Faculty Policies Minutes – April 16, 2007

Attending: Jim Benedict, Charles Jackson, Tom Colbert, Donna Hobbs, Pam Jackson, Sam Myers, Robert Reeves, Carol Rychly, Mike Searles, Cathy Tugmon (chair), Debbie van Tuyll (secretary). Drs. Bloodworth and Sullivan visiting

1. Minutes of the April 9 meeting were approved without changes

2. The committee members voted to reappoint Jeff Heck as faculty secretary and Chris Murphy as faculty marshal.

3. Committee members discussed the findings of the faculty workload survey with Drs. Bloodworth and Sullivan. Bloodworth said he hopes the survey results would encourage FPC to look at two questions: whether institutional expectations of faculty are in the best financial and academic interests of the institution and students and whether there are any institutional expectations of faculty that are not in the best financial and academic interests of the institution and students. He agreed that the report suggests there are some problem areas. Bloodworth handed out copies of the ASU mission statement and the rules for appointment to the various professorial ranks. Bloodworth encouraged FPC to consider revising the role model and other rules regarding faculty tasks, as possible given resource constraints, to address some of the workload issues raised in responses to the survey. He said revising promotion rules would be entirely a campus matter now because the BoR has changed its rules and promotion decisions are finalized at the presidential level; they no longer require BoR vote. This change does not include tenure decisions which must still be sent to Atlanta for final approval. Bloodworth agreed to find out whether changes can be made to appointment, promotion, and tenure rules that come directly from BoR policies. He also asked FPC to engage him in the process, both in terms of direct conversations and any other assistance he might be able to offer.

Bloodworth said that changes suggested by faculty may require more financial resources and the only feasible way to increase those substantially is to improve retention of upper-level students since they bring in more per-credit hour money than lower-level students. Lower level students bring in $105 in formula funding per credit hour (this is in addition to tuition) while upper level students bring in $130, and graduate students bring in $345. Bloodworth said a House bill proposes cuts to formula funding, but it will have to go to conference before anyone knows for sure what will happen.

Sullivan joined the president in encouraging FPC to re-examine criteria for faculty appointment and promotion. He agreed that some of the criteria give conflicting guidelines. Both agreed that the rules should be flexible enough that the various departments and colleges can adapt them to their own needs since that is where they are most useful.

Respectfully submitted,

Debbie van Tuyll, secretary