Faculty Senate members approved changes to the research faculty policy that will give non-tenure-eligible lecturers a third option during their career path.

Instead of either being advanced to senior lecturer or terminated, lecturers on the non-tenure-eligible path may now remain lecturers without facing termination or advancement.

“This resolution will now give faculty lecturers and clinicians more options,” said Associate Provost Susan Carlson. “Instead of having just two options, these faculty now have three distinct options.”

Sedahlia Crase, president of the Faculty Senate and professor of human development and family studies said she was surprised at the final vote, which came in at 42-7-1 in support of the changes.

“I think we now have a profoundly better policy,” Crase said. “The final vote was much closer than I initially expected, but the discussion between everyone today was proof that we are here to help protect faculty members.”

While the new plans will give lecturers and their departments more flexibility, there were other issues that were brought up during the meeting that raised some eyebrows.

Issues such as immediate termination at the end of contracts and exceedingly high numbers of lecturers in some departments led members of the senate to agree on an amendment posed by newly-chosen Faculty Senate President-elect Arnold van der Valk, professor of ecology, evolution and organismal biology.

Van der Valk’s amendment changed the wording of the resolution to read “individuals coming up for review have the right, not the obligation, to be put up for a senior lecturer position.”

Although a decision was made on the issue as a whole, there were smaller issues left on the floor, including a stringent policy for all departments to have the same advancement criteria and avoiding continuous one-year contracts for individuals that wish to remain strictly lecturers.

“This new policy will help good teachers that, for one reason or another, have elected not to go up for review,” said Charles Kostelnick, professor and chairman of English. “Now, instead of being fired or whatever euphemism you would like to use, these individuals can remain on the same lecturer path.”

After the Faculty Senate adjourned, Crase said the discussions that were heard were beneficial to the body as a whole after the issue had been put aside as old business for much of the fall semester.