Some University of Colorado faculty representatives from the Boulder campus say they’re frustrated the regents didn’t consult with them about a standardized testing proposal before Tuesday’s scheduled vote.

And, they say, they’ll ask the board either to reject the proposal or take a step back, involving faculty members in a revised plan.

Members of the Boulder Faculty Assembly’s executive committee, who met Monday, expressed concerns that CU leaders have sidestepped the faculty, violating shared governance and the idea that professors and instructors should be trusted with curriculum matters. There are also faculty experts who have studied the effectiveness of “value-added” assessments like the model being considered by the regents.

“The laws of the regents state that academic matters are the purview of the faculty,” said Uriel Nauenberg, chairman of the Boulder Faculty Assembly. “We think testing is part of it.”

The proposal would direct campuses to launch the testing programs by the 2009-10 academic year as a way to measure how much students have learned during their time at CU. The test would measure how proficient CU students are in areas such as critical thinking, problem solving and communicating.

Nauenberg said his group has briefed the chairman of the systemwide Faculty Council about concerns, and those opinions will be presented at the board’s meeting Tuesday.

“It is our hope that the regents will not pass the resolution the way it is, or maybe postpone it to make sure that faculty is consulted,” Nauenberg said Monday night.

CU Regents Stephen Ludwig, D-Lone Tree, and Kyle Hybl, R-Colorado Springs, are co-sponsoring the testing measure, agreeing that the test can help market a CU degree and show students the value of their college education.

The co-sponsors have said their colleagues seem in support of the measure.

At a regents’ meeting Monday in Boulder, university leaders raised some questions surrounding the cost and validity of the test. Boulder campus Chancellor Bud Peterson questioned whether testing 100 freshmen and 100 seniors would give an accurate sample.

“I’m not a statistician, but that sounds like a small sample,” Peterson said.

Margaret LeCompte, a CU education professor who is head of faculty compensation and benefits for the Boulder Faculty Assembly, said introducing standardized testing to the Boulder campus is a matter that will seriously affect the faculty.

“What is tested has to be taught. ... There’s a great deal that the faculty have to offer in making a decision like this,” LeCompte said in an interview. “It seems unusual the faculty would not be included in that.”

Two years ago, a Republican proposal to build Western Civilization departments on CU campuses lost steam when the regents failed to involve faculty members in the issue that affected curriculum.