The Metropolitan State University of Denver Faculty Senate convened April 5, with the meeting led by President Liz Goodnick, Ph.D., associate professor of Philosophy.
First reads
Diversity Committee Bylaws
Sen. Kate Schmidt, Ph.D., assistant professor of Philosophy, held a first read on Diversity Committee Bylaws. The bylaws will now better reflect the way the committee functions. Changes can be found here.
Student Affairs Committee Bylaws
Sen. Barbara Decker, interim program director and senior lecturer of Social Work, held a first read on Student Affairs Committee Bylaws to clarify the committee’s authority. Changes can be found here.
Votes
Handbook changes
Vice President Jessica Weiss, Ph.D., professor of Art History, Weiss held a vote to include changes to the Faculty Employment Handbook Committee Governance Policy. The full committee 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. If this passes, Weiss and Goodnick would vote to recommend the change to the Handbook Committee. If it passes the Handbook Committee, it would be brought to the Board of Trustees for a final decision.
The motion passed with 57 in favor, five in opposition and five abstaining.
Academic Policy Committee changes
Fresh Start
Sen. Jenny Allert, DNP, MSN, R.N., associate professor of Nursing, held a vote on the Fresh Start program recommending changing the process from three years to one year. The Academic Policy Committee unanimously recommended the decision.
The motion passed with 61 in favor, two in opposition and three abstaining.
Academic Residency Requirements
Allert also held a vote 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.
The motion passed with 68 in favor, three in opposition and three abstaining.
Removal of the University Minor Requirement
Allert held another vote about the removal of requiring a minor to graduate. This would also 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.
The motion did not pass, with 25 in favor, 55 in opposition and four abstaining.
Updates and informational items
Academic Policy Committee technical changes
Allert updated the body on APC technical changes, which can be found below in their entirety.
- Honors
- Interinstitutional registration 1
- Interinstitutional registration 2
- CO1/CO2/CO3
- Incomplete grade
- Mandatory participation
- Advanced Placement exam
- Diplomas
Cross-Functional Universitywide Workload Task Force
Meredith Jeffers, Ph.D. associate professor of Spanish, updated the body on the Cross-Functional Universitywide Workload Task Force. In collaboration with interim Provost Marie Mora, Ph.D., an update was sent to MSU Denver employees March 29 and can also be found here.
Future updates can be found here on the Cross-Functional Task Force website.
Guests/announcements
- David Fine, J.D., general counsel, informed the Faculty Senate about the bookstore contract ending and options for the bookstore. Faculty members can read more about it here and weigh in via survey by May 5.
- Summer and fall registration is open.
- The Office of Faculty Affairs has launched a Faculty Sounding Board.
- The Early Bird, MSU Denver’s daily employee newsletter, has launched Trivia Tuesday. Take this week’s quiz here.
Up next
The body meets again this semester April 19 and May 3. All meetings are open to faculty and staff members unless voted on otherwise in a prior meeting.