Academic department handbook

The purpose of this Handbook is to help those with little or no administrative experience get a general feel for what the job entails and to simply serve as a resource for new and experienced chairs alike. Along the way you will find a lot of “Nuts and Bolts” on just what you need to do as well as some more thoughtful discussion on topics that are, hopefully, especially helpful for new chairs and university staff. It is impossible to cover everything that might arise in your role as department chair or university staff, so a list of contacts for people that can help with specific questions/concerns is given in the appendix.

There are also many resources available, both electronic and paper, that deal with many of the “non-campus specific” duties of department chairs. Such duties may include conflict resolution, running effective meetings, and leadership skills. A collection of these resources is included in the appendices.

UWL DEPARTMENT CHAIRS’ & UNIVERSITY STAFF'S YEAR AT A GLANCE

Once you've been appointed chair, notification will be sent to various offices on campus, including the Business Services Office, which will set you up for online access to the departmental account(s). Every department has at least one budget (the basic departmental budget) and may have many more. Access to information on these accounts is through WISER (see Section III below).

The fiscal year is June 30 through July 1.

There are lot of acronyms and terms associated with the budgets at UWL. These can be a bit confusing initially, but will quickly become a part of your vocabulary.

THE DEPARTMENT CURRICULUM*

*Taken in large part from the Guide for Department Chairs, Knox College, Galesville, IL

Central to the identity of a department is its curriculum: the courses that are offered, for both non-majors and majors, and the structure of the requirements for the major and minor(s) in the department. This is an area where the big picture is very important, and where the big picture is easily lost. Some things to consider:

•  What are the goals of the department's curriculum as a program — for majors, minors, non-majors?
• Are these goals well-supported through the current offerings of the department?
• Is the major serving well those students who will not be going to graduate school in your discipline, as well as those who are?
• How up-to-date is your collective knowledge about what is currently considered by graduate schools to be the most important preparation for graduate training?
• How up-to-date is your collective knowledge about the preparation students need for other pathways? For example: Anthropology and Sociology students who are interested in urban planning or science students interested in public health. The more the department is in the habit of thinking about these issues, the stronger the sense of department identity will be. Talking about the curriculum can help build collegiality, can help newer members of the department feel invested in the mission of the department, and can help you articulate departmental goals and achievements, both internally and externally. These issues are also central to the ongoing responsibility for assessment at the department level; see the next section for further details.

If you haven't routinely been discussing the large curricular issues, here are some occasions that can serve as a stimulus to such discussion:

• one or more colleagues will be retiring soon
• one or more new colleagues have recently been hired
• there have been significant new developments in your field, which raise both curricular and staffing issues
• the department is experiencing a significant change in enrollments or in number of majors (either declining or expanding)
• students are expressing considerable interest in areas not currently covered by the department
• strong majors have not been getting into graduate school
• the department will soon be up for its Academic Program Review

Sabbatical information has been centralized on this page.

FMLA information has been centralized on this page.

For all other types of leave, please contact HR.

Faculty and staff use the HRS for electronic absence/sick leave/timesheet entry. Absence, leave and hours (for hourly workers) are entered using the HRS Employee Self Service (ESS). As a department chair, you are the supervisor for the faculty and staff in your department and are now responsible for approving absence, sick leave and timesheets where appropriate. University staff supervise student workers and approve student timesheets in a similar manner.  This is done using the HRS Manager Self Service (MSS). If you have any questions concerning this process, you can contact Human Resources for questions on student employment, university staff, faculty or academic staff.

Each College has a budget officer and should be your primary contact in addition to the Budget Office.

ACCOUNT FUND NUMBERS - most common shown below (See Fund/Account Code Definitions for a complete list)

• • 102 - General Program Revenue- main source of department funds
  • 128 - special course fees, seg fees, etc.
  • 131 - differential tuition (includes GQ&A)
  • 133/144 - grants

COMMON BUDGET DEFINITIONS

• WISER - the web-based financial reporting software that is a component of the UW-System's Shared Financial System. Most of the WISER reports can be downloaded to Excel.
• GPR - General Program Revenue (state funding)
• GQ&A - Growth, Quality and Access (UWL's tuition plan) - funding for instructors hired through GQ&A is reflected in a different budget lines than those who are GPR

Expense Transfers

FOUNDATION ACCOUNTS (Contact - The UWL Foundation)

• Gift Funds
• Gift Fund Form/Check Request

Business Cards

University ID

Name Badge Ordering Process  (check with Provost's Office for new faculty hires as this is something that the Provost's Office has purchased in the past).

Curriculum Inventory Management (CIM)

Campus Calendar Posting and Editing

Digital Signs

Web Services - Web and Profile Editing

iService Desk Request (please select from left hand column for correct request)

• Building Access Requests (faculty and staff)
• Building Access Requests (students)
• Key Requests
• Work Order Requests

Facility Reservations

Reservations should be made (requested) no later than 3pm the business day before the meeting/event and will be guaranteed depending on availability. Although later reservations cannot be guaranteed, reservations for academic events (requests for unforeseen meetings) within the regular operating hours of the building and involving no catering or set-up will be provided when possible. Late requests should be made by calling the reservations office.

For late-day requests (ex. after 1pm for the next day). A phone call is better because then they can react to that right away if we are in the office. Please say when you call that it is a late request because they have trained our students to direct people to the survey links.

Food Purchase Policy

Food Approval Form

Chartwells Catering (Catertrax)

Hosted Meal Rates

Self-Cater Request

Restrictions and Exclusions (Alcohol Policy)

How to export Major/Minor student emails from WINGS to desktop Office 365.

Run your Major/Minor List in Wings:

Main Menu - UW-La Crosse – Records and Enrollment – Reporting – Plan Reports – Plan Reporting

                                Select Academic Organization from the magnifier list.

                                Enter desired term or select it from the magnifier list.

                                Click “Generate Report”.

                                Click “OK” from the Message Box that appears with the message:

“Academic Program Report Email successfully sent”.

Once your report is ran, it will be in your email.  Open the excel attachment in that email.  Click “enable editing”.

Highlight and hide rows so that all majors are listed together with no break of headings in between.

Repeat for minors (or other “programs/plans”).  (we keep our lists separate by majors and minors so we create two distribution lists)

In Outlook (desktop version), click on the “New Items” drop down arrow (top left corner on the Home toolbar) and click on “More Items” and then click on “Contact Group”.

In your excel spreadsheet, highlight all of the emails of the majors and press “control c”.  Make sure you don’t have anything else highlighted (i.e. row heading).

In your Outlook window where you have an untitled Contact Group, click on “Add Members” drop down arrow and click on “From Address Book”.

At the bottom of that window where it has a “Members” button, place cursor in the space to the right of the “Members” button and press “control v” to paste the email addresses in the space provided. I normally backspace to the last email address if there is a blank space at the end.

Press “Ok”.

Enter the Name of the Group in the available space at the top of the box.  Press “Save & Close”.

Repeat for next list (minors).

Open Meetings Law

UW-La Crosse uses VoIP, which stands for Voice over Internet Protocol. It's also known as Voice over IP.  Messages left on the phone are sent as email attachments.  It is recommended that users delete the email after listening to the message.

If you have any questions about using your VoIP phone, please contact the Eagle Help Desk at 608.785.8774 or helpdesk@uwlax.edu.  A helpful tool is the VOIP User Guide.  This guide also lets you know how to add a phone or change ownership of a phone through the IT ticket system.  IT is also able to move a phone through putting a ticket request in as well.

DigiCopy

Print Order Form

University Centers Graphics (COVE)

UWL Prizes, Awards and Gifts Policy and Forms

Purchasing Services / Procurement Card

Records Management

• UW System Records and Retention & Disposal Schedules
• Confidential Records Disposal
• Confidential Records Disposal Request Sequence

Emptying of Full Confidential Barrels - complete work order through Facilities

• SEI Information and instructions
• Entering TAI Data into Digital Measure
  
• Plan and Grade Analysis
• Faculty Promotion Resources

ShopUW+ Quick Reference Guide (Login, trainings and more)

Purchasing Request Procedures

Student Employee Supervisors.  The HR website listed here gives you everything you need to know regarding student employment.  

CASSH Student Travel Support

CSH Student Research Travel and Supplies Grants 

Graduate Studies Student Travel Support

Travel policies are documented on the UWL Travel Page. Departments vary in how they fund travel faculty and staff. It is up to the department to make sure department members are aware of the limitations and any special requirements for requesting travel funds.

As department chair, you are now in the role of “Approver” for all reimbursements to members of your faculty and staff.  It is advisable for all faculty to assign their department ADA/USA as an alternate for their travel reimbursements.  

Travel needs to be pre-authorized within the e-reimbursement system (Travel Preauthorization for Faculty & IAS -- Note: In effect February 1, 2016 and reimbursements are provided through the same system: e-Reimbursement).

At any time a traveler has access to see where their expense report is in the system/workflow, to see where the report may be ‘caught’ in the system, or to ensure it has made it to Accounts Payable (AP) for review/final approval.

To do so, click on Queries/Reports | Search | Either select 1 or 10 based on searching for Authorizations or Expense Reports à then click on the details link associated with “Where are my ERs?”

Travelers may also call AP or send an email if they would like to find out what may be holding up their report. If their report is stagnant for more than 2 weeks, there is likely a hold up somewhere in the workflow.

Finally, we recommend that any department chairs as well as their ADA's sign up for the Travel Newsletter (https://www.wisconsin.edu/travel/newsletter-sign-up/) to keep up to date on any changes in policy.

One of the roles of a department chair is to review courses from other colleges/universities for their transfer equivalent at UWL.   

1. Transferology is a nationwide network designed to help students determine how their courses will transfer to UWL.  Additionally, students can use Transferology’s “Find a Replacement Course” feature to find out what their options are for taking classes over the summer (or whenever) at another institution to transfer back to UWL. https://www.uwlax.edu/records/faculty-staff-resources/transferology-lab/
2. The Transfer Evaluation System (TES) is an all-in-one solution for researching transfer credit, tracking evaluations, and managing equivalencies.  The TES workflow feature is currently used by department chairs, in partnership with the Admissions Office, to efficiently route, evaluate, and update transfer course equivalencies. Since its inception in July 2020, an activity log allows department chairs and staff to view when a course was last reviewed and by whom the course was approved to transfer. Finally, a “course history” function in TES allows department chairs to easily view how course descriptions may have changed from previous catalog years. 
3. The same login credentials are used to access both Transferology and TES.  

Currently, there is no set “schedule” by which courses are “re-reviewed” at UWL. Because the number of established equivalencies is typically quite large, we do not recommend taking this on as a large project. Instead, we recommend reviewing a few courses each year and establishing a regular review schedule for your courses in the future. Best practices suggest reviewing established course equivalencies every 5 years or after a major course revision or change in field of study.  Additionally, the authors of the American Association of Collegiate Registrar and Admissions Officers (AACRAO) attached guide, A Guide to Best Practices: Awarding Transfer and Prior Learning Credit recommend, “using 70% matching of content to determine equivalency, unless otherwise needed for specific accreditation, discipline content, or other written requirement.”

Identifying a direct UWL course equivalent is always preferred, whenever possible.  However, if not possible, then identifying a course to fulfill a gen ed or other core requirement is typically a better option than a generic elective credit. For departments that have sequenced courses (e.g., BIO 312 and 313) and multiple prerequisites identified, the issues become more complicated, and we welcome that discussion as well.   

Here are some options if a department would like to review course equivalencies that already exist.

1. 1. Review your departmental equivalencies in the Transferology Lab. If you do not have a Transferology Lab account, you can request one through this link.
   2. Request a list of departmental equivalencies from Admissions. Departments may want to focus on the top feeder institutions. Scott has this information from IR.  

In summary, departments determine equivalencies, and departments should think broadly about these issues to help students advance. End dates to equivalencies can and do exist, but departments need to let us know if they no longer want a course to be equivalent. Departments can and likely should review course equivalencies on a regular basis (e.g., every five years) or if they have any reason to believe their courses are no longer equivalent (i.e., review after a substantial course revision or change in the field of study). Please reach out to the Registrar with questions or concerns.

*Taken mostly from the Guide for Department Chairs, Knox College, Galesville, IL

Each department at UWL has its own culture, which—like culture in general—is reproduced over the generations, often without self-conscious effort. Each of these cultures tends to proceed on the principle that the way things are done are the way things should be done. It's often only in conversation with someone from another department that one realizes a certain practice is not actually a rule, or even a norm. As a new chair, there may be aspects of the departmental culture that you would like to change, which may well be a good thing. But that doesn't mean it will be easy! On the other hand, maintaining a healthy departmental culture doesn't happen automatically; it requires cultivation. Yes, this is a paradox: culture tends to reproduce itself (and so is resistant to change) and it also needs conscious nurturing in order to sustain positive qualities.

Here are some of the factors that contribute to department culture:

~the size of the department;

~the proportion of tenured to untenured faculty;

~how many long-timers there are

~what expectations people have about time commitments (e.g., time spent in one's office, attendance at departmentally sponsored events, departmental socializing off campus);

~incorporation of student input into departmental decisions;

~a tradition of hierarchy or egalitarianism;

~how much is delegated and how much done by the chair;

~reliance on common (or autonomous) decision-making.

An added element of complexity occurs when there are disciplinary divisions within one department, for example: Archeology and Anthropology, Chemistry and Biochemistry, Geography and Earth Science, Political Science & Public Administration, and the several languages within Modern Languages. These departments include faculty who may have significantly different sorts of training, and there is often more than one major. This makes for a complicated departmental identity in general, and can also come into play for specific things, such as how advisees are assigned, curricular concerns, position and hiring decisions. The more you're aware of potential difficulties because of different purposes, training, different priorities, the more likely you are to be able to head them off, or bring them into the open for discussion.

If you would like to change some traditional practices in the department, it's likely to be easier if you acknowledge the issue openly, invite discussion, and see where it takes you. Some things are readily changed, and some are remarkably persistent, and one can't necessarily predict which is which.

As department chair, your own habits and inclinations will have a significant impact on the life of the department. Consider whether you fit in smoothly with old patterns, or whether your style will necessitate some accommodation. Some of the factors that contribute to the style of a department chair:

~Do you prefer to have control over all aspects of the department, or do you tend to be laissez-faire?

~Do you prefer face-to-face interaction, or to do most things by e-mail?

~Do you prefer a hierarchical structure or an egalitarian one?

~Are you approachable for professional problems? For personal problems?

~Are you comfortable with number stuff (e.g., budgets, enrollment information)?

Here are some of the qualities of department culture we would hope for in all departments: collegial, functional, supportive, open-minded, communicative, cooperative (everyone willing to chip in), collaborative

Department chair duties do not end with the academic year. From writing annual reports (more later), participating in Freshmen Registration, and closing out budgets, certain responsibilities can only be accomplished during the summer. Summer remuneration for chairs is at the discretion of the Deans. The following list of summer responsibilities for chairs was developed by the Deans in conjunction with the chairs and provost, and was reaffirmed in 2015: UWL Department Chairs: Summer Responsibilities

As a member of the department, the Chair will go through the same Annual (Merit) Review as the other faculty in the Department. Check your departmental bylaws to see whether there are additional materials required for the chair’s annual review. Some departments will ask for specific feedback from department members on the chair’s service relative to department chair duties. In addition, the Dean may be asked to supply a letter evaluating the chair. Departmental bylaws should specify how the non-instructional portion of the chair’s duties will be evaluated.

In addition to the department evaluation through the Annual Review process, as of Summer 2015, the Provost has requested that all department chairs be formally reviewed at least once during each 3-year term. The review should involve feedback from the membership of the department and from the Dean. The format and timing of the review is up to each Dean. While some departments are already incorporating this additional feedback, for others it will be a new level of chair evaluation. This formal review need not be tied to the merit review.

*Taken mostly from the Guide for Department Chairs, Knox College, Galesville, IL.

Tenured faculty need your attention too! Perhaps not in as concentrated a way as untenured faculty, but they will also benefit from encouragement, support, and attentive listening. The vitality of a department depends on the continued energy, productivity, and intellectual edge of all faculty. Stay interested in the teaching and research/creative work of tenured faculty. Offer to look at work in progress. If the department has a colloquium, encourage them to present. Encourage them to apply for grants and to continue to attend conferences. If you see that there may be an issue with their keeping up in the field and/or with technological developments related to the field or to teaching, give encouragement; you might even offer to engage together in some aspect of new developments. Talk with them about their agenda for the future, and do all that you can to facilitate it. Be aware that the life-course continues to have its ups and downs, even after tenure. Midlife crises or significant transitions are normal. Just when one thinks everything is settled, the ground can shift, whether in one's personal life or in professional interests. Be as supportive as you can during these midlife changes. It will be much appreciated! You can also consult with the Dean about any concerns you have; he/she can play an important supporting role—to you, to the faculty member, or to both.

In whatever stage they are, tenured colleagues are a great resource. They may have been chair before you—ask for their counsel and help. They may be the chair after you— involve them in decisions and tasks so that they not only are helping you but are learning valuable information and skills for the future.

*Taken mostly from the Guide for Department Chairs, Knox College, Galesville,IL.

Earlier in this Handbook after going through the multiple demands on a department chair, we gave some suggestions for strategies for dealing with such demands (Role of Department Chairs). Now we elaborate on the first suggestion: DELEGATE! As we wrote earlier: "Departmental cultures vary on how much is done by the chair and how much is delegated to others. We recommend that departments make a conscious effort to divide up tasks. Even though this will mean more work for some faculty in departments where the chair currently does it all, the pay- off will come later, when that person in turn can rely on the help of others."

Here are some of the tasks or areas that are easiest to delegate to others:

• club advisor
• organizer of social events for majors
• liaison positions
• information on internships, careers, and/or graduate school in your discipline
• information about alums
• information about achievements of current students
• departmental prizes
• supervising student worker(s)
• updating the departmental webpage
• some of the tasks involved in a faculty search
• arrangements for guest speakers

When dividing up tasks, play to the experience and strengths of individual faculty members. For example, if one person has strong organizational skills, ask them to take on arrangements for guest speakers.

As chair, you still have the overall responsibility for seeing that all of these things get done, which may mean that you have to remember to remind someone else about what needs to be done. What if delegating a particular task isn't working, even with reminders and some discussion with the person you've asked to take charge? First, keep in perspective what counts as a good enough job, even if it is not being done the way you might do it yourself. If that doesn't solve the problem, then rotate the task to someone else, and ask the first person what they might prefer to do instead.

Department chairs are responsible for scheduling, planning, and running department meetings. It is important to remember that department meetings, as well as meetings of departmental committees are subject to the Open Meetings Law. Please use the Events Calendar. When you submit your meeting to this calendar, the requirements of the Open Meeting Law are fulfilled.

Anyone running a meeting should become familiar with Robert’s Rules of Order. There are many different summary pages, introductions and tip sheets available. Here are a few that you may find helpful:

Overview of Robert's Rules (5 pp.)

Chart of Motions (2 pp.)

Robert's Rules of Order official website - includes FAQ

We’ve all been in “bad” meetings…the meeting that goes on and on with nothing getting accomplished…the meeting where everyone is checking their email…the meeting the gets hijacked by one person who just keeps talking without really saying anything…the meeting where everyone is wondering “Why am I here?!” Meetings are often unpopular because they take up time, and poorly run meetings can be a waste of time. But there are good meetings and bad meetings. Meetings can be a great use of time if they are well run, but effective meetings don’t just “happen.” There are ways to run effective, efficient meetings that will leave the participants energized rather than drained. If you’re not a natural meeting leader, meeting management skills can be learned. If you are new to running meetings, or would just like more ideas, there are lots of available resources. Here are just a few to get you started:

Seven Steps to Running the Most Effective Meeting Possible

The 6 Golden Rules of Meeting Management

Buller, J. L. (2011). The essential department chair: A comprehensive desk reference (Vol. 132). John Wiley & Sons.

Chu, D. (2012). The department chair primer: What chairs need to know and do to make a difference. Jossey-Bass.

Gmelch, W.H. & Miskin, V.D. (2011). Department chair leadership skills. Madison, Wisconsin: Atwood Publishing.

Gunsalus, C. K. (2006). The college administrator's survival guide. Harvard University Press.

How to lead effective meetings. http://quality.wisc.edu/effective-meetings.htm

American Council on Education (ACE) - general higher education topics

Association of American Colleges and Universities - useful for resources about the value of a liberal education, global learning practices, civic learning and communication engagement, and more...rubrics available for exploring standards of evaluation for the aforementioned

Council of Colleges of Arts and Sciences - information about workshops for department chairs

Jossey-Bass Department Chair resources

ADA Checklist For New Faculty/Staff Hires

Benefits Information

Budget 101 - College Business Manager

Outlook training - likely to be a "power user" and need desktop client

Purchasing meeting and P-card overview - Business Services

SEI overview 

Student Payroll - HR

Travel policies and e-reimbursement - Business Services 

Textbook Rental policies, procedures - Textbook Rental

University photo for the website - University Communications

Work-Study student considerations - Financial Aid

Web editor training - University Communications