CAMERON UNIVERSITY
LONG-RANGE PLANNING COMMITTEE
APPROVED MINUTES
February 16, 2009
I. CALL TO ORDER
The Cameron University Long-Range Planning Committee met on Monday, February 16, 2009.
Chair Mary Penick called the meeting to order at 3:30 p.m. in Room 104 of the Student Union.
II. ROLL CALL
Present: Syed Ahmed, David Fennema, Courtney Glazer, James Heflin, John Hodgson,
Chris Keller, Monika Linehan. Chair Mary Penick presided. Also in attendance was
Vice President John McArthur.
Absent: Carla Guthridge, Anton Wohlers.
III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Committee members reviewed the minutes of the December 8, 2008 meeting. James Heflin moved
that the minutes of the December 8, 2008 meeting be approved as printed. John Hodgson
seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously.
IV. NEW BUSINESS
Chair Penick welcomed Vice President of Academic Affairs John McArthur and stated that he would
speak to the Committee regarding faculty staffing at Cameron University.
Vice President McArthur distributed a packet of information providing data on the following:
 Proportion of instruction
 Delivery level
 Delivery formats
 Disciplinary variety requirements
 Enrollment
 Projected turnover rates in faculty
 Hiring demands by region
 Salary
 Summer staffing.
He proceeded to discuss each of the topics above in detail.
Proportion of instruction. Vice President McArthur described how we staff our institution and our
percentage of tenured/tenure track, non-tenure track, and adjunct faculty, referring to the handouts
on adjunct usage at Cameron and nationally. He noted that we look at other universities to
determine whether to use full-time or adjunct faculty to teach. We determine if we are in line with
other universities, and if not, is there a reason.
Delivery level. Vice President McArthur stated that delivery level fell into four categories: remedial,
lower, upper, and graduate. Each requires different staffing needs. He explained that accreditation
requirements state that faculty with a bachelor’s degree may only teach remedial courses or those
required for an associate’s degree. All courses leading to a bachelor’s or a master’s degree must
be taught by faculty with a terminal degree in their field.
Delivery formats. Vice President McArthur explained that delivery of instruction varies by
department. Some departments, such as Agriculture, use few adjunct faculty, while others, such as
Mathematics, employ many. Currently, adjunct faculty teach fewer than 20 percent of all Cameron
courses, amounting to approximately 250 individuals. Regular faculty are more likely to teach online
and ITV courses because of the supervisory nature of the position. However, the Duncan campus
has too many adjuncts and no dedicated full-time faculty, with many courses offered through ITV.
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The Duncan campus also lacks onsite academic advising. Vice President McArthur included in
Cameron’s Academic Plan the addition of full-time Math and English faculty at the Duncan campus.
Disciplinary variety requirements. Vice President McArthur explained that in order to provide
adequate breadth and a reasonable academic experience in some disciplines, a certain minimum
number of faculty may be required. For example, Physics has six branches, requiring one faculty
member with a doctorate in each. However, we only have one faculty with a doctorate in
Theoretical and Experimental Physics to teach all branches. Furthermore, in Agriculture, we have
five doctorates, while OSU has 75 for the same program.
Cameron uses the ADCP course-sharing model as an option to provide additional expertise. This
model allows us to share faculty with other universities when we do not have enough enrollment in
a certain area. Course sharing is used in Foreign Languages, Political Science, Economics,
Geography, and Physics.
A disadvantage of disciplinary variety requirements is that they often make it difficult for Department
Chairs to put up for tenure someone who duplicates the expertise of another faculty member.
Enrollment. Referring to data table 4 in the handout, Vice President McArthur noted the
differences in service and major courses. Service courses are comprised of remedial and general
education courses and major courses are those required by the major concentration. Service
courses make up a majority of student credit hours (SCH). The number of SCH generated does not
necessarily correlate with the number of graduates in a department. For instance, Agriculture has
double-digit graduates each year, but few SCH. Earth Science was actually moved into Agriculture
so the department would have a service course. On the other hand, Mathematics has few
graduates, but generates a very large number of SCH due to remedial and general education math
requirements.
Projected turnover rates in faculty. Vice President McArthur explained that the projected faculty
turnover rate is determined by reviewing the dates of hire and age of the faculty. He noted that the
Rule of 80 made it financially beneficial for faculty to retire. However, faculty under the Rule of 90
may find it more beneficial to postpone retirement. He predicted that the average retiree will
postpone retirement for three years due to the current state of retirement investments. This could
present a problem if all retire at the same time at the end of three years. He also added that when
faculty retire in a department where the position is deemed unnecessary, the position may be left
open or filled in another area.
Hiring demands for region. Because we are a state institution, Cameron steers students into
majors that our state hires. Vice President McArthur emphasized that we offer very few programs
where there is not a steady job market in the region. Businesses in the region directly affect our
programs. For example, when Halliburton left Duncan, our chemistry program declined. He also
noted that Ft. Sill helps Cameron by adding variety to our student course requirements, thereby
effecting how we staff.
Salary. Vice President McArthur explained that College and University Professional Association
(CUPA) targets along with OSRHE data from annual salary surveys are used to establish
Cameron’s salary guidelines. He clarified that the salary numbers supplied on the handouts are
averages and do not include benefits. Our salaries are determined by comparisons with Oklahoma
regionals (our peer group), but we also make comparisons to aspirational peer institutions (those
that are larger and we want to be like). Cameron compared its salaries to institutions across the
country that are similar, such as Southern Oregon, Southern Utah, and Columbus State.
Furthermore, through program reviews, Department Chairs are asked to identify other departments
that are similar and they want to be like. Vice President McArthur emphasized that our salaries are
not high in any area and that senior high school teachers and career tech instructors earn more
than some Cameron professors.
David Fennema inquired whether credit hour production affects a professor’s salary. Vice President
McArthur responded that money goes to where it is needed, causing some areas to suffer
(e.g., Philosophy) but linking credit hour production to salary would put negative pressure on
professors to have large class sizes, when class sizes should not become larger. Larger class sizes
would have negative effects on classroom teaching, such as professors replacing essays with
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multiple choice exams. Currently, the least paid faculty members (instructors) generate the most
credit hours. It was stated that many general education classes, particularly English and Math, have
50 or more students, making them difficult to teach. Vice President McArthur agreed that there is a
need for more English and Math classes. He was asked what would be an effective class size that
would allow a professor to teach and not lecture, since there should exist back and forth
communication between teacher and student. He responded that the limit to class size largely
depends on available facilities and the Fire Marshall. For online classes, policy sets the limit at 40
students. He also mentioned that class sizes are increasing in business and psychology courses.
Vice President McArthur stated that Cameron has difficulty keeping faculty when salaries are only
raised by $500 for promotions. Statewide, the average raise for promotion is $4,000 to $6,000.
Currently, Cameron has several positions open and is one of few institutions hiring, largely due to
the fact that Oklahoma has not been as hard hit by the economic downturn. Vice President
McArthur stated that Cameron’s intermediate goal is to become competitive at the entry level.
When asked about the loss of TIAA-CREF retirement options, he explained the decision was made
because of new tax laws and agreed that this loss puts Cameron at a disadvantage when hiring
new faculty. He continued by explaining that salary distribution is an important factor in who we
hire. Cameron requires $75,000 to $100,000 to hire a business professor, while $42,000 is still
acceptable in other disciplines as there are people willing to accept positions at this salary. He also
noted that cost of living does not factor into whether people accept positions at Cameron.
Summer staffing. Vice President McArthur provided a handout on summer productivity data from
2005 to 2008 and explained that 100% of the summer budget goes toward personnel.
Procedure for determining line availability. Next Vice President McArthur discussed the
procedure used for moving available positions among schools and departments.
 First, Department Chairs capture and prioritize the wishes for faculty needs and recommend
these needs to the Dean.
 The Dean then prioritizes these recommendations. He determines which can be supported by
internal reallocation between departments and which require new funds. He then makes his
recommendations to the VPAA.
 The VPAA prioritizes the Deans’ recommendations and determines which can be supported by
internal reallocation between Schools and which require new funds. He, in turn, makes his
recommendations to the President and VPBF.
 New positions are then approved for advertising.
This year 60 requests for positions were brought before the VPAA. After prioritizing them, checking
the budget, enrollment, and vacancies, he approved 25 positions. Vice President McArthur stressed
that the budget will be tight for the next three years. He emphasized, above all, student learning will
remain a top priority and determine hiring decisions. Cameron must continue to produce graduates
that southwest Oklahoma needs. On the upside, he noted that Cameron retained more freshmen
from the first to the second semester this year than before. In closing, Vice President McArthur
stated that Cameron is a “big ship” that doesn’t change direction quickly. Staffing changes are
made through attrition as faculty retire, find other opportunities, or move on.
Chair Penick stated that Vice President McArthur had answered the Committee’s questions
regarding planning and growth. She thanked Vice President McArthur for attending our meeting.
V. ADJOURNMENT
Syed Ahmed moved to adjourn the meeting. John Hodgson seconded the motion. The meeting was
adjourned at 4:30 p.m.
VI. NEXT MEETING
The Long-Range Planning Committee will meet again on Monday, March 9, 2009 at 3:30 p.m. in
Room 104 of the Student Union.
Respectfully submitted,
Monika Linehan
Secretary, Long-Range Planning Committee
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