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Faculty Senate votes on workload pause resolution, constitution changes and more

Body also discusses removal of minor requirement and Associates of General Studies.

Faculty SenateThe Metropolitan State University of Denver Faculty Senate convened March 1 and March 15 with meetings led by Senate President Liz Goodnick, Ph.D., associate professor of Philosophy.

First reads 

Academic Policy Committee changes 

Fresh Start 

Sen. Jenny Allert, DNP, MSN, R.N., associate professor of Nursing, held a first read on the Fresh Start program recommending changing the process from three years to one year. The Academic Policy Committee unanimously recommended this decision. 

Academic Residency Requirements 

Allert also held a first read on Academic Residency Requirements for those who already hold one degree from MSU Denver and are returning for a second degree. The APC also unanimously recommended this change. 

Removal of the University Minor Requirement 

Allert held another first read about the removal of requiring a minor to graduate. This would eliminate all departments from being able to require a minor. The APC is not in favor of this decision; however, it has to be brought to the Faculty Senate regardless.  

Handbook changes 

Weiss held a first read to include changes to the Faculty Employment Handbook Committee. The full committee, if this passes, would be two members of the Faculty Senate, appointed by the Faculty Senate; the faculty trustee to the Board of Trustees; one member of the Metropolitan State Faculty Federation appointed by the MSFF; two department chairs, appointed by the Council of Chairs and Directors; one dean, appointed by the provost; the chief academic officer or designee; the University counsel or designee; and the chief Human Resources officer or designee. 

Votes 

Constitution changes 

Sen. Kelly Evans, Ph.D., assistant professor of Sports Management, gave a second read to changes to the Faculty Senate constitution before holding a vote. The changes had four separate votes: 

  • Eligibility changes passed with 68 in favor, three in opposition and eight abstaining. 
  • Changes to member definitions passed with 68 in favor, one in opposition and six abstaining. 
  • Changes to the Colorado Faculty Advisory Council and Trustee Representation on the Executive Committee passed with 69 in favor, one in opposition and four abstaining. 
  • The election-of-senators change passed with 67 in favor, five in opposition and four abstaining. 

Faculty Welfare Committee bylaws 

Sen. Bob Schatz, Ph.D., professor of Psychological Sciences, held a second read on bylaws for the Faculty Welfare Committee, eliminating Section 16.1.6. The vote passed with 67 in favor, one in opposition and six abstaining.     

Ethnic Studies and Social Justice bylaws 

Sen. Devon Wright, Ph.D., assistant professor of Africana Studies and Sociology, held a second read of changes to the ESSJ Committee bylaws followed by a vote. The vote passed with 70 in favor, six in opposition and three abstaining.  

Handbook changes 

Vice President Jessica Weiss, Ph.D., professor of Art History, held a second read and a vote on several handbook changes to sections involving the Faculty Senate Complaint Committee, Guidelines Year Clarification, Tenure Probationary Period Extension and Revised Language Suggestion. 

  • Complaint Committee changes passed with 65 in favor, five in opposition and three abstaining. 
  • Guidelines Year Clarification changes passed with 70 in favor, three in opposition and one abstaining. 
  • Tenure Probationary Period Extension and Revised Language Suggestion passed with 70 in favor, one in opposition and five abstaining. 

Colorado Faculty Advisory Council representative 

Evans presented an addition of Article VII and VIII with outline elections, duties, term of office, vacancy, representation and term limits for the CFAC representative. Those additions can be found here.  

  • Article VII passed with 62 in favor, none in opposition and two abstaining. 
  • Article VII passed with 64 in favor, one in opposition and three abstaining.  

Curriculum bylaws 

Sen. Kim Klimek, Ph.D., professor of History, held a second read for changes to the curriculum bylaws, which can be found here. Download the document to review all tracked changes. Changes include including Ethnic Studies and Social Justice instead of the former Multicultural Committee and more. The motion passed with 61 in favor, two in opposition and four abstaining.  

Faculty Senate resolution: a response to the pause 

Weiss held a second read and the Faculty Senate voted on the Faculty Senate resolution: a response to the pause (of the implementation of the Teaching Load Reduction). The vote passed with 58 in favor, six in opposition and three abstaining. 

Updates and informational items

Associate of General Studies 

Beginning next academic year, students who fit the following criteria will be awarded an Associate of General Studies: 

  • Completed at least 70 credit hours. 
  • Completed at least 18 credit hours at MSU Denver. 
  • Cannot have completed 15 or more credit hours total from the Colorado Community College System (concurrent-enrollment credits earned through a community college while in high school do not count toward the 15 community-college credits. Credits earned at an out-of-state community college do not count toward direct transfer). 
  • Stopped out in the past 10 years. 

Students who fit the criteria will be contacted, and no student can apply for the degree. More information can be found here. 

Cross-Functional Universitywide Workload Taskforce update 

Faculty Trustee Meredith Jeffers, Ph.D., associate professor of Spanish, updated the Faculty Senate on the Cross-Functional Universitywide Workload Taskforce. There was a 90-minute presentation to the Board of Trustees on March 16 that can be found here.   

APC technical changes 

Allert notified the Faculty Senate that there was an error on the course code for Global Politics. The error and update can be found here. 

Up next 

The next Faculty Senate meeting will be held April 5 at 3:20 p.m.