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The Graduate U-Council MINUTES Council of the Princeton University Community Minutes, November 13, 2000 Dodds Auditorium, Robertson Hall The President presided at the November 13, 2000 meeting of the Council of the Princeton University Community which began at 4:35 p.m. The following members were present: Mr. Amaya, Professor Cohen, Mr. Creesy, Mr. Dawson, Vice President Dickerson, Mr. Dressner, Ms. Friedmann, Ms. Goodman, Professor Groth, Ms. Hale, Dr. Halliday (secretary), Mr. Hillegas, Mr. Kim, Dean Malkiel, Mr. Miller, Professor Muldoon, Mr. Nemeroff, Provost Ostriker, Ms. Paster, Mr. Ramakrishnan, Professor Schutt, Professor Shafir, President Shapiro, Mr. Spies, Mr. Studley, Ms. Taga, Mr. Vere, Mr. Vessella, Ms. Wheeler, and Mr. Wright. The minutes of the September 25 Council meeting were approved in the form in which they had been previous distributed. There were no questions. The President proposed that the update on the work of the Priorities Committee be the first agenda item, and, hearing no objections, he introduced Provost Ostriker. Report from the CPUC Priorities Committee The Provost reported that in accordance with the normal cycle of the committee^Òs work, members were considering priorities among requests for new or increased funding. The total amount of the requests (approximately $6 million) far exceeded the amount of funds that would be available. Using the example of salaries he commented that a small percentage change could translate into large commitments of resources over the next and future years. He invited members of the CPUC to an open forum the committee would hold later in the month. Following the provost's report, Mr. Nemeroff '01 took the opportunity to congratulate him on behalf of the Council for being designated as one of this year's National Medal of Science recipients. The Council expressed their concurrence with applause. Mr. Ramakrishnan GS presented findings of a Graduate Student Government (GSG) survey on health care conducted late last year. A copy of the report is attached as Appendix A. In summary, students gave the care provided by the staff of McCosh Infirmary high marks, but they called for better coverage in the summer months and improvements in particular areas of care. In addition, students pointed to the high cost of health care (including vision, dental, and prescription drug care) relative to the stipends they receive. Anecdotal evidence was added during the meeting of the difficulty for students to meet health care costs. Mr. Spies thanked the GSG after the presentation and expressed the desire to study the GSG findings to seek ways to improve health care benefits. Report on University Health Services Dr. Bowen, Director of University Health Services (UHS), followed with a presentation concerning changes that UHS was considering or implementing following an administrative review of health services that had taken place the previous academic year. She described the restructuring of UHS and other steps to improve service. Responding to elements of the graduate student survey, Dr. Bowen mentioned UHS's web page that detailed coverage that was available, at no cost, to students through McCosh (for example, annual physicals at McCosh are at no charge to students). Discussion covered a variety of topics including the following: -- Students asked why athletes were provided with access to physical therapy and training professionals at no cost while dancers were not. Dr. Bowen responded that New Jersey law restricted trainers to athletic programs, but that the McCosh physical therapists were available to all students. -- Students expressed concern that the planned increase in undergraduate students would put pressure on an already, at times, strained University health care system. Dr. Bowen reported that the University planned to increase staff in areas such as UHS that would need to grow with the student body. -- Graduate students proposed that student ranking of physicians should be made widely available to students. Dr. Bowen pointed to the benefits of having professional physicians review other physicians, and urged students to come to her staff with any comments about the care they experienced. -- The cost of health care outside McCosh was described as a burden to students; some graduate students reportedly forego care because of cost. Dr. Bowen described various ways that UHS can help students meet costs or obtain the care they need at a cost they could better afford. It was noted that in important areas of GSG concern UHS could and did offer appreciable and timely help. The problem seems more one of communicating effectively to students what services UHS provides rather than a problem of meeting the costs of external health care options. Dr. Bowen remarked that UHS would work with students to find better ways to communicate with students about the assistance that UHS could offer. The President thanked Dr. Bowen and the graduate students. Report on Dental Plan Next, the President invited the Director of the Office of Risk Management, Laurel Harvey, to explain changes in the University health benefit plans. She reported that an outside consultant had been engaged by the University last year to examine our benefits package, both its administration by the University and its comparative value with respect to plans offered by other employers in the area and by peer institutions. The consultant suggested improvements in the "back office" design of the benefits plan and the addition of some form of dental coverage. Ms. Harvey gave a presentation regarding the options newly created to help with dental care costs. This information can be found on the Web at http://www.princeton.edu/hr/oe/dental/index.htm. She underscored the University's overriding concern in the initial year of the program to identify providers who would guarantee premiums for more than six months. The intention was to review the program as experience was gained to seek better coverage and a wider network of dentists. Discussion with graduate students during the meeting confirmed that while they were not included in the current plan (which was available only to current employees who are eligible for other University benefits), the University would continue to seek plans that would include students, and Ms. Harvey said that the University was looking at options. Mr. Spies reiterated that this first year was considered a time to learn and to test the value of various elements of the current dental plan, so that the University could make improvements. The President thanked Ms. Harvey for the work that she and the Benefits Committee had done to bring about these improvements. He remarked on the relatively small number of dentists in the immediate Princeton area who participated in the current plan, noting that the economics of establishing a practice in the area worked as a deterrent. However, the University had been able to help bring about good, affordable health care programs in Princeton with physicians, and he hoped that similar improvements would occur with dental plans. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 5:55 p.m. Respectfully submitted,
Ann Halliday Secretary
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