Proposed revisions to UW-L Faculty Organization and Policies, Articles of Organization and Faculty Senate Bylaws, February 14, 2006.

 

FACULTY ORGANIZATION AND POLICIES

Several basic documents contain materials describing faculty and academic staff matters. In addition to this handbook, which contains the Articles of Faculty Organization, and the Faculty Senate bBylaws, and the Faculty Senate Policies, these documents are the Wisconsin Statutes (particularly Chapter 36--the "Merger Law"), the Wisconsin Administrative Code for the University of Wisconsin System, the University of Wisconsin - La Crosse Faculty Personnel Rules, and the University of Wisconsin - La Crosse--Policies and Procedures for Academic Staff.

Chapter 36 of the Wisconsin Statutes creates the University of Wisconsin System and details the responsibilities of the UW-System board of regents, the president, the chancellors, the faculty, and the students. It also governs faculty tenure and probationary appointments, as well as academic staff appointments.

The Wisconsin Administrative Code for the University of Wisconsin System governs faculty appointments; procedures for dismissal, layoff and termination of faculty for reasons of financial emergency; complaints and grievances; outside activities by faculty; faculty/academic staff ethics; academic staff appointments and dismissal for cause; layoff of academic staff for budget or program reasons; outside activities by academic staff, limited and other appointments; student disciplinary procedures; conduct on university lands; and sick leave.

The University of Wisconsin - La Crosse Faculty Personnel Rules provide, where necessary, local amplification of the provisions in the administrative code dealing with faculty. The University of Wisconsin - La Crosse Policies and Procedures for Academic Staff also provide, where necessary, local amplification of the provisions in the administrative code dealing with academic staff.

 

ARTICLES OF FACULTY ORGANIZATION  (Adopted 3-16-66, with later revisions)

I. All persons with the rank of professor, associate professor, assistant professor, or instructor Ranked Faculty, , and those who are unranked faculty members as of January 1, 1975,Instructional Academic Staff and Academic Librarians shall constitute the  faculty.  Hereafter in these Articles of Faculty Organization, Faculty Senate Bylaws, and Faculty Senate Policies reference to “faculty” or “faculty member” is understood to include Ranked Faculty, Instructional Academic Staff and Academic Librarians unless otherwise stated.

A.    Ranked Faculty

All persons with the rank of professor, associate professor, assistant professor, or instructor shall constitute the Ranked Faculty.

B.    Instructional Academic Staff and Academic Librarians

1.      All Instructional Academic Staff and Academic Librarians shall be represented by the Faculty Senate for university governance purposes.

2.      Academic staff whose assignment prior to March 10, 2005 included classification as both Instructional Academic Staff and Academic Staff shall make a one-time choice between the Faculty Senate or the Academic Staff Council to represent them for governance purposes.

3.      Academic staff with a new contract that includes classification as both Instructional Academic Staff and Academic Staff shall, at the time of their appointment, make a one-time choice between the Faculty Senate or the Academic Staff Council to represent them for governance purposes

II. The chancellor of the uUniversity shall be ex officio the presiding officer of the faculty. The provost/vice chancellor shall preside in his/her absence.

The secretary of the Faculty Senate shall keep minutes of all general faculty meetings and shall make copies of the proceedings available to the faculty.

III. Within the institution, the faculty directly, or indirectly through the senate, shall have full and final responsibility for determination of curriculum, other requirements for graduation, and the system of grading. It shall also have direct concern with the formulation and implementation of university policy relating to physical facilities, support of research, educational budget, institutional organization, all aspects of student life, and personnel matters relating to academic freedom, teaching loads, salaries, appointments, reappointments, tenure, promotions, leaves and dismissals.

IV. The representative body of the faculty shall be the Faculty Senate. It shall be free to investigate, to study, to debate, and to deliberate on all matters of general faculty concern and may exercise review authority in these matters if it deems such exercise is in the best interests of the uUniversity. The following provisions govern the senate:

A.    Specific Powers and Duties
 

Specifically, the senate directly, or through committees, is empowered to:

1. Determine all curricula of the institution, graduate and undergraduate.

2. Determine academic standards and requirements for graduation.

3. Advise the chancellor on the appointment of administrative officials.

4. Participate in determining policies with respect to the annual budget.

5. Participate in planning the physical facilities of the campus.

6. Participate in formulating regulations pertaining to student activities.

7. Participate in the award of promotions and salary adjustments.

8. Participate in investigating cases and determining policies with respect to academic freedom, tenure, appointments, reappointments, leaves, dismissals and teaching loads.

9. Prepare the agenda for meetings of the general faculty and distribute copies of the agenda to faculty members one week prior to such faculty meetings.

10. Establish and terminate all faculty committees and determine their membership and functions.

11. Receive and disseminate minutes and reports of all committees.

12. Conduct nominations and elections of members of the senate.

13. Hear any faculty member on matters of concern to the member or the general faculty.

14. Hear the authorized agent of the organ of student government on matters of concern to the student body.

15. Inform the general faculty, the administration, and the student body of all senate actions affecting the areas of their respective concerns.

16. Provide for the election and instruction of representatives to extramural councils or committees which seek to communicate or consult directly with uUniversity faculty governance.
 

B. Membership
 

1. The Faculty Senate shall consist of 24 members: fiveour elected from the College of Liberal Studies (the college has the option of further designating specific representation within the college), fourthree elected from the College of Science & Allied Health, one elected from the College of Business Administration, two elected from the College of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Teacher Education, and 14 elected At-Large.

2. The chancellor of the uUniversity and/or consultants designated by the chancellor shall be seated with the senators and shall have similar privileges of discussion but shall have no vote.

3. All members of the faculty, and those members of the academic staff with faculty status (see Bylaw IX),  shall be eligible to nominate, vote for, and serve as members of the senate except for those with a full-time administrative assignment at the level of associate dean or higher.

4. At no time shall the senate include more than three senators from a single department; a maximum of two of these may be elected at large, and a maximum of one may be elected from the college.

5. The nomination shall be held early in the spring semester. The senators shall serve for a term of three years, June 1 to June 1. The terms shall be arranged so that one third of the positions are filled by election each year.

6.

a. A vacancy which occurs because a senator cannot complete his/her term shall be filled by the eligible faculty member who among the unsuccessful candidates of that category received the greatest number of votes at the most recent election. A senator so chosen shall complete the unexpired term.

b. A temporary vacancy shall be deemed to occur when a senator is on leave extending over a semester or more but intends to return before the expiration of his/her senate term. This temporary vacancy shall be filled by the eligible faculty member who among the unsuccessful candidates of that category received the greatest number of votes at the most recent election. The temporary replacement shall relinquish the seat on the senate when the permanent member returns to campus. A replacement whose term is for one year or less shall be immediately eligible for election to the senate.

c. In the event that a candidate to fill a vacancy cannot be determined because of a tie vote, the senate shall act to break the tie.

d. In the event that a candidate for a vacancy cannot be determined by the above procedures, the senate shall nominate and elect a representative from the appropriate category to complete the unexpired term.
 

7. Senators elected for terms longer than one year may not succeed themselves; one year must elapse before subsequent election.

 

C. Nomination and Election
 

1. Nominations and elections shall be conducted by the sSenate Eelections cCommittee appointed by and under the direction of the senate.

2. Nomination procedures:
 

a. Nominations shall be by petition.

b. The sSenate Eelections cCommittee shall publish in the university newsletter the standard form for nomination petitions, including the names of the departments from which faculty members are ineligible to serve on the senate, the date nomination petitions are due, and other informational statements.

c. The nomination petition shall include the following statement:

If elected to the Faculty Senate of the University of Wisconsin - La Crosse I will faithfully serve in that capacity. I affirm that if I miss three meetings in one year (barring medical reasons or professional obligations) I will have vacated the position.

Signature of Candidate

d. In order for this petition to be valid, it must be signed by at least 20 faculty members.

e. Petitions shall be available at the beginning of the third full week of instruction of the second semester, and, in order to be valid, must be returned to a member of the sSenate eElections cCommittee by the end of the fourth week and must contain the required number of signatures.

f. A faculty member shall be a nominee for only one position in only one category.
 

3. Election Procedures:
 

a. The basic list of faculty members shall be the one maintained by the provost/vice chancellor.

b. The sSenate eElections cCommittee shall prepare ballots and distribute the ballots by campus mail to the eligible faculty voters by the beginning of the eighth week of the second semester. The faculty members shall vote for no more than the specified number of nominees and return the ballots to the chairperson of the sSenate eElections cCommittee by the beginning of the tenth week.

c. The sSenate eElections cCommittee shall count the ballots and declare those nominees with the largest number of votes elected. In case of a tie new ballots listing the tied nominees shall be sent to the eligible voters to break the tie.

d. Election results shall be announced in the university newsletter as soon as they are available.
 

4.  Department Affiliation:

a. A tenured faculty member shall be considered a member of the department in which he/she is tenured.  A tenured faculty member who is tenured in more than one department shall choose the department with which he/she will be affiliated for the purposes of election.  Department affiliation choice shall be recorded with the Senate Election Committee.  Department affiliation may be changed at any time except the period between the dates that nomination petitions are due and the results of the election are published.  A tenured faculty member who is not a member of a department shall be considered a member of the College of Liberal Studies.

ba. A probationary faculty membermember of the faculty shall be considered a member of the department to which he/she is appointed.  A probationary faculty membermember of the faculty who holds appointments in more than one department shall choose the department with which he/she will be affiliated for the purposes of election.  Department affiliation choice shall be recorded with the Senate Election Committee.  Department affiliation may be changed at any time except the period between the dates that nomination petitions are due and the results of the election are published.  A probationary faculty membermember of the faculty who is not appointed to a department shall be considered a member of the College of Liberal Studies.

c. A member of the academic staff with faculty status shall be considered a member of the department to which he/she is appointed.  A member of the academic staff with faculty status who holds appointments in more than one department shall choose the department with which he/she will be affiliated for the purposes of election.  Department affiliation choice shall be recorded with the Senate Election Committee.  Department affiliation may be changed at any time except the period between the dates that nomination petitions are due and the results of the election are published.  A member of the academic staff with faculty status who is not appointed to a department but is appointed to a college shall be considered a member of that college.  A member of the academic staff with faculty status who is not appointed to a department or college shall be considered a member of the College of Liberal Studies.

bd. A member of the Library Department shall be considered a member of the College of Liberal Studies.
 

D. Officers and Senate Organization
 

1. The officers of the senate shall consist of a chairperson, a vice chairperson, and a secretary, all to be chosen from the elected members of the senate.

2. The three elected officers of the senate along with the immediate past chairperson, if his or her term in the senate has not expired, and one member selected annually by the senate from its membership shall constitute the Senate eExecutive cCommittee of the senate.

Thus, there shall be four or five members depending on the status of the most recent past chairperson of the senate. The chairperson of the senate shall be the chairperson of the Senate eExecutive cCommittee.

3. The officers of the senate shall be elected at an organizational meeting of the new senate before June 1, and shall hold office for one calendar year beginning June 1. The organizational meeting shall be called by the chairperson of the retiring senate. A majority of all votes cast shall be necessary for election.

4. A parliamentarian shall be appointed by the chairperson of the senate to serve as the chair's consultant on all questions of procedure. The parliamentarian need not be a member of the senate.

5. A vacancy in the office of senate chairperson shall be filled by the vice chairperson.

Vacancies in other offices of the senate shall be filled by special election. All senators shall be eligible for the vacancy, whether holding an office or not. An officer elected to the vacancy and accepting it will leave another vacancy to be filled by the same procedure.

6. The duties of the officers shall be (a) those usual to the offices or (b) those designated especially by the senate.

7. The senate shall form its own bylaws and policies.
 

E. Meetings of the Senate
 

1. The senate shall have regularly scheduled meetings during the academic year and shall be subject to call at other times.

2. Special meetings may be called by the chairperson on his/her own initiative, or at the request of the Senate eExecutive cCommittee or of the chancellor of the uUniversity, or at the written request of at least six members of the senate.

3. Two thirds of the membership of the senate shall constitute a quorum. (This is an intended deviation from Robert's Rules of Order.)

4. The agenda shall be prepared by the Senate eExecutive cCommittee of the senate and submitted to the faculty three days prior to each senate meeting. Any issues or recommendations shall be placed on the agenda when proposed by:
 

a. Senate eExecutive cCommittee action.

b. The chancellor of the uUniversity.

c. Faculty committees.

d. One third vote of the senators present and voting at a meeting. (Motion to place on agenda is not debatable.)

e. A petition signed by no fewer than 10 faculty members.
 

5. The senate while in session may change the order of the agenda by a majority vote.

6. Robert's Rules of Order, Newly Revised shall determine procedure, unless those rules conflict with this constitution or with bylaws adopted by the senate.

7. Minutes of the senate meeting shall be distributed to all faculty members.

8. Part of the order of business of each senate meeting shall be a report from the chairperson on the disposition of all previous recent senate decisions.

9. All senate sessions shall be open to all faculty members except for good and sufficient reason which shall be made known to the faculty. Any member of the faculty may address the senate after securing recognition from the chair.
 

F. Senate Committees
 

1. The committees of the senate shall include a Senaten eExecutive cCommittee, a Senaten eElection cCommittee, a cCommittee on fFaculty cCommittees, an Articles and Bylaws Committee, and such other committees as are necessary.

2. The Senate eExecutive cCommittee shall follow up senate recommendations and act as a liaison with the administration of the uUniversity.

3. The Senate eExecutive cCommittee shall have the power to act in behalf of the senate when the situation requires immediate action. Such actions and recommendations of the Senate eExecutive cCommittee shall in all cases be subject to review by the Ssenate, which shall be notified of all such actions and recommendations through the minutes of the meetings of the Senate eExecutive cCommittee.

4. A Senate n eElection cCommittee shall be appointed by the Senate eExecutive cCommittee and approved by the senate from among the senators to conduct or supervise all elections required by this constitution.

5. A cCommittee on fFaculty cCommittees shall be appointed by the Senate eExecutive cCommittee and approved by the senate from among the senators to determine the members of all faculty standing committees. Where committee chairpersons are to be elected, it shall appoint conveners.

6. An Articles and Bylaws Committee shall be appointed by the Senate Executive Committee and approved by the senate to conduct an annual review of the Faculty Senate Bylaws and Policies, periodic review of the Articles of Organization, and to provide appropriate phrasing for article, bylaw and policy changes proposed to the Faculty Senate from other sources. Membership of the committee shall consist of five members of the faculty, one of whom shall be the at-large member of the Senate Executive Committee.

76. Other committees of the senate may be authorized by senate action. Their titles, their duties, and the mode of determining their membership shall be prescribed by the senate.

87. All senate committees shall be responsible to the senate and shall report all of their actions and recommendations directly to the senate.
 

G. Faculty Referenda
 

1. Actions of the senate shall be final unless they are overruled or amended by a majority vote of the faculty eligible to vote in a senate election. Such action by the faculty may be taken by an official referendum conducted according to the following conditions:
 

a. A referendum to rescind or amend senate action shall be held if it is 1) requested by the chancellor of the university, 2) petitioned by one third of the members of the senate, or 3) petitioned by 20% of the faculty.

b. A request or petition for a referendum shall be submitted to senate chair within 25 days the publication of the minutes recording the action to be contested. The referendum shall be conducted by the sSenate eElections cCommittee who shall poll the faculty within 15 days of the receipt of the petition.

c. The petition to amend or rescind senate action must clearly state the action to be reviewed as it is recorded in the senate minutes, and if it seeks to amend a senate action, it must provide the wording of the proposed amendment.

d. Referendum ballots used to rescind an action of the senate shall not include language prejudicial to voting but shall include 1) the date of the senate action, 2) the record of the senate vote on the action, 3) the exact wording from the senate minutes describing the action to be reviewed, and 4) the following statements of choice:
 

"I vote to sustain this action of the senate
I vote to rescind this action of the senate"

e. Referendum ballots used to amend an action of the senate shall not include language prejudicial to voting but shall include 1) the date of the senate action, 2) the record of the senate vote on the action, 3) a restatement of the action as recorded in the minutes along with the amending language, and 4) the following statements of choice:
 

"I vote for this amendment
I vote against this amendment"

f. Voting on a referendum to amend or rescind a senate action shall be on ballots that are certifiable as official but do not require the signatures of the voters. The results of the referendum shall be published promptly and be binding upon the senate.

2. An advisory referendum on an issue of concern to the faculty shall be conducted by the sSenate eElections cCommittee if it is 1) requested by the chancellor, 2) petitioned by one third of the members of the senate, or, 3) petitioned by 20% of the faculty, and conducted under the following conditions:
 

a. The petition and the ballot for the referendum must clearly designate the referendum as advisory and indicate the person, body or authority to be advised. The request or petition must state the referendum issue in the form that it will appear on the referendum ballot. The senate shall certify the ballots and publish the results.

H. Faculty Standing Committees
 

1. All faculty standing committees shall be responsible to the chancellor of the uUniversity through the Faculty Senate and their recommendations shall be subject to review by the senate.

2. Among the bylaws of the Faculty Senate shall be those governing the composition, organization and responsibility of faculty standing committees.

3. When an ad hoc uUniversity committee is formed outside the sSenate, for whatever reason, faculty representation on such a committee shall be named or approved by the Senate Executive Committee, or the Ssenate as a whole.

V. Amendments to these articles may be adopted at any meeting of the general university faculty by a majority vote of those present provided that any proposed amendment has been approved at a fFaculty sSenate meeting, has been distributed to the faculty at least one week prior to the general faculty meeting and has been subsequently approved by the chancellor of the uUniversity.

VI.   Amendments to the bylaws and policies may be adopted at any regular senate meeting by a two-thirds vote provided than any proposed amendment has been read at the preceding regular meeting.

VII. Robert's Rules of Order, Newly Revised shall govern all meetings of the general university faculty.

VIII. Meetings of the general university faculty may be called by the chancellor and/or the senate.
 

FACULTY SENATE BY-LAWS  (Revised 20065)

II.  Senate Committees: The senate committees of the senate include a Senaten eExecutive cCommittee, an Senate eElection cCommittee, and a cCommittee on fFaculty cCommittees and an Articles and Bylaws Committee.  

A. The Senate Executive Committee:
 

1. Membership (Article IV.D.2.)

2. Duties and Powers (Articles IV.E.2,4; IV.F.2,3,4,5)
 

B. The Senate Election Committee:
 

1. Membership (Article IV.F.4.)
 

a. Each newly appointed election committee shall take office early in the fall semester.

2. Duties and Powers (Articles IV.A.12; IV.C; IV.D.5; IV.F.4,87; IV.G.1.c; IX.E.)

3. Auditing Faculty Eligibility List

The Senate Election Committee shall be responsible for completing an audit of the list of Instructional Academic Staff and Academic Librarian members by February 15 each year. The purpose of the audit is to revise the list of those who qualify as members of the faculty. The list shall be submitted to the Senate Executive Committee for their approval. An appeal of an assignment to or change from faculty status shall be resolved by the Senate Executive Committee

43. Additional Election Procedures:
 

a. Election of senators:
 

i. In election, ties shall be resolved by additional ballots allowing voters to choose between the tied candidates.

ii. In any nomination or election no more than one vote per candidate shall be counted from any one ballot.

iii. The numerical results of election shall be kept on file in the Faculty Senate office.
 

b. Election of senate officers:
 

i. Nominations: at least 10 days prior to the meeting for election of officers the senators for the coming year shall be notified that they may submit to the Senate eElection cCommittee chairperson on a form provided for the purpose their nominations for each office. The nomination forms need not be signed. A senator may nominate for each office one and only one of the 24 senators. The forms may be submitted up to the time of the meeting. The Senate eElection cCommittee chairperson shall announce to the senate the names of the nominees for an office. Other nominations for that office may be made from the floor; no second shall be necessary.

ii. Election of each officer shall occur on a separate ballot, the chairperson being elected first, the vice chairperson, secretary and the additional elected member of the Senate eExecutive cCommittee being elected separately in that order. The ballots shall be signed.

iii. A majority vote is required to elect. If a majority vote does not occur on the first ballot the two nominees with the most votes shall be the nominees for a second ballot (or more if necessary) unless ties increase the number beyond two nominees.

iv. The chairperson of the senate shall chair the meeting.

v. The numerical results shall not be published.
 

C. The Committee on Faculty Committees:
 

1. Membership: This committee, which shall be appointed by the Senate Executive Committee and approved by the senate, shall consist of five senators, including a chairperson. The newly appointed committee shall replace the outgoing committee beginning August 1, and ending July 31.

2. Duties: The committee shall determine the members of faculty committees, and, where the chairpersons are to be elected, the committee shall appoint conveners.

3. Procedures:
 

a. The committee shall solicit in writing from the faculty its preferences for committee assignments.

b. The committee shall determine in a closed session the list of appointments of regular members and the list of alternates according to rank and/or college representation wherever necessary. The committee shall submit the list to the Senate eExecutive cCommittee for review and recommendations. The list of appointments shall then be released to the senate (Article IV.F.78.), and shortly thereafter to the faculty as a whole.

c. The committee shall maintain consecutive service on committees by giving priority to former members who have completed one or more years of satisfactory service, and by appointing one-third new members, so far as possible.

d. The committee shall maintain membership on faculty committees with new appointments whenever necessary.

D. The Articles and Bylaws Committee:
1. Membership of the committee shall consist of five members of the faculty, one of whom shall be the at-large member of the Senate Executive Committee. The committee shall elect its chair.

 

2. Duties and responsibilities of the committee shall include:

a. Conducting an annual review of the Faculty Senate Bylaws and Policies, and forwarding recommended changes to the Faculty Senate.

b. Conducting periodic reviews of the Articles of Organization and forwarding recommended changes to the chairperson of the Faculty Senate.

c. Providing appropriate phrasing for article, bylaw and policy changes proposed to the Faculty Senate from other sources.

 

II. Faculty Standing Committees: The following faculty standing committees shall perform in accordance with the powers and duties assigned to the senate in the Articles of Faculty Organization adopted March 16, 1966, and later revised. The committee decisions are subject to senate review. The following principles shall govern these faculty committees:

(a) Reference to "faculty members" of faculty standing committees is understood to include those members of the Ranked Faculty, Instructional aAcademic sStaff and Academic Librarians who have been accorded faculty status (see Bylaw IX) and participate in university governance through representation on the Faculty Senate (see Articles of Faculty Organization I.A.1). Non instructional academic staff who are represented in university governance by the Academic Staff Council and who serve on designated faculty standing committees shall be appointed according to the bylaws of the Academic Staff Council;

(b) Instructional Academic Staff and Academic Librarians are excluded from membership on the Promotion, Tenure and Salary Committee.

(bc) Faculty members of the Library Department shall be considered as members of the College of Liberal Studies for committee assignment purposes;

(cd) Graduate student members for the Graduate Committee shall be selected by the graduate student body;

(ed) Other student members of faculty committees shall be elected to the committees by a method to be determined by the Sstudent sSenate;

(fe) Administrative responsibility shall refer to chancellor, provost/vice chancellor, directors, deans, associate deans and assistant deans;

(gf) Administrative consultants shall be non-voting members of committees;

(hg) Administrative consultants may serve as committee officers;

(ih) Members of a faculty standing committee who miss three meetings (barring medical or professional reasons) shall have vacated membership on the committee;

(ji) If no member of an academic unit applies to serve on a committee that has a seat designated for that academic unit, then the Committee on Faculty Committees may fill that seat with an applicant from another academic unit;

(kj) Alternates shall not have a vote in any committee actions;

(lk) Alternates replacing a regular member of a committee on a permanent basis shall acquire the right to vote;

(ml) Alternates shall become committee members in sequence according to rank order and/or requirements for representation from various colleges;

(nm) Members of faculty committees shall be appointed to a term of one year by the Committee on Faculty Committees unless otherwise specified;

(on) No faculty member shall be appointed to a standing committee for more than three years in succession unless a fourth year appointment is necessary to assure a minimum of one carry-over committee member for the succeeding year or otherwise stated in these bylaws;

(po) Appointments of members to committees and their terms on the Faculty Senate shall end with their retirement from or termination of university employment;

(qp) One third of the members of a committee shall be replaced each year, so far as possible;

(rq) New faculty committee members shall replace the former ones as of August 15;

(sr) Each faculty committee shall hold an organizational meeting and report the name of the chairperson to the senate office by October 1. (Joint chairpersons are not permitted.)
 

A. The Academic Planning Committee

 
Duties and responsibilities of the committee shall include:


1. Maintaining and updating the procedures and criteria used to review proposals for new or revised academic programs. Any changes in procedures or criteria are subject to the approval of the Faculty Senate. The procedures shall provide opportunity for input from those areas of the uUniversity that would be affected by the proposed program. The criteria shall take into consideration the needs of students and society, the mission of the university, the necessity for quality academic programs, and the availability of the necessary resources.

2. Receiving and reviewing proposals for all new academic programs, including emphases, concentrations, minors, majors, graduate, and special programs.  Receiving and reviewing proposals for new or revised courses or for program revisions that have resource needs that cannot be met by the proposing department and college, or have implications for long-range academic planning.
 

a. The review shall include consulting with the Chancellor, the Provost/Vice Chancellor and the academic dean of the proposing college regarding the availability of resources within the college to fund the proposal.

b. If it is determined that adequate resources are not available within the college, APC shall request that the Provost/Vice Chancellor forward to APC a report detailing available resources in the other academic colleges and in the non-academic units of the university.  The Provost/Vice Chancellor shall include recommendations on what available resources might be most appropriately used to fund the proposal.

c. The committee shall forward its recommendations to the Faculty Senate.
 

3. Formulating long range academic plans and reviewing externally generated academic planning initiatives for recommendation to the Faculty Senate.

4. Receiving and reviewing proposals to eliminate or suspend academic programs and forwarding its recommendations to the Faculty Senate.

The regular membership of the committee shall consist of nine full time faculty at the rank of Assistant Professor, Associate Professor or Professor, having no designated administrative responsibilities, each with a minimum of four years experience at UW-L or tenured status. This membership shall include at least three representatives from each of the College of Liberal Studies and two representatives from each of the following academic units:  the College of Science and Allied Health, and two representatives from the College of Business Administration, and the College of Education, Exercise Science, Health and Recreation.  Terms of membership shall be three years and be staggered so that three members complete their terms and are replaced each year. The committee shall elect its chairperson. If the committee is meeting as described in 4. above, then the membership of the committee shall be temporarily expanded (if necessary) in order to provide a representative from the program proposed for elimination.  Any temporary member shall have no designated administrative responsibilities and shall be selected through procedures established by the committee.
 

B. The Academic Policies and Standards Committee

Duties and responsibilities of the committee shall include:

1. Formulating and reviewing local policies and standards concerning admissions, advising, retention, advanced standing, probation, dismissal, readmission, the grading system, and graduation honors for undergraduate students.

2. Ensuring equitable application of standards by the undergraduate schools and colleges.

3. Supervising the administration of these standards and formulating procedures for hearing student appeals and petitions on academic matters not resolved by administrative offices of the university.

Membership of the committee shall consist of nine faculty members and three students. The faculty membership shall include at least three two representatives from each of the College of Liberal Studies and one representative from each of the following academic units:  the College of Science and Allied Health, and at least one representative from the College of Business Administration, and the College of Education, Exercise Science, Health and Recreation.  The director of admissions and the registrar shall serve as an administrative consultant for the committee. The chancellor shall select an additional administrative consultant for the committee. The committee shall elect its chairperson.
 
 

C. The Academic Program Review Committee

 Duties and responsibilities of the committee shall include:

1. Maintaining and updating the procedures and criteria used to review existing academic programs at UW-L.

2. Scheduling and conducting, in consultation with the provost/vice chancellor, the audit and review of academic programs.

3. Reviewing the Faculty Workload Policy and monitoring its application.

Membership of the committee shall consist of nine faculty members and three students. The faculty membership shall include at least three two representatives from each of the College of Liberal Studies and one representative from each of the following academic units:  the College of Science and Allied Health, and at least one representative from the College of Business Administration, and the College of Education, Exercise Science, Health and Recreation.  The provost/vice chancellor and the academic deans shall serve as administrative consultants to the committee. The committee shall elect its chairperson.
 
 

D. The Articles and Bylaws Committee
 

Duties and responsibilities of the committee shall include:

1. Conducting an annual review of the faculty senate bylaws and forwarding recommended changes to the faculty senate.

2. Conducting periodic reviews of the Articles of Organization and forwarding recommended changes to the chairperson of the faculty senate.

3. Providing appropriate phrasing for bylaw changes proposed to the faculty senate from other sources.

Membership of the committee shall consist of five faculty members, one of whom shall be the at-large member of the senate executive committee. The committee shall elect its chairperson.
 

 

EDThe Budget Review Committee

Duties and responsibilities of the committee shall include:

1.  Study and report to the sSenate on university budget decisions that affect instruction and research.

2.  Review annual budgets and report to the sSenate on trends in support for instruction.

Membership of the committee will consist of the seven representatives constituting the faculty membership of the Joint Planning and Budget Committee.  The committee will respond to direct charges from the Faculty Senate but will also be free to determine its own scope of study and review.  The committee will aim for maximum coordination with the uUniversity Joint Planning & Budget Committee.  The Vice-Chair of the Faculty Senate shall serve as convener and Tthe committee shall elect its chairperson.
 

FE.  The Complaints, Grievances, Appeals and Academic Freedom Committee.

Duties and responsibilities of the committee shall include:

1. Hearing and acting upon complaints in accordance with UWS 6.01, UWL 6.01, UWS 13.01 and Section III of the Faculty Senate Bylaws. Complaints are allegations against a member of the faculty or instructional academic staff which allege conduct violating university rules or policies, or conduct adversely affecting the performance of the member's obligation to the university. Complaints unrelated to the academic function of the university, or for which separate procedures exist such as for charges of sexual or racial harassment, or complaints alleging illegal activities subject to civil penalties, shall not be considered by this committee unless requested by the chancellor. Complaints brought before the committee by action of the chancellor require that the chancellor or the chancellor's representative assume responsibility for prosecuting the charges.

2. Hearing and acting upon grievances in accordance with UWS 6.02, UWL 6.02, UWS 13.02 and Section III of the Faculty Senate Bylaws. Grievances concern personnel problems adversely affecting a member of the university community and involving a petition for redress either by or against a member of the faculty or instructional academic staff. Grievances claim personal harm from the action of another employee involving such matters as terms of appointment, promotion, retention, salary, work assignments, or other conditions of employment. The university employee initiating the grievance bears the burden of proof as the grievant and may, at his or her option, specify what would be considered remedial action.

3. Hearing appeals that request a review of a procedure, decision, or action of university administration, of an academic department, of any support unit, or any body of university governance other than the Faculty Senate or its committees that impacts on one or more members of the faculty or instructional academic staff, except when appeals concern dismissal, non renewal or lay-off decisions (see Hearing Committee). Appeals for review of an action of a senate committee shall be directed to the sSenate. A faculty member need not be adversely affected by an action to request a review. (For example, a professor could appeal revisions in his or her department's promotion criteria; a department could appeal a dean's decision to decline an offer of a contract to a candidate for a vacant position.) An appeal to CGAAF shall be filed only when other avenues for review are not available. Procedures established by CGAAF for hearing appeals shall be in accordance with Section III of the Faculty Senate Bylaws and shall follow procedures described in UWS and UWL 6.02 for hearing grievances. In particular, when an informal resolution cannot be reached, the appellant is responsible for preparing the appeal petition, documenting evidence, and securing witnesses; burden of proof rests with the appellant. The written formal appeal shall be filed within 30 days beyond the end of the semester during which the appealed action was taken.

4. Recommending corrective actions when needed, or issuing statements of admonishment or censure in cases where the committee determines that there have been actions contrary to the principle of academic freedom or deviations from fair and equitable application of due process.

5. Developing rules and procedures to assure fairness in the hearing of complaints, grievances, and appeals and communicating these to parties involved in hearings. Minimum guarantees of due process and procedure shall provide both parties to a dispute: a) written notice of hearing at least ten days prior to the hearing, b) the right to counsel and/or other representatives, c) timely access to documentary evidence, and the names of witnesses, d) the right to offer, confront, and cross-examine witnesses, e) the right to a copy of the official record of the proceedings, f) the right to written findings of fact and decision, and g) the right to a written account of all committee recommendations. While providing due process, the committee shall not be bound by common law or statutory rules of evidence. Hearings shall be held in accordance with Wisconsin Open Meeting Law (Sub IV, Chapter 19, Wisconsin Statutes).

Membership of the committee shall consist of nine tenured faculty members and six tenured alternates, none of whom shall have designated administrative responsibilities ranking above departmental chair. Committee members and alternates shall be selected for three-year-terms with a third of the committee newly appointed each year. Members and alternates shall be appointed without regard to membership on other committees. Broad representation in committee membership shall be maintained with no more than one member and one alternate appointed from a single department. The committee shall elect its chairperson and a secretary to keep an official record of proceedings.

The committee may elect to hear particular complaints, grievances, or appeals by selecting a sub-committee of not fewer than seven members, which may, when necessary, include members selected from the panel of alternates. A sub-committee or the committee as a whole hearing any case shall not include representatives of departments of persons party to the complaint, grievance, or appeal or otherwise having direct personal involvement in the issue before the committee. The sub-committee shall include a chairperson and a secretary and consist only of members who can be in constant attendance at all meetings where evidence or testimony relating to the particular complaint, grievance, or appeal is heard. Findings, decisions, and recommendations of the sub-committee shall become official actions of the Complaints, Grievances, Appeals, and Academic Freedom Committee.
 

GF. The Consultative Layoff Committee
 

Duties and responsibilities of the committee shall include:

1. Consulting with the chancellor on financial emergencies in which faculty layoffs are anticipated as prescribed in UWS 5.

2. Participating in any decision regarding potential program curtailment, in accordance with UWL 5.05 - 5.08.

3. Representing the faculty before the board of regents if a state of financial emergency is declared, as detailed in UWS 5.04 - 5.06.

Membership of the committee shall consist of nine full-time tenured faculty members who have no designated administrative responsibilities, each with a minimum of four years experience at the University of Wisconsin - La Crosse. The faculty membership shall include appropriate representation from the various faculty ranks with minimums of three members from each of the College of Liberal Studies; two members from and the College of Science and Allied Health; one member from the College of  Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Teacher Education; , and one member from the College of Business Administration.  The committee, its chairperson, and alternates to the committee shall be selected by the Faculty Senate. This responsibility shall not be delegated to any other committee or person. Terms of membership shall be three years and be staggered so that three members retire and are replaced each year. Alternates shall be chosen representative of the appropriate rank, college, and term of appointment as vacancies occur.
 

HG. The Faculty Development Committee
 

Duties and responsibilities of the committee shall include the following, with the exception of faculty sabbatical leave proposals:

1. Initiating, developing, and implementing programs concerned with improvement of instruction and faculty development.

2. Establishing priorities for faculty development and improvement of instruction programs.

3. Establishing written screening and selection procedures, and providing guidelines for proposals related to improvement of instruction and faculty development.

4. Reviewing, screening, and selecting for funding, proposals which are related to improvement of instruction and faculty development.

5. Providing the UW-L Foundation with the names of committee faculty members as a list of nominees from which the Foundation may select advisory members for its Grants and Review Committee.

Membership of the committee shall consist of the current UW-L administrative representative of OPID, the current UW-L faculty representative of OPID, and nine other faculty members. Members of the Ffaculty and academic staff with faculty status who submit proposals during a given year shall not be members of the committee during that year. The committee shall elect its chairperson.
 

IH. The General Education Committee
 

Duties and responsibilities of the committee shall include:

1. Coordinating general education curricula.

2. Conducting a systematic review of the General Education Program by examining existing courses on a regular, rotating basis, and recommending curricular changes.

3. Reviewing and approving proposals for curricular changes in general education, including changes resulting from revisions of existing courses and proposals for admitting additional courses into the program after these courses have been approved by the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee.

4. Evaluating general education proposals within the established program structure, taking into consideration the needs of students and of society, the mission of the uUniversity, the necessity for quality general education, and the goals of the program.

5. Consulting formally with the academic departments about coordination of the General Education Program by informing chairpersons in writing of proposals being considered that relate to their programs and by providing adequate opportunity for departments to be heard prior to committee and senate action on such proposals.

6. Approving existing specific foreign languages offered as appropriate to the General Education Program.

7. Studying different models of interdisciplinary courses, determining their appropriateness for general education, and encouraging faculty to develop such courses.

8. Monitoring the development and application of methods for assessing the proficiency of students' skills to ensure that waivers of required skills courses, with or without retroactive credit, are appropriately granted.

9. Encouraging the development of additional writing emphasis courses, monitoring their availability and systematically reviewing them according to established guidelines.

10. Studying the relationship between the General Education Program and the University Honors Program.

Membership of the committee shall consist of nine faculty, none of whom shall have any designated administrative responsibility, and one student appointed annually by the Student Association. Consecutive appointments may be allowed for up to five years.  The faculty membership shall include at least one two representatives from each of the following academic units:  the College of Liberal Studies, and the College of Science and Allied Health, and at least one representative from the College of Business Administration, and the College of Education, Exercise Science, Health and Recreation.  One alternate shall be provided for each appointed member, and so far as possible, representation of appointed members and alternates shall be rotated with respect to departments and schools.  In addition, the Director of the General Education Program shall be a member of the committee and shall serve as the chair and convener of the committee.  The provost/vice chancellor, the registrar, and the academic deans shall serve as administrative consultants to the committee.
 

JIThe Graduate Council (The Graduate Policies Committee)
 

Duties and responsibilities of the committee shall include:

1. Establishing, in consultation with departments and/or colleges, academic standards pertaining to graduate study, including policies for graduate student admission, honors recognition, retention, probation, dismissal and readmission.

2. Determining the procedures and criteria for selecting members of the graduate faculty and annually approving an updated roster of members of the graduate faculty.

3. Formulating procedures for hearing graduate student appeals and petitions on academic policy matters not resolved by administrative offices of the university.

4. Studying long-range issues related to any aspect of graduate studies and recommending how and by whom these issues should be addressed.

Membership of the committee shall consist of nine graduate faculty.  The faculty membership shall include at least one representative from each of the following academic units:  the College of Science and Allied Health, the College of Business Administration, and the College of Education, Exercise Science, Health and Recreation Liberal Studies.  At least one representative from each college shall be either a graduate program director (having no additional administrative responsibilities) or a member of a department participating in a graduate program. In addition, the director of university graduate studies, the chair of the graduate curriculum committee, and two graduate students shall serve as members. The academic deans or their designated appointees, and the registrar shall serve as administrative consultants to the committee. The committee shall elect its chairperson. The director of university graduate studies shall serve as convener.
 

KJThe Graduate Curriculum Committee
 

Duties and responsibilities of the committee shall include:

1. Receiving, reviewing and acting on proposals for curricular changes from the various academic departments and graduate programs.

2. Initiating, developing and recommending changes in the design of curricula for experimental and research purposes.

3. Informing department chairpersons/program directors, in writing, of proposals being considered that relate to experimental curricula or their programs, thus providing adequate opportunity for departments/programs to be heard prior to committee and senate action on such proposals.

4. Evaluating various curricular proposals by an established set of criteria, taking into consideration the needs of students and of society, the mission of the university, the necessity for quality programs, and the ability of the department and college to meet the resource needs of the proposal.

5. Coordinating the various curricula through formal consultation with the academic departments, graduate programs, and the Academic Program Review Committee.

6. Publishing the agenda of regularly scheduled meetings in the university newsletter.

Membership of the committee shall consist of nine members of the graduate faculty and three graduate students. The faculty membership shall include at least the following numbers of representatives from each of the following academic units: one two from the College of Liberal Studies,