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Faculty &
Admin : Policies & Guidelines
ARTICLE I - NAME
The name of this organization shall be the Faculty of the
College of Humanities and Sciences of Virginia Commonwealth
University.
ARTICLE II - PURPOSE
The purpose of this organization shall be to provide an effective
means of collective participation by the Faculty in the consideration,
formulation, and implementation of recommendations and decisions
relating to the academic policies of the College of Humanities
and Sciences and to those University policies that affect
the College and its faculty. The organization shall provide
the opportunity for each member of the Faculty to express,
through representation, concerns and opinions about matters
vital to the welfare of the University and the proper functioning
of the College.
ARTICLE III - MEMBERSHIP
I. Tenure-eligible and collateral faculty in the College's
departments, interdisciplinary programs, and the School of
Mass Communications who hold full-time appointments as professors,
associate professors, assistant professors and instructors
shall be designated as faculty with voting privileges.
II. Full-time faculty in the above-named departments, programs
and School who hold joint appointments in other Schools of
the University, shall have full voting membership in the College
of Humanities and Sciences.
III. Part-time, adjunct, retired, emeriti, visiting and affiliate
faculty members shall have the right to participate in general
meetings of the Faculty without voting privileges.
IV. The President, Vice-President for Academic Affairs, and
the dean of the College of Humanities and Sciences shall be
considered ex officio members of the Faculty
of the College of Humanities and Sciences. Those administrators
holding faculty status in the College of Humanities and Sciences
shall be members with voting privileges.
ARTICLE IV - FACULTY COUNCIL
The purpose of the Faculty Council is to represent the faculty
of the College. The Faculty Council will be advisory to the
dean of the College of Humanities and Sciences on issues of
concern to the Faculty, such as graduate and undergraduate
curricula, programs, evaluation and improvement of instruction,
information technology, awards and honors, tenure and promotion,
and teaching and research grants. The Faculty Council will
represent these concerns to the Dean of the College and to
other appropriate bodies in the University governance structure.
The Council will assist the Dean of the College to establish
slates of candidates for certain university and college committees,
councils and boards. In extraordinary circumstances, it will
work with the Dean's office to fill vacated positions quickly
without recourse to a full faculty vote.
IV. 1. Composition of the Faculty Council. The Faculty Council
shall be composed of the Chairs of five of the College's standing
committees (Undergraduate Academic Committee, Graduate Academic
Committee, Library Committee, Technology Committee, and Promotion
and Tenure Committee); an elected representative who is a
department chair on the Committee on Administration for a
one-year term; one elected representative of each department,
school, and interdisciplinary program to serve for staggered,
three-year terms; one of the College's representatives to
the Faculty Senate for a one-year term; one of the College's
representatives to the University Council for a one-year term;
one untenured Faculty member who has completed his/her third-year
review to serve a one-year term elected in rotation from the
three academic clusters in the College (Social Sciences, Mathematical
and Natural Sciences, Humanities); one formerly tenured faculty
member who retired from the College and the University to
serve a three-year term and one collateral faculty and one
adjunct faculty representative to serve one year terms.
IV. 2. Department chairs and the directors of the School
of Mass Communications and the interdisciplinary programs
are ineligible for service on the Faculty Council.
IV. 3. The untenured faculty representative, the retired
faculty representative, the collateral faculty representative
and the adjunct faculty representative to the Council shall
be elected by the Council's membership at its April meeting
from a slate of at least three nominees for each position
submitted by the Dean.
IV. 4. Elections for Faculty Council membership will be held
by the April meeting of the Council of the year preceding.
All candidates should be aware of the normally scheduled time
of Council meetings and should indicate their willingness
to attend such meetings. Each department, school and interdisciplinary
program shall elect an alternative representative who will
attend meetings when the primary representative cannot attend.
The Secretary of the Faculty Council will inform all departments
of upcoming elections by March 1 and will attempt to ensure
that elections are conducted and results are reported in a
timely fashion.
IV. 5. Membership on the Faculty Council will be considered
to constitute an important part of the service workload of
those involved and chairs/directors should acknowledge this.
IV. 6.The Faculty Council will have the authority to establish
such sub-committees, as it deems necessary for the conduct
of its business.
IV. 7. Each Council member shall be responsible for a substitute
in the event of his/her absence for a Council or Committee
meeting of the organization. The Council member or substitute
shall notify the president of the Council or the Committee
chairperson of a substitution.
IV. 8. Officers of the Faculty Council. The Faculty Council
Officers will be elected by the Faculty Council by April 25
of the year before they are to take office. Officers will
be drawn from the Faculty Council membership. The president
will hold a one-year term. Candidates will be selected from
the upcoming second-year members of the Council. The president
or a designee should attend the monthly meeting of the Committee
on Administration of the College. The past-president will
hold a one-year term following his/her term as president.
The secretary and parliamentarian shall serve one-year terms
with candidates being selected from continuing members of
the Faculty Council.
IV. 9. Meeting of the Faculty Council. The Faculty Council
meetings will be held on the third Monday of each month, from
3 to 4:30 p.m. The Faculty Council shall call special meetings
as it deems necessary. The agenda will first reflect any work
and priorities deemed important by the Faculty Council. Reports
by committee chairs, and representatives to the Faculty Senate
and University Council will also be included in the agenda.
It will be the responsibility of the latter chairs and representatives
to contact the president of the Faculty Council of these issues
one week before the scheduled Council meeting.
IV. 10. Faculty Council will distribute the minutes and attendance
of its meetings to the Faculty of the College. Department
representatives will provide feedback to their departments.
ARTICLE V
V. 1. A. Undergraduate Academic Committee. The Undergraduate
Academic Committee shall be composed of one member of each
department, school, or interdisciplinary program chosen under
the unit's bylaws for a two-year term, one undergraduate student
from the College nominated by the Student Government Association
and alternate, and one chosen by the Committee on Administration.
The dean or the dean's designee shall serve as an ex
officio member of the Committee. The chairperson shall
be elected by the committee for a one-year term; nominees
will include all tenured faculty on the Committee.
The Undergraduate Academic Committee shall be concerned with
degree requirements, academic standards, curriculum development,
and other matters appropriate to the maintenance and development
of the Humanities and Sciences undergraduate academic program.
It shall establish regular communication with the relevant
University Committees, especially the Undergraduate Academic
Committee, and will report in writing its activities to the
President of the Faculty Council on a monthly basis.
The Undergraduate Academic Committee shall study all departmental
proposals in the College of Humanities and Sciences for addition
or deletion of undergraduate courses that carry semester-hour
credit.
While decisions regarding technical details of course content
shall be recognized to be the province of the department,
school, or program concerned, the function of the Undergraduate
Academic Committee shall be to insure that courses offered
for credit shall be of appropriate quality and to prevent
serious duplication of courses offered by two or more departments
or schools. It shall study and make recommendations regarding
the establishment of new programs or the abolition of existing
programs leading to bachelor or associate degrees in Humanities
and Sciences. The Committee shall also study and make recommendations
concerning new rules, or changes in the rules, affecting the
academic status of undergraduate students in the College of
Humanities and Sciences, in respect to admission policies,
academic advising, degree requirements, grades, and any other
academic policy matters.
V. 1. B. Graduate Academic Committee. The Graduate
Academic Committee shall be composed of one member elected
from each department, school, and interdisciplinary program
that has a graduate program, one graduate student in the College
nominated by the Student Government Association and alternate,
and one chosen by the Committee on Administration. The dean
or the dean's designee shall serve as an ex officio
member of this committee. The Chairperson will be elected
by the committee for a one-year term; nominees will include
all tenured faculty on the Committee. The Graduate Academic
Committee shall be concerned with graduate admission requirements,
degree requirements, academic standards, curriculum development,
the establishment of new graduate courses and programs and
the abolition of existing ones, and other matters relating
to the graduate programs in the College of Humanities and
Sciences. It should establish regular communication with the
University Graduate Council, and will report in writing their
activities to the president of the Faculty Council on a monthly
basis.
V. 1. C. Humanities and Sciences Library Committee.
The Committee shall be composed of one member elected from
each department, school, and interdisciplinary program. Four
student members nominated by the Student Government Association,
representing the divisions of H & S, shall also be appointed
by the Committee at their first meeting each year. A representative
appointed by the library and the dean or the dean's designee
shall serve as an ex officio member of this
Committee Each member shall also have a designated alternate.
The chairperson shall be elected by the Committee for a one-year
term; nominees will include all tenured faculty on the committee.
The Library Committee is responsible to the H & S faculty
and should attend to, and report on, library developments
that are of interest to the College. The Committee shall file
monthly, written reports to the president of the Faculty Council
in addition to an annual report to both the Dean and the Faculty
Council on its activities. The chair of the committee shall
be the H & S representative to the University Library Advising
Committee.
V. 1. D. Committee on Administration. The Committee
will consist of the dean, the chairpersons of each department,
school, and interdisciplinary program, one tenured faculty
member elected by the Council, and the associate/assistant
deans. The committee on Administration will select its representative
to the Faculty Council and will report to the Council on administrative
developments that are of interest to the College faculty.
The committee shall meet at least once per month to discuss
administrative and procedural matters related to the efficient
operation of the College. The Dean and any other administrative
officers of the College of Humanities and Sciences shall be
ex officio members of this committee.
V. 1. E. Technology Committee. The Technology Committee
shall be composed of one member from each department, school
and interdisciplinary program chosen under the unit's bylaws
for a two-year term, one undergraduate student and alternate
in the College nominated by the Student Government Association.
No more than half of the department representatives will rotate
off the committee each year. The Dean or the Dean's designee
shall serve as an ex officio member of this
committee. The chairperson shall be elected by the committee
for a one-year term, nominees will include all tenured faculty
on the committee.
The Technology Committee shall be concerned with technology
related developments in instruction, research, and public
service, and their impact on Faculty and students of the College.
Members of the committee will serve as liaison to College
and University offices which provide computering, and communication
services and to Academic Campus and University committees
that develop and recommend policy and planning in the area.
The Committee shall also review University Information Technology
plans for their effects on the College and make recommendations
to the Dean about College needs for and use of information
technology.
ARTICLE VI - FACULTY MEETINGS
The Faculty of the College of Humanities and Sciences shall
meet at least twice a year. In addition to any regular business
at these meetings, the dean and the president of the Faculty
Council shall report to the Faculty Council. Additional meetings
can be called at the discretion of the Faculty.
ARTICLE VII - PARLIAMENTARY AUTHORITY
The rules contained in the latest edition of Robert's Rules
of Order-Revised shall govern meetings.
ARTICLE VIII - AMENDMENT TO THE BYLAWS
Amendment to these Bylaws may be made by any faculty member
of the College with voting rights who brings his/her proposal
to the Faculty Council for discussion. Following presentation
to the Council, the proposal will be sent for discussion to
each department and program in the College. Proposals will
then be voted on by ballot sent to all faculty members with
voting rights. Affirmative votes to the proposal by two-thirds
of those voting indicates approval. Revised 4/71, 7/81, 2/85,
4/90, and 4/94.
Aug 12, 1994
May 16, 2002
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