Table of Contents
Archived 1990-1991 Resolutions
Resolution 1990-1991-1 University Research Council Annual Report
At the beginning of each fall semester, the chair of the University Research Council from the previous year shall present an annual report to the Faculty Senate Chair, summarizing and evaluating the work of the Council during the previous academic year.
Approved by the Faculty Senate on November 1, 1990.
Approved by Provost Richard Astro on January 22, 1991 with the proviso:
“that if a change is made in the organization of the Council, the resolution would be modified as necessary.”
Resolution 1990-1991-2 Apportioning of Research Council
Membership
A written document should be formulated by the Research Council specifically apportioning its membership. At least two-thirds of the council’s members should be tenured faculty who are actively engaged in research and hold the rank of associate professor or professor and are not directly associated with a research ICU.
An individual who holds a current contractual appointment with an ICU or is a paid consultant for a research ICU is defined as directly associated with a research ICU.
Approved by the Faculty Senate on November 1, 1990.
In Process by Provost Richard Astro on April 30, 1991:
“working with Dr. Bass on the matter of Research Council representation. Also, the planned revision of the Senate charter could bring closure to this matter.”
Resolution 1990-1991-3 Establishing a University Non-Research ICU Council
(Returned to Committee)
The Office of Academic Affairs should establish a University Non-Research ICU Council comparable in composition and function to the University Research Council. This Council should provide oversight and periodic review of all non-research centers within the University. The Chair of the Non-Research Council and the administrator overseeing the non-research ICUs, at the beginning of each fall semester, should each submit to the Faculty Senate Chair, a separate annual report summarizing and evaluating the work of this Council during the previous academic year. A written Document should be formulated apportioning the membership of this Council. At least three-fourths of the Council members should be tenured faculty with the rank of associate professor or professor who are not directly associated with non-research ICUs.
Returned to the Ad Hoc Committee on Institutes, Centers, and Units by the Faculty Senate on November 1, 1990.
Resolution 1990-1991-4 Major and Minor Degree Program Guidelines
All degree offering programs and programs offering a minor must be housed within academic colleges and be subject to the usual academic and curriculum review process.
Approved by the Faculty Senate on November 1, 1990.
Approved by Provost Richard Astro on January 22, 1991.
Resolution 1990-1991-5 Class Size
Whereas, a reduction in the total number of course sections in the Spring semester 1991 is anticipated because of budget cuts, with the total number of students likely to increase,
Therefore, the UCF Faculty senate recommends that class size not be increased in cases where pedagogical quality would be sacrificed.
Approved by the Faculty Senate on December 6, 1990.
Approved by Provost Richard Astro on January 22, 1991.
Resolution 1990-1991-6 Recommendation to Lobby for Limit on A.A. Enrollments
Whereas, under current law in the State of Florida, state universities must admit all A.A. degree transfer students, and
Whereas, funding to provide instruction for such A.A. transfer admissions may not be available,
Therefore, the UCF Faculty Senate recommends that the President of the University actively lobby the Board of Regents and the legislature to allow the University to limit A.A. transfer enrollments in a manner consistent with available funding and the maintenance of quality education.
Approved by the Faculty Senate on December 6, 1990.
Approved by Provost Richard Astro on January 22, 1991:
“Accepted with the understanding that any lobbying effort would not interfere with system wide initiatives to contain growth in the number of AA transfers in times of financial difficulty.”
Resolution 1990-1991-7 Annual Tenure Earning Reviews
Whereas, a tenure earning candidate should be made aware of his or her progress toward tenure before the final evaluation process begins,
Be it resolved:
Department chairs will evaluate a tenure earning candidate’s progress based upon an annual report and resume in consultation with tenured department members (or their designated committee) during the annual evaluation process utilizing established guidelines for tenure. Written results of this progress evaluation will then be reflected on the current tenure appraisal form.
Approved by the Faculty Senate on February 7, 1991.
Approved by Provost Richard Astro on March 19, 1991.
Resolution 1990-1991-8 MODIFICATION OF RESOLUTION 1989-1990-8 Appointment of Department Chairs
A department chair/director shall serve a term of five years. Normally, a chair will not serve more than two successive terms.
Each college dean, upon consultation with that college’s faculty, will establish a procedure for the appointment and reappointment of department chair/directors. These college procedures will include a secret written and publicly recorded vote of the tenured and tenure earning faculty within the department and such faculty as the tenured and tenure earning faculty shall determine eligible to vote for both the appointment and reappointment of department chairs. The review will be conducted by departmental faculty and others who the dean deems appropriate. While a full review for reappointment will take place during the fifth year, chair appointments are renewable annually, and an interim review can be instituted by the dean at his or her own initiative or as a consequence of a request by the department faculty under college procedures. After due consideration, the dean will nominate a candidate for department chair whose appointment is subject to approval by the provost and the president.
New college procedures once established apply to all standing department chairs who have served at least five years. Those seeking reappointment will be reviewed according to the reappointment procedure of the college at some time during the 1990/1991 or 1991/1992 academic year. Appointment or reappointment of a departmental chair requires a simple majority vote of support by the voting faculty.
Approved by the Faculty Senate on December 6, 1990.
Approved by Provost Richard Astro on January 22, 1991.
Resolution 1990-1991-9 Baccalaureate Honors Criteria
The current criterion for University honors:
The University shall confer baccalaureate honors recognition on those students who have completed a minimum of 48 semester hours at UCF and who:
- Attain an overall grade point average which is in the upper 15% of the range established by all students graduating in the same college during the previous two years.
- Attain at least a 3.0 overall grade point average.
- Honors awarded will be
- Summa Cum Laude for those students in the upper 5%
- Magna Cum Laude for those students in the upper 10%, but not in the upper 5%.
- Cum Laude for those students in the upper 15% but not in the upper 10%.
should be changed to:
- Attain an overall grade point average which is in the upper 10% of the range established by all students graduating in the same college during the previous two years.
- Attain at least a 3.2 overall grade point average.
- Honors awarded will be
- Summa Cum Laude for those students in the upper 2.5%.
- Magna Cum Laude for those students in the upper 5%, but not in the upper 2.5%.
- Cum Laude for those students in the upper 10% but not in the upper 5%.
Approved by the Faculty Senate on January 10, 1991.
Approved by Provost Richard Astro on January 22, 1991.
Resolution 1990-1991-10 Selling of Examination Copies of Textbooks
Whereas, the selling of complimentary/exam copies of textbooks creates negative consequences for students, faculty, and authors alike, and
Whereas, the free and cooperative spirit of textbook publishers in providing their products has a beneficial effect on teaching and research,
Be it therefore resolved:
Faculty should treat examination copies of textbooks for the purpose for which they were intended (i.e. legitimate academic review for classroom purposes.) Furthermore, faculty shall not sell complimentary copies provided to them by textbook publishers.
Approved by the Faculty Senate on February 7, 1991.
Approved by Provost Richard Astro on March 19, 1991.
Resolution 1990-1991-11 Refocusing of University Personnel Committee
(Defeated)
Whereas, the faculty in the department, college, and discipline are considered best qualified to judge tenure/promotion cases and;
Whereas, there are serious questions as to the effectiveness of committee members outside of the candidate’s department, college, and discipline to judge the candidate’s qualifications
Be it therefore resolved:
The Faculty Senate recommends elimination of the University Personnel Committee from the tenure/promotion process.
Defeated by the Faculty Senate on February 7, 1991.
The Senate approved an alternate version as Resolution 1990-1991-12 (below).
Resolution 1990-1991-12 Refocusing of University Personnel Committee
Whereas, the University Personnel Committee, formed in the early years at UCF, has often served well as a check and balance on the recommendations of college personnel committees and deans and has acted as an effective recommending body to the Provost and President, and
Whereas, this committee provides an additional source of faculty participation in the important process of tenure and promotion review that should not be surrendered,
Be it therefore resolved:
The Faculty Senate recommends that the University Personnel Committee be retained but refocused by the following steps:
- Change the name to University Tenure and Promotion committee to clarify its sole purpose and to avoid confusion with the Faculty Senate Personnel Committee.
- Request the Faculty Senate Chair to appoint an ad hoc committee that would review qualifications for membership and other procedures to avoid conflicts of interest, to encourage thorough consideration of files, and to assure fairness.
Approved by the Faculty Senate on February 7, 1997.
Approved by Provost Richard Astro on March 19, 1991:
“Part 1 approved as written. Part 2 is amended to include a review of procedures, but not to mandate Senate review of the qualifications of prospective members.”
Approved by the Faculty Assembly on April 23, 1992.
Approved by President Hitt on June 1, 1992.
Resolution 1990-1991-13 Recognizing Distinguished Scholarly Achievements
(Defeated)
Whereas, the University of Central Florida has few means of recognizing distinguished scholarly achievements beyond the promotion to the rank of full professor; and
Whereas, it is desirable to recognize and reward outstanding accomplishments in order to retain our best faculty:
Be it therefore resolved that the rank of Distinguished Professor be established at the University of Central Florida beginning in the 1992-1993 academic year. The conditions for the appointments should be the following:
- Only faculty who hold the rank of full professor and who have served on the UCF faculty for five years are eligible.
- Promotion to the rank of Distinguished Professor will be made by the same procedure as for tenure and promotion to other ranks.
- The term for the Distinguished Professorship is five years and may be renewed once by the same procedure as the original appointment. The title of distinguished professor may be held by the individual for the duration of her/his tenure at the University of Central Florida.
- No more than two faculty may be promoted to the rank of distinguished professor in any one year and no more than twelve faculty members may hold the rank at any one time. No more than one appointment can be made in any one college in a single year.
- Distinguished professors will receive at least $5,000 per year in addition to their regular salary.
- Individuals, companies, or corporations making contributions to the UCF Foundation may request that their donations be directed to the Distinguished Professorship Program.
Defeated by the Faculty Senate on March 7, 1991.
Resolution 1990-1991-14 Endowed Chairs
(Returned to Committee)
Whereas, endowed chairs represent a window of excellence for university, students, and faculty,
Be it resolved:
Effective immediately, all endowed chairs will be appointed to a five year term. In exceptional circumstances this appointment will be renewable for one five year term.
In selecting an endowed chair, the dean of the college will appoint a committee of professorial faculty representing the academic discipline to nominate an individual for initial appointment or reappointment. In addition to meeting rigorous qualifying criteria, the successful appointee will be recommended for the rank of professor with tenure by a vote of the professorial faculty within his or her academic department.
Performance of endowed chairs will be evaluated annually. Established faculty evaluation procedures in the academic department of assignment will be followed in evaluating endowed chairs.
Returned to the Personnel Committee by the Faculty Senate on March 7, 1991.
Resolution 1990-1991-15 Religious Holidays Absence Policy
Whereas, the listing of religious holidays in the University Calendar may be interpreted as an endorsement of religion, and
Whereas, it is not feasible to list the holidays for all such faiths so as to represent diverse cultures and faiths in a fair and equitable manner,
Be it therefore resolved:
The Faculty Senate recommends that only university holidays be listed in the catalog and that the following sentences be placed at the end of each term calendar:
“Faculty are encouraged to allow make-up tests and examinations for students who are absent from class due to religious holidays. A student should provide, in advance, written notice of the holiday and of his or her intent to be absent.”
Approved by the Faculty Senate on March 7, 1991.
Approved by Provost Richard Astro on April 30, 1991.
Resolution 1990-1991-16 Commencement Ceremony–Faculty Participation
Topics that warrant further consideration in regard to commencement ceremony issues:
- Faculty attendance at commencement is perceived as important by students; therefore, faculty participation should be encouraged.
- Administrators, including department chairs, (and all twelve-month personnel on faculty lines) should be required to attend all ceremonies for their respective colleges during the year.
- Department chairs, at the beginning of the academic year, should solicit individual faculty’s commitment to participate in one ceremony during the year. This expectation should be considered part of the regular professional assignment and be reflected accordingly in the annual evaluation.
- We strongly object to an earlier recommendation that staff be considered faculty for purposes of commencement participation.
- An inquiry should be made into the possibility that the UCF Bookstore will provide a limited number of complimentary academic regalia rentals. Numbers of student orders would provide a basis for determining this figure, and faculty regalia allocation to separate colleges should be based proportionately on each college’s number of graduates per term.
- The senate chair is urged to select the senate platform representative and the marshal from among the university’s senior faculty, beginning with those who are retiring before any other faculty are approached. This participation should be an honor for those with long service to the institution. If necessary, the marshal should be chosen from the faculty at-large,, not from the senate.
- Selection of the spring ceremony senate platform representative and marshall should be made by the outgoing senate chair.
- With completion of the arena, the university should move to one fall and one spring commencement day per year.
- Honorary degree candidates should be recommended by the Faculty Senate Steering Committee and selection criteria shall be developed by the Faculty Senate Steering Committee.
- Commencement speaker candidates should be recommended by the Faculty Senate Steering Committee and selection criteria shall be developed by the Faculty Senate Steering Committee.
Approved by the Faculty Senate on March 7, 1991.
Approved in part by Provost Richard Astro on April 30, 1991:
“Items 1, 2, 4-7 – accepted as written.
Item 3 – accepted with the provision that the Senate adopt a method by which faculty are chosen for summer commencements so long as we have them.
Item 8 – this is a desirable objective; its implementation is subject to review of the number of graduates annually and the need for an appropriate number of ceremonies.
Item 9 – the Honorary Degree Committee already performs this function. Should the committee be made a dependent committee of the senate in the course of the revision of the senate charter, this item would be accepted in the normal course of events.
Item 10 – rejected. The President will continue to solicit recommendations from various campus committees and other academic groups. We welcome recommendations from the Senate Steering Committee but do not feel its members alone should choose speakers.”