Faculty Assembly

Summary of Faculty Concerns/Priorities
As of: 9/13/02

Academic Standards and Practices

-the lowering of academic standards/grade inflation
-poor student work ethic
-the impact of the FCQs on academic standards
-the use of FCQs to retaliate against faculty
-the problem of plagiarism and the need for a system to track repeat offenders
-the need to either develop or implement a student honor code
-the need to administer a freshman/sophomore writing proficiency exam
-CCHE use of “wrong headed” indicators of program quality
-the need for a campus wide assessment program

Compensation Issues

-Out of control health insurance premiums and co-pays
-Faculty salaries
-Lecturer and instructor salaries -difference between faculty and administrator sick leave policies (e.g. administrators on 12 month appointments are paid for 25% of their unused sick leave at retirement while 9 month faculty are not paid for unused sick leave)

Faculty Governance

-clarifying the role of faculty governance in the administration of this institution
-need to develop policies and processes that better formalize the role of faculty governance in policy setting and decision making
-need to educate the faculty and the administration on the importance and role of faculty governance in running UCCS
-need for a faculty governance brochure that explains what all the committees do
-need for more women and minority faculty in faculty governance

Physical Plant Issues

-parking space
-lack of an energy conservation plan for the campus-pathetic state of Dwire hall

Growth Issues

-growth without new faculty positions
-Growth strategy:  Is this appropriate given state resources do not follow growth, nor is there likely to be any change to this in the near future.  Why not pursue a well-articulated, well-conceived quality strategy?
-need to develop a growth strategy that maintains or improves quality
-increasing faculty workload due to growth
-lack of new tenure track hires despite rapid growth of college
-Staffing virtually all new growth with lecturers and instructors
-concern over classroom and other instructional space for a growth campus
-need for new dorms

Faculty Needs

-concrete standards for tenure and promotion
-need for a program where senior faculty mentor junior faculty
-need for more minority and women faculty

Other Issues

-Perceived need to evaluate Freshman Seminar
-concern over the accumulation of power in the VCAA’s office
-lack of national marketing of UCCS
-Student retention rates:  Why is our completion rate so poor?
-Needed services for our increasing "traditional" student population:  e.g. If we do not aggressively place our graduates, our applicants willdry up.  This can no longer be a faculty-based initiative.
-need for more student travel time between classes

(Items in bold face were mentioned in multiple replies)

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