Standing faculty committees, through their representative nature and through the work in which they engage, embody essential components of healthy shared governance at Fort Lewis College.
Charge: This Committee advises the Provost through the Faculty Senate, to which it reports. Its charge is to maintain and improve the academic standards of the College. The Committee shall encourage and recognize outstanding scholastic achievement of students; review, initiate and recommend Academic Standards policies; determine what academic action (probation level 1, probation level 2, suspension, or dismissal), if any, is appropriate at the end of each term; monitor the progress of probationary students; hear and judge the cases of academic dishonesty brought before it by any member of the academic community; hear and judge the cases of students wishing to appeal academic suspensions or dismissals; and receive and consider proposals about academic standards from any member of the academic community.
Report: The committee will submit a one-page electronic report by March 31 summarizing accomplishments, major issues discussed, and recommendations, if any, for alterations to the charge. Additionally, the committee will submit a more lengthy report by June 1 summarizing relevant statistics on academic standings, etc.
View Academic Standards Committee website
Membership: Eight faculty members appointed by SEC as well as ex officio members from relevant administrative offices as needed.
Current Members
Charge: The Assessment Committee will work with the Office of Assessment to offer assessment aid to faculty, staff, and students and to serve as peer consultants to Programs/Departments, providing support and guidance regarding assessment. Committee members will also review comprehensive and annual assessment plans and work to request any significant missing information and/or clarifications, provide feedback, and validate final plans with the intention of aligning assessment efforts to program learning outcomes, the strategic plans of the college, and Higher Learning Commission (HLC) assumed practices.
Report: The committee will submit a one-page electronic report by May 31 summarizing accomplishments, major issues discussed, brief evaluations of members, and recommendations, if any, for alterations to the charge.
Membership: Any number of faculty members appointed by SEC as well as ex officio members from relevant administrative offices as needed.
Current Members:
Charge: The Curriculum Committee assists and supports the faculty in developing and overseeing the curriculum at Fort Lewis College. It initiates, receives, reviews, and recommends actions on proposed curricula and curricular changes, including creating, eliminating, or altering programs and specific courses. The Committee proactively communicates to the faculty and the College Administration regarding its policies, procedures, and deadlines. It facilitates fair and transparent curriculum processes and practices that embody the faculty’s roles and responsibilities for developing and overseeing College curricula in service to the College mission.
Report: The committee will submit a one-page electronic report by March 31 summarizing accomplishments, major issues discussed, brief evaluations of members, and recommendations, if any, for alterations to the charge.
Membership: The committee will have eight faculty members appointed by SEC: one from the LAC Council, one from the sciences, one from the social sciences, one from arts & humanities, one from teacher education, one from the library, one from the school of business administration, one from an interdisciplinary program, and ex officio members from relevant administrative offices as needed.
Charge: The Faculty Handbook and Policy Committee reports to the Faculty Senate. This committee is responsible for making recommendations to the Faculty Senate regarding both Handbook and faculty policy additions, deletions, revisions, and interpretations. Handbook and policy issues that concern faculty responsibilities and expectations, personnel review (including promotion, tenure, and post-tenure), salary and related processes, course load and size, teaching evaluations, grievance procedures, and college organization are the purview of this committee. The committee is also responsible for recommending which issues are addressed in the Handbook and which by policy. Handbook changes require a full faculty vote. Policies must be consistent with the Handbook but may supplement these after Senate approval. Any committee, administrator, or faculty member can bring questions, requests, or concerns to the Handbook and Policy Committee via the Senate Executive Committee.
This Committee advises the Provost through the Faculty Senate, to which it reports. Its charge is to maintain and improve the academic standards for the College for post-baccalaureate and graduate students. The Committee shall encourage and recognize outstanding scholastic achievement of students; review, initiate, and recommend Academic Standards policies; evaluate alignment of those policies with federal student aid policies; determine what academic action (probation level 1, probation level 2, suspension, or dismissal), if any, is appropriate at the end of each term; monitor the progress of probationary students; hear and judge the cases of academic dishonesty brought before it by any member of the academic community; hear and judge the cases of students wishing to appeal academic suspensions or dismissals; and receive and consider proposals about academic standards from any member of the academic community. The Committee will submit a report by March 1 summarizing any accomplishments for special charges or changes to the charge. The report will typically be a computerized file; however, the Senate may request an in-person report.
Membership: Any number of faculty members appointed by SEC, with at least one member from each department that offers graduate programs and an ex officio member from the Academic Standards Committee and relevant administrative offices as needed.
Charge: The Honors Council is to develop, approve, and provide oversight of initiatives to enrich the experience of high-ability, high-achieving students at Fort Lewis College. These initiatives include but are not limited to, the John F. Reed Honors Program.
Membership: Any number of faculty members appointed by SEC and ex officio members from relevant administrative offices as needed.
Charge: The primary goals of the Liberal Arts Core Council are: 1) To build a narrative between faculty, staff, students, and trustees about what constitutes the liberal arts, particularly at Fort Lewis College. 2) To educate the public about what constitutes the liberal arts, particularly at Fort Lewis College. 3) To design and implement our Liberal Arts Core. 4) To serve in an advisory capacity, making recommendations regarding the Liberal Arts Core and curriculum to the Faculty Senate. 5) To collect baseline data and facilitate assessment of student learning in the Liberal Arts Core. 6) To evaluate and disseminate assessment data to inform curricular decisions within the Liberal Arts Core.
Membership: The committee will include one member from each academic department and ex officio members as needed.
Charge: The Women Faculty Committee makes recommendations to the Faculty Senate on issues pertinent to the status of faculty members who identify as women. The Committee will advise the senate and facilitate the implementation of policies, programs, and services that address issues of concern to faculty members who identify as women.
Charge: The Awards Committee is responsible for choosing the Alice Admire Outstanding Teaching Award, the Ginny Hutchins Teaching Award for New Faculty, the Kathy Wellborn Outstanding Teaching Award, the Roger Peters Distinguished Professor Award, and the Featured Scholar Award recipients. The Committee calls for nominations for these awards and notifies colleagues regarding when and how to apply for the awards.
Membership: The committee will have five members corresponding to the five academic disciplines as defined for the College Personnel Committee: one from the sciences, one from the social sciences, one from arts & humanities, one from teacher ed or the library, and one from the school of business administration. The members are elected by the faculty in the respective disciplines.
Charge: The College Personnel Committee’s charge is to review all probationary faculty, tenure, and promotion applications, sabbatical requests, sabbatical reports, and Post Tenure Reviews for Fort Lewis College faculty and make an independent recommendation regarding each faculty member it reviews. The committee's goal will be to ensure the process of probationary review, promotion, tenure, post-tenure review, and sabbatical recommendation and report is fair and equitable and adheres to the policy and procedure of the Fort Lewis College faculty handbook. A simple majority will lead to a vote for recommendation.
Membership: Members will consist of nine tenured faculty-at-large and will be elected by the voting faculty. Membership will include at least one representative from the Sciences, one from the Social Sciences, one from Arts and Humanities, one from the School of Education or Library faculty, and one from the School of Business Administration. The remaining four members will be elected from the tenured faculty at large.
Charge: The Executive Committee of the Faculty Senate shall function as part of the Senate. It shall function in a leadership and advisory capacity but shall not legislate. All members of the Executive Committee are voting members of the Faculty Senate, except the President of the Faculty Senate. The Executive Committee may be convened whenever necessary by its Chair or whenever requested by two or more members.
Membership: The membership of the SEC is defined by the Faculty Handbook (Part 1, Article VI, §6) to include all and only the officers of the Faculty Senate. This consists of the President, Vice-President, Recording Secretary, Corresponding Secretary, Committees Officer, and the faculty representative to the Board of Trustees. As the handbook dictates, the President and faculty representative to the Board of Trustees are elected by the faculty at large. The senate elects the remaining officers of the senate.
Charge: This Panel is led by a College Grievance Officer and is tasked with adjudicating formal grievances brought by faculty. The Faculty Handbook defines the adjudication process (Part II, Article A, §20).
Membership: The membership of the Grievance Panel is defined by the Faculty Handbook (Part II, Article A, §20, paragraph d) as an elected group of twelve regular faculty.
(Updated October 2023)