The Post is covering today's committee meetings, where OU's Board of Trustees discuss resolutions to be voted on at tomorrow.
Ohio University's Board of Trustees are convening today in Walter Hall for committee meetings, where trustees will discuss plans for the university's future.
OU's Comprehensive Master Plan, construction budgets and fee increases will all be considered at the meetings. At Friday's meeting, the trustees will vote on the resolutions discussed today.
The Post is covering the meetings throughout the day, so check back later for more updates.
Joint Academics and Resources Committee
The Board of Trustees discussed a plan for the university’s next 10 years, accreditation and potential fees during the joint academics and resources committee meeting, the first of this week’s meetings.
OU President Roderick McDavis called the Comprehensive Master Plan for the next 10 years the “centerpiece” of today and tomorrow’s board meetings in Walter Hall.
Shawna Bolin, director of University Planning and Space Management, presented the final draft of the master plan, which she said serves as the vision for the university.
“This is a visioning document that is trying to create a vision but also determine what can be achieved,” Bolin said. “Not everything you see in the master plan can move forward tomorrow.”
Some of the projects in the plan include the possible relocation of OU’s Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine to West Union Street, building renovations and renovation of The Ridges.
“It’s not something we need to be afraid of because we’re not spending a bunch of resources tomorrow,” Trustee Janetta King said.
Bolin also discussed plans to renovate Clippinger, Seigfred and Ellis halls that officials intend to bring to the board’s June meeting.
The potential renovation of Clippinger Hall will add about 80,000 square feet in the first phase of the plan for the building's renovations. The addition would cost about $43 million, and officials hope it would be completed within three years.
The board will vote tomorrow on approving the master plan.
Along with the Athens campus master plan, the board examined a master plan for the Dublin campus, which currently houses a branch of OU-HCOM.
“We have opportunities there that we don’t have in Athens,” Executive Vice President and Provost Pam Benoit said of the Dublin campus. “So why don’t we take advantage of that?”
The board also celebrated the university’s accreditation through the Academic Quality Improvement Program, or AQIP, which Chair Sandra Anderson described as “work that has been completed with a happy ending.”
After AQIP conducted inspections of the university over the course of 40 meetings in November, the program concluded that OU meets the necessary criteria and will not be due for further accreditation until 2025.
Trustees also heard a presentation about fee increases. The board will vote to approve a 3.5 percent tuition and fee increase for OU-HCOM students.
They also discussed the Governor's Task Force on Affordability and Efficiency and plans to maintain the budget.
{{tncms-asset app="editorial" id="8970ec08-e607-11e5-adb8-f369d96058cc"}}
Academics Committee
The board’s academics committee discussed enrollment, the university’s college rankings and accreditation.
Executive Vice President and Provost Pam Benoit introduced Craig Bantz, the Office of Information Technology’s new chief information officer, who discussed the university’s IT system.
OIT is working on two projects including a change in the network and the expansion of the capacity of the Learning Management System, which is online learning software.
“We added 17,000 new devices, and in response to that, our network suffered,” Bantz said. “In six weeks, we rebuilt our network … last time it took two years.”
Bantz said he and his team have been sharing what they’re doing following IT issues fall semester, so everyone knows what’s going on.
Craig Cornell, senior vice provost for Strategic Enrollment Management, discussed enrollment changes between Fall and Spring Semester.
“Fall to spring persistence is something we’re starting to look at and talk more about,” Cornell said.
For all new first-year students, about 94 percent remained at OU between Fall and Spring Semester this year. That number is up more than 2 percent compared to last year.
Cornell also said OU has been down about 400 applicants in comparison to last year.
“Quality is almost dead-on with last year,” he said. “We’re lining up well with the freshman students at this point in time.”
The board also heard a presentation on OU’s U.S. News & World Report rankings.
The university ranked 135th overall and 68th among public universities. OU is down six places overall and down five places among public universities compared to last year.
Resources Committee
Trustees discussed upcoming renovations to Jefferson Hall during Thursday’s resources committee meeting.
The approximately $40 million renovation of Jefferson Hall is set to include a new market, academic center and a revamped dorm rooms.
An evaluator will be installed in the residence hall and housing hopes to keep the bed count high, Pete Trentacoste, executive director of Housing and Residence Life, said.
Trentacoste said he hopes to implement another “living learning center” for East Green in Jefferson.
The building’s dining venue will include a coffee bar, New York-style deli, demonstration kitchen and will engage the “large residential off-campus community,” Gwyn Scott, associate vice president for Culinary Services, said.
The main entrance and the north entrance will be made ADA accessible, as the south entrance is already ADA accessible, Joe Lalley, senior associate vice president of technologies, said.
A “busy construction season” will take place this summer at OU, with construction project budgets totaling $49.8 million, Lalley said.
The board discussed budget requests for several construction projects, including plans to replace Copeland Hall’s chiller, upgrade Crawford Hall’s electrical and fire system, renovate James Hall and renovate West 82 in Baker Center.
Roof construction will also take place this summer and extended into Fall Semester on Alden Library, Clippinger Laboratories and Seigfred Hall.
The resources committee passed OU’s Comprehensive Master Plan, which will be voted on at tomorrow’s meeting.
The committee also discussed fee renewal for the 2017 fiscal year, the university’s endowment and investment policies.
Audit Committee
The Board of Trustees’ audit committee discussed how certain areas on campus are not protected by HIPAA, a federal act that protects private health records, at Thursday’s meeting.
Jeff Davis, CPA, said Ohio University is a hybrid entity, which means the university is fiscally transparent for U.S. tax purposes. Due to that, certain components of HIPAA are covered, but not all of them are. The HIPAA compliance initiative is being run by the Legal Affairs Office, where outside counsel has been contacted to perform a HIPAA assessment.
The audit meeting members did not say which parts of campus aren’t protected by HIPAA but should be. They did, however, say they would be looking at the Cleveland and Dublin campuses to ensure HIPAA compliance.
“Noncompliance with HIPAA regulations can result in significant fines and penalties,” the powerpoint presentation from the meeting stated.
A second compliance initiative the committee discussed was security of credit card sites on campus.
The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard will look to ensure that all organizations on campus that deal with credit card information maintain that information in a secure environment, according to the presentation.
There are 60 different areas across campus that accept credit cards, Davis said. He added that the initiative is led by the university bursar’s office, as well as an external consultant, RSM from Columbus, that’s been hired.
RSM will help complete a self assessment required by the payment card standard, assist with developing policies and other documents required to be in compliance, and help with an annual analysis of whether or not OU is meeting its business requirements, according to the presentation.
“Noncompliance with PCI DSS can result in significant fines and penalties,” the presentation read.
The meeting closed with a few construction audit updates.
Among others, the McCracken Hall construction audit was approved, the Jefferson Hall construction audit was approved, and the performance contract audit is ongoing.
The committee asked if audits have ever been done on these two sections. Davis said they have, but not to this extent.
Governance Committee
The Board of Trustees’ governance committee met and discussed internal topics, including a Faculty Senate resolution needing their approval and a search for a future student trustee.
Members heard from Beth Quitslund, the Faculty Senate chair, about a resolution that alters the body’s constitution, and therefore, needs the Board’s approval.
The resolution, if passed by the board, would add eight seats in senate for group two and clinical tracks of faculty that aren’t on a tenured track, Quitslund said.
“I’m incredibly supportive of this,” Janelle Simmons, the Governance Committee chair, said. “It’s a demonstration of inclusiveness.”
Quitslund added that the resolution passed through senate with one opposing vote and through the faculty at-large “overwhelmingly.”
The board also discussed the current search for a new student trustee.
Jenny Hall-Jones, interim vice president for Student Affairs and dean of students, told the board that 17 students applied for the position, which was the highest number of applicants in a while. She added that five students — one freshman and four sophomores — have moved on in the process and have been interviewed in Columbus.
“(The student trustee candidates) represented Ohio University wonderfully,” Hall-Jones added about the group’s trip to Columbus.
Quitslund also added that Faculty Senate had input in choosing candidates this year after changes to the application process.
“(It was) absolutely lovely (meeting students),” she added. “It was very nice to have some voice in (choosing).”
Simmons added that the board looks forward to finding out who the new trustee will be.
The board also spoke about ethics training, future board elections, the format of board meeting, the 2016 board retreat and board documentation.
—Kaitlin Coward, Julia Fair, Lauren Fisher, Megan Henry and Madeleine Peck contributed to this report.
This is an ongoing story. Check back for more updates about the Board of Trustees' committee meetings throughout the day.
