UNH Faculty Senate

Motion on Academic and Programmatic Decisions
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UNH FACULTY SENATE
MOTION # VII-M11
Academic and Programmatic Decisions

1. Sponsoring committee: Academic Affairs Committee
2. Motion presenter: Tim Quinn
3. Date of Faculty Senate discussion: May 5, 2003
4. Rationale:

The Academic Affairs Committee of the Faculty Senate has reviewed the following documents: Review of the UNH Division of Continuing Education and Response of the Division of Continuing Education and Summer Session to the Report of the DCE Review Committee - Parts I and II. The DCE Programmatic Review Committee was originally composed of six administrators, one staff member and one faculty member; but the faculty member resigned for personal reasons, no other faculty member was appointed, and so there was no faculty representation on the DCE Programmatic Review Committee. Shared governance is an essential component of the ongoing activities and smooth running of the university, and this implies that both faculty and administrators should be actively involved in all academic endeavors including programmatic reviews. The Faculty Senate was deeply concerned that this review went forward without faculty representation.

The selection of the chairperson for a committee is one of the most important early procedures of any committee. The Faculty Senate was concerned about the selection of Dean LaCroix (UNH-M) and the potential conflict-of-interest possibilities, especially concerning the associate of arts degree offered through DCE but also at UNH-M.

Programmatic reviews should be as thorough as possible; all available resources should be utilized; and as many constituencies as possible should be interviewed and included in the review. The Faculty Senate was also concerned about the apparent lack of interviews with important faculty members and students, the dean of DCE, and the appropriate and wise use of consultants.

5. Motion:

The Academic Affairs Committee moves that it is the recommendation of the Faculty Senate (1) that all future academic and programmatic decisions, including reviews, be made with a suitable balance of representation from the faculty body; (2) that all academic and programmatic review committees have co-chairs (one faculty member and one administrator) and that the chairs have no vested interest in the outcome of the review; (3) that whenever possible, a full and complete use of all available resources (including interviews and the use of consultants) be performed and reported without bias in any written report; and (4) that, due to the serious flaws in the process, this review of the Division of Continuing Education should be discarded and the review should be performed again following the aforementioned recommendations. A representative task force drawn from the UNH and UNH-Manchester faculty and staff should be developed and combined with appropriate administrative personnel to make up this review committee.

6. Senate action: passed, on May 5, 2003

Vote: unanimous

Senate chair's signature: Barbara Krysiak, on May 15, 2003

Forwarded to: President Ann Hart, on May 16, 2003
Forwarded to: VPAA David Hiley, on May 16, 2003
Forwarded to: Dean Karol LaCroix, on May 16, 2003
Forwarded to: Dean Bruce Mallory, on May 16, 2003
Forwarded to: Dean Bill Murphy, on May 16, 2003
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