Part II, Section III: Academic Policy, Administrative Policy, and Vetting of Administrative PRRs in Matters Relating to Faculty

Updated: December 14, 2017

Contents

  1. Academic Policy
  2. Administrative Policy
  3. Vetting of Administrative PRRs in Matters Relating to Faculty Revised 12-17

I. Academic Policy

The faculty organization of East Carolina University comprises the general faculty. As provided in Section 502D of The Code of UNC (pdf), the BOG requires the Chancellor to ensure that there exists in the institution a faculty council or senate, a majority of whose members are elected by and from the members of the faculty. The Faculty Senate is the legislative and advisory body which represents the general faculty and provides the means by which faculty are enabled to fulfill their function with respect to faculty welfare and academic and educational policies exclusive of graduate programs. The Faculty Senate acts upon reports and recommendations of its standing academic committees (and ad-hoc committees). Please refer to the ECU Faculty Manual, Faculty Constitution and By-Laws of East Carolina University for the detailed list of responsibilities and activities of the Faculty Senate. Graduate faculty governance and organizational matters are also outlined in the ECU Faculty Manual.
According to ECU Regulation 01.15.01 regarding recommendations for new PRRs or Changes to Existing PRRs, the Faculty Senate, the Graduate Council, Staff Senate, Student Government Association, any standing or ad hoc committee of East Carolina University or any administrative or academic officer, including Executive Officers, may recommend new PRRs or changes to existing PRRs. Any member of the University Community may forward recommendations for new or revised PRRs to any of the above entities/individuals. At East Carolina University, the general faculty are the general electorate and the Faculty Senate is the legislative and advisory body representing the general faculty. The Chancellor and the Chair of the Faculty facilitate communication that enables continuing and effective faculty participation in all aspects of the University community. The Chancellor is a member of all faculties and other academic bodies of the institution and shall have the right to preside over the deliberations of any legislative bodies of the faculties of the institution.
Academic policies pertaining to faculty shall be housed in the Faculty Manual, in particular matters relating to tenure and promotion, curriculum, degree requirements, instructional standards and grading, and faculty welfare. In the spirit of shared governance, before the Chancellor either adopts with revisions a regulation or recommends to the Board of Trustees a proposed policy that differs from a recommendation of the Faculty Senate regarding matters of tenure and promotion, curriculum, degree requirements, instruction standards, and grading, the Chancellor will seek additional advice from the Faculty Senate to be provided within a period the Chancellor establishes in the best interest of the University. (FS Resolution #12-67, April 2012)

II. Administrative Policy

Administrative policy, as distinct from academic policy, is determined by the chancellor in consultation with other administrative officers. Administrative committees are appointed by the chancellor (or the Chancellor’s designee) and report to the chancellor or to their designee. These committees, councils, and boards are not responsible to the Faculty Senate because of their jurisdictions and functions; however, the chair of the faculty (or an appointed representative) serves as an ex-officio member on most of the administrative committees. Complete list of current standing University administrative committees. (FS Resolution #12-06, January 2012)

III. Vetting of Administrative Policies, Rules, and Regulations (PRRs) in matters relating to Faculty

The following outlines the internal Faculty Senate process for obtaining Formal Faculty Advice on Administrative Policies, Rules, and Regulations (PRRs).

Based on the East Carolina University Policy Manual, the official repository of all approved PRRs at East Carolina University, and the regulation that governs Formatting, Adopting, and Publishing Policies, Regulations, and Rules, the following process has been established for the solicitation and provision of faculty advice on matters involving faculty in the areas of academic policies, faculty welfare, and university governance.

When the need for an administrative PRR is determined the appropriate delegated authority forwards the proposed PRR to the Chair of the Faculty. The Chair of the Faculty reviews and consults with Faculty Officers to determine whether the proposed PRR pertains to faculty and requires faculty review and vetting by Faculty Senate. If it is determined by the Faculty Officers that the proposed PRR does not pertain to faculty, the Chair provides written notification to the University Policy Committee (UPC). If a proposed PRR requires faculty review, the Chair of the Faculty asks the appropriate university academic/appellate committee to review and provide recommendations to the Chair and Faculty Senate as a means of formal faculty advice. During the faculty review, the appropriate Vice Chancellor will determine whether an interim PRR shall be posted online. If the committee determines that no formal faculty advice is required, the committee provides written notification to the Chair of the Faculty who reports to the UPC.

Those PRRs considered by Faculty Officers not to pertain to faculty, and those for which a Senate committee determines no formal advice is required, will be reported as announcements that provide the full Senate an opportunity to reconsider whether formal advice is needed.

When a committee determines that revisions are necessary to a proposed PRR, recommendations are forwarded to the Chair of the Faculty and Faculty Senate as formal faculty advice. The Chair of the Faculty forwards the committee recommendations to the delegated authority responsible for the proposed PRR to facilitate discussion and agreement.

If edits are made to a proposed PRR during faculty review or after Faculty Senate action, a new proposed PRR will be forwarded to the Chair of the Faculty who consults with the Faculty Officers to determine if the edits necessitate further faculty review and Faculty Senate action. If the Officers determine that further review is not necessary, the Chair provides written notification to the UPC. If additional review is necessary, the Chair asks the appropriate committee to review and provide recommendations to the Chair and Faculty Senate as additional formal faculty advice.

The Faculty Senate votes on university committee recommendations as formal faculty advice. If formal advice on a proposed PRR is approved by the Faculty Senate, it will be submitted to the Chancellor following the normal established approval/review process. The Chancellor will act according to the established process and notify the Chair of the Faculty that the faculty’s formal advice has been received.

Formal faculty advice on PRRs will be documented following the same recordkeeping process as all other Faculty Senate actions and resolutions. A history of the Faculty Senate recommendation/formal advice will be maintained in the Faculty Senate office in the same manner as all other Senate actions and resolutions and maintained as feedback to the PRR policy when published in the University Policy Manual. (FS Resolution #12-66, April 2012; FS Resolution #17-74, November 2017)