College of Arts and Sciences Policy Committee Minutes

December 2, 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 November 18 meeting were approved as slightly amended.

Rob shared a memo he has written to President Herbert reminding him that we still await some response to our hand-delivered letter of November 8th regarding the search for a Bloomington Chancellor.

After amicable discussion, the committee voted 6 yes and 1 abstention (the abstention from a member who will not be on CPC in the spring; therefore felt he shouldn't vote) to have Judith and Bob co-chair the CPC for the spring semester. Rob will remain on the committee but will no longer chair. After some deliberation, we found a regular meeting time--Thursdays 4:00-6:00 (hoping for a 5:30 adjournment when possible).

We continued our discussion of possible revisions of policy documents.

From 2:30-2:58, Associate Dean Catherine Larson joined us to discuss the differences between the posted CPC policy on counting correspondence/distributed ed courses and the the CUE (College Committee on Undergraduate Education) actions on the same matter. With distance education and web-based learning becoming more common, there are important issues here, issues that may change with time. Good communication now exists with the School of Continuing Studies and efforts are being made to enhance cooperation and to provide more continuing oversight and quality control by the Bloomington departments that initiate courses for Continuing Studies. We made some progress on modifying the 2002 CPC Policy on Distance Education so that it provides a cap on distributed education courses but allows for some exceptions in special cases. The CPC and Dean Larson are nearing agreement.

At 3:00, Dean Swamy joined us. (And Rick left the meeting. But those were unrelated activities; we _can_ deal with two physicists at once.) We worked together on four policy documents that we had sent to Swamy in draft form:

Support for journals that locate at IU
Advisory group on Awards and Endowed Chairs
Annual salary merit reviews
Enhanced pre-tenure review

These documents are being tweaked as a result of our discussion and will be circulated with our minutes in the near future while still in draft form. Swamy departed at 3:45. The CPC discussed what work still was needed on the above four policy statements and decided who would do it.

The meeting adjourned at 3:53.

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, 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.

Policy Documents

The following documents represent draft revisions of some CPC Policy Documents of recent years. The CPC worked on them, submitted them to Dean Swamy for suggestions, worked on them some more where necessary and now circulates them for faculty comments. For the original versions, see the CPC Policy Document site: http://www.indiana.edu/~college/faculty/policy/policies.shtml . Responses about these documents should be sent to Judith Anderson (anders@indiana.edu) or Bob Becker (becker@indiana.edu), our CPC co-chairs for the spring semester.

Policy on Journal Support (Original was Jan. 25, 1994)

Draft for faculty comment, Dec. 9, 2005

The College Policy Committee recognizes that journal editorship can significantly enhance the research mission and reputation of Indiana University, and where possible will support this service. While there is no budget line devoted to such support, the College may provide monies, space and internet resources on an ad hoc basis, subject to the following constraints and guidelines.

The College expects that some support for the editorial office is provided by the journal publisher, professional organization or host department. These may include an honorarium for the editor, support for professional staff, and rent for space. These items should be negotiated by the editor before accepting the position. Where possible, the College will contribute to meeting these needs. When seeking such support, the journal editor should make a request that includes the following information:

The importance of the journal and its relation to other journals in the field.
The ability of the journal publisher, sponsoring organization or host department to support the editorial activities on the Bloomington Campus.
If space for editorial staff is required, a letter from the department chair detailing how such space can be arranged.
A summary of the costs (e.g., course releases or graduate support) and the benefits (e.g., enhancing the reputation of the host department or improving the ability to recruit faculty and graduate students).

The final decision on support resides with the Dean of the College.

Policy on Leave Without Pay (Original was Sept. 26, 2005)

Draft for faculty comment, Dec. 2, 2005

The College recognizes that leaves without pay (LWOP) often foster the continuing scholarly activities of the faculty. The College also recognizes that planning and securing outside funding for a LWOP takes time and includes many uncertainties. However, the financial management of the College requires a set date on which a scheduled LWOP becomes fixed and may not be canceled. Accordingly, funds made available by LWOPs will be budgeted for other purposes, as of the May 15 preceding the academic year in which the LWOPs are to occur. From that date the presumption will normally be that the faculty member will be expected to honor the scheduled LWOP.

Policy on Distance Education (Original was Jan. 17, 2002)

Draft for faculty comment, Dec. 9, 2005

Introduction

The growth of the internet and world-wide web makes available tools that can enrich and enhance courses taught within the College. The Policy Committee's chief concern is with the quality of the education that our students receive. The ability to put courses on the web has also raised the profile of courses taught in a non-traditional way, specifically distance education including correspondence courses. These developments are both exciting and cause for some concern. The Policy Committee finds considerable merit in the points raised in the June 13, 2001 symposium held by the Bloomington Faculty Council on distributed education (www.indiana.edu/~bfc/Dist-Ed.htm). We endorse the position that our students should have direct contact with their instructors and peers. Related distance education guidelines were approved by the College Committee on Undergraduate Education on March 19, 2002 (www.college.indiana.edu/faculty/cue/min031902.shtml ).

Quality Control

Web-based courses available for College credit must be subject to the same stringent quality control applied to conventional courses with regard to content, review procedure for new courses, teaching evaluations, information about grade distributions and number of students completing the course, and peer review including "virtual visits."

Web-Based Courses and Degree Requirements

Indiana University Bloomington is a residential campus, and College students will NOT be permitted to count correspondence and distributed education courses, which are primarily meant for nonresident and Continuing Studies students. These courses will not count towards the 122 minimum hours or degree requirements needed for graduation in the College of Arts and Sciences unless prior permission is granted by an Academic Dean in consultation with the affected departments. Such permission will be granted only in response to exceptional circumstances (e.g., illness, military service). Even in such specially approved cases, no more than two courses will count towards graduation.

Recommendations Regarding Web-Based Courses

The College Policy Committee is hesitant to prescribe specifics concerning the development of new web-based courses by College faculty given the rapid developments in this area. College faculty developing such courses should be encouraged to work with the Teaching and Learning Technology Lab (TLTL) to implement courses on the web while keeping control of content. The College must work with other campus or system units to address issues such as ownership, revenue streams, and the most efficient delivery system that also insures quality control.

Recommendations Regarding Use of Web-Based Tools for Enrichment

In the development of courses within the College, we are very much in favor of making use of all available technologies, especially electronic means, to enrich the educational experience of our students. Most of us make use of email to contact students. Many faculty members use Oncourse, online quizzes, electronic discussions, web-based demonstrations, and so forth to enrich student learning. Indeed, many of these actually increase the contact between instructor and student. We encourage the continued development of such electronic aids and encourage the College faculty to avail themselves of the support and resources provided by the College.

Policy on Awards, Endowed Chairs, and Endowed Professorships (Original was Apr. 3, 1992)

Draft for faculty comment

I. Administration

The College Dean shall appoint an Advisory Committee of five persons representative of the departments and programs of the College. A majority of the appointments will be made from a list submitted by the College Policy Committee, additional appointments to be made by the Dean. The Advisory Committee will consider matters pertaining to the appointment and administration of awards, endowed chairs, and professorships. For the purpose of evaluation, the Advisory Committee will receive dossier materials.

II. Purposes

Use of awards and endowments under College control shall be for rewarding outstanding faculty, recruiting or retaining outstanding faculty, and enhancing programs in accordance with long-term planning.

III. Terms of Appointments

Except as mandated by bequests, the term of an endowed professorship or endowed chair is five years (renewable), and the term of an endowed chair is for the tenure of the recipient in the department of initial appointment. At the conclusion of a term, the power of appointment returns to the College (i.e., the Dean in consultation with the Advisory Committee) for review.

IV. Uses of Funds

Distribution of funds not determined in the initial agreement between the College, the affected department, and the recipient, shall be at the discretion of the recipient within the accepted bounds for expenditure of University funds. The Advisory Committee and the Dean may establish a standard pattern for the distribution of funds associated with appointments but will have discretion to modify the distribution with each new appointment in accordance with diverse and changing needs across departments and over time. They may also agree to modify the terms of an existing appointment at the request of the affected department.

NOTE: The Ruth N. Halls Bequest

Endowed chairs and professorships supported by the Halls bequest () will be restricted to the Arts and Humanities disciplines within the College. Eligible disciplines will be determined by the College Dean with the advice of the College Policy Committee. Terms of appointment will be determined by the Dean in consultation with the College Policy Committee. The most recent determination on record is the College document entitled “Guidelines for Awarding Ruth N. Halls Professorships,” dated December 2004, and available from the Office of the Dean.

Policy on Enhanced Pre-Tenure Review (Original was Nov. 27, 1991)

Draft for faculty comment, Dec. 9, 2005

The Policy Committee recommends that, for untenured faculty members, all departments of the College of Arts and Sciences institute reviews in the third or fourth year of the probationary period more substantive than the annual review.

The goal of this enhanced review is to provide faculty members with detailed, timely departmental assessments of their progress toward fulfilling tenure requirements.

The review should include evaluations of records in the areas of teaching, research, and service. Evaluators should include at least two departmental members in addition to the chair.

Results of the reviews will be shared with the candidates.

It is understood that many departments already have in force viable systems of review that with little or no modification would fulfill the goals of this policy. The Dean shall have the responsibility for approving and monitoring enhanced review procedures.

Annual reviews taking place in the third or fourth year of the probationary period leading to non-reappointment decisions must follow the Bloomington Faculty Council policy "Review of Non-Reappointment After the Initial Three Probationary Years" (March 4, 2003). http://www.indiana.edu/~bfc/docs/policies/Nonreapp.htm