yranaivo@journalnet.com

POCATELLO - Results from a straw poll surveying Idaho State University faculty are slated to be released at a Faculty Senate meeting Monday.

The straw poll surveyed faculty about the school's workload policy, proposals to increase the number of graduate students teaching courses and decisions over the university's budget. The poll was sent to all faculty members, or about 620 recipients.

In recent months, the Faculty Senate has taken issue with the revised workload policy, which requires tenure and tenure-track professors to teach an average of nine workload units, or a triplet of three-credit courses. The policy would also require non-tenured faculty to teach a minimum of five three-credit courses.

Both ISU Provost Gary Olson and the Faculty Senate met during the spring to revise the workload policies. The governing body reported the draft President Arthur Vailas signed on May 10 did not contain the revisions proposed by the Faculty Senate.

"Faculty governance has not been willing to accept it as final because the agreed-upon procedures for policy change were not followed, reducing the important faculty voice in (the) final revision," the Faculty Senate wrote in a section of the straw poll discussing the workload policy. "Our current goal is to find mutually acceptable language and acknowledgment of the policy's legitimacy."

The Faculty Senate reports its version of the revised policy would allow tenure and tenured-track faculty to take on no more than nine workload units. Non-tenured faculty would be allowed to take on no more than 12 workload units.

The Faculty Senate has reported Vailas indicated a willingness to revise any policy, including the workload policy. The body reports Olson agreed the workload policy will be returned to a Faculty Senate committee.

ISU faculty have previously voiced concerns that an increased workload could impede their ability to perform research.

In addition to the workload policy and proposals to increase the number of graduate students with teaching responsibilities, the Faculty Senate is polling faculty on the budget because it wants to know if other professors feel they should have an input on decisions affecting their employment.

As a result of spending cuts earlier this year, ISU laid off 73 employees before the start of the 2009-2010 school year. Forty of those employees were adjunct faculty.