Procedures for Establishing New or Revising Existing Academic Polices

Source of Proposed Policy The establishment of new academic policies or the revision of existing academic policies that would or could impact more than one academic school may emanate from one of the following four sources:

Department Chair, Division Director or Core Faculty

Academic Dean

Faculty Assembly (or a standing committee of the Faculty Assembly)

The Provost

Pathways of Review

1. If an academic policy proposal emanates from a Department Chair, Division Director or Core Faculty
   1. The proposal initiator brings the proposal to the Division or Department level to be discussed with core faculty.
   2. The proposal must be reviewed by the Dean of the school, in which the department, division or faculty is housed.
   3. The Dean will submit the proposal to the Provost, in either its original form or with revisions, for review and discussion.
   4. If the Dean and the Provost conclude that the policy will affect only the school from which it emanated, then the Dean will finalize the language of the policy, with the approval of a majority of the school’s core faculty by vote in a school faculty caucus.
   5. If it is deemed that the proposal would or could impact more than one school, then the proposal, in either the original or revised form, will be placed on the agenda for review and discussion by the Deans Group, comprised of the school deans, the Associate Provost, and the Provost.
   6. If the Provost supports the proposal after consultation with the Deans Group, it will be submitted by the Provost, in either its original form or with revisions, to the Faculty Assembly chair for consideration by the faculty.
   7. The Faculty Assembly chair will forward the proposal to the Faculty Affairs & Academic Policies (FAAP) committee for review.
   8. The FAAP chair will forward its feedback to the Academic Advisory Council (AAC), which will review the proposal and feedback from FAAP.
   9. It will be the responsibility of AAC to try to reconcile any concerns about the proposal before it is presented to the Faculty Assembly for approval by a majority of the Faculty Assembly.
   10. The chair of Faculty Assembly will take the proposal and background information to the Faculty Assembly for a vote.
   11. Upon approval by the Faculty Assembly, the chair of the Faculty Assembly shall forward the approved proposal to the Provost for final action.
2. If an academic policy proposal emanates from an academic Dean
   1. The Dean brings the proposal to the School Leadership Team to be vetted at the Division and Department level by core faculty.
   2. The proposal will be submitted to the Provost by the Dean and placed on the agenda for review and discussion by the Deans group.
   3. If the Provost supports the proposal, follow the review process outlined above (A, f-k).
3. If an academic policy proposal emanates from the Provost, the proposal will be placed on the agenda for review and discussion by the Deans Group. The proposal, in either its original form or with revisions, will be submitted by the Provost to the Faculty Assembly chair for approval by majority vote of the faculty, following the review process outlined above (A, f-k).
4. Whether an academic policy proposal emanates directly from the Faculty Assembly, is channeled through the Assembly from a faculty committee, or has been submitted to the Faculty Assembly by the Provost, the Faculty Assembly is to review the proposal, consult with colleagues via FAAP and AAC, and make a recommendation to the Provost for final action. In the absence of a favorable majority vote by the Faculty Assembly an academic policy proposal cannot be enacted.

Timelines for Review of Academic Policy Proposals

Regardless of the source of the proposal, under ordinary circumstances, the next level of review must be conducted within 30 days of receipt of the proposal. The feedback from each stage of the review process is to be communicated to the initiator of the proposal and all bodies at the intermediate stages. All academic policy proposals, regardless of the point of initiation, must be codified by the Office of the Provost for historical documentation and ease of tracing. [A Tracking form will be developed for this purpose.]

Review Outcomes

Each level of review will result in a written statement as an attachment to the Tracking Form, indicating the outcome of the review. The written statements will take one of three forms:

1. Written statement that the proposed policy is supported by the reviewer(s), either in original form or with revisions, in keeping with the spirit of the original proposal, and will be forwarded to the next stage of review.
2. Written statement that the proposed policy is not supported by the reviewer(s), and a clear delineation of the objections or concerns. All proposals that have not been supported will be reviewed by the AAC.
3. A written statement that more than 30 days is needed to gather relevant information, to study the implication of the proposed policy, or to consult with others. In this case, the reviewer(s) should attempt to estimate the time needed to complete the review.

Presidential and/or Board Approval

The Provost will consult with the President on all University-wide policy decisions before making a final determination. In cases in which it is determined that the Board must approve a policy, the Provost will place the item on the agenda for the Academic Affairs Committee of the Board at its next scheduled meeting, following by ratification of the full Board.

Final Policy Approval and Notification

All academic policies will be placed in a Book of Academic Policies and Procedures that is maintained in the Office of the Provost. Once a policy is approved, it will be posted on the University Intranet on the Provost Office site and printed in the next printing of the Faculty Handbook. In all cases, the policy will include citation of the initiator, date of approval, and body/individual issuing final approval.

Revised 1/23/14 by FAAP

Revised 2/13/14 by AAC

Approved by AAC on 4/10/14

Approved by FA on 4/22/14; approved with the agreement that faculty questions and concerns be documented. These can be found in the Memorandum dated April 25, 2014.