Highlight of ECS Meeting of March 22 and Preview of ECS Meeting of
March 29, 2024 |
To improve communication between ECS/UAS and faculty colleagues, the Executive Committee of the Senate (ECS), at its August 16, 2023, retreat, reaffirmed a recommendation from August 12, 2021, that a general message be sent out to all faculty each week. This message will highlight the immediate past ECS/UAS meeting and preview the upcoming ECS/UAS meeting. In particular, the highlight will summarize the essential agenda items and provide context on the key votes; the pros and cons will be outlined, and the critical arguments for each will be highlighted. Herein are the highlights of the ECS meeting on March 22 and a preview of the March 29, 2024 ECS meeting. 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.
Highlights of the ECS Meeting of March 22, 2024
Chair’s Report
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Follow-up on the President and Provost Response to Memos on “Educating Adult Learners at Scale” and “Test-Optional and Holistic Admissions Task Force Report:” As you can recall, the president's response memo on “Educating Adult Learners at Scale” accepted our recommendation for the formation of a task force. I will meet with Vice Provost Kara Van Dam on April 9 to discuss the composition of the task force and the involvement of ECS/UAS. In addition, the following faculty members, Chris Haven, Bob Hollister, Figen Mekik, Chris Pearl, Mary Bower Russa, Anne Sergeant, and Andrew Spear, will join Courtney Karasinski and me to meet with President Mantella and Provost Mili on April 12 to discuss admissions and shared governance expectations.
- The next upcoming event date for Democracy 101 is March 27.
- The theme for the 2024 UAS Newsletter will be The Role of Shared Governance in Co-Creating Laker Readiness. All faculty who would like to contribute an article should contact Chair Ngassa and plan to submit their articles by the deadline of April 1. Please also send a photo to go with your article.
- Please respond to the COACHE faculty survey, which is open until April 5.
- Reach Higher Showcase is Friday, April 12, at 4 pm.
- The new Senate leadership election for 2024-2025 will be held on Friday, April 19.
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Provost Mili reported that last week was filled with interviews for the Dean of Computing; the interviews for the Engineering Dean were held two weeks ago. There was strong participation and engagement from faculty and staff.
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The Senior Leadership Team (SLT) received a letter from the students who conducted a march on campus stating their concerns. The SLT thanked the students for their voice and is engaging with them. The students are planning a Town Hall at 6 p.m. on April 2 at Kirkhof Center.
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Student Senate President's Report
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The Student Senate has passed legislation asking the University to investigate a student's legal services department and supporting the expansion of the online gender-neutral bathroom site to include directions or a map to the physical locations.
- Quinten Proctor, the student Senate President, was congratulated on receiving the Thomas Seykora Award.
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On the Selection of Test-Optional and Holistic Admissions Task Force 2 Member: ECS divided the task force into Group 1 (Admissions Standards Group) and Group 2 (Student Support Group). For each group, the nominated faculty were contacted and asked to reply if they were willing and available to serve. The task forces are expected to share preliminary reports by the end of May and a final report by the start of the Fall semester.
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On the Faculty Personnel Policy Committee (FPPC) Memo on Evaluation of Teaching: This memo was submitted with two accompanying documents: Faculty Fora Summary on Evaluation of Teaching and Teaching Evaluation Considerations and Suggestions. FPPC concluded that this charge was beyond FPPC's scope and expertise. ECS accepted the FPPC recommendation on the Evaluation of Teaching and placed it on the ECS agenda for the spring and summer retreats.
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On the FPPC Memo on FPPC Bylaws Change: This memo recommends changing the FPPC bylaws regarding the Timeline for electing a Chair. The chair will be elected each year “during the second to last meeting of the Winter semester” instead of “during January.” The proposed change will result in a change in shared governance policies, SG 1.02.d.iii. ECS acted on behalf of UAS according to SG 1.01.3.1 to support the FPPC recommendation on FPPC bylaws and send it to the Provost.
- On the FPPC Memo on Merit Ratings in Workload: This memo was submitted with an accompanying document, FPPC Report on How to Submit a Faculty Review Document in Workday. FPPC recommended expanding the current three evaluation designations to five. ECS voted to place the FPPC recommendation on Merit Ratings in Workday on the ECS agenda for the spring and summer retreats.
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On FPPC Report on Annual Evaluation Considerations: FPPC offered this report as insight for future ECS consideration. ECS voted to place the FPPC recommendation on Annual Evaluation Considerations on the ECS agenda for the spring and summer retreats.
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On the Affiliate Faculty Advisory Committee (AFAC) Memo on Optimal Membership and Faculty Representation: ECS entrusted AFAC with the crucial task of reviewing its standing responsibilities and, considering its workload, determining the optimum and appropriate faculty membership and representation of AFAC. After thoroughly discussing the committee’s responsibilities and workload, AFAC recommended keeping the current committee size and makeup. ECS voted to accept the AFAC recommendation and thanked AFAC for their work.
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For more details on the above items, please go here.
Preview of ECS Meeting of March 29, 2024
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- Presentation on Employee Core Competencies from Human Resources
- Research-Intensive Course Designation Proposal
- International Education Committee (IEC) Memo on IEC Bylaws Change
- Faculty Teaching and Learning Center Advisory Committee (FTLCAC) Memo on Relationship with FTLC
- Update from the SHared Governance Review (SHGR) Task Force
- Preliminary Discussion on Resource and Funding Priorities for Academic Affairs
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Please don't hesitate to contact your ECS or UAS representative from your College or University Libraries to provide input on any ECS agenda item you want to discuss.
Thank you for your continuous interest in faculty governance.
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