Faculty Policies Committee Minutes

October 13, 2008

Members present: Ted Atkinson, Rob Bledsoe, Tom Crute, Paula Dohoney, Wally Evans, Mark Fissel, Bruce Saul, Robert Smalley, Steve Weis.

1) Tom called the FPC Committee to order at 2:30pm.

2) Minutes from 6October were corrected and approved. They will be posted soon.

3) The USG Faculty Council letter to the BOR Core Curriculum Revision Committee was approved.

4) The FPC discussed promotion and tenure expectations in light of budget realities, especially professional travel for junior faculty. Topics included: travel budgets, loss of new faculty, faculty research and development funds, compensatory course reductions and departmental autonomy. Tom will provide a summary and recommendations next week.

5) The FPC summarized faculty concerns about ASU Study Abroad Program. A final set of recommendations will be discussed next week and a representative from the Program will be invited to a weekly meeting.

6) The FPC will recommend removing references to the Cullum Lecture Series from the ASU Faculty Manual. It will be recommended to the Academic Policies Committee to initiate removal of the Cullum courses from the catalog.

7) The new “verbage” for rank of Lecturer is still under construction. More information will be added by next week.

8) Tom will present a draft of a clarified Academic Dishonesty Policy next week.

9) Mark Fissel redistributed notes taken during the subcommittee meeting dealing with modification of the student code of conduct. Another meeting this week will produce recommendations that will be discussed next week.

10) The FPC will submit Faculty Manual changes to the University Council this week, to include “intellectual diversity” in the ASU Academic Grievance Policy :

Proposal for Revised Grievance Procedure on Intellectual Diversity

Revisions Passed by FPC

850.3 Academic Grievances

1. As outlined in Stage One below, except when your complaint is related to intellectual diversity, you must start with a sincere attempt to settle the dispute in an informal manner with the instructor. However, if your complaint is related to intellectual diversity—i.e., your right to take a reasoned exception to data and views offered in the classroom and to reserve judgment about matters of opinion without fear of penalty—you may take your complaint to the instructor’s immediate supervisor or to the Dean of Students.

I. STAGE ONE: THE INFORMAL PROCEDURE

The student should first must make a sincere attempt to settle a dispute in an informal manner with the instructor. If the student is still not satisfied with the instructor’s decision, s/he may then discuss the matter with the instructor’s department chair. If the problem remains unresolved, the student may then discuss the matter with the instructor’s dean. Should the dispute involve an issue of intellectual diversity, the student may choose the alternative route of first discussing the matter with the instructor’s immediate supervisor or the Dean of Students.

11) Tom will recommend that our regularly scheduled faculty meeting be moved from 4November due to election day conflicts.

12) Revision of the Part-time Faculty Handbook was discussed and temporarily tabled.

13) ASU Permanent Committee guidelines and definitions were discussed. This will be revisited next week.

14) All other items will be moved to the meeting next week, on 20Oct08.

Adjourned at 3:55pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Bruce Saul