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Advisory Committee Meeting Notes
February 20, 1998

Members Present

Ralph Gutowski, Director, Budgeting, Planning and Analysis, Miami University
Rosemary Jones (Committee Vice Chair), District Director, Institutional Planning and Evaluation,
Cuyahoga Community College
Bill Knight, Director of Institutional Research, Bowling Green State University, representing Chris Dalton
Eric Kornau, Chief Information Officer, Cincinnati State Technical and Community College, representing Terrence Glenn
Eric Kuntz, Assistant Vice President, Resource Planning and Institutional Research, The Ohio State University
David Lindsley, Associate Vice President, Academic Affairs, University of Toledo, representing Judy Hample
Robert Sheehan (Committee Chair), Director, Institutional Research, Assessment and Analysis, Cleveland State University
George Zurava, Director, Resource, Analysis and Planning, Kent State University

Ohio Board of Regents (Regents) Staff Present

Roderick G.W. Chu, Chancellor
Chris Doll, Financial Data Area Analyst, HEI Project
Matt Filipic, Vice Chancellor for Administration
Jay Johnson, Administrator, Information Systems and Research
Don Langford, Faculty-Staff Data Area Analyst, HEI Project
Andy Lechler, Senior Analyst, HEI Project
Karen Miller, Administrator, Information Systems and Research
Rich Petrick, Associate Vice Chancellor, Budget and Information Systems
Amber Stephens, Writer/Editor, HEI Project
Daryl Wright, Assistant Director, Information Systems and Research/HEI Project Manager

Guests

Cindy McQuade, Assistant Director, Inter-University Council
Terry Thomas, Executive Director, Ohio Association of Community Colleges
Nancy Zajano, Director, Legislative Office of Education Oversight

Handouts

1. Draft HEI Advisory Committee Meeting Notes, September 26, 1997, and November 21, 1997
2. HEI Enrollment Practice Period Edit Activity
3. HEI Enrollment Practice Period Load Activity
4. Faculty-Staff Practice Period Participation
5. Draft HEI Data Outputs Survey

Introduction of Chancellor Roderick G.W. Chu

Chancellor Chu said he recently met with university presidents to discuss strengthening universities' relationships with the Ohio Board of Regents. He noted that the "old command structures" will not work when it comes to sending a message to Ohioans that higher education is a good investment. Chu said that all of Ohio's higher education institutions need to work "harmoniously in partnership."

Chu also advocated that the HEI staff work toward continuous improvements in the data collection process that will benefit everyone involved. He said that a better data information system will help support better legislation for higher education. This will also help higher education bring the debate of education funding to the public.

One member asked about HEI as an unfunded mandate. Chu responded by saying institutions need to show legislators the cost of mandates and how the institutions spend their money on mandates versus instruction.

Review of September 26 and November 21 Meeting Notes

Committee members approved the September 26, 1997 and November 21, 1997 Meeting Notes without any changes. Terry Thomas noted, in reference to the November 21, 1997 Meeting Notes, that Wynette Barnard of Lakeland Community College has officially replaced former Committee member Dedrie Kundtz. He said the Ohio Association of Community Colleges (OACC) is working to find a replacement for Richard Brace, a former Committee member who retired from Jefferson Community College.

Agenda Review

The following item was added to the agenda:

1. Cross Registration

Cross Registration

Matt Filipic noted that there have been two common complaints with cross registration information collection. These include:

1. "The current specifications require that the host institution provide information about the student that they usually don't have;" and
2. By specifying where instruction would be subsidized, it would cause campus relationships to change.

Filipic reported that the HEI staff is trying to establish some relaxed guidelines for collecting this information, particularly for the host institution. He also said that Regents is open to the notion that the aforementioned funding policy is the default, but campuses may have another preference. He said that Regents is open to changes and the system should not drive subsidy. A Cross Registration Statewide Consultation on March 2 should resolve this issue.

One member questioned the purpose of the file, asking if cross registration could be treated as transfer credit. Filipic noted that the definition of the file needs to be made clearer.

Collaboration with Provosts

Filipic gave a short report about his meeting with institution provosts. He said they discussed which information should be provided to HEI and which information is not useful enough to collect. Filipic said a brief HEI status report has been drafted by the Chancellor to be sent to institution presidents. The purpose of the letter is to identify problem areas with HEI.

Status Report on Enrollment Practice Period

Jay Johnson gave an overview of the Edit and Load Activity for the Enrollment Data Area practice period. It was noted that practice increased from seven institutions in October 1996 to 35 institutions at the end of the practice period in February. Overall, only three schools, Jefferson Community College, Rio Grande Community College, and University of Toledo did not participate. Johnson said he has been in contact with each institution that did not participate. [Editor's Note: A University of Toledo representative said the institution was unable to participate due to a university decision to concentrate on other campus issues at that time, e.g. semester conversion. They fully plan to participate during production reporting, as the institution did during the pilot period.]

Implementation of Enrollment Data Reporting

Committee members voiced concern over the cost of participating in HEI. A member noted that some schools are in the process of converting to semesters, which is very costly. Another institution is short $3 million in revenue, leaving little money to put into HEI. There were also concerns about the high level of programmer vacancies on campuses.

Several members questioned why the reporting windows would be 15 days. Rich Petrick said the Chancellor is working on a contingency plan that would address problems campus reporters have submitting the data. Andy Lechler reported that if the data reporters submit the data correctly, it should take four days to load. Members questioned whether the Regents servers would be able to handle the large influx of information during the reporting windows. Lechler reported that stress tests are being conducted.

Daryl Wright suggested that one way to handle data reporting would be to process files before the data windows open and then to submit and edit them once the windows open. Filipic asked the Committee to tell HEI staff what is causing reporting problems so that reasonable deadlines can be established.

HEI Advisory Committee Meeting Schedule for 1998

The following dates were established for the remainder of 1998 for HEI Advisory Committee Meetings:

1. March 20
2. May 8
3. July 10
4. September 10
5. November 6

All meetings will be held from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. at the Regents offices.

Status Report on Faculty-Staff Practice Period

Don Langford distributed a table displaying current activity in the Faculty-Staff practice period, which continues until May 22, 1998. He noted that although only five institutions have practiced thus far, there are three months remaining in the practice period, and activity should increase as it did in the last half of the pilot project. Since the conclusion of the Enrollment practice period on February 13, there has been an increase in Faculty-Staff reporting activity.

Langford also reported that several institutions have expressed interest in having the Edit and Load Specifications available on the World Wide Web. Langford said that those specifications will soon be published on the Faculty-Staff portion of the web site.

Members asked what errors are commonly reported in UIS. Karen Miller said that salary information generates the largest number of errors. Some members asked if HEI could add a reporting mechanism that would tell data reporters how many submission files had been uploaded with errors. Some members said implementing a help line might be beneficial. Langford said he would continue using the online discussion group to monitor and assist campuses with data reporting. Additional necessary clarification of reporting requirements will be added to the data submissions document.

Langford also reviewed institutions' responses to the request for proposals (RFP) for creating a Faculty Sample Survey. The web-posted RFP generated inquiries, but no direct response from Ohio institutions. Members suggested that an external entity might be called upon to review an institutionally developed survey.

In addition to offering suggestions for restructuring the survey, members recommended establishing a Faculty Sample Survey Subcommittee. Committee members and Regents staff agreed to establish a Faculty Sample Survey Subcommittee. Langford asked members to recommend experts from their respective campuses to serve on the Subcommittee and assist in the design and development of the Faculty Sample Survey. Several members indicated their interest, and Langford said he would contact them and ask for their specific recommendations.

Expansion of Advisory Committee's E-mail Alias

Members welcomed adding Regents personnel to the e-mail alias. Nancy Zajano, Cindy McQuade, and Terry Thomas also requested to be added to the e-mail alias.

Subsidy Model Assignments in HEI

Lechler reported that he has been using the "Neighborhood Theory" to see how various subject codes map together. At the present time, there are several courses with similar wording which do not have similar codes. Lechler said some courses may be considered exceptions to mapping but an appeals process has not been established. He also stressed that an ongoing task for HEI staff is consistently selecting subject codes for courses.

One member raised concern over mental health subject codes. Lechler said that HEI wouldn't change subject codes or levels without notifying campuses.

Access to Compiled Data

Petrick reported that Regents has scheduled a meeting with a lawyer to discuss federal restrictions on access to complied data. He said that he would update the Committee during upcoming meetings.

Draft HEI Data Outputs Survey

Langford presented a draft of the HEI Data Outputs Survey developed by the Outputs Subcommittee. The draft is being designed to ask institution representatives which standard prepared reports would be useful. Committee members indicated the benefits of such a survey, and they provided several suggested changes to the draft, including a multiple-choice format, listing current UIS reports, combining various sections of the survey, and allowing space for open-ended questions. Petrick suggested that institution presidents and provosts review the survey before making it public. Langford said he would bring a revised draft to the next Committee meeting.

The next HEI Advisory Committee meeting will be held Friday, March 20, at the Ohio Board of Regents offices, 30 E. Broad St., 36th Floor, in the Board Room.

The meeting adjourned at 3:25 p.m.

Notes submitted by Amber Stephens.

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Last updated June 26, 1998