The MSP and the UMass-Amherst administration have reached an interim agreement about First Year Seminars with the following conditions listed below.  If you have developed a first year seminar idea and are interested in offering a course, please forward your application to the Provost.  The agreement includes:

1. The $2000 compensation for this work will be added to the faculty member's RTF fund that will allow the most flexible possible expenditure profile with no spending deadline.
2. A review process will be developed to assess the effectiveness of the program.
3. Course evaluations will be tailored to fit the particulars of these courses.
4. Faculty with satisfactory performance in their first offering of their seminar will not have to reapply to teach the program again.
5. Participation in the program will be solicited by departments rather than the Provost's office.
6. The Center for Teaching will provide support for participating instructors.

This interim program will continue for 3 semesters, and the MSP and the administration will enter negotiations on this issue in January of 2012.

During the extended pilot period, the program will be assessed and those data will be used to determine the parameters around program extension.

Randall Phillis

President, Massachusetts Society of Professors

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