2.2 The Department Chair or the Chair s designee shall preside at all meetings of the Departmental Faculty.

Transcription

1 Charter of the Department of Technical Communication University of North Texas Approved by the faculty on August 31, 2015 Approved by the dean with revisions October 29, 2015 Amended by the faculty with an Addendum April 17, 2017 Preamble: The Department of Technical Communication is an academic unit within the College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences. The purpose of the charter is to furnish guidelines for the governance of the Department. The department committees receive their authority from and are responsible to the department. The faculty recognizes the UNT Policy Manual as the official document specifying university policies and procedures. The Department Faculty and Staff recognize their responsibility to the Administration and Board of Regents of the University of North Texas. I. Organization 1. The department is governed by the chair, working in conjunction with the faculty and faculty committees, including the Executive Committee, the Personnel Affairs Committee, the Promotion and Tenure Committee, the Undergraduate Studies Committee, the Graduate Studies Committee, and additional ad hoc committees. II. Faculty 1. Membership and Definition 1.1 Department Faculty The Faculty of the Department of Technical Communication (hereinafter the Department) shall consist of all professors, associate professors, assistant professors, instructors, and lecturers employed full-time in the Department, as well as full-time faculty members of other departments holding joint appointments in the Department. 1.2 Graduate Faculty Graduate Faculty of the Department shall consist of all professors, associate professors, and assistant professors employed full-time in the Department. Visiting Professors are not considered part of the Graduate Faculty. 1.3 Undergraduate Faculty The Undergraduate Faculty shall consist of all Graduate Faculty, three-year or five-year full-time lecturers, and anyone covered under 1.4. Visiting Professors are not considered part of the Undergraduate Faculty. 1.4 Grandfather Clause All faculty members who had voting rights within the Department of Linguistics and Technical Communication and who were retained by the Department of Technical Communication will retain their voting rights. 2. Meetings 2.1 Regular meetings of the Department Faculty shall be held at least two times during the fall and spring semesters. Additional meetings of the Departmental Faculty may be called by the Chair, the Executive Committee, and/or by petition of one-fourth of the Department Faculty. Except for unusual circumstances, Departmental Faculty should be notified of meeting date, time, and location two weeks prior to the meeting. 2.2 The Department Chair or the Chair s designee shall preside at all meetings of the Departmental Faculty. 1

2 2.3 An agenda for a faculty meeting shall be distributed at least 24 hours in advance of the meeting. 2.4 Any agenda item may be brought before the Department Faculty by individual faculty members, excluding appointment, tenure, severance, disciplinary action, promotion and salary of an individual. 2.5 A quorum for meetings of the Department Faculty shall consist of two-thirds of the Department Faculty. 2.6 Departmental meetings shall function by the simple majority vote of those present and voting except as otherwise specified in this charter. 2.7 Minutes shall be kept for all faculty meetings and shall be a matter of Department record. Minutes of faculty meetings are the responsibility of the Chair, who may delegate the responsibility to the administrative staff. Minutes of each meeting will be approved at the next meeting. Approved minutes (corrected, including minority reports and exceptions) shall be archived on the Department s shared drive, and all Departmental Faculty shall have access to the minutes. III. Chair 1. Appointment 1.1 The Chair of the Department of Technical Communication (hereinafter, the Chair) shall be appointed by the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences (hereinafter, the Dean). The faculty of the Department shall participant in the appointment process as specified by the Dean. The Chair must hold a terminal degree and have achieved the rank of Associate or Full Professor. 2. Term of Office 2.1 The Chair currently serves a fixed term of four years as appointed by the Dean. 2.2 The Chair receives an annual evaluation from the Technical Communication Personnel Affairs Committee, a copy of which is shared with the Dean. 3. Responsibilities 3.1 The Chair has a dual responsibility, both to the University administration and to the Department Faculty. Accordingly, the Chair will act as an advocate for the interests of the Department and its members to the Dean and University Provost. Correspondingly, the Chair will inform the Department Faculty of the policies and decisions of the Dean as they pertain to the Department, the faculty, and the staff. 3.2 The Chair shall act on behalf of the Department in all matters requiring formal transaction of official business with the University administration unless the Chair otherwise delegates that responsibility in specific instances. 3.3 The Chair, while sharing routine administration with assistants and committees, shall be responsible for all administrative matters within the Department. 2

3 3.4 The Chair shall ensure that all departmental records pertaining to a faculty member shall be open to that faculty member. The Chair is responsible for notifying faculty members of items placed within his or her department record that are not also sent directly to the faculty member. 3.5 The Chair shall be responsible for all personnel matters. However, the Chair must secure the advice and counsel (and, when possible, concurrence) of the Department through the appropriate elected and appointed committees and personnel. 3.6 The Chair may call Faculty meetings according to the Faculty Meeting portion of this charter. 3.7 The Chair may, in consultation with the Executive Committee, establish ad hoc committees related to specific emergent issues. 3.8 The Chair shall negotiate workloads with Department Faculty. 3.9 The Chair shall meet individually with each Department Faculty member at least once a year to discuss progress toward defined goals The Chair shall liaise with the Technical Communication Advisory Board and report back to the Departmental Faculty with minutes, a report, or a description of the meetings at full-faculty meetings. 4. Removal 4.1 Removal of the Chair may be initiated from within the Department and accomplished by 1) resignation, or by 2) the PAC, working with the approval of and in consultation with the Dean, One half of the Undergraduate Faculty may, by petition to the chair of the Personnel Affairs Committee, initiate removal action against the Chair. Prior to initiating a vote among the Undergraduate Faculty, the Personnel Affairs Committee and the Chair must make a concentrated effort to remedy the difficulty. In the absence of a remedy, the PAC may bring the matter to a vote by the Undergraduate Faculty. After a vote of at least two-thirds of the full-time faculty members in favor of the removal action, the chair of the PAC shall approach the Dean with the request that the Chair be removed. The Dean has final authority to remove or retain the Chair. IV. Standing Committees 1. Composition 1.1 The standing committees of the department shall be: the Executive Committee; the Reappointment, Promotion, and Tenure Committee; the Personnel Affairs Committee; the Graduate Committee; and the Undergraduate Committee. 2. The Executive Committee 2.1 Membership The Executive Committee (EC) is a committee of the whole composed of all faculty members at the rank of Principal lecturer or higher. 2.2 Organization and Procedures The members of the EC shall select a chair from among their number Meetings of the EC shall be called by the EC Chair or the Department Chair. Agendas shall be created by whoever calls the meeting and distributed to members of the EC no later than 24 hours prior to the meeting. 3

4 2.2.3 During the summer sessions, the Chairs shall conduct business with members of the EC by Decisions of the EC, whenever possible, should reflect the consensus of the members. Decisions of the EC requiring a vote shall be by simple majority Minutes shall be kept for all EC meetings and shall be a matter of Department record. Minutes of faculty meetings are the responsibility of the EC Chair, who may delegate the responsibility. Minutes of each meeting will be approved at the next meeting. Approved minutes (corrected, including minority reports and exceptions) shall be archived on the Department s shared drive, and all Departmental Faculty shall have access to the minutes A quorum shall consist of a simple majority of EC members. 2.3 Responsibilities The primary purposes of the EC are 1) to share in the decision-making processes regarding the functioning of the Department, and 2) to advise the Chair and the faculty on matters related to policies and procedures relevant to the Department The duties of the EC include, but are not limited to: 1) Establishing priorities of departmental action 2) Soliciting input from the faculty and establishing agendas for faculty meetings 3) Advising the Department Chair on matters related to annual salary adjustments 4) Advising the Department Chair on membership of ad hoc committees 5) Serving as the long-range planning committee of the department 6) Reviewing this document and recommending changes to the Faculty. 7) Advising the Department Chair in the fulfillment of administrative responsibilities with the exception of those matters that lie within the jurisdiction of the Personnel Affairs Committee. 8) Advising the Department Chair in the allocation of funds and resources in meeting program objectives. 9) Advising the Department Chair on travel reimbursement. 10) In cases of grievances against the Department Chair, the remaining members of the EC will be responsible for establishing an ad hoc Grievance Committee. 3. The Personnel Affairs Committee 3.1 Membership The Personnel Affairs Committee (PAC) shall consist of five elected members. Four members of the PAC shall be members of the Graduate Faculty, at least one of who must be at least a tenured Associate Professor. One member of the PAC shall be a Lecturer, Senior Lecturer, or Principal Lecturer. If the Department has no Lecturers, an additional member of the PAC will be elected from the Graduate Faculty. The Department Chair is excluded from membership of the PAC Elected members of PAC serve three-year terms. At the first PAC meeting conducted under these bylaws, the Graduate Faculty elected members of the PAC shall draw from a hat a time frame of service (one year, two years, three years), thus enabling staggered rotations on the PAC. All elected members after this initial selection will serve three years. The Lecturer who is elected to be the PAC chair shall serve three years Elections for PAC members shall take place prior to September 1 each Fall semester. 4

5 3.1.4 All Department Faculty at the rank of lecturer or higher will vote for all five members of the PAC A member of the PAC may be removed by a 2/3 vote of the Graduate Faculty. 3.2 Organization and Procedures At the first PAC meeting in the Fall, the PAC should select a Chair of the PAC. The Chair of the PAC must be a member of the Graduate Faculty. The Chair of the PAC shall discuss workload reduction with the Department Chair at that point Decisions of the PAC, whenever possible, should reflect the consensus of the members. Decisions of the committee requiring a vote shall be by simple majority. 3.3 Responsibilities The PAC will be responsible for conducting the annual peer evaluation in accordance with College and University guidelines The PAC shall establish deadlines for faculty to submit materials to the PAC. Faculty should be given at least one month to complete their materials The PAC chair will convene the faculty once a year to explain the procedures for submitting the annual dossier for evaluation Faculty members may submit a response to the annual evaluation letter to be addressed to the department chair within 10 calendar days of receiving the annual evaluation letter (see Grievances) The PAC shall complete its annual review in accordance to the calendar provided by the Dean All recommendations of the PAC shall be transmitted to the Chair, who shall make a separate recommendation to the Dean The PAC shall develop criteria and procedures for evaluating faculty. These criteria and procedures, as well as any subsequent changes, shall be submitted to the Executive Committee for approval. By November 1 of each year, the PAC will submit the standing procedures of evaluation to the EC The PAC shall hold material relating to individual faculty members in strictest confidence The PAC shall include provisions for appeals of its recommendations and evaluations in its procedures established in accordance of the faculty handbook. 4. The Reappointment, Promotion, and Tenure Committee 4.1 Membership Membership and leadership of the Reappointment, Promotion, and Tenure Committee (RPTC) shall consist of five tenured members of the Graduate Faculty. The Department Chair is excluded from membership of the RPTC. Should the Department lack enough eligible faculty to constitute a full RPTC, the Chair shall consult with the Dean s Office to seek qualified members of the College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences to serve on the RPTC. 5

6 4.1.2 Elections shall be held each spring. 4.2 Organization and Procedures The RPTC should meet once in the Spring prior to the year of service. At this meeting, the RPTC should select a Chair of the RPTC who is at the rank of Full Professor. The Chair of the RPTC shall discuss course release with the Department Chair at that point. 4.3 Responsibilities The RPTC will be responsible for conducting necessary reviews for the purpose of advising the chair on recommendations regarding tenured, tenure track, and lecturer faculty reappointment, promotion, and tenure following College and University guidelines The RPTC Committee will work with the Department Chair in aiding tenure track faculty members on schedules and preparation of materials for annual reappointment, including the mid-term review and the Tenure and Promotion Review The RPTC Chair will meet with all probationary faculty individually once a year Additionally, faculty may request an individual meeting with the RPTC Chair Each year, at a time well in advance of the College deadline, the RPTC Chair will announce department deadlines for the submissions of materials for those applying for reappointment, promotion, or tenure. The committee members will examine the dossier for each faculty member. The RPTC Chair will draft a recommendation to the Department Chair. The recommendation must include the vote taken. In cases of a split vote, members of the minority may submit a separate letter to the Department Chair The RPTC shall hold material relating to the individual faculty member in the strictest confidence. 5. Graduate Studies Committee 5.1 Membership The Graduate Committee shall consist of the Director of Graduate Studies and three members of the Graduate Faculty. The Department Chair is excluded from membership of the Graduate Studies Committee The Director of Graduate Studies will be elected by the Graduate Faculty at the end of relevant spring semesters and will serve a three-year term. The Director of Graduate Studies should discuss course release with the Department Chair The three additional members of the Graduate Studies Committee will be elected by the Graduate Faculty at the end of spring semesters and will serve a three-year term. At the first Graduate Studies Committee meeting conducted under these bylaws, each elected member of the GSC shall draw from a hat a time frame of service (one year, two years, three years), thus enabling staggered rotations on the GSC. All elected members after this initial selection will serve three years. 5.2 Organization and Procedures The Director of Graduate Studies shall serve as the Chair of the Graduate Studies Committee. 6

7 5.2.2 A simple majority of the GSC shall constitute a quorum Decisions of the GSC shall be by simple majority of those present and voting The GSC shall meet at least once each long semester, at a date and time to be specified by the Director of Graduate Studies Minutes shall be kept for all GSC meetings and shall be a matter of Department record. Minutes of faculty meetings are the responsibility of the Director of Graduate Studies, who may delegate the responsibility. Minutes of each meeting will be approved at the next meeting. Approved minutes (corrected, including minority reports and exceptions) shall be archived on the Department s shared drive, and all Departmental Faculty shall have access to the minutes. 5.3 Responsibilities The GSC shall advise and assist the Chair and the Department Faculty in all matters related to Graduate admissions and curriculum The GSC shall: 1) Review and implement recommendations regarding admission requirements for graduate students. 2) Review, revise, and make available procedures and information for current graduate students 3) Review and make recommendations to the Graduate Faculty regarding Graduate courses. 4) Review and make recommendations to the Graduate Faculty regarding Graduate curriculum. 6) Review procedures for creating and grading the Comprehensive Exam The Director of Graduate Studies is responsible for: 1) Representing the department at College and University graduate curriculum meetings 2) Reporting on the status of department requests forwarded to the College or University 3) Recruiting graders for the Comprehensive Exam 4) Compiling and administering the Comprehensive Exam 5) Advising incoming students 6) Advising current students 7) Tracking students after they graduate 8) Review and make recommendations regarding student admission to the graduate program 9) Present admission and rejection decisions to the committee once a year. 10) Approve or deny proposals for students required practicum in consultation with faculty. 12) Develop individual degree plans and track students through their academic career. 13) Make recommendations to the Chair regarding teaching fellows. 6. Undergraduate Studies Committee 6.1 Membership 7

8 6.1.1 The Undergraduate Studies Committee (UGSC) shall consist of the Director of Undergraduate Studies, the Undergraduate Advisor, and two members of the Undergraduate Faculty. The Department Chair is excluded from membership of the UGSC The Director of Undergraduate Studies will be elected by the Undergraduate Faculty at the end of relevant spring semesters and will serve a three-year term. The Director of Undergraduate Studies must be a member of the Undergraduate Faculty The Undergraduate Advisor will be appointed by the Department Chair in consultation with the Director of Undergraduate Studies. The Undergraduate Advisor will serve a three year term The two additional members of the UGSC will be elected by the Undergraduate Faculty at the end of spring semesters and will serve a two-year term. At the first Undergraduate Studies Committee meeting conducted under these bylaws, each elected member of the UGSC shall draw from a hat a time frame of service (one year or two years), thus enabling staggered rotations on the UGSC. 6.2 Organization and Procedures The Director of Undergraduate Studies shall serve as the Chair of the UGSC A simple majority of the UGSC shall constitute a quorum Decisions of the UGSC shall be by simple majority of those present and voting The UGSC shall meet at least once each long semester, at a date and time to be specified by the Director of Undergraduate Studies Minutes shall be kept for all UGCS meetings and shall be a matter of Department record. Minutes of faculty meetings are the responsibility of the Director of Undergraduate Studies, who may delegate the responsibility. Minutes of each meeting will be approved at the next meeting. Approved minutes (corrected, including minority reports and exceptions) shall be archived on the Department s shared drive, and all Departmental Faculty shall have access to the minutes. 6.3 Responsibilities The UGSC shall advise and assist the Chair and the Department Faculty in all matters related to undergraduate curriculum The UGSC shall: 1) Review, revise, and make available procedures and information for current undergraduate students 2) Review and make recommendations to the Undergraduate Faculty regarding Undergraduate courses. 3) Review and make recommendations to the Undergraduate Faculty regarding Undergraduate curriculum The Director of Undergraduate Studies is responsible for: 1) Representing the department at College and University undergraduate curriculum meetings 2) Reporting on the status of department requests forwarded to the College or University 3) Tracking students after they graduate. 4) Approve or deny requests for TECM 4920: Cooperative Education in Technical Communication. 8

9 6.3.4 The Undergraduate Advisor is responsible for: 1) Representing the department at College and University undergraduate advising meetings 2) Advising incoming students 3) Advising current students 4) Attending all university and college orientations 5) Attending all preview day and other events as required by the college 6) Creating degree plans 7. Elections for Standing Committees 7.1 Paper Ballots Except in unusual circumstances, all voting will take place on paper ballots placed within the eligible voter s mailbox. Voters will be notified by when ballots are placed in the box. Voters will be notified by when the ballots will be read. Voters shall have no fewer than 48 business hours to cast their ballots. 7.2 Nominations At the proper interval, the Chair will instruct the Department Voting Official to draft a ballot to nominate members to the committee. The ballot will indicate all the eligible nominees. There is no limit on the number of nominees a voter can list Nominating ballots will be read by the Voting Official and at least one witness. All Department Faculty are permitted to attend the reading of the votes The Voting Official will contact all Faculty nominated to see if they will serve if elected. 7.3 Elections All faculty members who agree to serve will be placed on a ballot in alphabetical order. The ballot will indicate how many votes the voter may cast. Voters will be notified by when ballots are placed in the box. Voters will be notified by when the ballots will be read. Voters shall have no fewer than 48 business hours to cast their ballots Ballots will be read by the Voting Official and at least one witness. All Department Faculty are permitted to attend the reading of the votes. 7.4 Ties If votes are equally distributed between two candidates, a name will be drawn out of a hat to decide the winner If there are three candidates who receive votes but do not receive the exact same number of votes, and no candidate receives a majority of the votes, the top two vote getters will them participate in a runoff vote to decide the winner In exceptional circumstances, the election official will consult the Executive Committee about electing the position. 7.5 Results The Voting Official will results to the appropriate Faculty within 24 hours of reading the votes. 8. Visitors to Standing Committee Meetings 9

10 8.1 Except for the RPTC and PAC, any Departmental Faculty member may attend any Standing Committee Meeting, except when the committee discusses issues of personnel. However, unless a visiting Departmental Faculty member is on the agenda circulated prior to the meeting, the visiting Departmental Faculty member may not speak unless directly called upon by a member of the committee. V. Ad Hoc Committees 1. Purpose 1.1 Ad hoc committee address specific emergent issues not addressed by standing committees. 2. Membership 2.1 Standing committee chairs or Departmental chair can create an ad hoc committee. VI. Other Department Personnel 1. Parliamentarian 1.1 If deemed necessary by a vote of the majority faculty, the most senior member of the department shall serve as the Parliamentarian to ensure that faculty meetings are conducted in accordance to Roberts Rules of Order. 2. Election Judge 2.1 The Election Judge shall be appointed by the Chair in consultation with the EC. The Election Judge shall be a member of the Department Faculty. The Election Judge has the discretion to establish procedures regarding voting not explicitly mentioned in the Charter. 3. Webmaster 3.1 The Webmaster shall be appointed by the Chair in consultation with the EC to maintain the content of the departmental website. 4. Social Media Manager 4.1 The Social Media Manger shall be appointed by the Chair in consultation with the EC to maintain the content of the social media in consultation with the webmaster. 4. Director of Lower Division Service Courses 4.1 To maintain consistency across courses, lower division service courses (particularly multisection courses that are part of the University Core Curriculum) should have a director. The Director for each course shall be appointed by the Chair in consultation with the Executive Committee. The Director may negotiate workload with the Chair. Any member of the Department Faculty except the Department Chair may be the Director of Lower Division Service Courses. 4.2 The Director of multi-section course is responsible for: 1) Establishing an appropriate syllabus that meets University Core Curriculum guidelines (if applicable) 2) Identifying an appropriate textbook 3) Instructing all teachers on best practices of teaching the course 4) Instructing teachers on aspects of the course that pertain to the University Core Curriculum (if applicable) 10

11 5) Working collaboratively in the hiring and scheduling of Teaching Fellows in multi-section courses (e.g., TECM 1200, 1700, 2700). 6) Supporting TF teaching preparation through monthly meetings. 7) Facilitating the annual teaching observations and evaluations of TFs. 8) Reading and monitoring TF teaching evaluations and providing remediation and guidance to TFs whose work needs improvement. 9) Meeting once a semester with the Undergraduate Studies Director to discuss data collection and tracking. 4.3 The Director of Lower Division Service Courses should teach at least one of the Core course once every two years. VII. Hiring 1. Tenure/Tenure Track Faculty and Lecturers 1.1 The members eligible to serve on the search committee depend on the position being hired. Only graduate faculty can serve and vote on search committees for tenured and tenure-track positions. Search committees for any type of lecturer position, on the other hand, can include any members of the Departmental Faculty. 1.2 The search committee will consist of no fewer than three members of the department of Technical Communication. Any eligible members will be able serve on the search committee if they so choose. The committee will then vote to select the chair, who will be responsible for identifying the outside member and the graduate student representative. The search committee will identify appropriate candidates for interview. The search committee chair will be in charge of getting the interviews approved through the necessary channels. 1.3 After the interviews, the Voting Official shall create a ballot for confirmation that lists all candidates in the final round of interviews for the position. All members of the graduate faculty will vote on whether or not to confirm each candidate in the case of a tenure-track or tenured search. All members of the Departmental faculty will vote on whether or not to confirm each candidate in the case of a lecturer search. This process will not involve ranking the candidates. Voters will be notified by when the ballots will be read. To be confirmed, the candidate must receive over 50% of all votes. Voters shall have no fewer than 24 business hours to cast their ballots. Ballots will be read by the Voting Official and at least one witness. All Department Faculty are permitted to attend the reading of the votes. 1.4 The search committee will then rank each confirmed candidate and forward that result to the chair of the department. 1.5 In instances in which the search committee cannot decide on a ranking of the confirmed candidates, the search committee chair will determine the final ranking. 1.6 In instances when time is of the essence (e.g. late summer hires), the department chair may form a search committee. The search committee can both confirm candidates and select a candidate in one session. The rules of quorum and election established in this charter for faculty meetings apply. 2. Adjuncts 2.1 Adjuncts are hired by the Chair in consultation with the Undergraduate Studies Director and, if applicable, the multi-section director. 11

12 3. Teaching Fellows 3.1 Teaching Fellows should be initially screened by the Director of Graduate Studies to determine if a student is prepared to succeed both as a student and as a teacher. The Director of Graduate Studies reports findings to the Chair. The Chair will hire Teaching Fellows. VIII. Grievances 1. All Grievances 1.1 For all grievances, parties are encouraged to engage in informal discussions to alleviate the issue. 2. Grievances Between Faculty Members 2.1 Faculty members who have a grievance against another party who is not the Chair may make a formal request in writing to the Chair. The Chair will then form an ad hoc grievance committee. The aggrieved party shall select one Department Faculty member for representation on the ad hoc grievance committee. The Chair with consultation of the EC shall select another member of the Department Faculty member to serve on the committee. The two selected members shall selected another Department Faculty member to serve on the committee and serve as the chair. The committee shall conduct an investigation as they see fit within College and University guidelines. The committee shall complete a report and return it to the Chair and the aggrieved party. Should the report implicate another member of the Faculty, the Faculty member shall be given an opportunity to respond to the report. 3. Grievances Involving the Chair 3.1 Faculty members who have a grievance related to the actions of the Chair may make a formal request in writing to the EC. The EC will then form an ad hoc grievance committee. The aggrieved party shall select one Department Faculty member for representation on the ad hoc grievance committee. The EC shall select another member of the Department Faculty to serve on the committee. The two selected members shall select another Department Faculty member to serve on the committee and serve as the chair. The committee shall conduct an investigation as they see fit within College and University guidelines. The committee shall complete a report and return it to the EC and the aggrieved party. Should the report implicate the Chair, the Chair shall be given an opportunity to respond to the report. 3.2 If the Chair has a grievance related to the actions of a Faculty member, the Chair may make a formal request in writing to the EC. The EC will then form an ad hoc grievance committee. The EC shall select two members of the Department Faculty member to serve on the committee. The two selected members shall selected another Department Faculty member to serve on the committee and serve as the chair. The committee shall conduct an investigation as they see fit within College and University guidelines. The committee shall complete a report and return it to the EC and Chair. Should the report implicate another member of the Faculty, the Faculty member shall be given an opportunity to respond to the report. 3. Grievances and Appeals of Reappointment, Promotion, and Tenure Decisions by the RPTC and Merit Scores and Evaluations by the PAC 3.1 Within ten calendar days after having received written notification of the score or decision from the appropriate committee, a faculty member may request a reconsideration by informing the Chair of the committee and Chair of the Department in writing. This memorandum must outline the reasons for the reconsideration and the remedy desired. Within ten calendars after having received a request for a reconsideration, the appropriate committee will reconsider its 12

13 evaluation and inform the faculty member and the Department Chair of the outcome of its deliberation. 3.2 Should the outcome of this deliberation be negative, the faculty member may then begin a grievance procedure by informing the Committee Chair and Department Chair of his or her intent. The committee will name one member of the Department faculty, who is not a member of the committee, to a special grievance committee and inform the appellant of the name. The aggrieved faculty member will name one member of the Department Faculty to serve on the grievance committee. The two faculty members of the ad hoc grievance committee will select a third Department Faculty member to serve as chair. No member of any committee involved in the dispute may be named to the grievance committee. All members of a Promotion and Tenure Grievance Committee must be of a rank at or above that to which the faculty member aspires. 3.3 This ad hoc departmental grievance committee will determine its own process and procedures but a) must allow presentation of both sides of the issue by all parties and b) submit a written report of its findings and recommendations to the faculty member, the Committee Chair, and The Department Chair. 3.4 If the faculty member remains dissatisfied with the outcome, he or she may continue the process by requesting a grievance committee at the College level in accord with the College Constitution. 3.5 According to the Faculty Handbook, the faculty member may take the issue(s) to the appropriate university committee if the resolution is not reached within the College. IX. Evaluating Teaching and Service Effectiveness 1. At the first meeting under these bylaws, an ad hoc committee shall be named to determine the metrics with which the PAC will assess teaching and service effectiveness. An ad hoc committee dedicated to evaluating the teaching and service effectiveness measurements shall be created at least once every five years and make adjustments as needed. X. Amendments and Modifications to Charter 1. Amendments and modifications to the Charter will be made by 2/3 vote of the entire Executive Committee. 13

14 Addendum to Charter of the Department of Technical Communication1 Because the EC voted unanimously on August 30, 2016 to suspend the Department Charter for the academic year, the graduate faculty discussed options on April 3, 2017 to improve governance in the context of departmental changes, including implications for upcoming faculty additions and transitions. They agreed formal changes to the Charter are needed but proposed continued suspension of the Charter for with an Addendum to clarify governance related to Standing Committees (Section IV, pp. 3-10) as follows: 1. The Executive Committee (EC), formed by all tenured or tenure-track faculty and the single Senior Principal Lecturer, will continue to be the governing body for the department. This is consistent with the current Charter and also with how decisions have been made during The EC will handle the duties prescribed for the Undergraduate Studies and Graduate Studies Committees, with MA portfolio review by rotation. [The tentative rotation for the next six years appears in the attached Excel file.] 2. The Personnel Affairs Committee (PAC) membership will be reduced to three tenure-system faculty members who will serve by rotation. The chair of the PAC must be at the rank of Associate Professor or Professor. [The tentative PAC rotation for the next six years appears in the attached Excel file.] 3. The Review, Promotion and Tenure Committee (RPTC) membership will consist of Montler, Friess, Frith, Raign and Boettger. Montler, who is a full professor, will chair the committee. Jacqueline Foertsch and Janice Hauge, both external faculty members will rotate off the committee. This Addendum also clarifies governance related to Hiring (Section VII, pp ) for : 1. The Executive Committee (EC) will serve as the search committee for all full-time faculty positions. Frith will serve as search chair for the existing lecturer position. Lam will serve as search chair for the pending tenure-track position(s). All voting will take place anonymously via Qualtrics instead of using paper ballots. All other provisions remain in effect, including the EC's right to revoke the Addendum and reinstate the Charter. 1 The EC approved unanimously (6 in favor, no abstentions) by secret ballot on April 17, 2017.