SACS Pays FAMU 'Special Visit'

[Nonchalant]

http://www.tallahassee.com/article/20120404/NEWS01/204040318/FAMU-preps-SACS-visit?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|frontpage

FAMU preps for SACS visit

Trustees at Florida A&M University may not spend much time discussing next week's special visit by a team from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools when the board holds the first of two days of meetings today, but FAMU administrators have been actively preparing for SACS officials.

The SACS visit — not a regularly scheduled review by the private accrediting firm — was prompted by a complaint letter submitted last fall by a FAMU student.

The student, whom SACS declined to identify, is in the School of Allied Health, where two of the five programs — occupational therapy and cardio-pulmonary — are on probation with their individual accrediting organizations.

SACS officials reviewed the complaint, which pertained to FAMU's handling of student records, said SACS vice president Michael Johnson, and determined that a follow-up visit was warranted.

"(FAMU) gave us a very thorough response, but there were still some questions that made us want to visit," said Val Weyland, SACS' president. "It doesn't happen every day."

FAMU Provost Larry Robinson held meetings with all deans and department chairs on Friday to prepare for next week's visit, which begins on Tuesday and is expected to last three days.

"It's always a big deal when you get a visit from your accrediting body. We're taking this visit from SACS very, very seriously," Robinson said.

Even though the student who filed the complaint with SACS was in FAMU's School of Allied Health, SACS officials are likely to take a look at other colleges and schools at the university, Robinson said.

 

[jsupop33]

Wow.

 

[96lioness]

^^^^ You beat me to it Pops!

 

[Nonchalant]

Trust me, FAMU may be in a world of trouble if this quote is true:

Even though the student who filed the complaint with SACS was in FAMU's School of Allied Health, SACS officials are likely to take a look at other colleges and schools at the university, Robinson said.

 

[jsupop33]

Non,
FAMU is in a lot of trouble. Remember when some of us were encouraging them to dump their President as a sacrificial lamb?

 

[pv_symbiotic]

Wow.

WOW????

This happens all the time...why is it a big deal now?

 

[Nonchalant]

Non,
FAMU is in a lot of trouble. Remember when some of us were encouraging them to dump their President as a sacrificial lamb?

FAMU is definitely in a lot of trouble. The sad part is, Ammons still has some form of an "Evergreen" contract:

http://chronicle.com/article/Draft-...-M/129444/?sid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en

Monday, October 17, 2011

Draft Contract for Florida A&M Chief Drops 'Evergreen' Clause but Not Supermajority Voting

By Jack Stripling
The Chronicle of Higher Education

Florida A&M University's trustees would no longer be on the hook to pay out three years of compensation to their president if he was dismissed without cause, but under a proposed revision to James H. Ammons's contract, he would retain significant job security and would be eligible for slightly higher annual compensation.

The draft agreement, which was obtained by The Chronicle through a public-records request, would eliminate an "evergreen" contract clause that required Mr. Ammons's three-year employment agreement to be renewed each day. Instead, Mr. Ammons would be employed through June 30, 2016, with an option for renewal by a supermajority of the board.

The president's current contract, which was approved by trustees in 2007, has been criticized by current board members, many of whom were not in place when Mr. Ammons was hired. Of particular concern was the daily-renewal provision of the contract. Many trustees and outside experts interpreted the evergreen clause to mean that Mr. Ammons, if fired without cause, would continue to receive his $325,000 presidential salary, among other benefits, for three years. The new contract would limit those payments to one year.

Florida A&M trustees are likely to vote on the amended contract in December, unless a special meeting is called to do so beforehand.

Mr. Ammons, who was appointed by a narrow 7-to-6 board vote, would retain a key contractual provision designed to protect his job. Under the new contract, a two-thirds majority of the board would still be required to terminate Mr. Ammons without cause or with cause, which is defined as "gross negligence."

The board would also have more room in the new contract to deny Mr. Ammons bonuses, which are now virtually automatic. The new contract states that Mr. Ammons "shall be eligible" for performance bonuses, rather than "shall receive" annual bonuses.

The new contract would substantially reduce the amount of performance bonuses for which Mr. Ammons is eligible, but in the final analysis the amended version actually would put more potential money on the table for the president. Increases in base salary, annuity contributions, and newly established retention bonuses would make the president eligible to receive $481,563 per year, which is an increase of about $3,800.

Mr. Ammons also would retain additional contributions for health care, retirement, club memberships, travel, housing, and automobile allowances.

 

[Nonchalant]

WOW????

This happens all the time...why is it a big deal now?

"(FAMU) gave us a very thorough response, but there were still some questions that made us want to visit," said Val Weyland, SACS' president. "It doesn't happen every day."

 

[jsupop33]

Ammons is politically dead. He needs to just dip. At this point, he is political liability for the school.

 

[pv_symbiotic]

"(FAMU) gave us a very thorough response, but there were still some questions that made us want to visit," said Val Weyland, SACS' president. "It doesn't happen every day."

I said ALL THE TIME, not every day. Heck, we went through at least 1 during my college my undergrad years.

Where do you get "...every day..." form???

 

[Nonchalant]

I said ALL THE TIME, not every day. Heck, we went through at least 1 during my college my undergrad years.

Where do you get "...every day..." form???

1. "All the time" equates to quite often. I've never heard of this before. If it has happened at FAMU before while you were in undergrad, it would explain why people have said FAMU's problems can be traced back to the Humphries era.

2. The president of SACS made that comment, "It doesn't happen every day", not me.