Penn State Intercom......February 21, 2002

University calendar to
be discussed at next
Faculty Senate meeting

The University calendar leads the agenda for the next University Faculty Senate meeting, scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 26, in 112 Kern Graduate Building, University Park.

The advisory/consultative report on the topic will culminate in a vote on five recommendations: having fall and spring semesters consist of 72 instructional days; establishing four final assessment days at the end of each semester; revising Senate Policy 44-20 (final examination) to endorse the concept of multiple forms of final assessment; reconfiguring the summer session to allow for designated assessment days; and consolidating fall break and Thanksgiving recess into one week.

Other items on the agenda for the meeting are:

* Promotion and tenure summary for 2000-2001 -- informational report; an overview of the tenure and promotion decisions made in the 2000-01 academic year;

* Interim expulsion -- informational report; this report will review existing University policies, including the role of the Office of Judicial Affairs in relation to how students are protected from threats posed by the presence on Penn State campuses of individuals charged with serious crimes;

* Student perceptions of safety -- informational report; this report will present the results of several "Penn State Pulse surveys" and examine U.S. Department of Education, Uniform Crime Reports; and

* Revision of bylaws, Article III, new Section 7, election to the Senate, excessive absences -- legislative report; this is a legislative report proposing changes to the Senate bylaws providing voting units with the authority to replace senators with three or more unexcused absences during an academic year.

Members of the University community may attend. Any member of the University community who is not a member of the Senate may request the privilege of the floor on any item of business already before the Senate. Such a request must be made to the chair, through the executive secretary of the Senate, at least four calendar days before the meeting at which the individual wishes to speak.

For information on how to submit major, minor, option or course proposals, the "Guide to Curricular Procedures" is now available on the Web from the Faculty Senate home page at http://www.psu.edu/ufs/.

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