Full-Time Faculty Handbook - 16. Revision of the Full-Time Faculty Handbook

The New School and the faculty commit their good-faith efforts to the process of achieving agreement on policy issues affecting the faculty, including but not limited to the provisions of this Handbook.

Because of the range of subject matters and the authority for them, these policies and procedures are subject to change at any time. Revisions to the Handbook will be incorporated periodically.

The board of trustees retains the right, in the best interest of the university and in its fiduciary capacity, to alter the provisions of this Handbook, except that any changes made to tenure and extended-employment policies shall not apply to faculty who, at the time of the change, are tenured or hold extended-employment contracts, without their individual consent. While preserving the right to institute changes, the president and the board of trustees will consult the elected representatives of the faculty and will consider amendments proposed by the faculty through its selected representatives before revising the Handbook. If the faculty proposes amendments that are not accepted by the board of trustees, the faculty shall be informed of the reasons for the non-acceptance.

In order to facilitate this process, the provost in consultation with the faculty senate shall appoint a standing Faculty Affairs Committee, consisting of full-time faculty members and relevant staff members from the Provost’s Office. This advisory committee shall meet periodically to review the Handbook and propose suggested revisions. As part of this mutual process, the provost will meet with representatives of elected-faculty leadership and the deans to discuss and clarify proposed changes to the Handbook, and then forward their recommendations to the president and the board of trustees.

Within the limits of law and the charter of The New School, authority to interpret this Handbook is delegated to the president by the board of trustees, who holds the final authority, and who agrees to consider interpretations provided by the faculty through its established structures before declaring final interpretation of provisions.

In order to carry out many of the policies and procedures outlined in the Handbook and to discharge the duties of curricular oversight, the board of trustees recognizes the need for the faculty to organize itself and recognizes duly constituted faculty officers and committees.

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