The first Washburn University General Faculty meeting was held Sept. 13 in Henderson Learning Resources Center Room 100.

The meeting started off with opening remarks from Jerry Farley, president, and Randy Pembrook, vice president for academic affairs. Farley’s remarks included: tuition, the liberal arts program and the overall plan for the academic school year.  Pembrook’s remarks included: the “Three FFF” Policy, the general education committee, and the masters of law proposal.

Due to budget cuts, the tuition of Washburn University has tripled in 20 years. For perspective, the University of Kansas’s tuition increased 200 percent in the past 20 years. Currently the average four year student from Washburn University has a collective debt of $18,000, which is the third lowest student debit in the midwest region.

“Investing in education still has a high payoff,” said Farley.

The liberal arts program is currently the most popular degree offered by the university. Graduates with their degree in liberal arts are more likely to acquire a job in the field of business than someone with a business degree is.

The overall theme for this year’s plan is construction. Morgan Hall is planning on building a welcome center along with a “one-stop center”, scheduled on being finished spring 2015. The Washburn School of Law is going to be receiving a new facility located at 21st Street and Washburn Ave.

The “Three FFF” Policy is when professors give student an F they must specify why they are giving out that grade. The F breaks down into three different reasons: the student has never shown up to class, the student shows up to class but simply didn’t understand the material, and the student showed up occasionally and occasionally turned assignments in. With the last option the professor must specify on the date as to when the last assignment was turned in.

The general education committee will be taking a look at the overall assessment picture. New degree programs will also be voted on: new nursing certificate and business accounting master’s degree. These will be voted on sometime in November.

The Masters of Law (LLM) proposal is a 24 hour, three track program geared more towards to international students. The three main focuses include United States communication, public law, and legal writing. This would give foreign students a license to practice law in several states, including New York, along with their home country with little cost to the university. This program would also bring in more students which in turn generates more revenue for the school.  The proposal was voted on and approved on unanimously.

Topics also discussed at the meeting include: the handbook, promotion standards, quality assurance, and quality incentive. The deans of the different programs, head of academic affairs, student life, administration, and enrollment management introduced their new faculty and welcomed them to the Washburn team.

Announcements were made for upcoming events. These include the iRead Tuesday Sept. 18 at White Concert Hall, a general education meeting Sept. 21, and a faculty meeting Nov. 29.