Morever, there were instructional problems with the calendar—"faculty
in the classroom reported difficulties," he said.
The abbreviated spring semester resulted because Jan. 1 falls on a Tuesday
and pushes the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday—set for the third Monday
in January—back a week, noted William Baumer, professor of philosophy
who, along with Charles Fourtner, professor of biological sciences, assisted
Grant in revising the calendar. The spring semester traditionally has
started on the Tuesday after the King holiday.
Starting exams immediately after the last day of classes on Friday, May
3, will "yield the necessary 15 instructional weeks," said Grant, who
was named "calendar maven" when President William R. Greiner disbanded
the Calendar Committee and moved responsibility for the academic calendar
into the Provost's Office. The revised calendar also brings the number
of credit hours to 44, one short of the state requirement, but close enough
as not to attract any attention, he said. "It's the preferred choice among
less-than-ideal solutions."
He noted that beginning the semester a week early—on Jan. 14, rather
than Jan. 22—would require opening residence halls and other facilities
to the tune of $200,000-$250,000, an additional cost that had not been
anticipated. And extending the semester by a week in May also would incur
additional costs associated with keeping facilities open another week,
as well as interfering with commencement, work and research plans, he
added.
Manipulating the exam schedule produces "the calendar of least harm,"
Grant said, pointing out that notifying students in November that there
will be no reading days in May should give them ample time to schedule
study time.
Grant said he will begin tackling a revision of the Spring calendar for
future years—UB will face the same situation in Spring 2003 as it
does in Spring 2002.
Baumer pointed out that the King holiday pushes into the fourth week
of January in any year that New Year Day falls on Tuesday or Wednesday
when the preceding year is a leap year. This year, with New Year's Day
falling on Monday, the King holiday was Jan. 15 and fell during the third
week of the month. In 2003, New Year's Day will fall on Wednesday, again
pushing the King holiday, set for Jan. 21, into the fourth week of the
month.
Grant said that starting the spring semester a week earlier than usual
likely will be the solution in coming years.
In other business, the FSEC heard a presentation on athletics from Robert
Arkeilpane, director of athletics. Arkeilpane briefed senators on the
NCAA Division I certification process that UB currently is going through.
Arkeilpane likened the certification process to the Middle States accreditation
review that the UB academic program also is undergoing.
All Division I programs undergo the certification process every 10 years,
he said, calling it a "very high-profile, institution-wide effort."
Barbara Ricotta, associate vice president for student affairs and dean
of students, chairs the steering committee, he said, adding that there
are four subcommittees looking at fiscal integrity, academic integrity,
governance and rules compliance, and equity, welfare and sportsmanship.
The process offers a "tremendous opportunity for us to take a good hard
look at our program, identify areas where deficiencies exist, and gives
us an opportunity to address those and correct them accordingly," Arkeilpane
said.
It offers a chance as well "to pound our chests a little bit" about the
good things that have been happening in the program, he said.
This process of self-study will run through the end of the summer and
into the early Fall 2002, he said, with an evaluation of the program being
submitted to an outside peer-review team in the fall. That team will come
to campus in November to corroborate what is in the report, he added.
"It's a very open process," he said of the certification process, noting
that if he had not been invited to attend this FSEC meeting, he would
have approached the group himself to brief it on the certification process.
Arkeilpane also noted there is a page on the Division of Athletics Web
site, www.ubathletics.buffalo.edu/certification/,
that offers details on the process. "We will continue to update the campus
community on the progress of the entire effort," he said.
In his presentation to the FSEC, Arkeilpane also addressed a recent story
published in USA Today, which was picked up by other media outlets,
about possible changes in legislation governing the makeup of Division
I-A.
He said that the NCAA is looking at imposing six more criteria that schools
would have to meet to maintain status at the Division I-A level.
"I'm happy to report that in five of the six areas, we are very, very
strong," he said.
Among those proposed criteria, Arkeilpane said UB comes in above the
likely requirements in the number of sports sponsored—UB has 20,
NCAA wants 16; in the number of grants-in-aid awarded across the program,
and in the number of games against I-A-level opponents scheduled in UB
stadium—UB has four through its membership in the Mid-American Conference,
and will have the required five when it brings in such schools as Syracuse,
Temple, Rutgers and Connecticut in the coming years.
One area in question is attendance, he said. The NCAA may require an
average attendance of 15,000. After three games this year, UB is averaging
more than that, but attendance likely will slide once the cold weather
sets in this month, he noted.
"But we are not far off the mark we have to be on," he said, adding that
more effort will be put into marketing the team.
"The bottom line is that these criteria that are being proposed will
inevitably look different by the time it's passed"—at the earliest
by 2004—and "we're in pretty good shape right now as an institution
at meeting these particular criteria."
Also as part of the athletics presentation, Edward Michael, director
of recreation and intramurals, briefed senators on the various programs
offered by the department.
He also put in a plug for a stand-alone recreation facility that is being
considered as part of the Lee Road project.
Michael pointed out that many of UB's peer institutions have such a facility,
which would help in the recruitment and retention of both students and
faculty and staff.
