Dear Chairs,

It’s been a few weeks since the last update. Here are some upcoming deadlines to share with your departments.

RTP:

• Julie will soon be sending out the list of faculty members eligible for application for tenure in September 2023. Please check the list closely to make sure it is accurate with your records.
• Assistant professors who believe they have satisfied their department criteria and Policy 637 before the tenure review year stated in their offer letter must request and receive permission from their RTP chair, department chair, dean, and the Provost by, April 15, 2023, to be eligible to apply early. Approval for early application does not guarantee a successful application.
• Faculty members with documented years toward tenure do not have to apply for permission to apply early unless they are hoping to apply earlier than the date assigned in their offer letter.
• Associate professors who have held tenure AND rank of associate professor since July 1, 2018, have accrued the five complete years necessary to be eligible to apply for full professor. See Policy 632, Assignment and Advancement in Academic Rank, for more details. Please remember the institution is using the “tabs” of Policy 637 to help determine the contents of rank advancement submissions.
• Faculty receiving tenure and rank of associate professor after July 1, 2018, need to receive written permission from their RTP chair, department chair, dean, and the Provost by April 15, 2023, to be eligible to apply early. Approval for early application does not guarantee a successful application.

Sabbatical deadline:

• April 1, 2023: Sabbatical requests for Spring 2024 are due to department chairs. This deadline is also for faculty members who wish to apply for the Spring/Fall 2024 “year.” Tenured faculty may apply for a sabbatical after five complete years of service since their last sabbatical. Please see Policy 640, Faculty Sabbatical Leave, for more details.

Policies:

• Policy 646, Faculty Appeals for Retention, Tenure, and Promotion, is currently in Stage 3, Community feedback. It will close for comments on March 17, 2023. Please send your comments to John Hunt ([email protected]) and/or Nizhone Meza ([email protected]) and copy the Policy Office ([email protected]).

Faculty Success Annual Review Trainings

The Office of Faculty Development will be holding upcoming Faculty Success Annual Review Trainings for all faculty. We’ll demonstrate the new template for annual reviews along with where to enter teaching, scholarship, and service activities into Faculty Success.

FS Annual Review Trainings will be held on teams the following dates and times:

February 24^th, 10am

March 1^st, 1pm

March 14^th, 9am

March 23^rd, 2pm

March 27^th, 12pm 

Please reach out to Trevor Morris ([email protected]) or Laurie Toro ([email protected]) with any questions.

Software Approval Process

Clarification of the Software approval process:

The Software Approval Process is for new software only. Renewals will be added to the process later. Please put a requisition into Wolverine Marketplace for all renewals. All software that is public, and student facing as well as employee software that is used in multiple departments is required to have an accessibility review every 3 years. Please submit an accessibility ticket if needed.  Canvas integrated software-based course materials (e.g., McGraw Hill, Connect, Simulations, Online Texts, etc.) are not part of this process, to obtain approval for these, please fill out the Canvas integrated software request.  The deadlines for textbooks are as follows: · Summer Semester - February 1· Fall Semester - March 1· Spring Semester - October 1

You and your students can stream for free from the Fulton Library. All you need is a UVID and password! Ditch the DVDs and subscription fees—we offer a wide range of films in our online video databases, including Oscar nominees, educational documentaries, counseling videos, fine art performances, and more. With 17 video databases to choose from, you can embed videos directly into your Canvas courses or stream from your computer.  

To search for streaming videos, click the “videos” search tab on the library’s homepage. Search by topic or title, and select the “online streaming” option to filter out DVDs and Blu-rays. If you don’t have a specific film in mind, browse movies in our video databases.  

Explore a few of our favorite video databases: 

• Swank – This database includes popular movies, classics, and foreign films. Create an instructor account to browse additional films available for the library to purchase. 
• Kanopy – With a mix of feature films and documentaries from award-winning filmmakers, Kanopy includes movies like Hereditary, Parasite, and I Am Not Your Negro. 
• Academic Video Online (AVON) – This database features a huge variety of scholarly videos, including documentaries, interviews, performances, news programs, and more. 
• Docuseek2 – Search Docuseek2 for documentaries from educational film distributors like Bullfrog Films, Collective Eye Films, Icarus Films, and more. 

• Performing Arts Video Databases – Browse databases with fine arts performances, like Dance in Video, Opera in Video, Classical Music in Video, Classical Performance in Video, and On the Boards. 

Questions? 

For questions about these resources, ask a librarian or stop by the library’s first-floor circulation desk. For assistance adding films to a Canvas course, contact Alan Stephens. 

Research Institute at the Women’s Success Center

Colleagues and Community Partners,

Please join Utah Valley University President Tuminez, the Woodbury School of Business, and the Women’s Success Center on March 23-24, 2023, for the Women in Leadership Collegiate Case Competition. Student teams nationwide will compete and present innovative solutions to a complex business challenge.

The schedule for the Welcome Dinner with President’s Address, the Final Competition Round, and Networking Reception are outlined in the attached invitation. For catering purposes, RSVP here by March 13.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Thank you!

Kelly Hall, Academic Director, Research Institute at Women's Success Center

 

Policy Update:

Since our last update in February’s newsletter, President’s Council has approved Policy 526 Student Record Adjustments to enter Stage 1 Drafting.

Also, remember to get your comments to your Faculty Senate senator or PACE representative for the following policies, which are in stage 2, Review by UVU Entities:

· Policy 141 Cost Transfers for Sponsored Programs (closes 3/23/23)

· Policy 201 General Fiscal Policies and Procedures (closes 3/23/23)

· Policy 202 Payroll (closes 3/23/23)

· Policy 205 Investments (closes 3/23/23)

· Policy 607 Course-Based Fees (closes 4/13/23)

And anyone in the University campus community still has until Friday, March 17, 2023, to comment on Policy 646 Faculty Appeals for Retention, Tenure, and Promotion, which is in stage 3 Campus Community Review. You may send your comments to the Policy Office or to John Hunt at [email protected].

Finally, on February 23, 2023, the following policies were approved by the Board to become effective in the Policy Manual:

· Policy 210 Independent Contractors

· Policy 251 Traveling on University Business

· Policy 658 Establishment and Administration of Graduate Programs

 

Policy Highlight:
Academic Freedom as set forth in UBHE Policy R481

Utah Valley University’s policy regarding Academic Freedom (found in Policy 635 Faculty Rights and Professional Responsibilities) is based on the guidelines given to us by the Utah Board of Higher Education in its Policy Rule 481, Academic Freedom, Professional Responsibility, Tenure, Termination, and Post-Tenure Review. UBHE Rule 481 Section 3.3 reads:

“The [higher education] institutions are operated for the common good and not to further the interest of either the individual faculty member or the institution as a whole. The common good depends upon the free search for truth and its free exposition. Academic freedom is essential to these purposes and applies to both teaching and research. Freedom in research is fundamental to the advancement of truth. Academic freedom is fundamental in learning. It carries with it duties correlative with rights. . . .

With regards to teaching, the Board states that “Faculty members possess the right to full [academic] freedom in the classroom to discuss their subjects. They may present any controversial material relevant to their courses of instruction, but they shall be careful not to introduce into their teaching controversial matter which has no relation to the subject being taught.” Section 3.3.1

As for academic freedom in research, the Board states that “A faculty member is entitled to full freedom in research and in the publication of the results. Research for pecuniary return should be conditional upon disclosure to and the consent of the officials of the institution.” Section 3.3.2

Finally, with regards to public life, Section 3.3.3 states:

“A college or university faculty member is a citizen, a member of a learned profession, and an officer of an educational institution. When the faculty member speaks or writes as a citizen, [they] should be free from institutional censorship or discipline, but the faculty member’s

special position in the community imposes special obligations. As a person of learning and an education officer, the faculty member should remember that the public may judge [their] profession and institution by [their] utterances. Hence the faculty member should at all times strive to be accurate, should exercise appropriate restraint, should show respect for others, and should make every effort to indicate that [they]are not speaking for the institution. Section 3.3.3