Preview of ECS and UAS Meetings of
April 19, 2024 |
Dear Faculty Colleagues:
Before I delve into the business items for Friday’s meeting, I want to update you on a recent response memo from the President and Provost. As you would recall from my weekly messages, UAS endorsed a Statement of Concern Document on Admission sent to the President and the Provost after the UAS Meeting of March 15. We received a response from the President and the Provost on April 9, which you can read here. In addition, and as was requested in the motion from the March 15 UAS meeting, the following faculty members, Chris Haven, Bob Hollister, Figen Mekik, Chris Pearl, Mary Bower Russa, Anne Sergeant, and Andrew Spear, joined Courtney Karasinski and me to meet with President Mantella and Provost Mili on April 12 to discuss faculty concerns and shared governance expectations. We have shared the report from that meeting, which you can read here.
The last official business meeting for ECS and UAS for the 2023-2024 academic year will be this Friday, April 19. The agenda of the ECS meeting includes the following items: A Discussion of the Formation, Responsibilities, and Scope of the New Task Force on OMNI; A review of the Instructional Materials Task Force Report; A Review of the Academic Policies and Standards Committee (APSC) Memo on the Proposed Change to the BA Degree Requirement to Include American Sign Language (ASL); The Transition from ECS 2023-2024 to ECS 2024-2025; and The Election of Senate Leadership for 2024-2025.
The agenda of the UAS meeting includes the following items: Remarks from President Mantella; A review of the Instructional Materials Task Force Report; A Review of the Academic Policies and Standards Committee (APSC) Memo on the Proposed Change to the BA Degree Requirement to Include American Sign Language (ASL); The Transition from UAS 2023-2024 to UAS 2024-2025; and Highlights of Standing Committee Work for 2023-2024.
Meetings of the ECS are restricted to members of the ECS, their alternates, and others whom the ECS may invite, according to SG 1.01.7.2. Meetings of the UAS are open according to SG 1.01.6.2. Any faculty member wishing to speak at a UAS meeting can request to be added as a guest by contacting the chair of ECS/UAS at least three days before the meeting.
|
Non-action Items for Discussion on Friday, April 19:
|
- Transition from ECS/UAS 2023-2024 to ECS/UAS 2024-2025:
|
-
Highlights of Standing Committee Work for 2023-2024: Year-end reports from Standing Committee Chairs will be posted on the Faculty Governance website next week. Standing Committee Chairs will share highlights of their work from 2023-2024.
-
Remarks by President Mantella: President Mantella will share some remarks as part of our tradition of welcoming the President to the last UAS meeting for the academic year. We will also have a few minutes for a couple of questions.
|
Action Items for Discussion on Friday, April 19:
|
-
Discussion of the Formation, Responsibilities, and Scope of the New Task Force on OMNI: ECS will discuss the formation of the new task force on OMNI and the responsibilities and scope of the task force. This is critical because OMNI is scheduled to start in the Fall 2024 semester. We want to be partners in this initiative, and it is important that we work together, faculty, staff, and administration, to craft the details and have a common understanding.
-
Instructional Materials Task Force Report: This task force looked at protecting the rights of faculty members and ways to use language to convey that this is a shared value. We have a policy because we believe the documents delivered by faculty members are the way GVSU provides an education and a way for GVSU to distinguish itself by advertising that copyright stays with the faculty. In the fall semester, ECS asked the task force to consider the additional document, “Navigating Copyright Issues in Expanded Online Education and Events,” in framing the recommendation. There were no concerns about the philosophy of the document but a desire to ensure consistency with the document that was shared. One problem was that there was no legal representation for a faculty member who may have brought a dispute. The Definition and Ownership of Instructional Materials is a new policy that will be covered in SG 6.06. Decisions based on SG 6.06 cannot conflict with or contradict the language in BOT 4.1.10.2. The proposal from the task force also recommends the creation of an Intellectual and Instructional Materials Review Panel (SG 1.03.C.5), which will be convened on an as-needed basis to resolve a dispute or uncertainty arising under BOT 4.1.10.2 and SG 6.06. Another new recommendation is SG 1.03.C.6, which explains the Affirmation of Copyright Holders Right to Transfer Pursuant to 17 U.S.C. Sects. 201 and 204. The task force's final report was submitted, and ECS/UAS is scheduled to review the report on Friday, April 19, 2024.
-
Academic Policies and Standards Committee (APSC) Memo on the Proposed Change to the BA Degree Requirement to Include American Sign Language (ASL): APSC was asked to comment on the revision of the BA requirements to include ASL as a language option so that the requirements for the BA degree will be updated. APSC supports the inclusion of fourth-semester proficiency in ASL and Deaf Culture as an option for completing the BA Degree Requirements at GVSU. In the spirit of accessibility, inclusivity, linguistic diversity, and cultural awareness, APSC’s recommendation is timely and should be supported. ECS/UAS is scheduled to review the proposal on Friday, April 19, 2024.
- Election of Senate Leadership for 2024-2025: The new Senate Leadership for 2024-2025 will be elected by the 2024-2025 ECS members.
|
Please feel free to contact your ECS or UAS representative from your College or University Libraries to provide input on any ECS agenda item that you may like to discuss.
Thank you for your continuous interest in faculty governance.
|
|
|
1 Campus Drive
3090 James H. Zumberge Hall
Allendale, MI 49401
Unsubscribe from future emails
|
|
|
|
