After several months of discussions, revisions and hard work by members of Metropolitan State University of Denver’s Faculty Employment Handbook and Handbook Revision committees, the 2022-23 Faculty Employment Handbook is now available.
The new version has several updates, including those related to:
- Department Evaluation Guidelines (Section II):
- Approval by vote of full-time faculty within a given department to create or change Department Evaluation Guidelines.
- Retention/Tenure/Promotion and Post-Tenure Review Processes (Section II):
- Removal of references to “contractual obligations” as a prerequisite to RTP/PTR.
- Removal of references to mandatory “reconciliation meetings.”
- Addition of language to prevent faculty on a current performance-improvement plan (PIP) from applying for promotion.
- Wilton Flemon Postdoctoral Teaching Program (Section III):
- Formalization of the Wilton Flemon Postdoctoral Teaching Program in the Handbook.
- Faculty Misconduct (Section X):
- Clarification on the distinction between minor and major misconduct.
- Clarification that a written warning does not constitute a disciplinary sanction.
- Clarification on when a disciplinary sanction will be included as part of the faculty member’s evaluation portfolio.
While these additions and revisions were approved by President Janine Davidson, Ph.D., she concurred with Provost Alfred Tatum and the University deans that the proposed Banking Policy was not yet ready for approval. While she agrees that faculty members need to be acknowledged and adequately compensated for the work they do in support of the University’s mission, she was sensitive to the issues raised regarding equity in implementation of the policy as written. Davidson and Tatum encourage the Handbook committee to collaborate with Academic Affairs to consider revisions.
Discussions regarding next steps for the Banking Policy will recommence within Handbook committees once the new academic year begins.
In addition to the newest version of the Faculty Employment Handbook, the 2022-23 Procedural Calendar, an updated Guidebook for Portfolio Preparation and an updated version of Sabbatical Guidelines are now available on the Office of Faculty Affairs Faculty Resources website.