Senate stays silent on policy
Body declines to join Fredonia in calling for funding plan

By DONNA LONGENECKER
Reporter Assistant Editor

The Faculty Senate has declined at this time to join colleagues at Fredonia State College in publicly calling for SUNY to adopt a rational funding policy.

At its last meeting of the fall semester on Dec. 11, the senate tabled a resolution drawn up by its executive committee supporting the funding policy. The resolution sought to stem the tide of faculty at other SUNY institutions, particularly Fredonia, who have endorsed a tuition increase for the coming academic year, as well as adoption of a funding policy. While FSEC members vehemently opposed faculty endorsing a tuition increase, describing it as "unwise" and "self-serving," they agreed that any SUNY funding plan must address tuition concerns.

Senators speaking at the Dec. 11 meeting generally supported the impetus behind the resolution.

While President William R. Greiner encouraged them "to do as they felt best," he advised that it might be better to take up the issue after the legislature had approved the state budget.

"It best serves us to leave it to the chancellor and the government to work through this issue. Perhaps in the spring semester it might be good for the faculty to address the issue," Greiner said, adding that tuition concerns need to be treated as more of a long-term policy issue.

Samuel Schack, chair of the Department of Mathematics, said the situation provides "an excellent opportunity for the UB senate not to speak about something."

"Calling for a rational funding policy is like calling for the end of poverty. Everyone believes in it—of course you should have a rational funding policy," Schack said. "Why not just be silent on the issue—the silence will speak volumes in the wake of other institutions saying things that are foolish."

John Meacham, professor and chair of the Department of Psychology, said he would support creating a funding plan that "does what's right for the students and families of New York State and looks after the long-term economic and business prospects" of the state.

Meacham noted that the average annual family income in the state is about $31,000, while higher-education costs run about $10,000-12,000 a year—making it extremely difficult for most families to send children to college without additional help.

He also pointed out that in the past decade, the state has increased its support of higher education by only about 1-1.5 percent. "New York State has seriously underfunded higher education for the last 10 years. New York State ranks nearly dead last. If we can't do the right thing for educating the next generation of people who will be the citizens—the entrepreneurs, the business leaders—of this state, we are going to be one of the underdeveloped states," Meacham said.

In other business, the senate unanimously approved—with little comment, the long-awaited class absence policy. A vote on the policy had been repeatedly held up since last May because of the lack of a quorum and what one senator referred to as "mind-boggling tedium," or what others might refer to as "a heated debate over particulars."

The policy calls for ample notification and fairness on both sides: Professors can only reschedule classes/activities with the entire consent of the class and must "provide reasonable alternatives to students for required course work from which they are justifiably absent."

Additionally, students who are justifiably absent must make every attempt to make up any missed course work in a timely manner.

"Justifiable absences" include religious observances, illnesses documented by a qualified health professional, conflicts with university-sanctioned activities (requires the signature of "an appropriate senior university administrator"), public emergencies and documented personal or family emergencies.