STATE BOARD OF REGENTS
DIXIE STATE UNIVERSITY, ST.GEORGE UTAH
GARDNER CENTER
FRIDAY, APRIL 1, 2016

COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE

MINUTES

Office of the Commissioner
David L. Buhler, Commissioner of Higher Education
Elizabeth Hitch, Associate Commissioner for Academic Affairs
Kimberley L. Henrie, Associate Commissioner for Finance & Facilities

Institutional Presidents Present
David W. Pershing, University of Utah
Noelle Cockett for Stan L/ Albrecht, Utat State University
Scott L Wyatt, Southern Utah University
Gary L. Carlston, Snow College
Matthew S. Holland, Utah Valley University
Richard B. Williams, Dixie State University
Deneece G. Huftalin, Salt Lake Community College
Charles Wight, Weber State University

Other Commissioner’s Office and institutional personnel were also present. The signed role is on file in the Commissioner’s Office.

Chair Campbell called the meeting to order at 1:00 p.m. Chair Campbell excused the Regents who were absent and thanked those present, then turned the time over to President Williams for his State of the University.

State of the University
President Williams shared some of the great things going on at Dixie State University (DSU), summarizing the work by saying “We are building a university”. He recognized new employees at DSU and then shared a few data points. DSU continues to grow with an increase in admissions, receiving over 14,000 applicants and almost 8000 completing the admissions process. President Williams stated he believes part of the growth is attributed to DSU being the most affordable institution in the state of Utah and competitive with national peers. DSU’s goal is to have the highest quality of education while keeping the costs as affordable as possible. He then shared some of the highlights: recognizing Chris Gifford as the Utah Advisor of the year; Kathy Cieslewica received the Governor’s Leadership in Arts Award; David Roos and Michael Olsen received the Alan E. Hall Innovation for Undergraduate Student Success Award; DSU employees holding the positions of President, President Elect and Secretary of UHESA; DSU was honored this year as being in the Top 50 Safest Colleges; student Krissia Beatty won the title of Miss Utah 2015; DECA students won 44.8% of the Gold, Silver and Bronze awards; received a $1.25 million grant each from Stanford and Dixie Regional Medical Center for students to study Genomics and learn how to do research at Stanford; DSU named affiliate volunteer group of the year of Habitat for Humanity of Southwest Utah; former DSU student Christian Jensen won the 2015 DocUtah Raven award; Kris “Tanto” Paronto shared experiences from Benghazi; Dr. Erin O’Brien and Kelly Bringhurst received a $160,000 grant for the Diverse Outdoor Leadership Institute; students donated over 1200 hours in Antigua; 40 DSU Dental Hygiene students participated in Give Kids A Smile Project; degrees and certificates have increased over the last 10 years to about 150 programs; Dr. Carole Grady received the Community Engagement Award, Student Organization-Nursing Student Association; DSU commended for the 5th straight year for exceptional pass rate by the National Board for Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting; the new Dance program has 25 majors; the Music Department received accreditation by the National Association of Schools of Music; the Department of Education received their 7-year renewal without any citations; the Exercise Science Department started in January and has 35 students; they are moving forward with the partnership programs with the University of Utah; last year DSU won championships in baseball, softball, men’s basketball and men’s golf; DSU is the 3-time PacWest Community Engagement Winner, 3-time Winner of the NCAA Community Engagement Award; new on-campus housing is on-time and will be completed in August; the Burns Arena addition is now complete; the DSU 2020 Strategic Goals include Promote Student Success, Broaden and Enhance Academic Programs, Invest in Faculty and Staff, Enhance Support for Inclusion and Equity, Engage the Southern Utah Region and Establish Strong Brand and identity for the university; and lastly is all about the students.

Chair Campbell expressed his appreciation and thanked President Williams for his presentation. Chair Campbell turn to Vice-chair Davis to read resolutions.

Resolutions
Vice-chair Davis read the resolution for Senator Stephen H. Urquhart and moved to adopt the resolution, seconded by Regent Zenger and the motion passed.

Chair Campbell read the resolution for Regent Jefferson Moss, Vice-chair Davis moved to adopt, the motion was seconded by Regent Stoddard and the motion passed.

General Consent Calendar TAB Y
Chair Campbell asked for a motion to approve, Regent Zenger motioned to approve and was seconded by Regent Simmons; the following items were approved on the Regents’ General Consent Calendar:
A. Minutes – Minutes of Board meetings January 22, 2016, University of Utah and February 9, 2016 (Executive Committee Meeting conference call).
B. Grant Proposals
C. Awards
D. Academic Items Received and Approved

Reports of Board Committees

Academic and Student Affairs Committee

Regent Prince noted they considered four proposals for new programs and would like to combine them into one motion. They were impressed that all four programs fulfill a need in the state and commended the institutions for their work. He also noted these were approved unanimously in committee.
University of Utah – Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Science in Recreational Therapy (TAB A)
Utah State University – Associate of Science in Agricultural Science (TAB B)
Utah State University – Executive Master of Accounting (EMAcc) (TAB C)
Dixie State University – Associate of Applied Science in Surgical Technology (TAB D)
Regent Prince motioned to approve as outlined in TABs A, B, C, D, the motion was seconded by Regent Theurer and the motion carried.

New Century and Regents’ Scholarship Award Amounts for 2016-17 (TAB E)
Regent Prince noted amounts proposed are, New Century received $1250.00 per semester, Regents’ base award $1000.00 one-time, Regents’ exemplary award $1250.00 per semester, Regents’ UESP Savings match of up to $400.00 one-time. This was unanimously approved in committee and moved to approve as outlined in TAB E, the motion was seconded by Regent Stoddard and the motion carried.

Revision of Policy R604, Configuration of the Utah System of Higher Education Institutional Missions and Roles (UU mission changes) (TAB F)
Revision of Policy R604, New Century Scholarship and Policy R609, Regents’ Scholarship (TAB G)
Regent Prince noted these two items are for revision of policies and were unanimously approved in committee and moved to approve, the motion was seconded by Regent Theurer and the motion carried.

Regent Prince noted the last three items were information only.
Yearly Review (2nd Year) Southern Utah University – Associate of Applied Science in Aerospace/Aviation Technology (TAB H)
Institutional Completion Update: Dixie State University (TAB I)
Report on Utah Higher Education Staff Association Completion Initiative: bff(Bring a Friend to Finish – Return, Learn and Earn) (TAB J)

Finance/Facilities Committee

Dixie State University – Campus Master Plan Approval (TAB K)
Bob Marquardt noted that most elements were covered by President Williams so he won’t go into further detail. Regent Marquardt motioned to approve as outlined in TAB K, the motion was seconded by Regent Barnes and the motion carried.

Southern Utah University – Series 2016 Refunding Bond Issue (TAB L)
Regent Marquardt noted this will be a savings of about 1 million and was approved in committee. Regent Marquardt moved to approve as outlined in TAB L, the motion was seconded by Regent Simmons and the motion carried.

Southern Utah University – Property Exchange and Long-Term Lease for Student Housing (TAB M)
Regent Marquardt noted SUU would trade three parcels totaling about one acre for 2 parcels of about .2 acres each. The difference in the appraisal is $38,000, SUU would pay the foundation $38,000, resulting in a significant increase in housing. Regent Marquardt moved to approve as outlined in TAB M, the motion was seconded by Regent Barnes and the motion carried.

Southern Utah University – Request for approval to create the position of General Counsel (TAB N)
Regent Marquardt noted this is a part time position. Regent Marquardt moved to approve as outlined in TAB N, the motion was seconded by Regent Anderson and the motion carried.

University of Utah – Series 2016A General Revenue and Refunding Bond (TAB O)
Regent Marquardt noted this was an update report. This is information only and no action is necessary.

Utah State University – Property Acquisition (TAB P)
Regent Marquardt noted this was a purchase below the amount that would be required to have Regent approval; this is information only and no action is needed.

USHE – Spring 2016 Third-Week Enrollment Report (TAB Q)
Regent Marquardt noted an increase of 1,992 new students in the system, which is an increase of 1.33%. The most significant increases were at SUU and Snow and the only institution with a noticeable decrease is SLCC with a 6.65% decline; which is attributable primarily to the economy. This is an information item and no action is necessary.

USHE – Fall 2015 End-of-Term Enrollment Report (TAB R)
Regent Marquardt noted they looked at how the end of semester numbers compared to the third-week. There was an additional 4,368 students. This is information only and no action is necessary.

USHE – Annual Money Management Report for the Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 2015 (TAB S)
Regent Marquardt noted the total endowment investments throughout the system are $1.3 billion. The foundation investments total $3.9 million and other investments total $2.4 million. This is information only and no action is necessary.

USHE – Debt Ratio Analysis (TAB T)
Regent Marquardt noted this has been particularly helpful over the last few years to see the overall debt the institutions are taking on. Below the viability standard of 1.0% were Snow and Dixie. Snow was because of booking retirement liabilities required by accounting standard; and Dixie fell due to some accounting transactions recorded related to student housing revenue bonds recorded at the end of the year, which is really just a timing issue. Snow is the institution that we should continue to watch, but they’re all in good shape. This is information only and no action is necessary.

USHE – Capital Facilities Update for 2016-17 (TAB V)
This is information only and no action is necessary.

Regent Marquardt noted he would defer the remaining items to Commissioner Buhler and this was the end of his report.

Appointment of Board Treasurer (TAB Z)
Commissioner Buhler noted the board is required to appoint a Board Treasurer and his recommendation is to appoint Dr. Kimberly L. Henrie who is the new Associate Commissioner for Finance & Facilities as the Board Treasurer. Regent Marquardt moved to approve, the motion was seconded by Regent Stoddard and the motion carried.

Legislative Session Report and Budget Update (TAB U)
Commissioner Buhler reported each President had the opportunity to report to the Higher Education Sub-Committee efficiencies they had implemented and this gave the committee confidence where they did not feel like they needed to recommend any reallocations to the base budget. There were a number of big items for funding outside of higher education. 54% of the new state funding went to K-12. This year we tracked over 80 pieces of legislation, with 22 of particular interest. Of the 22, 12 were opposed by higher education. Of note, amendments were made to concurrent enrollment, capital facilities, USTAR, UESP, State Board of Education approval, and Interstate Reciprocity Agreement for Distance Ed. He noted other legislation passed included a joint resolution honoring UVU. Senator Urquhart’s capital facilities ran into problems and didn’t pass. There were several pieces that could have been detrimental if passed but did not and included; remove education funding from USHE budget, reduced requirements of Regents’ Scholarship, Legislative mandate to award academic credit, prohibit state agencies & higher ed from interacting with legislators, unfunded right to sue for any allegations of free speech violations and gainful employment reporting for all academic program. Commissioner Buhler reviewed the increase in state tax revenues and historical increases. He noted the USHE priorities partially funded were Compensation at 2%, Health Insurance $7,363,100, Market Demand Programs $5,000,000, Performance Based Funding $5,000,000 one-time and Regents’ Scholarship $8,800,000 one-time. USHE priorities not funded included Access and Affordability and Statewide Programs (enhanced cyber security). Other legislative funding included; UU & DSU Healthcare Partnership $1,500,000, WSU Student Athlete Graduation Program $1,300,000, USU Water Conservation and Research $950,000, UU Accelerated Foreign Language Courses $300,000, USU Uintah Basin Air Quality Research $1,200,000, SLCC Credit Education for Prisoners $200,000, DSU Washington County Tech Pipeline $150,000, and SUU K-16 Technology $150,000. In Capital Development we had four projects funded. Next steps we will be working on include math/concurrent enrollment implementation, free speech/harassment/assault, and longitudinal data. Commissioner Buhler thanked the members of the Board of Regents for their support this session, the Presidents and noted how powerful it is to hear from them, institutional staff and the commissioner’s staff for their efforts and legislative staff who work closely with us. Chair Campbell expressed his appreciation for the tireless work that took place during the legislative session. This is information only and no action is necessary.

USHE – Tuition Increases for 2016-17 (TAB W)
Commissioner Buhler noted part of the increase this year is to match the compensation increase we received from the legislature and the rest of the increase proposed is to meet critical needs at our institutions. The recommendation is a 3.5% 1st-tier increase. Each institution has the opportunity to recommend a 2nd-tier increase, and this year two institutions have requested this; 0.4% 2nd-tier increase at UU and 1.5% 2nd-tier increase at DSU. Institutions can also request differential tuition which may be used for specific programs. Commissioner Buhler expressed his appreciation to the Presidents for working diligently to keep costs down. Regent Zenger motioned to approve as outlined in TAB W, the motion was seconded by Regent Barnes and the motion carried.

USHE – Fee Increases for 2016-17 (TAB X)
Commissioner Buhler noted UVU has been making an effort to decrease fees. Most of the fee increases are less than tuition increases. Regent Anderson motioned to approved as outlined in TAB X, the motion was seconded by Regent Simmons and the motion carried.

Chair Campbell noted that this concluded the business part of the meeting and turned the time over to President Huftalin. President Huftalin announced the SLCC Bruins won the basketball championship. The most valuable player of the tournament is headed to UVU next year and the best three point shooter is going to UU.

It was moved by Regent Stoddard and seconded by Regent Davis to meet in Executive Session for the sole purpose of discussing the character, professional competence, or physical or mental health of individuals. The motion carried.

The Board of Regents met in Executive Session until 3:30 p.m.