#Standing Committees of the University (Overview)
The four major functions of Standing Committees of the University are
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- to recommend policy appropriate to the mission of the committee,
- to act as advisory groups to the administrative officers,
- to act as investigating bodies, and
- to perform administrative functions, such as those of the Discipline Committee.
In performance of their duties, the Standing Committees of the University operate through regular channels of procedure. In developing a new policy or changing an old policy, except those designated as administrative, the initial action is started by or referred to the appropriate committee. To facilitate timely information about the policy proposals that pertain to the academic function of the University, each Standing Committee of the University shall have a Faculty Senate Representative who serves as the liaison between the Senate and the committee and is responsible for communicating the committee deliberations and the minutes to the Senate.
When a Standing Committee of the University has a recommendation concerning an academic matter relating to or affecting two or more of the Colleges or the University faculty as a whole, the recommendation may be brought before the Faculty Senate. In addition, the Faculty Senate may consider matters referred to it by any faculty member or administrative officer, and it may upon its own initiative undertake the consideration of and make recommendations about policies and procedures related to the functions of the Senate.
Recommendations from the Faculty Senate are subject to review by the Faculty Assembly. The Assembly, by majority vote, may send any recommendation of the Faculty Senate back to the body for review. The Faculty Assembly’s acceptance of the Faculty Senate’s recommendation (perhaps as amended) constitutes a recommendation to the President of the University, who may accept or reject the recommendation. When the President of the University accepts a recommendation, the President presents the recommendation to the Board of Trustees for its approval, when appropriate. Upon the Board’s approval, the proposed policy or program becomes an established part of the University program. If the President rejects a recommendation, the Faculty Senate may appeal to the Board of Trustees.
The administration of an existing policy is the responsibility of the administrative person involved, but that individual may seek advice and help from the advisory committee.
The Standing Committees of the University are divided into two categories: “University” and “Academic.” Faculty membership in all Standing University and Academic Committees is determined by faculty election within each college under the supervision of the Faculty Senate Committee on Committees. If no senator is elected to any standing committee, the Faculty Senate will elect a senator to serve as a non-voting, ex officio member.
Unless otherwise noted in Committee descriptions, student membership on standing committees is determined by appointment from the Student Government Association. Membership on Standing Committees, other than faculty and student members, is by presidential appointment.
The Senate’s president or the vice president may also appoint ad hoc committees at any time to study special problems.
Tenured, tenure-track, and non-tenure-track faculty members with a teaching load equal to or greater than 50 percent are eligible for election to University and Academic Committees.
The Faculty Senate will provide a list of committee openings to the dean of each college no later than the day of the opening General Faculty meeting for the fall semester. Each college will conduct elections for all committee openings and will forward all election results to the Faculty Senate by the 2nd Friday after the first day of class of the fall semester. Unless otherwise noted, election is for staggered two-year terms with half of the committee membership elected each year.
Elections shall be conducted in an open and inclusive nomination process followed by a college faculty vote within the guidelines provided by Robert’s Rules of Order (Newly Revised). The dean of each college (or designee) shall be in charge of the college elections under the supervision of the Faculty Senate Committee on Committees.
Chairs of each committee should complete a standardized, online report form at the end of April each year to include the following information: committee name and membership, numbers and locations of meetings, activities accomplished, and a list of objectives/priorities for the committee to complete for the next academic year. Each new chair will be provided a copy of the previous year’s completion report.
Following is a description of the mission and membership profile of each standing committee.
