The revised promotion and tenure document was again the hot topic at the Faculty Senate meeting on Tuesday.

Olivia Madison, interim dean of library services, addressed the lengthened promotion and tenure document, which led to much discussion.

“We are trying to make the review process the least burden possible, yet still allow it to be subject to review,” Madison said.

The new report contains most of the changes in two sections of the Faculty Handbook.

One section consists of a merger between pages 15 through 24a of the handbook, and the second section is a revision of two promotion and tenure documents.

Many changes have been made since the report concerning the Faculty Handbook last spring, including an evaluation of the comprehensive review section, an expansion of the portion over academic freedom and a complete revision to the section on teaching.

A new appendix also was added to the final promotion and tenure report.

The changes to the report were made according to feedback from members of the Faculty Senate, Iowa State faculty and a previous conference held at Grinnell.

Two important sources, a recent American Association of University Professors committee report on post-tenure review and a document from the University of Minnesota on faculty tenure, directed the revisions.

More information about this issue will soon be posted on the Faculty Senate Web page and a final vote will be taken on March 10.

In other news:

• Denise Vrchota, adjunct assistant professor of journalism, urged members of the Faculty Senate to serve on the executive board.

Some of the duties these officers have are preparing agendas and acting as gatekeepers, going to meetings twice a month and acting on behalf of the entire senate.

• Provost John Kozak informed the senate of a workshop planned for Wednesday, Dec. 10, to serve as an informational exchange with members of different ISU colleges about working in Russia and the Ukraine.

A similar workshop will be held this spring involving faculty who have worked in China.

Kozak was very optimistic about the workshop because it shows several colleges have common initiatives, he said.

• Carl Bleyle, professor of music, brought forth an amendment to the Student Access Policy that would make it mandatory for professors to include office hours, email addresses and phone numbers in the course syllabus.

Bleyle also discussed a policy to help students with disabilities with their studies and keep them in school.