Faculty Congress

Faculty Congress-Approved Motions Pending Action by Administration

The following motions have been approved by Faculty Congress and are pending implementation or other action by administration.

  • 23-24-001 Motion to approve workload equivalency policy for UH Hilo
    • Approved by Faculty Congress on September 15, 2023
    • Administration notified via email on September 16, 2023
    • Administration made additional edits and sent to Faculty Congress for May 10, 2024 meeting, during which Faculty Congress requested additional edits
    • Administration notified of Faculty Congress-approved additional edits via email on May 26, 2024.
    • Administration reminded via email on October 11, 2024.
    • VC Kawaiʻaeʻa reported for the October 18, 2024 Faculty Congress meeting (consent agenda) no changes to the policy based on Faculty Congress-approved motions and that she is completing the implementation plan for the policy.
    • Based on discussion at the October Faculty Congress meeting, VC Kawaiʻaeʻa did additional analyses and recommended the following change in her November report to Faculty Congress: Change course type from lecture/lab to standalone laboratory courses. This policy recommendation applies solely to standalone laboratory courses listed in Appendix A of the workload policy. Courses with embedded labs that maintain 15 direct contact hours per semester are excluded from this recommendation. • Standalone laboratory classes (except for DKICP) are assigned 1.5 Workload Credit Hours (WCH) per 1 Contact Credit Hour (CCH) for laboratory classes. • For DKICP laboratory classes, 1 Workload Credit Hour (WCH) is assigned to faculty for laboratory classes that meet for 15 direct contact hours per semester. (Note: This aligns with JABSOM’s workload policy and is consistent with workload practices at other pharmacy schools.) Her report also proposed a faculty workload reporting form via Kuali and an automated system for administrative reassignments to calculate compensation levels to implement the workload policy in a way that fosters transparency, accountability, fairness, and consistent documentation across faculty responsibilities.
    • At the March 14, 2025 Faculty Congress meeting, there were no concerns raised about workload for labs as proposed in VC Kawaiʻaeʻa's November report. There continues to be a lack of clarity about workload for interdisciplinary program coordinators that should be addressed. There were questions about the proposed implementation of the workload policy, and a town hall meeting will be scheduled to discuss.
    • At the April 11, 2025 Faculty Congress meeting, the UH Hilo workload reporting form presented by VC Kawaiʻaeʻa was approved for beta testing in the Fall of 2025; town hall will not be scheduled unless requested.
  • 23-24-009 Motion to request the interim IRO director submit a comprehensive report analyzing existing data regarding student retention/loss, with a focus on campus-wide issues
    • Approved by Faculty Congress on February 16, 2024
    • Administration notified via email on February 29, 2024.
    • Administration reminded via email on October 11, 2024; December 16, 2024; February 18, 2024; March 10, 2025, April 7, 2025.
    • Report recieved April 29, 2025
    • At the May 9, 2025 Faculty Congress meeting, there were requests to clarify the calculations, particularly with regard to transfer students (e.g., what cohort are they included in)
  • 23-24-020 Motion to increase the priority of the data science faculty budget request and to specify that a faculty member be hired whose primary teaching duties would be in data science courses.
    • Approved by Faculty Congress on May 10, 2024.
    • Administration notified via email on May 26, 2024.
    • Administration reminded via email on October 11, 2024.
    • VC Rapoza reported for the October 18, 2024 Faculty Congress meeting (consent agenda) that the data science faculty position is part of UH Hilo's 25-27 budget request submitted to System for Board of Regent's consideration for submission to the Governor to be part of the Governor's legislative package
  • 24-25-016 Motion to request that administration immediately move forward on a casual hire as the veterans service coordinator
    • Approved by Faculty Congress on May 9, 2025.
    • Administration notified via email on May 13, 2025.