The Cal State Fullerton Academic Senate passed several policy revisions at its first meeting on Thursday to clarify language that could have been misinterpreted.
The policies reviewed were academic grade appeals, recruitment and appointment of tenure-line faculty, faculty emeriti status and academic standards for postbaccalaureate students.
The Academic Grade Appeals Policy defines the procedure for final grade appeals when a student believes that their instruction either violated a university rule, made a calculation error or was based on academic misconduct that had not been previously reported to the university.
The senate passed an adjustment requiring the administrator to immediately forward a copy of the student’s appeal to the faculty member. It also defined that if the appeal was made fewer than 21 calendar days before the end of the semester, it will be deferred until the next “regular” semester — fall or spring.
The Recruitment and Appointment of Tenure-Line Faculty Policy’s initial amendments were suggested by the senate’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion committee. One of their goals was to restore information on Human Resources and Inclusive Excellence’s demographic review procedures as a transparency measure, but senators ultimately struck it down during the meeting.
“I think it is important for us to showcase that we’re committed to an inclusive search, but we’re not just looking at someone’s demographics. We are committed to ensuring that we are hiring the best for our students,” Associate Vice President of HRIE Cecil Chik said.
The amendment also changes the language referring to DEI to “inclusive searches,” in an attempt to broaden the term and reduce references to “diversity.”
Additionally, it defined that applicants will need to submit a “Statement of Commitment to Student Success,” which previously also included the “Institutional Mission,” but the senate determined that defining the university’s mission in every application wasn’t feasible.
The Faculty Emeriti Status Policy was revised to adjust faculty eligibility requirements and update the language. It defines that both part-time and full-time service will count towards eligibility by recognizing at least ten years of full-time status, a minimum of 300 teaching assignments or 15 years of service as eligible.
These changes allow faculty who have already retired to apply for emeritus status. It is also now inclusive to part-time temporary faculty “whose services accumulate over a longer span of years than a full-time appointment.”
The Academic Standards for Postbaccalaureate Students Policy was revised to replace “academic probation” with “academic notice.” The policy states that postbaccalaureate students will be subject to academic notice if their grade point average drops below 2.5 after completing 12 or more units.
Every motion approved by the senate must be signed by the president before it is implemented. The senate sends a transmittal with amendments and minutes to the president a week following the meeting.