Too long; didn’t read

• Full-time faculty will now have one semester of paid parental leave. 
• A new module schedule has been passed for fall 2024 and beyond. 
• Faculty are working 0n recruiting previous PSEO students.
• Faculty participated in the most recent Board of Trustees meeting.
• Academic status revamp

Parental leave

Provost Robin Rylaarsdam announced in a faculty meeting Nov. 16 that a full-time faculty member who has a child, whose spouse has a child or who is adopting will not have to teach during that semester. They will receive 12 weeks of paid leave and for the remainder of the semester will be assigned non-teaching duty by their dean. This will prevent classes from having a change in faculty during the semester. An equitable plan will be implemented for staff as well. This announcement was previewed in Faculty Senate when Rylaarsdam announced that the policy had made its way through the university’s legal counsel and Faculty Policy Review Committee. 

Module schedule

In order to accommodate the four-credit curriculum being implemented fall 2024, Faculty Senate passed a new module schedule. Along with different start times for sections, changes include community time being moved from 1:20 p.m. to 2:10 p.m. to 11:15 a.m. to 12:05 p.m. Two-credit courses will be, by default, in a four-credit slot for half of the semester.

Recruiting Q-students

There are currently 284 senior PSEO students at Bethel. Students who enroll full-time after being a PSEO student are referred to as Q-students. College of Arts & Sciences Associate Provost Julie Finnern thanked faculty with their help recruiting these students to continue their education at Bethel. So far 16 of these students have committed to Bethel and ten have decided not to attend. 

Board of Trustees meeting

Faculty participated in a poster session as a part of the Board of Trustees meeting Oct. 25. This gave the board the opportunity to learn about research the faculty do as a part of their contract including sabbatical projects. 

Business professor Drew Whitson expressed interest in having more poster sessions with the board in the future. In her update Rylaarsdam thanked faculty who participated. 

The following day there was a faculty panel including Bowen, Faculty Senate Vice President and psychology professor Sherryse Corrow and music professor Herb Johnson. They spoke about what it is like to teach in the classroom.

Academic status

The academic standing policy was updated to be more clear at the request of the Registrar. This includes changes in GPA requirements and the ability to reassess after repeating a course. Additionally, students who have not been enrolled for two consecutive semesters will be labeled inactive. This policy matches that of the College of Adult & Professional Studies.