UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- At its Nov. 29 meeting, the Penn State Faculty Senate heard updates on the University’s ongoing efforts to redesign its budget allocation model, Penn State’s approach to strategic enrollment management, and Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi’s recommendation to reunify Penn State’s two law schools. The senate also passed a revision to the University’s pass-fail grading policy, a series of updates related to the senate’s Faculty Athletics Representative, and a positional statement about oversight of student activities and on-campus activities.
Updates from leadership
Bendapudi shared with the senate that she is recommending reuniting Penn State’s two law schools — Penn State Dickinson Law in Carlisle and Penn State Law on the University Park campus — into a single law school known as Penn State Dickinson Law, with its primary location in Carlisle and led by Penn State Dickinson Law Dean Danielle Conway.
The president said the decision is a practical one, motivated by her assessment that having a two-law-school model is non-sustainable, especially given current trends in legal education and shifting demographics both nationally and within Pennsylvania. The search for a permanent dean of Penn State Law has been cancelled, and Victor Romero, Penn State Law professor and Maureen B. Cavanaugh Distinguished Faculty Scholar, has been appointed as interim dean of Penn State Law, effective Jan. 1.
A panel will be formed to examine how to ensure excellence in legal education, scholarship, service, and community, investigating options within the framework of one law school, chaired by Conway with Romero serving as vice-chair and including both tenured and non-tenured faculty, staff, students, alumni and advisory board members from both schools. Bendapudi has charged the panel to submit recommendations in six months, which she will share with the Penn State Board of Trustees to inform the future of the reunification process.
Bendapudi affirmed that every student currently enrolled at Penn State Law — as well as the class being admitted for 2023 — will be able to complete their degree in a fully accredited program at their current location. She also committed to work with members of the law school’s faculty and staff to help them find continued success as the reunification process begins, and pledged to keep the law school communities informed and up-to-date throughout this process. Bendapudi also affirmed that no other campus or college is being considered for any similar kind of process, and that this action is due to the unique nature of having two law schools at the same University in competition with one another.
An update on Penn State’s ongoing efforts to update its budget allocation model was also delivered by three members of the University’s budget working group: Sara Thorndike, senior vice president for Finance and Business/Treasurer, Tracy Langkilde, the Verne M. Willaman Dean of the Eberly College of Science, and Penn State Abington Chancellor Margo DelliCarpini.
Thorndike shared that the University has net assets of $12.4 billion but that most of those funds are restricted or designated for specific purposes. Net assets include $962 million for day-to-day operations with around one third of that balance held centrally for contingencies and other unexpected needs. The trio shared that the goal of the new budget allocation model is to achieve financial sustainability for the University while creating a transparent, data-driven budgeting process that helps each college, campus and unit succeed while incentivizing and prioritizing student success. Other guiding principles as the working group has developed the new model include being driven by Penn State’s educational, research and land-grant missions; rewarding responsible stewardship of resources that aligns with Penn State’s values; allowing individual units autonomy to strategically plan their spending while promoting an understanding of the interconnectedness of different areas of the University; and supporting interdisciplinarity across Penn State’s missions.
The working group representatives also noted that the new draft budget model accounts for revenue from tuition and state appropriations and maintaining reserves for making strategic investments. The model also accounts for balancing student credit hours and student headcounts when determining allocations, among numerous other considerations and nuances, including the varied needs of distinct areas across Penn State. The working group has been gathering input and feedback from deans, chancellors and leaders across the University, and plans to share the draft model and budget allocations with units, colleges and campuses by January. Additionally, they noted the University is planning an informational town hall for the University community about the new budget allocation model, the details of which will be shared on Penn State News soon.
Matt Melvin, Penn State’s new vice president for Enrollment Management, shared his vision for the University’s approach to strategic enrollment management. Melvin said the work of the Enrollment Management office — which includes Undergraduate Admissions, the Office of Student Aid and the Office of the University Registrar — begins with understanding Penn State’s place within the higher education market, to then be able to enhance and elevate that position.
Melvin said the University will “look at the totality of the student experience” from pre-application through graduation, with an eye for aligning the University’s processes and technologies to maximize efficiencies and best support the student experience at all stages. He identified continuing to build on the strengths of Penn State’s brand and being holistic and strategic in how the University predicts an applicant’s likelihood of academic success as key focuses of his office. Tracking and analyzing data to inform strategic decision-making and carefully considering cost to degree and employing robust financial aid strategies will also be important elements of Penn State’s enrollment management approach.
Penn State Interim Executive Vice President and Provost Justin Schwartz shared with the senate the creation of a task force charged with establishing a visitor code of conduct for the University. He noted Penn State has behavioral expectations for employees and students, and that this task force has been asked to develop recommendations for a code of conduct and related processes for responding to instances of misconduct on University campuses by individuals who are not members of the Penn State community. The task force is chaired by Patrick Mather, dean of the Schreyer Honors College, and includes wide representation from across the University.
Other senate business
The senate passed a resolution calling for greater oversight of student groups who wish to sponsor activities, enforcing requirements for organization information to be listed with the University, and for a review of policies related to student organization membership requirements with an eye toward not disadvantaging underrepresented students.
The senate passed an update to University Policy 132-20, which details the use of pass/fail grading, to more clearly specify the process for faculty members to request restrictions on the use of pass/fail grading in a particular course, such as due to external professional licensing requirements. The senate also passed three pieces of legislation expanding the number of Faculty Athletics Representatives appointed by the senate to two representatives. The legislation also specifies that these Faculty Athletics Representatives will serve as needed on search committees for head coaches within intercollegiate athletics.
The senate also heard a report from the Senate Committee on Admissions, Records and Student Aid on admissions that do not require a student to complete a standardized test, such as the SAT. The report found that “test optional” admission models did not predict a student’s first-year GPA as accurately as hoped, but noted that the University will continue studying data as it becomes available to consider how to best support student success.
The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Faculty Senate will be held January 24 in a remote format via Zoom.