UNCW Faculty Governance Document

(adopted August 30, 1977 and subsequently amended on several occasions up to and including June 4, 1987)

Articles:

1. The Faculty
2. Officers of the Faculty
3. Faculty Meetings
4. The Faculty Senate
5. Committees
6. Amendments and Effective Date

Article I: The Faculty

Section 1. The Faculty shall consist of those persons employed full-time by the University of North Carolina at Wilmington who hold the rank of professor, associate professor, assistant professor, instructor, or lecturer.

Section 2. All members of the Faculty shall be entitled to vote.

Section 3. The Faculty has the responsibility to preserve, generate, transmit, and apply knowledge and understanding and to foster and support the vital spirit of open inquiry and critical thinking.

Section 4. The Faculty is accountable for the quality of instruction and scholarship at this university and accepts the responsibility and authority, both primary and shared, for developing, monitoring, and modifying policies affecting the academic environment, including but not limited to:

1. setting minimal general degree requirements for the University, to which the faculties of individual colleges, schools, and departments may add requirements for their graduates (the requirements in the specific areas of concentration shall be determined by the department faculties in consultation with the appropriate dean);
2. setting minimal university admission standards (the faculties of individual colleges, schools, or departments may add standards or set higher standards than those set by the Faculty generally);
3. establishing curricula; reviewing existing programs, including auxiliary academic programs (e.g., continuing education); deleting programs; developing and reviewing proposed new programs;
4. establishing grading systems and grade-appeal procedures; setting academic policies concerning withdrawal, suspension, retention, repeating courses, academic classification, continuation in residence, and class attendance of students; setting examination policies;
5. establishing policies and standards for the granting of academic credit, including credits transferred from other institutions;
6. establishing policies for the granting of degrees, academic and honorary, and acting to award such degrees;
7. establishing policies concerning promotion, appointment, reappointment, and tenure of faculty;
8. establishing policies governing academic counseling of students;
9. establishing policies regarding faculty research and the allocation of those UNCW research funds which are available to the general faculty; and
10. establishing policies and procedures for the faculty evaluation of faculty and administrators.

Section 5. The Faculty has the responsibility and authority to provide to the administration recommendations concerning the development and implementation of other policies affecting academic life. This requires timely consultation on policies including, but not limited to:

1. the academic calendar,
2. salary adjustments,
3. academic leave,
4. academic workloads,
5. allocation of academic positions,
6. appointment and retention of administrators,
7. library user services and collection development,
8. grants and contracts,
9. academic computer use,
10. course scheduling,
11. allocation and use of existing facilities,
12. transportation and parking,
13. design and utilization of new facilities,
14. student conduct and discipline,
15. faculty welfare including benefits.

Section 6. The Faculty shall delegate to the Faculty Senate all of the duties and responsibilities listed in Sections 4 and 5.

Section 7. Any member or group of members of the Faculty may present, in writing, items for Senate consideration. Such requests shall be sent at least one week before the scheduled meeting to the President, who shall see that the items are placed on the agenda of the next meeting. This agenda shall be distributed to all faculty members at least three days before the meeting.

Section 8. The Faculty may at any time review the actions of the Faculty Senate and by mail ballot after an open discussion at the Faculty meeting (regular or called):

1. the Faculty, by a one-third vote of the total Faculty, may require the Senate to reconsider any Senate action.
2. the Faculty, by majority vote of the total Faculty, may overrule any Senate action.
3. the Faculty, by majority vote of the total Faculty, may act on responsibilities listed in Sections 4 and 5 of Article I. This action shall supersede any contrary action of the Senate.

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Article II: Officers of the Faculty

Section 1. The Officers of the Faculty shall consist of a President, a Vice President, and a Secretary. The President, Vice President and Secretary of the Faculty Senate shall be the Officers of the Faculty.

Section 2. The Chancellor shall ordinarily preside at general Faculty meetings; the President of the Faculty Senate shall ordinarily preside at meetings of the Senate.

Section 3. The Secretary shall be responsible for the minutes of each Faculty meeting, shall furnish copies of the minutes to all members of the Faculty and the Student Government President prior to the next meeting, and shall maintain a permanent file of the minutes.

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Article III: Faculty Meetings

Section 1. The faculty shall meet at least once each semester.

Section 2. Special meetings of the faculty may be called by the Chancellor, by the chief academic officer, by the President of the Senate, by the Faculty Senate, or by written petition of ten percent of the total faculty.

Section 3. A quorum shall consist of twenty-five percent of the total membership of the faculty.

Section 4. All meetings of the faculty shall be conducted in accordance with Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised, latest edition.

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Article IV: The Faculty Senate

Section 1. The Faculty Senate shall have the power to act for the faculty in all matters of faculty concern not otherwise provided for in this document. The Faculty Senate shall be the legislative body of the faculty.

Section 2. The Chancellor shall be ex officio a voting member of the Senate. The chief academic officer and the dean of each college or school shall be ex officio non-voting members of the Faculty Senate.

Section 3. All departments, including the Library, shall be represented in the Faculty Senate on a proportional basis. The Faculty Senate shall determine the ratio of senate representatives to faculty.

Section 4. Those faculty members who are not formally assigned to a department shall be assigned to a department for purposes of voting for Faculty Senate representatives only. Such assignments shall be made by the chief academic officer in consultation with the President of the Faculty Senate.

Section 5. Representatives to the Faculty Senate shall be elected by secret ballot for two-year (staggered) terms.

Section 6. A department can, by a two-thirds vote of its total membership, recall any of its senators.

Section 7. The Faculty Senate shall establish its bylaws and standing rules, setting procedures for elections of senate representatives, the conduct of meetings, duties of officers, and establishment and responsibilities of committees.

Section 8. If the Chancellor suspends, overrules, or asks for reconsideration of any action of the Faculty Senate and/or the faculty, he/she shall notify the President of the Faculty of such action and the reasons therefore within two weeks. The senate and/or the faculty will reconsider its action and determine the appropriate course to follow.

Section 9. The officers of the Faculty Senate shall be a President, a Vice President, and a Secretary. Each shall be elected annually from and by the elected senate membership.

Section 10. The Faculty Senate shall normally meet at least once each month during the regular academic year.

Section 11. The Faculty Senate--with previous notice--may enact, amend, or repeal the bylaws by two-thirds vote of its total membership.

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Article V: Committees

Section 1. All Faculty committees shall be committees of the Faculty Senate.

Section 2. The Senate Bylaws shall specify the charge and membership of all standing committees and provide for ad hoc committees.

Section 3. At least one-third of the membership of faculty standing committees shall be drawn from the faculty who are not members of the Faculty Senate (except in cases where the Senate Bylaws dictate otherwise).

Section 4. The faculty committees shall keep records of their meetings and proceedings. Copies of these records, except those records involving individual personnel matters, shall be placed on file with the Secretary of the Senate and shall be available for inspection by all members of the faculty. All committees of the faculty shall present an annual report to the faculty at the close of the academic year.

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Article VI: Amendments and Effective Date

Section 1. Amendments to this Governance Document shall be approved at a regular or special meeting, by a two-thirds majority vote of all voting members of the senate. At least ten days prior to the date of the vote, the proposed amendment must have been submitted in writing to those entitled to vote for members of the senate.

Section 2. Such amendments shall then be submitted in writing to the faculty, and unless disapproved by at least one-third of the total faculty within thirty days by written vote, shall be considered ratified. The amendment shall take effect upon approval by the Chancellor.

Section 3. All other documents of governance previously adopted by the faculty are and shall be null and void.