The University of Michigan Faculty Governance Regents Update

Faculty Governance Update to the Regents

THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
REGENTS COMMUNICATION

November 2006

SACUA Chair Charles B. Smith will deliver the annual report on faculty governance to the Regents in which he will address the following topics:

Improved communications between faculty involved in governance and members of the Board of Regents
- Role of faculty input in appointment and reappointment of the University President
- Uses of online administrator evaluations
- Consultation of faculty in major academic initiatives
- Consultation of faculty in major building programs
Faculty involvement in the oversight of faculty and staff benefit programs
- Sale of MCARE and the BCN administration of health benefits
- Steps to manage the "unfunded health care liability" for retirees
- Changes in the funding of retirement programs
- Proposal to create a faculty-staff-administration benefits oversight committee
- Challenges to tenure and their implications for academic and intellectual freedom
- The report of the Flexible Tenure (Weiss-MacDonald) Committee
- 5.09 hearing in the case of a tenured professor refusing to teach an assigned course
- Faculty authority in grading of student academic performance
- Improved faculty grievance procedures
- Problems with current grievance procedures
- SACUA taskforce on grievance procedure revision
- Recommendations on unit faculty governance
- Election of unit executive committee members
- Responsibilities and authority of unit executive committees
- Faculty initiatives in case Proposal 2 is supported by Michigan's voters
- Evaluation of student success in light of the Spellings Commission Report
- Role of Academic Affairs Advisory Committee
- SACUA participation on the Faculty Study Committee, a data acquisition committee
Regents' Bylaw 4.04. The Senate Assembly shall serve as the legislative arm of the senate... The assembly shall have power to consider and advise regarding all matters within the jurisdiction of the University Senate which affect the functioning of the University as an institution of higher learning, which concern its obligations to the state and to the community at large, and which relate to its internal organization insofar as such matters of internal organization involve general questions of educational policy.
SACUA Minutes and Senate Assembly Minutes are available online.

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