Recent FAC Achievements

Committee Members:

• Julie Crockett
• Mary Davis (co-chair)
• Parris Egbert,
• Jihea Hong-Park
• Rick Jellen (co-chair)
• Kawika Allen
• Sharon Harris

Executive Summary (link to full report)

The Academics Committee focused on two areas central to instructional quality and the academic experience: the structure of instructional days and the role and support of adjunct faculty. Across both efforts, the committee sought to identify opportunities to strengthen consistency, effectiveness, and alignment with BYU’s mission as a leading undergraduate institution.

First, the committee examined the number and distribution of instructional days relative to peer institutions. The analysis shows that BYU has fewer instructional days than the majority of comparable universities and is currently below both the mean and median among peers. While BYU is not an outlier, recent reductions in instructional days have widened this gap, particularly for MWF courses. The committee recommends greater consistency in scheduling practices and careful consideration of instructional day allocations to support teaching effectiveness and student learning.

Second, the committee conducted a survey to better understand adjunct faculty practices across departments. The findings reveal substantial variation in hiring, training, evaluation, and compensation, with the most significant gap being the absence of consistent evaluation and support systems. Given the important role adjunct faculty play in delivering instruction, this variability presents both a risk to instructional quality and an opportunity for improvement. The committee recommends establishing baseline expectations for adjunct faculty practices—particularly in onboarding, evaluation, and support—while preserving appropriate flexibility at the department level.

Together, these findings highlight opportunities to strengthen instructional consistency and support faculty effectiveness. The committee’s recommendations aim to enhance the quality of teaching and learning at BYU while maintaining flexibility and alignment with institutional priorities.

Committee Members:

• Stephen Bay
• Joey Franklin
• Melissa Jones (co-chair)
• Sara Phenix (co-chair)
• Philip Rash
• Julie Schow
• Barbara Gardner

Executive Summary (link to full report)

The Belonging Committee focused its efforts on better understanding faculty belonging on campus. An initial informal survey indicated that faculty generally feel strong connections within their local units, though responses also suggested that, on the university level, a significant number of faculty feel mistrusted and misunderstood; they also expressed a desire for stronger institutional inclusion and support.

After sharing these findings with university leadership, the committee partnered with the Office of Belonging to design a campus-wide focus group initiative to better understand faculty experiences and needs and to develop a detailed methodology, script, and timeline. Although initially approved, the project encountered some unanticipated approval requirements that delayed its progress, and a scaled-back, single-college version was ultimately approved too late in the semester to be feasible. While the planned study could not be executed, the committee produced a refined investigative framework and recommends that next year’s FAC committee pursue this inquiry—with clarified approval processes—to strengthen institutional efforts in creating a more Christ-centered, covenant-based sense of belonging for faculty.

Committee Members:

• Casey Deccio
• Steve Liddle (co-chair)
• David Lignell (co-chair)
• Greg Nelson
• Thomas Spencer

Executive Summary (link to full report)

The Benefits Committee considered faculty requests for information or exploration concerning various benefits or ideas for potential new benefits. We recommend three practical steps to strengthen faculty support at BYU:

1. explore an early-retirement bridge benefit modeled on BYU-Idaho’s program,
2. re-engage caregiving support through a defined proposal process and timeline, and
3. improve access to outside-vendor employee discounts.

Together, these recommendations aim to enhance recruitment, retention, and employee well-being while remaining aligned with BYU’s mission and administrative realities.

At the same time, we found that BYU already offers a generous overall benefits package. The recommended changes are therefore intended not to address a weak benefits foundation, but to build on an already strong system by responding to specific faculty needs and opportunities. The report also notes that housing affordability has become a growing challenge for new faculty and remains an important contextual concern.

Committee Members:

• Meg Frost (co-chair)
• Deborah Himes (co-chair)
• Peter Leman
• Jane Lopez
• Dawn-Marie Wood

Executive Summary (link to full report)

The Professional Faculty Subcommittee was formed to examine the potential implications of Brigham Young University’s increased emphasis on hiring Professional Faculty, as outlined in the BYU Strategic Plan 2024–2029 (Actions 1.D.2 and 2.C.3 ). In response to emerging questions and interest among faculty, the subcommittee sought to better understand how this strategic direction may influence academic programs, faculty roles, and the broader university mission.

Committee Members:

• Juan Arroyo
• Keely Glenn
• Mike Goodman
• Matthew Heaton (co-chair)
• Ken Rodham
• Scott Sampson (co-chair)

Project Partners: BYU Center for Teaching and Learning

Executive Summary (link to full report)

In response to the rapid integration of artificial intelligence in higher education, the Technology Committee of the FAC has focused the 2025-2026 academic year on developing resources to help faculty know about, use, and integrate AI into the classroom. The cornerstone of this effort is the BYU Faculty AI Learning Series, a comprehensive educational initiative produced in collaboration with the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL). The series is structured into five core units, ranging from basic literacy to discipline-specific showcases. The goal of the video series is to equip faculty with the tools to enhance inspired teaching while maintaining academic integrity and alignment with BYU’s mission.

The committee intends to continue the development of these instructional videos and formally requests additional resources and funding to ensure the series remains current and comprehensive.