The Metropolitan State University of Denver Faculty Senate met Wednesday to hold four first reads and three second reads of potential policy changes, followed by a vote.
After passing a quorum vote and approving the minutes from March 16, Faculty Senate Vice President Liz Goodnick, Ph.D., announced there will be a special session on April 13 to vote on the faculty workload proposal.
Task force on free-expression statement
David Fine, J.D., general counsel, presented a first read of MSU Denver’s Statement on Free Expression in Inquiry, which was written by a task force of University faculty and staff members at the request of President Janine Davidson, Ph.D. The purpose of the task force is to create a statement that aligns with the University’s mission regarding the importance of free speech. The intent is to create an environment where faculty and staff members can speak freely about critical issues without fear of retaliation. The task force is asking for feedback before presenting the statement to Davidson and the Board of Trustees. The full statement can be read here.
Handbook revisions to Section II and Section X
Bill Henry, Ph.D., vice provost for Academic Affairs, discussed changes to the faculty handbook regarding Section II and Section X. All Section II changes and Section X changes are viewable here.
Section II:
- Clarification of minimum requirements for retention, tenure, promotion and post-tenure review
- The handbook currently says an award of tenure requires documentations of adherence to contractual obligations. The revision expands the statement to clarify specific standards for each category.
- Promotion for faculty on performance improvement plan
- Clarify that the faculty member must have completed any required performance plan.
- Review of faculty performance under performance improvement plan
- Revision recommends that faculty performance be delegated from the dean to the faculty chair and allow the faculty member to appeal the evaluation to the dean.
Section X:
- Clarify distinction between minor and major conduct issues.
- Clarify that written warnings are not disciplinary sanctions.
- Clarify when sanctions will be included in evaluation portfolios.
- Sanctions will be included only if the sanction was imposed as a result of a finding of misconduct in teaching, scholarship or service.
Updated Badging Policy passes
Jessica Weiss, Ph.D., assistant professor of Art History, Theory and Criticism, offered a second read of the updated Badging Policy. Most changes are in procedures with a list of required information for proposing a badge credential. The updated version identifies which selected person will be in charge and who will oversee the process of vetting, housing and coordinating the credentialing-proposal process. Additionally, the credentials will be on one of three tracks run through the Badging Committee: those tied to classes with academic credits; those that will run through Innovative and Lifelong Learning; and those that are not with Innovative and Lifelong Learning and are noncredit. The measure passed with 66 votes for, eight votes against and six abstentions.
Graduation honors updated to flat GPA model
The current process for designating honors requires a student to have completed a specific number of credit hours at MSU Denver and have a minimum grade-point average of 3.65. The top 5% of graduates within each school may receive summa cum laude designation, the next 5% are magna cum laude, and the next 5% are cum laude. Determining the percentages is labor-intensive and requires manual calculation, and students with identical GPAs in different colleges could be rewarded differently depending on surrounding students.
The proposed change is to have a flat GPA requirement within each school/college decided by the respective dean. This would allow students to learn sooner whether they will receive honors and would not require a faculty member to manually calculate percentages for each college. The GPA requirements would be reviewed at least every five years. There is also a proposed change that would not require a certain number of hours at MSU Denver, to accommodate transfer students who would otherwise graduate with Latin honors if not for a minimum number of hours. The policy passed 70-6-4.
Change to General Studies partial-credit deviation
Students who transfer in from schools that are on a different schedule (trimester or quarter) have different credit breakdowns and can often fall short of the full credit-hour requirement for a specific class. This policy has been reworded to note that deviations of less than one credit hour can be accommodated to meet General Studies requirements. It is also applicable for Multicultural Studies. The policy passed 74-2-4.
See undergraduate-curriculum-manual modifications
Meredith Jeffers, Ph.D., did a first read including changes made to the undergraduate curriculum manual. Changes clarify that:
- The provost designee is the Office of Curriculum, Academic Effectiveness and Policy Development. It was not previously stated explicitly.
- The University Catalog is the final record and supersedes any other record should there be conflicting information.
- The Classroom to Career Hub will house the Service Learning Curriculum Review to approve Service Learning designation instead of previously working with the Applied Learning Center.
- Modification to simplify certificate program requirements to “create a variety of compliance-related reporting and tracking.” Requirements are constantly evolving and this allows for the manual to not need constant updates.
- 11.00 Catalog Addendum Page 40.
Senate to hold open session Wednesday
MSU Denver will host an apprenticeship faculty forum April 26 from 12:30-1:30 on Zoom. All faculty members are invited and will receive an email with more details.
The Faculty Senate also began discussions regarding the faculty workload proposal, which will be voted on in a special session Wednesday. The vote to close the session to only faculty senators did not meet a majority.
For a full video recap, visit here.
