For faculty and staff members who want to cast their ballots in the decision regarding the new Faculty Senate promotion and tenure document, time is running out.

Ballots are due Friday by 5 p.m. to the Faculty Senate office, located in the Lab of Mechanics building on the southwest side of campus.

Denise Vrochta, president-elect of the Faculty Senate and professor of communication studies, expressed concern that members of the Iowa State faculty may neglect to submit their ballots in time.

“For the past year, the Faculty Senate has been deliberating on a proposed promotion and tenure document,” Vrochta said.

“What we’re concerned about is that it has been accepted by the Faculty Senate, but now it’s time for the faculty to vote on whether or not they want to approve it,” she said.

Vrochta said faculty members have had the opportunity to cast ballots since the end of March.

“All faculty received a copy of the document, as well as a copy of the ballot,” she said.

“Our concern is we have to give faculty members 20 calendar days to return [the ballots], but at the same time, we’re concerned that [they] will forget to return the ballots,” she said.

Vrochta said the new promotion and tenure document is fairly “controversial.”

The document, she said, includes language about comprehensive peer reviews, changes with a revised definition of the term “scholar” and the necessity of teaching portfolios.

“The proposed document replaces the text on pages 15 to 24 in the current faculty handbook,” she said, adding that if it passes through the Faculty Senate, it must seek approval from the provost, president and the Board of Regents.

“If it passes the Board of Regents, then it becomes effective,” she said.

She added that faculty members who join ISU will be evaluated under the new document, while faculty members who joined before fall of ’98 will be evaluated under either the old or new documents.

Vrochta said that decision is up to the department chair or department committee.

“It’s taken us most of this year to find common ground for this document,” Vrochta said.

Although the Faculty Senate needs a majority to pass the new document, no minimum number of ballots is required.

Vrochta said about 600 members of the ISU faculty, or 33 percent, have returned their ballots.

“We would like to encourage the others to get their ballots in,” she said. “It is certainly going to affect every faculty member.”