responsibilities, affecting the level of administrative support available for Senate activities. The Senate administrative assistant’s workspace is part of a shared office suite with common access, which limits the Faculty Senate’s ability to manage confidential materials and discussions as required by the Faculty Code, and outlined in the position description. 16 FSEC Clarification on justification point II (page 4 of document) • Petition Language: This effort to marginalize faculty governance is also evident in the development and approval of the recent 2025 Shared Governance document which President Wohlpart advanced through a committee with limited faculty representation and without meaningful consultation with faculty or approval by the Faculty Senate. Although the document was created outside established shared governance processes—and despite explicit assurances that it would not replace the Faculty Code—President Wohlpart now asserts that existing policy and Code must conform to the new document. FSEC Clarification: A draft of the Shared Governance document was presented to the Faculty Senate at its March 2025 meeting 17 for feedback. The document was not brought forward for a Senate vote, nor was time allocated for Senators to consult with their departments prior to its completion. During the President’s open meeting held on January 23, 2026, faculty members who served on the shared governance working group indicated that the group did not determine how the Shared Governance document would be implemented. Based on this information, the approach to implementation currently being referenced does not appear to have been reviewed through the consultative processes outlined in the Faculty Code 18 or through other established shared governance channels. The Faculty Senate Bylaws and Faculty Code Committee raised related concerns in its report to the Senate on January 14, 2026. 19 The Executive Committee also notes that, unlike the Faculty Code, the 2025 Shared Governance document does not specify consultation processes or procedural pathways. The Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU) 20 requires that an institution’s documented and publicly available decision-making standards include provisions for the participation of faculty, staff, administrators, and students in matters in which each group has a direct and reasonable interest.
FSEC Clarification on justification point III (page 5 of document)
16 See position description for Faculty Senate Administrative Assistant 17 See March 5, 2025 Faculty Senate meeting minutes 18 See CWU Faculty Code section II.D. 19 See Bylaws and Faculty Code Committee report which was provided at the January 2026 Faculty Senate meeting. 20 See NWCCU Standard 2.A.4
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