Internal Governance Implementation was the topic for two workshops organized by Academic Affairs on January 21st and 22nd. Senior Vice Provost Doug Blandy, Vice Provost Barbara Altman and Senior Project Leader Jane Gordon led the workshops with United Academics representatives participating as well. The implementation guide below was distributed to deans, directors and heads at the meeting.
1.27.14
CBA GOVERNANCE IMPLEMENTATION GUIDELINES
UNDERLYING PREMISES
Faculty of each department or unit will have the opportunity to participate in the system of shared governance of that department or unit, according to policies initially developed and recommended by the faculty in accordance with Article 4 of this Agreement (Article 3).
All faculty in each department or unit shall have the opportunity to participate in the development of that department or unit’s internal governance policy with guidance and review by the appropriate department or unit head, dean, vice president, Provost, or designee. The Provost or designee has the final authority to establish policy for each department or unit. (Article 4)
POLICIES TO BE DEVELOPED
(1) Internal governance (Article 4)
(2) Assignment of professional responsibilities (Article 17)
(3) Summer session appointments (Article 18)
(4) NTTF review and promotion (Article 19)
(5) TTF review and promotion (Article 20)
(6) Merit raises (Article 26)
(7) Professional fund distribution (Article 35)
INTERNAL GOVERNANCE POLICY, ARTICLE 4
Process
- Faculty considers input by appropriate department or unit head, dean, VP, Provost or designee. On page four of this document are guidelines from the Provost (see Provost and Academic Affairs Guiding Principles)
- All faculty have opportunity to participate in development of policy, which will be written and delineate procedures for the internal governance of the department or unit. All means everyone in the department or unit, including TTF, NTTF, adjunct, and department head has the opportunity to participate in the development of this foundational policy. This includes both bargaining unit faculty members and faculty who are not in the bargaining unit.
- Faculty submits recommended policy for review to the appropriate dean, vice president, or designee, who will provide the faculty with a written explanation for and an opportunity to discuss any alterations he or she makes before submission to Provost or designee
- Provost or designee will have final authority to establish policy for each department or unit
- Department or unit head, VP, Provost or designee may initiate changes to established policy by informing faculty of changes being considered, thereby initiating this process for policy development
Policies
Article 4 requires
- A provision for appropriate documentation of decisions
- A provision for the appropriate and equitable participation of both faculty in the tenure track and tenured professor classification and career NTTF in the development of departmental or unit policies
The Provost and Academic Affairs require that in developing an internal governance policy each unit consider the following aspects of governance structure:
- Faculty participation in decisions that affect all of the faculty (for example, as a committee of the whole; or by executive committee, and if by committee, who is eligible, how selected, and length of terms)
- Department/unit meeting protocol
- Standing committees (including purpose, membership, whether appointed or elected, scope of authority, length of terms)
- Ad hoc committees (those currently being utilized, purpose, membership, appointed or elected, scope of authority, duration of committee)
- Search committees (rules governing establishment and procedures)
- Department head nomination (although appointment of the department head is not a faculty decision, describe preferred nomination process, length of term, responsibilities, and performance review process, if one is called for by the relevant dean or vice president).
- Faculty administrative roles (including titles, definition of responsibilities, term length, review process, how compensation is determined)
- Other committees, structures, processes, clarity that would assist in governance
- We recommend that the internal governance policy of each unit include the way in which each of the following policies, required by the CBA, will be developed and implemented. There is a specific process and timeline associated with CBA implementation this academic year and next; the internal governance policy does not require formulation of the following policies at this time. However, this is an opportunity to create protocol and identify which faculty will be involved in the development of each policy, including whether existing or ad hoc committees will take on the initial development of these policies on behalf of the faculty.
- Assignment of professional responsibilities (TTF)
- Assignment of professional responsibilities (NTTF)
- Guidelines for tenure and promotion (TTF)
- Guidelines for performance review and promotion (NTTF)
- Guidelines for merit increases (TTF)
- Guidelines for merit increases (NTTF)
- Summer session appointments and assignments
- Funds for professional development
In addition, the internal governance policy of each unit should include how the following policies are developed and implemented:
- Establishment, review, and revision of curricula in accordance with the curriculum systems of the colleges and schools and of the university; and academic standards and processes, including academic standards for admission
- Establishment of the requirements for earning degrees and certificates
Provost and Academic Affairs Guiding Principles
- Each departmental or unit document should address each of the issues included in the guidelines as appropriate to the particular department or unit. Not all guidelines will apply to every unit. The governance structures of research units will look considerably different than academic units, and are addressed in separate guidelines. The internal governance policy and any policies developed through internal governance and specified in the CBA are subject to the approval of the appropriate dean, vice president, and Provost or designee.
- Tenure-Track Faculty are responsible for developing review guidelines for tenure and promotion; workload for the tenure-track ranks; merit salary increase guidelines for tenure-track ranks; and for participating in the review of tenure-track faculty as appropriate by rank. Only associate and full professors are eligible to vote on tenure and promotion to associate professor and only full professors are eligible to vote on promotion to full professors. In exceptional circumstances an alternative voting process may be proposed to the Provost or designee. Tenure-track faculty always have responsibility for establishing, reviewing, and revising departmental curricula in accordance with the curriculum systems of the colleges and schools and of the university, as well as establishing the requirements for earning degrees and certificates. They will also participate in the review and evaluation of non-tenure track faculty.
- Career Non-Tenure Track Faculty (including research faculty) are responsible for working with Tenure-Track faculty to develop guidelines for performance and promotion reviews, workload, and merit salary increase guidelines for the Career NTTF ranks, and for adjunct NTTF as necessary, and may participate in the evaluation process as appropriate by rank. Voting on promotion is restricted to those in the same rank to be attained or higher. In exceptional circumstances an alternative voting process may be proposed to the Provost or designee. Non-tenure track faculty also participate in establishing, reviewing, and revising departmental curricula in accordance with the curriculum systems of the colleges and schools and of the university, if this is part of their professional responsibilities. [This paragraph has been edited since the workshop]
- Department and unit policies should specify whether and how students (especially graduate students) can participate in the review and evaluation of candidates for appointment to open faculty positions in the unit. Although students provide important perspectives relative to a variety of academic issues and decisions, they should not have voting rights in faculty appointment and promotion decisions.
A pdf of the guide is available on the Academic Affairs website.
