To:                   Academic Affairs Committee, CSUS Board of Trustees

 From:               Candace Barrington, President, CCSU Faculty Senate

 Date:                24 February 2009

 Subject:            Confucius Institute

 At your request, the CCSU Faculty Senate has consulted with all departments and constituencies that might be affected by housing the Confucius Institute at CCSU. We have determined that the courses offered through the proposed Confucius Institute will be continuing education courses; none will be offered for college credit.  As such, they are not under the purview of our Curriculum Committee.

 If, however, at any time the Confucius Institute wishes to offer courses for college credit, the request will need to follow our approval process, which begins by bringing the proposal to our Curriculum Committee. 

 We suggest the following statement of shared governance be inserted into the contract:

Under the principles of shared governance observed by CCSU faculty, staff, and administration, the CCSU Faculty Senate is authorized to make decisions concerning curriculum policy and curricular structure, as well as requirements for degrees and granting of degrees.  In these areas, the Faculty Senate is the sole legislative body representing the faculty.

 Thank you for being so conscientious about the role of shared governance in your decisions regarding the Confucius Institute.