Faculty Senate Approves Faculty Handbook Change and Certificate Financial Aid Policy
By Ryan Simonovich
The Fort Lewis College Faculty Senate met on Thursday to discuss election nominations, Faculty Senate handbook sections and policies regarding certificates and distance education courses.
Michael Martin and Ryan Smith were nominated for the position of Faculty Senate president. Gary Gianinny, Ryan Haaland, Marc Reed and Ryan Smith were nominated for the position of faculty representative to the Board of Trustees.
The current Faculty Senate president is David Blake, and the current faculty representative to the Board of Trustees is Michael Valdez. Both of their terms end this year.
It was also announced by Barbara Morris that no academic programs will be eliminated or reduced at this time. It was previously announced in a campus-wide email by FLC president Dene Thomas that no tenure or tenure-track faculty would be cut.
Language changes to section five and six of the faculty handbook were unanimously approved. The sections were edited to clarify that the same person can not concurrently sit as the Faculty Senate president and the faculty representative to the Board of Trustees.
The Faculty Senate unanimously approved changes to section 17 of the faculty handbook, which deals with faculty dismissal and other disciplinary actions.
There was discussion on whether or not to consult the full faculty body for approval of the section 17 language before sending the changes to the Colorado Attorney General’s office. The Faculty Senate voted 10-8 to send the language to the Attorney General’s office for approval first. FLC consults with the state Attorney General’s office to make sure policies are legally sound.
Section 13 of the faculty handbook regarding term faculty evaluation was reviewed by Faculty Senate. Term faculty, faculty who are not eligible for tenure or tenure-track status, requested that their evaluation process be more clearly stated in the handbook, Deborah Walker, faculty handbook and policy committee co-chair, said.
The Faculty Senate unanimously endorsed a policy that would allow students to use state and federal financial aid in pursuing certificates. Currently students must pay out of pocket for certificates, such as the Geographic Information System certificate in the geosciences department.
A policy regarding distance education courses was also endorsed, with one senator abstaining from the vote. The policy lays out expectations and guidelines for distance education courses and the development of the courses. Major discussion points during the meeting focused on ownership of course materials and intellectual property, and the compensation of faculty who develop the courses.
Distance education refers to online courses or courses that are part online and part in person. The policy is regarding the development of new distance education courses or revising current ones.