The current financial climate has not affected the University's construction projects, although no building will begin this year, Executive Vice President Tallman Trask said at the Academic Council meeting Thursday.
Trask said the University currently has six major building projects, including New Campus, which are in the planning stages only. He said Duke will not authorize new construction until mid-2009, noting that without large philanthropic contributions, there will be less capital available for construction projects.
"Duke is financially stable. The world isn't, but Duke is," he added.
Although the University is on firm financial footing, Trask said income is down slightly and the budget is experiencing minor strain. He added that the central administration will not be able to give as much money to projects, but that more figures and a better idea of future budgets will not be available until January.
President Richard Brodhead answered a question submitted from a faculty member clarifying an incorrect figure reported in The Chronicle of Higher Education that showed the cost of a Duke education increasing from 2007-2008 to 2008-2009 by 6.8 percent rather than 5 percent. Brodhead said the University would not propose a figure for next year's expenses until the February deadline.
"This University is committed to having quality education be affordable, and we will continue to work with families to make it so," he said.
Also at the meeting, council members unanimously voted to approve the Masters of Science in Global Health program. The program will now go before the Board of Trustees Dec. 5 for final approval.
"We're grateful to have received the support of many individuals and committees along the way to the Academic Council's decision today," Dr. Michael Merson, director of the Duke Global Health Institute, wrote in an e-mail. "We are already receiving applications to the program, and are eager to select our inaugural class, which, pending Board of Trustees approval of the program next month, will matriculate in Fall 2009."
The council also heard an update on the reaccreditation process from Judith Ruderman, vice provost for academic and administrative services, and Mary Boatwright, co-chair of the Quality Enhancement Plan committee.
Ruderman told members about the Compliance Certification Report-the external review portion of the reaccreditation process that the University is required to submit to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools every 10 years. Ten external reviewers will discuss the report, which includes a 500-page document, a Web site with 3,000 links and a DVD.
A response from the reviewers is expected by Nov. 25, Ruderman said, adding that she suspects the University may be found lacking in at least one area of the report, particularly self-assessment.
Boatwright presented a detailed outline of the QEP, an effort to pursue and enhance Duke's educational mission that will be reviewed in March 2009 as part of compliance assurance. This cycle's QEP, titled "Global Duke: Enhancing Students' Capacity for World Citizenship," is composed of three parts: a Global Semester Abroad, a Global Advising Program and a Winter Forum.
The QEP programs do not currently have an estimated cost, Boatwright noted. She also confirmed that the programs will serve as additional opportunities for students rather than replacements for or alternatives to current programs.
In other business:
Michael Gillespie, chair of the Athletic Council, informed members of a change in admissions procedure that allows coaches of Olympic sports increased flexibility in recruiting their specified numbers of "reaches and stretches."
He also explained the ad hoc committee recently formed by the Athletic Council to address the accessibility of an international experience to athletes.
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