Trustees amend charter, reorganize education college

The Board of Trustees acted March 2 on changes to the Academic Honesty Policy, the College of Education and Human Development, and University travel and entertainment policies.

The trustees approved changes to the Academic Charter regarding the Academic Honesty Policy. The culmination of a review process that has lasted several years, the changes are aimed at expediting the investigation and resolution of charges of cheating, plagiarism and other violations of academic honesty by moving the administrative part of the appeals process from the Faculty Senate to the Office of the Provost.

Barbara Waddell, assistant vice provost, will now coordinate the appeals process for cases resolved at the instructor or college level. As Provost John Folkins explained to the Academic Affairs Committee, in the past, because Faculty Senate does not meet regularly throughout the summer, charges that arose during spring final exams might not be resolved for several months, leaving both students and faculty in limbo. By having a full-time, permanent staff member overseeing the process, it can move along much more quickly. Also, the amended policy “greatly reduces the timelines,” Folkins said, so that the process does not bog down.

Also in the approved charter changes, students may also submit their grounds for an appeal in person, in addition to their written request. Previously, only written requests for appeals were considered.

Waddell said that she will be implementing an educational component as well so that students clearly understand what constitutes academic honesty. She will work with Student Affairs to see that the Student Code of Conduct Handbook is updated to reflect the changes to the charter.

Also, on the advice of the University General Counsel, some of the policy’s more legalistic language has been amended. For example, the word “penalty” has been changed to “sanctions,” and “guilty” to “in violation.” The burden of proof has been restated as “more likely than not” in place of “beyond a shadow of a doubt.”

Reorganization of the College of Education and Human Development
Changes for the College of Education and Human Development were approved as well. Of the four schools in the college, the School of Education and Intervention Services was twice as big as the other three schools and was considered too diverse to function effectively. The change will split it into the School of Education, Teaching and Learning and the School of Intervention Services, which also serves to even out the number of faculty in each of the schools.

Travel and entertainment policies
Following discussion in the Financial Affairs Committee, the board approved changes to the University’s Travel Reimbursement Policy aimed at making it “very streamlined and easy to read and follow,” according to Trustee Edward Ferkany.

Along with increased mileage and meal reimbursement rates, a new Business Entertainment Policy was adopted to replace the Employee and Public Relations Expenses section of the Travel Reimbursement Policy. Now, exceptions to the entertainment policy for activities that are related to University business must be approved by the president or a vice president who is not involved in the activity.

Effective April 1, mileage will be reimbursed at 36 cents per mile, up from 34 cents. Per diem allowances for meals were increased by $1 and set at $31 per day in average-cost cities and $43 per day in high-cost areas specified in the policy.

President’s housing
Following an executive session, the board passed an interim resolution to approve a housing allowance for President Ribeau and named Trustee Valerie Newell to handle negotiations for the amount.

Trustee Michael Marsh explained that because the lease on the rented condominium in which the president has been living will end this month, Ribeau must decide whether to stay there or move while a decision is being made on the president’s house on Hillcrest Drive. The BGSU Foundation is examining options for needed renovations of the University-owned property.

Discussion items
Also discussed at the meeting were negotiations for a partnership agreement with Uptown Bucks of Oxford, Ohio, to provide a debit-card account program for use at off-campus stores and restaurants. Under the “City Bucks” program, faculty, staff and students will be able to deposit money into an account and make purchases at participating merchants using their BGSU ID cards. Liquor sales will not be permitted with City Bucks.

Uptown Bucks will administer the program, including making arrangements with local merchants, opening and closing accounts and taking deposits.

Several state universities have begun such a program in response to proposed legislation encouraging universities to allow local businesses to participate in their charge or debit-card systems, the board heard.

On another matter, Chief Information Officer Bruce Petryshak gave an update to the Financial Affairs Committee about a new University software administrative system that will replace some of the University’s aging and limited systems. PeopleSoft, which is used by about 700 U.S. colleges and universities, has been chosen to run the Human Resources system (HRS); Advantage Financial Systems (AFIN), which handles all the University’s financial transactions, and Student Information Systems (SIS). The project is expected to take about five years to complete.

Unlike the current administrative systems which run on an IBM mainframe, PeopleSoft is server based, and thus will be accessible 'round the clock, seven days a week. Employees will be able to review their benefits and students may check grades and bills, for example, at any hour. By contrast, the current system shuts down in the evening for necessary back-up and data extraction. The first University area to be addressed will be HRS, followed by AFIN and SIS.

The new system will help the University keep pace with all the Web-based services it now offers and will allow smooth communication between various information systems.

The next board meeting will be held on May 7.