If you missed the April 6 Academic Senate meeting or need a refresher, keep reading for the highlights from the meeting. For more information on the Academic Senate, click here.
Meetings are open to the public and held on Zoom. Meetings are recorded only for the purposes of meeting minutes. Although senate meetings are not required to be public under Utah law, the senate has elected to conduct its business in a transparent way, and all attendees are welcome.
Subject to the approval of the Board of Trustees, the “university faculty shall have authority ... to legislate on matters of educational policy. ... The faculty has a right to a meaningful role in the governance of the University; ... it has a right to participate in decisions relating to the general academic operations of the university, including budget decisions and administrative appointments.”
“The legislative power of the University faculty collectively will normally be exercised by the faculty through their representatives in the Academic Senate and the college and Graduate and Undergraduate councils ...”
See Academic Policies 6-001-III-B-3, 6-002 and 6-300 to read the policies in full.
Debate Calendar
Center for Civic Discourse & Debate
The proposed University of Utah Center for Civic Discourse & Debate advances research, teaching, training and community engagement in constructive civic discourse. Through research initiatives, it will produce scholarship on argumentation, dialogue facilitation and conflict resolution while hosting visiting scholars and supporting student research opportunities. Its teaching programs, including Debate Across the Curriculum, will integrate evidence-based frameworks for civil disagreement across disciplines, equipping students with durable skills in argument construction, evidence evaluation and respectful refutation in addition to emphasizing listening skills and constructive engagement of other viewpoints.
Training initiatives will provide conflict resolution certification and professional development for students, faculty, staff and community members seeking facilitation expertise applicable to workplace, organizational and personal contexts. Through community programming cultivated in partnership with the John R. Park Debate Society, (e.g., John R. Park Public Debates and Refugee Debate League, the latter in partnership with the Utah Department of Workforce Services’ Refugee Services Office) and other campus and community partners, the center will extend these constructive disagreement benefits and skill development beyond campus, demonstrating that disagreement need not mean division when people possess the skills to bridge their differences. Grounded in process expertise rather than ideological advocacy, the center practices strict political neutrality while creating a hub where academic rigor meets practical community impact.
Policy 6-100 and associated rules and policies
On April 6, 2026, the Academic Senate unanimously approved the revised Policy 6-100: Instruction and Evaluation, along with its accompanying Rules in 6-100 and adjacent language updates in Policies 6-002 and 6-404. Together, these form a foundational academic framework governing grading, registration, course standards and the student experience from entry to graduation.
Nearly two years in development, this revision represents one of the university’s clearest examples of shared governance in action—engaging faculty, staff and students through committees, councils, town halls, and extensive written feedback. The result is a clearer, more consistent and more effective policy aligned with current practices across peer AAU institutions.
Key improvements:
- Greater clarity and transparency in expectations around grading, final exams, registration and academic standing
- Increased consistency and equity through reduced reliance on exceptions and uneven practices
- Strengthened compliance with federal, state, accreditation and safety requirements
- Enhanced support for student success and timely completion
Importantly, the revisions preserve academic freedom and faculty authority over curriculum.
The senate’s action reflects a collaborative, iterative process that strengthens institutional policy and advances student success.
Information and Recommendations Calendar
Graduate School Policy Updates
Graduate Academic Standing Performance and Probation Policy Guidelines
These guidelines identify criteria for satisfactory academic standing and a baseline protocol for units to address unsatisfactory academic performance and academic probation. The guidelines assure clarity, consistency and compliance of the academic probationary process across programs and university policies, as well as support for struggling students.
Graduate Admissions Protocol: Conditional Acceptance of International Three-Year Degrees
The University of Utah Graduate School accepts completed international three-year bachelor’s degrees as eligible for admission into all degree programs that, in addition to satisfying all other existing Graduate Admissions requirements, meet one of the following sets of conditions: 120 earned credits; completed graduate degree or certificate; issued by a participant institution of the Bologna Process.
Graduate Supervisory Committee Policy Guidelines
The revised guidelines are updated to reflect more accurately the constitution of the range of graduate degree programs at the university currently. They establish a more efficient process and extend greater autonomy to academic units via creation of Faculty Status and Courtesy Appointment designations, which units may confer via their own appropriate department/program and college governance processes and register with the Graduate School.