To: Faculty colleagues
From: Amy Spivey, Faculty Secretary
Subject: Faculty meeting agenda for April 12, 2016
Our next faculty meeting is coming up next Tuesday, April 12, at 4:00 p.m. in McIntyre 103. The agenda
stands as shown below. Reports from the President, Academic Vice President and Chair of the Faculty
Senate will be distributed later this week.
I. Call to order
II. Approval of the minutes of March 8, 2016
III. Announcements
IV. Questions regarding reports from the President, Academic Vice President, and Chair of the Faculty
Senate
(This item includes an update on the Common Period. See the attached PDF document.)
V. Old business - Motion regarding Faculty Bylaws change concerning chair of faculty meetings
VI. Student writing handbook update (Julie Christoph and Martin Nelson)
VII. Update from Faculty Senate on proposals for shortening the spring semester (Ariela Tubert) Follow
these links for background information: Guidelines for Setting the Academic Calendar and Credit Hour
Policy.
VIII. Adjournment
PrinciplesonWhichtoBasetheScheduleofClasses
ApprovedbythefacultysenateinNov/Dec2007
Amendedbythefacultysenatetoaddprinciple#7on3/28/2016
1.Thescheduleofclassesservesthediverseneedsofstudents,facultymembers,
department-chairs,andprogramdirectors.Itnecessarilyreflectstheresourcesand
limitationswithwhichtheadministration,academicadvising,thestaff,andfacilities-
servicesmustwork,includingthephysicalspacesavailableforteachingandlearning.The
processofschedulingiscomplexanddynamic.Byarticulatingsomeprinciples,thefaculty
intendstocontributeproductivelytothisprocess,butrelativelybroadprinciplescannot
addressallcircumstances.Consequently,goodcommunicationamongstudents,faculty
members,department-chairs,program-directors,staffmembers,andtheadministration
remainsessential.Someissuesconnectedtoschedulingmaybeaddressedbyarticulating
principles;othersarebestaddressedindividually,withflexibility,cooperation,and
practicalityinmind.
2.Theuniversity’sprimarymissionistoeducatethewholestudent;therefore,inaddition
toprovidinganacademiceducation,theuniversitycontinuestovaluestudents’
participationinathletics;intheperforming,visual,andliteraryarts;inmedia;inthe
ASUPS;andsoon.Consequently,thoseinvolvedwithschedulingneedtotakethese
elementsofacademiceducationintoaccount.Atthesametime,thecore-curriculum,
majors,minors,graduateprograms,andinterdisciplinarycurriculaformthebasisofa
PugetSoundeducation.Departmentsshouldavoidschedulingrequiredclassesforthe
majors,ofwhichclassestherearenotmultiplesectionsoralternatives,after4:00p.m.
Legitimateexceptionstothisguidelinemayarise,andtherearedifferentkindsof“required
classes,”butingeneral,departmentsshouldincludethisguidelineintheseveral
considerationsthatgointoschedulingclasses.Bythesametoken,somecourses(inthe
corecurriculumandinmajors,minors,andgraduateprograms),towhichstudentsmay
readilyfindalternatives,maybescheduledafter4:00p.m.Suchcoursescanservethe
needsofmanystudentsandfaculty-memberswithoutunderminingathletics,arts,and
media.
3.Thescheduleshouldreflectanoptimaluseoftheclassroomsavailable,ofthefive
working-daysavailableperweek,andofthehoursfrom8:00a.m.to9:50p.m.Itis
understood,ofcourse,thatthereareotherteaching-spacesbesidesactualclassrooms,such
aslaboratories,practice-rooms,andstudios.“Classrooms”hereisusedinabroadsense,
therefore.Theprinciplesarticulatedinthisdocumentacknowledgethediversityof
educationalvenuesandmethodsattheuniversity.
4.Inacademia,the50-minuteand80/90-minuteperiodsremaineffectiveandvenerable.
Itisunderstoodthat,forsoundpedagogicalreasons,somecolleaguesprefertheformer,
somethelatter,andsomeacombinationofboth.Itisunderstoodthatneitherperiodis
inherentlybetterpedagogicallyevenifindividualprofessorsstronglypreferonetothe
other.Personalpreferencedoesnotreflectaninherentpedagogicalvalueofeithertime-
slot.Therefore,thescheduleshouldreflectanoptimalcombinationofthe50-minuteand
80-minutetime-slotsforclasses.
5.Noclassesshouldbeginbefore8:00a.m.,andnoclassesshouldendlaterthan9:50p.m.
Moreover,ashasbeenthecustomattheuniversity,individuals,departments,thestaff,and
theadministrationshouldattempttoaccommodatereasonablepreferencesforaclass-
schedule.Themainscheduling-customnowseemstoinvolvegoodcommunicationamong
individuals,departments,associatedeans,theadvisingoffice,andtheRegistrar.There
appearstobenoreasontochangethiscustomarypracticeofreasonablenegotiationand
accommodation.
6.One-day-per-week,three-hourclassesshouldbelimitedto300-and400-levelcourses
andgraduatecourses.Exceptinextraordinarycircumstances,noprofessorshouldteach
morethanoneoftheseclassesperterm.Currently,suchclassesarerarelyscheduled;
therefore,debateaboutthedrawbacksandmeritsofsuchcoursesisprobablyunnecessary
andwasteful.However,three-hourslotsbeginningat3:00,4:00,5:00,and6:00shouldbe
availabletoteachin,aslongasschedulingsuchaclassreflectsguidelinesexpressedinitem
#2above.
7.Facultymembers’involvementinthebusinessofthesharedgovernanceoftheuniversity
isessential.Inordertofacilitatedeliberationanddecisionmakingthatismostbroadly
inclusiveoffacultycolleagues,itisincumbentontheuniversitytoassureaCommonPeriod
wheregovernance-relatedmeetingscantakeplace,andtomaximizetheopportunityfor
colleaguestoparticipateduringtheworkday.Wednesdaysbetween12:00-1:30will
constitutetheCommonPeriod.Departmentsshouldavoidschedulingclassesduringthis
timesothatasmanyfacultymembersaspossibleareavailabletoparticipateintheaffairs
ofgovernancethatconcernthewholecommunity.