UCCS Faculty Assembly voted unanimously at its Oct. 14 meeting to make academic misconduct review the responsibility of a faculty committee. Until now, such cases were taken care of through the Office of the Provost and Academic Affairs.
Ordinarily, business before the assembly is submitted early enough to allow thorough discussion and maximum input from faculty members before a vote is taken. A vote to suspend the rules passed, allowing introduction, discussion and a vote on the motion, all in the same meeting.
Tom Napierkowski, professor, English, made the motion and explained the necessity of suspending the rules to move the motion forward in a timely manner. As chair of the Educational Policies and University Standards committee, he said the issue came up this past summer, and having a policy in place would better serve all parties concerned should the campus need to deal with a faculty misconduct charge. He explained that having a faculty committee address any charges of faculty misconduct would make the issue part of Faculty Assembly by-laws.
The motion reads: "In compliance with APS 1007 as approved by President Benson, recommended by CU system EPUS and effective July 1, 2011, the UCCS Faculty Assembly Executive Committee moves that the UCCS Faculty Assembly amend their bylaws by adding to Section VI, Committees, A, Standing Committees, 2. Regular Standing Committees the following committee: Misconduct in Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activities."
All 19 voting faculty present supported the motion and voted in its favor.
David Moon, senior associate vice chancellor, Academic Affairs, noted that putting the academic misconduct issue in the hands of faculty makes UCCS policy consistent with CU System policy. He said moving a committee reviewing misconduct from administration to faculty would allow the faculty to name its members.
Leave a Reply