College Governance
Undergraduate Policy and Curriculum Committee
Each academic unit elects one faculty member [to the Undergraduate Policy and Curriculum Committee] to serve a two-year term. The chair of each unit’s undergraduate curriculum committee, or his/her designee, also serves on the committee. Terms are staggered to allow for continuity from year to year. The Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Studies serves as the committee chair. Curriculum proposals in each academic unit begin with the faculty and must be approved at the departmental or school level before being considered at the college level. Proposals presented to the college by the academic units are reviewed and voted on by the COFA Undergraduate Policy and Curriculum Committee. They are either returned to the academic unit for clarification or revision, or forwarded, with approval of the dean, to the Faculty Council for university approval or rejection.
Policy ratified by CoFA faculty 9/6/11
Department/School Governance
College-wide Faculty Committees
College of Fine Arts Promotion and Tenure Advisory Committee
This is the college-level promotion and tenure review committee. It consists of faculty from each department/school nominated by chair/director and appointed by dean. Members serve staggered two- or three- year terms to ensure that only some members rotate off each year. Appointment preference is given to senior faculty so that there are sufficient number of faculty of rank to vote on cases. There is at least one professional-track faculty member on the committee. The committee is chaired by the dean, ex-officio and non-voting. The committee advises the dean on Promotion and Tenure cases, Third Year Review cases (aka Mid-Probationary Review), Comprehensive Periodic Review cases (if needed), and other related business as assigned by the dean. The workload on this committee varies from moderate to very heavy depending directly on how many promotion and tenure cases occur in a single year. The annual business of the committee is usually handled by one or two meetings in the fall (P&T) and one meeting in the spring (third year review). However, members probably spend more time reviewing files in advance than in the meeting room discussing.
College of Fine Arts Undergraduate Curriculum Committee
Described above under college governance.
The workload on this committee varies from very light to moderate, depending on how many changes are proposed by the constituent departments/schools each year. The two-year cycle of the undergraduate catalog makes workload lighter one year followed by heavier the next year. The committee only meets when there is business it needs to address.
College of Fine Arts Scholastic Dismissal Appeals Committee
This is the college-level committee that reviews appeals from undergraduate students to scholastic/academic dismissals. It consists of faculty from each department/school nominated by the chair/director and appointed by the dean. The committee is chaired by the Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Studies, ex-officio. This committee reviews all appeals to academic dismissals from undergraduate students. The committee’s approach is to focus on student welfare. Does the appeal have merit and what length of academic dismissal is appropriate for the circumstances? The College of Fine Arts averages about eight appeals cases a year. The committee meets twice a year (just after each semester ends). The workload on this committee is light.
Fine Arts Faculty Development Leave (FDL) Review Committee
This is the college-level committee that reviews all applications for the Faculty Development Leave and the Fine Arts Creative Research Grant and recommends to the dean which to award. It consists of one tenured faculty member from each department/school that is identified by election of each department/school faculty at large. Members serve staggered two-year terms. The committee is chaired by the Director of Faculty Advancement, ex-officio and non-voting. The committee reviews and ranks approximately 10-20 award applications per year. The committee usually completes its annual business asynchronously. The workload is light.
Fine Arts Faculty Development Award (FDA) Review Committee
This is the college-level committee that reviews all applications for the Faculty Development Award and recommends to the dean which to award. It consists of one professional-track faculty member from each department/school that is identified by election of each department/school faculty at large. Members serve staggered two-year terms. The committee is chaired by the Director of Faculty Advancement, ex-officio and non-voting. The committee reviews and ranks approximately 5-10 award applications per year. The committee usually completes its annual business asynchronously. The workload is light.
Fine Arts Faculty Awards Committee
This is the college-level committee that reviews all nominations for the College Distinguished Teaching Award. It consists of one faculty member from each department/school appointed by the dean. Preference for service on this committee is given to recent teaching award winners. Members serve two-year terms. The committee is chaired by the Director of Faculty Advancement, ex-officio and non-voting. The committee reviews and ranks approximately 3 – 8 teaching award nomination packets per year. The committee usually completes its annual business asynchronously. The workload is light.
Page last updated: 8/17/2023
