Sonoma State University

Faculty Standards and Affairs Committee (FSAC)

Subcommittees

  1. Academic Freedom
  2. Teaching & Learning 
  3. Scholarly Activities
  4. University Reappointment, Tenure and Promotion

Charge

The Faculty Standards and Affairs Committee shall have primary responsibility for the development and implementation of policy concerning the practices and procedures used in faculty personnel matters, such as appointment, retention, tenure, promotion, sabbatical, and other leaves, grievance disputes, and disciplinary actions, and the protection of academic freedom in the broadest sense.

The Faculty Standards and Affairs Committee shall have at least one permanent subcommittee, the University Reappointment, Tenure, and Promotion Subcommittee, and such other subcommittees as necessary to carry out its charge.

Educational Experience Enhancement Awards | Faculty Handbook

Subcommittees of Faculty Standards and Affairs

Academic Freedom Subcommittee (AFS)

Charge

As a subcommittee of the Faculty Standards and Affairs Committee (FSAC), the charge of the Academic Freedom Subcommittee (AFS) is to both proactively monitor and examine/respond to confidential complaints about issues of academic freedom at the University, using the Faculty Handbook and SSU policy on academic freedom. The additional charges of AFS are to:

  1. Raise awareness, provide education, and develop programs or forums related to academic freedom for the benefit of the SSU community; and
  2. Periodically review the portions of the Faculty Handbook relevant to academic freedom and, in particular, the "Statement of Professional Responsibility," the "Faculty Bill of Rights," and other university policies and procedures related to academic freedom, and make any recommendations for change to FSAC; and
  3. Maintain an SSU policy on academic freedom, making recommendation for changes to this policy to FSAC; and
  4. Implement relevant parts of the SSU policy on academic freedom, including hearing confidential complaints related to issues of academic freedom.

Statement of Professional Responsibility and Faculty Bill of Rights | An open letter from professors across the California State University system to defend and reaffirm academic freedom on campus

Academic Freedom Complaint Policy and Procedures | Academic Freedom Complaint form

University Reappointment, Tenure and Promotion Subcommittee (URTP)

See SSU Policy for more information about this subcommittee

Teaching & Learning Subcommittee (TLS)

Charge

The Teaching and Learning Subcommittee (TLS) is a subcommittee of the Faculty Standards and Affairs Committee (FSAC). As stated in the University mission, SSU is committed to “effective teaching… and ongoing professional development.” To this end, TLS has primary responsibility within the faculty governance structure for addressing the individual faculty member’s professional development and career growth as an educator and mentor. These responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

  • Promote a campus environment supportive of professional development in regards to Teaching and Learning pedagogical support.
  • Provide feedback to agencies of the university on the development of programs in support of faculty needs pertaining to teaching and learning in higher education, and university service.
  • Review applications and give recommendations to the appropriate administrators for faculty submitting proposals for awards such as: (a) Educational Experience Enhancement award and (b) Excellence in Teaching award.
  • Organize and promote an annual teaching showcase or other events to support excellent teaching and enhance faculty understanding of pedagogy.
  • Advise the Provost on budgetary and hiring decisions that impact faculty professional development, especially as regards teaching and learning. 
  • Collaborate with the Center for Teaching and Educational Technology, the Center for Community Engagement, and the Associate Vice President for Faculty Success by cosponsoring professional development opportunities on teaching and university service, promoting recruitment at the school and department level, and providing data from annual faculty surveys. 

Faculty Subcommittee on Scholarly Activities (FSSA)

Charge

The primary role of the Scholarly Activities subcommittee is to support faculty research, scholarship, and creative activities (or RSCA) by reviewing internal grant programs, developing policies related to faculty participation in RSCA, and contributing to efforts that recognize and make visible faculty RSCA. It is the final review body for all campus grant programs requiring faculty evaluation. As such, it serves as a liaison between various units of the campus and the administration. 

This subcommittee shall:

  1. Support the faculty by informing them of the activities of the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (ORSP);
  2. Establish review procedures for campus-wide grant review processes (e.g., the Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activities Program [RSCAP] mini-grants and fellowships);
  3. Facilitate communication among the administration, the Chief Research Officer, and the faculty by responding to requests for priority recommendations on items that require a broadly based faculty consensus;
  4. Assist and provide feedback, as requested, to faculty preparing proposals for awards that will be reviewed by FSSA (e.g., RSCAP mini-grants and fellowships);
  5. Develop policy statements regarding faculty participation in RSCA to be forwarded to the FSAC for consideration; and
  6. Hold closed sessions solely for the purpose of deliberations regarding the relative merits of faculty
    proposals/nominations under consideration by the university for external nominations (e.g., NEH summer stipend proposals), for internal funding opportunities (e.g., RSCAP awards), and for university wide recognition of RSCA (e.g., Excellence in Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity Award); and
  7. Support the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (ORSP) in holding university wide events that promote faculty RSCA (e.g., Faculty and Graduate Student Scholarship Symposium).

The Chair of the subcommittee on Scholarly Activities shall report, as requested, to the Faculty Standards and Affairs Committee (FSAC) on activities of the subcommittee.