Faculty Senate > Recent Posts > Minutes > 2025-2026 – Minutes > Meeting Minutes: November 13, 2025

Meeting Minutes: November 13, 2025

MINUTES

The Faculty Senate met on Thursday November 13, 2025, in Faculty Senate Conference Room French Admin 344B and via Zoom. Sixty-one (61) senators were present, two (2) vacancies with thirty (30) absent, and fifteen (15) non-voting participants. The meeting was called to order by Ken Roberts, Senate Chair, at 4:03 pm

Guest Presentations (30 minutes): Faculty Affairs Update – Doug Call, Senior Vice Provost

This summary provides an overview of the proposed changes to the WSU Faculty Workload Policy Faculty Senate presentation.

  • Faculty satisfaction surveys (2022 & 2024) revealed low satisfaction with workload recognition and assignments.
  • Current policy is only one sentence long, lacking clarity on effort, allocations, and FTE.
  • Goal: Increase transparency, equity, and clarity in workload expectations across all faculty tracks.
  • Development process included a task force, town halls, and draft guidance documents; policies require approval by deans, VCAAs, and provost.
  • Proposed Faculty Manual language introduces eight workload categories: teaching, scholarship, service, clinical practice, extension, librarianship, administration, and other.
  • Faculty rights include: clear expectations, no exceeding FTE without negotiated adjustment, minimum scholarship allocation for tenure-track faculty, and ability to buy out courses using grants.
  • Accountability measures: workload adjustments after two years of unsatisfactory performance, with explicit guidance required; FTE cannot drop below 50% without formal process.

Implementation steps: colleges finalize policies, departments define criteria, revised annual review forms, workload tracking in Workday, and upcoming faculty satisfaction survey in spring.

  1. Call to Order: 4:03 pm
  2. Approval of minutes from October 30, 2025, Faculty Senate meeting (PDF)
    • Approved by unanimous consent
  3. Additions or changes to the agenda
    • Correction to discussion item #8 (Item #2025.11.13_570_Steering) Proposal to discontinue BFA in Art BA in Hospitality Business Management, WSU Tri-Cities
  4. Updates
    1. Remarks by Faculty Senate Executive Committee
      1. Faculty Senate Chair –
        • Participates in the Academic Strategies and Future Thinkings informational meetings where different units report on their activities. The provost regularly participates and provides updates.
        • Spokane campus restructuring of administration is underway. A new position, Senior Vice Provost for Health Sciences, will oversee health sciences organization in Spokane and Pullman.
        • Engagement with National Institute for Student Success at Georgia State University. Partnership aims to improve retention rates, especially between freshman and sophomore years. Goal: Increase retention by about 10 percentage points, targeting ~90%. Initial activity includes a stakeholder survey.
        • Global campus growth goal is to grow to 15,000 students within 5 years (stretch goal). Current enrollment: ~3,500 students.
        • The Holland and Terrell Libraries will pilot three AI tools to assist in searching research literature is planned. Links to these tools are not yet available but expected soon.
      2. Immediate Past Chair – not present, at Board of Regents
      3. Executive Secretary – No update
    2. Legislative affairs – The next major event in legislative affairs is the release of the governor’s proposed budget in mid-December for the upcoming legislative session.
      • Legislative session timeline:
        1. Starts Monday, January 13, 2026.
        2. It’s a short session (even-numbered year), lasting 60 days until mid-March.
      • Budget process overview:
        1. State agencies, including higher education institutions, submit requests to the governor’s office in late summer.
        2. Governor releases proposed budget in December.
        3. Legislature reviews and modifies the proposal during the session.
        4. Final budget is approved by the governor (or returned in rare cases) in April for the upcoming fiscal year.
    3. Board of Regents – not present, at Board of Regents
  5. Information Items
    1. (Item #2025.11.13_567_CRP) Minor Change Bulletin No. 3 (Exhibit 567A)
      • No discussion
  6. Agenda Items
    1. Action Items
      1. (Item #2025.10.09_557_FAC) Proposed Updates to Faculty Manual on Workload (Exhibits *557A, 557B, 557C, *557D, *557E)
        • * These exhibits are updated documents
        • Motion approved; 52 approve, 1 reject
      2. Item #2025.10.30_558_GSC) Recommended Approval of the Graduate Certificate in Prevention Science (Exhibits 558A, 558B)
        • Motion approved; 58 approve, 0 reject
      3. (Item #2025.10.30_559_Steering) Recommendation to Return the University Requirements Petition Subcommittee under the Provost Office (Exhibit 559A)
        • Motion approved; 52 approve, 3 reject
      4. (Item #2025.10.30_561_AAC) Undergraduate and Professional Major Change Bulletin No. 3, Requirements (Exhibit 561A)
        • Motion approved; 54 approve, 0 reject
    2. Discussion Items
      1. (Item #2025.11.13_562_FAC) Proposed Housekeeping Updates to Faculty Manual (Exhibits 562A, 562B, 562C)
        • Minor editorial corrections, move to action on 12/4 Senate agenda
      2. (Item #2025.11.13_563_CRP) Undergraduate and Professional Major Change Bulletin No. 3, Courses (Exhibit 563A)
        • No discussion, move to action on 12/4 Senate agenda
      3. (Item #2025.11.13_564_CRP) Professional Health Sciences Major Change Bulletin No. 2, Courses (Exhibit 564A)
        • No discussion, move to action on 12/4 Senate agenda
      4. (Item #2025.11.13_565_CRP) Graduate Major Change Bulletin No. 3, Courses (Exhibit 565A)
        • No discussion, move to action on 12/4 Senate agenda
      5. (Item #2025.11.13_566_CRP) UCORE Renewals and Changes approved by the UCORE Committee – Bulletin No. 1 (Exhibit 566A)
        • No discussion, move to action on 12/4 Senate agenda
      6. (Item #2025.11.13_568_PHSC) Professional Health Sciences Major Change Bulletin No. 1, Requirements (Exhibit 568A)
        • No discussion, move to action on 12/4 Senate agenda
      7. (Item #2025.11.13_569_AAC) Undergraduate and Professional Major Change Bulletin No. 4, Requirements (Exhibit 569A)
        • No discussion, move to action on 12/4 Senate agenda
      8. (Item #2025.11.13_570_Steering) Proposal to Discontinue BA in Hospitality Business Management , WSU Tri-Cities (Exhibit 570A, 570B, 570C, 570D, 570E, 570F)
        • No further discussion, move to action on 12/4 Senate agenda as corrected
      9. (Item #2025.11.13_572_FAC) Proposed Updates to Faculty Manual II.F regarding Faculty Discipline (Exhibits 572A, 572B, 572C)
        • Added verbiage to ensure that the person affected by a discipline hearing is consulted on the reassignment of duties. And clarified that the provost is responsible for this decision.
        • No further discussion, move to action on 12/4 Senate agenda
  7. Constituent Concerns:
    • None
  8. Adjournment: 4:27 pm
M. Hudelson

Matthew G. Hudelson

Executive Secretary, WSU Faculty Senate

Associate Professor, Mathematics

Email: mhudelson@wsu.edu