Faculty Bylaws

College of Engineering Faculty Bylaws

Bylaws for Academic Units

UNIVERSITY COUNCIL FACULTY AFFAIRS
REVIEW OF GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE OF ACADEMIC UNITS PROTOCOL
Proposed by Faculty Affairs Committee December 7, 2017

In accordance with Section 2. School Governance of the University Council ByLaws

a. The University Council shall ensure that school governance bylaws have been developed and adopted by each school. The nature of the school governance structure shall be left to the individual school.
b. The Committee on Faculty Affairs shall regularly review the governance structure of each school in order to ensure that there is representative governance in each school.
c. Representative governance shall be defined as the right of participation in the school or college's governance structure by all full-time faculty members (including tenure and non-tenure track) who hold appointments or joint appointments in that school or college. Participation includes the right to discuss on the floor and vote on all matters coming before meetings. Part-time faculty members should have the prerogative to take part in meetings of the faculty. Voting privileges for part-time faculty should be decided by each school or college

The Faculty Affairs Committee will use the following procedure, during the 2017-2018 academic year, to carry out its charge to review the governance structure of academic work units to ensure that there is representative governance in each school.

  1. Ask for 2-3 Academic Unit Deans to volunteer for a preliminary review of their unit’s governance document for Spring 2018
  2. The Deans of Academic Units for preliminary review will submit an electronic copy of their governance document.
  3. Two to three members of the Faculty Affairs Committee will review the academic unit’s governance document and complete the following checklist.
  4. Faculty Affairs Committee will submit a report to Provost Office and/or University Council of the reviews undertaken by the end of Spring semester 2018.

The review of the governance structure of academic work units occurs within the context of representative governance as described by the Academic Rights and Responsibilities Policy Statement on University Governance:

The ultimate authority in University government is vested in the Board of Visitors which, with advice from the faculty, administration, classified employees and students, selects a President to whom it delegates the responsibility for managing the University. A vigorous university develops through the active participation of the faculty in the formal and informal decision- making processes concerned with educational functions and policies at various administrative levels. It is in the interest of the University to provide avenues of communication through which the faculty can provide counsel and advice on other matters of mutual interest.

Every faculty member shares a continuing responsibility for shaping the direction of their department, of their School, and for serving on University-wide councils, committees and offices. Since participation of the faculty in academic matters is vital to the proper governance of the University community, it is incumbent upon the University to provide ample opportunities for faculty participation.


Please use the link below to access the Governance Structure Checklist:
REVIEW OF GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE OF ACADEMIC UNITS PROTOCOL