Motions Passed
A) Proposed policy for vote:
POLICY ON PARTNER ACCOMMODATION - Submitted by Peter Hoff
(distributed at the full Senate meeting on 2/27/02)
Introduction by Peter Hoff: I
have received the draft forwarded by the Domestic Partner
Facilitation Committee, and I appreciate their thoughtful and
conscientious work very much. Having reviewed that draft, I find it
essentially acceptable, with a few edits that I applied to the draft
that I am forwarding to you attached to this message .Unless the
Senate objects to the attached version, I am prepared to implement
it as official university policy.
The University of Maine recognizes
the importance of accommodating dual career partners in attracting
and retaining a quality workforce. The University community also
recognizes the ways in which dual career partners can enrich the
campus culture. Because dual-career partnerships often involve
employment needs or opportunities across units, University-level
policy is required. The following guidelines govern domestic partner
accommodations at The University of Maine.
1.
All candidates in a job search as well
as University employees have a right to inquire about opportunities
and procedures for partner hires. Equal opportunity policy dictates
that such inquiries will not influence hiring or promotion
decisions.
2.
When any candidate or employee
inquires about employment opportunities for a partner, the
Chair/Director of his or her unit will request a copy of the
partner's curriculum vitae and other relevant materials. This
information will then be forwarded to the appropriate administrator
and department/unit in which the accompanying partner is seeking
employment. The Office of Equal Opportunity may also be contacted
for information and assistance.
3.
An accompanying partner, like any
other candidate, must be systematically reviewed by the hiring
department or academic unit. If that unit believes the accompanying
partner has appropriate credentials and has skills that are
compatible with the department’s needs and mission, they may request
that the accompanying partner be considered for the University’s
Opportunity Hire Program.
4.
University policy ordinarily requires
a national search for faculty and professional appointments of more
than five months. The Opportunity Hire Program, however, includes a
process for requesting a search waiver and/or single or multi-year
financial support for highly qualified individuals who can make a
unique contribution to the University and its strategic plan.
Criteria for granting waiver and funding requests include:
• Qualifications of the
individual proposed, including likelihood of future success
(promotion and tenure, where applicable)
• Relevance of the hire to the
university’s strategic priorities
• Agreement of the hiring unit
for the requested appointment
• Degree to which
department/college funds will support the position over time
• Rationale for waiving the
normal search requirement, including the employment of partners of
prospective and current employees.
5.
Questions about the Opportunity Hire
Program should be directed to Evelyn Silver, Director of Equal
Opportunity.
6.
Other alternatives for partners
include the following:
• A partner of a finalist in a
University search may request an interview for another open
University position as long as they meet the published
qualifications. If a search committee chair receives such a
request, the Office of Equal Opportunity should be contacted.
• Faculty partners in the same
academic discipline may ask to be considered for a joint
appointment. The University of Maine now has several partners who
are successfully sharing one or one and one-half positions. In
such cases, the concerned department must determine whether both
individuals have appropriate credentials and have the potential to
become tenured members of the department.
• This appointment sharing
policy (see
www.maine.edu/sharedappoint.html
) also applies to professional employees and administrators.
• Partners of candidates who have
received tentative job offers may seek the services of the (Career
Center/Human Resources/ Equal Opportunity/ the Alumni Association)
in searching for appropriate employment opportunities off campus.
7. While The University of Maine
recognizes the value of promoting opportunities for dual career
partners, and has established these policies to help secure this
value, it cannot guarantee employment to anyone simply on the basis
of the policy.
B) Motion for vote: HEALTH
INSURANCE FOR FULL-TIME GRADUATE RESEARCH AND TEACHING ASSISTANTS -
submitted by the University Environment Committee, Judy Kuhns-Hastings,
Chair
PREAMBLE
Full-time graduate students who are
appointed as graduate assistants make important contributions to the
University of Maine in the areas of teaching and research. Most
research programs on campus depend heavily on the work of graduate
students. The minimum graduate assistant's stipend at this time is
about $9,000 for the academic year. The cost of health insurance for
graduate students is $1,100, which amounts to over 10% of their
stipends. The percentage of graduate assistants who have no health
insurance is 36%.The University of Maine assumes no part of the cost
of health insurance as it does for other part-time employees.
MOTION
The Faculty Senate moves that the
University of Maine develop a policy that covers 80% of the cost of
health insurance for full-time graduate students holding graduate
assistantships. Cost of Graduate Assistant health insurance should
be written into grants whenever conditions of granting agencies
permit.
VII. Proposed Amendment to the
Faculty Senate By-laws, received from the ad hoc General Education
Review Committee, submitted to the Secretary of the Senate on March
21, 2002, and forwarded by him to the Chair of the Constitution and
By-laws Committee, and announced in this agenda, in accordance with
the By-laws, Article VI AMENDMENT:
MOTION TO AMEND THE BY-LAWS TO
CREATE A SPECIAL COMMITTEE, TO BE CALLED THE GENERAL EDUCATION
OUTCOMES COMMITTEE
PREAMBLE
The New England Association of
Schools and Colleges (NEASC), which is the accreditation agency for
the University of Maine, announced in Fall, 1998, that the
post-secondary institutions it accredits will be required to develop
student outcomes assessment plans for general education. Since then,
a number of committees at the University of Maine have examined this
issue, but little progress has been made. Many university faculty
are familiar with outcomes assessment through professional programs
accreditation procedures and/or work with K-12 schools, so the
expertise exists among the faculty to make the necessary changes.
Strong faculty leadership, guided by a committee of the Faculty
Senate, is needed to make significant progress on this issue in time
for future accreditation actions. Since the development and
monitoring of student outcomes and assessments will be a long-term
process, and since NEASC is seeking institutionalization of the
outcomes assessment process, the creation of a Special Committee of
the Senate is an appropriate organizational change. The Special
Committee will work in consultation with the Undergraduate Program
Curriculum Committee and the Center for Teaching Excellence.
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Motions Passed
