Number: 412

Subject: THE FACULTY COUNCIL

AUTHORITY

The Faculty Council shall serve as the representative body of the Faculty Association. The Faculty Council shall continuously review and make recommendations to the Administration on matters pertaining to standards of admission, enrollment, requirements for granting a degree, the curricula, educational research, educational standards and all such matters that pertain to academic affairs.

In order that the Faculty Council may exercise itself as a recommending body in academic matters, the Administration will discuss with the Council all academic matters prior to implementation.

All recommendations of the Council will be regularly shared with the Chief Academic Officer. Recommendations of the Faculty Council, as well as those of the CAO, that might change or influence university policies or regulations will be forwarded to the Chief Executive Officer for a final decision.

COUNCIL RESPONSIBILITIES

* The Faculty Council is responsible for promoting the highest ethical and professional standards attainable for the entire faculty.

* The Faculty Council will participate in the development and continuation of the academic programs of the University. The Faculty Council will serve as a recommending body to the Administration in such matters and will develop such task force groups, and/or committees, as needed in order to gather pertinent and reliable data for evaluations.

* The Faculty Council is responsible for providing leadership in the development, maintenance, and improvement of the curriculum of the University. The curriculum includes both individual course offerings for credit and degree programs. The responsibility for leadership includes providing objective evaluations of proposed changes and implies active participation in the development of new courses and programs and the revision of existing courses and programs.

* The Faculty Council is responsible for providing assistance, as identified by the Chief Academic Officer, in meeting the logistical and academic operational needs of the University. Examples of such service include, evaluating petitions for exceptions to academic regulations, serving on grievance and appeal panels, etc.

* The Faculty Council is responsible for participating in University standing committees, such as the Faculty Credentials Committee, the Experiential Learning Credit Committee, the Curriculum Committee, and the Student and Alumni Achievement Committee.

* The Faculty Council will continually review and make recommendations on matters related to academic standards, policies, and academically related budgets.

MEMBERSHIP

Faculty Council membership will consist of selected full-time members of the Faculty Association and other such faculty personnel as the Council may choose to authorize.

PRESIDING OFFICER

The Chief Academic Officer will preside over all meetings, but will serve without voting privileges.

The Faculty Council may elect such other officers as it finds necessary to handle Council business. The Council will determine the qualifications and duties of such officers and will establish procedures for appointing membership to such committees as deemed necessary.

All activities of the Faculty Council, e.g., meetings of the Council, committee meetings, task force meetings, etc., will be recorded and copies of such minutes will be distributed to the Chief Academic Officer and such other personnel as deemed advisable by the Council.

ADMINISTRATIVE EXCEPTION RULE

Should the administration overrule any academic recommendations of the Faculty Council, the Council may, by two-thirds vote, have a report stating their exception, and desire for a review, to the administrative decision included in the Chief Executive Officer’s next report to the Board of Trustees.