Running head: FIELD OBSERVATION SENATE FACULTY AFFAIRS COMMITTEE

Field Observation:
Senate Faculty Affairs Committee
Priyal Morjaria
Georgia Southern University

FIELD OBSERVATION SENATE FACULTY AFFAIRS COMMITTEE

Introduction
For my field observation and critical analysis I chose to observe a Senate Faculty Affairs
Committee meeting at Georgia State University. I also had the pleasure of speaking to Dr.
Kathryn McClymond, Chair of the committee, in person regarding the role each committee plays
and the decision making process at Georgia State University. For my critical analysis I will focus
on the Georgia State University Senate and Senate Committees, the observed faculty affairs
meeting, the decision making process through the senate hierarchy, and in conclusion I will
relate my observations to the principle of shared governance in higher education.
Georgia State University Senate
The University Senate at Georgia State University consists of elected members from
university faculty, staff and students. The presiding officer for the University Senate is President
Mark Becker. Other officers include the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and
Provost, secretly elected executive committee members, as well as elected faculty, staff and
student members (University Senate, 2015). At Georgia State University the Senate follows a
committee review process where standing committees related to the matter at hand are given
items, policies or procedures to review before submitting to the University Senate. Standing
Committee chairs are elected by the President and executive committee. All Senate members are
required to participate in at least one standing committee; however all committee members are
not required to be Senators.
The Executive Committee consists of the President, the Senior Vice Provost and Vice
President for Academic Affairs and six elected members. An important aspect of the executive
committee is that the six elected members are university Senate members that are elected by a
secret ballot each year. The Executive Committee shall serve as members of the Administrative
Council, an advisory body to the President on all administrative policies of the University

FIELD OBSERVATION SENATE FACULTY AFFAIRS COMMITTEE

(University Senate, 2015). Georgia State University has 18 Senate Committees outside of the
Executive Committee. The President can also create special committees if required for any
special purpose.
Faculty Affairs Committee Meeting
I had the privileged of attending a Senate Faculty Affairs Committee meeting and also
had the pleasure of speaking to Dr. McClymond, chair of the committee and chair of the
Religious Studies department at Georgia State University. There are 35 total members in the
Faculty Affairs Committee including the Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs and Provost.
Only 16 of the 35 members attended the meeting. The meeting was called into order by Dr.
McClymond. She briefly summarized what was discussed in the previous meeting since an
important matter from the previous meeting was going to be reviewed again. The student
evaluation instrument was discussed in several meetings since Georgia State Faculty are
requesting a review of questions.
The student evaluation instrument has five questions regarding an instructors
performance in a classroom and the ease with which a student understands the course content.
Many faculty members want some changes in these questions because of the differences in their
mode of instruction. Some courses are taught online while other courses use very little
technology. Another issue that arose in the previous meeting came from Sarah Pallas, chair of
the Cultural Diversity Committee. The Cultural Diversity Committee requested to add a question
regarding a climate of inclusiveness in the student evaluation instrument. In the previous
meeting the Faculty Affairs Committee voted against the wording of the question and Dr. Pallas
was asked to take this issue back to the Cultural Diversity Committee. Dr. Pallas returned to this
meeting with a new approach to including the question of diversity in the student evaluation
instrument. Dr. McClymond requested the creation of a sub-committee to review this new

FIELD OBSERVATION SENATE FACULTY AFFAIRS COMMITTEE

wording of the inclusiveness question in the student evaluation instrument (Faculty Affairs
Committee Meeting, June 2015).
The Faculty Affairs Committee also discussed the Administrative Evaluation process and
what changes need to be implemented in faculty and administrative evaluation. In an earlier
meeting the Faculty Affairs Committee decided on making a few changes to the Administrative
Evaluation. Faculty members that are out on leave for 90 or more days will not be included in the
three to five your cycle, no outside evaluators can be included, and a unit cannot put a faculty
member on a committee. In a previous meeting the Faculty Affairs Committee decided to
forward the changes to the Executive Committee for review before taking it to the Full Senate for
a vote.
During this meeting Dr. McClymond stated that the Executive Committee has requested
the Faculty Affairs Committee to discuss this matter with other committees and interested
parties. Other committees and individuals have discussed the issue with administrative
evaluations in the past. The Executive Committee wants more detail and also requested that all
committees working on this issue work together to create a common administrative evaluation.
The Faculty Affairs Committee decided with a vote that a sub-committee will reach out to other
committees and all the college deans to discuss this matter and will come up with a common
administrative evaluation together before taking it the full Senate for a vote (Faculty Affairs
Committee Meeting, June 2015). Another committee member also informed the Faculty Affairs
Committee members of a new change that may occur in the health care coverage and insurance
policies for faculty members and their families. The last few minutes of the meeting were more
information based than decision making based.

FIELD OBSERVATION SENATE FACULTY AFFAIRS COMMITTEE

Hierarchy and the Decision-Making Process

Before this field observation the only knowledge I had of the administrative chain in
higher education came from textbooks and omnipresent emails from the Presidents office.
I was able to personally meet with Dr. McClymond and speak to her about the decision making
process that the University Senate goes through. Through Dr. McClymond I learned that a higher
education institutions power structure is often reliant on who makes the decisions. Some
institutions have administrators that have the final say or make the most important decisions
while other institutions may have a strong faculty voice and a weaker administrative voice.
Georgia State University is one institution where the decision making process is more balanced
(personal communication, June 17, 2015). This is whats known as shared governance.
The University Senate votes on decisions brought to the full Senate based on committee
input and recommendations. Individuals or committees can bring a motion to the Full Senate. A
motion can be passed, rejected or a request to amend can be made based on a vote. The President
or Senate can veto a motion from being passed. Motions are typically created as issues arise,
policies require changes or when a department or program is implementing something new. Dr.
McClymond also mentioned that requests can come from the Presidents office. At time the
Executive Committee needs the Faculty Affairs Committee to review a process or policy and
then bring it to the Full Senate (personal communication, June 17, 2015).
Georgia State University is part of the University System of Georgia. The Board of
Regents is the governing body for all public higher education institutions in the state of Georgia.
If a department is requesting a substantial change in an academic program than the proposal will
have to go to the Board of Regents after is passes through the University Senate (University
Senate, 2015). Governing Boards are often responsible for strategic planning, faculty

FIELD OBSERVATION SENATE FACULTY AFFAIRS COMMITTEE

compensation, appointing chief executives and allocating resources among institutions in their
jurisdiction (Schloss & Cragg, 2013). The University Senate and state governing bodies play a
significant role in the progression of a higher education institution. As I observed the Faculty
Affairs Committee and discussed the decision making process with Dr. McClymond I came to
the conclusion that the Senate is a democratic structure that allows for a decision making process
thats similar to the federal governments decision making process.
Conclusion
As I observed the Faculty Affairs Committee meeting and came to a better understanding
of the University Senate decision making process I strongly felt that Georgia State University
allows for a very inclusive environment. Faculty, staff and students all have representation in the
University Senate and their voices are being heard. Based on my observations I find that Georgia
State University has a shared governance system. Schloss and Cragg (2013) found that for the
most part, contemporary faculty senates do not wield great power beyond their advisory
capacities (p. 52). My understanding of Georgia State Universitys decision making process is
that faculty members play a significant and many times equal role in the decision making
hierarchy. Research and Education are at the heart of Georgia State University hence the faculty
members here feel that they have a strong voice with regards to what changes are made.
Shared governance will continue to play an important role in the administrative hierarchy
at Georgia State University since the institution is going to merge with Georgia Perimeter
College in the upcoming months. Georgia State University is already preparing for the merger
and special committees have been created to allow for an inclusive environment where the
community college does not feel threatened with GSUs current administrative hierarchy.

FIELD OBSERVATION SENATE FACULTY AFFAIRS COMMITTEE

References
Georgia State University. (2015). University Senate Bylaws. Retrieved from
http://senate.gsu.edu/about/senate-bylaws/
McClymond, K. (2015, June 17). Personal Interview
Schloss, P. & Cragg, K. (2013). Organization and administration in higher education.
New York: Rutledge
Senate Faculty Affairs Committee. (2015, June 10). Meeting of the Georgia State University
Senate Faculty Affairs Committee.