Charter

Faculty Senate, 11 February 2013: approved unanimously.
University Council, 18 February 2013: no objections or concerns raised
Chairs and Directors Assembly, 13 March 2013: endorsed unanimously

Involving Part-time Faculty in Shared Governance at KSU:
The Part-time Faculty Council (PTFC)

The following changes to the Faculty Handbook are proposed.

  1. Department Representation: Departments with 10 or more part-time faculty at the beginning of any regular academic semester must, in the first month of the subsequent fall semester, offer an opportunity for their part-time faculty to elect a representative to the KSU Part-Time Faculty Council (PTFC). A department’s part-time faculty may choose to decline this offer. If they do decline, the offer must be renewed annually at the beginning of the fall term. Departments with fewer than 10 part-time faculty may offer the same opportunity to their part-time faculty, but they are not required to do so.

  2. Place in KSU shared governance structure: The PTFC is a standing committee advisory to the Faculty Senate and the Provost. The Faculty Senate Executive Committee (FSEC) is responsible for assuring that departments with 10 or more part-time faculty hold elections as required, and for facilitating the organizational meetings of the PTFC each fall. The PTFC operates under the supervision of the FSEC, whose membership includes a liaison to the PTFC. A member of the PTFC, ordinarily but not necessarily the President, will represent that body in the Faculty Senate. The PTFC representative will function as a full voting member of the Faculty Senate, with the same rights of participation and voting as a senator representing an academic department. The PTFC is represented in university-wide shared governance via the Faculty Senate; the PTFC is not directly represented in the University Council.

  3. PTFC Membership and Meeting Schedule: Members of the PTFC must be employed by KSU as part-time instructors. If a member elected in the fall is not employed in the spring semester, the department will offer its current part-time faculty an opportunity to elect a new representative during the first four weeks of the spring semester, or by the time of the first meeting of the PTFC, whichever comes first. The PTFC will meet at least twice each semester and may meet more often as needed.

  4. PTFC Officers: At the initial meeting of the PTFC each academic year the body will elect three officers: President, Vice-President, and Secretary. All officers will serve for a term of one year. If an officer is elected in the fall but is not a KSU employee during the spring term the council will elect a replacement at the beginning of the first meeting of the spring semester.

  5. Compensation for the PTFC President: The President will be paid a stipend of $2400, or the equivalent to the pay for one 3 credit class, whichever is more. If a part-time faculty member is already at the maximum employment level permitted by BOR policy, a reduced teaching load will be necessary. To assure program delivery the approval of the department chair would be required for such an individual to assume the President-elect or President positions.

  6. Enabling activity: (1) The above language or an appropriate version of it will be added to the shared governance section of the Faculty/University Handbook. (2) The bylaws of the Faculty Senate will be amended to reflect the addition of the representative of the PTFC and the addition of a Faculty Senate liaison to the PTFC to the FSEC.
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