculty Senate webcast is posted online.

        To participate in Senate meetings via Webcast, log in to http://live.oregonstate.edu/ beginning at 3:00 PM on the day of the Senate meeting, and then login with your ONID credentials to the Faculty Senate Chat Room. Senators and proxies must log in with their real names so that attendance can be accurately reflected. If you experience problems logging in during the meeting, contact Vickie Nunnemaker. 

 

9.  Curricular Proposals Approved

Over the course of the summer OSU had its first opportunity to present new academic degree programs to the OSU Board of Trustees and the Higher Education Coordinating Commission (HECC) for their review and approval. Senior Provost & Executive Vice President Becky Warner is pleased to announce the approval of the following two degree programs; the campus community should take appropriate action to update their records to reflect approval of these proposals.

• MEng, MS, PhD in Robotics
  The graduate degree program in Robotics has been designed to embrace the multi-disciplinary nature of robotics. The program will include core areas of concentration from different disciplines, including: actuation, locomotion, manipulation, dynamics, and control in Mechanical Engineering; sensors, vision, and motors in Electrical Engineering; and artificial intelligence, human/robot interactions in Computer Science. A graduate minor in Robotics will also be offered. 
        For questions regarding this program, please contact either Kagan Tumer or Rob Stone in the School of Mechanical, Industrial, and Manufacturing Engineering – College of Engineering.
   
• BA, BS, HBA, HBS in Religious Studies
  A major in religious studies does not teach religion, it teaches about religion in an academic setting. The discipline is concerned with ensuring that the correct questions are asked by students, communities, and in policy. It emphasizes skills and values of critical thinking, discernment, deliberation, responsibility, courage, and civility in the academic setting that will extend into civic life, all necessary skills and characteristics for the leaders of tomorrow. As the proposal originators have noted, few social factors influence the development of cultures, values, and even economies as does religious world-views. Through the Religious Studies degree program, graduating students who will be entering a challenging world of diversity and rapid change will possess the knowledge base and skills to advance educational and global literacy. An undergraduate minor in Religious Studies will also be offered. 
        For questions regarding this program, please contact either Courtney Campbell or Ben Mutschler in the School of History, Philosophy, and Religion – College of Liberal Arts.
   

H.    REPORT FROM AND DIALOG WITH THE FACULTY SENATE PRESIDENT

          Dan Edge