Faculty Affairs Governance

The Shared Governance Committee (SGC) serves as the facilitative committee for shared governance at the university. Chaired by the chair of the Faculty Advisory Council, SGC supports and promotes effective collaboration among the students, faculty, and university administration through regular dialogue. The members of the SGC may bring to the SGC recommendations pertaining to university policies and other matters of general concern to the university. The SGC shall consider matters brought before it and make its recommendations to the provost.

The Faculty Advisory Council shall advise the provost on matters relating to the general welfare of the faculty, particularly as they relate to the ability of the faculty to contribute to the academic mission of the university. More specifically, and as further outlined in the Faculty Handbook, the Faculty Advisory Council shall advise the provost on policies, practices, and resources that impact faculty recruitment, retention, satisfaction and effectiveness. The Faculty Advisory Council shall also provide a representative forum for ideas and concerns of the General Faculty. The Chair of the Faculty Advisory Council shall have reasonable access to the provost to conduct the business of the Faculty Advisory Council. As necessary, the chair of the Faculty Advisory Council, in consultation with the Office of Faculty Affairs, shall appoint faculty members to grievance and dismissal-for-cause hearing committees, as described in the Faculty Handbook. The Chair of the Faculty Advisory Council shall serve as Chair of the University SGC.

The Committee on Educational Resources is advisory to the provost and evaluates the university’s educational infrastructure, including the libraries; information and educational technology; and academic services that support the educational mission. The committee advises the Office of Faculty Affairs on faculty development programs in pedagogy and provides recommendations to the provost on recipients of university faculty teaching awards; intramural awards for pedagogical scholarship; and candidates for education-focused external grant and award programs accepting a limited number of university applicants.

The Committee on Student Affairs is advisory to the provost and will:

1. participate in the oversight of the university’s student services and student-experience programming;
2. assist in ensuring that student conduct at the university aligns with applicable university policies and procedures, including university and program-specific community standards policies, academic integrity policies, and professionalism policies;
3. assist in creating and administering university-level student-affairs policies and
4. provide oversight, where appropriate, of program-specific student policies and handbooks. 

The Committee on Educational Quality is advisory to the provost and participates in oversight of the assessment practices and activities for academic programs and curricula, per policies and procedures established by the university. 

The Committee on Academic Programs and Policies has general authority and responsibility for curricula and academic policies that span multiple colleges or impact students from multiple colleges and will make recommendations about such matters to the provost in accordance with policies and procedures as described in the Faculty Handbook.