COP 03-0403: Standing Committee Process

Purpose Statement

To operationalize shared governance through academic standing committees.

Guidelines

Florida SouthWestern State College Administration and Faculty Senate support the concept of shared governance. The faculty are responsible for the teaching, research, and scholarly activities of the College. The faculty share in the governance of the College through the Faculty Senate by recommending policies and procedures related to academic matters, thus creating a culture of collegiality with the Administration to further the educational mission of the College. Faculty Senate, through standing committees, discusses and makes recommendations to the Administration in all academic areas, including, but not limited to the following:

• Curriculum
• Degree and certificate requirements
• Grading policies
• Educational program development
• Standards or policies regarding student preparation or success
• Faculty role in College governance structures
• Faculty role in accreditation processes
• Policies regarding faculty professional development activities
• Processes for program review
• Academic technology and online learning

The College will maintain the following standing committees consisting of faculty and representatives from the administration, and staff as appropriate to review and/or prepare recommendations for the VPAA:

• Academic Standards Committee
• Academic Technology Committee
• Curriculum Committee
• General Education Advisory Council
• Learning Assessment Committee
• Professional Development Committee
• Continuing Contract Review Committee

Procedures

Creation of Academic Committees

Creation of all college-wide academic committees shall be done in consultation with Faculty Senate. Faculty membership and structure of these committees shall be established by Faculty Senate.

Committee Structure

Committee Chairs: Serving as a standing committee chair requires a commitment to the committee, and the college. Chairs are elected from the ranks of the committee. Chairs will serve for two years and may be elected for concurrent terms. Chairs will be expected to remain on the committee for a minimum of one year after the end of their term.

Chair Elections: Elections for committee chairs are conducted independently by the Senate. An election officer will be appointed by the Senate Executive Committee to conduct the standing committee elections. By the 1st week in March, the current chair will provide the election officer with a list of members. The election officer will call for nominations from the committee, prepare the electronic ballots, and conduct the elections. The newly elected chair will be confirmed by the Senate during the April meeting.

Committee Chair Job Description: The Chair is elected to serve the college and faculty. The Chair must be able to coordinate the activities of the committee, report to the senate, and accomplish the goals of the committee. The Chair shall keep accurate minutes and distribute those minutes to the Senate President and the VPAA.

Committee Meeting: The Chair shall compile and distribute the agenda prior to the meeting. The Chair will preside at all of the meeting unless otherwise prior arrangement were made. Conduct the meetings following Robert's Rules of Order.

All committees report directly to the Faculty Senate. The Chair will be expected to present an update to the Faculty Senate during their monthly meetings. Minutes are submitted to the Faculty Senate President, and VPAA monthly to be posted on the FSW website. The Faculty Senate will make recommendations to the VPAA relating to academic issues and policies arising from the standing committees.

Faculty will serve a minimum of three (3) years on a standing committee. Members may be reappointed to serve a three (3) year term.

The committee will have no more than three (3) non-faculty members selected by the VPAA to serve a three (3) year term renewable at the discretion of the VPAA.

The Faculty Senate will send an all call to recruit membership for the standing committees. Faculty wishing to serve on a committee will do so after approval of the senate executive committee. The Senate Executive committee will take into account the optimal size for each committee as this relates to the charge of the committee. The Faculty Senate Executive Committee may vote to remove a Chair in the event the chair does not respond to requests from the faculty senate president, executive committee, and is unresponsive to the concerns of faculty.

After confirmation of acceptance of the committee appointments, Standing Committee rosters are updated and posted on the Document Manager prior to the beginning of the next academic year.