MU BOG Faculty Rep Blog

·         Dr. Keith Cotroneo, MCTC President, indicated that he is doing in-depth research on the various aspects of his student population and potential for meeting adult and technical educational needs in the area but is already aware that Culinary Arts is growing fast and requires immediate attention.

·         The HEPC sets the salary levels for all of the presidents in the WV system. This year, they approved a 3% raise for each, which in-turn, was approved by the board for President Kopp for the 2007-08 FY.

·         HR-14, Background Checks; and GA-14, (Interim) Business Record Retention Policy: The interim policy on document retention was approved by the board with changes. The personnel background check policy was also approved with changes provided by respondents during the comment period.

·         President Kopp provided comments in which he stressed the importance of reversing the enrollment down-turn over the next three years and beyond.  Improved enrollment and retention will ensure steady income that will aid in meeting university program, facility, and personnel needs.

Several committees provided reports for information purposes:

·         Academic committee report: There will be 9 program reviews and 2 follow-up reviews this year; the One Book program was a huge success with the freshman class this year; the committee is reconvening soon with plans to review 5-6 new books over the Xmas break.

·         Enrollment and retention are going well ahead of projections but require an ongoing and steady commitment to reverse the down-ward trend of the last 3-5 years.

·         Medical School budget

·         MU representation for the HEPC committee to select university system auditing firm

·         2008 Capital projects

·         Status of lottery bond earnings: FYI the university cannot access the earnings on these bonds (over 1.7 million) until all the funds are completely spent down.

·         Annual audit status: the results of the annual audit will be provided to the board when the report is complete.

·         The Common Fund annual report: our annual earnings did well in 2006-07 (earned 12% over-all); as a result, the current investment strategy that retains the majority of the principle will be continued for 2007-08.

The agenda can be found online in PDF format:  http://www.marshall.edu/president/board/101607_agenda.pdf   

Access these budgets and reports:

• http://www.marshall.edu/ill/07-BOG/MUSOM-Budget-2007-08.pdf
• http://www.marshall.edu/ill/07-BOG/MUSOM-Budget-2-2007-08.pdf
• http://www.marshall.edu/ill/07-BOG/MCTC-Students-Data.pdf
• http://www.marshall.edu/ill/07-BOG/MCTC-Self-Study.pdf 

Next BOG Meeting Dates:
·         December 5, 2007
·         January ?, 2008 (Date of MU/WVU Basketball game in Charleston TBA)
·         March 26, 2008
·         June 25, 2008

Approved policies and minutes are listed here: http://www.marshall.edu/president/board/

Questions, comments, or requests for information in any format will always be welcomed so do not hesitate to contact me at your convenience at brooks@marshall.edu or 696-6613.

The next BOG meeting will take place on Tuesday, October 16, at 10:30 a.m. in the Shawkey Dining room of the Memorial Student Center.

• The agenda can be found online in PDF format:  http://www.marshall.edu/president/board/101607_agenda.pdf 
•  The July 2007 minutes are also posted on the BOG webpage:  http://www.marshall.edu/president/board/ 

The majority of the issues scheduled for discussion on Oct. 16 pertain to our financial and capital improvements; however, take a close look at the proposed policies and comments for campus document retention and new personnel background checks included in the agenda.  If you have questions or concerns re: the minutes or agenda presented, please let me know. 

Reminder — this weblog is open to all faculty. Please ience ( http://mu-bog-faculty.blog.com/ ) and feel free to use it to discuss faculty issues.