FACULTY
AND PROFESSIONAL STAFF REPRESENTATION IN THE mTu senate
Other than academe, few organizations
permit shared governance. At MTU, the University
Senate is the mechanism for shared governance. Important University policies
are discussed and developed in Senate committees, Senate task forces and Senate
representation on other University bodies. Through the Senate, the Administration
and Board of Control allow MTU’s faculty and professional staff to participate in
policy creation and direction setting. Through the Senate, MTU’s faculty
and professional staff provide their expertise, and hands-on perspective in
understanding what works, what might work and what is likely to be unworkable.
While the faculty’s educational and
research activities are MTU’s central purposes, other complementary activities
support student learning. Each of these activities
requires trained professionals to guide their success.
The University recognizes that its professional
staff members possess unique expertise. Many hold terminal degrees, take
part in research and are active in professional service. Professional staff participation in the Senate
allows them a voice in MTU decision making. It invites their input on
matters in which they have expertise and allows their participation in the
shared governance process through committee work and Senate discussion
Nearly a
decade ago, the faculty chose to include professional staff in the University
Senate. The proposed Senate Constitution
upon which you are asked to vote will allow their continued representation. However, some Senate constituents have
suggested that professional staff should be excluded from the Senate. Here are some issues related to this
question.
1. Most current senators value the
membership of professional staff in the Senate.
2. The Administration and Board of
Control have been much more willing to listen and support Senate decisions when
both professional staff and faculty have been involved in decision-making. With
professional staff representation, the University Senate can argue the educational
merits of its proposals and defend their implementation by the staff.
3. The professional staff provides a different
perspective on Senate issues and reduces the need to postpone discussion until the
Senate receives input on implementation issues of Senate proposals. Faculty
benefit from staff input on advising, scheduling, room use, logistics, and
staffing in determining their votes on these proposals.
4. There has never been a Senate vote
in which the staff voted in opposition to the faculty, suggesting we have
achieved consensus building.
5. The professional staff is more
likely to carry out new policies willingly and expediently if they have a voice
in the planning and determination of these policies.
6. There are rarely staff-only issues.
However, some issues currently being addressed by the Professional Staff Policy
Committee will most likely have a vote of only staff senators.
7. Without professional staff
representation, the Administration and Board of Control members may perceive the
Senate simply as an appendage of the AAUP.
Reasons Offered To Exclude
Professional Staff From The University Senate
1. The professional staff might have a
stronger voice if they have their own separate representative body where they can
vote on all issues.
2. The 450 professional staff members exceed
the tenured / tenure track faculty by 100 or more. (However, in the proposed Senate
Constitution, faculty representation would exceed professional staff
representation by the ratio of about 2:1).
3. The diversity of function in
professional staff is vast and must be arbitrarily divided into 12 constituency
units.
4. The faculty and professional staff may
have different functions and views that are not always compatible.
5. Valuable faculty and staff time may
be lost in Senate discussions that do not concern one or the other groups.
6. Many university Senates are faculty
only.
As was previously the case, the new
Constitution allows professional staff senators to provide their advice and
expertise on academic matters that comprise the bulk of the Senate’s work. However, only Faculty Senators can vote on
the academic matters, which are clearly defined in Article III F. These matters include:
1. All curricular matters, including
establishment, dissolution, and changes in degree programs
2. Requirements for certificates and
academic degrees
3. Regulations regarding attendance,
examinations, grading, scholastic standing, probation, and honors
4. Teaching quality and the evaluation
of teaching
5. Matters related to the academic
calendar
6. The appointment, promotion, tenure,
dismissal, and leaves of academic faculty
7. Criteria for positions to be accorded
academic rank
8. Academic freedom: rights and responsibilities
9. Regulations concerning awarding of
honorary degrees
10. Procedures for selection of Deans
and Department Chairs
11. Requirements and criteria for unit
charters for each academic department
Prepared
by Janice M. Glime,
Secretary
of the Presidential Advisory Committee (PAC), 2004-5,
with input
from the PAC Executive Committee