October 18, 2004

Present: Rob Shakespeare (chair), Judith Anderson, Erik Bucy, Katy Fraser, Jeff Hart, Kevin Hunt, Chuck Livingston, Al Ruesink (recorder)

DID YOU KNOW: The complete schedule of classes for spring semester is available to be downloaded as a PDF file at www.registrar.indiana.edu and will take about 1.5 megs of space. BUT BEWARE: It is 454 pages.

The meeting convened at 2:30.

Minutes of the meeting of October 11 were amended and approved.

A short discussion of the College Salary Equity Adjustment Policy indicated that we need to schedule a larger discussion of the matter in the future after we have all had an opportunity to read the policy carefully.

Because we have been asked to comment on a draft proposal for an MS in Biotechnology and had already checked some initial thoughts with Dean Widlanski, we were able to conclude that the program is desirable, that it builds on the B.S. in Biotechnology that has already been approved, that it will cap a 5-year package in Biotechnology studies, and that it will find support from the CTE funding already approved. We will comment on it favorably in our official report to Dean Widlanski but will note the need for some clarifications in the written document.

We discussed the non-tenure track (NTT) situation at some length, extending a discussion that was begun last week and didn't conclude today. Policy issues that may need to be addressed include a) the great differences in roles between NTT's, with some seeming to have tenure-track responsibilities (i.e. if qualified in this way, why aren't they tenure-track), b) how to avoid exploitation of these faculty, c) the lack of NTT voice in university governance, d) the large number of NTT's in some units, which seems to dilute the content/effectiveness of faculty governance there, and e) rather different roles for similar NTT's in different units. Feeling that we need better information about the formal situation of NTT's, we asked Rob to invite someone from the Dean of the Faculties office to join us at a future meeting to discuss NTT's. We also believe that Dean Swamy or Dean Zaret can provide us with information on what the College communicates to chairs regarding NTT's, what the rules are in various departments for NTT involvement in governance, and what the salary rules/guidelines are for NTT appointments.

In the spring, Erik and Kevin will both be on leave and unable to work on the CPC. Rob was given suggestions from the CPC regarding folks to invite as members for the spring semester. During the spring, there will be an election for some regular members to replace those whose term on the CPC expires. The election process was outlined.

Under new business, the CPC began to consider how best the College (and hence really the University) can respond to the various ways that electronic publishing is becoming both common and desirable. This has implications for promotion and tenure decisions, salary setting, as well as for the health of University Presses. CPC members agreed that there is a need to review the nature, status, and health of academic publishing more generally, especially in the Humanities area. Rob will seek some professional expertise on this to meet with us and asked CPC members to consider how electronic publishing is affecting their particular fields.

The meeting adjourned at 4:00.

Albert Ruesink, recorder

Questions or comments regarding the minutes and actions of the Policy Committee may be addressed to Rob Shakespeare, Dept. of Theater and Drama, 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.