Eastern Oregon University

Tech-Fee Committee Minutes

April 27, 2006

Members Present:  Frederick Pratter, Anna Cavinato, Linda Fratzke, Steffany Long, Bryan Pearson, Darren Hendrickson, Stephen Kalb (ASEOU Student Representative)

Resource Members Present:  Paul Rowan, Mike Sirrine, Anna Maria Dill, Shirley Roberts

Guests:  Kerry Loewen, Kat Galloway

Minutes:

Tech Fee Committee met on this date at 7:00 am in Pierce Library.

The minutes from April 20, 2006 were approved as amended.

The following agenda was approved for the remaining Tech Fee Committee meetings this academic year.

• Student’s suggestions for proposal procedures and criteria
• Re-evaluate guidelines and mandates
• Salaries paid for by Tech Fee (Interlibrary Loan – Discipline Specific Lab Aides)
• Consumables (Printer Toner) paid for by Tech Fee

Stephen, Frederick and Helen agreed to serve on a sub-committee to prepare a presentation for the next Assembly Meeting on June 6, 2006.  The presentation will cover timelines, procedures and criteria for submitting Tech Fee proposals as well as the process for submitting the required project completion report.

The committee discussed salaries paid for by Tech Fee (General Purpose Lab Aides - Interlibrary Loan – Discipline Specific Lab Aides), and consumables (printer toner) paid for by Tech Fee.  Helen reported that she had discussed the issue briefly with Provost Miller and he stated that there was absolutely no other budget available to pay for these items if Tech Fee did not. 

A major concern regarding the printer toner is that printers (especially color printers) in some of the discipline specific labs are not well monitored and are being heavily used for non-academic purposes.  It was argued that departments would more carefully monitor the use of the printers if they were responsible for paying for the toner.  Kerry Loewen and Kat Galloway both spoke of the hardships that their departments and students would experience if the cost of toner for the printers in their labs were shifted to the College of Arts and Sciences.  They explained that all costs would have to be passed on to the students in the form of additional lab fees and that it would be the 2007-2008 academic year before any new fees could be put in place.  After further discussion a motion was approved to have Tech Fee continue to pay for the toner in all Tech Fee printers currently in operation.  However, the Tech Fee would not pay for toner for Tech Fee printers in discipline specific areas purchased after this academic year.

Discussion began on salaries paid from the Tech Fee.  It was noted that Tech Fee currently pays 100% of the salary for a half-time classified employee in the Library and student employees in the majority of Tech Fee funded labs on campus with the exception of the Ackerman and Pierce general purpose labs.  Currently, the IT Department pays 30% of the lab aid salaries in these two labs.  Helen requested that the committee consider fully funding the lab aid salaries for all general-purpose labs out of Tech Fee.  Shirley was asked to explain the half-time classified position in the Library.  Shirley explained that this position was originally funded in 1999 to allow DDE students the same access to interlibrary loan as on-campus student have.  She confirmed that without this position, off-campus students would still have very limited access to interlibrary loan resources.  She also stressed that there is no money in the library budget to fund this position.  Helen explained that under the classified staff collective bargaining contract, the position could not be eliminated as a classified staff position and recreated as a student position.  The duties currently being performed by that position must continue to be performed by a classified position or the duties must be eliminated. 

Discussion will continue at the next meeting.

Due to several members being unavailable for a meeting on May 4, the next meeting is scheduled for May 11, 2006, 7:00am in the Library conference room

Minutes submitted by Helen Moore.