Report to the YSU Academic Senate on the Ohio Faculty Council, Tom Shipka, December 5, 2001 The Ohio Faculty Council met at the Ohio Board of Regents offices in Columbus on Friday, November 9, from 12:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., with Ginny Hamilton of Shawnee State University presiding. The group reelected Ginny Hamilton of Shawnee State as chair and Robert Faaborg of the University of Cincinnati as vice-chair.  The selection of a secretary was deferred until a future date at the request of me until a person can be identified who can serve capably as custodian of the OFC web site, which needs to be updated regularly. Among the recent developments mentioned at the meeting were these: 1. It was announced that chairs of all four-year university Board of Trustees are convening soon for a meeting in Columbus.  It was not known whether there are plans to make such a group permanent. 2. The Inter-University Council has developed a prescription drug program for the state universities; at this point only six institutions have signed on. 3. The Ohio Board of Regents has formed a special committee on medical education in Ohio.  This was prompted by a regent who claims that too many Ohio-trained physicians are leaving the state.  As part of the OFC response to this development, I agreed to seek involvement of a NEOUCOM representative in OFC; NEOUCOM has not participated. 4. The group reasserted its interest in exploring a state-wide health insurance plan and assigned me to arrange a meeting with the Inter-University Council to see whether its Shared Services Committee is interested in such a project.  The two-year counterpart to the OFC has requested an opportunity to participate in this project, and the OFC was receptive. Dr. Robert Sheehan, OBOR’s Director, Higher Education Information Systems, gave the group an extensive briefing.  His briefing included overviews of the second performance report, now titled “Ohio's Colleges and Universities 2001: Profiles of Student Outcomes, Experiences and Campus Measures,” and a Survey of Full-Time Faculty in Ohio.  Both documents are expected to be available at the regents’ web site soon at www.regents.state.oh.us. Dr. Sheehan also discussed budget issues: 1. He pointed out that public higher education had absorbed 56% of the total spending cuts ordered by the Governor. 2. He predicted a new round of cuts after the first of the year. 3. He said that K-12 education, mental health, and corrections were spared any cuts. 4. He said that he was not yet certain of what would happen to the state’s capital budget for higher education. 5. He said that we will have a new round of tuition increases at the public universities which will probably worsen Ohio’s current standing in the nation as the eighth most expensive state to attend a public university. 6. He observed that Ohio is a low tax state which pays a relatively low share of the costs of education at all levels. 7. He noted that in surveys of Ohio voters, higher education costs do not occur in the top ten issues cited by voters. 8. He said that the Ohio Instructional Grants and Choice Grants for Ohio students in independent Ohio colleges were not reduced in the state budget cutbacks. 9. He opined that with the rising costs at the public universities, given the various forms of state and federal financial aid for independent college students, the cost gap between private and public higher education in Ohio will continue to close.  He gave an example in which an advertised $24,000 per year cost to a student at an independent institution is actually a fraction of that figure after one includes tuition discounts, grants, loans, work study, student employment, and various other forms of financial support for students.  He said, “We’re privatizing higher education in Ohio.”  For some idea of what he is talking about, I refer you to this year’s performance report, chapter 05-1 to 05-6. The next meeting was scheduled for January, but a date in December was agreed upon if the chair believes that an additional meeting is necessary.

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