MSU FACULTY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES October 16, 2002 MEMBERS PRESENT: Young, Gipp, Sherwood for Giroux, Engel, Kommers, Schlotzhauer, Linker, Leech, Taylor, Howard, Jones, Nehrir, Bradley, McMahon, Amend, Ashley for Locke, Levy, Cherry for Bogar, Bond, Jelinski, Idzerda, Pratt, Lynes-Hayes, Prawdzienski. MEMBERS ABSENT: Morrill, White, Anderson, Stewart, Chem Engr, Comp Science, Conant, Engl, Lynch, Fisher, Kempcke, Knight, Hoffman. OTHERS PRESENT: Bandyopadhyay, McKinsey, Dooley, Fedock, Mathre. The meeting was called to order at 4:10 PM by Chair Rich Howard. A quorum was present. The minutes of the October 2, 2002, meeting were approved as distributed. Chair's report - Rich Howard. - After discussion of a draft memo regarding the football coach's comments on October 5, Wayne Gipp moved shredding the memo and considering the matter closed. The motion was seconded and carried. - The Strategic Planning Committee distributed the SWOT analysis at UPBAC. - Chair Howard would like to use meetings in November to brief Faculty Council regarding UPBAC and the process the committee will use to reach budget decisions. Individuals invited to discuss these topics with Faculty Council will most likely include Provost Dooley, SPC Chair Morton, and a faculty member from the SPC committee. Someone will also be invited to Faculty Council to discuss the Morrill Act and its implications for today. University Governance Council Nominating Committee report. - There is a mid-term vacancy on the Athletics Committee. Faculty nominations are being solicited and may be submitted to the Chair of the UGC Nominating Committee chair, Vicky York (vyork@montana.edu). - Two faculty members on the Computer Fee Allocation Committee are Gary Bogar and Shawna Lockhart. They are willing to continue on the committee through the current term, which ends in June, 2003. - Jack Jelinski moved Gary Bogar and Shawna Lockhart's names be forwarded to the Provost for appointment through the end of the current term. The motion was seconded and carried. - There will be a vacancy on the Salary Review Committee beginning January 1, 2003. Susan Capalbo's name has been submitted as a nominee for a second 3-year term. Others may be nominated, with their approval. Nominations may be submitted to Vicky York. Faculty Affairs Committee report. - A proposed post-tenure review policy has been forwarded to Faculty Council by Faculty Affairs and is attached to today's agenda. It will be discussed by Faculty Council October 30. - There will be a general announcement inviting comment after the policy has been discussed by Council. In the meantime, faculty may comment through their Faculty Council representatives. - Warren Jones moved the draft be made available to all faculty before Faculty Council discussion. The motion was seconded and carried. NCAA visit and the Athletic Committee. - In response to a question, the Chair stated that until about three years ago, the Athletics Committee functioned as a policy committee, as was intended. At that time, there was discussion within the committee of whether it should serve as an advisory or policy committee. - The NCAA accrediting body sees the committee as a monitoring, advisory committee which includes broad participation of individuals outside the Athletics Department. - It is the President's responsibility to charge the committee, and he appears ready to do that. - Greater interaction between the committee, the Athletic Director, and Faculty Council is expected. MSU Benefits Committee report - Don Mathre, Chair of the Committee. - MSU's benefits plan is self-insured and statewide (Montana University System). About 7,000 employees and 8,000 dependents are covered. The plan includes life, basic medical, dental, major medical, and long-tem disability insurance. - The plan is required to maintain a $3 million reserve, and it has been able to do this over the past 10 years, by increases in premiums and reductions in cost by reducing coverage. - Medical costs have been increasing 10-20% per year, so continuing decreased benefits or increased costs are anticipated. It is Don's understanding that MPEA plans to request increases in the amount provided for state employee coverage from the legislature of $50/month in the first year and $45/month in the second year of the biennium. - Procedures implemented last year, to reduce costs, include direct contracting with hospitals in communities where there is a choice of hospital (does not include Bozeman Deaconess Hospital) and self-funded HMO's. There were also increases in premiums. - Changes are taking place nationwide and statewide to keep medical insurance plans viable. - In the Montana University System, the number of retirees using the university program is dropping. It appears that some individuals cannot afford it, and other insurance programs are becoming more competitive. - Some large companies and the University of Minnesota are implementing a consumer driven health care plan. A "personal care plan" allots a specified amount of money for an individual's medical expenses. Any money left over in an individual's plan at year end may be carried over but may never be received as a cashout. If an individual spends more than the available amount in a year, the person is responsible for a deductible and then is covered by catastrophic insurance. The idea is to make individuals more responsible for monitoring their health care costs. - The pharmacy plan provider (Eckart) has suggested replacing the dollar amount co-pay with a per cent amount. It would save about $1.5 million per year but is problematic for individuals using expensive drugs. - The Wellcheck is scheduled for November 13 and 14, 7-11 a.m. Free flu shots will be available, as well as the usual tests. - Discussion followed. - It was suggested consideration be given to extending the hours of the spring Wellcheck. They were shorter last spring than they had been in previous years. - The philosophy of the MUS health plan has been that is provides against catastrophe, if there are large medical costs. The plan is attractive because there is no cap on catastrophic care. - The State of Montana now pays $4400/employee each year for health care coverage. - Regarding the "personal care plan", it was argued that if individuals do not do preventative health maintenance because they are over their allottment, this may lead to the need for catastrophic coverage. In addition, many pharmacy costs are preventative. - Doug Young is also a member of the Benefits Committee. Don or Doug may be contacted with questions or concerns. The October 23 Faculty Council meeting is cancelled so members may attend the town meeting on higher education that day. The meeting adjourned at 4:55 PM. Joann Amend, Secretary Richard Howard, Chair