Chair S Report to the Faculty Senate Steering Committee, February 12, 2013

Chair’s Report to the Faculty Senate Steering Committee, February 12, 2013

Congratulations to the FIU’s Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine which has been granted full accreditation. The announcement comes as the Wertheim College of Medicine graduates its first class of students this spring, who are now eligible for medical residency programs.

The Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) awarded full accreditation today,2/7/13, saying the College of Medicine had met all of the required steps to become a full-fledged medical school.

FIU President Mark B. Rosenberg said, “This is the most important milestone in the history of our College of Medicine and one of the most significant moments in the history of FIU.”

This spring, the Wertheim College of Medicine will graduate its inaugural class of 33 students. Interviews are currently under way for its fifth class: 120 physician candidates will be chosen from 3,946 applicants.

The LCME is the nationally-recognized accrediting authority for medical education programs leading to the M.D. degree in U.S. and Canadian medical schools. All state licensing boards in the United States require graduation from an LCME-accredited school to be eligible for licensure as an allopathic physician.

The gen Ed revisions continue. The Board of Governors is collecting data that may lead to changes to the law through the use of a “glitch bill”. There is currently no legislation before the House to effect changes.

However, the law makes exceptions to the 120 credit hour requirement. Section 8.014 allows the Board of Governors to approve request for variations based on the following:

(a) Additional courses are required to meet specialized accreditation standards for program content and such accreditation is expected or required for program graduates to become employed in the profession for which they are being prepared (e.g. Engineering, Architecture); or

(b) Additional courses are required to meet state or federal mandated criteria for professional licensing (e.g., Teacher Education).

(c) The degree program offers a unique and innovative learning experience, such as honors programs, individualized study, and other non- traditional approaches to education.

As you may be aware,Gov. Rick Scott has announced his budget for the next fiscal year. While there was great fanfare on the restoration of the $300m that was restored to the system, on close observation, it appears to be a line item in the budget and not the total restoration promised. There was no mention of the $118m that would have requested to allow Universities to defer tuition increases. Instead the budget is broken down as follows:

$118m for base funding
$167 for Outcome Based Performance
$15m as the second year of the Information Technology Performance Funding pilot.

This is subject to approval by the House.

I have attached a list of other expenditures that were included in the Governors budget.

At the Advisory Council of Faculty Senates on February 1st, the discussions ranged from Gen Ed to the Budget. A remarkable presentation was made by Susan Pareigis from the Florida Council of 100 on the need to get more Universities in its activities, especially matters that may require legislative action.

Regards,

C Delano Gray

Chairman