Faculty Emeritus Policy Proposal

The Faculty Senate recommends to the Provost that a grade of Incomplete default to a grade of F after one year, beginning with the Fall 2007 Semester, and further that the Faculty Senate endorses this policy, with the understanding that

(1) The faculty member may authorize an extension, or may change the F grade, for good cause---typically, serious illness or absence from the campus of either the instructor or the student,

(2) The dean of the college or the chair of the department offering the course may likewise authorize an extension, in the event that the faculty member is not available, and

(3) The dean of the college and the chair of the department offering the course may approve changing the grade of Incomplete to an IW or other grade rather than an F, if it is impossible for a student to complete a course for reasons beyond the student's or university's control---most typically, when the original faculty member is not available, and course completion cannot reasonably be assessed.

The Faculty Senate understands that these provisions should not and will not appear in the catalog, but expects deans, chairs and advisors to be made aware of them.

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The Faculty Guide Committee has proposed the following amendment to the Faculty Guide:

3.10     Emeritus Faculty

a.         The title "Emeritus" may be conferred by the Provost on a member of the faculty upon retirement from full time teaching in recognition of years of valued service and outstanding contributions to Seton Hall University.  Emeritus faculty are honored University citizens who are encouraged to continue to participate as active members of the community and are provided with a number of privileges, services and benefits. 

b.         All tenured faculty members and faculty associates in good standing may apply for faculty emeritus status upon their retirement.  

c.           Seton Hall University shall provide to emeritus faculty university services and privileges determined with the advice and consent of the Faculty Senate and communicated in writing to the South Orange faculty.

d.           When the University employs an emeritus faculty member, the provisions of the employment shall prevail, but these provisions shall not deprive the faculty member of any of the entitlements of emeritus status.

Core Curriculum Update

In order to gauge faculty interest in teaching Signature Course I and II, the two new courses in the proposed university core curriculum, a survey will be sent to all faculty on the South Orange campus.  The three-question survey will determine whether instructors are interested in teaching one or both courses as part of their regular teaching load. 

Work is proceeding on the fall 2007 pilot sections of Signature Course II, and the faculty who will teach the second iteration of Signature Course II (20 sections) in Fall 2007 have already been identified.

The Calendar Committee indicated that the Calendar for the Academic Year 2009-2010 has been returned to the Senate from the Executive Cabinet.  Questions arose concerning the dropping of the May intersession, the need to have 2100 minutes of contact time per semester for a proper academic program, and whether the Fall Semester should start before Labor Day.  It was the sense of the Senate that the Academic Calendars should provide at least 2100 minutes for undergraduate classes each semester if possible.  The Committee indicated that it would bring two 2009-2010 calendars for the Senate to consider at the December meeting, one of which would start before Labor Day and the other to start after Labor Day but end just before Christmas.  The dropping of the May session in 2009 would be needed in order to facilitate an adequate spring term to begin after Martin Luther King Day.

Nominations and Elections Committee:

   Charter Day; Service Database

The Senate Nominations and Elections Committee forwarded the names of faculty members interested in serving on the Charter Day Committee to the Provost's Office.  They included representatives from Arts and Sciences, Education. Graduate Medical Education and the Library.  Additional volunteers were being sought from the other schools and colleges.

The Committee is also working to develop a Faculty Service Opportunity Bank.  This database would provide faculty with the opportunity to indicate their interest in committees and other recurring service opportunities where names are normally requested from the Faculty Senate.  Such a database also will allow the body to respond promptly to requests for volunteers or candidates and ensure that all faculty have the opportunity to be considered.

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