An annual retrospective of selected accomplishments by the University Policy & Standing Comittees and the task forces
Thank You
Thank you to the Policy and Standing Committee members for your contributions to shared governance during the 2017-18 academic year, and especially to the faculty members, staff members, students and administrators whose current term of service in shared governance has ended. Read more » for a listing of contributors whose term has ended.
Policy and Standing Committees
The University Coordinating Committee considered the competencies of faculty, staff, students and administrators for appointments to policy committees, standing committees, task forces, the Campus Ministry Search Committee and the WASC Working Group. Read more »
The Academic Affairs Committee recommended for approval the creation of 1) a minor in Theatre Design & Technology, 2) a minor in Real Estate, 3) the revamping of the Classics major into one major and minor with different tracks, 4) a minor in Professional Writing and 5) a Masters of Legal Studies in Corporate Compliance. Read more »
The Faculty Affairs Committee recommended a revised Academic Year Adjunct Lecturer reappointment process and a new Renewable-Term Lecturer Reappointment Process. The committee also recommended a faculty salary implementation process that could be used for the 2019-20 budget and recommended an increase in chair compensation and a standardized policy addressing course reduction. Read more »
The Staff Affairs Committee discussed changes and enhancements to the Tuition Remission Benefit. Read more »
The Student Affairs Committee discussed and provided feedback on the Campus Recreation Benchmark Survey results and proposed recommendations inclusive of membership and fees, programming, staffing, and operations. Read more »
The Planning Action Council solicited feedback from faculty members and staff on the ideas presented from the Sustaining Excellence Project. The committee also considered recommendations from the Diversity and Inclusion Task Force. Read more »
The University Budget Council recommended a consolidated FY2019 operating and capital budget. Read more »
The Research Committee revised the Research Award Nomination Guidelines and the Summer Stipend Guidelines. The committee made recommendations for funding 12 summer stipend scholarships and 9 course releases. Read more »
The Benefits Committee recommended and implemented 1) an annual dental benefit maximum to $2,500, 2) hearing aid benefits for certain plans and 3) an orthodontia lifetime benefit maximum increase to $3,000. Read more »
Active Task Forces
The Task Force on Exploring a Staff Housing Assistance Program reviewed staff housing assistance programs at other higher education institutions and will submit a survey to all staff members this month to solicit feedback on specific benefits to possibly include in the Program. The task force will establish the financial framework, estimate the budgetary impact, consult with applicable bodies and submit the preliminary report with findings and recommendations by December 2018.
The Task Force on Prevention of Unlawful Harassment and Discrimination commenced meeting in spring 2018 and began the process of crafting revisions to Policy 311 to create a unified policy addressing sexual misconduct and other forms of discrimination and harassment. The task force anticipates completing proposed revisions to the policy by December 2018.
The Lecturers Best Practices Task Force spoke with deans of the College and Schools at SCU regarding renewable term lecturer and senior lecturer decision-making processes and promotion, reviewed the Faculty Handbook language and drafted interview questions for individuals at identified external institutions. The task force is working with the Faculty Senate Committee on Lecturers and Adjuncts (COLA) and has completed an initial review of external institutions for lecturer/teaching-track faculty models with the intent of proposing 2-3 faculty models to the Faculty Affairs Committee by October 2018.
Pending Task Forces
The Review of Rank and Tenure Procedures Task Force reviewed the rank and tenure process at SCU and at comparable institutions, consulted with the Provost, deans and the Faculty Senate Council and issued a recommendation. The Faculty Affairs Committee approved some recommendations from the task force and will continue the finalization of other recommendations in the next academic year.
The Academic Integrity Task Force was formed to continue the work of the Adjudication of Alleged Academic Integrity Violations Task Force which was unsuccessful in creating a new University policy due to concerns from the faculty community. The new task force will develop a broad statement of University standards of academic integrity and define protocols for reporting and adjudicating undergraduate academic integrity violations, and is pending the selection of task force members to be completed in fall 2018.
Completed Task Forces
The Voluntary Faculty Retirement Support Program Task Force developed recommendations to create a well-designed faculty retirement support plan with the following components: money, education and retirement connections. Read more » to learn about the recommendations that will be implemented beginning this summer 2018.
In Spring quarter 2018, the Project Manager of the Diversity and Inclusion Task Force engaged with the Planning Action Council (PAC) in discussing and prioritizing the Task Force recommendations. The Project Manager is compiling the feedback from the discussions with PAC to share with the University President. In addition, planning is underway for the two Fall 2018 campus-wide forums from the Campus Climate Study effort.
Channels for reporting disputes and their resolution, as recommended by the Informal Approaches to Conflict Resolution Task Force, are documented on the Provost's website. Elsa Chen, Vice Provost for Academic Affairs, currently works to assist with the resolution of disputes involving faculty members and the Provost's Offrce is piloting an effort to engage neutral third parties to resolve conflicts.
Feedback is welcome - please send any questions or comments to Frank Farris at ffarris@scu.edu or Christine Coli at ccoli@scu.edu.