March 31, 2016

MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS
MISSOURI STATE UNIVERSITY
March 31 – April 1, 2016

1. Roll Call
Present:

Mr. Joe Carmichael, Vice Chair of the Board (arriving at 9:00 a.m. on April 1)
Ms. Virginia Fry, Governor
Mr. Gabriel E. Gore, Governor
Dr. Peter Hofherr, Chair of the Board
Mr. Stephen B. Hoven, Governor
Ms. Beverly Miller, Governor
Mr. Kendall Seal, Governor (by conference call)
Mr. Greg Spears, Governor
Ms. Carrie Tergin, Governor

Absent:

Mr. Caleb Doyle, Student Governor

Also Present:

Clifton Smart III, President
Drew Bennett, Chancellor of the West Plains Campus
Frank Einhellig, Provost
Dee Siscoe, Vice President for Student Affairs
Matt Morris, Vice President for Administrative Services
Jim Baker, Vice President for Research and Economic Development and International Programs
Wes Pratt, Assistant to the President and Chief Diversity Officer
Jeff Morrissey, Chief Information Officer
Stephen Foucart, Chief Financial Officer
Brent Dunn, Vice President for University Advancement
Rachael Dockery, General Counsel
Suzanne Shaw, Vice President for Marketing & Communications
Donna Christian, Director of Internal Audit & Compliance
Kyle Moats, Director of Intercollegiate Athletics
Gloria Galanes, Dean of the College of Arts & Letters
Ryan DeBoef, Chief of Staff
Tammy Jahnke, Dean of the College of Natural & Applied Sciences
Tom Peters, Dean of the Library
Dennis Lancaster, Dean of Academic Affairs, West Plains Campus
Paul Kincaid, Kincaid Communications, LLC
Kristan Gochenauer, Executive Assistant to the President
John McAlear, Secretary of the Board

2. Presiding --- The presiding officer for the meeting was Dr. Peter Hofherr, Chair of the Board of Governors. He called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. in the Laclede Ballroom in the Hilton St. Louis Downtown at the Arch, 400 Olive Street, St. Louis, Missouri.

3. Approval of Minutes:
a. Board of Governors Meetings --- Dr. Hofherr mentioned that the first item of business was the approval of the minutes for the open and closed meetings of February 5, 2016. Mr. Hoven so moved, receiving the second of Ms. Fry.

Motion passed 8-0.

4. Consent Agenda --- Dr. Hofherr noted that the next item of business on the agenda was the approval of the Consent Agenda for this meeting. The items included in the Consent Agenda are:

President
Approval of 2016-2017 Athletics Employment Agreements for Catherine Ostoich as Head Coach of Field Hockey and Adam Lang as Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach (Human Resources No. 1516-16)

West Plains Campus
Approval of actions concerning West Plains Campus academic employees (West Plains Campus Personnel No. 387-16)

Approval of actions concerning West Plains Campus non-academic employees (West Plains Campus Personnel No. 388-16)

Financial
Approval of Procurement Activity Report for the period January 20, 2016, through March 16, 2016 (Purchasing Activity Report No. 435-16).

Facilities and Equipment
Approval of Activity Report for the month of January 2016 (Activity Report No. 278-16).

Approval of Activity Report for the month of February 2016 (Activity Report No. 279-16).

Replace air handling units at Hutchens House (Bids & Quotations No. 1514-16); Hovey Homes, LLC., low bid of $246,000 for the base bid plus alternate 1; total project budget set at $275,000.

The FY16 preventative parking lot maintenance for the Springfield campus (Bids & Quotations No. 1515-16); Ball Paving Inc., low bid of $143,450 for the base bid plus alternates 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5; total project budget established at $186,485.

Human Resources Items
Actions concerning academic employees (Human Resources No. 1517-16).

Actions concerning non-academic employees (Human Resources No. 1518-16).

Ms. Miller made a motion to approve the Consent Agenda, receiving a second from Ms. Tergin.

Motion passed 8-0.

5. Update on Annual Goals:
a. Springfield Campus --- President Clif Smart indicated that we will just focus on a few facets of our annual goals:

Maintain modest growth in enrollment while increasing the diversity of the student body. President Smart recapped the record Fall 2015 enrollment numbers in all categories – graduate, undergraduate, dual-credit, out-of-state, under-represented, and international.

Increase retention rates. First-generation student retention rates have always lagged behind average retention rates by about 10%. He reported on the results of a pilot program to form freshmen cohorts by enrolling 224 first-generation students in GEP 101 (a First-Year Program committed to assisting students in achieving a successful transition to Missouri State) by college (eight sections – one for each college and two for undecided students). The Fall 2014 to Fall 2015 retention rate for these students improved to 72%, while all other GEP 101 students was 75%. The Fall 2015 to Spring 2016 retention rate for a new cohort of first-generation students came in at 92%, while the rate for all other GEP 101 students was 87%.

Continue efforts to improve student placement and success in college-level math courses. Dr. Tammy Jahnke, Dean of the College of Natural and Applied Sciences, indicated that all students must pass MTH130 (Contemporary Mathematics) or MTH135 (College Algebra) as part of the general education requirement in quantitative literacy. Incoming students who score less than 22 on the mathematics portion of the ACT exam are placed into MTH101 or MTH103 as a path to Contemporary Mathematics or College Algebra. After significant course transformation in both of these beginning courses, success rates (percent of students who earn A, B, or C) have increased from 45-50% (prior to 2014) to 65%. For majors where College Algebra is not needed, students are steered toward Contemporary Mathematics where student success is higher.

Implement a comprehensive plan to successfully track the outcomes of graduates as required by the state’s performance funding model. Mr. Ryan DeBoef, Chief of Staff, reported on the improvement of our knowledge rate. For the Fall 2014 Commencement graduates, our current knowledge rate is 60.06%, while for Spring 2015 Commencement graduates, after a new process (still collected manually via a paper survey) was put in place, our knowledge rate is 83.60%. He added that in today’s consent agenda, the Board approved outcomes tracking software which should improve our knowledge rate even more.

Evaluate the campus climate study and develop a plan of action to create and implement recommendations directed at enhancing the campus climate. President Smart reported that the Climate Study Response Task Force, chaired by Mr. Wes Pratt, Chief Diversity Officer, will be making recommendations concerning the climate study. A Faculty Senate Ad Hoc Committee on Climate Study has already presented their recommendations (included with this meeting’s agenda). He added that we retained Dr. Lori Patton Davis to consult on expanding multicultural services and will have her report in the next few weeks. In response to the student activists’ demands received at the end of the Fall semester, we have made progress on most of the demands, and meaningful work is still being done. Both a Diversity Council and a Bias Response Team have been established. Students will be voting on the naming of the Multicultural Resource Center Annex. The Multicultural Resource scholarships have been reassigned to the Office of Financial Aid.

Continue to improve diversity of the workforce. President Smart reported on the demographics of our employees – diverse faculty have grown from 14.5% in 2014-15 to 15.1% in 2015-16. He added that more than 20% of the new hires in Provost Frank Einhellig’s area were diverse hires. He commented that in this next year, we will expand our recruitment and retention efforts, training, and programming. President Smart indicated that student activism has made us get more serious in diversity hiring.

Manage University-wide risk effectively through the Enterprise Risk Management and Compliance Committee, including an external assessment of the University’s emergency preparedness. Ms. Donna Christian, Director of Internal Audit & Compliance, reported on the work of the Committee. Regarding the University’s emergency preparedness, Safety and Transportation requested the State Emergency Management Agency and the Office of Emergency Management to evaluate the University Emergency Response Plan and the University Emergency Operation Center Guide. We are in the process of implementing their recommendations. Safety and Transportation is in the process of contracting with the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators for the purpose of providing consultation on public safety. The Board of Governors will tour the Emergency Operations Center on May 13, 2016, prior to the Spring Commencement ceremonies.

6. Discussion on Key Performance Indicators (along with an update on West Plains Campus Goals):
a. Springfield Campus --- Dr. Frank Einhellig, Provost, reported that the Springfield Campus has met all five State Performance Measures. He also announced that the campus’s 15 performance measures are either “trending toward or sustained excellence” (10 measures) or are in a “no trend across variables” (5 measures) status.

b. West Plains Campus --- Dr. Drew Bennett, Chancellor of the West Plains Campus, reported that of their 12 Key Performance Indicators, eight measures are “trending toward or sustained excellence,” two measures are “no trend across variables,” and two are “trending away.” Regarding their drop in enrollment numbers, he reported that they brought in a recruiting specialist who offered several recommendations to improve their student recruitment. At their recent “Red Carpet Day,” they had a record number of high-school students on campus.

c. Update on West Plains Campus Goals --- Dr. Bennett reported that they are hoping to increase their credit hours with the new Agriculture courses they have added. He added that construction of the renovation/expansion of the old Post Office facility (Hass-Darr Hall) will begin in January 2017 with a January 2018 completion. Dr. Dennis Lancaster, Dean of Academic Affairs, gave a brief summary of the West Plains Campus’s Long-Range Plan process which included a visioning process, a review and revision of their mission, and a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) Analysis. The final plan will be presented at the October 2016 Board meeting.

7. Principles Impacting the Long-Range Plan:
a. Financial and Budgeting Strategies --- Mr. Steve Foucart, Chief Financial Officer, presented the four key budget design elements identified by the Education Advisory Board along with examples of how we have implemented them in the MSU budget/revenue allocation process:

i. Institutional goals should determine how the budget model allocates revenue in order to incentivize academic units in order to influence growth in revenue sources. Two examples of these elements include: academic units sharing in the growth of summer school revenue and program specific enrollment fees such as those that have been established for programs in the College of Arts and Letters, College of Business upper-level and graduate-level courses, and the College of Health and Human Services graduate-level courses.

ii. Keep cost allocation simple, there is little benefit from metering most university services. MSU centrally budgets and controls university services and only charges out to cost centers external party direct costs. We are spending about $11 million less on “non-core mission” areas of academic support, student services, and institutional support based upon the average of the Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities peer group.

iii. Incorporate performance targets and institutional goals into the budget. MSU’s key institutional priority goals is faculty/staff compensation. From January 1, 2012, through the July 1, 2015, raise, across-the-board raises total 8.5%. The corresponding five-year CPI totals 8.5%.

iv. Build and maintain a central strategic reserve fund. The FY2016 budget has a $700,000 ongoing strategic reserve that can be used for ongoing funding for strategic initiatives.

b. Higher Learning Commission Findings --- Dr. Jahnke reminded everyone that we received full accreditation from the HLC (Higher Learning Commission) for another 10 years. The final accreditation report listed several areas where we are doing well. HLC recommendations included: a) revise the presentation of MSU’s fee structure; b) overall assessment was noted as a strength but areas of improvement included a clearly articulated assessment plan with annual goals/prioritized from the provost’s office; more attention to assessment of all course delivery methods to ensure quality of educational processes; and simplifying general education assessment; c) continue to emphasize diversity initiatives; d) continue to track graduates; e) implement and publish timelines for expected responses to student complaints (already been done); and f) Registrar and Provost Office must work together to identify potential issues with credit awarded for short-term classes.

c. Visioning Document Assumptions --- President Smart reported that the five major assumptions that the Visioning Task Force operated with last year included: a) the rate of change will continue to accelerate; b) there will be changes in demographics; c) competition will intensify; d) cost will matter to Missouri State students; and e) state appropriations will remain unpredictable. He remarked that these assumptions are all still in place, as well as the six guiding principles remaining true: a) student success is priority one; b) continuous improvement toward excellence is the goal; c) attracting and retaining talented employees is paramount; d) the statewide mission in public affairs remains important; e) organization agility is vital; and f) partnerships and allies will be key.

Dr. Hofherr recessed the meeting at 4:20 p.m., and reconvened the meeting on April 1, 2016, at 9:00 a.m.

8. Discussion on Long-Range Plan --- Dr. Gloria Galanes, Chair of the Long-Range Plan Steering Committee, first presented the vision, strategic priorities, university goals, and pertinent key performance indicators, for the two key areas not yet presented to the Board – Diversity and Inclusion, and Infrastructure. She next reviewed the substantive changes to those areas already reviewed by the Board. Dr. Galanes also reviewed the remaining timeline which includes two more Town Hall meetings, a status report at the May 12, 2016, Programs & Planning Committee meeting, and Board action at the June 10, 2016, Board meeting. After a short discussion, it was recommended that a paragraph addressing the “communication” of the plan needed to be added in the Introduction.

Mr. Paul Kincaid, Kincaid Communications, LLC, next contrasted the old approach to establishing long-range-plans to the new approach. The old approach was the plan being based on a moment in time, goals would be established for a set number of years, and all attention would be on accomplishing those goals. The new approach begins with setting strategic directions; creating annual work plans to implement; and assessing, adjusting and acting on the next-year’s work plan. This provides an opportunity to update assumption, adjust specific tasks and timelines, and results in a dynamic plan based on strategic priorities. MSU’s long-range plan builds on last year’s vision report, sets strategic direction for the next five years, and is implemented through a series of one-year plans. Each unit will be involved in providing specific goals, plans, and measurements. Dr. Jim Baker, Vice President for Research and Economic Development and International Programs, next presented examples of implementing the plan, with tactics, outcomes, pertinent KPIs, and responsible persons/units in reaching a couple of university goals from the Globalization narrative of the plan. Using the Infrastructure area of the plan, a short discussion was held showing the importance of the Safety, Facilities, and Technology strategic priorities and reaching the corresponding goals.

9. Board of Governors’ Procedural Matters --- The following items were discussed:
a. Directors Desk --- Mr. McAlear first reported that our contract for 35 licenses for use of the Directors Desk board portal expires on May 31, 2016. He asked the Board if anyone had any concerns with renewing for another two years. With no concerns being offered, he indicated that they would renew 35 licenses for another two years – through May 31, 2018.

b. Presidential assessment --- Mr. McAlear commented that since everyone seemed to like the present presidential assessment tool, he will update the survey to include the 2015-2016 annual goals for this year’s assessment. He next proposed using a similar timeline to last year: 1) have President Smart present his self-assessment at the June 10, 2016, Board meeting; 2) the Board members will complete the online assessment tool by July 11; 3) the assessment results will be included as a closed meeting item within the Directors Desk agenda for the July 28, 2016, Board meeting; and 4) the entire Board will visit with President Smart regarding the results at the July 28 meeting.

c. Discussion topics for future Board meetings --- President Smart first commented that we will discuss online education at the May, 2016, Board meeting. The June meeting in West Plains will include the final presentation of the next long-range plan and his self-assessment report in the closed session. After a short discussion regarding future topics for next year, two topics were brought up as possibilities – deferred maintenance and scholarships. President Smart commented that the administration would select several additional possibilities from the long-range plan and present these for discussion at the July 28, 2016, Board meeting.

10. Closed Meeting --- It was determined that the Board of Governors needed to meet in a closed session to consider items of business provided in the Revised Statutes of Missouri. Dr. Hofherr asked if a resolution authorizing a closed meeting of the Board was prepared. Thereupon, the following resolution was presented for consideration:

BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of Governors for Missouri State University that a closed meeting, with closed records and closed vote, be held immediately following this March 31-April 1, 2016, meeting of the Board of Governors to consider items of business pursuant to:

a. R.S.Mo. 610.021(1). “Legal actions, causes of action, or litigation involving a public governmental body…”

b. R.S.Mo. 610.021(3). “Hiring, firing, disciplining or promoting of particular employees by a public governmental body…”

c. R.S.Mo. 610.021(13). “Individually identifiable personnel records, performance ratings or records pertaining to employees or applicants for employment,…”

Mr. Hoven moved the approval of the resolution and Ms. Tergin seconded the motion.

A roll call vote on the resolution was as follows: those voting in favor – Governors Carmichael, Fry, Gore, Hofherr, Hoven, Miller, Spears, Seal and Tergin; those voting against – none.

Dr. Hofherr declared the resolution passed unanimously.

11. Date of Next Meeting --- The date of the next regularly scheduled meeting was set for Thursday, May 12, 2016, at 1:00 p.m. on the Springfield Campus.

12. Adjournment--- Dr. Hofherr adjourned the meeting at 12:20 p.m. on the motion of Mr. Hoven, the second of Ms. Fry, and the unanimous vote of the Board.

John W. McAlear
Secretary