[In these minutes: Health insurance changes, Discussion with President Yudof, Student Senate docket approval]

STUDENT SENATE CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE (SSCC) MINUTES

OCTOBER 5, 2000

[These minutes reflect discussion and debate at a committee of the University of Minnesota Senate or Twin Cities Campus Assembly; none of the comments, conclusions, or actions reported in these minutes represent the views of, nor are they binding on, the Senate or Assembly, the Administration, or the Board of Regents.]

PRESENT: Jason Reed (chair), Sabeen Altaf, Percy Chaby, Khaled Dajani, Meggan Ellingboe, Paul Enever, YeeLeng Hang, Adam Lyche, Chris Shulstad.

REGRETS: Amber Benning, Tim Dunn,

GUESTS: Phillip Cole, Professor Richard McGehee, Tracy Smith, Barbara Van Drasek, President Mark Yudof.

1. DISCUSSION OF HEALTH INSURANCE CHANGES

Professor Richard McGehee, chair of the Health Plan Task Force (HPTF) distributed information of what the HPTF has been doing and the final report that it is producing. He noted that the HPTF was formed three years earlier in response to a loss of employee health plans and increased premiums. The final report will be presented in December to the Regents.

Undergraduate health insurance issues were considered during the discussions, but because the issues are so different a decision was made not to include them in this report, although future changes might affect this decision.

The final report recommends that the University continue working with the state to see if changes can be implemented. This is the first time that the state has been willing to work with the University, so members feel that the opportunity should not be wasted, but that separation should still be an option if progress is not possible.

Q: What has changed at the state so that they are willing to work with the University?

A: Jesse Ventura is the governor and he has appointed a new commissioner who is willing to work the University instead of allowing us to separate.

In terms of graduate assistants, the state has noted that they could be included in the employees' insurance plan, but the task force has not taken a position on their inclusion. The administration would like them included for convenience but the HPTF realizes that graduate assistants have very different issues, such as graduate assistants ranking prescription prices as what they would like to see changes the most. It was then noted that since is the only expense that most graduate assistant see, it would be the one that they would like to see changed.

Q: Do graduate assistants pay premiums?

A: They do not pay if they have no dependents and work at least 50% time.

Professor McGehee noted that the legal ramifications of mixing risks pools has not been assessed yet. Additionally, a permanent employee benefits advisory committee is going to be established, with representatives from all affected employee groups including graduate assistants.

A committee member noted that more choices for graduate assistants would be good, but careful deliberation will be needed so that the costs are kept low.

Q: Does central subsidize fringe benefits?

A: All fringe benefits are paid by the employing department.

Q: What can graduate assistants do to influence this process?

A: Anna Sommers is the graduate assistant representative, so any comments on the final report can be sent to her for presentation at the next HPTF meeting.

Q: Will the final report recommend that the University stays with the state?

A: The University has developed some good relations with the state which it does not want to destroy, but the University's leverage power comes from the possibility of separation so the possibility will remain.

2. DISCUSSION WITH PRESIDENT YUDOF

President Yudof discussed the following issues with the committee:

Construction problems with Coffman are being worked on including a revised bidding system and funding from other sources
South Mall project is having the same over-cost problems
Northrop Plaza work started last spring to correct structural problems and will be completed soon
Good reactions have been received on the improved classrooms
Search for a permanent Men's Athletic Director is on-going
Student support will be needed for this year's legislative request since the state is not conducive to funding large requests

President Yudof then turned to a discussion of the Senate-approved Policy on the Use of Class Notes for Commercial Purposes. Since its approval, three issues have been raised: the adequacy of consultation with students on the policy, the policy's constitutionality, and the scope of the proposed policy. Since the administration has not approved the policy, he said that language changes could still be made by students with the approval of the Faculty Consultative Committee (FCC).

Tracy Smith, from the Office of the General Counsel, said that she has been reviewing the policy and noted that many more institutions are implementing similar policies prohibiting the use of class notes for commercial purposes without instructor permission.

President Yudof said that notes need to be sold to be a copyright violation, at which point the University would become involved. This policy does not want to address copyright issue or infringe on free speech. He then read a proposed language change and asked if students post notes on personal web sites. Students responded that they do know of students who post notes on the web without being paid.

Q: Why was a policy to limit a student's rights approved?

A: Professors consider their notes part of their professional work product, which is then an entitled work product. A middle ground needs to be found between their property and a student's.

Q: Is there an interest in sharing notes beyond classmates? Are notes attributed to the professors?

A: Some students might post notes for anyone interested or when the student has an interest in a specific topic and develops a web site devoted to that interest. Notes are not usually attributed to specific professors.

Q: Is there a legal precedence for challenging these types of policies?

A: No since the University regulates other commercial enterprises on campus.

The committee made the following comments:

Faculty should be encouraged to post all their information on the web, therefore avoiding this problem
Company solicitation of University students should be prohibited
Class notes should be similar to movies in that they cannot be sold but are for personal use only
A negative default could be considered

From the discussion, President Yudof asked if students would be willing to accept a policy allowing notes sharing between all students at the University instead of just fellow classmates. The committee favored the revised policy. President Yudof stated that he would present it to the FCC for approval.

3. DISCUSSION OF THE ELECTION OF 2000-01 STUDENT SENATE/SSCC VICE CHAIR

Chris Shulstad noted that there was no one at Crookston interested in the position. Jason Reed said that he would talk with the Morris and Duluth representatives to find an interested student.

4. DISCUSSION OF LEARNING RESOURCE CENTERS (LRC)

Jason Reed noted that the Asian American LRC has suffered funding cuts, but he would get some specifics and report back to the committee.

5. APPROVAL OF THE OCTOBER 5 STUDENT SENATE DOCKET

The October 5 Student Senate docket was approved with the following changes: Health Plan Task Force discussion postponed until November 16 following discussion of the item by GAPSA and COGS, class notes policy removed, and a discussion on Coffman added to the end of the docket.

With no further business, Jason Reed thanked everyone for attending and adjourned the meeting.

Becky Hippert
University Senate