The Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS) Board of Regents voted today in response to the Attorney General’s opinion on tenure to revise its employment policy. At the March 2009 meeting the Board previously voted to eliminate the employment categories related to tenure for faculty appointed effective on or after July 1, 2009. The Kentucky Attorney General issued an advisory opinion on September 21, 2009 that challenged the Board’s authority to eliminate tenure for new faculty hires.
At its regularly scheduled meeting today, the Board approved a motion to revise the KCTCS Board of Regents Policy 2.0 – Kentucky Community and Technical College System Employment to include the seven employment status categories in effect prior to July 1, 2009, as follows:
· Faculty tenured employment status;
· Faculty tenure-track employment status;
· Term contract employment status;
· Continued employment status;
· Continuing employment status;
· “Status” Employment Status; and
· “At Will” Employment Status.
The Board also asked its Finance, Technology and Human Resources Committee to review the seven employment status categories and make recommendations, including, but not limited to, how tenure-eligible faculty earn tenure.
“Although we disagree with the Attorney General’s opinion and believe it is the Board’s right to set the policies and procedures related to personnel, we believe it is time to move forward with the agenda of KCTCS to transform the lives of our students and the Commonwealth,” said KCTCS Board of Regents Chair Thomas Zawacki. “It is time to heal and work together for the common good – our students.”
In other action during its regularly quarterly meeting, the Board of Regents approved or ratified:
· A 2010-12 biennial operating and capital budget request.
· 41 new programs or program options, including 27 certificates, two diplomas, 10 program options, and two new degrees.
· The two new degrees were an Associate in Applied Science in Business Administration for Bowling Green Technical College and an Associate in Applied Science in Engineering Technology for West Kentucky Technical College.
· 15,588 candidates (8,639 of which are unduplicated) for graduation who applied for academic credentials between April 22, 2009 and August 5, 2009.
The credentials include:
*3,519 certificates
* 415 diplomas
* 492 associate in arts
* 190 associate in science
* 441 associate in applied science
The next meeting of the KCTCS Board of Regents will be December 4, 2009 at the KCTCS office, Versailles, Kentucky.