Guiding Principles

This problem-solving advisory committee does not determine academic policy but develops recommendations about academic planning and policy implementation. The recommendations will be forwarded to appropriate groups for consideration, including Faculty Assembly, programs, schools, and curriculum committees. The committee makes recommendations to the Provost.

This committee serves to direct and gather academic matters to one deliberative, collective forum. This committee will exclusively create any cross-university working groups that address academic policy or procedure issues. Faculty Assembly via the Faculty Affairs and Academic Policy (FAAP) Committee will select faculty participating in such sub-committees and working groups, and the Provost will select non-faculty participants. The Provost will inform this committee of any additional working groups that are developed to address administrative issues related to academic concerns. This committee will review faculty membership and make recommendations if necessary. Such groups will provide regular reports to AAC.

Guiding principles for the AAC include: Commitment to ensuring quality academic programs and policies; collaboration on establishing agendas; effective communication to the entire University; inclusiveness and an open-meeting policy; clarity of process for informing, advising or directing actions and outcomes; deliberative processes with sufficient time for review of complex issues; consolidation of existing committees and task forces to reduce redundancy; transparency, accountability, and shared trust. The committee deliberates and makes policy recommendations by general consensus.