UNIVERSITY PARK – At its March 28 meeting, the Penn State Faculty Senate passed legislation suggesting that instructors provide remote asynchronous classes on Election Day in November and heard a report on the implementation of the new framework for assessing faculty performance. The senate also heard updates from University leadership.

Strong objections were voiced by senators about recognized student organizations inviting controversial speakers to campus this spring, and questions were raised about the University's response. Concerns included how these events impact Penn State’s commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB) and what options may be available to discourage these speakers from coming to campus.

Interim Executive Vice President and Provost Justin Schwartz responded to questions, reiterating Penn State’s obligation and responsibility as a public institution to uphold the constitutional principles of freedom of speech.

“As I said, we don’t enjoy hateful speech any more than anyone else here,” Schwartz said. "We're looking at how we can do everything we can to protect the safety of all of our different communities while also abiding by the requirements of free speech.

University leaders recently reiterated that banning speech that some may find personally offensive not only violates the Constitution but would erode the basic freedom each of us shares to think and express ourselves as we wish -- because the same laws or regulations used to silence bigots can be used to silence anyone. Conversely, laws that defend offensive speech can also be used to defend civil rights workers, anti-war protestors and others fighting for justice.

Remote asynchronous education on November Election Days

The senate voted 100-55 to pass changes to Senate Policy 42-27 that would set an expectation that instructors should provide, within reason, remote asynchronous instruction on Election Day in November, to allow more flexibility for students and faculty to carry out their civic duty by voting. This policy, recommended by the Senate Committee on Education and presented by the Student Caucus, also encourages faculty to not schedule exams or other high-stakes assessments on that day, and to allow students reasonable time after voting polls close to complete their asynchronous work.

Exceptions may be made at the instructor's discretion for circumstances such as accelerated courses or courses that meet in person once a week, such as a lab, studio or clinical experience.

Discussion was largely in favor of the idea behind the policy change, with some concern about whether academic evidence supports the connection between not having in-person classes and increased voter turnout, the necessity of this change with the improvements to the state’s mail-in voting process, and the nuances of the language used within the legislation.

This policy will go into effect starting in the Fall 2023 semester.

Faculty teaching assessment framework

The senate heard a report from the special joint task force charged with implementing a new three-pillar framework for assessing faculty teaching performance. The Faculty Teaching Assessment Framework report was passed in September 2021 to replace the existing Student Ratings of Teacher Effectiveness (SRTEs) by creating a more holistic framework for assessing faculty effectiveness. The framework incorporates multiple data points, including student feedback, self-reflection from faculty members and feedback from peers to reduce the potential for bias.

This report addressed three structural elements of implementing the framework: the creation of a standing advisory committee to periodically review and revise the teaching evaluation system; structural recommendations for changes to the three sources of effectiveness data; and the need for administrator, peer and student education support throughout the process.

The committee found recommendations related to the creation of a standing advisory committee to review the new assessment framework to be the most easily implementable of the report's structural elements. The one recommended change was to increase the assessment review's frequency from every five years to annually, to better evaluate consistent implementation, equitable practices and antibias measures.

Several challenges were found in the implementation of the framework recommendations regarding peer-review, self-assessment and student feedback. Among those challenges was the potential for a lack of clarity in assessments. To address that challenge, the committee identified four elements of effective teaching: effective design; inclusive and ethical pedagogy; effective instruction; and reflective and evolving practice.

The committee also developed requirements to implement educational opportunities that lead to more effective evaluation of teaching by administrators, peers and students. The requirements include holding units accountable for the clarity of their peer-review and self-reflection processes, University-wide implementation of the four elements of effectiveness and inclusion of an antibias statement in the student assessment form.

Because of the substantial changes to how the University assesses teacher effectiveness, the committee submitted independent implementation reports for each of the three pillars, anchored to the four elements of effective teaching. These individual reports are set to be discussed at the April Senate meeting.

Updates from University leadership

Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi shared an update with the senate on her visits to the academic colleges at University Park and the progress of the commonwealth’s appropriations hearings.

“Not a day has gone by when I have not learned something new about this institution that makes me incredibly proud,” Bendapudi said. “Meeting with our faculty, staff and students and hearing about what they're working on really gives me extra energy.”

Bendapudi testified in front of the Pennsylvania House Appropriations Committee on March 21 and before the state Senate Appropriations Committee on March 30. Penn State is seeking an increase in state funding that would put the University on par with the amount of funding received by other state-related institutions on a per-in-state-student basis. She expressed optimism about how the University’s message is being received, and emphasized how Penn State’s unique Commonwealth Campus structure is central to how the University strengthens communities across the state.

Schwartz also reminded faculty about the upcoming federally mandated values, ethics and compliance trainings.

Other business

The Senate also:

• Unanimously passed a constitutional bylaw revision to include the Academic Trustee as an ex officio member of Faculty Senate, if not already an elected member, and for that trustee to participate in Senate deliberations as a nonvoting member.
• Voted 144-4 to implement changes to the curriculum policies and procedures for extending or dropping majors across colleges and campus locations.
• Approved nominees for the following committees: Faculty Rights and Responsibilities, University Promotion and Tenure Review, Standing Joint Committee on Tenure, as well as Senate Council nominations for chair-elect and secretary, and for the Faculty Advisory Committee to the President.
• Listened to an update from Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs Kathy Bieschke on the status of nontenure-line contract renewals.
• Heard a report on the impact of Artificial Intelligence writing tools on academic integrity in higher education, which included the launch of a website by the AI and Academic Integrity Working Group to offer resources and answer questions for faculty.
• Heard reports on the affordability of course materials for students from the Open and Affordable Educational Resources Working Group, and on promotion rates and salary increases for nontenure-line faculty from the Senate Committees on Intra-University Relations and Faculty Affairs.