UNIVERSITY ORGANIZATION AND POLICY‑MAKING

5.  Administrative Organization of the University

 

The legal powers of the University are vested in a Board of Trustees of not less than twenty‑five nor more than fifty members.  Members can be elected by the Board to three‑year terms. The General Board of Higher Education and Ministry of The United Methodist Church must approve the election of trustees. Ordinarily, the Board meets three times a year, in the fall, winter, and spring ‑‑the winter meeting being devoted principally to the enactment of the budget for the ensuing year.  An eleven‑member Executive Committee of the Board acts for the Board between regular meetings.

 

The president of the University is the chief executive officer of the University. The president is responsible for presenting information and recommendations to the Board and is charged with responsibility for the execution of the policies of the Board for operation, development, and promotion of the University.  The president represents the University to the public.

 

The provost is appointed by the president with the approval of the Board and continues in office at the pleasure of the president. The provost:

 

a) is the chief academic officer of the university, second in responsibility only to the president;

 

b) reports to the president, and has other powers and duties assigned by the president;

 

c) is a member of the University faculty and of each department, school and college, and an ex-officio member of each academic committee of the University;

 

d) receives recommendations developed by the faculty and academic administrators for consideration and recommendation to the president;

 

e) exercises the powers and duties of the president during the absence or incapacity of the president, or in case of a vacancy in that office;

 

f) has the option of attending meetings of faculties, schools, colleges, departments, and  academic committees;

 

g) at least once during each academic year, calls a meeting of all persons holding faculty rank to discuss matters affecting the academic policies and educational offerings of the University.

 

There are at present five vice presidents:  a vice president of finance and treasurer; a vice president of development; a vice president of student services; a vice president of enrollment services; and a vice president and university counsel.

 

All legal representation on behalf of the University shall be undertaken by the Office of the University Counsel. Representation of faculty in accordance with the indemnification provision of the Bylaws of the Board of Trustees of American University, shall be undertaken solely by the Office of the University Counsel or its designee.

 

The deans of the colleges and schools and the university librarian report to the provost and are charged with administrative responsibility for their respective units.  In certain of the larger colleges and schools, departmental or other subordinate organization exists, with department chairs or other academic administrators reporting to their respective deans.

 

By joint agreement of the University Senate and the Trustees, the University has adopted a "Tripartite Principle" affecting university organization and governance in academic affairs.  ln general, this principle, as elaborated in practice, attempts to define appropriate roles for faculty, students, and administrators at various levels of academic policy‑making.  Its specific manifestations include the representation of students on faculty councils at the departmental and college or school level, and the procedures to be employed in the event of disagreements between teaching unit councils the library council and chairs and deans the university librarian.

 

The University Senate has adopted the principle of accountability for principal University administrators by recommending that committees be employed to search for and recommend candidates for these positions and that evaluation committees review the work of these same administrators at regular intervals.  While the specific procedures undergo periodic review and reformulation, the following principles remain in effect:

 

•                  the ultimate authority for appointing and removing administrative personnel rests with the  appropriate administrative officers, the president, and the Board of Trustees;

 

•                  the deans of the College of Arts & Sciences, Kogod School of Business, School of Public Affairs, School of International Service, Washington College of Law, School of Communication, and the University Librarian shall be appointed by the provost with the advice and consent of the faculty of the college or school concerned, and with the approval of the president and the Board of Trustees;

 

•                  department chairs, deans, and directors within colleges and schools shall be appointed by the dean after the teaching unit council has made a recommendation, with no appointment ordinarily to be made by the dean which is unacceptable to a majority of the members of the teaching unit council.  Should the dean make such an appointment, reasons for his/her actions will be supplied to the teaching unit council.  These appointments require approval of the provost.  

 

6.  Academic Policy‑Making Bodies

 

A modern university is such a complex institution with so many closely interrelated functions that responsibility for the policy direction of many of them is in reality a series of shared responsibilities, some of which can be rather easily identified and lodged with a specific group, while others cannot.  It is clear that the conduct of the ongoing academic program has to be vested in the faculty and students.  But it is equally clear that the deliberations of a forward‑looking faculty will often result in plans which not only affect the existing educational enterprise but may also have serious implications for the future nature, purpose, and fiscal capabilities of the University as a whole.  It is likely, therefore, that the success with which individual responsibilities are fulfilled and the success with which an institution's goals and potentialities are achieved will be measured in the long run by the success with which those who share the responsibilities are able to understand their respective roles and agree on courses of action which they can all support. ^[2]

 

The principal bodies and groups charged with significant responsibility in academic policy‑making include the Board of Trustees, the University Senate, the educational policy committees and teaching unit councils of the Library, colleges, schools, and departments, and the committees associated with these bodies.

The University faculty as a body does not have independent policy‑making powers. It meets at least once each academic year, and at other times as appropriate, at the call of the provost to hear reports on the state of the University, and to provide opportunity for general discussion of matters of interest to the faculty.  

In general terms, the roles of the policy‑making bodies may be described as follows:  

a. The Board of Trustees

 

The Board of Trustees determines the nature and directions of development of the University, formulates the policies by which the institution is governed, selects the president, and assures itself at all times that the University is functioning in accordance with these policies as an academically and fiscally sound institution dedicated to the highest possible standards.  Legally and traditionally, the Board of Trustees delineates the broad outlines of the activities, including educational activities, in which the University is to engage, and endeavors to provide the resources to support them properly.

 

The Board has long recognized the important role of the faculty at American University. Reflecting that recognition, the Bylaws of the University state that:

 

Subject to the powers vested in the Board, the Executive Committee, the president and the provost, the faculty, functioning through its duly constituted entities, shall have primary responsibility for:

 

•                  instruction and academic standards;

 

•                  determination of curricula and approval of courses;

 

•                  recommendation of faculty appointments, promotions, and other faculty personnel concerns;

 

•                  recommendation for the instructional budget;

 

•                  recommendation of policies affecting student affairs.

 

The Board of Trustees of American University has approved designees for execution of contracts on behalf of the University.  Only Board‑approved designees are authorized to sign contracts that obligate the University; all other contracts may be ratified or adopted by the Board and the University at its sole discretion.

b. The University Senate  

The University Senate formulates the academic policies and regulations and sets the general and minimum standards in accordance with which instruction is conducted throughout the University.   Standing Committees include:  Athletics; Computer Resources; Equity; Faculty Benefits; Faculty Development; Faculty Grievances; Faculty Hearing; Faculty Relations; Finance; General Education; Graduate Studies; International Programs and Students; Library; Physical Plant and Services; Research; Student Relations; Undergraduate Admissions, Scholarships, and Financial Aid; Undergraduate Studies; and University Honors Program Advisory Board.

 

An Executive Committee serves to organize the work of the Senate, assigns matters to committees, and prepares and presents the Senate agenda.  From time to time, special committees are created either by the Senate or by its Executive Committee.  Senate enactments are subject to review and approval or disapproval by the provost, the president, and the Board of Trustees.

 

c. Educational Policy Committees and Teaching Unit University Library Councils

 

The educational policy committees and teaching unit councils of the various colleges, schools, and departments and University Library develop the courses and curricula or policies which in their judgment will enable them best to perform their missions, limited only by the fact that they must act in conformity with policies and regulations established by the University Senate.  Whether a teaching unit or the library functions through a full council, a representative educational policy committee or both is a function of its size and style.  In either case, the body will consist of both students and full-time faculty.  The chair of a council will be the appropriate chair or dean;  The chair of the University Library Faculty Council will be an elected library faculty member; an educational policy committee may be chaired by a faculty member.  The work of either will be subject to review by the appropriate chair or dean.  By Senate regulation, teaching unit councils must keep minutes of their meetings.  

 

7.  Structure for Handling Faculty Appointments, Reappointments, Promotion, Tenure, and  Grievances

 

Formal authority for making faculty personnel decisions rests with the provost or his/her designee, on advice of the appropriate faculty, after consultation with the dean, department chair, university librarian, or division director, and is subject to the approval of the president and the Board of Trustees.  The process of appointment, granting tenure, promotion, termination, and grievance, however, involves an array of offices and committees.

 

Conflicts of interest involving the evaluation of individual faculty members for appointment, tenure, or promotion should always be avoided.  The provost, deans, university librarian, members of the Committee on Faculty Relations, department chairs, division directors and all who serve in departmental library rank and tenure committees are expected to acknowledge such conflicts openly and to abstain from participation whenever such conflicts arise. 

 

In the interest of fairness, the effective principle is that no person shall have more than a single voice or vote in the evaluation of a faculty member.

 

a.  Teaching Unit or Library Rank and Tenure Committees

 

Each teaching unit or library faculty council must establish a rank and tenure committee composed of faculty and student members.  This committee must be consulted for its recommendation on all faculty personnel actions, and it must keep minutes of its meetings.  Rank and tenure committees frequently serve as recruiting committees for the teaching unit, and as legislative committees to recommend policies to the teaching unit council University Library Faculty Council respecting faculty appointments and recognition of merit.

 

b.  Department Chairs or Division Directors Library Administrative Heads

 

Recommendation of the teaching unit chair or division director library administrative head will be forwarded either to the rank and tenure committee or the dean university librarian, depending on the established order of evaluation in the school or college library.

 

c.  Deans and the University Librarian

 

Deans receive The university librarian receives recommendations from both the rank and tenure committee and the teaching unit chair or division director (where applicable) administrative head and may endorse or dissent from them before forwarding his/her recommendation to the Committee on Faculty Relations for its recommendation, and then to the dean of academic affairs for action.

 

            d.  The Committee on Faculty Relations

 

The Committee on Faculty Relations is an elected body of the University faculty.  Its function is to represent the interests of and be concerned with the individual and collective welfare of the faculty.  This committee, elected by the faculty at large for staggered three‑year terms, is composed of seven tenured faculty members.  The members may not be deans, the university librarian, department chairs, or division directors or persons whose principal duties are administrative in nature.  The committee shall elect its own chair and vice‑chair from among its membership.  It is charged with the following responsibilities:

 

•                  to make recommendations to the University Senate relating to criteria for appointment, reappointment, promotion, appointment with tenure, leave of absence, and separation of members of the faculty;

 

•                  to review in terms of the criteria in this Manual and of provisions for exceptions thereto, faculty personnel actions relating to (1) exceptional initial appointment at the rank of instructor or assistant professor; (2) reappointment in rank to the third, fifth and

 

•                  seventh years credited toward tenure and other reappointments outlined in Section 7 of the Faculty Manual; (3) appointment or promotion to the rank of associate professor, professor, university professor, or distinguished professor; (4) termination before the end of the contract period; (5) appointment with tenure; and (6) cases in connection with which the dean of academic affairs or the provost request the Committee's advice;

 

•                  if the Committee finds that it cannot concur with a proposed faculty personnel action, it may either recommend disapproval of the action and forward it to the dean of academic affairs, or request that the dean of academic affairs return the proposed faculty action for reconsideration or amplification through channels to the teaching unit concerned library;

 

•                  to make recommendations to the University Senate on matters pertaining to faculty interests in the areas of scholarship, research, conditions of work, and other aspects of faculty welfare.

 

e.  The Dean of Academic Affairs

 

The dean of academic affairs, under the direction of the provost, is authorized to act in all faculty personnel matters.  The dean of academic affairs must approve all full‑time faculty employment commitments in advance of the offer to the prospective faculty member.  The dean of academic affairs will give due respect to, but is not bound by, the recommendations of the Committee on Faculty Relations or other faculty committees, department chairs, the university librarian, or deans involved in the faculty action process.

 

f.  The Committee on Faculty Grievances

 

The Committee on Faculty Grievances is composed of seven tenured faculty members who are elected by the faculty‑at‑large.  Persons identified as resource persons by Article V, Section A under section 50.00.00 of the Academic Regulations, deans, teaching unit chairs or division directors, the university librarian, and Committee on Faculty Relations members are not eligible to serve on this committee.

 

The Committee represents the University Senate in matters referred to it by any faculty member, faculty committee, teaching unit library council, or administrative officer.  The Committee is the primary instrument in University governance for faculty review of the grievances of any faculty member.  It accepts the submission of a grievance on any subject relating to the faculty member's professional functioning at American University.  It reviews grievances presented to it and makes recommendations for settling them, in accordance with the procedures specified in Section 17 of this Manual.  The Committee's recommendations provide means for resolving differences affecting the interests and welfare of faculty members and the University.

 

g.  Faculty Hearing Committee

 

The University Faculty Hearing Committee shall be composed of fifteen tenured members of the teaching or library faculty elected by the University faculty‑at‑large.  Members of the Hearing Committee shall be elected for terms of three years. Individual panels are drawn from the elected members of the Committee to hear cases.  The Faculty Hearing Committee is charged with hearing cases involving termination of continuous tenure appointments, or probationary or special term appointments before the end of the specified term due to incompetence, misconduct, or other cases involving major disciplinary sanctions against a faculty member.  It is also used to hear cases of a formal complaint of sexual harassment or violation of research integrity.  It reviews cases presented to it and makes recommendations in accordance with the procedures specified in Section 19 of this Manual referred to it by the provost.