Resolutions and Action
Items Tracking List
UNT Faculty Senate
(the first two digits correspond to the fiscal year in which the item was
created)
Items prior to AY 2005-2006
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RESOLUTION TO DISBAND FACULTY SENATE COMMITTEE ON THE
STATUS OF WOMEN AT UNT
WHEREAS the University of North Texas Faculty Senate is deeply committed to the concerns of women faculty,
WHEREAS, the University of North Texas Faculty Senate supports the administration and faculty promote and maintain an environment (professional climate) that emphasizes gender equity;
WHEREAS, the University of North Texas Faculty Senate supports each school to take steps to increase the hiring and promotion of women faculty;
WHEREAS there has been expressed concern that the UNT administration foster a climate of attention to issues of gender equity in hiring, promotion, and leadership at all levels of university decision making,
THEREFORE BE IT
RESOLVED, that the University of North Texas Faculty Senate recommends that
there be a motion to disband the Committee on the Status of Women.
Resolution to Create a UNT Faculty Ombudsman
WHEREAS within an University structure there may exist
problems, concerns and or misunderstandings among constituent populations, and
WHEREAS there exists no existing impartial office nor
expedient process at University of North Texas for assisting faculty with
problems, concerns and/or misunderstandings regarding the administration of
University policies, procedures and administrative decisions that impact
constituent populations, and
WHEREAS there does exist a history of successful
implementation and management of Faculty Ombudsman for facilitating dispute
resolutions at other peer institutions;
RESOLUTION TO MAINTAIN FACULTY COMMITMENT FOR THE TEACHING,
LEARNING, AND ASSESSMENT KNOWLEDGE BASE
OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS
WHEREAS the University of North Texas Faculty Senate is deeply committed to faculty participation in teaching, learning, and assessment,
WHEREAS, the University of North Texas Faculty Senate supports the faculty to promote and maintain an environment that emphasizes excellence in education for students, which result in lifelong learners;
WHEREAS, the University of North Texas Faculty Senate supports faculty development for the enhancement of faculty expertise in the diverse teaching techniques that complement the different learning styles of students;
WHEREAS there has been expressed concern that the administration has discontinued financial support,
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the University of
North Texas Faculty Senate recommends that there be a resumption of
administrative budgetary support for teaching, learning, and assessment via the
University Forum on Teaching, Learning, and Assessment.
RESOLUTION TO CREATE AN AD HOC FACULTY COMMITTEE TO
EXPLORE NEW FORMATS AND WAYS TO FULFILL THIS NEED
WHEREAS within an University structure there is a need to promote and facilitate
excellence in teaching, and
WHEREAS there exists no body at the University of North Texas for assisting
faculty with teaching, learning, and assessment, and
WHEREAS there does exist a history of successful programs and forums hosted by
the now-defunct UFTLA;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Faculty Senate recommends the creation of an
ad hoc committee to study the ways and means for implementing a university-level
program for supporting faculty development in teaching, learning, and
assessment.
Resolution
to Reinforce Faculty Participation in Tenure-Track Faculty Hiring Processes
WHEREAS the
University of North Texas Faculty Senate is deeply committed to the institution
of faculty participation in governance, and
WHEREAS the
American Association of University Professors (AAUP) Redbook states
“faculty status and related matters are primarily a faculty responsibility;
this area includes appointments, reappointments, decisions not to reappoint,
promotions, the granting of tenure, and dismissal” (1995, 183-84), and
WHEREAS there
has been concern expressed by faculty that the administration at one or more
levels within an academic unit has sought to bypass faculty committees in the
recruitment, screening and hiring of tenure-track faculty, and
WHEREAS the
University of North Texas Faculty Senate supports the AAUP statement related to
faculty participation in the governance of tenure-track faculty appointments;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the University of North Texas Faculty Senate recommends that violations by administration at one or more levels within an academic unit who bypass faculty committees in the recruitment, screening and hiring of tenure-track faculty be censured by the Provost.
RESOLUTION
SUPPORTING IMPLEMENTATION OF URC
RECOMMENDATIONS
REGARDING ADMINISTRATIVE AND
(To read the complete committee
report and original resolution, please click here.)
Whereas, the University Review Committee has, in the
interest of fairness and faculty morale, identified the need to address the
process for distribution of instructional and administrative salaries; and
Whereas, the URC, in accordance with its charter, has
made recommendations to meet this need; and
Whereas, the recommendations were forwarded to the
Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs in February; and
Whereas, the Provost and Vice President for Academic
Affairs has given his tacit approval of these recommendations; now
Therefore, be it resolved, that the Faculty Senate of the
University of North Texas endorses the
approval of the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs and charges and
strongly supports the Committee on Faculty Participation in Governance in
implementing these recommendations.
GRIEVANCE/APPEAL
TIMEFRAME RECOMMENDATIONS BY THE
UNIVERSITY REVIEW COMMITTEE
Final Version Adopted April 23, 2002
Units at the University of North Texas have charters and/or by-laws that contain grievance and appeals mechanisms. In the interest of promoting clarity, uniformity, fairness, and the appropriate availability of external scrutiny of such mechanisms, the University Review Committee offers the following recommendations.
All charters, by-laws, and other procedural documents describing grievance and/or appeals (hereinafter called “G/A”) mechanisms should contain (or be revised so as to contain) the following elements:
The total elapsed time between the receipt of the grievance/appeal and transmission of notification of the outcome to the appellant should not be more than twenty (20) working days.
Under this recommendation, a unit that chooses to establish a timeframe for “hearing a grievance or appeal normally within two weeks after its receipt” may still justifiably delay a hearing beyond the specified period. However, the responsible administrator must document the reason for the deviation from “normality” in the course of the process (rather than post hoc) and must do so openly in communication with the person filing the grievance or appeal. Thus, disputation of the justification of the delay will not rely on the memory of participants and can be directly contested (as being fictitious, arbitrary, insignificant, capricious, etc.) in subsequent grievances or appeals. The responsibility lies with the administrator to provide a reasonable justification for the delay, rather than simply being able to claim that the particular circumstances were not “normal” in some unspecified or post hoc manner.
Furthermore, any administrator receiving a grievance is responsible for
transmitting it to the appropriate person or committee for action within the
specified timeframe. At no time should an administrator presume that she/he has
received a grievance on a merely informative basis. It is the administrator’s
responsibility to advise the appellant/grievant of the appropriate procedure(s)
and/or transmit the grievance/appeal to the appropriate person/committee in a
timely manner if the administrator believes the grievance/appeal falls outside
her/his jurisdiction.
RECOMMENDATIONS ON TIMELINES FOR GRIEVANCES
AND APPEALS
(Second Resolution)
The University Review Committee (URC) has had several instances where cases have been forwarded for a hearing, but the committee has been unable to ascertain some of the facts because of incomplete records. In addition, the process sometimes drags on into the summer when it is extremely difficult to assemble a quorum.
To address these issues and to expedite the grievance/appeal process, the committee drafted a list of recommendations. Consistent with Article II section 3 of the charter of the URC ( http://www.unt.edu/planning/UNT_Policy/volume3/15_1_4.html ), the Committee forwarded these recommendations to the VPAA. While the document was forwarded on April 25 of last year (and tacitly approved by the administration, as per URC charter), it has yet to be implemented. This month the Senate E.C. received a copy of Dean’s comments from Dr. Kesterson. We suggest that the recommendations from the URC be forwarded to the appropriate committee along with the Dean’s comments, with the express request that they expedite the appropriate action with the complete support of the Faculty Senate.
RESOLUTION SUPPORTING
IMPLEMENTATION OF URC TIMELINE RECOMMENDATIONS
(Third Resolution)
Whereas, the University Review Committee has identified the
need to expedite the grievance/appeals process; and
Whereas,
the URC, in accordance with its charter, has made recommendations to meet this
need; and
Whereas,
the recommendations were forwarded to the Provost and Vice President for
Academic Affairs one year ago; and
Whereas, the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs
has given his tacit approval of these recommendations; now
Texas
Council of Faculty Senates Resolution
Whereas
the primary mission of the state colleges and universities of Texas is education
and instruction;
Whereas the core values and
goals of the state colleges and universities of Texas reflect and support this
mission;
Whereas the state colleges and universities of Texas
must preserve and protect their basic ability to deliver quality instruction to
a record number of students;
Whereas recent and pending
budget restraints require state colleges and universities of Texas to do more
with less (i.e., deliver more instruction to more students with smaller
budgets);
Whereas all members of the
Texas higher education community must bear the burden of ensuring that we
weather the budget crisis without sacrificing quality;
Whereas the faculty in the
state of Texas are willing to assist in devising ways to determine how to do
more with less, and they are willing to make adjustments in their overall
workload if necessary to accomplish this;
RESOLUTION SUPPORTING INCREASE IN
LIBRARY USE FEE
Whereas, the current Library Use Fee of $8.50 per semester
credit hour is now the sole source of funding for all print, electronic, and
media materials for the UNT Libraries; and
Whereas, the cost of library materials increases annually due
to ongoing consolidation within the publishing industry and inflation; and
Whereas, any loss of purchasing power will adversely affect
the Libraries’ ability to support UNT academic programs and research projects;
now
Therefore, be it resolved, that the Executive Committee of
the Faculty Senate of the University of North Texas strongly supports the
proposed increase in the Library Use Fee to $10.00 per semester credit hour
effective with the Fall 2003 registration.
Approved 31 January 2003
RESOLUTION
SUPPORTING THE POSITION OF PROVOST/VPAA
AS THE SECOND-IN-COMMAND
WITHIN
THE UNT ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE
WHEREAS academic endeavors lie at the heart of the
university, and
WHEREAS consideration of these academic endeavors needs to
be in guiding force behind the operation of the university, and
WHEREAS the growth in the student body that UNT is
currently experiencing and expected to experience throughout the foreseeable
future requires even greater attention to the educational experience that we can
offer, and
WHEREAS the changing and difficult times in which we
presently find ourselves necessitate particular attention to the distribution of
financial resources, and
WHEREAS the anticipated addition of another vice president
(for Research and Technology Transfer) to the University Budget Committee
further dilutes the strength of the Provost’s office, and
WHEREAS the Provost and Vice-President of Academic Affairs
has historically been considered the second-in-command at UNT, and
WHEREAS the normal university structure at quality
universities through the United States is that the Provost and Vice-President
for Academic Affairs be in the second-in-command,
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Faculty Senate of the University of North Texas supports the organization of administration of the university such that the Provost and Vice-President of Academic Affairs position is second in authority only to the President.