Class and Labor II Report

Nadine Kaslow and Gray Crouse reported on the work of the Class and Labor II committee. They presented some of the data they had collected regarding faculty class and labor issues, including gender equity in salary and tenure-track positions, though noted that their findings are preliminary at this point. The next step for the committee is to analyze the qualitative data gathered from focus groups in more detail, and finish gathering and analyzing the quantitative data related to their faculty survey. The committee will return to the Faculty Council in the fall when all the data have been analyzed and interpreted, and a final report will be available in November with comprehensive findings and recommendations.

Vote on University Tenure, Promotions, and Appointments Committee (TPAC)

Following the March Town Hall discussion, the Faculty Council voted unanimously to support new processes to guide faculty governance in university-level promotion and tenure reviews and to nominate a writing committee to continue drafting the details of the new process. The newly endorsed processes include:

  • Forming a Tenure, Promotion, and Appointments Committee (TPAC)
  • Electing a faculty chair of TPAC
  • Implementing consistent, transparent review processes for TPAC
  • Implementing an advisory vote by TPAC elected faculty to the President/ Provost and Board of Trustees (BOT)
  • Implementing an advisory memo from TPAC elected faculty to the President/ Provost and BOT

 

A writing committee will begin work in the summer of 2015, and implementation of the new process is tentatively scheduled for the spring of 2016.

Culture of Assessment

Jason Hockenberry presented an update from the Learning Outcomes and Assessment (LOA) Committee, introducing David Jordan and Nancy Bliwise, experts that could speak to the culture of assessment. David Jordan discussed the federal requirements for assessment and accreditation, as well as more specific regional standards. He commented that he believes we should move away from talking about assessment primarily in terms of accreditation requirements. Instead, he suggested that we focus on our teaching, our learning, improving our methods of assessment, and building a better culture of assessment. Nancy Bliwise provided a brief summary of Emory’s last accreditation experience. Jason Hockenberry appealed to the Faculty Council to spread the word and to recommend faculty with expertise or the desire to develop expertise in program-level learning assessment who could serve as LOA committee members.