VOL. 23, NO. 17	MARCH 6, 1998

he Senate approved two new degree programs and a new non-degree credential at its Feb. 27 meeting. It also discussed topics ranging from the needs of the Libraries to tuition increases, the cost of Lerner Hall, the research program of the Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse and a brand-new Senate website.

  Without dissent, the Senate approved a new Master of Arts in Physics and Philosophy and a Liberal Studies Master of Arts in Human Rights, as well as a new Certification of Professional Achievement. Education Committee Chairman Letty Moss-Salentijn explained that the need for the new non-degree document arose from dissatisfaction with the Statement of Attendance, the credential now awarded for completion of four courses in a particular program.

  In his report, President George Rupp said the University was studying the smaller increases in term bills announced by Yale (2.9 percent), Princeton (3.7 percent) and other peer institutions for next year. He said Columbia was working to moderate its own rate of tuition increases over a period of years.

  In response to a question, Rupp said the revised total project cost of Lerner Hall is $77 million, but added that a second phase, costing an additional $8–10 million, would enable the University to make optimal use of the space.

  After reporting on a review of the finances and research program of the University’s Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse now underway, Rupp addressed a complaint that the center’s research was not peer-reviewed by saying that many studies by groups affiliated with the University are not peer-reviewed, and that the present study of CASA would determine whether academic standards were being met in this case.

  There was no formal report from the Libraries Committee, but Sen. Jeremy Waldron of the Law School, a member of both the Senate committee and the Provost’s faculty advisory committee on the Libraries, said it was important to give the Provost’s committee a chance to develop its own recommendations. But the Senate Libraries Committee would need to bring a report and possibly a resolution to the March meeting, since the University’s budget would be at least partly set during April.

  Waldron also said, a full year had passed since an external review team chaired by Billy E. Frye had concluded that Columbia’s libraries were in a state of crisis.

  Senate staff member Charles Donelan reported briefly on a new Senate website, live but under construction, located at: http://www.columbia.edu/cu/senate/.

  Donelan said the site represents the initial phase of a Senate Office project to take the work of the Senate online, and appealed to senators to visit the site and offer their comments. He said the site would serve as a public record of Senate activities, from minutes to pending resolutions, and also as a conduit for information from the University community and beyond. He urged senators to participate in this experiment in “online shared governance in higher education.”