In an effort to clarify the official policy that governs many University faculty and administrators, the General Faculty Council is working with the Provost's Office to revise the Office's Policy on the General Faculty.
Although the Council does not aim to make any major changes to the current policy, the Council is examining the document closely, tackling semantics and striving to make it more reader friendly.
Assoc. Provost for Management Kathrine M. Reed said a committee composed of officials from the Provost's Office and the Council are conducting a clause-by-clause review of the policy to "put it into more understandable English."
Reed said some parts of the policy are confusing, and the committee wants to make the document clear to everyone.
General Faculty is defined as non-tenure track employees, which includes individuals who hold research and teaching positions, administrative posts and general professional positions within the University.
While no major changes are underway, Council Chairwoman Jane E. Penner said officials are expanding on several of the ideas and policies currently in the document.
Such ideas include examination of the clause that discusses its annual evaluation process and salary increases for general faculty.
Penner said the revision process is educational for Council members involved in the project.
"It is an interesting process, and it's wonderful that the Provost will work with us on this," she said. "We're all learning a lot about why things are the way they are" at the University.
Upon committee recommendation, clauses related to paid and unpaid leave policies now are posted on the University's Human Resources home page, she added.
In January, the Provost's Office sent a copy of the proposed revisions to the Faculty Senate for review, Faculty Senate Chairman David T. Gies said.
The Faculty Senate works closely with the Council because they share many of the same concerns and work on similar issues, Gies said.
A subcommittee within the Faculty Senate's Academic Affairs Committee reviewed the policy, Academic Affairs Committee Chairman William R. Johnson said.
Johnson said after review, the subcommittee did not find any major problems with the document.
Penner said there is no clear timetable for when an agreement on the language within the document will be reached.
The Council will hold elections later this month, at which time 10 of the Council's 18 positions will be awarded to new officials.
These new members will have to familiarize themselves with the policy and its proposed revisions quickly in order to implement changes as soon as possible, Penner said.
The Provost's Office made its last revisions to the policy in July 1997, when it altered regulations related to standards of notice for employees who are fired.
Reed said a similar committee was also designed for the 1997 revision.
At that time University Provost Peter W. Low requested that the Council review and propose changes to the entire policy, Penner said.
The Council sent a new version of the policy to Low in 1998, but she said it was not until this winter that the two groups communicated seriously about the document.
Prior to the 1997 changes, the policy did not receive any revisions since its creation 10 years earlier.
Read More
U.Va. Alumni Association submits plans for new Alumni Hall building
By Caroline Hagood | 19 hours agoWest said that despite the proposal moving through City Council’s review process, the project is still years away from becoming a reality.
Graduating student leaders reflect on how they impacted the University community
By Jackie Bond and Brandon Kile | YesterdayAccording to Lilian Rojas, Board of Visitors student representative and fourth-year Batten student, the Class of 2024 is defined by its resilience.
D.C. baseball legend Ryan Zimmerman to deliver keynote Valedictory address
By Xander Tilock | 2 days agoFamously nicknamed “Mr. National” for his many contributions to the Washington, D.C. franchise, Zimmerman is considered one of the most successful alumni in Virginia baseball history.
