A. Composition and Responsibilities of the College Faculty
B. Academic Departments
C. Divisions
D. College Faculty Council
E. Dean of the College

The College of Arts and Sciences is the core of Washburn University, providing an environment in which all students may obtain a liberal education within an urban setting. Maintaining a standard of excellence in all of its programs, the college strives to motivate and challenge students to develop creative thinking, aesthetic awareness, and discriminating judgment, as well as a sense of purpose and a zeal for continued independent and formal learning.

A. Composition and Responsibilities of the College Faculty

1. Composition

The voting faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences shall consist of the president, the vice president for academic affairs, the dean of the college, and full time members of the university who hold faculty appointments in the College of Arts and Sciences with the rank of professor, associate professor, assistant professor, or instructor.

2. Responsibilities

a. Subject to conformity with established university policies, the faculty shall initiate, institute and review college policies governing admission, retention and dismissal of students, curriculum design and requirements, methods of conducting its educational programs, faculty status and related personnel matters, the selection, evaluation and retention of the dean and chairpersons, and the use of resources.

b. In accord with its policies, the faculty shall be responsible for implementing the curricula and awarding degrees. The faculty also makes recommendations concerning appointments, reappointments, decisions not to reappoint, promotion, granting tenure and dismissals of faculty members, selection, evaluation and retention of the dean and chairpersons, and, rules and structures under which the college functions. The faculty participates in the college's planning process and accreditation efforts.

c. To insure the principle of shared governance and to promote effective coordination between the college faculty and the college dean, decisions affecting the college should follow from deliberations between the two. The faculty recognizes the expertise and the responsibilities of the dean regarding such
administrative matters as the budget, allocation of resources, compensation, scheduling, and communication. The dean recognizes the expertise and the responsibilities of the faculty regarding such academic matters as the curriculum, faculty status, tenure, and promotion.

3. Conduct

a. The faculty of the college shall meet at least once each semester to hear a report from the dean concerning the affairs of the college and to consider matters for its approval. The dean shall preside and a secretary, elected annually from the faculty, shall maintain a record of the proceedings. Reports, minutes, and documents shall be preserved in accordance with university policy.

b. The college faculty may exercise its responsibilities through a representative College Faculty Council and its related committees. However, policies and guidelines involving changes in graduation requirements, in degrees and majors, in faculty status, and in college governance shall be forwarded to the college faculty for approval.

c. Action by the faculty or the College Faculty Council shall be binding:

i. Unless the dean of the college shall not concur, in which case the dean shall promptly communicate for the record reasons for nonconcurrence and request reconsideration by the faculty or its council. In the rare instances where the dean and the faculty or its council reach an impasse on matters of policy and action, the position of the faculty or its council and the dean's statement of nonconcurrence shall be forwarded for action to the vice president for academic affairs.
ii. r, in the case of action by the College Faculty Council, unless challenged by a petition signed by no less than 10% of the college faculty and presented to the dean, who shall bring it before the college faculty for disposition at its next meeting. If specified in the petition, a special meeting of the college faculty shall be called for the consideration of the matter in question.

4. The College Promotion and Tenure Committee

The college promotion and tenure committee (CPTC) is advisory to the dean of the college and consists of one member elected from each division for staggered two-year terms. Selection of replacement representatives of the CPTC shall remain the responsibility of that representative's division. The members elect a chairperson from their number for a one-year term. Tenure and promotion petitions together with the recommendations of the departmental committee and the department chairperson are examined and a recommendation made to the dean based upon the committee's decision as to whether or not the petition demonstrates that the candidate has met the standards in each of the criteria: teaching, research and scholarship, and service.

B. Academic Departments

1. Authority and responsibilities of the department

a. Academic departments are composed of faculty members of the College of Arts and Sciences who hold faculty appointments in the department and report through the department chairperson to the dean of the college.

b. According to university policy, leadership of the department is assumed by the chairperson. The departments are responsible for the implementation of teaching by developing and reviewing curriculum and administering major, minor, and optional minor requirements; advising students; making recommendations concerning faculty appointments, retention, tenure, and promotion; encouraging and supporting scholarly activity and professional service; initiating the purchase and maintenance of equipment and other materials; initiating acquisition of library holdings; initiating and responding to contacts with prospective students; and preparing budgets necessary to carry out these responsibilities.

c. Chairpersons shall regularly convene department members for information, discussion, and review and development of departmental policies. Policy decisions shall reflect this collegial process.

2. Authority and responsibilities of individual faculty

a. The authority of each faculty member is derived from appointment to an academic department within the university by the Board of Regents.

b. Each is responsible for the mastery of, and continuing contribution to, a scholarly discipline; the competent transmission of the discipline to students; and the exercise of professional judgment concerning curriculum, instructional methods, departmental equipment and material, quality of scholarly activity, faculty status, and those aspects of student life which relate to the educational process.

c. Faculty members are also answerable to their colleagues, their chairperson, and the dean for orderly and competent discharge of their responsibilities.

3. Department role in matters of faculty status

The department plays a major role in recruiting its faculty members, in encouraging their professional development, and in determining their status in retention, tenure and advancement.

a. The procedures and role for departments in recruiting new faculty are established by university policy (see University Faculty Handbook, Section 2.V., and Sections 3.I., II., III.A.).

b. Each department and its chair shall provide guidance for all its members through formal reviews and informal counseling.

1. Reviews shall be based on professional assessments of teaching, research and scholarship, and service in accord with university and departmental policies.

2. Records of formal reviews shall be maintained by department chairs in accord with university policies.

C. Divisions

1. Responsibilities of the divisions

a. Divisions within the college are the faculty of clusters of academic departments. Divisions:

i. serve as conduits of information between the faculty and the dean, between the faculty and the College Faculty Council, and between the divisions and their elected representatives;

ii. provide a forum for discussing college and/or university issues pertaining to the members;

iii. elect representatives to appropriate college and university standing and ad hoc committees;

iv. review and make recommendations concerning curriculum changes proposed by departments within the division.

b. The composition of divisions is based on academic relationships. Current divisions include humanities; social sciences; natural sciences, mathematics and computer information sciences; creative and performing arts; and education/kinesiology. Changes in the number and composition of divisions are the responsibility of the college faculty.

c. Divisional conduct

i. Each division shall meet regularly, establish its own rules of procedures, and elect its chairperson and secretary from among its membership.

ii. Each division shall review any curriculum change proposed by member departments. Changes requiring review include the addition or dropping of courses and changes in course level or credit. The division's recommendation shall be determined by a majority vote of the division's faculty who are present and forwarded with the proposal to the dean.

2. Responsibilities of the division chairperson

Divisional deliberations shall be presided over by an elected chairperson from among its own members for a term of two years. Individuals may not serve more than two consecutive
terms and no member of the same department may succeed another as division chairperson. Chairpersons shall represent their divisions in the College Faculty Council as voting members.

D. College Faculty Council

1. Composition

Voting members of the faculty council shall include one representative from each academic department within the college, the elected chairpersons of each division, and the dean of the college, who shall be the council's presiding officer.

a. Departmental representatives shall be elected annually by the voting members of the department. Department representatives may serve no more than three terms consecutively.

b. Terms and procedures for selecting division chairpersons are provided for in section 8.I.D.2.

2. Responsibilities

As provided in section 8.I.A.3.b., the College Faculty Council is the agent of the college faculty, subject to conditions expressed in section 8.I.A.3.c.

3. Conduct

a. The council shall meet regularly, establish its own rules of procedures, and elect its secretary from among its membership. It shall consider matters relevant to its jurisdiction brought to it by individual college faculty, the president, the vice president for academic affairs, the dean, department chairpersons, or its established committees. The council may make recommendations concerning resources needed for the conduct of its obligations.

b. The secretary shall maintain an accurate record of the proceedings and actions of the council and its various committees, transferring to the university archives non- current records. The secretary shall distribute agenda notices of council meetings and minutes of meetings to the faculty of the college.

4. Committees

In acting as the agent of the faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences, the College Faculty Council (CFC) recognizes that its work may be effectively conducted through committees. The council shall determine the membership of the standing committees of the council; these committees, with the exception of the student academic appeals committee, shall elect chairs from among their own membership. The standing committees include the committee on committees, the curriculum committee, the professional development committee, the resources committee, and the student academic appeals committee. The council may impanel additional committees with specified responsibilities from among the membership of the college faculty.

a. Composition of committees

i. The CFC committee on committees (COC) is composed of division chairpersons.

ii. Membership on the professional development, resources, and curriculum committees is to be broadly representative of the college.

iii. Unless otherwise specified, each committee term is for one academic year.

iv. The student academic appeals committee consists of the dean of the college (or the dean's designated representative) as chairperson; two members from each division elected for staggered two-year terms and three students matriculated in the College of Arts and Sciences, appointed yearly by the president of the Washburn Student Association.

b. Procedures for establishing committee composition

i. The CFC committee on committees (COC) shall prepare and present a slate of nominees for membership on the CFC committees to the CFC and the college faculty for approval.

ii. To assure the orderly impaneling of both the CFC and its committees, departments and divisions shall elect their representatives to the CFC prior to April 15 and submit the names of these representatives to the current secretary of the CFC.

iii. Prior to April 22, the current chairperson of the COC shall convene the new members of the COC for the next academic year. The COC shall then elect a chair from among its membership, determine the number of members needed for each CFC committee, solicit committee preference from among the members of the newly elected CFC, make nominations in light of those expressed preferences, and assure that the membership of each committee is broadly represented from across the college.
(a) Each member of the CFC shall serve on a standing committee, unless that member requests not to be nominated.
(b) If in the interest of balancing expertise and representation, the COC needs to expand any committee's membership from outside the CFC, it shall nominate additional members from among the college faculty.

iv. The COC shall present its slate of committee members to the newly elected CFC for its approval at the May meeting.

v. The CFC slate shall be presented to the college faculty at its first fall meeting for ratification. Additional nominees may be made and approved at that time.

c. Responsibilities of committees

i. The committee on committees shall establish committees as outlined above in section 8.I.E.4.b. If a vacancy occurs on one of the CFC committees, the COC shall name a replacement, subject to the confirmation of the CFC. Whenever the college is required to designate or elect faculty from among its membership to university committees for which nominations and/or election procedures are not otherwise provided, the COC shall serve as the nominating committee, subject to the confirmation of the CFC.

ii. The curriculum committee shall recommend to the council policies on: academic priorities, degree requirements and standards; academic major requirements; the awarding of academic credit and honors; and those matters of curriculum assigned to it by the council. The curriculum committee shall recommend action on departmental initiatives concerning new programs, program changes, and the addition, modification, or deletion of courses.

iii. The professional development committee shall recommend to the council policies concerning the following personnel matters: faculty support and evaluation in the areas of teaching, research and scholarship, and service; faculty teaching loads; faculty grievances; selection, evaluation, and retention of chairpersons and the dean; and other personnel issues assigned by the council.

iv. The resources committee shall review policies and past allocations, recommend revisions of them, and act upon other matters concerning resources as they are assigned to it by the council. The resource matters routinely assigned to this committee shall include those of faculty compensation and benefits.

v. The student academic appeals committee acts on all student academic appeal requests except changes of grade.

E. Dean of the College

1. Authority and responsibilities of the dean

a. The dean is the chief administrative and academic officer of the College of Arts and Sciences. The dean's leadership role is supported by delegated authority from the board, the president, the vice-president for academic affairs, and the faculty of the college. The dean is directly responsible to the vice president for academic affairs.

b. The dean in consultation with the faculty directs and supervises the academic programs within the College and is responsible for staffing, budgeting, research, and faculty development in the departments within the college. It is the dean's responsibility to work directly with the vice president for academic affairs on long-range planning and budget allocations for the academic units of the college. The dean has principal administrative responsibility for the operation of all the College of Arts and Sciences programs.

c. The dean provides leadership and vision in matters of academic achievement and policy development and its implementation. The dean shares with the college faculty the following responsibilities: a) defining and attaining academic goals; b) developing, reviewing and implementing academic policies, budget priorities, and allocation of resources; c) coordinating the communication system linking components of the College; and d) making recommendations concerning faculty status and salaries.

d. In matters of policy development, the dean shares responsibility with the college faculty, department chairs, College Faculty Council, and appropriate members of the College. In matters of policy implementation, the shared responsibility shall be exercised by the chair and faculty of each academic department, with the support, guidance, and supervision of the dean. In matters of communication, the shared responsibilities shall be exercised through the concerted actions of the dean, the division chairs, the department chairs, and the faculty.

2. Matters of non-concurrence

The power of review and final decision on all matters internal to the college is delegated to the dean by the board through the president and the vice-president for academic affairs. If the dean does not concur with the college faculty, or its council, the dean will communicate the reasons in written form to the same. The faculty shall have opportunity for further consideration of the matter, and may transmit its views to the vice president of academic affairs, or, when necessary, to the president and the board of regents.

3. Role of the college faculty in the search for and evaluation of the dean.

The college faculty has both the right and the obligation to make recommendations in the search for and evaluation of the dean.

a. Search for the dean

i. The vice president of academic affairs shall notify faculty and its council when it is necessary to appoint a new dean. The CFC may make recommendations concerning the time-line and search procedures.

ii. The dean selection committee (DSC) shall include
faculty representatives from the college: one representative shall be a departmental chairperson elected by the department chairs and one representative from each division elected from among its own members. The representatives shall report periodically to the college faculty, or to its divisions, on the status of the search.

iii. The DSC shall include one student with a declared major in the college who shall be appointed by the Washburn Student Association upon notification by the vice president of academic affairs.

iv. The vice president of academic affairs may serve as a non-voting member of the DSC.

v. The DSC shall elect its own chairperson. The DSC shall comply with established University search procedures.

vi. The DSC shall invite the faculty to nominate candidates. Nominations from the faculty shall be made in writing to the DSC.

vii. The committee shall recommend to the vice president a minimum of three candidates.

viii. The vice president shall invite at least three candidates for a campus visit. Each visiting candidate shall meet and confer with the president, the vice president of academic affairs, and the DSC. In addition, the faculty, chairs, and students of the college must have ample opportunity to interview and confer with each candidate.

ix. After all campus visits have been completed, the DSC shall invite individual faculty recommendations. Individual college faculty members may make recommendations to the DSC, preferably in writing.

x. The DSC shall forward to the vice president of academic affairs its recommendation together with the recommendations received from faculty members. The DSC may rank candidates in its recommendation, and the members of the committee may submit separate individual recommendations to the vice president of academic affairs.

xi. The dean is finally chosen by the president based upon the recommendations of the vice president of academic affairs, the other deans, the DSC, and individual faculty. The final selection of the dean is subject to the approval of the board of regents.

b. Faculty evaluation of the dean

i. Based on the description of the dean's responsibilities as stated in section 8.I.F.1, the college faculty shall evaluate the performance of the dean during the third year in office and every three (3) years thereafter.
Recognizing the unique working relationship which exists between the dean and the chairpersons, a separate evaluation committee shall be constituted to represent the chairpersons' evaluation of the dean. Therefore, two separate evaluation committees shall be constituted to complete the evaluation process.
(a) The members of the CFC shall establish a dean evaluation committee.
(b) The department chairpersons shall establish a dean evaluation committee.

ii. The CFC evaluation committee shall distribute the evaluation form approved by the CFC to each faculty member (excluding chairpersons) of the College of Arts and Sciences. The chairpersons evaluation committee shall distribute its evaluation form to each department chairperson in the College of Arts and Sciences.

iii. Both committees' duties include collecting, analyzing, interpreting, and summarizing all data gathered via the dean evaluation form. Each committee will prepare a report including a summary of methods of obtaining information, a summary and interpretation of findings, pertinent recommendations, and an overall evaluation. Additional evaluation materials may be gathered by either committee to be offered as an addendum to the interpretation of results.

iv. A written summary of the CFC evaluation committee's report shall be forwarded to the CFC for approval. The chairman of the evaluation committee shall preside for the presentation and discussion of the committee report. The dean will be excused for this meeting. Following approval, copies of the report shall be forwarded to the dean, who shall have the opportunity to file a statement regarding the committee's report. The evaluation and the dean's response shall be sent to the vice president for academic affairs.

v. A written summary of the chairpersons' committee for the evaluation of the dean shall be forwarded to the dean, who shall have the opportunity to file a statement regarding the committee's report. The evaluation and the dean's response shall be sent to the vice president for academic affairs.