The UNL Faculty Senate voted Feb. 3 to create a special committee to examine and report on the proposed metrics for the University of Nebraska’s strategic plan for the system. (See the document here.)
The metrics align with the five pillars of President Jeffrey Gold’s proposal for an “Odyssey to Extraordinary”: extraordinary teaching and learning; extraordinary research and creative activity; extraordinary partnerships and engagement; extraordinary culture and environment; and extraordinary stewardship and effectiveness.
John Shrader, president of the Faculty Senate, said the executive committee had gotten wind of the proposed metrics and asked for a copy. The executive vice chancellor’s office asked the Senate to provide its recommendations.
The special committee will have seven members who will have a short timeline to work. Shrader said the administration expected to decide on the metrics in March, so the committee will have to report its findings to the Senate at the March 3 meeting. Shrader said he would appoint the members with an eye to representing the diversity of the faculty.
The resolution creating the committee says, “The committee is specifically charged to identify potential misapplications of these metrics, their impact on academic freedom and departmental implementation—with particular focus on the burden of data collection and reporting on units as well as the potential for administrative interference in curriculum and pedagogy.”
Shrader and several of the faculty who spoke to the motion said the proposed metrics were vague in some regards with uncertain purposes or uses. They also said it was unclear in some instances whether the metrics would be applied to the whole NU system, individual campuses, colleges, departments or individuals.
In describing the metrics, Shrader said: “I don’t think ‘vague’ is a strong enough word. I don’t think ‘incomplete’ is a strong enough word. I don’t think ‘thoughtful’ is a proper way to describe it either. It just looks like a bunch of words on paper.” Nevertheless, he said, the administration is likely to use the metrics to create performance standards that will affect everyone at UNL.
Physics professor Tim Gay said, “I would hope that any committee that we set up would come up with a conclusion that the money spent to hire administrators to come up with the sort of AI slop these metrics are, would be better spent trying to A, not fire faculty who aredoing the university’s job, and B, maybe hire more faculty to increase these kinds of metrics.”
The lack of an explanation of how the metrics will be used was a problem for L.J. McElravy of the agricultural leadership, education and communication department. The absence of such an explanation only further erodes faculty trust in the administration, he said.
Among the metrics that raise questions are the ones calling for increasing the artificial-intelligence components in undergraduate courses and increasing the number of undergraduate programs that can be completed entirely online. No rationale is offered for increasing artificial-intelligence components. As for expanding online degree programs, Aaron PeeksMease of the sociology department said that seems to conflict with the goal of promoting extraordinary teaching.
“I haven’t seen any literature whatsoever showing online teaching is a superior form of teaching compared to in-person teaching,” PeeksMease said. “The idea of building relationships with students has been shown to be effective and important, and that is much more difficult to do online.”
Others noted that the metrics call for increases in book publications and publication citations per faculty member. But publication of journal articles is omitted, and there is no discussion of creative activities that produce neither books nor journal articles.
Steve Kolbe of the Johnny Carson School of Theater and Film said: “Another egregious thing that’s in here—and this affects mostly myself, but any of my colleagues that are in either the arts or journalism or architecture or humanities—there is no mention of creative activity in here other than a headline. It all goes on research dollars.”
After discussion, the resolution to create the committee passed with only a few opposing voted.
Jennifer Nelson, the interim vice chancellor for research and innovation, delivered an update to the Senate on the outlook for federal research funding and other matters.
Although President Donald Trump proposed massive cuts in federal funding for research, Congress did not go along. As a result, Nelson said, federal research funding in most areas for the fiscal year remains about flat. That is also true for the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities, she said. Although the agencies have money to fund research, many have fewer staff members to process grants, she said, so the process of getting grant proposals reviewed is taking longer.
Nelson also reviewed research proposals, awards and spending for UNL. Proposals are up 18 percent for this academic year, she said. Awards and spending are down, however, reflecting the slower processing of grant applications.
The most recent Higher Education Research and Development survey, which includes the second year UNL and UNMC have submitted a combined report on research expenditures, ranks the university 55th in the United States, Nelson said. The rankings are for all universities and colleges in the nation. The ranking marks a major increase for both campuses from where they were ranked before submitting a combined report. Nelson said both campuses had been ranked between 80th and 110th.
Also, Nelson said the fiscal 2025 numbers showed UNL would surpass $400 million in research expenditures, for the first time. She said she expected the final total to be around $410 million.
Although the two campuses are submitting combined reports on research expenditures, Nelson said no plans exist for combining the two research offices. “There’s been no directive around some sort of combining,” she said. “But we are just trying to learn from one another. What strengths do we have that might be helpful at the med center? What strengths do they have?”
In other business, the Senate:
- Heard a report from the Teaching Council. Cynthia Cress, the chair of the council and an associate professor in special education and communication disorders, said the council was discussing reviving the Century Club, a forum for teachers of large classes to share ideas.
- Approved a change to Senate rules to allow for electronic voting. The new rule allows the president to call for an electronic vote or for the members to call for such a vote on a motion by a member. It also says an electronic vote taken by a system that provides a specific count will constitute a division of the assembly. Where the system is used for a secret vote, the result will be considered final unless the Senate votes to retake the vote by paper ballot.
