JACKSONVILLE- The Jacksonville State University Board of Trustees has approved a resolution beginning the university’s implementation of a major new state law governing faculty senates, tenure reviews and academic curricula.

Trustees approved the resolution Tuesday in response to House Bill 580, now Act 2026-432. The law applies new governance requirements to Alabama’s four-year public universities and takes effect Oct. 1.

According to Jacksonville State University’s announcement, Tuesday’s resolution begins an implementation process. It does not appear to establish all final campus policies.

Instead, the resolution authorizes President Dr. Don C. Killingsworth Jr. to work with university leaders, legal counsel and other officials. That group will prepare policy recommendations for future consideration by the board.

Those recommendations will cover faculty and staff advisory groups, tenure, post-tenure reviews and curriculum oversight.

Board Chairman Randall Jones said the vote begins the work of developing policies that meet the law’s requirements.

“Today’s action fulfills that responsibility while beginning the important work of developing Board-approved policies that reflect the requirements of the law,” Jones said.

Complete Resolution Not Yet Available in Public Archive

As of Wednesday, Jax State’s public Board of Trustees minutes archive did not include the complete Aug. 11 resolution or minutes from Tuesday’s meeting. The archive currently lists only the board’s Feb. 3 minutes for 2026.

Therefore, several important implementation questions remain unanswered.

For example, Jax State has not yet publicly detailed the future structure of its Faculty Senate. The university also has not said whether trustees will delegate routine course approvals to an administrator.

Likewise, the university has not released its final schedule or standards for post-tenure reviews. Those details will come through policies that Killingsworth and university officials present to trustees during the coming months.

Faculty Senate Will Serve in Advisory Role

The law gives university governing boards final authority over faculty senates.

Only a university’s governing board may establish a faculty senate. In addition, an existing senate will end Oct. 1 unless it already meets the law’s requirements or the governing board formally ratifies its continuation.

The legislation also makes faculty senates advisory. A senate may not receive final decision-making authority on university matters.

Faculty senates may continue giving confidential recommendations to university leaders. However, they may not issue public statements on behalf of their institutions or represent an official university position.

Under the law’s default membership structure, a senate may have no more than 60 members. Each college or school would receive two representatives. The university president would appoint one, while faculty members would elect the other.

The president would also appoint senate leaders under the default structure. However, the law allows a governing board to establish different membership and leadership rules.

That flexibility means Jax State trustees could preserve portions of the university’s current system. The board must disclose those choices in its final policies.

The existing Jax State Faculty Senate uses representatives elected from academic departments and the university library. Its current constitution describes the body as a governing organization created to represent faculty and make recommendations on academic matters.

Meanwhile, the current Jax State Faculty Handbook describes the senate as the faculty’s permanent legislative body for shared governance. It also gives faculty representatives a role in reviewing and approving policies, curricula and handbook revisions.

In practice, the new law places final institutional authority with trustees. Faculty members may continue proposing and reviewing policies, but their decisions will remain recommendations unless the board adopts them.

Tenured Faculty Will Face Periodic Reviews

Act 2026-432 requires each governing board to adopt a formal tenure policy. That policy must address how the university awards tenure, reviews tenured faculty members and handles possible discipline or dismissal.

Every tenured faculty member must undergo a post-tenure review at least once every six years. However, universities may conduct those reviews as often as once per year.

The review standards must examine the faculty member’s professional responsibilities. Depending on the person’s role, those duties may include teaching, research, service, patient care or administration.

In addition, the review process must include peer review and support professional development.

A university may revoke tenure or impose other discipline if a review finds incompetence, neglect of duty or another form of good cause.

The law also identifies several possible grounds for dismissing tenured faculty. They include professional incompetence, failure to perform required duties, failure to complete an improvement program and serious policy violations.

Other grounds include certain criminal convictions, falsifying academic credentials, unprofessional conduct, financial emergencies or the elimination of an academic program.

However, the university must provide legally required due process before dismissing a tenured faculty member for serious misconduct. That process must include written notice of the allegations, an explanation of the evidence and an opportunity to respond during a hearing.

Jax State’s existing University Hearing Committee structure uses a pool that includes faculty members and department heads. The Faculty Senate president currently chairs individual dismissal hearings.

The university has not yet explained how that process will operate under the new law. The act requires governing boards to designate one or more administrators to conduct serious-misconduct hearings.

Trustees Receive Final Curriculum Authority

The law also changes how public universities approve courses and degree requirements.

Under Act 2026-432, a university’s governing board must approve the courses and curricula required for a degree. The board also receives control over every course or subject taught at the institution.

However, trustees may delegate approval of individual courses to a designated university administrator.

Jax State’s current handbook gives faculty members the right to initiate, review, revise and approve changes to academic programs and curricula. Faculty-led undergraduate and graduate curriculum committees also review course and program proposals.

Those committees could remain part of the review process. Nevertheless, the law places final authority with the Board of Trustees.

The practical effect will depend on the board’s future delegation policy. Trustees could personally review more curriculum matters, or they could allow an administrator to approve routine course changes after faculty review.

However, the law specifically requires board approval for curricula and courses required to earn a degree.

Additional Policies Expected Before Implementation

The law allows each university to design policies that fit its mission, traditions, resources and circumstances. Governing boards may also adopt standards that are stricter than the law’s minimum requirements.

Universities may retain an existing post-tenure review policy if it complies with the act. In addition, the law requires tenure policies and later revisions to become publicly available through the university provost.

For now, Jax State’s resolution starts the policy-development process. It does not publicly settle the future composition of the Faculty Senate, the exact tenure-review schedule or the path for approving individual courses.

Killingsworth said the university will work with faculty, staff and campus leaders during that process. Jax State also said it will provide additional communication as trustees consider the new policies.

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