Letter to Faculty Explains New Governance Plan
Posted by Barbara E. Hinton on 8/14/2007
Dear Colleagues:
I hope you have had a restful and refreshing summer and that you are eager for the beginning of the new academic year. One of the most important tasks we must address early this fall is that of implementing a faculty governance plan. I am attaching the Faculty Governance Plan, developed by the COEHP Governance and Structure Task Force this past academic year and asking that you read it carefully prior to the COEHP Fall Faculty meeting on August 17th. This document has been posted on the Governance and Structure website site since May 2007, along with a response field allowing anonymous feedback to the task force. The last page of this document is a graphic that illustrates the academic course and program approval chain, moving from the originating program faculty through all the approval steps required to make course and/or program changes.
The Governance and Structure Task Force, consisting of a representative from each department, has designed a streamlined and efficient plan, aimed at increasing faculty participation in the governance of academic matters and facilitating communication and collaboration between the college faculty and administration. The Governance Plan details both the advisory responsibilities and governance authority of the faculty, as defined by the Board of Trustees Policy 810.0. The College Council, which is the representative body of the college faculty, will act as a consultative body to the Dean, serve as the faculty awards committee, and provide consultation and advice to the Dean on other topics such as planning for the future of the College. The Faculty Senate, Graduate Council, and University Course and Program Committee (UCPC) are three University-level academic governance committees, on which the college has elected representatives. At the college level, there are three standing committees: The College Course and Program Committee (CCPC), which has authority on policies and procedures regarding academic courses and programs and will function much as the UCPC functions at the University level; the Honor's Council, which will govern the Honor's Program, and the Student Scholarship Committee, which will select student scholarship recipients annually. Ad hoc committees may be appointed as needed.
In a spring 2007 meeting, Faculty Council members provided thoughtful input regarding the Governance Plan, including their recommendation for retaining previously elected representatives in positions that are included in the new governance plan. For example, it was recommended that the elected chair of the Faculty Council, Dr. George Denny, become the chair of the College Council. Dr. Denny will be contacting you soon regarding nominations and elections for all open college-wide positions, and he will also be notifying department heads of departmental representatives needed for various committees. We are asking that departments delay departmental elections until after the fall COEHP faculty meeting.
The Governance and Structure Task Force members, Bobbie Biggs, Inza Fort, Chris Lucas, Bill McComas, Wendy Sisson, and Patrick Wolf, will be available at the fall COEHP faculty meeting to respond to any questions you may have regarding the Governance Plan. I would like to take this opportunity to thank them for their professional dedication and hard work this past year as they represented you in developing the Governance Plan as well as the plan for restructuring the College. I hope you will let them know how much you appreciate their important service.
Regards,
Barbara E. Hinton
Associate Dean for Academic Affairs
We want to hear from you. Please e-mail comments and feedback to Barbara E. Hinton at bhinton@uark.edu.