The Faculty Handbook is both a practical and symbolic document.
As a practical document, the Faculty Handbook provides valuable information for PLU faculty on a vast array of topics. This is the document that informs our syllabi and classroom practices in its articulation of office hour requirements, attendance policies, and procedures for dealing with academic integrity violations. It is the guide we use in engaging in the work of standing and university committees, laying out their purpose, membership, and responsibilities. And it provides the blueprint for faculty members’ professional development, insofar as the Faculty Handbook is where tenure and promotion criteria are described, where information about sabbatical leaves can be found, and where timelines for undergoing formal review are provided.
While other university publications should be part of each faculty member’s library of resources (virtual or otherwise)—such as the Catalog, the Student Handbook, and the Personnel Policies and Procedures Manual—it is the Faculty Handbook that provides the most relevant information to our daily work as teachers, scholars, and university citizens, codifying our rights and responsibilities as faculty.
At the same time it serves a practical purpose, the Faculty Handbook is also a symbolic representation of one of the elements that sets us apart from other universities: our robust system of shared governance. Our shared governance system emphasizes participation, collaboration, communication, and transparency. As our governing document, the Faculty Handbook sets forth the roles faculty play in fulfilling the university’s mission, and, where appropriate, how these roles dovetail with those of the other members of the campus community with whom we share this responsibility: namely, the Board of Regents, administration, staff, and students. The Faculty Handbook is a testament to our shared commitments.
The ninth edition of the Faculty Handbook is broken into six major sections. The handbook begins with the Faculty Constitution and Bylaws, which highlights the fundamental principles that govern the university, including the rights and duties of faculty, guidelines for Faculty Assembly, and the criteria for achieving tenure and promotion. The remaining sections provide details about the various aspects of faculty work, including our organizational structure, guiding philosophies, policies, and procedures.
An important part of our shared governance work is ensuring that the handbook accurately reflects our priorities. As such, the Faculty Handbook can be understood as a living document, always subject to revision. Nevertheless, while the words and punctuation may change, the essence of the Handbook remains constant: it serves as a hallmark of our collective identity as faculty members and university citizens.
Joanna Gregson, Provost
Ninth Edition – September 30, 2020
Eighth Edition – September 1, 2014
Seventh Edition – September 1, 2011
Sixth Edition—February 5, 2003
Fifth Edition—September 1, 1995
Fourth Edition—September 1, 1990
Third Edition—September 1, 1985
Second Edition—September 1, 1980
First Edition—September 1, 1977