Resolutions Starting With Most Recent
4/12/23- Resolutions regarding General Education Reform:
Resolution a)
Whereas the curriculum is fully the purview of the faculty according to the Board of Regent’s Bylaw 2.9, and
Whereas only four of the eleven voting (non-alternative) members of the current General Education Committee are non-administration faculty, faculty are a distinct minority of the committee and as such the faculty is clearly not in charge of the curriculum, and
BE IT RESOLVED that the Faculty Senate demands the administration to slow the proposed General Education reform and expects it to put the proposal to a vote of the faculty before it is implemented.
Resolution b)
Whereas the current General Education reform proposal radically changes the General Education structure by cutting the General Education requirements by one-third without first having conceived an alternate means of ensuring a broad liberal arts education for all students regardless of field, and
Whereas General Education is too essential to the very role of a university to change hastily without a proper consideration of its importance and vision of what its structure should ultimately become after reform, and
BE IT RESOLVED that the Faculty Senate urges the administration to refrain of instituting any radical changes (i.e., Phase I) to the General Education structure until clear learning objectives have been determined by the faculty (i.e., Phase II and Phase III of the reform process have been completed by the faculty).
4/12/23- Resolutions regarding Inflation and Faculty Financial Burdens
WHEREAS, the median value of owner-occupied housing in Omaha increased 21% from 2019 to 2021i
WHEREAS, the rate of Midwest inflation from February 2022 to February 2023 was 5.6% on all items and 10.2% on food, the latter above even the national urban utilitiesii;
WHEREAS, the rate of Midwest inflation from February 2022 to February 2023 was 6.6% on shelter and 6.8% on utilitiesiii;
WHEREAS, the University’s health care premiums were raised by 9% in 2022iv;
WHEREAS, someone earning the median household income in Omaha in 2021 ($73,720)v would need to earn $84,783 today to have the same buying power and 67% of full-time faculty earn below this thresholdvi;
WHEREAS, 34.5% of full-time faculty earn an annual salary less than $65,000 and 10.1% less than $50,000vii;
WHEREAS, the pool of UNO faculty salaries has not increased by more than 3% in one year since 2009/2010 and has not kept pace with inflation rates, and individual salary increases fall below the pool raise;
and WHEREAS, many UNO faculty members struggle to maintain a middle-class quality of life despite specialized academic and professional degrees and years of experience and while performing the essential charge of the university—educating Nebraskans, producing innovative research, and enriching the community intellectually;
Be it therefore RESOLVED that the Faculty Senate urges the Administration to consider potential means of relieving its faculty of some financial burdens or adding benefits, for example by reducing or eliminating parking cost, by offering health insurance premium vacations, by ensuring coverage of one domestic academic conference per year, by providing access to the Wellness Center free of cost, or by allowing more flexibility on how faculty spend faculty development funds.
i American Community Survey; U.S. Census Bureau
ii Consumer Price Index; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
iii Consumer Price Index; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
iv Universitywide Employee Benefits Advisory Committee; Meeting Notes, October 21, 2022
v American Community Survey; U.S. Census Bureau
vi UNO-AAUP Roster, December 2022
vii UNO-AAUP Roster, December 2022
3/8/23- Resolution to Address the Timeline for Disabling Faculty IT Credentials at Termination of Contract
WHEREAS, many faculty, including instructors and part-time faculty, regularly return after termination of contract in subsequent semesters to teach or perform other duties and will require IT credentials at return;
WHEREAS, the process of contract renewal can, at times, prove lengthy (e.g. review for Conflict of Interest (COI) by part-time faculty employers, etc.) and extend beyond the termination of the original contract;
WHEREAS, many units continue to finalize the number of sections for service courses well beyond the end of semester and often directly prior to the start of a new semester;
WHEREAS, disruptions in access to the learning management system, email, university cloud services, and library services disable faculty members' productivity, as well as create significant barriers to a unit's ability to contact and prepare colleagues for an upcoming semester;
WHEREAS, many faculty members accommodate student needs by allowing In Progress extensions of courses;
and WHEREAS, repeated disruptions of this sort discourage highly qualified colleagues from returning to serve our university;
Be it therefore RESOLVED, that policies and procedures related to the disablement of IT credentials at termination of faculty contract be identified and reviewed by the Administration;
And finally be it RESOLVED, that relevant policies and procedures be modified to ensure that the timeline between the termination of contract and discontinuation of IT services and credentials for all faculty is no less than twelve months, in order to ensure the reasonable continuity of service for faculty who return to instruction or other duties in closely following semesters.
2/8/23- Resolution in Support of the University of Nebraska System FY23-25 Biennial Budget Request
WHEREAS, a stable base of state support is vital to affordable access to high-quality education at the University of Nebraska; and
WHEREAS, the close to 49,000 students of the University of Nebraska System, including the 15,508 students at the University of Nebraska at Omaha are the state's future business leaders, farmers and ranchers, teachers, lawyers, entrepreneurs, healthcare professionals; and
WHEREAS, the University of Nebraska graduates 11,000 students annually who grow Nebraska's workforce and economy, especially by filling and creating the high-skill, high-wage, high-demand jobs that are key to future prosperity; and
WHEREAS, true to the University's founding mission of access for the citizens of the state, tuition rates at each campus are lower than the peer average, helping students graduate on time and with less debt; and,
WHEREAS, our affordability would not be possible without a strong partnership with our hard-working elected officials combined with a commitment by the University of Nebraska leadership to find as many operational efficiencies as possible so tuition doesn't have to go up any more than necessary; and
WHEREAS, the University of Nebraska at Omaha has made substantial steps this year with the development of partnerships with 70+ area employers to ensure students have access to paid internships, recruiting and retaining students to live and work in the state of Nebraska following graduation; the university positioning itself to optimize opportunities for students to grow both economically and socially after graduation; the collaborative work with area school districts to promote development, retention, and growth among teachers and educators statewide, including the more than two out of every three Omaha area educators who hold a degree from UNO; and the assistance provided by the Nebraska Business Development Center, housed at UNO, to more than 2,000 businesses large and small statewide, at no cost, to weather an uncertain economy and save and/or support hundreds of jobs amid workforce crises; and,
WHEREAS, the University of Nebraska at Omaha Faculty Senate supports legislation that would make Nebraska more competitive in keeping the best and brightest talent in the state and build on work the University is already doing to grow the workforce, and
WHEREAS, with additional scholarship funding, students at the University of Nebraska at Omaha would be able to dedicate more time to their academic pursuits, internships, co-curricular activities, and service in the community; and,
WHEREAS, a competitive and growing University of Nebraska at Omaha is a vital component for the workforce and economic growth across the state.
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the University of Nebraska at Omaha Faculty Senate, in partnership with our sister NU campuses and on behalf of the 49,000 students we collectively represent, give our strongest endorsement to the FY23-25 biennial budget request made by the University of Nebraska Board of Regents, and urge Governor Pillen and the Nebraska Legislature to make public higher education a top priority over the upcoming biennium.
4/13/22- Resolution Regarding Open Educational Resources
Whereas in April 2021 the Faculty Senate unanimously approved Resolution 4426 to support the Open Nebraska program, which is intended to foster the implementation of Open Educational Resources (OER) across the NU system;
Whereas since 2018 Open Educational Resources have saved UNO students nearly $2.2 million in textbook costs and helped to keep the cost of course materials at $40 or less in many classes;
Whereas the Open Nebraska program attribute has been added to the online class schedule to help students identify classes that use OER materials;
Whereas the UNO Bookstore, UNO Libraries, UNO Registrar, and NU Information Technology Services have made considerable progress working together to identify eligible classes and mark them as Open Nebraska in the online class schedule;
Whereas this progress has proven very labor- and time-intensive given that there has not been a consistent approach across UNO colleges, departments, and programs to identify Open Nebraska classes, which has led to classes not being properly marked in the online class schedule;
Whereas the Courseleaf Section Scheduler provided by the UNO Registrar includes a facility to designate classes as no or low cost in the “Section Attribute” field, and it can be marked as class schedules are built, thus forestalling the need to identify and mark classes for the Open Nebraska program after the fact;
Be It Resolved that the Faculty Senate encourages the Office of Academic Affairs to work with the Colleges, Departments, and Programs to devise procedures to ensure that classes are properly marked as no or low cost, so that students can identify them by using the Open Nebraska program attribute in the online class schedule.
3/9/22- Resolution to Reinstate Original Prep Week Policy
Whereas faculty senate is charged by the Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska serving as its representative agency to deal with matters of interest to more than one college and is guided in its deliberations by the expressed interests of a responsible and professional faculty, and the ideals of academic freedom and shared governance;
Whereas the changes made June 2021 to the faculty senate created Prep Week policy from 2005 regarding final exams and “Study Days” prevents faculty from making decisions about how best to prepare their students for final exams and when best to conduct a final exam, infringes upon faculty academic freedom;
Whereas the Faculty Senate Academic & Curricular Affairs Committee’s faculty survey about “Study Days” found 52% had to adjust their course schedule to accommodate “Study Days”, 26% were not able to adjust their course schedule to cover all material needed to meet objectives of the course, and 62% of faculty did not see a significant change in final exam performance as compared to when “Study Days” were not included in Prep Week;
Whereas Provost Gold and Vice Provost Jackson stated the inclusion of “Study Days” was a campus decision not an NU Calendar Committee decision;
Whereas Vice Provost Jackson encouraged campuses to revisit their Prep Week policies and SVC Kopp and Drew Nielson, UNO’s Chief Compliance Officer, both stated the Prep Week policy could be revisited and revised;
Be It Resolved, the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s Faculty Senate opposes the changes made to the Prep Week policy regarding final exams and “Study Days” and requests they be removed from the Prep Week policy affording faculty the academic freedom to conduct class as they feel is best for their students during Prep Week within the parameters of the original Prep Week policy created by Faculty Senate in 2005.
2/9/22- Resolution Regarding UNO’s Weather Committee
Whereas the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) prides itself on having an active and healthy shared governance between administration, staff, students, and faculty, yet the decision to remove the Faculty Senate President from UNO’s Weather Committee was made without faculty input;
Whereas removing a faculty representative from UNO’s Weather Committee to streamline the decision making process by creating a smaller committee under the guise that there will continue to be intentional communication and discussion with multiple stakeholders thwarts the shared governance premise as it does not guarantee faculty involvement;
Whereas faculty representation on UNO’s Weather Committee provides a unique perspective regarding the impact of cancelling classes on student learning;
BE IT RESOLVED, the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s Faculty Senate opposes the removal of faculty representation from UNO’s Weather Committee and requests the Chancellor’s Executive Leadership Team to add at least two faculty members to the Weather Committee.
12/8/21- Resolution to support University of Nebraska system's LR 178 proposals- specifically proposals for UNO
WHEREAS, the University of Nebraska System President, Ted Carter, the NU Vice Presidents, and the Chancellors of the University of Nebraska Campuses, have selected three projects for funding consideration, under the American Rescue Plan Act, that would greatly augment the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s (UNO’s) capability to provide a positive impact for Nebraskans by improving biomechanics research, STEM education, and counterterrorism research, as well as having a significant economic impact; and
WHEREAS, the proposed UNO’s Biomechanics Research- World- Leading Work in Health and Human Sciences would maintain and further enhance UNO’s ability to collaborate among academia and industry across the U.S. and Worldwide, attract additional funding, expand research capabilities and workplace development efforts, and increase community access to engagement and outreach efforts; and
WHEREAS, the proposed UNO Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics (STEM) Teaching, Research, and Inquiry-based Learning (TRAIL) Center would maintain and further enhance UNO’s program offerings that support P-12 teachers, entrepreneurs, informal educators, and community partners, provide an opportunity for Nebraskans to pursue high-skill, high-demand, and high-wage jobs, attract additional funding, and increase community access to engagement and outreach efforts; and
WHEREAS, the proposed UNO National Counterterrorism, Innovation, Technology, and Education Center would maintain and further enhance UNO’s position as a national academic hub focused on bolstering counterterrorism efforts and terrorism and targeted violence prevention research focused on innovations to keep communities safe and help build a workforce pipeline for STEM and Homeland Security fields; and
WHEREAS, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 has designated state and local fiscal recovery funds and capital projects funds, and that these funds present an opportunity to grow the state’s economic competitiveness and quality of life; and
WHEREAS, each of these proposals aligns with both the intent of the American Rescue Plan Act and UNO’s state-supported mission to transform and improve the quality of life locally, nationally, and globally;
BE IT RESOLVED that the University of Nebraska at Omaha Faculty Senate supports the proposals put forth by President Carter, NU Vice Presidents, and the Chancellors of each University of Nebraska Campus, and urges the legislature to support and approve these proposals for the good of the people of Nebraska.
5/12/21- Resolution Regarding Part-Time Instructors
WHEREAS: Part-Time Instructors provide critical support for teaching at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. WHEREAS: Part-Time Instructors do not have a centralized location to obtain information within colleges/departments about policies and procedures.
WHEREAS: Part-Time Instructors are unusually liable to retaliation because they teach on one-semester contracts, and departments can end their employment permanently just by not rehiring them. Thus, they cannot effectively make complaints about their conditions of service.
WHEREAS: Part-Time Instructors do not have a formalized mediation process in place if there is a complaint.
WHEREAS: There is no centralized oversight of professional development for Part-Time Instructors.
WHEREAS: There is no centralized location to oversee rewards and recognition for Part-Time Instructors.
WHEREAS: Part-Time Instructors do not have access to membership with the AAUP at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.
BE IT RESOLVED: We recommend the University of Nebraska at Omaha Office of Academic Affairs create a specific Liaison to Part-Time Instructors, which would serve as an intermediary to the UNO’s many Part-Time Instructors. This liaison may be accomplished through the position of the Assistant Vice Chancellor for Faculty Affairs, supported by an Advisory Committee of Part-Time Instructors. The liaison would be available to hear complaints and concerns from Part-Time Instructors confidentially.
4/14/21- Resolution Regarding Maternal/Paternal Leave
WHEREAS: There is discrepancy in how maternity/paternal leave has been administered in departments/units across campus, and
WHEREAS: The lack of understanding of how maternity/paternal leave should be administered,
BE IT RESOLVED: That the Faculty Senate requests the Office of Academic Affairs work with the Faculty Senate to develop guidelines for departments/units regarding maternity/paternal leave and that chairs/directors be given clear guidance on teaching, research and service assignments.
4/14/21- Resolution for Chancellor Gold
WHEREAS: Chancellor Jeffrey P. Gold has served faithfully in the role of UNO Chancellor from May of 2017 to the present day; and
WHEREAS: His steadfast commitment to UNO and its constituent community is reflected in promises kept and growth achieved over the past four years; and
WHEREAS: He has led UNO successfully through a year of Pandemic conditions by exhibiting the qualities of knowledge, communication, justice, compassion, resolve, and perspicacity; and
WHEREAS: His leadership skills and value to the University of Nebraska system have been recognized by NU President Ted Carter to the extent that he has been named NU Vice President/Provost; therefore,
BE IT RESOVLED: That the UNO Faculty Senate formally extends Thanks, Congratulations, and Well-wishes to Chancellor Jeffrey P. Gold for his selfless leadership of the UNO Faculty and the students, staff, and community we serve.
4/14/21- Resolution for Open Education Resources
Whereas, student success depends considerably upon having access to course materials assigned by their instructors, when the cost of traditional textbooks has increased 88% in the last decade (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2016) and averages to around $1200 per student annually nationwide (College Board, 2018), and students frequently report they no longer buy traditional textbooks due to cost;
Whereas, providing Open Educational Resources (OER), such as free or inexpensive digital course materials used in lieu of a standard textbook, and/or affordable course content (e.g., a wide range of digital, second-hand, or other alternative course materials in lieu of standard course textbook adoption) has saved UNO students $1.9M since 2018;
Whereas, considering the institution’s continued effort to cultivate and promote access to OER content, per the University’s mission of community engagement and student-centric accommodation, and the combined efforts of the university have cleared pathways to promote and provide affordable course content to instructors to the degree practicable;
Whereas, the cost of textbooks and course materials is not clear to students at the time of registration, and the availability of affordable course content is not provided to students when registering for courses online;
Resolved that, the Faculty Senate recommends that the online class scheduling/registration system include features to search for course offerings with OER/affordable course content, to better inform student decision making when registering.
1/13/21- Resolution for J-Term Consideration
WHEREAS: Summer 2020, results of a UNO Faculty Calendar Climate Survey showed a substantial interest in investigating a January term, J-term, with the caveat that certain questions be address so that a more informed decision could be made to explore the possibility of a J-term in spring 2022.
WHEREAS: Academic & Curricular Affairs Committee, ACAC, solicited faculty primary questions and concerns regarding the creation of a J-Term and the modified calendar with respect to the J-Term which were answered by SVC Sache Kopp, Dr. Sarah Edwards, and Student Government President Jabin Moore. FAQ document was emailed to all faculty Nov 11, 2020.
WHEREAS: One of the primary questions raised by faculty regarding a modified calendar with respect to a J-term was whether it would be favored by students. Summer 2020, the UNO Student Government surveyed the student body. Based on the responses Student Government recommended the establishment of a J-term, highlighting the potential benefits to students by expanding academic offerings.
WHEREAS: Contract obligations with respect to a modified calendar, compensation for J-term instruction, breaks/holiday concessions, and academic course preparation will be outlined in detail and included in Collective Bargaining to address faculty concerns.
WHEREAS: ACAC administered a second Faculty Survey at the end of Fall 2020 to ascertain faculty support of the creation of a J-term. Results showed 58.28 % of the 290 faculty responses are in favor of including a J-term as an optional teaching opportunity for faculty.
WHEREAS: Results of the Fall 2020 Faculty Survey also showed that some faculty support of the J-term is subject to department/college leadership concerns, pedagogical concerns, and effects of proposed calendar modifications.
BE IT RESOLVED: That the Faculty Senate of the University of Nebraska at Omaha recommends the consideration of a J-term and the necessary adjustments to the academic calendar to accommodate it under the following parameters:
- Teaching in the J-term is optional and subject to the same compensation rate as summer teaching
- Each academic unit may offer courses in the J-term they deem to be most appropriate for that format, subject to availability of teaching and other resources to insure a high level of rigor and sound pedagogical practices.
- The relevant university, college and unit-level policies governing the offering, teaching, and cancellation of summer courses will apply to the J-term.
- Individual faculty teaching in the J-term will have flexibility to schedule the meeting times within the 3-week period, as long as the section meets the total minimum number of contact hours required for the number of credit hours.
- Students will be properly advised about the necessary time commitment needed to successfully complete a course in the J-term that is normally offered in a 16-week semester.
- Adjustments made to the academic calendar will be done in a manner that keeps the mental health and well-being of faculty and students paramount, including but not limited to recognition of holidays like Martin Luther King Day, a full week of Spring Break, adequate time between J-Term, Spring Semester, Summer Sessions and Fall Semester for grading and posting of final exams and course grades, etc.