Based on the Kansas Board of Regents’ online agenda posted this weekend, the board will vote Wednesday on Emporia State’s “Framework for Workforce Management,” as it’s officially listed.
Framework details are not listed in the agenda, but the Board of Regents information sheet says the rationale is “in alignment with the Board’s policy requirements.”
The move towards potential program and staffing cuts has Emporia State’s Faculty Senate unhappy with the administration’s direction on programs, tenure, transparency and communication. Following a Faculty Senate emergency meeting Friday, Interim Provost Brent Thomas told KVOE News, “This can be a difficult and uncomfortable topic as it could mean changes to programs that exist today. It is important for voices to be heard. I am deeply appreciative of the opportunity to be part of those discussions.”
There’s other significant business on the agenda when it comes to Emporia State. On Thursday, the Regents could vote to amend the university’s Capital Improvement Plan and approve a program statement for demolishing Butcher Education Center, the current home of Emporia State’s Center for Early Childhood Education. ESU says the plan will eliminate over $5 million in deferred maintenance, as well as enhance the use of space on campus and shrink the campus footprint. Estimated cost is $1.4 million.
Butcher has been up for demolition by next year as part of the Campus Master Plan from nearly a decade ago, and Emporia State announced plans to close CECE by August 2023 earlier this year.
7:30 am Saturday: Emporia State Faculty Senate passes resolution affirming support of tenure, criticizes administration for lack of involvement in process
Emporia State’s Faculty Senate will meet an administration deadline of 10 am Monday for submitting its official response to the university’s program adjustment plan.
The Faculty Senate held an emergency meeting Friday, where members unanimously approved a resolution affirming the body’s support of current tenure policies and asking ESU administration and the Kansas Board of Regents to use existing policies and procedures to address financial issues.
Faculty Senate members voiced numerous concerns about the proposal that’s now awaiting approval from the Kansas Board of Regents. Social Sciences, Sociology and Criminology Professor Charles Brown challenged the administration to provide more information about its process.
Another concern for Senate members: the future of Emporia State’s tenure policy. Under current policy, termination of tenured professors is allowed under certain circumstances, including “chronic low performance,” discontinued programs or financial exigency — an official term noting budget reductions forcing eliminations of non-tenured positions to the point where non-reappointment of tenured faculty may be needed. English, Modern Languages and Journalism Associate Professor Dan Colson tells KVOE News believes the proposal essentially ends tenure for the short term at best.
Faculty members also say they were not included in the discussion process until late in the process and the time given to issue a formal response — until 10 am Monday — was entirely too short, given the magnitude of the situation and the amount of time the administration had to formulate its plan. In fact, Faculty Senate President Shawn Keough says a number of faculty believe there is now a rift between faculty and administration, which can be closed on the administration side through more transparency, better communication and better representation before decisions are made.
Interim Provosts Joan Brewer and Brent Thomas attended the meeting. Thomas says there is some flexibility in the plan when it comes to keeping certain programs.
On Wednesday, ESU President Ken Hush announced its goal of using the KBOR Workforce Management Policy, created in January 2021, to help ESU be a “forward-focused, future-ready institution.” Plan details have not been released, but Hush says ESU may look to end programs that are not in the university’s “strike zone.” Cutting programs triggers the possibility of job cuts if the Board of Regents approves, possibly as soon as the board’s meeting Sept. 14-15.
Hush says adjustments are needed, given the ever-changing landscape in education — including class offerings and a greater highlight of the total campus experience — as well as the ongoing financial effects of COVID-19 and a nearly 30-percent drop in on-campus enrollment since 2017 on top of a decline in overall enrollment over the past five to 10 years.
The Faculty Senate resolution does not address steps to handle consistently low-enrollment programs.
10:45 pm Friday: Tenure policy among concerns as Emporia State Faculty Senate sets emergency meeting on administration’s program proposal to Board of Regents
Emporia State’s Faculty Senate is planning an emergency meeting Friday afternoon in response to the administration’s plan for possible program adjustments.
The meeting will be at 3 pm at the Memorial Union Preston Family Room.
On Wednesday, ESU President Ken Hush announced its goal of using the KBOR Workforce Management Policy, created in January 2021, to help ESU be a “forward-focused, future-ready institution.” This opens up the possibility of ending certain low-enrollment programs with associated job cuts if the Board of Regents approves, possibly as soon as the board’s meeting Sept. 14-15.
English, Modern Languages and Journalism Associate Professor Dan Colson tells KVOE News there are significant concerns for faculty members on several fronts.
Colson, a tenured professor, also tells KVOE News the proposal gives a lot of leeway to the university administration for possibly terminating faculty. He says the proposal essentially ends tenure, at least for the short term, as well as tenure’s related protections for professors.
Under current policy posted on the Emporia State website, www.emporia.edu, termination of tenured professors is allowed under certain circumstances, including “chronic low performance,” discontinued programs or financial exigency — an official term noting budget reductions forcing eliminations of non-tenured positions to the point where non-reappointment of tenured faculty may be needed.
Hush says adjustments are needed, given the ever-changing landscape in education — including class offerings and a greater highlight of the total campus experience — as well as the ongoing financial effects of COVID-19 and a nearly 30-percent drop in on-campus enrollment since 2017 on top of a decline in overall enrollment over the past five to 10 years.
Details about the university’s framework have not been released, and the agenda has not been posted on the Board of Regents website. Faculty have until 10 am Monday to issue a formal response.
Click here for a link to the university’s policy manual, including information about tenure.
Click here for the Board of Regents’ online policy page.