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New
conflict resolution policy proposed The chairman of the Faculty Senate Tenure, Promotions and Grievances Committee proposed a new conflict resolution policy Thursday that he said would place more emphasis in mediation and streamline the current process. “(The present policy) fails to properly emphasize the role of mediation in providing an alternative to formal procedures,” said Paul King, an associate professor of speech communication who spoke for the committee. “I don’t mean that as a criticism. The policy, when it was developed, was probably very forward looking because mediation is something brand new. But this has really taken the judicial system by storm and everyone is using mediation. It is the new wave of business.” The proposal calls for the creation of a mediating committee that would consist of five tenured professors nominated by the Faculty Senate and approved by Chancellor Michael Ferrari. Mediators would be trained in compliance with Title 7, Chapter 154 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code, the proposal outlines. If approved, the Executive Committee of the Faculty Senate would be taken out of the grievance process. Currently, those who file a grievance must present their case to the Executive Committee and a Hearing Committee, which King said is rarely used and has not assembled in some years. “We feel by eliminating the step, we are streamlining the process,” King said. “Another aspect of it, personally, is that I feel the Executive Committee should be above the process.” The Faculty Senate will discuss the proposal and vote on it April 4, said chairwoman Carolyn Spence Cagle . If it passes, the grievance policy will be submitted to the provost’s office and the academic deans for approval, she said. In other business, Mike Sacken, chairman of the University Evaluation Committee and an education professor, introduced the new campus-wide teacher evaluation survey, called Student Perception of Teaching, to the Faculty Senate Thursday that will eliminate the 13 different versions presently used. But many departments or colleges will probably have to develop new surveys for students to fill out in addition to the universal survey, since it does not ask department specific questions, Faculty Senators said. Sacken said all professors will be evaluated by the form. Tenured faculty used to be able to choose if they wanted to hand out the form. The new survey has 13 questions, 11 of which are answered on a four point scale ranging from “strongly disagree” to “strongly agree.” Additional space is left for students to write in specific answers. The survey also has two open-ended questions asking how the course could be modified and another asking for additional comments. The Common Undergraduate Experience will be the topic of discussion when the Faculty Senate meets March 21. Brandon
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