Bylaws of the Modeling & Simulation Graduate Program College of Graduate Studies University of Central Florida Adopted: August 27, 2015 Article I. Name and Purpose Section 1.01 Name The organization shall be called the Modeling & Simulation Graduate Program (hereafter the M&S Program ), and it shall exist as an interdisciplinary unit under the legal auspices of the University of Central Florida s College of Graduate Studies. Section 1.02 Purpose The purpose of the M&S Program is to: 1. provide oversight of the academic design, integrity, rigor, and effectiveness of the interdisciplinary Modeling & Simulation Ph.D., Masters of Science, Professional Master of Science, and various certificate programs, and to recommend and adopt other programs as necessary; 2. manage recruitment for, admission to, and retention of students in these programs; 3. encourage research and development of new techniques and scholarly applications in interdisciplinary modeling, simulation, and training fields; 4. encourage interdisciplinary research and education among students and faculty associated with the programs; and 5. foster a sense of community among the students, faculty, administrators, as well as academic, government, and industry partners. The policies, programs, and affairs of the M&S Program shall be consistent with these Bylaws. Article II. Board & Committee Organization Section 2.01 Overview of Advising & Governing Bodies Advising & governing bodies within the M&S Program shall consist of an external Executive Advisory Board and an internal Academic Advisory Board. The Academic Advisory Board will maintain a number of committees, which must include a M&S Curriculum Committee ( curriculum committee hereafter) and a M&S Admissions, Standards, and Awards Committee ( admissions committee hereafter). Details Page 1 of 9
regarding the membership and obligations of these boards and committees are found in the sections to follow in this article. Other committees may be formed at the purview of the Director of the M&S Program (hereafter the Director, see Article III). Subcommittees of the existing committees may be formed by the committee under which that subcommittee will operate. Section 2.02 Executive Advisory Board The Executive Advisory Board (hereafter the EAB ) serves as the principal external advisory board of the Modeling and Simulation Graduate Program. The EAB directly contributes to the establishment and maintenance of a high-quality graduate program that is responsive to the changing needs of the M&S industry and the students of the program. The EAB assists the Program by critically analyzing the programmatic activities and opportunities and providing suggestions related to curriculum, recruitment, admissions and the overall goals of the Program. The following are some of the primary responsibilities of the EAB: Serve as an advocate for the M&S Program Review the goals, objectives, outcomes and metrics of Program Identify new and important trends in the M&S industry and their impact on education and research broadly and on the Program Provide ideas and guidance for Program development and revision Facilitate connections between the Program faculty and students with outside governmental and private sector entities Assist in identifying student experiential learning opportunities, including internships, co-ops, mentorships, and real-world course projects Assist in identifying opportunities to expand Program resources for the support of student education and research (a) Member Nomination, Appointment and Terms An EAB member is expected to serve a one- to three-year term, with renewal upon invitation by the Program Director and acceptance by the EAB member. The EAB members, the administration and faculty of UCF, and Program alumni, may also make nominations. (b) Executive Advisory Board Leadership The EAB will select one member to serve as Chair and one member to serve as Vice Chair. The Chair will conduct EAB meetings and work closely with the Program Director and staff. The Chair will serve a renewable one-year appointment, with a maximum of two consecutive appointments. The Vice Chair will perform the duties of the Chair in the Chair s absence. It is expected that the Vice Chair will serve in this position for as long as the current Chair remains in his/her appointment. It is also expected that the Vice Chair will serve as Chair when the Chair does not renew. Page 2 of 9
Section 2.03 Academic Advisory Board The Academic Advisory Board (hereafter the AAB ) serves as the principal internal advisory board of the Modeling and Simulation Graduate Program. The AAB directly contributes to the establishment and maintenance of an academic standards in curriculum and student body as perceived national and internationally by external rating agencies. AAB responsibilities include: Establishing, maintaining, recommending and promoting curriculum that advances the M&S program standards and degrees Establishing, maintaining, recommending, and promoting standards for student admissions into the program as well as conducting student admission reviews and determining student admissions providing periodic formal and informal feedback about the M&S Program s status; ratification of, or changes to, the Bylaws (Article VI); approval of instructor assignments to courses offered by the program (see also Section 3.01); approval of new AAB members; and approval of rotational members of the curriculum committee (Section 2.03.a). The AAB will be comprised of M&S faculty, staff, and students from the University of Central Florida. There must be at least 10 members of the AAB, and there may not be more than 20. There are two types of members of the AAB: core members and noncore members. The two primary operating arms of the AAB are the curriculum committee and the admissions committee. The Director of the M&S Program, the Director of the Institute for Simulation & Training, and all members of the curriculum committee and admissions committees comprise the core members of the AAB. Non-core members are described further below. (a) Curriculum Committee The curriculum committee is comprised of: 1. all faculty teaching the Core Required Courses for the modeling and simulation M.S. and Ph.D. programs as defined by the UCF Graduate Catalog descriptions; 2. the current program coordinator, if there is one; and 3. up to two rotational members, appointed by the Director of the M&S Program. Rotational members, once appointed, serve on the committee for two-year terms unless the individual resigns or is dismissed for cause by the Director of the M&S Program. At the end of two years, a rotational member may be reappointed. All curriculum committee members are expected to participate in discussions relevant to curricula in the M&S Program and to attend meetings, when possible. The curriculum committee is responsible for: maintaining documentation clarifying the core educational objectives of the M&S Program; Page 3 of 9
reviewing and making recommendations to the Director of the M&S Program about all curricular matters, such as course and program additions, deletions, and revisions; approving all changes to what are considered the required core courses in the program; approving all changes to qualifying and candidacy exam procedures; approving all changes to program-level thesis and dissertation requirements; approving all graduate faculty and graduate faculty scholar nominations; stipulating any provisions or constraints on how graduate faculty and graduate faculty scholars may serve on thesis and dissertation committees; and approving all changes to the catalog and handbook descriptions of the program before submission to UCF. Approval for these items requires a majority vote of a quorum of the committee. A quorum of the curriculum committee is reached when at least two-thirds of the curriculum committee members have responded (positively, negatively, or by formal explicit abstention) per procedures outlined in Article V. To be clear, no changes to core courses and curricula are permitted unless it is approved by the curriculum committee in the manner described in these Bylaws. (b) Admissions, Standards, and Awards Committee The admissions committee is comprised of M&S faculty appointed by the Director of the M&S Program. There must be at least five and may be no more than seven members appointed. Nominations for an appointment to the admissions committee may be put forward by any member of the AAB or the Director of the M&S Program, and must be approved by the AAB. An appointment is valid for two years, and may be renewed thereafter. A member of the AAB may choose to resign from the AAB but cannot be removed from the AAB except by two-thirds vote of the AAB. At least two of the admissions committee s membership must include people with some kind of faculty appointment at the Institute for Simulation & Training, and at least two must include people with some kind of faculty appointment in other UCF academic unit(s) that contribute to or represent the interdisciplinarity of the M&S program. Faculty with joint appointments may be counted for either but not both of these categories. Further, membership on the admissions committee must include representation from the College of Sciences, the College of Engineering and Computer Science, and the Institute for Simulation & Training. All admission committee members are expected to participate in discussions relevant to admissions into the M&S Program and to attend meetings, when possible. The admissions committee is responsible for: serving on the AAB and participating in its activities (Section 2.03); maintaining the standards of acceptance for all programs in the M&S Program; deciding the admissions status of all Ph.D. applicants to the M&S Ph.D. program; approving all provisional admits for any program; Page 4 of 9
reviewing applications and making nominations for program- and university-level awards (e.g., UCF Graduate Excellence Awards, M&S First Year Assistantships, and UCF Fellowships); and establishing any ad-hoc subcommittees to address student appeals to decisions. Decisions about whether to admit a candidate or approve a provisional admit must be made under one of two conditions: 1. There is unanimous agreement among at least three of the admissions committee members; or 2. There is majority approval from at least two-thirds of the admissions committee members. If a student appeals a decision, per University requirements, a subcommittee must be formed to review the decision. That subcommittee should include members of the AAB where possible (though this is not required) and may not include any faculty from the admissions committee who were involved in the original decision. (c) Non-core members of AAB Non-core members of AAB must meet at least one of the following criteria. Non-core members must: teach or have taught a course maintained by the M&S Program within the last five years; be serving or have served as chair on at least one M&S student s Ph.D. dissertation or Masters of Science thesis committee; serve as UCF Research or Tenured-Track Faculty conducting research in the area of modeling & simulation; or be an active graduate student from one of the programs of study under Modeling & Simulation to serve as a representative. (d) AAB procedures Approval of instructor assignments and rotational committee members must be conducted by vote per procedures described in Article V. A valid vote requires a quorum of AAB members to submit a response (positive, negative, or formal explicit abstention). Approval requires a simple majority of positive responses from the quorum. Quorum in this case shall be defined as at least two-thirds of all members and at least two noncore members, per Section 5.03. Amendments to the Bylaws must be ratified per the process defined in Article VI. In consultation with the M&S graduate student organization, a student representative may be appointed by the Director of the M&S Program. The term is one year, renewable. Student representatives may be reappointed based on consultation with the M&S graduate student organization. The student representative may vote on all matters, except where excluded from the meeting. Page 5 of 9
The Chair of any committee with student members must excuse the student representatives from meetings during discussion of other students, personnel actions or disciplinary issues relating to faculty, rankings of existing students for funding, and for disciplinary issues related to students. The Director of the M&S Program maintains the privilege to appoint or dismiss non-core members of the AAB (see Section 3.01) subject to approval by AAB itself. Section 2.04 Parliamentary Authority The membership of boards and committees must comply with these Bylaws. When procedures are consistent with these Bylaws and there is unanimous agreement within a group on how to conduct business, meetings may be run according to such an agreed upon format. When members disagree about how to proceed, meetings should be run according to the current edition of the Robert s Rules of Order, Newly Revised as long as this is consistent with the Bylaws. Article III. Program Organization Section 3.01 The M&S Program Director The M&S Program Director (hereafter the Program Director ) shall have the authority to transact all necessary and essential business of the M&S Program or delegate such authority to another member of the AAB, subject to these Bylaws. The Program Director shall be appointed by the Dean of the UCF College of Graduate Studies for a period of two years, which may be renewed at the Dean s discretion. Such an appointment must be made in consultation with, and with the concurrence of, the Deans of the College of Sciences and the College of Engineering and Computer Science. The individual so appointed shall continue to occupy the office until his or her successor is appointed and installed, or until his or her resignation or removal. Upon resignation or removal of the Program Director, an ad-hoc committee drawn from the AAB will make a recommendation to the Dean of Graduate Studies concerning a new appointment. The Program Director will appoint all: members of the EAB; non-core members of the AAB, including a student representative; rotational members of the curriculum committee; and members of the admissions committee. The Program Director shall preside over general meetings of the AAB and may serve as ex-officio member of any committee or subcommittee. He or she will also recommend the establishment of ad-hoc committees and sub-committees as necessary. Volunteers will be sought for these positions as a first step in the process. The assignment of committee members to a particular committee should, insofar as possible, seek a balance of affected interest and maintain the interdisciplinary nature of the M&S Program. The Program Director may make interim appointments to cover positions (including the Page 6 of 9
Program Director position) after resignation or removal. Additionally, the Program Director may also appoint an Associate Program Director of the M&S Program and delegate some of these authorities to this person. Further, the Program Director has the responsibility of supervising the M&S Program Coordinator. In addition, the Program Director is responsible for suggesting who will be assigned as instructor for courses offered in the program; however, as described in Section 2.03, such assignments are subject to approval by the AAB. The Program Director may temporarily fill a vacancy in an instructor assignment to a course without approval for one academic term, if needed; however, the Program Director shall obtain approval from the AAB during that term. The Program Director may not unilaterally dismiss an instructor from a course assignment without the consent of the instructor or the AAB. The Program Director shall make recommendations and assign tasks to committees as necessary. The Program Director shall execute any other duties as listed in the Bylaws in accordance with those Bylaws. Section 3.02 The M&S Program Coordinator The M&S Program Coordinator (hereafter Program Coordinator ) reports directly to the Program Director of the Modeling & Simulation Program. The Program Coordinator is responsible for the day-to-day coordination and promotion of academic support services designed to enhance student success, as well as working with the Program Director to manage a professional, collaborative environment that will provide high-quality studentcentered services while also driving the development and implementation of best practices for graduate advising and program enhancement. Responsibilities of this position include: advising for newly admitted students; advising for currently enrolled students; helping the program maintain its interdisciplinary focus through event planning and outreach; general program administration and enhancement; administration of recruitment and retention activities for the program; coordination of annual assessments and reviews; and providing input on curricula via service on the curriculum committee. Article IV. Finance Section 4.01 Budget The Program Director will manage the annual budget for the M&S Program. The Dean of Graduate Studies determines this budget. Page 7 of 9
Section 4.02 Fundraising The EAB and AAB may raise funds or solicit contributions in any manner not prohibited by the College of Graduate Studies or the University of Central Florida. Section 4.03 Fiscal Year The fiscal year of the Program shall align with the UCF fiscal calendar, which is July 1 through June 30. Section 4.04 Depository The funds derived from and by the EAB and AAB shall be deposited and otherwise held under the legal auspices of the University of Central Florida Foundation, Inc. in one or more accounts established for this purpose. Article V. Voting Section 5.01 Procedure In all boards and committees, each member gets precisely one vote, and members may not transfer their vote by proxy to another member. Voting is valid in person at committee or board meetings and events by show of hands or in writing, as well as by electronic means (e.g., email, teleconference, or web-based query). Section 5.02 Definitions The terms majority or simple majority are defined as one vote above fifty percent of all positive, negative, and formal explicit abstentions received within the voting time frame. The term formal explicit abstention describes the situation when a member submits a vote that explicitly states the member chooses to abstain; failure to submit a vote is not considered a formal explicit abstention. A successful majority vote is only possible with a quorum is reached (see Section 5.03). Section 5.03 Quorum In all but one case, a Quorum is reached when at least two-thirds of voting members of a committee or board have cast either a positive, negative, or formal explicit abstention vote. The exception is votes determining AAB decisions, in which least two-thirds (2/3) of all members and at least two non-core members constitute a quorum, per Section 2.03. Page 8 of 9
Article VI. Amendments to the Bylaws These Bylaws may be amended, altered, or rescinded by the members of the AAB upon approval of two-thirds (2/3) positive votes where a quorum is reached. This process is referred to as ratification. Ratification may occur in person by show of hands or in writing, or it may be accomplished electronically (e.g., email or web-query). Proposed amendments to the Bylaws shall be submitted to an ad-hoc Bylaws committee established by the Program Director. Upon review, this ad-hoc Bylaws committee may either return the proposed amendments to the proposer with recommendations for changes and re-submittal or submit the proposed Bylaws amendments to the AAB for ratification. Article VII. Establishment These Bylaws shall be effective upon ratification of the AAB, per procedures described in Article VI. Page 9 of 9