Students who threaten or physically abuse a teacher will likely face being administratively dropped from the course or expelled from UA, under a policy adopted yesterday by the Faculty Senate.

The plan will now be officially incorporated into university policy.

Under the plan, students who endanger, threaten or cause harm to faculty members, teaching assistants or other teaching staff can be automatically dropped from the course. A second offense can be cause for expulsion.

The policy's creation came about after a disgruntled nursing student shot and killed three of his professors last semester. The student, Robert S. Flores Jr., had a history of offensive behavior, and some of his professors feared him, but no formal disciplinary action was ever taken.

The measure passed the senate overwhelmingly; one member, Julie Erickson, an associate professor of nursing, voted against it.

Erickson showed the proposal to her colleagues in the College of Nursing, many of whom said it didn't go far enough.

"Their sense is Îyou can beat a faculty member twice and you still may not be expelled,'" she said.

President Pete Likins said that if a first offense is serious enough, a student could still be expelled.

"If the severity of the affront is sufficiently great, there should not be a need for the student to repeat the affront before getting expelled," he said.

However, if a violation of the policy isn't serious enough to merit expulsion, faculty will note on the drop form that the decision was made "with prejudice."

They would also file a Code of Conduct complaint that would assist in tracking students who are alleged to be disruptive.

When that form is filed, the Dean of Students Office and the UA Police Department will be notified.

"If students are putting faculty in a position where they're uncomfortable or unsafe I think it's appropriate to take action," student body President Doug Hartz said.

The senate also lent its support yesterday to a joint degree program that would allow students to earn a master's of public administration and a master's of arts degree in Latin American studies in three years. They also voted to support a new program that would offer a doctoral degree in audiology.