Faculty Senate meets weekly throughout the academic year and reports to University of Idaho faculty and regents. Talking points, agendas and links to meetings are available on the Faculty Senate website.
Here’s a recap of the Sept. 1 and Sept. 8 Faculty Senate meetings.
Sept. 1, Meeting Three
- Academic year sessions of the Talks with Torrey series, which gives UI faculty and staff the opportunity to express concerns and ask Interim Provost and Executive Vice President Torrey Lawrence questions, will begin the week of Sept. 14. Summer attendance had great success, according to Lawrence.
- UI will work on developing a new university budget model, focusing on details and incentive-based elements, Lawrence said.
- COVID-19 updates have been added to UI’s website. Over 7,000 tests have been conducted with a 1.1% positivity rate. Updated COVID-19 data can be found on the UI website and The Argonaut’s website.
- Testing for COVID-19 will evolve as the year continues, Lawrence said. UI is working on surveillance testing, randomly testing students living in Housing and Residence Life, Greek life and off campus, and testing those in certain age groups. This testing will start within the coming weeks, Lawrence said.
- Testing on campus will continue to be free of cost. Charging for testing has never been part of the discussion, Lawrence said.
- Those who show symptoms for COVID-19 must contact Vandal Health. Those who have been in contact with COVID-19 can email [email protected] for further information.
- Enrollment is down 4.6% overall and was down 5.1% on Aug. 31, Lawrence said. UI administration delayed the deadline to add or drop classes considering the circumstances. Analyzation of the rate will begin in the coming weeks. As of Sept. 1, the financial impacts of enrollment are unknown.
- Discussion on whether to apply temporary procedures against existing policies in a declared emergency, which would be relevant to FSH 6990, the COVID-19 Emergency Response section of the Faculty Staff Handbook, was tabled for Sept. 8.
Sept. 8, Meeting Four
- FSH 6990, originally set to expire Sept. 16, will now expire March 7, 2021. The new language also indicates that this 180-day period can be renewed or cut short by the President with the consultation of Faculty Senate, Staff Council, and public health officials.
- Head of Acting Kelly Quinett joined the Campus Planning Advisory Committee and Associate Director of Student Services Charles Tibbals joined the Faculty and Staff Policy Group.
- Several “dinosaurs,” or old items in the Faculty Staff Handbook (FSH), were removed.
- “(FSH) is supposed to be policy,” Faculty Senate Secretary Francesca Sammarruca said. “Whatever is not policy should be tossed.”
- FSH 1120, a historical description of the university now available in collections at the UI library, and FSH 4320, 1140 and 1220, restatements of Idaho State Board of Education policies, were removed.
- FSH 4325, which outlined the organization of athletics, was originally set to be removed. It may now be reworked instead. It served “no policy function” as it stood, but “it could be turned into a policy,” University Policy and Compliance Coordinator Diane Whitney said.
This article has been edited to correct formatting errors.
Emily Pearce and Cody Roberts can be reached at [email protected]