University of Wisconsin - La Crosse 
Department of History Bylaws

I.	Title
II.	Organization and Operation
III.	Faculty/Staff Responsibilities
IV.	Merit Evaluation (Annual Review)
V.	Faculty Personnel Review
VI.	Instructional Academic Staff Review
VII.	Non-Instructional Academic Staff Review
VIII.	Governance
IX.	Search and Screen Procedures
X.	Student Rights and Obligations
XI.	Other
XII.	Appendices
XIII.	Department Affiliations

I. Title
BYLAWS AND POLICIES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY
University of Wisconsin-La Crosse
Adopted May 1, 2024

II. Organization and Operation. Department members are governed by six interdependent sets of regulations. 1. Federal and State laws and regulations; 2. UW System policies and rules; 3. UWL policies and rules; 4. College policies and rules; 5. Shared governance bylaws and policies for faculty and academic staff; and 6. Departmental bylaws.
A. Preamble. Our mission is to empower students and foster a free and global society through historical thinking, scholarly inquiry, and community engagement. Through their study of the past, students gain critical judgment, research, and communication skills that prepare them for diverse careers while developing their sense of world citizenship and responsibility for the future. 
B. Meeting Guidelines
1. Department meetings will be run according to the most recent edition of Robert’s Rules of Order (http://www.robertsrules.com/) and WI state open meeting law. (https://www.doj.state.wi.us/sites/default/files/office-open-government/Resources/OML-GUIDE.pdf) summary at (https://www.wisconsin.edu/general-counsel/legal-topics/open-meetings-law/).
2. The Department Chair shall schedule department meetings as necessary. A Department meeting must be convened within one week of the request of any two Department members.
3. A secretary will be elected by majority vote of the department at the first meeting of the academic year. Minutes of all meetings will be kept by the secretary or designated replacement according to Department policies, and distributed promptly after each meeting. Proxy votes are not permitted at meetings of the Department or its Committees unless they are explicitly permitted in circumstances covered by Department policies.
C. Definitions of Membership and Voting Procedures
1. The membership of the Department of History will consist of all ranked faculty, full-time academic staff in their second and subsequent continuous years of employment, and those part-time academic staff with faculty status. “Membership” refers to the right to attend and participate in discussions at the department meetings.
2. Voting Rights are reserved to all full-time faculty members starting immediately upon employment, and full-time instructional academic staff in their second and subsequent continuous years of employment. Exceptions to this rule will be indicated in these bylaws relating to decisions on hiring, promotion, and retention where voting rights are governed by either a person’s rank or tenure status.
D. Definitions of Quorum and Majority. For meetings of the Department, a quorum is defined as the majority of the entire membership eligible to vote. For meetings of committees, a quorum is defined as the majority of the constituted size of the committee.
E. Changing Bylaws
1. Proposals for amendments or additions to these bylaws may be presented in writing for a first reading at any meeting of the Department of History at which a quorum is present, and adopted by a two-thirds majority vote of those present at the following Department meeting with a quorum.
2. If substantive modifications to proposals to amend or add to the bylaws arise:
a) they shall be presented in writing to the secretary;
b) they shall be included in the proposed amendment by obtaining a simple majority; and
c) if modifications to the proposed amendment are adopted, voting on the amended proposal shall be postponed until the next Department meeting. The Chair shall make the amended proposal the first order of business at the next Department meeting.
d) they shall be made during the official academic year.
F. Code of Conduct. Because of our commitment to student, faculty, and staff successes, our interactions with each other impact our effectiveness as a history department at a student-focused institution. We strive for a collegial climate of diversity, inclusion, equity, and belonging through the following:
1. Courtesy:
a) We encourage assuming and acting with the best intentions and assuming responsibility when words or actions negatively impact others, even unintentionally. 
b) We encourage fostering a safe environment for healthy, generative discourse.
c) We encourage respecting differences in perspective and expertise.
d) We encourage coming to meetings prepared and on time, as well as focusing on the discussion without distractions. 
2. Collaboration:
a) We encourage respecting each other personally and professionally. 
b) We encourage promoting the department and each other within and outside the department. 
c) We encourage building relationships across the department, college, university and community that reflect well on the department. 
3. Clarity:
a) We encourage transparency, openness, and consistency in decision-making procedures.
b) We encourage articulating specific goals/purposes for all department and committee meetings.
c) We encourage asking questions in order to better understand the issue(s) and perspective(s) for discussion, with an awareness that from discomfort can come growth. 
4. We strive to follow these values in meetings, emails, any dealings with others, and departmental programs. 

III. Faculty/Staff Responsibilities
A. Faculty: Faculty responsibilities are referenced in section IV of the Faculty Senate by-laws entitled "Responsibilities of Departments, Department Members and Department Chairpersons" (http://www.uwlax.edu/faculty-senate/articles-bylaws-and-policies/).
1. In addition to teaching the discipline of History in keeping with the curriculum created by the department, these responsibilities include the following: 
a) promoting scholarship and creative activities;
b) promoting the continued professional growth and development of its members by encouraging their participation in sabbatical leaves, developmental leaves, conferences, professional workshops and other similar programs;
c) utilizing the expertise and interest of its members to provide professional service;
d) advising students of academic program requirements and presenting the array of available career opportunities;
e) providing an internal governance structure in which the functions of the Department can take place; and
f) making personnel decisions.
2. The Department of History upholds the highest standards of professionalism, ethics, academic integrity and collegiality.
3. All tenured and probationary faculty of the History Department shall teach a workload of twelve classroom hours per semester. The workload of full time instructional academic staff in the History Department shall be fifteen classroom hours per semester. 
4. Teaching HIS 200 (Historiography and Historical Methods) and HIS 490 (History Research Seminar) is a responsibility shared by all department members qualified to serve as instructors for these courses. While faculty can volunteer to teach either course at any point, each course will have a rotation list used to identify which faculty member’s turn it is to teach HIS 200 and HIS 490 each semester. If no faculty member volunteers to teach these courses in a given semester, the rotation list will determine which instructor is assigned to teach each course. The rotation list will be determined by the number of semesters it has been since a faculty member last taught the course. In cases where a faculty member is singularly responsible for another course that must be taught the same semester as their scheduled HIS 200 or HIS 490 teaching assignment, they may request to reschedule their HIS 200 or HIS 490 teaching to the following semester. Requests to reschedule must be made to the Department Chair in writing before the teaching schedule is made for the semester in question. The HIS 200 and HIS 490 rotation lists will be maintained by the Department ADA.
5. Specific workload decisions shall be made as follows:
a) Individual workload is a collaborative decision involving the Department Chair, the department and the dean. Accountability for that determination shall rest with the Department Chair.
b) Departmental workload is determined by the department and the academic dean(s). Accountability for that determination shall rest with the academic dean(s).
c) In consultation with the Department Chair and Dean, as permitted in bylaws, faculty workload may consist of instruction,research, outreach, service, supervision of interns, supervision of student teachers, advising, assessment, program development, or administration. 
6. Winter/Summer Session Rotation Policies: 
a)	At the appropriate time, the Department Chair will ask all faculty to list classes that they propose to teach in a given summer or winter term. Once those bids have been received, the Chair will distribute available teaching assignments to faculty, in an order that prioritizes those who have the fewest summer or winter classes taught in the summer or winter sessions of the previous three years. Ties will be broken by lottery. Individual study, internships, capstones, study-tour classes, or courses listed in other departments are not counted against faculty in the rotation process. Similarly, if a faculty member’s proposed class was canceled, it is not listed as a class that was “taught” in that term.
7. Sabbatical Eligibility and Application:
a)	The department shall maintain an updated sabbatical eligibility list, based on the “UWL College Sabbatical Information” definition of eligibility. The chair will communicate this list of eligible candidates to all by February 15th of every year.
b)	All faculty members planning on applying for sabbaticals must express their interest in writing to the Department Chair by April 15th of the academic year preceding the application deadline. At this time, applying faculty should write an extremely brief summary of their sabbatical plans that includes information about planned sabbatical length (full- or half-year), year since last sabbatical, need for sabbatical to occur in proposed year, rank, and number of years at UWL. The Advisory Committee members applying for sabbatical must recuse themselves from decisions made involving recommendations.
c)	By April 30th, the Advisory Committee will review the list of those expressing interest and decide who may apply, based on the number the department can support and priority (priority will be based on time since previous sabbatical, need, and department’s ability to cover teaching areas). The Department Chair will communicate the Advisory Committee’s recommendations to the CASSH Dean to those who expressed interest.
d)	Completed sabbatical proposals by department members who received recommendation will be submitted to the Department Chair (or designee) at least three weeks prior to the September application deadline posted by CASSH. The Department Chair (or designee) will then write a letter of support indicating department approval and ability to cover teaching needs during the proposed sabbatical leaves.
8. See XII.B for School of Education Affiliated faculty members’ teaching, scholarship, and service expectations.
B. Instructional Academic Staff (IAS) Responsibilities and Expectations 
1. Requests for IAS hiring will be presented to the college dean. The request will indicate one of the standard titles from the teaching professor or clinical professor series https://www.uwlax.edu/human-resources/services/talent-acquisition-and-employment/recruitment/ and will outline specific duties including teaching and any additional workload. Total workload for IAS is defined as a standard minimum teaching load plus additional workload equivalency activities. See Faculty Senate Articles, Bylaws and Policies https://www.uwlax.edu/faculty-senate/articles-bylaws-and-policies/
2. Instructional academic staff members are held to the same teaching expectations as are faculty members. Since instructional academic staff do not have the full range of responsibilities in the area of scholarly productivity and service, the evaluation of instructional academic staff shall be based primarily on the quality of their teaching record. Part-time instructional academic staff are not expected to assume responsibilities for student advising or service on departmental or university committees. Full-time instructional academic staff shall be evaluated primarily on the basis of the quality of their teaching, but in the second and subsequent years of continuous employment they are expected to advise students and serve on one or more committees.
3. The workload of full-time instructional academic staff in the History Department shall be fifteen credit hours per semester.
4. Half-time instructional academic staff engaged in undergraduate instruction have a teaching load of .5 SCH as determined by departmental workload of group instruction per week. The total workload for a half-time equivalency shall include up to two contact hours’ additional workload equivalency.
5. Position Description (PD). The PD is used to establish workload guidelines for each instructional academic staff member and utilized for performance review and career progression. 
6. Departments shall determine IAS full-time equivalencies. Equivalencies might include: service to the department, service to the college and/or university; and/or scholarship.
7. See XII.B for School of Education Affiliated faculty members’ teaching, scholarship, and service expectations.
C. Non Instructional Academic Staff Responsibilities and Expectations. (Not applicable to the Department of History at this time.)
D. Learning Environment Survey (LENS)
1. The department will follow the UWL LENS policy and procedure available on the Faculty Senate webpage. 
2. Ranked Faculty and LENS: Results from the Faculty Senate approved LENS questions are required for retention, tenure, post-tenure review, and promotion for ranked faculty and for renewal and promotion of Instructional Academic Staff in the form of the LENS summary report. The LENS summary report contains student response frequencies for target responses to LENS items for courses taught within the last six semesters. Probationary ranked faculty will be expected to provide LENS summary reports since date of hire for retention and tenure decisions. LENS summary reports will be electronically accessible to personnel review committees who have been granted the authority to access them. 
3. IAS renewal and career progression: the same information as above is reported.
4. Members of the Department of History shall conduct systematic student evaluations of instruction for each class every semester of the academic year. Students will automatically receive links to complete LENS using the electronic system. Individual instructors’ roles in administering LENS are to encourage students to complete LENS and to provide in-class time to complete the measures whenever the option is possible.
5. Please note. UWL's approach for gathering student feedback on instruction changed in the fall of 2023. As such, during the transition years, contract, non-contract, and promotion meetings will include two types of student evaluation systems: Student Evaluation of Instruction (SEI) and LENS (previously defined).

IV. Merit Evaluation (Annual Review). The results of merit reviews for all ranked faculty who have completed at least one academic year at UWL are due to the Dean’s Office on Dec 15 annually. Merit reviews reflect activities during the prior academic year ending June 1.
A. Evaluation Processes & Criteria
1. Faculty
a) Annual Individual Professional Activity Reports should address three categories of activity: (1) teaching; (2) scholarly activity; and (3) professional and public service. Faculty with reassigned time will additionally complete a one-page review of their work and attach a position description as well as a review of their work by their supervisor. Faculty members should formulate their comments on their activities in terms of the Department’s curriculum and academic goals. These Individual Professional Activity Reports are due to the Department Chair by the end of May of each academic year, reporting on the activities of the summer and academic year preceding the report.
b) The Promotion and Merit Pay Committee, a departmental standing committee, meeting in the Fall Semester of each academic year, uses material collected in the previous May to make determinations for merit pay categorizations applied to distributions that will be awarded in the following fiscal year. [For example, reports submitted in May 2003, describe activities from June 2002 through May 2003. The Merit Pay Committee meets in the Fall Semester of 2003 and uses this information to determine merit categories (see below) that are applied to merit pay increases for 2003-04. Except in extraordinary circumstances, first year faculty members shall be placed in the “meritorious” category.]
c) The Department shall distribute merit rankings using the following four categories: outstanding, exceeds, meets, or does not meet expectations. Only those applying for promotion or post-tenure review shall be considered for the outstanding category, and in that sense are self-nominated. Merit pay increases for members judged outstanding shall be nominal, as recommended by the Merit Pay Committee and decided by majority vote of the Department. The outstanding merit category shall be available to any faculty member, and is intended to reward very special and specific effort. Persons who wish to be considered for outstanding merit must nominate themselves when they submit their Individual Professional Activity Report. The category “meets expectations” shall be the general ranking given to most members of the faculty.
d) Formative Evaluation: This is an option available to any member of the Department. The Department process provides that formative evaluation be conducted by a committee of three to five persons appointed by the Department Chair in consultation with the person requesting formative evaluations, with the Department Chair appointing the committee chair. Formative evaluation must occur if the faculty member requests it in writing; it may occur at the suggestion of the Merit Pay committee. Formative evaluation should include discussion of individual goals, the faculty member’s contributions to the goals and responsibilities of the Department, and the commitments of both Department and faculty member to reach an agreed upon set of goals.
2. Instructional Academic Staff (if included in merit processes, otherwise VI).
3. Department Chair
a) The Department Chair will be reviewed once in every three-year term. The format and timing of the review is at the dean’s discretion but includes input from department members and from the dean. Section VIII. A. 2 outlines the rights and responsibilities against which the Department Chair will be evaluated.
 B. Distribution of Merit Funds. See IV. A. 1. c.
 C. Appeal Procedures (Not applicable to the Department of History at this time.)

V. Faculty Personnel Review. The department will follow the policies regarding retention and tenure described in the Unclassified Personnel Rules (UWS 3.06 – 3.11 and UWL 3.06 – 3.08). http://www.uwlax.edu/Human-Resources/Unclassified-Personnel-Rules/ Tenure/retention decisions will be guided by the criteria established in the bylaws at the time of hire unless a candidate elects to be considered under newer guidelines. The criteria outlined in Section V. A. & V. B. “Faculty Personnel Review” in these bylaws should be applied to faculty with a contract date after the date of departmental approval of this version of the bylaws, as noted at the top of this document. The department will follow policies guiding part-time appointments for faculty and tenure clock stoppage available on the Human Resources website.
A. Retention (procedure, criteria, and appeal)
1. Faculty under review provide an electronic portfolio related to their teaching, scholarship, and service activities extracted from their date of hire to the date of departmental review. Hyperlinked syllabi are required and the candidate may choose to provide additional evidence. Additional materials may be required for departmental review and will be indicated in these by-laws. Faculty with reassigned time will additionally complete a one-page review of their work and attach a position description as well as a review of their work by their supervisor.
2. Departments will provide the following materials to the Dean: 
a) Department letter of recommendation with vote;
b) Teaching assignment information (TAI) datasheet that summarizes the courses taught, workload data, grade distribution, and LENS by individual course and semester (which are only available after completing a full academic year); (Please note: UWL's approach for gathering student feedback on instruction changed in the fall of 2023. As such, during the transition years, contract, non-contract, and promotion meetings will include two types of student evaluation systems: Student Evaluation of Instruction (SEI) and LENS (previously defined)) and 
c) Merit Evaluation data (if available).
3. The initial review of probationary faculty shall be conducted by the tenured faculty of the appropriate department in the manner outlined below. 
4. All first-year tenure-track faculty will be formally reviewed in the spring of their first year. A departmental letter will be filed with the Dean and HR. Formal reviews resulting in contract decisions will minimally occur for tenure-track faculty in their 2nd, 4th and 6th years.
5. The History Department’s procedure for retention review shall be as follows:
a) Upon the call of the Provost/Vice Chancellor, the Retention and Tenure Committee shall review materials prepared for and/or by every Department member identified for review as a probationary faculty member.
b) A call for review materials and written notice of the date and time of the review meeting shall go to each probationary faculty member no less than 60 calendar days prior to such meeting. The meeting shall be conducted in compliance with the Open Meetings Law of the State of Wisconsin. The probationary faculty member shall be given opportunity to make written and or oral presentations at the meeting. The committee’s decision shall be reported in writing to the probationary faculty member and to the Dean within seven calendar days.
c) The Chair shall preside at the review meeting of the Retention and Tenure committee and shall conduct the vote by written and signed ballots. A simple majority of votes cast shall prevail. A statement of the reasons for the decision will be prepared, and will be presented to the dean along with the numerical tally of the vote.
d) In the event that the Department should lack tenured members to serve on the Retention and Tenure Committee, the Dean will conduct a review of candidates up for retention.
6. The retention review process reflects the university’s tenure and promotion procedures. This is an evidence-based process that requires careful documentation, modeled after the documentation outlined in Section 5 of the Guide to Faculty Promotions and Portfolio Development at UW-La Crosse. Documentation for retention review should include:
a) Regular entry and update of data in the electronic portfolio
b) Maintaining supporting documents that can be uploaded as appendices to provide evidence of achievements in teaching, scholarship, and service, and
c) Producing a current activities report as outlined in Appendix D of the Guide to Faculty Promotions and Portfolio Development at UW-La Crosse.
d) The candidate for retention will prepare a three-part Retention Narrative consisting of no more than seven single-spaced pages that includes sections on Teaching Effectiveness (approximately 3 pages), Scholarship (approximately 2 pages), and Professional, Public, and Community Service (approximately 2 pages). The document will be prefaced by a cover sheet containing the name of the candidate and that will provide a brief abstract, quantifying wherever possible (i.e., total funds grants requested/received, number of types of publications, etc). The contents of these sections are outlined in parts e) through g) below. Faculty who have had administrative responsibilities should also note that section 5.1.5 of the Guide to Faculty Promotions and Portfolio Development at UW-La Crosse delineates additional material that may be submitted should the candidate have had Reassigned Time outside of traditional expectations of faculty responsibility. The contents of the Teaching Effectiveness, Scholarship, and Service sections are outlined below:
e) The Section on Teaching Effectiveness should address teaching assignment, teaching development, teaching evaluation, and professional goals for teaching. Teaching assignment encompasses a listing of courses taught, unique expertise, approach to grading and evaluation, as well as discussion of any responsibilities that are completed as a part of reassigned time from classroom instruction. Teaching development encompasses the development of new courses and units, innovations and improvements in teaching techniques, participation in workshops on teaching, and preparation of curriculum materials. Teaching evaluation encompasses a narrative outlining the methods used to evaluate teaching, including written evaluation of peer(s), assessment, and LENS results. Please note: UWL's approach for gathering student feedback on instruction changed in the fall of 2023. As such, during the transition years, contract, non-contract, and promotion meetings will include two types of student evaluation systems: Student Evaluation of Instruction (SEI) and LENS (previously defined). Professional goals for teaching include a statement of general goals, as well as course specific plans to move towards these goals. This section may include:
(1) Honors and awards
(2) Assignments and exams
(3) Academic standard and integrity
(4) Student advising
(5) Direction of undergraduate research or creative work
(6) Peer evaluation
(7) LENS results
f) The Section on Scholarship should address scholarly works, work in progress, and conference paper presentations, as well as a statement of professional goals for scholarship. Following the "Guidelines for Broadening the Definition of Historical Scholarship” approved by the American Historical Association Council in 2023, scholarly products are those original works that are broadly disseminated in a genre appropriate to successful communication, have gone through careful professional or peer review to make certain they possess scholarly arguments based on professionally-cited evidence from the past, have demonstrable impact or influence, are a part of an ongoing scholarly project, and represent collaboration or interaction with the work of other scholars or scholarly historians. Works that meet these criteria should be listed as intellectual contributions to scholarship, while other work can be listed elsewhere and demonstrate other types of professional activity, engagement and outreach. 
g) The Section on Professional, Public and Community Service, to consist of a listing and brief explanation of the faculty member’s organization of campus wide events, service on campus-wide committees, as well as service to the History Department, to the campus, and to the community. Where pertinent, national and international service should also be listed. These include but are not limited to:
(1) Professional organization memberships
(2) Offices in professional organizations
(3) Participation in community organizations related to disciplinary expertise
(4) Service to K-12 schools
(5) Building library resources
(6) Speeches, public presentations, or public programs
(7) Consulting related to professional disciplinary expertise
(8) Recruitment and outreach activities
7. Criteria for retention decisions parallel the review categories identified in points e-g above (Sections on Teaching Effectiveness, on Scholarship, and on Service). Retention and Tenure Committee voting members are instructed to weight teaching at 50% of the total evaluation and to weight Scholarship and Service for a combined 50% weight. Compliance with this instruction shall be documented. Retention criteria and their weighting and procedures shall not be changed during the year preceding the review.
B. Tenure Review and Departmental Tenure Criteria
1. The recommendation for retention for the year following the probationary period shall constitute a recommendation for tenure.
2. The criteria for tenure are the same as for retention. However, the decision for tenure is cumulative (based on all previous retention reviews and decisions) and predictive of future work.
C. Post-Tenure Review. The department follows the UWL procedure and schedule regarding post-tenure review https://www.uwlax.edu/human-resources/post-tenure-review-policy/
1. Procedures
a) Once every five years, each tenured faculty member’s activities and performance will be reviewed following UWL’s Post-Tenure Review Policy.
b) The results of the post-tenure review process must be reported in writing to the Dean no later than December 15.
c) The Retention and Tenure Committee shall conduct post-tenure review with the Department Chair chairing the meeting unless the Chair is under review or holds tenure in another department. In either of these two cases, the committee shall elect a chair to complete the administrative components of the process.
d) The faculty member must receive at least 21 calendar days’ notification of the time and date of the meeting and the deadline (7 days prior to the meeting) for which the materials will be due.
e) The committee shall determine by majority vote whether the faculty member meets expectations or does not meet expectations according to the criteria V.C.2., below.
f) The committee chair shall send a letter of the results to the faculty member and Dean no later than 14 days after the committee meeting. The School of Education Dean also receives a copy of the letter if the faculty member is affiliated with the School of Education.
g) The letter will outline the required components of the UWL post-tenure Review Policy in parts II.F and II.G.
h) Faculty members can provide written commentary on the post-tenure review committee letter at any step of the process. This must occur within 7 calendar days after the receipt of the post-tenure review decision letter at the department, Dean, and/or Provost level.
2. Criteria
a) UWL Post-Tenure Review Policy requires that tenured faculty members who are up for review provide a report from the electronic portfolio system (such as an Annual Report with Hyperlinks) that includes:
(1) Hyperlinks to at least one syllabus for each course (not each section of each course, or each term of each course) taught in the past five years.
(2) Hyperlinks to evidence of scholarly activities associated with the specific entry (e.g., publication, grant, exhibition, presentation).
(3) Summary of LENS results for each semester being evaluated. Please note: UWL's approach for gathering student feedback on instruction changed in the fall of 2023. As such, during the transition years, contract, non-contract, and promotion meetings will include two types of student evaluation systems: Student Evaluation of Instruction (SEI) and LENS (previously defined).
b) As an optional addition to the electronic portfolio, faculty members who are up for review may choose to include peer observations of teaching and/or a narrative of no more than five pages concerning how their work over the past five years has met the department’s expectations in teaching, scholarship, and service.
c) School of Education-affiliated faculty members can choose to include material directly related to activities undertaken on behalf of the Department of History’s educational curricula, including, but not limited to LENS results from courses designated with the prefix EDS, SOE service, professional organization service, work with public secondary schools, curricular revision, and scholarship in the field of history and/or social studies education. Please note: UWL's approach for gathering student feedback on instruction changed in the fall of 2023. As such, during the transition years, contract, non-contract, and promotion meetings will include two types of student evaluation systems: Student Evaluation of Instruction (SEI) and LENS (previously defined).
d) Tenured faculty members shall be considered to meet expectations for teaching if their record demonstrates any of the following: 
(1) Consistent teaching effectiveness
(2) Pedagogical innovation
(3) Participation in CATL workshops
(4) Contribution to the scholarship of teaching and learning, including in history and/or history/social studies education 
(5) Direction of undergraduate research or creative endeavors 
(6) Mentoring or assisting colleagues’ teaching
(7) Engagement with student advising and mentoring 
(8) Engagement in evidence-based assessment of teaching 
(9) Receipt of teaching honors or awards
(10) Instructing in study abroad programs
(11) Inclusion of service learning
(12) Collaborative, linked, or cross-disciplinary teaching 
(13) Other criteria as defined by the department
e) Tenured faculty members shall be considered to meet expectations for research if their record demonstrates any work that fits the definition of scholarship used elsewhere in these bylaws: Following the "Guidelines for Broadening the Definition of Historical Scholarship” approved by the American Historical Association Council in 2023, scholarly products are those original works that are broadly disseminated in a genre appropriate to successful communication, have gone through careful professional or peer review to make certain they possess scholarly arguments based on professionally-cited evidence from the past, have demonstrable impact or influence, are a part of an ongoing scholarly project, and represent collaboration or interaction with the work of other scholars or scholarly historians. Works that meet these criteria should be listed as intellectual contributions to scholarship, while other work can be listed elsewhere and demonstrate other types of professional activity, engagement and outreach.
f) Tenured faculty members shall be considered to meet expectations for service if their record demonstrates any of the following: 
(1) Participation in department, college, or university service 
(2) Leadership in service of any of the above, including Department coordinators
(3) Professional organization membership
(4) Holding offices in professional organizations
(5) Participation in community organizations or other forms of community engagement related to professional disciplinary expertise
(6) Service to K-12 schools
(7) Building library resources
(8) Speeches or public presentations
(9) Consulting related to professional disciplinary expertise
(10) Receipt of service honors or awards
(11) Curriculum and program development
(12) Coordinating campus events
(13) Other criteria as defined by the department
3. Tenured faculty members who are up for review and who wish to focus the evaluation on aspects for their individual professional development may choose to activate the formative evaluation procedures (see Department Bylaws IV .A. 1. d., above). Formative evaluation is voluntary, provides for direct collegial interaction and is designed to produce a consensus. No written records of formative evaluations are kept. With the consent of the tenured faculty member under review, a written request could be sent to the Dean describing resources needed for that person to act on any recommendations stemming from formative evaluation.
D. Faculty Promotion Procedures (procedure, criteria and appeal). The department will follow the guidelines and schedules regarding faculty promotion available at http://www.uwlax.edu/Human-Resources/Faculty-Promotion-Resources/
1. All meetings of the Promotion Committee shall take place in compliance with the Wisconsin Public Meeting Law. There shall be a minimum of twenty (20) days’ notice prior to the holding of any such meeting.
2. On behalf of the Department, the Department Chair shall request each person eligible for promotion to assemble promotion evaluation materials covering their work since the date of hire, or of the submission of the last successful promotion portfolio. Candidates for promotion must provide the promotion portfolio to the Promotion and Merit Pay Committee one month in advance of the final deadline to facilitate committee feedback.
3. Promotion recommendations shall be made by the Department’s Promotion/Merit Pay Committee and the Department Chair will forward them to the appropriate administrative office.
4. In the course of its deliberations the Committee shall have access to the candidate’s relevant LENS results. Please note: UWL's approach for gathering student feedback on instruction changed in the fall of 2023. As such, during the transition years, contract, non-contract, and promotion meetings will include two types of student evaluation systems: Student Evaluation of Instruction (SEI) and LENS (previously defined).
5. The following criteria shall be used for judging the performance of members relative to recommendations for rank advancement:
a) Teaching (50%):
(1) Honors and awards
(2) Assignments and exams
(3) Academic standards and integrity
(4) Student advising
(5) Direction of undergraduate research or creative work
(6) Peer evaluation
(7) LENS results
b) Scholarship (when weighted with “c” below shall combined represent 50%. While relative weights of Scholarship and Service might vary between candidates to some extent, the department’s criteria requires that all candidates will be able to document substantive commitments of time and effort in both categories): Following the "Guidelines for Broadening the Definition of Historical Scholarship” approved by the American Historical Association Council in 2023, scholarly products are those original works that are broadly disseminated in a genre appropriate to successful communication, have gone through careful professional or peer review to make certain they possess scholarly arguments based on professionally-cited evidence from the past, have demonstrable impact or influence, are a part of an ongoing scholarly project, and represent collaboration or interaction with the work of other scholars or scholarly historians. Works that meet these criteria should be listed as intellectual contributions to scholarship, while other work can be listed elsewhere and demonstrate other types of professional activity, engagement and outreach.
c) Professional, Public and Community Service (when weighted with “b” above shall combined represent 50%. While relative weights of Scholarship and Service might vary between candidates to some extent, the department’s criteria requires that all candidates will be able to document substantive commitments of time and effort in both categories):
(1) Professional organization membership
(2) Offices in professional organizations
(3) Participation in community organizations related to disciplinary expertise
(4) Service to K-12 schools
(5) Building library resources
(6) Speeches, public presentations, or public programs
(7) Consulting related to professional disciplinary expertise
(8) Recruitment and outreach activities
6. At the option of the Promotion/Merit Pay Committee, a candidate for promotion could be invited to submit the names of three “outside” evaluators, from which one would be selected to assess the candidate’s published scholarship. 
7. The Department Chair or applicable personnel committee chair will provide the promotion portfolio for any School of Education (SOE) faculty in the Department to the School of Education Director at least seven calendar days in advance of the scheduled review. The SOE Director will provide written feedback simultaneously to the candidate and the chair prior to the meeting. The portfolio will be reviewed on the candidate’s professional contributions (teaching, scholarship, and service) and expectations for teacher education, and the faculty member’s contributions to the larger educational community. The SOE Director’s feedback will be considered by the Department and noted in the letter regarding the candidate.
E. Review of Faculty who are School of Education Affiliated Faculty
1.	The SOE and CASSH (College of Arts, Social Sciences, and Humanities) Dean will receive and review the portfolio at the same time and will each forward their recommendations to the Provost. For retention and tenure, if there are discrepant reviews of a candidate, the Provost will confer with the Deans to ensure DPI policies and expectations are applied. 
2.	The School of Education Dean must receive a copy of the evaluation materials at the same time as the Department committee. 
3.	The School of Education Dean shall provide input to the committee in the form of an evaluative letter. The letter will address teaching, scholarship, service, and professional development as outlined in Appendix XII. B., “Teaching, Scholarship, and Service Expectations for School of Education (SoE) Affiliated faculty members,” below.
F. Peer Observation of Teaching
1. Peer review of teaching is part of the following four review processes:
a) Annual Review and Merit Evaluation (see IV);
b) Retention decisions for probationary faculty (see V);
c) The Instructional Academic Staff reappointment process (see VI); and
d) Promotion recommendations (see V)
2. Classroom observation of teaching is required at least once per academic year for probationary faculty members for the first four years of employment, and for instructional academic staff members with a full-year appointment. It is required once per semester for instructional academic staff members with a semester appointment for as long as the Retention Committee wishes to request them.
3. After a Department member has agreed to observe a colleague’s teaching, the two are encouraged to meet prior to the class session to discuss the instructor’s goals for that class session. The observer shall write a short descriptive report on the class session, to be distributed to the instructor, the Department Chair, and eventually to the Retention Committee.

VI. Instructional Academic Staff (IAS) Review
A. Annual Review: In accordance with Unclassified Personnel Rules Chapter 10, academic staff (instructional and non-instructional) will be evaluated annually. https://www.uwlax.edu/human-resources/services/employee-relations/performance-management/
1. Every year, the Department Chair shall convene the Retention and Tenure Committee to review materials prepared by every Instructional Academic Staff member.
2. Materials for part-time IAS members under consideration for retention shall include:
a) Course syllabi that include the course’s Student Learning Outcomes.
b) LENS. Please note: UWL's approach for gathering student feedback on instruction changed in the fall of 2023. As such, during the transition years, contract, non-contract, and promotion meetings will include two types of student evaluation systems: Student Evaluation of Instruction (SEI) and LENS (previously defined)
c) A record of research and/or service as stipulated in the individual’s Position Description.
3. The chair shall call for review materials and send written notice of the date and time of the review no less than twenty calendar days prior to such meeting.
4. The meeting shall be conducted in compliance with the Open Meetings Statute of the State of Wisconsin. The IAS member shall be given opportunity to make written and/or oral presentations at the meeting.
5. The Retention committee’s decision shall be reported on the IAS Annual Review Form and shall be sent to the staff member under review, to the Dean of the College, and to Human Resources within seven calendar days.
B. IAS Promotion Procedures. Policies and procedure guiding promotion for IAS are available at http://www.uwlax.edu/human-resources/ias-promotion-resources/
C. Appeal Procedures re: Annual Review (Not applicable to the Department of History at this time.)

VII. Non-Instructional Academic Staff Review. (Not applicable to the Department of History at this time.)

VIII. Governance
A. Department Chair
1. Election of the Department Chair. The CASSH Dean’s office conducts the election for Department Chair. Current ranked faculty are eligible to vote. Instructional Academic Staff with one full year of full-time experience in the department are eligible to vote. The election procedure is outlined in Section V, “The Selection of Department Chairpersons” of the Faculty Senate Policies. 
2. Responsibilities and Rights of the Department Chair. The department will adhere to the selection and duties of the Chair that are delineated in the Faculty Senate Policies (revised 2008) http://www.uwlax.edu/faculty-senate/articles-bylaws-and-policies/ under the heading "IV. Responsibilities of Departments, Department Members and Department Chairpersons," "V. The Selection of Department Chairpersons," and "VI. Remuneration of Department Chairpersons." In addition, references to chair-related duties are stated indicated in the Employee Handbook http://www.uwlax.edu/Human-Resources/Employee-handbook/
a) The Chair is expected to assume a prominent role in creating a professional environment conducive to high morale and productivity in the Department. Further, in consultation with the appropriate committee(s), the Chair shall oversee the implementation of department policies in the following areas:
(1) Registration and scheduling;
(2) Curriculum implementation and development:
(3) Budget, textbooks, equipment and facilities;
(4) Convening and presiding over department meetings, and ensuring that departmental committees are meeting to fulfill their responsibilities;
(5) Personnel decision making processes as specified in Department and University policies;
(6) Student concerns and questions, and ensuring that academic advising occurs in the Department; and
(7) Liaison with other levels and units with the University and community, and representing the Department’s interests in those venues.
b) The teaching load of the Department Chair is reduced to a degree dictated by university policies.
3. The Department Chair serves a three-year term.
B. Standing Departmental Committees
1. Standing Committees. Insofar as possible, the standing committee membership shall reflect the rank structure and other interests of the Department. No faculty member shall serve on an appointed committee for more than three years consecutively. All appointments, except the Curriculum Committee whose members are selected on the basis of an alphabetical rotation, shall be made by the Chair of the Department. Committee reports requiring Department action shall be submitted in writing to Department members at least three days prior to the Department meeting where action is to be considered.
a) Curriculum Committee
(1) Membership: four members shall comprise this committee.
(2) Selection and duration of service: Committee members will be selected by the Chair on a rotating basis, from the alphabetical listing of tenured and probationary faculty. In alphabetical order, the first two members of the committee will rotate off each year and the next two department members will be added. Thus, service on this committee is for two years.
(3) Duties:
(a) generate, solicit, and review curriculum proposals and making recommendations to the department;
(b) each semester, review the preliminary schedule of courses constructed by the Chair in consultation with the department members to ensure the appropriate selection within the major, prevention of time conflicts, offering of writing emphasis courses, and inclusion of necessary information in the published timetable to inform students of special considerations; and
(c) consult with the Department members who are considering submitting a Faculty Development Grant proposal about any aspects of such a proposal that has direct implications for the Department’s curriculum.
b) Promotion and Merit Pay Committee
(1) Membership: all tenured professors, with the Chair serving ex-officio. No member shall be eligible to vote on the promotion of anyone to a rank higher than they currently possess. Subject to this proviso, the Chair shall have the right to vote.
(2) Duties:
(a) recommend members of the Department for promotion in accordance with Faculty Personnel Rules and Faculty Senate and Department policies. 
(b) recommend to the Department procedures for the collection of relevant data and a formula for merit pay distribution in accordance with Faculty Senate and Department policies.
(c) provide decisions of this committee to Department members upon request.
c) Retention and Tenure Committee
(1) Membership: all tenured members of the Department. All eligible members of this committee, including the Department Chair, shall have a vote.
(2) Duties: make recommendations to administration regarding retention of probationary faculty members and full-time instructional academic staff members as well as conduct post-tenure review.
d) Development Committee
(1) Membership: three members representing a range of experience with the Department, shall comprise this committee.
(a)	In addition, those faculty teaching HIS 200 and HIS 490 in any given semester shall be ex officio, non-voting members of the committee during that semester for the purposes of coordinating the surveys mentioned in (3)(f), below.
(2) Selection and duration of service: appointed annually by the Chair.
(3) Duties:
(a) Evaluate applicants and award student scholarships.
(b) Administer other funds from grant sources (1/3 to be spent on student needs, 1/3 on program development—for example, speakers, special events and hosting conferences, and 1/3 on supplies).
(c) Develop a fund-raising strategy for the History Development Fund.
(d) Administer the History Development Fund, recommending spending and new scholarships.
(e) Develop promotional materials for the Department and its programs.
(f) Ensure the administration of student informational surveys in HIS 200 and HIS 490 every semester for the purposes of gathering student program feedback and alumni contact information.
(g) Maintain the list/spreadsheet of alumni contact information.
(h) Plan and host a student information session each semester for the following purposes:
i) To recruit history majors and minors.
ii) To advertise the following semester’s classes to students.
iii) To promulgate information about available scholarships.
(4) All spending recommendations will require the approval of the Department.
e) Advisory Committee
(1)	Mission: To advise the Department Chair on issues pertaining to department governance, policy, and personnel. This is an advisory committee with no voting capacity, consisting of department member feedback on issues important to the department as a whole. 
(2)	Purview: Engaging in the regular review and update of the departmental bylaws; Advising the Department Chair on personnel matters (including sabbatical, student and faculty grievances); Advising the Department Chair on issues pertaining to equity (including teaching assignments, scheduling sections, short- and long-term planning); Advising the Department Chair regarding search-and-screen procedures for hiring. 
(3)	Membership: The intention of this membership policy is to appoint a near-random sample of the faculty; any complications to the following alphabetical process may be remedied by any appointment that fulfills the intention. Three rotating faculty will be selected by alphabetical order of last name, irrespective of rank. One faculty member will rotate off each year with a three-year term. If for any reason the next faculty member by alphabetical order cannot serve in a given year or semester, they will be replaced for that term by the next name in alphabetical order until they can return to complete their three-year term.
f) Assessment Committee
(1)	Membership: four members shall comprise this committee.
(2)	Selection and duration of service: Committee members will be selected by the Chair on a rotating basis, from the alphabetical listing of tenured and probationary faculty. In alphabetical order, the first two members of the committee will rotate off each year and the next two department members will be added. Thus, service on this committee is for two years.
(3)	Duties:
(a)	Gather evidence at the course level of student learning for the General Education program and the History program.
(b)	Determine which Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) to assess in which courses.
(c)	Determine the direct or indirect data collection methods to use.
(d)	Set the assessment time frame. 
(e)	Review the assessment results to refine or sustain the current curriculum, in coordination with the General Education Committee, General Education Assessment Committee, University Program Assessment Committee, Academic Program Review Committee, and the Committee of College Faculty Fellows for Diversity and Inclusion.
(f)	Write any final reports about assessment that may be required.
2. Ad Hoc Committees: Ad Hoc Committees shall be appointed by the Department or by the Chair with consent of the Department to complete necessary or desirable tasks not otherwise specified in these bylaws. The duration of any Ad Hoc Committees shall be noted in the charge to these committees, and the authority of such committees is limited to making recommendations to the Department.
C. Departmental Programmatic Assessment Plan
1. The History Major/Minor Program Student Learning Outcomes are the following: 
a) The ability to demonstrate content knowledge of world cultures and their interconnection to global forces as they change over time.
b) The ability to think historically: identifying the unique characteristics of past eras, articulating causality, and analyzing change over time.
c) The ability to interpret in their historical contexts an array of primary sources, including manuscripts, artifacts, quantitative, oral and visual sources. 
d) The ability to engage critically with historical argument: identifying underlying theories, assumptions, and approaches.
e) The ability to conduct original historical research using primary and secondary sources, and placing one’s own work within historical debates. 
f) The ability to communicate historical knowledge, interpretations, and arguments clearly in writing, oral presentations, or public history projects.
2. Process. The Assessment Coordinator shall lead the assessment process as outlined in section VIII E. 2. b. below.
a) Program assessment for the major and minor will be lodged in the capstone research seminar, HIS 490.
b) In spring semester, the Department will select one or more SLOs as the focus of assessment for the upcoming academic year.
c) Late in the spring semester, the Department will meet to discuss the results and agree on a report.
d) Instructors in HIS 490 each semester will select sample student papers from that semester to be reviewed by the department for the purposes of assessment—these papers will be presented anonymously.
D. Additional Departmental Policies
1. Sick leave. Department members will account for sick leave in adherence to the most current UW System guidelines: http://www.uwsa.edu/hr/benefits/leave/sick.htm.
2. Salary Equity Policy. UWL utilizes CUPA peer data to benchmark faculty and staff salaries (or UW System matches if CUPA data does not exist). Faculty and IAS salaries are benchmarked by rank and discipline whenever possible. The Faculty Senate Promotion, Tenure and Salary (PTS) committee reviews trends in data regarding equity, inversion and compression and makes recommendations for the disbursement of salary equity funds and/or pay plan (if available). Departments do not have the ability to make equity adjustments and Deans only have a limited ability when guided by PTS/Faculty Senate procedures. Individuals with job offers from another institution should provide the written offer to their chair and Dean for potential consideration of a salary adjustment if approved by the Provost and Vice Chancellor of Administration and Finance.
a)	The History Department is committed to the general principle of salary equity.
3. Vacation: For Unclassified Staff, 12-month employees garner vacation time, 9-month employees do not.
4. Family medical leaves are properly handled through the Office of Human Resources.
E. Department Coordinators
1. The Department Coordinator positions provide leadership in arenas that reflect the department’s mission in relationship to the College, University, and wider community. Unless otherwise noted, faculty who hold coordinator positions do not receive reassigned time in exchange for serving in these positions, but are instead compensated by being exempted from other forms of departmental service. 
2. Western Wisconsin Regional National History Day (NHD) Coordinator 
a) Selection and duration of service: the Coordinator is a contractual position, with .25 release time given each spring semester.
b) Duties:
(1) Serve as a local contact for teachers within region.
(2) Plan and lead regional fall teachers’ meeting or “roundtable.”
(3) Solicit and confirm monetary awards for regional contest.
(4) Recruit student, community, and faculty volunteer judges for school and regional contests.
(5) Train new volunteers.
(6) Recruit and coordinate student committees (monetary awards, certificate “scribes,” secretarial help).
(7) Participate in school contests.
(8) Coordinate Western Regional Contest.
(9) Do Western Regional Contest follow-up.
(10) Judge at State contest in May.
(11) Maintain contact with NHD State Coordinator.

IX. Search and Screen Procedures. The department will follow recruitment and hiring procedures prescribed by the University's Office of Human Resources (HR) in conjunction with AAO, UW System and WI state regulations. The UWL Search and Screen Policy and Procedures (https://kb.uwlax.edu/104752) are to be followed for all faculty and staff recruitments at UWL. Departments hiring faculty and IAS who are School of Education (SoE) affiliated will collaborate with the School of Education Dean who will convey DPI requirements and consult with the department during the recruiting and hiring processes. This consultation may include input into the position description, approving the applicant pool for campus/electronic interviews as well as offers of employment. Departments are expected to follow the Hiring Procedures Policy for SOE Affiliated Faculty in Teacher Education Programs available in the School of Education Faculty Handbook.
A. Tenure-Track Faculty. The approved UWL tenure track faculty recruitment and hiring policy and procedures are found at: https://www.uwlax.edu/human-resources/services/talent-acquisition-and-employment/recruitment/  Additionally, UWL's spousal/partner hiring policy can be found at http://www.uwlax.edu/Human-Resources/Spousal-and-partner-hiring/
1. The Search Committee will screen all applicants to identify those who meet the minimum listed requirements, and inform the Department of those who do. The Department will review and evaluate applicants to make hiring recommendations to the Dean.
a) The Department, prior to advertising the position, will formulate criteria for each position.
b) The Search Committee will screen all applications to determine eligible candidates, and will do so with the specific criteria formulated by the Department. All eligible candidates’ names will be forwarded to the Department.
c) All members of the Department will read all candidates’ files. At a Department meeting, each of the candidates will be reviewed and, with each member of the Department making judgments in applying the criteria to the candidates, the Department will shorten the list of candidates to a maximum of 15 finalists. Each candidate must receive a majority vote of memberships present to be included on the list of semi-finalists.
d) Representatives of the Search Committee shall conduct interviews (preferably in person) and bring recommendations to the Department for on-campus interviews.
e) The Department will then select candidates to be placed on the interview list. A majority vote of the Department will be required to move a person to the final interview stage.
f) Upon conclusion of the interview process, the Department will meet to make a summary of candidate strengths and weaknesses to the Dean of CASSH. Should the Dean not accept this recommendation or the candidate decline the offer, the Department will meet to consider whether it wishes to forward an additional name to the Dean.
2. The recommendations to hire is arrived at in consultation with the Dean of CASSH.
B. Instructional Academic Staff. Hiring policy and procedures are found at https://www.uwlax.edu/human-resources/services/talent-acquisition-and-employment/recruitment/ (same for IAS & NIAS)
C. Pool Search. Hiring policy and procedures are found at https://www.uwlax.edu/human-resources/services/talent-acquisition-and-employment/recruitment/#expand-176682
D. Academic Staff. Hiring policy and procedures are found at https://www.uwlax.edu/human-resources/services/talent-acquisition-and-employment/recruitment/
E. Hiring of Faculty and IAS who are School of Education affiliated: 
1. Departments hiring faculty and IAS who are School of Education (SoE) affiliated will collaborate with the School of Education, Professional and Continuing Education (EPC) Dean who will convey DPI requirements and consult with the department during the recruiting and hiring processes. This consultation may include input into the position description, approving the applicant pool for campus/electronic interviews as well as offers of employment. Departments are expected to follow the Hiring Procedures Policy for SOE Affiliated Faculty in Teacher Education Programs available in the School of Education Faculty Handbook.

X. Student Rights and Obligations
A. Student Course- and Faculty-Related Concerns, Complaints, and Grievances:
1. Informal Complaints. If a student has a concern or a complaint about a faculty member or course, the general process for making informal complaints is outlined in steps a-c below. Students are welcome to bring a friend or a UWL staff member with them during the following steps. Students who report concerns/complaints/grievances, whether informally or formally, will be protected from retaliation and have the right to expect an investigation and the option to have regular updates on the investigation:
a) The student should speak directly to the instructor.
b) If the student is uncomfortable speaking with the instructor, or they are unsatisfied with the solution, they should go to the chair of the faculty member’s home department.
c) If the student is uncomfortable speaking with the department chair, or the chair is the faculty member in question, the student should speak with their college dean.
d) Depending on the specifics of the student's concern, it may be helpful for them to reach out to additional offices:
e) Complaints/concerns/grievances about grades, teaching performance, course requirements, course content, incivility, or professional ethics should follow the process outlined above. Students may also wish to seek support from the Student Life office.
f) Complaints/concerns/grievances related to hate/bias and discrimination may follow the process outlined above, and in addition or instead students may contact the Center for Transformative Justice and/or submit a hate/bias incident report.
g) Complaints/concerns/grievances related to sexual misconduct may begin with the process outlined above, but will need to also involve the Office of Title IX and Violence Prevention offices https://www.uwlax.edu/violence-prevention/ , and/or the Title IX Team. Students should know that faculty members are mandatory reporters of sexual misconduct, but that confidential resources are available to them.
2. Formal Complaints. If the student is unsatisfied with the solution of their informal complaint, they have the right to file a formal institutional complaint with the Student Life office, as described in the Student Handbook.
3. Grade Appeal Policy 
a) When a student disagrees with a grade received from an instructor in the Department of History and wishes to appeal that grade, the following process shall be followed:
(1)	The student should consult with the instructor to see if an agreement over the grade in question can be reached. If not,
(2)	The student shall consult with the Department Chair to provide information and explain his or her point of view.
(3)	The Department Chair shall consult with the instructor on the issue of the grade, seeking to ensure that the student has consulted with the instructor and that the instructor accurately understands the student’s position on the matter.
(4)	If the result of steps 1-3 does not resolve the issue, the student may take the grade appeal to the Dean of the College.
(5) The instructor of the course is the only person who can change a grade and the instructor’s decision is final.
b) This process applies to appeals of grades given to specific instances of academic work and/or final course grades.
4. Incomplete Grades: Grades of “incomplete” shall be issued to students in cases where illness, family tragedy or other unusual circumstances beyond the control of the student has prevented the student from completing some portion of the course requirements. These criteria are stipulated in University policy. Incompletes shall not be issued unless the student has completed some substantial portion of the required course work. Work or other obligations not related to health or family are not legitimate grounds for incomplete grades. In cases where the original instructor cannot evaluate the student’s completed work, the Department Chair will take responsibility for arranging for that work to be evaluated for a grade and that the student’s grade is reported to the Office of Records and Registration.
5. Advanced Placement: Like other UW-La Crosse academic departments, the Department of History grants academic credit to students who have demonstrated appropriate performance on standardized examinations developed to measure university-level historical knowledge and analytical skill. The Advanced Placement (AP) exam, the International Baccalaureate (IB) exam, and the College Level Entrance Program (CLEP) exam may be used for this purpose. The appropriate course and credit equivalencies of these examination scores are on record in the Office of Admissions and the Department of History. The Department Chair and the Curriculum Committee of the Department of History will review these equivalencies periodically.
B. Expectations, Responsibilities, and Academic Misconduct. Academic misconduct, i.e., cheating in any form, is subject to punishment appropriate to the nature of the misconduct as outlined in UW System policy. The details of this policy and the hearing procedures are detailed on the University’s Student Life website. The Student Handbook details academic and non-academic misconduct policies. Faculty and staff are expected to report academic misconduct per Chapter 14 of the UW System code. The Office of Student Life Office provides guidance and assistance. Academic and nonacademic misconduct policies are referenced in the student handbook: https://www.uwlax.edu/student-life/student-resources/student-handbook/
C. Advising Policy
1. Each student majoring in History in the College of Arts, Social Science and Humanities shall be assigned an advisor. Any student request for a particular Department member as an advisor will be honored if possible. A nearly equal number of students shall be assigned to each advisor. Students who are undeclared majors and are assigned to the Department of History for advisement will be distributed to Department members in approximately equal proportion.
2. Expectations for advisors include:
a) being supportive and responsive to advisees;
b) encouraging advisees to set appointments during the weeks prior to registration by directly contacting advisees with relevant information and arranging for additional or expanded meeting times as necessary; 
c) being familiar with the curriculum of the Department of History, of the General Education Program, and of the relevant parts of the School of Education; and
d) being familiar with the other advising resources of the University.

XI. Other
A. Travel Allocation Procedures
1. In support of Department members’ pursuit of professional development or enrichment, the Department budget contains funds for expenses incurred during travel to conferences, seminars, or other professional activities.
2. The total amount allocated to any one Department member for travel before March 30 of each year shall not exceed the amount provided by the college for each instructional FTE in the Department.
3. The Department member should complete and submit online travel pre-authorization requests beforehand, providing an accurate anticipated expense figures that seeks the most reasonable rates and complies with UW System travel rules found on the Business Services website.
4. After March 30 of each year, the Department Chair shall determine how much, if any, travel funds remain in the Department budget, and award such funds to any pending travel requests. In this manner, the travel funds that have not been requested by Department members who did not travel in a given year become available to those who have utilized their equal share of travel funds.
B. Final Exams. Final examinations in courses taught by the Department of History are to be administered in accord with University Policy. The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse has a policy requiring final examinations appropriate to particular courses. Final exams are required to take place as scheduled during the “closure week” (i.e., the week scheduled for final exams) unless the Provost Vice Chancellor approves alternative arrangements. Under no circumstances can an instructor deny a student the right to take the final examination during the period scheduled for that class during closure week.
C. Travel Preapproval for Campus Absence. The University of Wisconsin System, as part of the State of Wisconsin, is a self-insuring body. In order for employees to maintain insurance coverage while performing employment-related activities when absent from campus, the employee should complete and submit online travel pre-authorization requests to create a useful record of their travel beforehand, even if they are not intending to seek travel reimbursement after. 
D. Faculty Status. Governance with the History Department is subject to action of the faculty members of the department. Section I.A. of the Articles of the Faculty Senate: notes that “All persons with the rank of professor, associate professor, assistant professor or instructor shall constitute the Ranked Faculty.” The History Department further requires that those with the rank of instructor must have a 100% teaching appointment to be granted voting rights with the Department. Voting rights may also be extended to instructors holding appointments in the Department who have been granted eligibility by action of the Faculty of the Department.
E. Teaching Loads, Modes of Instruction, Leaves, and Other Accommodations 
1. The department works with the college to set course enrollments per faculty per semester. These are arranged to address programmatic needs. Teaching load for tenured and probationary faculty is twelve credit hours. Teaching load for Instructional Academic Staff is twelve credit hours.
2. Most tenured or tenure-track members of the History Department shall teach at least one section of HIS 110 each semester.
3. Online Instruction
a) The Department Chair and Curriculum Committee are charged with monitoring this policy.
b) It is the responsibility of the Department to offer semester, summer and intersession schedules of courses that meet the requirements of our major/minor. It is in the interest of the Department to schedule courses that offer diverse methods of and formats for content delivery, online, hybrid, and blended classes included. Instructors prior to teaching online must complete the online training course offered by CATL. It is not in the interest of the Department to move too far away from our strength, which is face-to-face instruction.
c) Members of the History Department may offer any class (except HIS 200, HIS 408, HIS 450 and HIS 490) online during the three summer sessions and during J-Term (Winter Intersession). Individual course capacities may be set by the instructor (Summer and J-Term enrollment and pay policy should be considered, along with recommended online best practices) See policy on winter/summer teaching rotation in III. A. 6.
d) In fall and spring semester, overall enrollment issues call for a different approach:
(1) Course capacity for HIS 110 sections offered online in fall semester will be equal to face-to-face sections.
(2) Course capacity for HIS 110 sections offered online in spring semester will be set five below the capacity figure for face-to-face sections.
(3) Course capacity for 200 level courses (excluding HIS 200) offered online will be set five below the capacity figure for face-to-face sections. This applies to both fall and spring semesters.
(4) Course capacity for 300-400 level courses (excluding HIS 408, HIS 450 and HIS 490) offered online in either fall or spring semester will be set at the currently recommended best practice level of twenty-five students.
4. Tenured or tenure-track members of the History Department may request a special teaching schedule that departs from items #1 and #2 above in the following respects:
a) A faculty member may request a reduced SCH load one semester if s/he proposes an increased load the next semester.
b) A faculty member may request a schedule that includes one or more courses at any level for either a semester or a year. For example, the request could be to teach only World History courses for a semester or a year (and thus only have one preparation), or the request could be to teach only two upper-division courses for a semester or a year.
c) Either proposed course schedule above must offer the legitimate prospect of serving the appropriate number of students (variable according to full-time or partial teaching loads). The faculty member will direct his/her proposal to the Curriculum Committee, who will make a recommendation to the Department for consideration.
d) These options are available to every tenured or tenure-track member of the Department who may request a special schedule once every three years. If more than one faculty member applies, the Curriculum Committee will consider Department curricular needs and decide whether more than one proposal can be sustained for the period in question. If not, the Curriculum Committee will establish a rotation schedule or calendar, taking to account which (if any) applicant received this benefit most recently.
5. Faculty are encouraged to engage in activities such as grant-writing to request internal and external funds to facilitate course and professional development, research, travel, service and outreach activities. Faculty members’ engagement in competitive grant writing and awards constitutes evidence of teaching, research, service, and professional development. These requests should generally be made in writing to the Retention and Tenure Committee within the first month of the semester preceding the course release, in order to allow for schedule changes and modifications.
a) .25 Release:
(1) The Department may provide a .25 release per semester to one member of the Department. This release will be available to any faculty member except faculty in their first-year, who will automatically receive a .25 release per semester during the Fall and Spring.
(2) The .25 release is not automatic. Priority for use of this .25 release is to be given to faculty who use the course release time to complete a research, teaching or service project.
(3) Faculty receiving release time may choose to be exempt from all service expectations to the Department, to maximize use of release time.
(4) In the event that more faculty members apply for release time for the same semester than the Department can support, the following consideration will determine which, if any, member receives it: Whether the faculty member has had a leave in the past, and if so, how recently (priority being given to those who have not had release time at all or not had it recently); The product that resulted from the previous release(s) (priority to those whose previous release(s) resulted in a tangible outcome); The degree to which a release is crucial (in regard to a time deadline) or simply convenient to completion of the proposed project; Level of significance to person or department in terms of teaching, research or service.
(5) In consultation with the Provost, Dean, and Chair, the Retention and Tenure Committee may also grant course releases to faculty engaged in ad-hoc administrative or instructional tasks, as long as arrangements are made to enable the Department to meet enrollment goals and to provide coverage of course requirements for majors and minors.
(6) Decisions will be made by the Department Retention and Tenure Committee in consultation with the Department Curriculum Committee and Department Chair.
b) Leaves of Absence
(1) Faculty who receive internal or external funds to cover a release may request as many course releases as their funds will cover, up to and including a full leave of absence, being advised that such requests must be made in a timely fashion that will allow the Department to cover its programmatic needs. These requests should generally be made within the first month of the semester preceding the course release, in order to allow for schedule changes and modifications.
(2) Tenure-track faculty cannot request a leave of absence for the fall semester of their tenure decision year. If there is a conflict, faculty may request that the tenure clock be stopped. Faculty should not request a leave for the year they apply for promotion. (3) Faculty requests for a leave of absence without pay should be directed to the Department Chair and the Retention and Tenure Committee in a timely fashion.
c) Grants
(1) Any grant that seeks internal or external resources to conduct teaching, research, or service that requires a reassignment or release of instructional time or leave of absence must be approved by the Department Retention and Tenure Committee as early as possible. The process for applying for a grant is as follows:
(a) Discuss proposal with the University Grants Office for information about University requirements.
(b) Meet with the Department Chair and CASSH Dean for additional information.
(c) Submit the complete grant and budget proposal to the Department Chair. This should be done at least 3 weeks before the grant deadline. The Department Chair will determine if additional consultation with the Department is necessary. If the grant requires a leave or release time request then a recommendation must come from the Retention and Tenure Committee, then the Dean, then the Provost.
(2) Any request for leave, release time or stoppage of the tenure clock must begin with a Department recommendation, followed by the Dean’s recommendation and Provost’s approval. 
(3) Appeal Process. All appeals of release time and/or grant decisions made by the Retention and Tenure Committee must go to the CASSH Dean’s Office. An in-person meeting including the individual, the committee, and the Dean, participating in a non-voting capacity, will hear and resolve the appeal.

XII. Appendices
A. Department Statement on Scholarship
1. As proof of scholarly activity is important to many review processes, and as such scholarly activity can come in a wide array of forms, it is useful for the Department to define what constitutes scholarship. Scholarship criteria and expectations are referred to in several parts of the Department Bylaws describing materials to be considered in review processes. In multiple sections of the Department Bylaws, scholarship is defined as representing, in combination with service, a maximum of 50% of a Department member's expected work, with teaching constituting the other 50%. 
2. In part V. of these Bylaws, scholarly products are broadly construed in this way: Following the "Guidelines for Broadening the Definition of Historical Scholarship” approved by the American Historical Association Council in 2023, scholarly products are those original works that are broadly disseminated in a genre appropriate to successful communication, have gone through careful professional or peer review to make certain they possess scholarly arguments based on professionally-cited evidence from the past, have demonstrable impact or influence, are a part of an ongoing scholarly project, and represent collaboration or interaction with the work of other scholars or scholarly historians. Works that meet these criteria should be listed as intellectual contributions to scholarship, while other work can be listed elsewhere and demonstrate other types of professional activity, engagement and outreach.
3. School of Education Faculty. The Department will consider an activity undertaken by a School of Education faculty member to be a scholarly activity if it results in a significant contribution either to the existing body of professional knowledge in the field of education, or to the faculty member’s professional standing and public profile as an academic in the field of education. The Department recognizes that this broad interpretation will result in some overlap with the other areas of School of Education faculty endeavors. The following list, neither exhaustive nor ranked, is offered as a sample of the kinds of endeavors which the Department considers to be scholarly activities:
a) Publications (professional articles in the field of education)
b) Professional conventions, colloquia, seminars, workshops, etc.
(1) Giving a presentation, organizing, attending, etc.
(2) Designing, delivering, or evaluating professional development for educators
c) Professional consulting in the field of Education
d) Writing or editing books or curricular materials
e) Refereeing articles for journals in the field of Education
f) Grants in the field of Education
(1) Writing proposals
(2) Writing successful proposals
(3) Reviewing proposals
g) Empirical research in the field of Education
(1) Experimental, quasi-experimental, observational, correlational, case-study, lesson study, etc.
(2) Designing, validating, or piloting instruments for use in educational research
(3) Software development for educational research
B. Teaching, Scholarship, and Service Expectations for School of Education (SoE) Affiliated faculty members
1.	Teaching Preparation and Currency: SoE affiliated faculty are expected to incorporate current techniques that are relevant to the PK-12 setting as described in WI PI.34.11 2 (a, b): “(a) Faculty who teach in initial and advanced programs leading to licensure will have preparation specifically related to their assignment, hold an advanced degree, and demonstrate expertise in their assigned area of responsibility. (b) Faculty who teach in initial and advanced programs will be knowledgeable about current elementary, middle, and secondary curriculum, practices, requirements, technology, and administrative practices appropriate to their assignment.”
2.	Field and Student Teaching Supervision Assignments: Faculty and IAS who supervise teacher candidates (TCs) in field placements or student teaching settings as part of their workload assignment are expected to perform the duties required, including observing TCs in the field, meeting with cooperating teachers and TCs, supporting TCs with portfolio assembly, submission, and evaluation as needed, and submitting required documentation to SoE in a timely manner.
3.	SoE affiliated faculty are expected to meet the following requirements in order to supervise teacher candidates in the field, as stated in PI.34.11 2 (c): “Faculty who supervise pre-student teachers, practicum students, student teachers, or interns will have at least 3 years of teaching, pupil services, or administrative experience or the equivalent as determined by the department in prekindergarten through grade 12 settings.”
4.	The following aspects of field and student teaching supervision should be taken into account when evaluating faculty teaching workload and performance:
a) Observations of teacher candidates (TCs) during their field or student teaching placements is required and should be performed in line with SoE Office of Field Experience expectations.
b) Triad conferences between each teacher candidate, university supervisor (UWL faculty/IAS), and cooperating teacher are also required in both field and student teaching settings, and should be performed in line with SoE Office of Field Experience expectations.
c) Documentation responsibilities include completing observation reports using appropriate reporting tools, which are ultimately compiled by the faculty member. These should be performed in line with SoE Office of Field Experience expectations
d) Support and evaluation of pre-student teaching and student teaching portfolios is expected of faculty with Field II and Student Teaching Seminar assignments. For pre-student teaching portfolios, faculty are expected to provide feedback and evaluate the TC portfolios. For student teaching portfolios prepared during student teaching placements, faculty are expected to provide more extensive ongoing support, clarification, and technical assistance as the TCs prepare and submit their required teacher performance assessment (edTPA) portfolio. 
5.	Scholarship. 
a)	SoE affiliated faculty are hired in a role associated with preparing educators and are therefore expected to be engaged in scholarly activities that inform and enhance the work they do with prospective teachers. PI.34.11 2 (b) specifies that “Faculty who teach in initial and advanced programs will be knowledgeable about current elementary, middle, and secondary curriculum, practices, requirements, technology, and administrative practices appropriate to their assignment.” Furthermore, Appendix A: Components for the Review of Institutions of Higher Learning, specifies that “acceptable evidence to support PI.34.11 2 (b) includes: listings of publications, articles, professional development participation, special projects, grants.”
b)	Consequently, the following statements should guide departmental considerations of scholarship for SoE affiliated faculty.
(1)	Publications, articles, grants, and/or conference presentations that focus on the act of teaching and/or instructional methods (if peer reviewed) will be considered scholarship rather than teaching activities. Conference attendance is considered faculty development rather than scholarship.
(2)	Equal consideration should be given to high quality scholarship that informs PK-12 education in practitioner journals (with a rigorous review process) to high quality scholarship that informs PK-12 education in academic journals (with a rigorous review processes).
(3)	SoE affiliated faculty may choose to pursue scholarship that is directly focused on preparing future teachers and/or PK-12 education, and/or content-focused scholarship in addition to scholarship that aligns with and informs their work as teacher educators, and/or scholarship that blends content and PK-12 education. SoE affiliated faculty should use narrative statements to articulate the connection(s) between their scholarship and their work as PK-12 teacher educators wherever possible.
6.	Service. 
a) SoE affiliated faculty are expected to participate in service that aligns with and informs PK-12 education and their work as teacher educators as stated in PI.34.11 2 (d): “Faculty who teach in an initial or advanced program will be actively engaged in professional practice with prekindergarten through grade 12 schools, professional organizations, and other education related endeavors at the local, state or national level.”
b) SOE-related service activities that clearly align with DPI expectations include:
(1)	Serving on SoE Task Force/Ad Hoc committees that span academic units
(2)	Program Directorship - the specific tasks and responsibilities associated with Program Directorship should be delineated in program and/or department bylaws
(3)	Chairing SoE Program level committees
(4)	Developing PK-12 partnerships such as Professional Development Schools (PDS)
(5)	Participating in SoE student recruitment, outreach, and support activities
(6)	Serving as liaison with PK-12 (PDS) partnerships
(7)	Academic Advising - WI Department of Public Instruction (DPI) mandates that SoE affiliated faculty provide individual academic and professional advising to students as outlined in PI.34.: “PI 34.13 Student services. (1) ADVISING RESOURCES AND MATERIALS. The institution will insure all students have access to and are provided information and resources on student services including personal, professional and career counseling, career information, tutoring, academic, and job placement assistance.”
7.	Statement on Grading: Grading student performance in SoE involves assessing mastery. Faculty are responsible for determining if teacher candidates (TCs) are proficient in all areas of teaching. TCs must master planning, implementation of instructional practices and assessment of student learning in order to progress. Through this process, faculty provide substantial feedback that is used by TCs to continually revise and expand their work to meet proficiency standards. Therefore, grades are typically high (As and Bs) because assessment is an iterative process that leads students to mastery. It is important for reviewers of faculty portfolios to appreciate mastery grading when reviewing SoE course grade distributions.
 
XIII. Department Affiliations
A. International and Global Studies Program Minor
1. The International and Global Studies (IGS) Program is a free-standing minor housed within the Department of History in the College of Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities (CASSH). It is the mission of the IGS Program to:
a) provide students with a quality interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary undergraduate education that encourages them to think beyond boundaries and to examine a broad array of cultural, economic, environmental, geographic, historical, natural, political, and social interactions and relationships that shape our world.
b) present members of the campus community opportunities to connect theory and practice through outreach programs, engaged scholarship, and the promotion of activities that examine connections between the local and global, and to engage in opportunities that explore the world.
2. The IGS minor offers an array of elective courses which focus on global or international phenomena that may also have local implications, compare subjects across many regions of the world, develop skills and abilities for meaningful cross-cultural and transnational interactions, and more. Students can choose a general topic, theme, or particular world area emphasis. These paths share the same six-credit foundation with each path containing a different set of elective courses depending on student interest.
3. Although the Department of History serves as the administrative home for the IGS Program, the Director of International and Global Studies is appointed by and reports to the Dean of the College of Arts, Social Sciences, and Humanities (CASSH). The Director should be a ranked faculty member at UW-La Crosse with preference given to faculty who are tenured associate or full professors. A call will go out campus wide to advertise the position as the Director is not required to be a member of the College of Arts, Social Sciences, and Humanities. The CASSH Dean will be responsible for evaluating the IGS Director’s performance annually in the spring.
4. The Department of History’s Academic Department Associate (ADA) will assist the IGS Director with scheduling, textbook rental, advisees, catering, and other program-related tasks as assigned, including but not limited to assistance with mailings, photocopying, publicizing speakers and events, etc., as needed for the operation of the program, regardless of the Director’s home department. CASSH will provide the INS Program with budgetary funds every fiscal year.
5. The International and Global Studies Advisory Board is a standing committee that serves as the primary advisory body to the Director of the International and Global Studies (IGS) Program on matters related to curriculum content, recruitment, and other needs of the Director. Members should be invested in international education and the IGS Program. The Advisory Board will be composed of no less than five but no more than seven faculty or staff members of a variety of ranks. To maintain the diversity of perspective on the Advisory Board, only one member of a department/program may serve at one time. In addition, one member of the Advisory Board should be from the College of Business Administration and one from the College of Science and Health. In collaboration with the Advisory Board and IGS Director, appointments to the Advisory Board will be made by the CASSH Dean.
B. Oral History Program
1. The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse (UWL) Oral History Program (OHP) is a free-standing organization affiliated with the History Department in the College of Arts, Social Sciences, and Humanities (CASSH). The OHP’s mission includes the following: 
a)	Conduct oral history interviews and oversee oral history projects that focus on the history of the La Crosse area, placing special emphasis on the University and five counties served by the UWL Murphy Library Special Collections and Area Research Center (Jackson, La Crosse, Monroe, Trempealeau, and Vernon).
b)	Maintain appropriate provisions for security and long-term preservation at Murphy Library.
c)	Provide access to the oral history collection for the public.
d)	Promote and publicize OHP through outreach and advocacy within the regional community, University, and the larger academic field.
e)	Support other oral history efforts in the region as permitted by the Collection Policy.
2. OHP offers UWL students, faculty and staff, as well as the wider community the opportunity for research, professional, class, or personal projects across disciplines. It provides a record of otherwise undocumented communities.
3. Although the History Department serves as the administrative home of OHP, the Executive Director is chosen by, appointed by, and reports to the governing OHP Board. Candidates for Executive Director must be a UWL faculty member able to manage OHP's physical on-site operations and coordinate and meet in-person with student employees and partners. They must also be committed to regularly engaging in local community outreach efforts that take place in the La Crosse region. Their research and teaching should demonstrate that they have the necessary skills to carry out the Executive Director’s duties. The Board will give priority to History faculty members. When a vacancy occurs, a call will go out campus-wide to advertise the position. Candidates must have knowledge of oral history interviewing best practices and ethical considerations, in addition to one or more of the following areas of expertise:
a)	Ability to interpret evidence in its relevant historical context.
b)	Ability to teach student employees the indexing and historical contextualization process.
c)	Editorial experience.
d)	Ability to supervise several employees simultaneously.
e)	Project management experience. 
4. See OHP Bylaws (article 4.2) for full description of Executive Director’s duties.
5. The OHP Board President will be responsible for evaluating the OHP Director’s performance annually in the spring. The President will share the evaluation with the CASSH Dean. 
6. The OHP Board is a standing committee that serves as the primary advisory body to the OHP Director. The Board shall be made up of the Executive Director and between five to ten voting members, consisting of three groups (1) UWL faculty, (2) LAM professionals (libraries, archives, and museums), including at least one UWL Murphy Library Special Collections and Area Research Center staff member, and (3) community members whose work and/or activism demonstrates a commitment to the region and its varied voices. In order to maintain OHP autonomy and balance, the Board should be made up of an equal number of UWL faculty, LAM professionals, and community members. 
7. See OHP Bylaws (articles 2.2-2.7) for further description of Board and members.
8. The History Department’s Administrative Departmental Associate will assist the OHP Executive Director with Program-related tasks as assigned, including but not limited to: assisting in purchasing office supplies, financial administration tasks, mailings, photocopying, travel reimbursement, publicizing speakers and events, etc., as needed for the operation of the Program, regardless of director’s home department. CASSH will provide OHP with budgetary funds every fiscal year.