October 7, 2005

Present: Rob Shakespeare (chair), Judith Anderson, Bob Becker, Tom Busey, Sandra Dolby, Roger Levesque, Rosemary Lloyd, Al Ruesink (recorder), and Rick Van Kooten.

The meeting convened at 2:00.

Minutes of the previous meeting were approved unanimously.

Rob discussed with the committee his perceptions of the campus situation regarding future hardcopies of the schedule of classes, a topic of Bloomington Faculty Council discussion as well as ours. Some sort of printed copy will possibly be available in the spring for fall 2006 registration.

Next week the CPC expects to discuss the New Frontiers in the Arts and Humanities Program administered by the Office of Vice President for Research. There is a concern that the $6000 per course release may not be adequate to maintain course quality.

At 2:35 we were joined by Kiply Drew, acting head of the University Counsel office. We had asked her to come to discuss issues in the College Policy documents that the CPC is reviewing, but our conversation ranged widely. She noted that it is wise to have clear policies, and then to follow them carefully. Policies should be short and direct; few detailed steps are required and an elaborate series of steps is often counterproductive. Simple and precise language (as possible) is legal desideratum. According to Kip, "due process" is not as complex as it may seem. It includes notification and an opportunity to be heard. Employees should be notified of poor perceived performance as early as possible. Regarding e-mails, they should always be drafted as if the subject were going to be able to read them. They should be descriptive and not judgmental. Even after being "deleted," e-mails can often be found and printed off in response to court subpoenas. Kip feels the best test of any present policy is "Is that particular policy working for us?" She left at 3:00.

At 3:07, Dean Swamy joined us. Though he has not yet had time to review all the policy statements carefully, he is concerned that the CPC Policy Document on Distance Education of early 2002 is not really a policy document, is dated, and appears to fly against initiatives currently under discussion by College CUE (Committee on Undergraduate Education). A member of the CPC will attend upcoming CUE meetings when distance ed policy is discussed. In response to a question, Swamy noted that faculty/journals often request a lot of resources to house a journal here. This, plus the difficulties university presses are having, puts publication in the humanities under duress. Swamy would like the CPC to consider the support for journal management in relationship to other pressing College priorities, providing latitude for administrators to make resource decisions in individual cases. Swamy believes these issues need careful handling. The CPC will want more dialogue on all of the above issues. Swamy left at 3:26.

Next week we will begin to work our way through the policy documents. Before adjourning we shared some thoughts on policies regarding the possible suspension of usual faculty governance when a particular department is experiencing some turmoil.

The meeting adjourned at 3:35.

Questions or comments regarding the minutes and actions of the Policy Committee may be addressed to Rob Shakespeare, Dept. of Theater and Drama, Lee Norvelle Theater and Drama Ctr. A300H, 5-4367, shakespe@indiana.edu. Past minutes and College Policy Statements can be found at the CPC web page: www.indiana.edu/~college/faculty/policy/policies.shtml.