OPERATING PROCEDURES School of Engineering University of North Florida

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1 OPERATING PROCEDURES School of Engineering University of North Florida ARTICLE I NAME The name of this academic unit shall be the School of Engineering (hereinafter referred to as the SoE), and for administrative purposes the School shall be located in the College of Computing, Engineering, and Construction (hereinafter referred to as the College) at the University of North Florida (UNF). SECTION 1. SoE Purpose ARTICLE II PURPOSE AND RESPONSIBILITIES The purpose of the SoE shall be to exercise jurisdiction, in the context of the engineering disciplines, regarding: a) academic programs, organization, and standards; b) faculty appointment, retention, promotion, and development; c) academic services and continuing education; and d) such other matters as may pertain directly to the instruction, research, and service programs in the engineering disciplines at the University of North Florida. SECTION 2. Institutional Governance Responsibilities The SoE shall cooperate in the overall governance of the College, as established in the bylaws of the College, and in the overall governance of the University, as established by the University Constitution, and in compliance with Chapter 447, Part II, Florida Statutes. SECTION 3. Compliance with Collective Bargaining Law These procedures are not intended to address wages, hours, or terms and conditions of employment, which are governed by the Florida collective bargaining law. Any provisions that speak to such matters are intended to function pursuant to and in compliance with appropriate collective bargaining agreements and Chapter 447, Part II, Florida Statutes. SECTION 1. Eligibility ARTICLE III MEMBERSHIP Any person, with the exception of adjunct and visiting faculty, who holds the rank of Professor, Associate Professor, Assistant Professor, or Instructor in the SoE shall be a voting member of the SoE faculty (hereinafter referred to as the faculty), with the right to participate in the governance and administration of the SoE as prescribed herein. 1

2 SECTION 2. Adjudication The faculty shall be the judge of its own membership where questions of eligibility arise, except as provided in the University Constitution. SECTION 1. Regular Meetings ARTICLE IV MEETINGS Regular meetings of the faculty shall occur during the 9 month contract period. The Director will publish a meeting schedule prior to the first day of classes in August. The schedule shall not conflict with teaching schedules. Faculty members are expected to adjust other aspects of their schedules to accommodate these meeting dates and times. An agenda prepared by the Director in consultation with the Faculty shall be distributed at least two (2) working days prior to each regular meeting. Only those matters contained in the agenda may be acted upon at the meeting. SECTION 2. Special Meetings Special meetings may be called by the Director. A call to meet and an agenda should be distributed at least one (1) working day prior to a special meeting. Only those matters contained in the agenda may be acted upon at the meeting. SECTION 3. Quorum The quorum for a meeting of the SoE shall be fifty percent (50%) plus one (1) of the members of the faculty. Proxies are not allowed for either the establishment of a quorum or for the transaction of the business of the SoE. A quorum must be established and maintained during a meeting for any official SoE business to be transacted. SECTION 4. Elections The agenda for the August meeting shall include the election of members to the standing committees of the SoE for the academic year. These elections shall be conducted with open nominations and secret written ballots. ARTICLE V FACULTY DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES The faculty shall: a) adopt and amend the SoE operating procedures; b) approve all engineering curricula and amendments thereto (including individual courses) prior to forwarding to the next level of review; c) review the annual budget for the SoE upon determination of the SoE's budget allocation by the College and University; d) elect members of standing committees; e) adopt statements of policy and take actions appropriate to the purposes of the SoE; effective dates for newly adopted policies must be specified at the time of adoption. 2

3 f) establish special ad-hoc committees that have been recommended for approval; and g) recommend action on all matters arising in the SoE for which authority has not been given to some other officer or governance body. SECTION 1. Principal Officer ARTICLE VI OFFICERS The principal officer of the SoE shall be the Director, selected from among the tenured members of the faculty, or externally from a pool of qualified applicants, and who administratively reports to the Dean of the College. SECTION 2. Presiding Officer at SoE Meetings The Director shall act as presiding officer for SoE meetings. In the Director's absence, the Director may designate a tenured member of the SoE faculty to preside at these meetings. SECTION 3. Academic Duties of the Director The Director shall: a) administer and direct the activities of the faculty and SoE committees, including, but not limited to faculty teaching assignments; b) serve (at his/her option) as an ex officio non-voting member of all SoE committees; c) present the views of the SoE to higher-level academic administrators and vice versa; d) perform any and all duties required by State Law, Board of Trustees and University rules, the Administrative Procedures Act, and the appropriate collective bargaining agreements; e) provide leadership for SoE activities; f) serve as a delegate to other College and University governance bodies as specified by College and University bylaws and procedures; g) interpret and act on policy as necessary; arbitrate and counsel as necessary; provide advocacy for the students, the faculty, and the programs of the SoE; h) make hiring decisions of new personnel in consultation with the faculty; i) coordinate and provide mentoring for faculty teaching, research, and service performance; j) recommend candidates for promotion and tenure according to procedures defined by the University and appropriate collective bargaining agreements; k) review annual faculty self-evaluations and prepare annual evaluations according to guidelines defined in consultation with the faculty and in accord with University policies and appropriate collective bargaining agreements; l) recommend allocation of faculty discretionary/merit pay increases according to criteria established by the collective bargaining agreement m) assign faculty teaching duties 3

4 SECTION 4. Administrative Duties of the Director The Director shall: a) develop the infrastructure for day-to-day SoE operations including SoE procurement procedures; b) supervise SoE support personnel not otherwise assigned to another SoE administrator; c) provide on a timely basis reporting functions expected of the SoE by the College and University administrations; d) be the accountable officer for the SoE's budget and expenditure decisions; e) develop and maintain SoE records and budgetary information as necessary for proper oversight of SoE operation; f) coordinate the activities of any SoE advisory boards and ensure that their operation conforms to University and University Foundation policies. SECTION 5. Director s Absence and Position Vacancy In the Director's absence, and without other appointment by the Director, the Dean of the College shall consult with the faculty before the appointment of an individual to serve as acting Director. In the event of a vacancy in the position of Director, and after consultation with the Dean of the College or higher supervisory levels if required, a committee appointed by the Dean of the College shall conduct elections for an Acting Director. SECTION 6. Removal of Director Failure to execute faithfully the duties of the office constitutes cause for a recommendation to the Dean by the SoE faculty for the Director's removal. On receipt of a written (hardcopy) petition to consider a secret retention vote, signed by at least fifty percent (50%) plus one (1) of the members of the faculty excluding the Director, the Dean of the College shall schedule a meeting of the faculty without the Director to determine if such a vote shall be taken and shall make proper dispensation of the results. Petitions to consider such a vote may be submitted only during the academic year and no more than two (2) such petitions may occur during an academic year. SECTION 7. Additional SoE Officers Additional SoE officers may be designated by the Director after consultation with the faculty. These officers may include, but are not limited to, unit coordinators, program coordinators, assistant unit or program coordinators, and center directors as necessary for the effective operation of the SoE. 4

5 ARTICLE VII COMMITTEES SECTION 1. Standing Committees The SoE shall have standing committees to address the SoE purposes. Standing committees may be added, deleted, or altered only through amendment to these By-Laws. Standing committees shall elect their own chairs and inform the SoE membership of their meetings, which shall be held in accordance with University rules and Florida statutes. The standing committees shall be: a) Undergraduate Programs b) Graduate Programs c) Resources Management d) Promotion and Tenure e) Promotion to Full Professor f) Scholarship and Awards SECTION 2. Standing Committee Membership The faculty members of standing committees shall serve for staggered two (2) year terms and be elected by the Faculty at the first meeting of the academic year. Chairs of each of the committees will be elected by the members of each committee using rules defined by the members of each committee. Committee membership shall be as follows: a) Undergraduate Programs Committee. The committee shall consist of one tenured or tenuretrack faculty member from each of the engineering disciplines (currently civil, electrical, and mechanical engineering) and the SoE academic advisor. The chair of the committee will be tenured or tenure-track faculty member of the committee and shall serve as a representative to the College-level curriculum committee. b) Graduate Programs Committee. The committee shall consist of one tenured or tenure-track faculty member from each of the engineering disciplines (currently civil, electrical, and mechanical engineering), and the current graduate program coordinator. One member of the committee shall serve as a representative to the appropriate College-level committee. c) Resource Management Committee. The committee shall consist of one tenured or tenuretrack faculty member from each of the engineering disciplines (currently civil, electrical, and mechanical engineering). One faculty member of the committee shall serve as a representative to the appropriate College-level committee. d) Promotion and Tenure Committee For the purpose of tenure and/or promotion to the rank of associate professor, the committee shall consist of one tenured faculty member from each of the engineering disciplines (currently civil, electrical, and mechanical engineering), and two additional at-large, tenured faculty members. The two at-large faculty members can not both be from the same engineering discipline as each other. The three members from each discipline will be elected in one general election. The at large members will be nominated from the remaining eligible faculty from each discipline, and elected by a second general election. e) Promotion to Full Professor Committee. For the purpose of promotion to the rank of full professor, the committee shall consist of one faculty member from each of the engineering disciplines (currently civil, electrical, and mechanical engineering) with the rank of full professor. 5

6 f) Scholarship and Awards Committee. The committee shall consist of one tenured or tenuretrack faculty member from each of the engineering disciplines (currently civil, electrical, and mechanical engineering) The committee will decide award of scholarships established through the UNF Foundation and/or Private donors. SECTION 3. Committee Duties and Responsibilities All standing committees shall address proposals and actions concerning their areas of responsibility whenever they feel that such proposals and actions are needed and appropriate. Specific standing committee duties and responsibilities shall include the following: a) Undergraduate Programs Committee. The committee shall review and recommend to the Faculty policies regarding degree requirements, academic programs and priorities, program evaluation, and changes to the SoE's curricular offerings at the undergraduate level. b) Graduate Programs Committee. The committee shall review and recommend to the Faculty policies regarding degree requirements, academic programs and priorities, program evaluation, and changes to the SoE's curricular offerings at the graduate level. c) Resource Management Committee. The committee shall recommend to the Faculty policies regarding the acquisition, maintenance, and use of laboratory equipment, the allocation and use of building space, and allocation of lab fee funds otherwise uncommitted. The committee shall review the annual SoE budget prepared by the Director and the budget priority lists prepared by the program Faculty members for consistency with these policies. d) Promotion and Tenure Committee. The committee shall review all applications for promotion and tenure presented and make their recommendations in accordance with University Promotion and Tenure Guidelines and Procedures and in accordance with the UFF Collective bargaining Agreement. The Committee shall submit its recommendations to the Director in accordance with all applicable University policies. The committee is only required to meet in years when promotion and/or tenure cases are under consideration. e) Promotion to Full Professor Committee. The committee shall review all applications for promotion to full professor presented and make their recommendations in accordance with University Promotion and Tenure Guidelines and Procedures and in accordance with the UFF Collective bargaining Agreement. The Committee shall submit its recommendations to the Director in accordance with all applicable University policies. The committee is only required to meet in years when promotion cases are under consideration. f) Scholarship and Awards Committee. The committee shall meet with the SoE Secretary to review applications for scholarships and awards. The committee will make recommendations with respect to awards of scholarship based on the criteria established in the scholarship description. No report to the faculty is necessary. SECTION 4. Membership Limitations A SoE member may be elected to serve on no more than two (2) SoE standing committees, excluding the Promotion and Tenure Committees. Membership on special or ad-hoc committees do not constitute membership in an additional standing committee. 6

7 SECTION 5. Subcommittees All standing committees may form temporary special subcommittees. Any subcommittee except those reporting to the Promotion and Tenure Committee may include non-committee members from the University community. Subcommittees shall have at least one member from the parent committee and this member shall be the chair. Subcommittee activities and recommendations are to be reported only to the parent committee for action. SECTION 6. Special Committees Special committees (aka ad-hoc committees ) with a limited term of existence may be formed by the Faculty to address needs not covered by the purview of any standing committee or combination thereof as recommended by the Director and/or the Faculty. Each special committee formed shall have a written charge which includes its organization, responsibilities, term of existence, and method of meeting and reporting. No special committee charge may subsume the charge to any standing committee of the SoE. SECTION 7. Removal of Committee Members Tenured and tenure-track faculty members who fail to execute faithfully their committee duties may be removed by a majority vote of the committee. The subsequent vacancy shall be filled by election of Faculty in accordance with the eligibility requirement of such committee. By majority vote of the committee, non-tenure track faculty and staff members who fail to execute faithfully their committee duties shall have a memorandum of censure forwarded to the Director. SECTION 1. Nominations ARTICLE VII NOMINATIONS AND ELECTIONS The Director shall provide a list of candidates for standing committee vacancies at the April meeting of the SoE. Nominations shall be taken from the floor at the previous meeting. SECTION 2. Faculty Search Committees In the case of committees formed for the purpose of searching for new SoE faculty members, the Director will appoint a chair of the search committee. Additional members may be added to satisfy the requirements of the Office of Equal Opportunity Programs, so long as the members appointed from the SoE faculty remain in the majority. The chair of the Search Committee shall be a tenured faculty member from the SoE, in the engineering discipline seeking the position. At least one member of the committee will be appointed from outside the discipline in which the position will reside. SECTION 3. Election Procedure Elections shall be by secret ballot of those present (with a quorum maintained) and counted immediately. All elections must be decided by majority vote of those present (with a quorum maintained), with runoff elections conducted as necessary during the course of the meeting. 7

8 ARTICLE VIII AUTHORITY SECTION 1. Policy Authority The SoE shall be governed by these operating procedures and such other standing rules as the SoE sees fit to adopt, such as, but not limited to, a policy on academic integrity, SoE collegiality guidelines, faculty evaluation guidelines, summer teaching assignment policy, merit criteria guidelines, thesis policies and procedures, and resource allocation, when appropriate. SECTION 2. Parliamentary Authority The parliamentary authority for the SoE, if needed, shall be the latest edition of Cannon's Concise Guide to Rules of Order. ARTICLE IX AMENDMENTS SECTION 1. Basis for Adoption of Amendments These operating procedures may be amended by written ballot of the faculty by two-thirds of the votes cast with a quorum maintained. SECTION 2. Process for Proposing Amendments Proposed bylaw amendments shall be received in writing by the Director at least 14 days prior to the meeting at which they are to be considered. Proposals must be signed by the sponsoring faculty member, with signatures of three additional tenured or tenure-track faculty. The Director will make editorial changes as he or she determines are needed and as are agreed to by the sponsor. The Director will consult with the sponsor as necessary regarding the substance of any amendment that may be in violation of established College and University policy. SECTION 3. Approval Procedure Proposed bylaw amendments shall be presented by the sponsor(s) of such amendment(s), to the SoE membership in writing ( allowed) at least five (5) working days prior to the meeting at which they are to be considered. The sponsor of the amendment must present the case for the amendment, in person, and lead the discussion, if any, at the meeting whence a vote is to be held. SECTION 4. Effective Date Unless otherwise provided for, the amendment shall take effect immediately upon adoption. The By- Laws as amended shall be reviewed as specified in the University Constitution and filed with the Secretary of the Faculty Association. 8

9 Log of Actions Initial draft by SJN, 9/20/04 Draft presented to Faculty, 9/20/04 Revised draft by Ad-hoc Bylaws Committee submitted to Faculty, 10/12/04 Approved by written ballot of the Faculty, 10/26/04 Revisions consolidated and typographical errors corrected by SJN and approved by TAG (chair of ad-hoc Bylaws Committee), 10/28/04 Submitted to Dean Neal Coulter, 10/28/04 Revised draft by Paul Eason, operating procedures committee chair, 3/27/2013 Draft presented to Faculty, 3/28/13 Approved by written ballot of the Faculty, 4/11/13 Reviewed and approved by the Dean, 7/2/13 Revisions requested by AA approved by written ballot of the Faculty, 8/29/