The Faculty Senate endorsed a suite of memoranda drafted by a joint Academic Affairs / Faculty Senate task force to be distributed to students, faculty, and administrators. These messages highlight the problems inherent to using Student Survey results to assess faculty, suggests strategies for faculty to encourage students to provide more constructive feedback free of personal bias, and encourages administrators to de-weight student opinion surveys during the comprehensive review and P&T review processes.
endorsements
ASNAU resolution endorsements
By majority vote, the Faculty Senate endorsed two ASNAU resolutions:
- To request adoption of a hybrid day for the day before Thanksgiving: ASNAU-SR-03
- 2. To endorse the outfitting of the University Field House with the accoutrements necessary for ice sports: ASNAU-SR-38-02
Endorsed Teaching Portfolio Guide
On April 21, 2025, the Faculty Senate voted on the endorsement of the Teaching Portfolio Guide. This endorsement was approved with 25 yays, 4 nays, and 2 abstentions. The Teaching Portfolio Guide is a document that guides units in the development of department specific criteria that can be used to document effective teaching in the comprehensive review process. This document was developed by the Council on Learning and the Teaching Academy, and was presented to the Senate by… Read more
Freedom of Expression Statement
On Monday, May 2, 2022, Faculty Senate President, Kate Ellis, presented a Freedom of Expression for the Senate’s continued review. During the discussion there was a question and answer session with NAU Legal Counsel, Michelle Parker. Following this discussion, a motion was made, and seconded, and the Senate approved this Freedom of Expression Statement, adopting the core principles of the Report of the Committee on the Freedom of Expression from the University of Chicago, otherwise known as the Chicago… Read more
Council on Learning Update
On April 18, 2022, the Council on Learning Chair, Rebecca Rinsema, presented the following best practices documents at the FS meeting. These were created in consultation with the Teaching Academy and Vice Provost Astrid Klocke.
Best Practices for Administration and Use of Student Opinion Surveys
The first document, Best Practices for Administration and Use of Student Opinion Surveys, addresses when student surveys are available, how faculty can encourage students to fill them out, and how they… Read more
Teaching and Learning Center Proposal
On January 24, 2022, the Faculty Senate endorsed Vice Provost Astrid Klocke and Director Amy Rushall’s proposal on a Teaching and Learning Center with a vote of 36-1-3. The proposal presents a re-organization to convert the Faculty Professional Development Program into a “Center” that provides integrated support services and resources to faculty.