Homewood Schools Academic Council Procedures

Homewood Schools
Academic Council Procedures Manual

Procedures of the Academic Council
(Last Revised November 7, 2007)

Throughout the document the titles Assistant Professor, Associate Professor and Professor refer to full-time appointments unless stated otherwise.

I. Membership

A. A. The membership of the Academic Council is to be comprised of twelve professors. Ten of these shall be nominated by qualified voting faculty (as defined in III below) and two members of the Academic Council are nominated by the other ten. These twelve members are appointed by the President.

B. The membership of the Academic Council is to include the President of the University (see IV.A. below). The Provost, Dean of Arts and Sciences, Dean of Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Dean of Engineering and Associate Dean of Engineering are members of the Academic Council without voting privileges.

C. A list of members of the Academic Council and these rules of procedure shall be published in the Gazette each October.

II. Term of Office

A. The term of office for the ten members nominated by the qualified voting faculty shall be five years. One year must elapse before a member, having served for five years, is again eligible for Academic Council nomination.

B. The term of office for the two members nominated by the other ten is to be one year and such members are, at the expiration of their one-year term, immediately eligible for nomination for a one-year or a five-year term.

III. Eligible Voters

Those eligible to vote for nominees to the Academic Council are professors, associate professors and assistant professors.

IV. Officers of the Academic Council

A. The President of the University is the permanent Chair of the Academic Council. The Provost is to preside in the absence of the President.

B. A Recording Secretary is to be elected by the members of the Academic Council for a term of at least one semester.

V. Preparation of the Agenda

A. The Dean of Arts and Sciences or the Dean of Engineering (on alternate semesters) will be responsible for the agenda. Items of policy for discussion at Academic Council meetings are to be incorporated into the agenda a week in advance of the meeting, and circulated confidentially to the members of the Academic Council.

B. Any full-time faculty member, or group of such members, may petition the Academic Council to discuss a matter of concern by submitting a request in writing to either the designated Council Secretary, the Dean of Arts and Sciences or to the Dean of Engineering. Such requests must ordinarily be received by the Secretary or Deans at least ten days prior to the Council meeting at which discussion is sought. The Secretary or Deans of the Homewood Schools will transmit the request to the full Council for information and will, if appropriate, place the request on the agenda of the earliest possible regular meeting.

C. The list of non-tenured appointments to be approved by the Academic Council is to be circulated to the members of the Academic Council at least two days before the meeting of the Academic Council.

D. Materials concerning impending appointments to the rank of Associate Professor or Professor are to be circulated as far in advance of a meeting as possible, normally at least one week.

VI. Vacancies in Council Membership

In the event that a member of the Academic Council is unavailable to serve, the members of the Academic Council will nominate an eligible professor to serve during the period of unavailability of the member up to one year. If the period of unavailability exceeds one year the position on the Academic Council will be filled by the regular election procedure of (VII).

VII. Election Procedures

A. Five-year term member nominations

1. The terms of office of two members of the Academic Council expire each year and their successors are to be nominated during the month of May. To implement these nominations the Deans of the Homewood Schools will distribute ballots to the electorate not later than April 15th each year. The ballot will indicate that the names of two persons are to be selected and that the ballot is to be returned to the Dean of Arts and Sciences or the Dean of Engineering by return mail, but in no event later than seven days from the date of mailing of the ballot. All ballots will be accompanied by a list of members of the Academic Council and a list of those eligible for nomination. Eligibility includes any full professor who will not be on leave of absence for all or part of the next academic year.
2. The ballots are to be canvassed immediately following the seven day voting period by a committee consisting of the Dean of Arts and Sciences or the Dean of Engineering (on alternate semesters) and the Secretary of the Academic Council.
3. The canvassing committee will find a nomination if any eligible member of the faculty should receive votes from one-third of the total electorate. If two such nominations should be found, no further balloting would be held.
4. If no nomination should be found on the first balloting, the five highest candidates will be selected for a second balloting, except in case of a tie for fifth place, in which event all faculty members tied for fifth place are to be included in the ballot. In the second balloting, the candidates are to be listed in alphabetical order and no further information concerning their standing is to be announced.
5. If in the first balloting one nomination should be found, the next three highest candidates will be selected for a second balloting, except in case of a tie for third place, in which case all faculty members tied for third place are to be included in the ballot. In the second balloting, the candidates are to be listed in alphabetical order and no further information concerning their standing is to be announced.
6. A preferential balloting system is used on the second ballot, whereby each member of the electorate marks his/her ballot numerically in order of preference, starting from "one" for the most desired candidate, "two" for the next, etc. Every candidate must be given a preferential number in order for the electorate's ballot to be valid. This system usually enables the election to be completed on the second ballot from a finite number of candidates.
7. Notification of the second balloting should be mailed as soon as possible following the canvassing of the first ballot. Ballots should be requested by return mail, to the Dean of Arts and Sciences or the Dean of Engineering (on alternate semesters) but in no event later than seven days from the date of mailing the ballot.
8. The ballots are to be canvassed immediately following the seven-day voting period as set forth in (2) above.
9. The canvassing committee would find one nomination through the following procedure. All first preference votes are counted and tallied. The candidate receiving the least number of first preference votes is then eliminated from the list, and his/her second preference votes are distributed as first preference votes. Again, the totals are tallied, and again the candidate receiving the least total votes is eliminated, his/her votes being redistributed as above. The process continues until one candidate commands a majority of votes.
10. The canvassing committee, having found one nomination, would find the second by ignoring the first nominee's name on each ballot and then following the same procedures as in paragraph (9), adjusting the preferences accordingly.

B. Procedure for one nomination

1. In the event that an occasion arises calling for the nomination of only one candidate the procedures set forth in paragraphs (VII.A.1) and VII.B.2) are to be followed.
2. Following the balloting, the canvassing committee will find a nomination for the candidate receiving the highest number of votes provided this number is at least one-third of the eligible electorate.
3. If no nomination is found, the three highest candidates will be selected for a second balloting, except in case of a tie for third place, in which case all faculty members tied for third place are to be included in the ballot. In the second balloting, the candidates are to be listed in alphabetical order and no further information concerning their standing is to be announced.
4. The procedure to be followed for this second balloting is as set forth in paragraphs (VII.A.6 through 9) above.

C. One-year and one-semester member nominations.

1. For the two members of the Academic Council to be nominated by the other ten members (see I.A above), the election procedure is as follows. A short list of eligible candidates is generated from recommendations of the continuing members of the Academic Council. These candidates should have already shown a willingness to serve if so elected. The election itself is by secret ballot by the voting members of the Council that are present. The ballot counting procedures are those as enumerated above (see VII A.1) for campus wide elections of five-year members. Impasses in voting due to ties will be decided by lot. (For vacancies longer than one year, see section VI, which provides for an at-large election.)
2. When electing the two one-year members or any one year replacement member, the Council has traditionally sought to ensure a balance of representation reflecting the diversity of academic fields; above all, the Council has sought to ensure that both Schools are represented in approximate proportion to the size of their respective faculties.

D. Procedure for all nominations

Upon finding nominations, following any election, the canvassing committee will forward the name (or names) of successful candidates to the President for his/her action.

VIII. Faculty Appointments

A. Recommendation for appointment as Assistant Professor, Adjunct Professor, Adjunct Associate Professor, Adjunct Assistant Professor, Visiting Professor, Visiting Associate Professor, Visiting Assistant Professor, Homewood Professor, Senior Lecturer, Lecturer, Research Professor, Associate Research Professor, Visiting Research Professor, and Visiting Associate Research Professor is made by the Department Chair to the Dean of Arts and Sciences or the Dean of Engineering with the approval (which is recorded in the written request) of the tenured department faculty. The Dean, if he/she approves, then makes the presentation to the Academic Council, and this presentation must include appropriate biographical data and bibliography. In the case of appointments as or promotions to Research Professor, Associate Research Professor, Visiting Research Professor, and Visiting Associate Research Professor the Dean then forwards to the Board of Review the appropriate material.

B. When no University funds are involved, or when the term of appointment is less than a semester or the equivalent, appointments as Homewood Professor, Lecturer, Visiting Associate Professor, Visiting Assistant Professor, Adjunct Associate Professor, and Adjunct Assistant Professor are normally reported to the Council as information items only. Appointments as Assistant Research Professor, Associate Research Scholar/Scientist/Engineer, Assistant Research Scholar/Scientist/Engineer, Adjunct Associate Research Scholar/Scientist/Engineer, Adjunct Assistant Research Scholar/Scientist/Engineer, Visiting Assistant Research Professor, Visiting Scholar/Scientist/Engineer, Fellow-by- Courtesy, Doctor of the University and Postdoctoral Fellow are also normally reported as information items to the Council. Promotions to and appointments as Research Professor, Associate Research Professor, Principal Research Scholar/Scientist/Engineer, Research Scholar/Scientist/Engineer, Adjunct Principal Research Scholar/Scientist/Engineer, Adjunct Research Scholar/Scientist/Engineer, Visiting Research Professor and Visiting Associate Research Professor positions are made by the Deans upon recommendation by the Board of Review (see Standing Committees in Section XI, E below).

C. For appointment or promotion to the rank of Associate Professor or Professor, the Department Chair (with the approval of the tenured department faculty) requests the Dean of Arts and Sciences or the Dean of Engineering to appoint an Ad Hoc Committee to make recommendation to the Academic Council.

D. The Ad Hoc Committee is to be composed of not fewer than two faculty members from departments other than the one in which the promotion or appointment is to be made. For appointment or promotion to the rank of Professor the Ad Hoc Committee is to be composed of Professors. For appointment or promotion to the rank of Associate Professor the Ad Hoc Committee may include Associate Professors as well as Professors. A member of the candidate's department shall be designated as the department liaison to the committee. A member of the Academic Council committee on Appointments, Promotions, and Tenure should be identified at the time each ad hoc promotion or appointment committee is appointed to act as liaison between the committee and the Council.

E. All Ad Hoc Committees appointed are to be announced by the appropriate Dean to the Academic Council at its first meeting following the appointment of the committee.

F. Ad Hoc Committees submit their reports to the Academic Council via the Dean of Arts and Sciences or the Dean of Engineering, depending upon the school of the candidate for appointment or promotion, who lists the report on the agenda of the Academic Council meeting following receipt of the report. Any report received by the Academic Council office later then twenty days before a scheduled meeting normally will be placed on the agenda of the following scheduled meeting. The ad hoc committee report normally will be distributed to Council members at least one week in advance of the meeting during which the report is to be considered.

G. The report of the Ad Hoc Committee is presented to the Academic Council by the Ad Hoc Committee Chair and the Department Chair who are invited to the Academic Council meeting for this purpose. These visitors will also make themselves available during any following meetings of the Academic Council during which the case is further considered.

H. Normally, action on the Ad Hoc Committee report is not taken at the meeting at which it is presented but at the next succeeding meeting. Action to waive this "holdover" rule may be taken by the Academic Council.

IX. Meetings of the Academic Council

A. The Academic Council will meet on the first and third Wednesday of each month beginning in September and ending in May. By action of the Academic Council this date may be changed for the convenience of the Academic Council members. Additional meetings may be called during the academic year as needed.

B. The twelve elected members of the Academic Council are to meet not less than twice each year to consider problems of interest to the academic community and to suggest items for incorporation into the agenda. The chair of this group is the fifth-year Council member who is designated as Secretary. The group is not to have authority to take official action but may only present suggestions to the Academic Council. The Deans of Arts and Sciences and Engineering attend by invitation.

X. Ad Hoc Committees

The Academic Council may appoint such Ad Hoc Committees as it deems necessary.

XI. Standing Committees

The Academic Council shall establish the following Standing Committees:

A. School of Arts and Sciences Curriculum Committee and the Whiting School of Engineering Curriculum Committee

1. These subcommittees of the Academic Council have the following charge:

Fostering the enhancement of the undergraduate curriculum, giving special consideration to interdepartmental programs and general distribution requirements.

Reviewing existing undergraduate programs where appropriate.

Reviewing proposed undergraduate programs.

Through the two Associate Deans for Academic Affairs, the committee brings recommendations of policy regarding these matters to the Academic Council subcommittee on Academic Affairs, with a recommended action for the Academic Council. Such policy issues may include, but are not limited to, creating or deleting majors and minors, results of reviews of existing programs and modification of distribution requirements.

Procedural issues with respect to undergraduate education will normally be the purview of the two Associate Deans for Academic Affairs. Such matters will generally be decided by these two Associate Deans, in consultation with the Associate Dean for Academic Advising and the Chair of the Student Council Education Committee. Such procedural issues typically would include changes in academic calendar deadlines as well as procedures and forms for registration, resolution of incompletes, informal mid-term freshmen reports, and independent study.

2. Each committee consists of four faculty members and four student members. The Chair of the Student Council Education Committee, Associate Dean for Academic Advising and a member from the Academic Council serve ex-officio. Each committee is chaired by the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs of the corresponding school.

Committee members are appointed by the Academic Council. Faculty members are nominated by the appropriate Associate Dean and serve rotating two-year terms. Student members are nominated by the Student Council, with the help of the two schools, and serve for one year.

The committees meet monthly, either separately or as a joint committee of the whole. They must meet together at least three times a year, including the first meeting of each school year, and may meet more often at the discretion of the two Associate Deans. Joint meetings are co-chaired by the two Associate Deans, taking primary responsibility for the agenda on a rotating basis.

3. The two Associate Deans are responsible for communicating with the Academic Council, implementing Academic Council decisions on curriculum, and coordinating curriculum matters with appropriate advising offices.

4. The Academic Standing Committee functions as an extension of the two Curriculum Committees. Its membership consists of the two Associate Deans, the Associate Dean for Academic Advising, and the faculty members of the two committees. Matters are brought to the Academic Standing Committee by either of the two Associate Deans or by the Associate Dean for Academic Advising. For the sake of timeliness, the Academic Standing Committee may meet as an extension of just one of the two Curriculum Committees to consider issues concerning undergraduates in that particular school.

B. The Graduate Board

1. This Board shall be responsible for:

a. Recommendation to the Academic Council of University-wide requirements for all Ph.D. degrees, and M.A. and M.S. degrees awarded by departments in the Schools of Arts and Sciences and Medicine.
b. Administration of approved policies and procedures for the award of the M.A., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees (as outlined in 1.a. above.)
c. Recommendation to the Academic Council of changes in the existing programs or approval of any new programs for the M.A., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees (as outlined in 1.a. above.)
d. Continuous review of the standards and procedures for the admission of graduate students.
e. Policy formulation for selection and award of financial aid to graduate students.
f. Assuring that administrative practices include an appropriate information system concerning graduate education in the University.

2. This Board shall be composed of:

a. One faculty member from each of the four groups in the School of Arts and Sciences: Biological Sciences, Humanities, Physical Sciences, and Social Sciences.
b. One faculty member from the School of Engineering.
c. One faculty member from the School of Advanced International Studies.
d. One faculty member from the School of Medicine.
e. Two faculty members from the School of Public Health.
f. One faculty member from the School of Nursing.
g. The Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences.
h. Two graduate students.
i. The Chair of the Graduate Board is the Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences or his/her designee.
j. Appointments are to be made by the Dean of Arts and Sciences from a list of names approved by the Academic Council.
k. Terms of appointment for faculty members are three years, and are staggered to provide continuity.
l. Terms of appointment for graduate students are one year.
m. To be eligible for appointment, a faculty member must hold a regular, full-time appointment as professor, associate professor or assistant professor in a Ph.D. granting department of the University.

3. Subcommittees

a. The Graduate Board is empowered to establish subgroups as it deems desirable. Other faculty members may serve on these subgroups as members by appointment of the Chair.
b. The Graduate Board shall establish a subcommittee for processing of candidates for the degrees M.A., M.S. and Ph.D. This subcommittee shall include one member each from SAIS, the School of Medicine, the School of Public Health, and the School of Engineering, in addition to representatives from the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, and shall not include graduate students.

4. The Graduate Board shall make an annual report to the Academic Council.

C. The Whiting School Graduate Committee

1. This Committee shall be responsible for:

a. Recommendation to the Academic Council of all Whiting School requirements for graduate degrees (including M.A. and M.S.) other than the Ph.D. degrees.
b. Administration of approved policies and procedures for the award of degrees other than the Ph.D. degree.
c. Recommendation to the Academic Council of changes in the existing programs or approval of any new programs for Whiting School degrees and certificates other than the Ph.D.
d. Continuous review of the standards and procedures for the admission of graduate students.
e. Policy formulation for selection and award of financial aid to graduate students.
f. Assuring that administrative practices include an appropriate information system concerning graduate education in the Whiting School.

2. This Committee shall be composed of:

a. Six faculty members of the Whiting School of Engineering, all of whom will serve staggered three-year terms, and at least four of whom must hold a full-time, tenured or tenure-track appointment at the rank of assistant professor or above;
b. One resident, full-time engineering graduate student who will serve a one-year term; and,
c. The Associate Dean for Academic Affairs of the Whiting School of Engineering, as a non-voting chair, and the Associate Dean for Part-Time Programs as ex-officio members.
d. The faculty members and the graduate student member will be appointed by the Dean of Engineering upon approval by the Academic Council.

3. Subcommittees

The Whiting School Graduate Committee is empowered to establish subgroups as it deems desirable. Other faculty members may serve on these subgroups as members by appointment of the Chair.

4. The Whiting School Graduate Committee shall make an annual report to the Academic Council.

D. Board of Review Committee

1. This subcommittee of the Academic Council is charged to make recommendations to the Deans and Academic Council of candidates for promotions and appointments at the ranks enumerated as follows: Research Professor, Associate Research Professor, Visiting Research Professor, Visiting Associate Research Professor, Principal Research Scholar/Scientist/Engineer, Research Scholar/Scientist/Engineer, Adjunct Principal Research Scholar/Scientist/Engineer and Adjunct Research Scholar/Scientist/Engineer.

2.The membership of this subcommittee consists of six professors or tenured Associate Professors from the School of Arts and Sciences and the School of Engineering each appointed for a term of three years. The appointment of these members is made by the Deans of Arts and Sciences and Engineering from a list of names approved by the Academic Council.

XII. Arts and Sciences Advanced Academic Programs Academic Committee

One of the functions of the Advanced Academic Programs (AAP) Academic Committee is to approve all new degrees, certificates and concentrations offered by Arts and Sciences Advanced Academic Programs, after which they must be transmitted to Academic Council for approval. Although the AAP Academic Committee is not a subcommittee of the Academic Council, the Academic Council shall appoint a liaison who will meet with the Committee when it is considering a matter requiring eventual Academic Council approval.

XIII. Academic Council Reports

The Academic Council shall report on its major activities at each semi-annual meeting of the Faculty Assembly. The report is to be made by the permanent chair of the Academic Council or by either the Dean of Arts and Sciences or the Dean of Engineering.

XIV. Review of Department and Non-Tenured Faculty

The Academic Council shall conduct each year a review of a selected number of departments, institutes, programs and other institutional units (e.g., MSE Library, etc.).

XV. Rules of Order

The Academic Council shall operate according to the most recent edition of Robert's Rules of Order except for the specific exceptions noted below:

Votes of the Academic Council normally shall be by majority vote. However, all votes concerning appointments, promotions, and tenure of faculty shall require a majority of the members present.

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