President Sakaki reported that SSU’s plan for spring instruction has been submitted to WASC for approval. She also reported on a recent meeting of the Board of Trustees. The Board has approved a budget request to be sent to the Governor regarding funding for the CSU during the ’21-’22 academic year.
She reported on a move to highlight concerns of returning military veterans at our institutions. There are about 18,000 vets now studying in the CSU. SSU has 317.
There are two new Presidents of CSU campuses, 3 new Trustees, and a new Chancellor coming in on 4 January. At a welcome reception for the new Chancellor, President Sakaki was proud to note, champagne from a local winery was served, arranged courtesy of our own Wine Business Program.
In response to a Senator’s question, there was discussion of the balance anticipated, in a postpandemic world, between on-line and face-to-face instruction. We probably will never return to as much in-class and as little on-line instruction as pre-pandemic, because there is consensus that, while residence-hall and classroom experiences are important for students, on-line instruction offers opportunities for students with work or family responsibilities.
The Provost announced that the General Education package will be modified by reducing Area B (Social Science) by 3 units to accommodate adding a new 3-unit Area F (Ethnic Studies). Also, the Trustees agreed to drop the phrase “and Social Justice” from the formal name of the new programs.
The Faculty Vice Chair reported that the Structures & Functions Committee is still considering ways for Senate Committees and Sub-Committees to propose modifications in their charges. The Committee is also cleaning up some problems with the By-Laws.
The CFO reported that we have a new Chief of Police, and that the long-awaited remodel of Stevenson Hall has begun. In regard to the coronavirus pandemic, she noted that Sonoma County is still “purple”, meaning in the most restrictive tier for coronavirus mitigation, and that 93% of the population of California lives in purple counties.
The major issue of this Senate meeting was the Second-Reading consideration of a proposed new Field-Trip Policy. Early on, I moved to create an ad hoc committee to consider the many problems with the proposed Policy that were discussed in extensive Senate-Talk exchanges during the preceding week. A compendium of these comments is appended below.
I MOVE THAT THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE BE DIRECTED TO CONSTITUTE AN AD HOC COMMITTEE, TO BE CHAIRED BY A FACULTY MEMBER, CONSISTING (AT LEAST) OF REPRESENTATIVES OF STUDENT GOVERNMENT, APPROPRIATE ADMINISTRATORS, AND FACULTY KNOWLEDGEABLE ABOUT FIELD-TRIP EXIGENCIES, TO CRAFT A POSITION PAPER ON WHAT A REASONABLE AND FAIR FIELD-TRIP POLICY SHOULD LOOK LIKE.
I also made note that we could decide later, after seeing what this committee comes up with, how to proceed further. One possibility is to continue having students to sign this form as required by the Chancellor’s EO, but hand them a supplementary document clarifying the actual legal status of the form's provisions.
My proposal was REJECTED by vote of the Senate.
Then I moved to make the policy officially INTERIM, so that we could deal (some other way) with the serious issues of the proposed policy, namely 1) foisting all liability onto student participants even if the University is negligent, and 2) misleading students about the rights they retain and cannot give away. The proposed policy would apply during the Spring Term but would have to be reconsidered for future academic years.
The Senate voted to accept the designation of INTERIM but rejected spelling out exactly what that means, i.e., for how long would the “interim” policy be valid.
A few minor changes to the proposed document were made, and then the thus-amended document was approved. I do not yet have the fully amended document, but it is essentially as proposed for this meeting with revisions from the previous Senate meeting. The policy adopted by the Senate is below except for these few minor changes, plus designating it as “Interim”
(without spelling out exactly what “interim” means nor specifying what might be happening to revise the document during the period when the policy is “interim”).
>> Submitted by Rick Luttmann, Senate Representative for SSU-ERFSA
Compendium of comments on the proposed Field-Trip Policy:
Victor Garlin, Professor Emeritus of Economics, Member California Bar:
"It would be an abandonment of institutional responsibility to require a 'hold harmless' declaration from SSU students go "I really wonder whether a disclaimer for injuries during a field trip in a required course in a university curriculum would i influence are generally disfavored by courts. But as has been noted by others the disclaimer itself has a chilling influence o occurs."
"Well, what we have is an abandonment of institutional responsibility. It looks like the CSU views coursework related fiel
"In past times, student field trips in one department were often events with a lot of drinking, and an uncomfortable settin
"Faculty members are at some personal risk when the university abjures all responsibility (but CFA members are covere
Willilam Poe, Professor Emeritus of Archaeology:
"I can assure you that had there been a policy of requiring liability releases, SSU students would not have had the expe abandonment of responsibility for the university not to accept liability for university sponsored events taking place off-camp "One becomes responsible for the well-being of the students 24/7, even when they are adults and even when the activit
"It is my impression that field-trip policies are typically written by people who have no experience leading field trips, and
"I find [the Chancellor's EO] appalling. Like many things it does not reflect the diversity and complexity of some of the si
"A good deal of the problem that we face with [liability for] off-campus instruction is a consequence of grouping a wide ra Tony Mountain, Professor Emeritus, Hutchins School:
"[When a student was killed on a field trip] SSU covered the liability and a settlement with the family. I can’t imagine wha perhaps there would have been no Hutchins field trips at all."
Marilyn Cannon, Professor Emerita of Biology:
"Students signed a waiver..., but I understood that these were not really binding. A student could file a lawsuit even afte filed a lawsuit."
Robert Plantz, Professor Emeritus of Computer Science:
"It is disingenuous and unfair to have somebody sign anything that purports to be a legal statement but is unenforceable society’s institutions should be open and transparent, it should be our universities."
"A sign in a business stating, 'We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone' omits an important clause: 'except when a person because of race, national origin, citizenship status, religion, sex, age, etc."
William Crowley, Professor Emeritus of Geography:
"Despite the forms students were forced to sign waiving all rights to claims, as a field-trip leader "I would have to know w to 300 miles south of the Mexican border!"
Hope Ortiz, SSU Global Engagement Coordinator:
"Students participate in the program by their own free will, and they are accepting there is a chance that something may and slips and breaks an ankle, it's not the institution's fault, even though it happened while participating in a university-affilia institution can't control the universe."
"Two students did not listen to warnings [about dangerous ticks off the trail] and they were bitten and rushed to the eme organization had documentation that they provided the students with specific instructions that they ignored the organization "if something happened that was found to be the result of negligence or the fault of the organization, the family would st The form is not saying the organization has immunity to anything that happens to the students on the program, but it is ack both entities have the responsibility of maintaining a safe environment." NOTE: This contradicts the very language of the fo
Matty Mookerjee, Associate Professor of Geology:
"To expect the faculty member guiding those overnight trips, and by extension the university, to be responsible for any b have to go to sleep. The limited liability waiver signals to the student that they are ultimately responsible for their own beha "No liability waiver, in any context, protects an institution from their own negligence or malfeasance, but students should are responsible for their own actions." [NOTE: The waiver-of-liability form the students are pressured to sign goes way bey
Sonoma State University Field Trip Policy
I Purpose
The purpose of this policy is to comply with CO Executive Order 1062 ( http://www.calstate.edu/eo/EO-1062.html) to establish policy and procedures to ensure safety for campus field trips.
II. Field Trip Defined
A field trip is a required university course-related, domestic, off-campus activity led by a faculty or staff member and designed to serve educational purposes. A field trip would include the gathering of data for research (such as at a geological or archaeological site), museum visit, participation in a conference or competition, or visits to an event or place of interest. The duration of a field trip may be a class period or longer, and could extend over multiple days. This definition does not apply to activities or placements in the context of a teacher preparation program, intercollegiate sports, or service-learning placements, all of which are governed under separate CSU policies and procedures. This definition also does not apply to class assignments students complete independently without faculty leadership or that are international.
III. Faculty Responsibilities for Field Trips
- Each class that requires a field trip should include a statement in the syllabus such as "This class includes a field trip. Please complete all the relevant forms and return to me by XXX date. Field trip forms can be found at https://risk.sonoma.edu/field-trips."
- At least two weeks prior to a scheduled field trip, complete forms on the Field Trip Information page maintained by Risk Management (https://risk.sonoma.edu/field-trips), including the liability waiver, Private Vehicles Policy Guidelines, and the California State University student travel policy, when applicable.
- If a student
notifies the faculty member that they are unwilling todoes not accept the risk of participation in a Field Trip, orare unwilling todoes not complete all of the required forms, the instructor must make reasonable attempts to provide a course-appropriate alternative assignment and/or work with Academic Affairs and Academic Advising to identify an alternative assignment. In the case where a field trip makes up a significant element of the class requirements and no reasonable alternative assignment may be provided, the student may drop (subject to the campus drop deadline) or withdraw (subject to the campus deadline and restrictions for withdrawals) from the course as appropriate. - Prior to the field trip, provide students with an instructional agenda, health and safety information (https://web.sonoma.edu/ehs/), emergency procedures ( http://web.sonoma.edu/risk/emergency/procedures.html) , and the student code of conduct ( http://web.sonoma.edu/studentaffairs/docs/Standards_For_Student_Conduct.pdf).
- Ensure student emergency contact information is obtained prior to the field trip. The campus must have emergency contact information readily available.
- Return all forms to the Academic Department. The Academic Department should retain all field trip forms for a period of one year. For minors, the documents are to be retained for one year after the minor reaches the age of majority. Electronic copies of the documents are permissible. See Executive Order 1031.
- Create a written pre-trip evaluation or utilize this form (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VjniN8W6TKtptf7nA-4qmu2eQIUpJ2x5/view?u... ring) which includes a site visit unless the faculty member can demonstrate and document sufficient knowledge of the field trip site. This could be accomplished by review online, published materials, or contacting the site to discuss the visit. The evaluation should be retained by the Academic Department for three years and available for review.
- When field trips are included in the course, plan early, and verify accessibility. Consult with the student and Disability Services for Students (DSS) if assistance is needed in the planning. If the University provides student transportation, then it must provide accessible transportation on the field trip.
- Provide training for any equipment that may be used on the activity. IV. Administration Responsibilities for Field Trips
- The Office of the Provost will designate an administrator to perform regular reviews to monitor and document compliance with the field trip policy and update requirements and website as necessary at regular intervals.
- Inform all department chairs and deans of the campus policy annually.