November 13, 2019

Attending

Donna Azodi                           Pat Heintzelman                                  Joe Nordgren

LeAnn Chisholm                      Matthew Hoch                                     Brenda Nichols

Diane Clark                             Derina Holtzhausen                             Jeremy Shelton                               

Brian Craig                              Aida Lasher                                        Lindsay Simon

Ashley Dockens                       Lynn Maurer                                        Robert Spina

Jennifer Fowler                        Vivek Natarajan                                  

Announcements

• Committee went through August 2017 Handbook at October meeting looking at each change made from August 2017 to January 2019.
• Changes to the August 2017 Faculty Handbook were inserted into the January 2019 Faculty Handbook.
• If the January 2019 Faculty Handbook is approved by the Faculty Handbook Advisory Committee, it will then be sent to the Faculty Senate for confirmation. After that, it will be sent to CID for review and comments. After that, it will be sent to the Academic Council of Deans for confirmation and review.
• Our goal is to look at the new draft Faculty Handbook at today’s meeting.

Discussion

• Comment about Appendix I
  • The TSUS website link is broken.
  • Link has been fixed.
• Comment about Chapter 2 Section 16
  • Poorly written and contains conflicts.
• Comments about Chapter 2 Section 44.8
  • There are multiple scenarios that could create conflicts or need discussion in Senate regarding the involvement of Department Personnel Committee (DPC) given how they are formulated on a need only basis in Section 16.
  • Section 44.8 was approved by Faculty Senate.
• Comments about Chapter 2 Section 13
  • Consider changing criteria regarding terminal degrees.
• Dean Robert Spina has motioned to approve January 2019 Faculty Handbook with modifications that have been reviewed.
• Vivek Natarajan seconds the motion.
• Discussion about broken link in Appendix I has been fixed. Also, discussion about wording in Section 44.8 needs to be fixed.
  • Broken link has been fixed. Section 44.8 will not be changed in the January 2019 Faculty Handbook. It will be edited in the new draft Faculty Handbook.
• Motion passes to approve the January 2019 Faculty Handbook for review and approval.
• First draft of new Faculty Handbook given out at today’s meeting.
• Lindsay Simon in Distance Education is working on the new draft Faculty Handbook.
• Lindsay has looked at Sam Houston State University and TSUS Handbooks as guides.
• Sections of the new draft Faculty Handbook
  • Governance and General Policies
  • Faculty
  • Course Management (Issues about students, faculty, etc.)
  • Currently there is nothing about online courses.
  • Miscellaneous Information
  • Appendix A – CID
  • Appendix B – Faculty Senate
• The new Faculty Handbook is reorganizing the current Faculty Handbook to eliminate inconsistencies.
• When adding new content to the Faculty Handbook it will be easier to place it in the appropriate section.
• Need to add a section in the new draft Faculty Handbook about process of adding or changing content in the Faculty Handbook.
• Any changes need to be approved by the Faculty Senate, Administrators, and TSUS.
• Blending of policies and procedures makes current Handbook confusing.
• Procedures are currently not followed because they don’t work.
• Sometimes there is a policy but no procedure and vice versa.
• What is the definition of a policy and procedure?
  • Policy – Rules that are agreed upon by a group.
  • Procedure – Step-by-step instructions.
• Highlighted areas of Handbook link to procedure pieces.
• The University Strategic Plan has been revised and that revised plan will be in the new draft Faculty Handbook.
• Institutional policies can be added but cannot conflict with TSUS.
• Some policies will have multiple procedures.
• There are no policies on Digital Learning in new draft Faculty Handbook.
• Advisory Committee agrees with proposal to separate policies and procedures.
• Add a policy statement about Budget i.e. Finance & Operations
• What is timeline for approval of the new draft Faculty Handbook?
  • It will take awhile for the draft to be complete.
  • In February the Faculty Handbook will be reviewed by Faculty Senate.
  • If we have a new Faculty Handbook document by Fall 2020 we will be lucky.
• If someone wants make changes to Faculty Handbook it needs to be approved by the Faculty Senate.

Action Items

• Next meeting is Wednesday, December 4 at 1:30pm in Reaud 312.
• Advisory Committee will continue to meet every two weeks.
• Committee members will be divided into five groups of three.
  • Each group is assigned a section of the new draft Faculty Handbook to review and make comments.
  • Each group will present their findings at December 4 meeting.
  • Look at Sam Houston and TSUS Handbooks for reference.
  • Faculty Senate may be asked to suggest additional volunteers.
• Aida will send electronic copy of new draft Faculty Handbook to committee members.