University of Virginia Library

POLICY DISCUSSION

At 2:15, the Board began the portion of its meeting allotted to a discussion of policy.

Mr. Sandridge gave a brief presentation on several actions required of the Board, in connection with the Restructuring Act, before July 1st. He proposed resolutions on two of theses, “Information Technology Restructuring Policies,” and “Human Resources Restructuring Policies,” both for the University and for The University of Virginia’s College at Wise. A third resolution dealt with an additional state goal, which was added to the Higher Education Restructuring Act by the General Assembly in the 2006 Session.

On motion, the Board approved the three resolutions.

APPROVAL OF UNIVERSITY INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY RESTRUCTURING POLICIES

WHEREAS, in accordance with the Restructured Higher Education Financial and Administrative Operations Act of 2005, the 2006 General Assembly passed HB1502 and SB675, known as Management Agreements with certain institutions of higher education; and

WHEREAS, the legislation requires the Board to adopt specific information technology policies, standards and guidelines; and

WHEREAS, the University of Virginia is committed to conducting its information technology activities according to industry best practices, appropriately tailored to the specific circumstances of the institution; and

WHEREAS, the attached policies will serve as umbrella policies for existing and future information technology policies of the Academic Division, the Medical Center, and the College at Wise;

RESOLVED that the attached policies (shown as Attachment A) on information technology are approved and are specifically referenced as:

• 1. University Information Technology Project Management Policy
• 2. University Information Technology Security Program Policy
• 3. University Information Technology Infrastructure, Architecture,
  and Ongoing Operations Policy
• 4. University Information Technology Accessibility Policy

APPROVAL OF UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA AND THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA’S COLLEGE AT WISE HUMAN RESOURCES RESTRUCTURING POLICIES

WHEREAS, in accordance with the Restructured Higher Education Financial and Administrative Operations Act of 2005, the 2006 General Assembly passed HB1502 and SB675, known as Management Agreements with certain institutions of higher education; and

WHEREAS, the Management Agreement includes the “Policy Governing Human Resources For Participating Covered Employees and Other University Employees”, which sets forth the features of a University Human Resources System, as well as a CollegeHuman Resources System for The University of Virginia’s College at Wise, to include classification and compensation, benefits, employee relations, leave and release time, equal employment opportunity, non-discrimination, employment, and separation; and

WHEREAS, the Rector and Visitors of the University recognize the hard work and dedication of employees and wish to ensure that their rights and interests are protected through human resources systems that are fair and equitable; and

WHEREAS, the Management Agreement provides that University and Wise staff employees hired after July 1, 2006, and all wage employees will be covered by a new University Human Resources System or College Human Resources System; and

WHEREAS, initially the University and the College Human Resources Systems will be identical to the current state system existing on June 30, 2006; and

WHEREAS, it is intended that the provisions of the University and College Human Resources Systems will be modified to better address the needs of an institution of higher education and o improve efficiency, effectiveness, and competitive position;

RESOLVED that the Board of Visitors approves the establishment of the University Human Resources System and the College Human Resources System effective July 1, 2006 in accordance with Chapter 933, Exhibit Q, “Policy Governing Human Resources for Participating

Covered Employees and Other University Employees” of Chapter 3 known as the “2006 Management Agreement Between the Commonwealth of Virginia and The University of Virginia.”

APPROVAL OF COMMITMENT TO MEET AN ADDITIONAL STATE GOAL INCLUDED IN THE RESTRUCTURED HIGHER EDUCATION FINANCIAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE OPERATIONS ACT

WHEREAS, on June 11, 2005, the Board of Visitors approved a resolution committing the University to meet a set of eleven statewide goals as specified in Chapter 4.10, Section 23-38.88 B. of the Restructured Higher Education Financial and Administrative Operations Act; and

WHEREAS, the General Assembly in 2006 passed HB346 which added a twelfth goal, “Seek to ensure the safety and security of the Commonwealth’s students on college and university campuses;”

RESOLVED that the Board of Visitors of the University of Virginia commits to the Governor and General Assembly to meet the additional state goal related to safety and security; and

RESOLVED FURTHER that the Board of Visitors requests the President to transmit this resolution to the Governor and to the Secretary of Education.

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Mr. Block recalled the Board’s interest in graduate student fellowships and noted that good graduate students are a vital part of the research and education mission of the University. Previously, graduate education at the University had been administered by the individual schools, but a centralized effort was deemed necessary to bring graduate education to the same level of national prominence as the undergraduate and professional schools. Accordingly, in May, 2004, Ms. Roseanne Ford, Professor of Chemical Engineering, became the Associate Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies and was charged with coordinating these efforts.

Mr. Block introduced Ms. Ford, who gave a presentation on graduate students at the University.

Ms. Ford made the point that to “rank among the best educational institutions, universities must recruit and retain the most talented graduate students.” Further, “top-ranked universities invest heavily in graduate students by providing consistent and predictable revenue streams.”

She then cited statistics showing the relative rankings of support offered graduate students at various institutions – the University does not rank well in these computations. Graduate student support, which is to say compensation packages, typically includes three elements: tuition and fees, health insurance and stipends/fellowships. Support for students at the University varies among the disciplines: graduate student teaching assistants in Biology, for example, fare better than graduate student teaching assistants in History.

Ms. Ford made the point that private funding is a significant element in supporting graduate students at some of the University’s peer institutions.

The Rector and several other Members commended Ms. Ford on her presentation. Mr. Rainey observed that the needs Ms. Ford outlined are important considerations for the Capital Campaign; the Rector said graduate student support no doubt will be an important part of the Agenda of the Educational Policy Committee in the forthcoming year.

This portion of the meeting ended at 2:45 p.m.

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