All students at San Francisco State University, as they work toward their educational objectives, are expected to adhere to a number of regulations and policies which have been established by the State Legislature, the Board of Trustees of The California State University, and San Francisco State University.

In administering these regulations and policies, the university recognizes that it must at times take into consideration the special needs of the individual student. The President, by virtue of his authority and responsibility for the administration of the educational program in the university, has delegated to the Board of Appeals and Review the responsibility for ruling on requests for special consideration. This Board, in addition to acting on student requests for special consideration, also evaluates policies and regulations and, when appropriate, recommends to the appropriate body reconsideration of policies and recommends modifications in interpretation and application of policies.

Membership on Board of Appeals and Review includes: Dean of Graduate Division; the Dean of Undergraduate Studies; four faculty members (appointed by the Academic Senate to serve two-year terms with one faculty term ending each year), no more than one may be appointed from any one college; the Director of Enrollment Services; the Director of Advising; the Registrar (non-voting, to serve as secretary and record-keeper); and two students (selected by the Associated Students).

It is anticipated that the Vice President for Student Affairs might attend sessions of BOAR at will or by invitation to consult with the Board or to clarify issues of mutual concern. The Vice President will not be a voting member.

A quorum is defined as a minimum of five voting members present at the scheduled BOAR meeting.

BOAR shall select its own chair.

BOAR normally meets monthly during the academic year.

Requests for Exceptions to Academic Policies Subject to BOAR Review

Appeals of Direct Action. The Board hears appeals on the following direct actions:

Withdrawal from an individual course which has been previously denied at the college dean's level;
Withdrawal from the university occurring within the last three weeks of the semester or retroactively for reasons other than "verified cases of accident or serious illness;"
Administrative withdrawal for academic reasons (e.g., upon repeat of same course within one year);
Changes to or from Auditor status after the deadline when denied at the college dean's level.

Appeals for Exception to University Graduation Policies. The Board hears appeals on the following university graduation policies:

That only 30% of a student's courses may be graded "Credit;"
That only 60 units may be in one discipline (major);
Course equivalencies for graduation requirements which do not fall into normal guidelines (except BOAR cannot act on cases involving acceptance of community college work as upper division credit, which is prohibited by Title 5);
That there must be 45 graded SFSU units to qualify for graduation with honors;
The retroactive award of a degree for students who have missed filing deadlines and petition for the degree retroactively rather than accepting the next available degree date. (Requests falling within one year of the date of graduation have customarily been acted on by the Admissions and Records staff);
The acceptance of upper division credit which was completed prior to the award of the bachelor's egree as a graduate degree program (beyond that allowed by university criteria of having been completed the last semester of undergraduate study and not in excess of 12 units).

Requests for Exceptions Not Subject to BOAR Review. The Board does not review the following requests for exceptions:

Stipulated requirements of Title 5, or other state laws or regulations;
Grade changes subsequent to the award of a degree;
Any change of grade within the appropriate grading policy involving a reevaluation of work (authority for which has been delegated to each college Grade Appeal Committee as established by the college dean);
Course equivalencies involving an evaluation of course content in terms of its applicability to major program requirements;
Change in major program requirements;
Variations in G.E. requirements which have been denied by the Undergraduate Dean's Office and by the Council of G.E. Advising Coordinators acting as an Appeals Board. (Should G.E. policy and practice change so as to abolish the Council of G.E. Advising Coordinators, BOAR might assume this review function.)

Rights of Consultation. BOAR members may, in individual appeal cases where additional clarification is needed, solicit consultation with appropriate deans, faculty, or students.

When a student files a petition, a copy should be sent to all participants in the original action.

Reporting Relationship. BOAR shall report through the Academic Senate to the President.

Faculty Personnel Files Policy

On January 17, 1984, the Faculty Personnel Files Policy was adopted at President's Council. This policy, reprinted in its entirety below, is consistent with Articles 11 and 15 of the Agreement, and establishes a single official file, the Personnel Action File, located in the Office of Faculty Affairs, Administration Building, Room 447. If a conflict arises between this policy and any provisions of the Agreement, the provisions of the Agreement will apply.

The Personnel Files Policy allows faculty to review their own file except for pre-employment materials, to request copies of their employment records, and to request the correction or deletion of documents.

The policy further requires that all information upon which personnel actions are based be reduced to writing, signed, and placed in the Personnel Action File.

Coverage. This policy complies with the provisions of Articles 11 and 15 of the Agreement with regard to faculty unit employee personnel files.

The Official Personnel Action File

The official Personnel Action File (PAF) for faculty unit employees shall be located in the Office of Faculty Affairs; the custodian for the PAF shall be the Dean of Faculty Affairs.

The PAF shall contain all information upon which personnel actions regarding a faculty unit employee are based. All information used to make personnel recommendations or revisions must be reduced to writing, signed, and placed in the PAF.

A copy of any materials being placed in the PAF must be provided the faculty unit employee five days prior to such placement except in cases of temporary suspension or discipline. Therefore, the faculty unit employee must be copied on all materials being forwarded to the PAF. The five-day delay in filing will be implemented in the Office of Faculty Affairs.

The PAF shall contain an access log for each faculty unit employee. Access to the PAF shall be for the purposes of official business only. All instances of access shall appear on the log.

Requests by faculty unit employees to correct or delete materials in the PAF shall be sent to the Dean of Faculty Affairs with copies to the college dean and faculty committee, if appropriate. Appeals of denial of the request shall be made to the President within seven days of the denial.

Other Faculty Unit Employee Files

The PAF shall indicate the location of other records kept on campus to which the faculty unit employee has access. These records include:

Personnel and Payroll files; and
College and department (or equivalent unit) duplicate records

Colleges and departments may maintain duplicate records of the PAF for convenience. The dean shall be the custodian of all duplicate records at the college and departmental levels. As custodian, the dean is responsible for ensuring that the duplicate record contains only information which is also contained in the PAF, that random entry materials placed in college and/or department duplicate records are forwarded to the official PAF, and that the records are secured and access to them controlled.

The contents of college and department duplicate records shall be limited to: personnel recommendations and decisions, including appointment, reappointment, retention, tenure, promotion, termination, leaves, evaluation of tenured faculty, and any other personnel action; and any other random entry which is being transmitted to the PAF. All materials not in the PAF shall be eliminated from the duplicate college and department records. However, there is no requirement that every item in the PAF also be in the duplicate file.

Duplicate college and department records shall be secured and access to them controlled. An access log shall be part of each faculty unit employee's duplicate record.

Faculty are encouraged to examine their departmental, college, and central administrative files periodically, and to request that any non-duplicative materials either be removed from the duplicate record or placed in the PAF.

Pre-employment applicant files, including those of individuals subsequently hired, shall be kept in the department for three years in a separate location from department duplicate records.

Grievance records shall be kept in a file separate from the grievant's Personnel Action File. The Office of Faculty Affairs shall be responsible for managing faculty unit employee grievances and for maintaining grievance records.

Working Personnel Action Files

The Working Personnel Action File (WPAF) originates in the department of the faculty unit employee for whom a periodic or performance review will take place. It shall contain an index prepared by the faculty unit employee under review which includes all the materials he/she is submitting for the review. This index shall reference materials kept by the faculty member which are discussed in the review, as well as materials submitted for the review. The index shall become a permanent part of the PAF. It shall be the responsibility of the Dean of Faculty Affairs to return indexed materials to the faculty unit employee as appropriate at the time personnel action reports are placed in the PAF.

The WPAF shall be forwarded from the department to the dean and shall contain all rebuttals and responses to rebuttals at the department level. Department chairs are responsible for ensuring that faculty unit employees are provided copies of all materials collected or prepared at the departmental level and placed in the WPAF.

The dean shall be responsible for ensuring that faculty unit employees are provided with copies of all materials added to the WPAF at the college level.

The WPAF shall be incorproated into the PAF after final action is taken. The WPAF no longer exists when the personnel action for which it was created has taken place.

Promotion files are part of the PAF. Subsequent to the President's decision, the University Promotions Committee shall be responsible for ensuring that the complete promotion file for each candidate considered for promotion is sent to the Dean of Faculty Affairs for incorportion into the PAF. All other copies if not destroyed shall be returned to colleges for filing and for distribution to departments and the faculty unit employee.

Written Student Evaluation of Teaching Effectiveness

All faculty unit employees are required to have a minimum of two classes evaluated by students annually. The summaries of these evaluations shall be placed in the PAF.

a. Periodic evaluations of temporary faculty unit employees including summaries of teaching effectiveness shall be sent to the PAF once annually, normally at the beginning of the fall semester, with the Recommendation for Appointment. If evaluations for the preceding year are not available, the most recent evaluations will be sent. Evaluations of teaching effectiveness for temporary faculty unit employees who are employed less than six months are discretionary.
b. Summaries of student evaluations of teaching effectiveness for probationary unit employees shall be part of the WPAF for the annual retention review.
c. Summaries of student evaluations of teaching effectiveness for a minimum of two classes for each year subsequent to the last review shall be part of the promotion or evaluation of tenured faculty performance review WPAF. Prior to commencement of the review, these data shall be kept in the department.
d. Raw data from student evaluations of teaching effectiveness shall be kept in the department until the summary data is prepared and forwarded to the PAF as part of the WPAF. After a final decision on tenure or promotion is made, or the evaluation of tenured faculty is filed in the PAF, this raw data shall be returned to the faculty member.

It is prohibited to keep unofficial files or other collections of papers to which an employee would not be given access. Written inputs for personnel action which contribute to the basis of the recommendation by a committee or other party must literally, or in summary, be placed in the personnel file of the candidate. Oral input for personnel actions which contributes to the basis of the recommendation by a committee or other party must be summarized in writing and placed in the personnel file of the candidate. Thus, responsibility for confidential material shifts from the source to the recommender who uses the material.

General Education Council

Academic Senate Policy S77-15

The following policy was approved by the Academic Senate on March 1, 1977 and by the President on March 4, 1977.

Authority. The General Education Council (GEC) will be responsible for establishing policies and principles which govern the general education program. An academic review of the program will be conducted every five years in accordance with the guidelines established by the Trustees for academic program review. The GEC will be responsive to and initiate adjustments in objectives, principles, and programs as changing times and needs demand. The Council will submit its decisions and recommendations to the Educational Policies Council (EPC). Upon final approval, the Dean of Undergraduate Studies, in cooperation with the GEC, will facilitate the implementation of adjustments in the program and will assure that all areas within Segments I, II, and III are responsibly and adequately represented.

Functional Responsibilities. In addition to supervising the five-year program review, the General Education Council will establish a significant, on-going research program for the general education program. The GEC will create a General Education Research Committee to guide this on-going research, some of which might be conducted by the Office of Institutional Research. The members of the General Education Research Committee should be chosen for their competence in conducting such research.

The General Education Council will review and approve those procedures to be used in electing members to the various committees of the council.

The General Education Council will monitor and review decisions made by the committees of the council and will act as a board of appeals.

The General Education Council will develop a standard, objective course evaluation instrument that is administered on a regular basis for all courses that are part of the general education program and will use these evaluations for further decisions relative to continuation of courses for general education offering. The GEC may discontinue a course if the evaluations of that course indicate that the standards and objectives of general education have not been met.

The General Education Council will monitor the FTE garnered by the general education curriculum and insure that the allotment of FTE will be assigned through the appropriate college to the faculty member's department.

Relationship to the Education Policies Council and the Senate. The GEC shall make its recommendations in writing to the EPC. After review, the EPC will forward its own recommendations to the Senate for action.

The GEC shall make an annual report to the Senate at the end of each spring semester.

Composition and Terms of Service. The General Education Council will be composed of one member elected by the faculty of each college, the Library, and Student Affairs (deans and associate deans are ineligible to serve); one student member; and the Dean of Undergraduate Studies.

Term of office will be three years, with initial terms staggered among one, two, and three years.

Graduate Council

The following policy was approved by the Academic Senate on October 7, 1975.

The Graduate Council shall serve as the primary advisory body to university-wide administrators in the area of graduate studies and graduate programs.

The Graduate Council shall serve the university's graduate advisors and coordinators by providing a forum for communication among all those who are involved in supervisory or coordinative efforts with post-baccalaureate education on departmental, college, or university-wide levels.

Although the Academic Senate's Educational Policies Council (EPC) has the major policy-recommending function for the university in the area of educational policies, the GC may initiate policy recommendations related to graduate studies and graduate programs, which it will refer to the EPC. The EPC may elect to use the GC as a subcommittee to which it can refer requests for new graduate programs, changes in graduate programs, or other policy issues related to graduate studies. Among specific charges that fall within the jurisdiction of the EPC that may be delegated to the GC for recommendation are: the establishing of criteria for adoption or modification of degree programs (or special non-degree programs); the general scope and relative size of programs; general university academic standards for post-baccalaureate work; admissions policy; student course load; and grading standards--within the framework of pertinent Title 5 code provisions.

Under any circumstance, close liaison between the GC and EPC will need to be maintained.

Terms for Graduate Council Members. One member shall be elected from each college. The procedures for selecting candidates for this position will be left to the discretion of the schools. (Each department which has post-baccalaureate programs or concentrations shall exercise one vote in the selection of the college representative to the Graduate Council.)

The college representative to the Graduate Council is responsible for insuring the existence of efficient communication among college graduate advisors and coordinators and between college graduate coordinators and the GC. The term of office of a college representative to the GC shall be two years, except that those initially selected shall draw lots so that one-half of them will serve for one year. Selection shall take place in the spring, and a new term shall commence at the end of the spring semester in which an individual is selected. Individuals serving as college representatives are eligible to succeed themselves in office.

One member from the EPC. Normally this person should be someone experienced in the supervision or coordination of graduate work. This individual shall be appointed by EPC for a one-year term and shall be eligible to succeed him- or herself in office for not more than four years.

The Dean of Graduate Studies (or his/her designee).

One post-baccalaureate student selected according to procedures determined by the Associated Students. The term in office for the post-baccalaureate student shall be two years.

The Academic Senate shall elect two additional faculty members who have an interest in, and responsibility for, graduate work. The term in office for the members elected by the Academic Senate shall be two years except that initially one shall be elected for a two-year term and one for a one-year term. They shall be eligible to succeed themselves. Election of these members shall take place in the spring semester.

The Chair of the Graduate Council shall be elected by the Council.

Operation of the Graduate Council. The GC shall hold at least one meeting each semester for all department graduate coordinators and advisors. This meeting shall serve as a communications session and as a forum in which items for future consideration by the GC may be proposed. Additionally, the GC normally will hold at least one ordinary business meeting monthly during the instructional year.

Guidelines for Academic Freedom and Responsibility

In 1969-70, the Academic Senate created a Committee on Academic Freedom, elected by the faculty. The committee formulated seven specific Guidelines for Academic Freedom and Responsibility. These guidelines were adopted by the Academic Senate on November 9, 1971.

The following guidelines are by no means exhaustive; additional principles undoubtedly will be added as experience necessitates their articulation. Each of the principles expressed is included at this time because of serious violations of it during the past.

Faculty members, as well as students, are free to hold and express opinions about material offered in their courses, and this right must not be impinged on by threats, force, or other intimidation; however,

Students have the right to disagree with the conduct or content of courses and to seek change, but such freedom does not include the right to disrupt orderly classroom activities or to avoid fulfillment of the expectations of the course; however,
Academic freedom for faculty members must include a means for seeking the censure or dismissal of students guilty of disruption, destruction, or unethical classroom behavior.

Academic freedom for faculty members includes the right to judge and grade the academic performance of students.
Academic freedom includes the right of students to be fairly and competently evaluated and graded. Punitive grading is not acceptable except in cases of cheating or plagiarism.
Students have the right to the instruction promised them in official university publications.
It is not inappropriate for faculty and students, both in and out of classes, to meet and share their views on a wide spectrum of intellectual and social issues. It is proper for students to seek, and faculty to choose, professionally responsible ways to relate subject matter of courses to those social crises that arise temporarily and unpredictably.
In the event of temporary departures from the normal course of instruction to discuss campus issues or community problems, faculty should make reasonable efforts to find ways of making up for missed material. In most foreseeable, if not all circumstances, instruction is to take place at the time and location indicated in university publications except in such usual academic practices as field trips, classes meeting off-campus by prior arrangement, and experimental course procedures approved by the department and for which students have received notice prior to registration.
Academic freedom includes the right of both faculty and students to seek censure of faculty members by complaint, petition, or seeking discipline for incompetence or unprofessional behavior.
Students in all academic disciplines have a right to receive effective presentations of a broad spectrum of philosophies relative to those disciplines. This does not mean that each faculty member must give equal weight to all theories appropriate to his/her discipline, even though objectivity is ordinarily assumed to characterize scholarly pursuits; rather a spectrum of philosophies or theories should characterize the total offerings within a field.
Academic freedom for all members of the academic community demands that channels of administrative communication be open in both directions, and that they be used regularly and effectively.
The responsibilities in academic affairs placed upon deans, department chairs, and faculty members should be clearly spelled out and should be respected in the operation of the university. The placing of responsibility should be accompanied by the delegation of the authority necessary to discharge it.

More Appendix

Appendix

Academic Senate Policies

Additional University Policies

Board of Appeals and Review (BOAR)

Academic Senate Policy S84-121