The Role of the Faculty Senate.

The WVSU Faculty Senate provides a forum and acts as the advocate and arbiter for faculty concerns, wherein the senators and other faculty members discuss and debate the issues that arise, with the purpose of recommending to the responsible administrators the faculty's collective view about any issue that involves the welfare of the University in part or as a whole. Routine items, especially those about which there is little disagreement among the senators, should be taken care of by decision of the Senate, but very important items such as major policy changes, or items that are subject to disparate and strong feelings, should be referred by the Senate to the Faculty as a whole, so that the Senate's recommendations correctly reflect the consensus of the Faculty.

"Faculty concerns" should not be limited to items that involve the welfare of the faculty itself, but rather encompass any facet of University operations. These needs or concerns could be about any issue of academic life that impacts the faculty or for which the Faculty and its members might be able to offer their expertise, both matters identified by members of senators' colleges to their senators, or those identified by senators themselves. Even the locations of sewage and electrical connections, video cables, etc., eventually have an impact on academic decisions such as which departments will grow and shrink, and which classes will use modern technology. Office and classroom computer, telephone, and electrical connections have significant impact on how these rooms must be arranged and can limit a room's use. Money spent on the planting of flowers or painting of signs may come from the same pot as expenditures for educational activities. The Faculty needs to be involved in such planning and decision-
making.

The Senate should deal with issues covering faculty governance, including such items as supervising the process of selecting chairs, setting requirements for the conduct of courses and examinations, supervising and participating in the grievance and appeals processes both for working conditions and course grades, looking after equity issues, maintaining high professional standards, maintaining or increasing the number of tenure and tenure track positions, deciding faculty pay and benefits, and addressing other such matters which arise.

One of the main responsibilities of the Senate has been, and should remain, that of overseeing educational policies and activities and advocating that instruction be adequately supported. The Senate approves courses, supervises their conduct, and makes recommendations to faculty concerning classroom issues ranging from curriculum design and pedagogy to identification of equipment and environmental needs in both classrooms and other areas, and makes recommendations to the administration when administrative action is required in these areas. Furthermore, the Senate concerns itself with scholarly issues such as teaching methodology, developing opportunities for students to practice all appropriate areas of research, and looking into matters of ethics. It requests resources to support both teaching and research.

The Senate should have a major role in establishing and reviewing the University budget. The administration has included faculty representatives in the budgeting process, but there needs to be a workable and standardized process for an informed participation in this process by faculty members (and representatives of each constituent of the university: faculty; students; administration; and staff), who can become familiar with all of the several parts of the University budget, including state-appropriated funds, grants and research funds, Land Grant funds, funds controlled by the University Foundation, and any other funds which are involved in the operation of the University. Budget documents should be prepared for the use of such faculty (and other) advisers so that they can understand the purposes, sources, and destinations of all University moneys. Elected or appointed representatives of each group should receive clear and sufficient information in a timely manner to allow preparation for budget meetings. Meeting schedules should be clearly announced and set considering the needs of all four groups. The Faculty should be able to inform the administration of those ways of allocating resources which best promote the goals of the entire University, and the Senate should be in a position to inform the faculty of such fiscal affairs.

Each separate constituent of the University (faculty, students, administration, and staff) has its own needs and expertise. Each part should be heard, particularly when that constituent has input that would benefit the University and help us serve our students and the community. However, the main mission of the University is that of educating the student body, consistent with the values delineated in the University's Mission Statement, namely:

academic excellence;
academic freedom;
advancement of knowledge through teaching, research, scholarship, creative endeavor, and community

service;
a core of student learning that includes effective communication, understanding and analysis of the

interconnections of knowledge, and responsibility for one's own learning; lifelong growth, development,

and achievement of our students;
development of human capacities for integrity, compassion, and citizenship; celebration of our rich and diverse heritage;
facilitation of personal and professional development for our faculty and staff; and

accountability through shared responsibility and continuous improvement.

It is the Faculty which is, more than any other constituent of the University, continuously and constantly involved in promoting the accomplishment of these objectives, and the faculty (aided by input from the other components), through its instrument the Faculty Senate, must decide how to promote these objectives for the continuous improvement of the University, and must keep the rest of the University community informed of these endeavors and of its needs for their support.