Oral English Proficiency

[The following was approved on June 11, 1987, with amendments on June 27, 1997, in accordance with 110 Ill. Comp. Stat. 520/8c and with provisions set forth in SIU Board of Trustees 2 Policies C.]

1. Assessment Programs
   1. Programs to assess the oral English proficiency of all individuals who serve as classroom instructors for academic credit shall be established at Southern Illinois University Carbondale and Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville.
   2. Through such programs, each individual who seeks to serve as an instructor in classes offered for academic credit will be certified as being proficient in the oral use of the English language.
2. Assessment Procedures
   1. Primary responsibility for assessing oral English proficiency of classroom instructors will ordinarily reside at the departmental level, with the department chair undertaking individual assessment and certification. Primary responsibility for assessing the oral English proficiency of department chairs will ordinarily reside at the school or college level, with the dean undertaking the assessment and certification of chairs.
   2. Certification of oral English proficiency may be based upon one or more of the following indicators:
      1. Oral presentation or teaching demonstration before an on-campus audience;
      2. Personal conference with the department chair;
      3. Departmental conference attended by students and/or faculty;
      4. Favorable recommendation by a campus-based special review committee (see III below);
      5. The successful completion of developmental activities on oral language proficiency;
      6. Other indicators appropriate to an individual's assessment.
   3. To the extent practicable, these indicators will be used to assess the oral English proficiency of current faculty, new faculty, current graduate teaching assistants, and new graduate teaching assistants. Nothing in these guidelines is intended to prevent the application of more rigorous standards.
   4. The dean of the appropriate school or college will indicate acceptance of a chair's certification. Such acceptance confirms the chair's authority and competence to undertake such assessment.
   5. A form which indicates certification will be placed in the permanent personnel file of the affected individual.
3. Special Review Committee
   1. The appropriate chancellor will appoint special review committees for the Carbondale, Edwardsville, and Springfield campuses, and for other locations as necessary. Each committee shall have at least three members including one student, one faculty member, and an individual knowledgeable in the assessment of oral English proficiency.
   2. A department chair may choose to call upon the special review committee to assist in the assessment of the oral English proficiency of an individual.
   3. In the event that a department chair does not certify that an individual is proficient in the oral use of English, the special review committee will provide an independent assessment of the individual's oral English proficiency.
   4. In the event that the special review committee does not certify an individual as proficient, the committee, working with the individual and the chair of the department, will recommend an appropriate course of action to the dean of the individual's school or college.
   5. In the event the faculty member disagrees with the recommended course of action, an ad hoc committee composed of a minimum of three members of the Faculty Senate will review the case and make a final determination. The Faculty Senate president will inform the Provost and Vice Chancellor and the faculty member of the decision.
4. Grievances

   Nothing in these guidelines is intended to detract from or abrogate the rights and privileges enjoyed by students and faculty under existing grievance procedures.