1.5 Faculty/Administrative Policies
(JoEllen Schulz, Director of Telecommunications - 6/03)
Staff identification cards are issued each year at the Switchboard to all full-time employees and extended part-time faculty members at Gustavus and their spouses for admission to home athletic events, Lyceum programs, and plays.
(John Clementson - 7/09)
Department Budget
Each department submits in the fall a budget request for the next fiscal year which begins June 1. This covers positions (including clerical assistance), supplies and expenses, major items of equipment. The department does not project actual figures under salary; its request in terms of personnel enables the administration to arrive at specific sums. The department does ask for definite allocations to cover both equipment and expendable items. The administration reviews departmental requests and informs the chair in the spring semester or early summer what the approved figures are. It is the responsibility of the department to operate within these allocations; the Finance Office sends monthly statements of total charges.
The Finance Office processes all purchase orders for instructional materials. It also arranges for maintenance and repair of office equipment, the cost of which is charged to the department. Not so charged, however, is business stationery, available at Print Services in the Jackson Campus Center.
The Book Mark handles all orders for class texts, while requests for desk copies are made directly to the publisher by the instructor or department. Most clerical supplies, from class record books to paper clips are available at the Book Mark. The individual staff member may take care of his or her own needs in this area, but in the interest of efficiency, departments should order and have on hand the supplies that instructors are sure to need. (A separate description of the Book Mark facilities and services is available.)
Library Budget
The major responsibility for ordering books to build up and maintain adequate resources for their departments, within limits of available funds, rests with the respective departments. Chairs are informed of the amount allocated for each fiscal year and are sent subsequent statements of balance unspent. April 1 is the deadline for making departmental orders for each fiscal year.
(Kenneth C. Westphal, Vice President for Finance and Treasurer - 6/03)
Gustavus carries liability, property, and automobile insurance. In the event of an accident, it should be reported to the College Finance Office (Attn: Treasurer) within 24 hours of the event.
Parking Regulations (Campus Safety)
Use the link above to reach the current parking regulations.
(Ray Thrower - 8/09)
Revised 10/25/06
(Kristianne Reinholtzen, Registrar - 8/09)
(Robert M. Weisenfeld, Assistant Vice President for Corporate and Foundation Relations - 8/09)
This policy is available as a PDF file at the following web link: Investigator Financial Disclosure/Conflict of Interest Policy
Hardcopies of this policy are also available from the Office of Corporate and Foundation Relations
(Robert M. Weisenfeld, Assistant Vice President for Corporate and Foundation Relations, 8/09)
This policy is available at the following web link: Procedures for Reporting and Dealing with Possible Misconduct in Research
Hardcopies of this policy are also available from the Office of Corporate and Foundation Relations
(Robert M. Weisenfeld, Assistant Vice President for Corporate and Foundation Relations, 08/09)
The policy is available as a pdf file at Program Incentive Policy.
Hardcopies of this policy are also available from the Office of Corporate and Foundation Relations
(David Fienen - 7/09)
It is the policy of the College to allow Safety and Security staff to open locked areas of academic buildings for students only when entry is authorized by a faculty member. To have a door unlocked, a student must provide a note signed by a faculty member with their name(s), time and date of authorized entry and brief description of purpose. Specialized forms are available from department chairs and the Director of Safety and Security for this purpose.
Questions and clarifications of this policy should be referred to Ray Thrower, Director of Campus Safety.
Use the link above to reach the current key regulations.
(Ray Thrower, Director of Campus Safety - 6/01)
(David Fienen - 7/09)
Regular Contract Faculty
Faculty in tenured or tenure-track positions will, whenever possible, have single offices. Faculty offices will normally be grouped by department. Individual office assignments will be made by consensus within the department. If consensus cannot be reached, the department chair or Provost will make the assignment.
Special Appointment and Part-time Faculty
The College will provide faculty in special appointment or part-time positions with appropriate office space. Contract length, years of service to the institution, course load, and other factors related to the teaching assignment will be taken into consideration when assigning offices. When possible, faculty teaching full-time (4/7 or more) will not share an office. Faculty teaching less than 4/7 may share an office with at least one other faculty member. When at all possible, office space will be provided in or near the appropriate departmental cluster. Departments are expected to make arrangements for visiting and adjunct faculty within their area. If space is not available within the departmental area, the Provost should be contacted regarding other possible locations on campus. Faculty members on leave are expected to vacate their faculty office so that the office and computer may be used by their replacement.
Faculty Emeriti
The Provost will work to establish a group office space for faculty emeriti. Until such time as space is available, faculty emeriti will be provided office space if they have a teaching contract using the criteria for part-time faculty.
Due to the scarcity of office space on campus, it may sometimes be necessary to house faculty from one department in the office cluster of another. Unassigned or vacant faculty office space should be reported to the Provost by the department chair and may not be converted to other use (i.e. workroom, student office, etc.) without approval.
The Faculty Salary Report is found in Appendix B of the Faculty Manual. The report is updated each year.
See the All-College Policies (Gray Pages)
(John Clementson - 10/09)
Introduction
The use of Diversity Representatives on faculty hiring committees is a key component in the College's attempt to become a more culturally diverse and welcoming place. The Diversity Representative works in conjunction with the hiring department to insure that all position descriptions are written in such a way as to not exclude people of color, women and other underrepresented groups. The Diversity Representative serves as a voting member of the search committee reviewing applicants and interviewing candidates. In addition to providing assistance to the search with regard to multicultural issues, the Diversity Representative is often the only person on the search committee from outside the department and therefore also serves as a representative of the faculty as a whole. Diversity Representatives are full-time faculty at the College who serve at the request of the Dean of the Faculty. A brief training session is conducted each year for new Diversity Representatives.
Assignment
The Dean of the Faculty assigns Diversity Representatives. The assignment will be upon the mutual agreement of the Diversity Representative, the department chair and the Dean of the Faculty.
Job Responsibilities and Timeline
Step One-Learning the Needs of the Department
After being assigned to a search the Diversity Representative should meet with the chair of the search committee. Usually this will be the department chair. This meeting should be informational in nature and is a chance for the committee chair to give the Diversity Representative background information on the position.
Step Two-Expanding the Pool
The Diversity Representative should also encourage members of the search committee to contact acquaintances in the minority community in order to make them aware of the position and encourage their application. Search committee members should also be encouraged to contact colleagues at other institutions for help in identifying potential minority candidates. Identified candidates should be contacted to apprise them of the availability of the position and to encourage their application.
Individual faculty and chairs should be encouraged to network continually. Many women and faculty of color hires result from personal contact rather than public advertisement. Networking with an eye towards faculty diversity should be encouraged whenever faculty or administrators travel to meetings. If faculty keep the diversity goal in mind when attending national meetings and in dealing with the community, they can turn up many useful leads and prospects. An institution that actively seeks interaction with all its communities will have a much better chance of establishing a productive network.
Step Three-Reviewing Files
Before reviewing the files the Diversity Representative should initiate a discussion with the search committee regarding:
The Diversity Representative is expected to review all applicant files.
Step Four-Candidate Selection
Search committees will develop their own way of "ranking" candidates to decide whom to bring to campus. It has been found to be helpful to use the principle of the "acceptable candidate." Using this method a list of all candidates who could successfully perform the job is created and used as the first narrowing criterion.
Step Five-Participate in the On-Campus Interview
The Diversity Representative should participate fully in the on-campus interview process. It is especially important for the Diversity Representative to attend each candidate's class presentation. The Diversity Representative should be prepared to meet alone with the candidates, should they request it, to address issues related to campus climate for diversity, etc.
Step Six-Final Recommendation
The Diversity Representative should be included in the final discussion regarding hiring recommendations. If and when a vote of the search committee is necessary, the Diversity Representative has one vote.
Step Seven-Wrap-up
While no formal report is necessary from the Diversity Representative, suggestions for improvement are welcomed by the Associate Provost and Dean of the Faculty.
Problem Searches
Occasionally the search process has its challenges. The role of the Diversity Representative can serve as an independent voice in the process. Diversity Representatives are encouraged to talk to the Associate Provost and Dean of the Faculty regarding any issues that may arise during the search.
It is the responsibility of the entire search committee to conduct the search in a way that maintains the integrity of the process and the institution.
(Kenneth C. Westphal, Vice President for Finance and Treasurer - 6/03)
On-campus events sponsored by the College where alcohol is served will follow the procedures outlined in the College Alcohol Policy. Alcohol for such events will be purchased and supplied by the College Dining Service.
Alcohol provided at off-campus events sponsored by the College should, whenever possible, be purchased by the College Dining Service. Reimbursement to employees of the College for the purchase of alcohol for College sponsored events will only be permitted for events related to recruitment and/or fund-raising. All such reimbursements must be approved by the appropriate vice president.
(Policy clarified by the Administrative Council, July, 1999)
(Kristianne Reinholtzen, Registrar - 8/09)
Faculty policy requires that mid-term and final grades be reported for all students either via the web grading screens or on official grade report forms to the Registrar's Office within the published time lines of the academic calendar. The course instructor must sign all submitted grade reports. Direct fax service to the Registrar's Office is available by using 507-933-6258.
Kristianne Reinholtzen, Registrar -8/09)
Faculty will report mid-term grades for all students. The options for each class include either A-F grading or S/U (satisfactory/unsatisfactory).
(Ray Thrower, Director of Campus Safety - 6/03)
See the Van Policy at this link.
Vehicle Reservation Instructions:
1. To Reserve a Vehicle: Call the Switchboard (0) Monday Friday, 8:00 AM 4:00 PM.
2. Before Checking Out a Vehicle:
3. When Picking Up Keys:
4. When entering the vehicle for the first time:
5. When the vehicle is returned:
6. When you receive the yellow department copy of the form, please review it carefully and let the Switchboard know about any possible discrepancies. Keep this copy of the form for your records.
7. When the Finance Office receives their white copy of the form, the total charge is posted to the account number entered in Section 1.
8. Cancellation of Vehicles: Due to the limited number of vehicles, please cancel the vehicle reservation ASAP if no longer needed.
(Curriculum Committee - 9/06)
Rationale
The mission of the college is to provide all students with a liberal arts education. It is at the very core of what we do. The General Education portion of the curriculum is an important way we ensure that all Gustavus students receive a broad liberal arts education.
Recognizing the variety and diversity of student needs and choices, we have chosen to build the General Education requirements in such a way to make certain that all students have a serious exposure to what we call "liberal arts perspectives" rather than developing a set of specific outcomes or knowledge and skill sets to be acquired.
Focusing on "courses" rather than "skills" places a challenge on how we approach assessment of the General Education program. In order to ascertain that the general education requirements as well as the criteria for courses fulfilling the requirements are providing students with a serious exposure in an effective and efficient manner, and to keep alive the ongoing conversation about the role of General Education in the Gustavus curriculum, we propose that:
Process
Each area of the Curriculum I-Liberal Arts Perspectives will be reviewed separately, one or two areas per year.
Year 1
- The Program Assessment and Development Committee (PADC), in consultation with the chair of the Curriculum Committee and the Director of General Education, will appoint a three-person committee to review each Area(s) being assessed. At least one of the three will be from outside the division or departments most responsible for delivery of the particular Area(s).
- This Area review committee will:
(a) Study the Area criteria and work with the Director of General Education, the PADC, and the Institutional Research officer to develop questions to be included with the annual Senior Survey that solicits response from students relative to their experience with the particular Area under review.
(b) The area committees will ask faculty to submit representative samples of course work which they feel demonstrate how students have been exposed to this Area in their course. Examples of this work might include lecture notes, test questions, descriptions of class activities, research papers, lab reports, creative projects or student portfolios.
(c) Faculty who teach such courses will be invited to participate in a focus group meeting with the review committee.
(e) Written faculty comments regarding the Area criteria will also be solicited by the committee.
Year 2
- The Area committee will
(a) Review the data collected.
(b) Recommend any proposed Area changes to the Curriculum Committee.
- Once the faculty has approved any Area changes, all courses desiring to carry that Area designation must be resubmitted to the Area Committee, which will forward its recommendation to the Director of General Education and then on to the Curriculum Committee. For this round, course proposals must also include course syllabi that describe how the Area is addressed in the course. No previous Area designations will persist beyond this point in the process.
- The Area Committee will submit a written report of its work to be kept on file by the Curriculum Committee, with copies to the Director of General Education.
The review of Areas will begin in the spring of 2009, when this year's FY students will be seniors, and hence mostly have completed their General Education coursework.
Each year, another Area (or two) will begin the process. The number of Areas reviewed each year will depend on the number of courses that hold that Area designation.
A larger committee composed of three members from the Curriculum Committee and four members at-large, will review the entire Curriculum I Liberal Arts Perspectives program once all Areas have accomplished the individual reviews. The purpose of this larger review is to analyze what has been learned from the Area review cycle and to consider whether there are any essential changes that should be made to the General Education program.
Note: This assessment plan focuses only on the nine Area requirements and does not include the writing requirement, non-English language, First Term Seminar, Curriculum II, or any other graduation requirements. The Curriculum Committee recommends that these programs, which have missions complementary to but unique from Curriculum I, have separate assessment plans.
Timeline
The review of the general education areas could be accomplished using the following rotation and timeline:
(Curriculum Committee - 9/06)
The Curriculum Committee established the following procedure to allow departments to remove WRIT designations from a course: A department, through the chair, may request removal of WRITI or WRITD designations from a course by providing a rationale for the request and an explanation for how, in the case of WRITD, students will be able to meet this requirement in the major. This request must be submitted to the Associate Dean for consideration by the Curriculum Committee nine months (excluding summer) before the course is to be taught. Once WRIT designation has been removed from a course, it can only be reinstated by going through the WRIT course approval process.
(Curriculum Committee)
Report from the ad hoc Language Task Force
Members: Kurt Irvin (Chair), Denis Crnkovic, Laurent Dechery, Glenn Barnette, Rob Gardner, Roger McKnight
The task force was formed by the Curriculum Committee in Fall 2005 and charged with handling any transitional issues that arose with the implementation of the new language requirement. Among the issues we have considered are these:
The faculty approved the following recommendations from the task force in April 2006:
1) That we define "non-English speaking international students" as those who completed their secondary education in a country where English is neither the primary spoken language of the country nor the language of instruction in the student's secondary school. For these students, we will accept their secondary education as satisfying the language requirement. Their degree of competence in the foreign language is demonstrated by their graduation from secondary school and their acceptance at Gustavus implies general academic proficiency.
Rationale: Students who are from non-English speaking countries have demonstrated their ability with another language by virtue of acceptance into Gustavus [Proof of English language proficiency (minimum acceptable score of 550 or 213 CBT on the Test of English as a Foreign Language-TOEFL).]. There is no need for further testing or requirement that they learn yet another language.
2) To demonstrate proficiency in a language which Gustavus does not teach and for which we do not have an existing examination protocol, non-international students whose first language is not English may obtain a letter, on letterhead stationary, from a respected member of the community who is proficient in the language. This might be a leader in a community organization, a church leader, someone who teaches the language to younger members of the community, a supervisor with whom the student has worked. This individual should write a letter verifying that the student can both speak and has proficiency in either reading or writing the language. The writer of the letter should indicate in what capacity he or she has known the student and how they know of the student's language proficiency. The student's Gustavus Adolphus College ID number should be included on the letter, which can be sent to Registrar, Gustavus Adolphus College, Saint Peter, MN 56082. The Registrar will serve as the certifying officer on the basis of this letter, and will consult with members of the Modern Languages and Cultures Department as needed.
Rationale: Gustavus does not have the resources to arrange testing in languages other than those we teach, but we want to welcome speakers of other languages into our community and validate their second-language experiences and achievements. These students often acquire linguistic skills through more experiential means than Gustavus students who take formal language instruction in our courses or in high school learning environments. A community-based validation procedure allows us to reach out to the new students' community members for assistance in affirming their acquisition of second-language skills, which also complements Gustavus' affirmation of the value of experiential learning. Please note: The Curriculum Committee has approved the following rubric for such an assessment, which can be provided to the community member:
Gustavus Language Equivalency Rubric (approved by Curriculum Committee 11/06)
In order to satisfy the language requirement in languages not assessed at Gustavus Adolphus College (including ASL), students should demonstrate all of the following:
Language
Culture
Students show a basic understanding of the practices and perspectives of the target language culture. For example, students know how to speak with appropriate politeness or informality in the language; how to greet others appropriately; how to ask for information, give advice, and perform other basic language tasks that reveal an understanding of what is appropriate in the culture.
Rationale: This rubric was designed by the task force after consulting the national standards for assessment of the National Council of Teachers of Foreign Languages, and after consultation with language faculty on campus.
(Curriculum Committee)
By direction of the Faculty, a course and its number will be inactivated if it has not been taught at least once in four years. The Registrar is instructed to inform departments of such action. Departments may choose to petition the Curriculum Committee for an exemption to course inactivation, providing a coherent rationale for the request.
Proposal to Cross List Courses
We propose a three year pilot program to cross list courses. Under this proposal, the same course could have several acronymic designations if it meets the guidelines specified below. To demonstrate how this would work, imagine a course entitled “The Sexual Brain.” Structured in the appropriate manner and with the collaboration of the relevant departments and programs, this course could rightfully claim to be a BIO course, PSY course, and a GWS course. If taught by a biologist, the course would have its origination and home in the biology department. The complete course description would be found in the biology department’s offering. The course would also be listed in the psychology offerings as well as the gender and women’s studies offerings. In these two cases, the catalogue copy would read, “This course is the same as BIO xxx. The complete course description can be found there.” The expectation is that cross listed courses would have the same course number, such as BIO 337, PSY 337, and GWS 337 in order to minimize confusion.
