Faculty Governance
III.B Committees
1. Ad hoc committees may be created by the faculty through a vote or by the Dean through appointment. Faculty approval is required to extend ad hoc committees beyond one year or the completion of their duties.
2. All committees must seek faculty approval to amend or establish policy.
3. The membership of Standing Committees shall be determined by election of its members from tenure and tenure-track faculty in the College of Liberal Arts except that the Tenure Committee shall have one member from another College and except that some committees shall have the Dean or the Dean's representative as an ex officio non-voting member.
4. The Standing Committees of the College are as follows: Academic Conduct, Agenda, Assessment, Chairs Evaluation, Curriculum, Election, Faculty Development, Honors, Policies and Procedures, Promotions, Tenure and Writing. Their charges, composition, and modes of election are as follows:
a. The Academic Conduct Committee is charged with passing on issues of concern to those faculty and students who have need for impartial fact finding and mediation to resolve conflicting contentions regarding teaching, grading, and related issues. The Committee is composed of three faculty elected for staggered three-year terms and three students selected by the Dean for a one-year term from the degree program students.
b. The Agenda Committee is charged with preparing the schedule of meetings and agendas of the Faculty Meetings of the College and is composed of four voting members, three faculty elected at large for staggered two-year terms and one department chair selected by the department chairs for a one-year term. The Dean or designated representative is an ex officio member.
c. The Assessment Committee will conduct an annual assessment of the state of the college and how it might be improved. It is composed of four faculty, elected at large, serving staggered two-year terms.
d. The Chairs Evaluation Committee is charged with collecting ratings and comments from the faculty regarding each department and program chair. It consists of three tenured members of the faculty, not currently serving as chairs, from different departments, elected for staggered three-year terms.
e. The Curriculum Committee is charged with considering changes in curriculum. It consists of six faculty elected at large to three-year staggered terms, the elected College representative to the Inter-College Curriculum Committee, and the Dean or designated representative, who serves ex officio.
f. The Election Committee will conduct elections for all standing committees of the College as well as ad hoc committees which require elections. It will also conduct elections from the College to the Academic Senate and other Institute Committees requiring elections. It will keep current the list of committees, their members, and their terms of office. It is composed of two members, elected at large to staggered two-year terms.
g. The Faculty Development Committee is charged with recommending the dispensing of faculty development funds provided annually to the faculty. It consists of five members, elected at large to three-year staggered terms.
h. The Honors Committee is charged with overseeing the implementation of the Liberal Arts general education Honors Program. It is composed of one member elected from each undergraduate program or department represented on the Dean's Council, the Honors Advocate and Honors Coordinator as ex officio members, and one non-voting student reprsentative from the honors student body. Elections are for staggered two-year terms.
i. The Policies and Procedures Committee will ensure that the College's Policies and Procedures are current and consistent with Institute Policies and Procedures, bringing any discrepancies to the attention of the faculty for its consideration. It is composed of three faculty, elected at large to three-year staggered terms.
j. The Promotions Committee will make recommendations each year regarding individual faculty promotions. It is composed of seven tenured faculty members elected at large to two-year staggered terms
k. The Tenure Committee will make recommendations regarding tenure. The Committee consists of seven tenured faculty members, serving staggered two-year terms. In accordance with Institute Policies on Tenure, the faculty shall define six groupings of the college departments based on intellectual or academic affiliation. The tenured and tenure-track faculty of each of the six groupings will elect one tenured member of their grouping to serve on the college Tenure Committee. One of the tenured faculty will be appointed by the Academic Senate from a list of nominees approved by the faculty of the other Colleges of RIT.
l. The Writing Committee is charged with reviewing annually the effectiveness of the Writing Policy. It is composed of one member from each department, selected by the department. The Director of Writing is an ex officio member of the Committee.
