Faculty Assembly

Introduction

The Lesley University Faculty Governance Policy provides the opportunity for the faculty to meet as a unified group, guided by the mission of the University. As a result of the 1994 restructuring, the faculty of the four schools developed an all-university Faculty Assembly mode. Through the Assembly, the faculty addresses issues of faculty life and works to assure the academic integrity of the University. The President and the Board of Trustees hold final authority and responsibility for the University. Within this context, collaboration is the cornerstone of the governance policy, among the faculty and between the faculty and the administration.

Responsibilities of the Faculty Assembly

The Faculty Assembly, as the steward of the academic environment, will play a central role in the development of the University's intellectual direction, university-wide academic standards and structures, and opportunities for professional growth of faculty.

The Faculty Assembly will represent the collective interests of the faculty in the development, implementation, and monitoring of policies regarding faculty contracts, salaries, retention, workload and promotion.

The Faculty Assembly and/or its designated committees will participate at key stages in the development of major institutional strategies and major policy initiatives affecting the institution.

Governance of the Faculty Assembly

MEMBERSHIP & MEETINGS: All individuals with full-time or pro-rated faculty contracts are full voting members of the Faculty Assembly. Individuals on administrative contracts, even those who hold faculty rank, are not members of the Faculty Assembly. Two hours of the third and fourth Tuesdays of each month are reserved exclusively for Faculty Assembly and any constituent school-based faculty meetings.

DECISION-MAKING PROCESS: Decisions will be made by a majority vote of the attendees, providing that a quorum is present. Since meetings may not coincide with the times that pro-rata faculty are on campus, the quorum for each academic year will be the number of individuals equal to one-half the number of full-time contracted faculty. All decisions of the Faculty Assembly will be made with only members of the Assembly present. Most decisions will be made by voice vote. However, if the Steering Committee or an individual faculty member requests a confidential vote, decisions will be made by secret ballot. As appropriate, motions passed by the Faculty Assembly will be forwarded by the Faculty Assembly Steering Committee to the President, Provost, or duly designated representatives of the administration. Discussions and decision-making procedures in the Faculty Assembly will be guided by Robert's Rules of Order.

Leadership

CHAIR & VICE-CHAIR: the Faculty Assembly will elect a Chair and a Vice-Chair. Each year a Vice-Chair will be elected for two years, serving the first year as Vice-Chair and the second year as Chair.

The Chair will be released from two workload units per academic year to carry out the responsibilities of this office. These include the following:

• Overseeing the ongoing work of the Faculty Assembly and its committees;
• Coordinating agenda for and chairing Faculty Assembly and Faculty Assembly Steering Committee meetings;
• Serving on the University Council (UC) and participating in the creation of the UC agenda;
• Acting as faculty liaison with administrative offices;
• Representing the faculty and its leadership at academic and university-wide events.

The Vice-Chair will be released from one workload unit per academic year to carry out the responsibilities of this office. These include the following:

• Assisting the Chair to fulfill the responsibilities of that office;
• Assuring that all procedures, actions, and decisions of the Faculty Assembly and the Faculty Assembly Steering Committee are recorded and archived;
• Assuring that written reports, minutes, and correspondence are provided to appropriate parties as necessary through verbal, written and electronic means;
• Serving on the University Council.

Faculty Assembly Steering Committee (FASC)

The primary responsibilities of the Faculty Assembly Steering Committee are the following:

• Setting the agenda of the Faculty Assembly;
• Overseeing the work of Faculty Assembly committees;

• Monitoring the implementation of University policy regarding faculty contracts, promotion, salary, and workload;

• Representing the faculty to the President, the administration, and other University constituencies.

The FASC is composed of 20 voting faculty:

School Representatives’ responsibilities include the following:

• Communicating with constituent faculty in relation to issues of concern that warrant Faculty Assembly consideration;
• Requesting time to work with Deans to develop agenda for school-based meetings and school-based faculty meetings; chairing school-based faculty meetings; and overseeing school-based faculty meetings;
• Representing views of school-based faculty on the Faculty Assembly Steering Committee and on the University Council (Chair, Vice-Chair, FAAP Chair, B&P Chair), and other appropriate forums.

Board of Trustee Representatives’ responsibilities include the following:

• Attending general meetings of the Board of Trustees and making regular reports to the Faculty Assembly on major Board discussions and decisions;
• Serving on Board of Trustees committees that welcome faculty participation, e.g., the Academic Affairs Committee of the Board of Trustees.

The Chair and Vice-Chair will serve two-year staggered terms. The School representatives will also serve two-year staggered terms. The representatives to the Board of Trustees will serve two-year staggered terms. The chairs of standing committees will each serve two-year terms as a representative of those committees.

The Chair and Vice-Chair of the Faculty Assembly and the four representatives to the Board of Trustees will be elected by the Faculty Assembly. The School representatives will be elected by the faculty within each School. The Chairs standing committees will be elected by the members of each of those committees.

The Steering Committee serves as the Faculty Assembly's liaison with the President and Provost. The Steering Committee is empowered to represent the views of the Faculty Assembly in discussions and negotiations with the President and Provost. When the Steering Committee is negotiating with the administration, at least four/fifths of the full membership of the Steering Committee must favor the proposal for it to be considered as representative of the views of the faculty. With such assent, proposals will be taken to the Faculty Assembly for further deliberation.

If, in extraordinary situations, the President or Provost raises issues with the Steering Committee which cannot be immediately discussed with the Faculty Assembly, the Steering Committee will provide the President or Provost with the best counsel it can, taking time to caucus when necessary.

Standing Committees of the Faculty Assembly

The standing committees of the Faculty Assembly shall include the following: Faculty Affairs and Academic Policies, Budget and Planning, External Professional Affairs, Faculty Life and Development, Institutional Review Board for Human Subjects in Research and Rank and Promotion. Membership on most standing committees will be by election of the Faculty Assembly. However, to ensure that the Rank and Promotion Committee and the Faculty Life and Development Committee include representatives from each School, membership on these two committees will be determined by elections within each School. The Faculty Assembly Steering Committee will periodically review university-wide Committee structure and membership, and determine whether other committees are necessary to address the concerns of the Lesley University faculty.

Faculty Affairs and Academic Policies Committee (FAAP)

The Faculty Affairs and Academic Policies Committee considers, reviews, and develops responses and recommendations regarding institutional decisions, policies and other matters affecting the academic environment of Lesley University and the relationship between the University and the faculty.

The Committee works closely with the Provost, other administrators designated by the Provost, the Dean of Faculty, and the FASC representative to the Academic Affairs Committee of the Board of Trustees to address University-wide Academic issues and concerns.

The Committee’s agenda will be based on academic issues as they emerge as well as those identified at the beginning of each year by the Committee in consultation with FASC.

The Faculty Affairs and Academic Policies Committee is composed of the Dean of Faculty and six full-time or pro-rated faculty, four representing each school, and two individuals elected at-large in the Faculty Assembly. Committee members will serve two-year staggered terms. Faculty may be re-elected as their terms are completed. The chair of the Committee is elected by the Committee members and serves as a member of the Faculty Assembly Steering Committee.

Budget and Planning Committee

The Budget and Planning Committee considers, reviews, and develops recommendations concerning institutional policies, strategies and priorities affecting the financial condition of Lesley University, including the annual budget and financial projections.

The Committee works closely with the Senior Vice-President for Finance and with other administrators designated by the Senior Vice-President for Finance.

The Committee's agenda is based on issues identified at the beginning of each academic year by the members of the Committee in consultation with the Faculty Assembly Steering Committee and senior administration. The Committee decides which issues will require ad hoc Committee attention and which issues will be addressed by the Committee directly. Recommendations of the Budget and Planning Committee or an ad hoc Committee will be presented to the Faculty Assembly. The action taken by the Faculty Assembly is then reported to the President.

The Budget and Planning Committee consists of five faculty elected by the Faculty Assembly to include one representative per School and one at-large member for staggered two-year terms. Faculty may be re-elected as their terms are completed. The Chair of the Committee is elected by the Committee members and serves as a member of the Faculty Assembly Steering Committee.

External Professional Affairs Committee (EPAC)

The External Affairs Committee will work in conjunction with institutional offices, as appropriate, to gather, centralize and disseminate information and resources from professional organizations on matters of interest to the faculty. These include quality of academic life issues such as contracts, salaries, retention, workload, promotion, economic trends and professional meetings and conferences.

The External Professional Affairs Committee consists of four at large faculty elected and serve for two-year staggered terms. The faculty may be re-elected as their terms are completed. The chair of the Committee is elected by the Committee members and serves as a member of the Faculty Assembly Steering Committee.

Faculty Life and Development Committee

The Faculty Life and Development Committee is a university-wide Committee that is convened to make recommendations on Faculty Sabbaticals, Faculty Development Grants, Faculty Requests for Funding to attend conferences and the overall direction of Faculty Development Opportunities. The Committee is composed of the Dean of Faculty and six members, four full-time or pro-rated faculty who represent each school and two individuals elected at-large in the Assembly. Committee members serve three-year staggered terms. The Provost or the Provost's designee serves as an ex-officio non-voting member. The chair of the Committee is elected by Committee members and serves as a member of the Faculty Assembly Steering Committee.

Institutional Review Board for Human Subjects in Research

The Standing Committee on the Use of Human Subjects in Research functions as the Institutional Review Board (IRB), and its membership is such as to satisfy requirements of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The IRB has at least five members with varying backgrounds to promote complete and adequate review of research activities commonly conducted by Lesley University. At least one member of the Committee is a nonscientist and one member is a person not affiliated with Lesley University. Members are appointed or re-appointed each year by the Provost on the recommendation of the Provost's designee [Associate Provost]. The ordinary term of service is three years. (For additional details, see the Statement of Policies and Procedures Governing the Use of Human Subjects in Research.)

Rank and Promotion

The Rank and Promotion Committee is a university-wide Committee that is convened to evaluate faculty members for determination of rank and promotion. The Committee is composed of nine (9) members who are full-time or pro-rata faculty at the Associate Professor or Professor rank and have been employed at Lesley University for two years or more. The term of appointment is three years. In addition, the Provost (or the Provost's designee) and the Dean of Faculty serve in an ex-officio non-voting role, contributing to clarify policies and procedures. The chair of the Committee is elected by the Committee members, and represents the committee in the Faculty Assembly.

Relationship Between Faculty Assembly and The Schools

While the Faculty Assembly addresses university-wide issues and standards, the individual schools address school-specific policies and practices. To further the work of the Faculty Assembly, school-based faculty will meet as needed to discuss matters pertinent to faculty governance. The responsibilities of the two faculty elected from each school to serve on the Faculty Assembly Steering Committee include convening any school-based faculty meetings and assuring that the views of the school faculty are represented in appropriate forums.

Two hours of the first and second Tuesdays of each month are reserved for school business meetings. Faculty Assembly representatives will be allotted time at these meetings as issues arise. Representatives should work with the dean of each school to set these agendas.

Relationship Between Faculty Assembly and Administration

To implement the Faculty Assembly's active participation in the academic life of Lesley University, the following working relationships shall exist:

The President: The President and the Faculty Assembly Steering Committee will hold regularly scheduled meetings to foster communication and collaboration. In addition, the President is always welcome to attend meetings of the Faculty Assembly to present and discuss matters of institutional importance.

Administration: Senior administrators and the Faculty Assembly Steering Committee will meet at least three times each academic year. These joint meetings will provide opportunities to determine institutional goals and agendas and to monitor and assess institutional progress.

Board of Trustees: The Faculty Assembly will elect three representatives to attend regular meetings of the Board of Trustees. These representatives will serve as a resource to the Board and will report to the Faculty Assembly on major Board discussions and decisions. These representatives will also serve on Trustee committees that invite faculty participation.

Adoption, Amendment, and Review Procedures

The Faculty Governance Policy is in effect since its approval by the Faculty Assembly, the President, and the Board of Trustees on May 7, 1997.

Amendments to this policy require a three-fifths vote of (60%) of the Faculty Assembly. All proposed amendments must then be approved by the Board of Trustees.

The policy will be subject to review as deemed necessary by the Faculty Assembly, the President, and/or the Board of Trustees.