A law passed during the Utah Legislature’s 2024 General Session narrowly defined faculty governance at the state’s higher education institutions.

Now, University of Utah and Academic Senate leaders are working to implement the legislation and align university policies and procedures with the changes.

In a memo to the Academic Senate, President Taylor Randall called on university leaders across campus to review all policies and regulations that may grant faculty jurisdiction over administration issues that fall outside of the purview defined by SB 192, “Higher Education Amendments.” The policies that will be reviewed include those that address the general authority of the president and the faculty:

• Policy 2-003: The President of the University;
• Policy 6-001 Section III.B.3.b (on the authority of the university faculty); and
• Policy 6-002: The Academic Senate.

In essence, the legislation says a university president must approve any expansion of faculty authority that goes beyond the limits of the 2024 legislation.

“The legislature has made it clear that if the Board of Trustees or a president wish to expand the jurisdiction of the faculty, this must be done by express authorization or delegation,” Randall wrote.

While the role of the senate is outlined in university policy, SB 192 expressly narrows the faculty’s jurisdiction to academic requirements for admission, degrees, and certificates; and course curriculum and instructions. Under the new law, faculty senates may determine other issues only when explicitly authorized by state lawmakers, the Utah Board of Higher Education, the Board of Trustees, or the university’s president.

“The Utah legislature is requiring that we undergo this process,” the president wrote. “I know and acknowledge that this understandably causes angst for many of the faculty regarding both SB 192 and the process outlined in this memorandum.  Please know that I am committed to the concept of shared governance and will continue to seek input from the faculty through the Academic Senate in matters that are important to the institution.”

More than 100 years ago, the university was at the forefront of the American tradition of academic freedom and shared governance, and the Academic Senate at the University of Utah has played a key part in shaping the institution’s educational policies over the ensuing decades.