COMMITTEE DESCRIPTIONS OF UNIVERSITY STANDING COMMITTEES

(September 2008)

 

 

FACULTY SENATE COMMITTEES

 

Agenda:  establishes the Faculty Senate agenda for each month.

 

Committee on Committees: considers the overall structure of the standing academic committees and evaluates the functions of each.

 

Nominating Committee: formulates the slate of faculty officers for election by the Faculty Senate.

 

FACULTY SENATE ACADEMIC COMMITTEES

 

Academic Awards: recommends polices and procedures governing the granting of awards for teaching and advising, research and service; recommends candidates for receipt of awards in various categories, i.e. Alumni Distinguished Professor for Teaching Awards and University Research Awards

 

Academic Standards: recommends policies to improve and advance faculty teaching and student learning; promotes teaching excellence and recommends means to identify faculty teaching success; makes recommendations regarding general education requirements; reviews the annual report of the Director of the Writing Across the Curriculum Program and Director of the Honors Program.

 

Admission and Retention Policies: considers matters related to undergraduate recruitment, admission, advising, and retention of students; recommends policies and procedures relating to academic credits and standards.

 

Calendar:  develops University academic calendars.

 

Continuing and Career Education: reviews program quality, faculty, student services, support services, and policies and future directions relating to continuing education, distance education, summer school, weekend university, and lifelong learning; reviews career and cooperative education programs of the University

 

Educational Policies and Planning:  oversees the adequacy, balance, and excellence of the University's overall undergraduate and graduate programs; advises the Chancellor on educational policies and organizations, goals, standards and procedures; reviews requests for permission to establish and plan new degree programs; advises the Chancellor of action to be taken if the University experiences financial exigency or in the event that a major curtailment of an existing teaching, research, or public service program is considered.

 

Faculty Governance: oversees matters relating to policies and procedures found within the ECU Faculty Manual; considers matters relating to initial faculty appointment, tenure, promotion in rank merit and other such matters as may pertain to the general well-being of faculty; considers matters relating to unit re-evaluations.

 

Faculty Information Technology Review:  recommends policy related to the academic use of information technology; participates in the strategic planning for the academic use of information resources; reviews Information Resources Coordinating Council policy recommendations; represents faculty opinion on information technologies and related polices; pursues new University technology initiatives, reviews funding priorities.

 

Faculty Welfare:  reviews programs and policies relating to insurance, annuities, leaves of absence, faculty salaries, and faculty fringe benefits.

 

Libraries:  recommends policies and procedures for collections of books, periodicals, and other materials, library services and the apportionment of University library budgets.

 

Research/Creative Activity Grants: recommends policies and procedures governing the grant application process, criteria for awarding of grants, guidelines for use of research funds, and procedures for annual reporting by grant recipients; recommends the funding of meritorious research/creative activity proposals.

 

Student Academic Appellate: serves as an appeals board for students who do not meet admission requirements, were denied permission to drop a course, want to appeal an administrative decision relating to academic credits and standards, are seeking readmission after being declared academically ineligible to return, or want to appeal a financial aid decision.

 

Student Scholarships, Fellowships, and Financial Aid: recommends policies and procedures regarding the granting of scholarships, fellowships, and financial aid programs; recommends recipients of specified student financial aid scholarships; reviews the overall operation of the Student Financial Aid office.

 

Teaching Grants:  recommends policies and procedures governing the grant application process, criteria for the awarding of grants, guidelines for the use of teaching grant funds, and procedures for annual reporting by grant recipients; recommends teaching grant proposals to be funded based on the merit of the proposals.

 

Unit Code Screening: reviews academic unit codes and changes to existing academic unit codes to insure compliance with the ECU Faculty Manual and University polices, General Guidelines for Writing and Revising Unit Codes, Code of the University of North Carolina, and other appropriate documents.

 

University Athletics: advises the Chancellor about general issues pertaining to intercollegiate athletics at ECU, including conference matters, budget, compliance with legal regulations, fund raising, and public relations.

 

University Budget:  serves as a communication link between the Faculty Senate and Chancellor on budgetary matters; advises the Chancellor on annual budget priorities and policies, biennial budget requests, tuition changes, and the relationship of the budget decisions to the University's mission.

 

University Curriculum:  oversees matters relating to undergraduate courses and programs; reviews requests for permission to establish and plan new degree programs; acts on recommendations from the Council of Teacher Education regarding proposed changes in teaching education requirements.

 

University Environment: oversees matters relating to the general physical environment of the University, which includes traffic flow patterns, parking facilities, landscaping, and University’s master plan.

 

FACULTY SENATE APPELLATE COMMITTEES

 

Due Process: provides a forum for faculty members before discharge or the imposition of serious sanctions.

 

Faculty Grievance:  hears grievances on matters directly related to a faculty member's employment status and instructional relationship within the University and hears appeals concerning the implementation of governance procedures of both the East Carolina University Code and the Unit Codes within the units

 

Grievance Board:  provides a forum for allegations of sexual or racial harassment or discrimination or conflicts of interest brought against ECU faculty members or administrators holding faculty status.

 

Hearing: provides a forum for appeal of notice of nonreappointment or nonconferral of permanent tenure.

 

Reconsideration: provides a forum for the termination of faculty employment.

 

UNIVERSITY ADMINISTRATIVE COMMITTEES

 

*denotes those committees that the Chair of the Faculty serves as an ex-officio member

#denotes those committees that the Faculty Senate appoints members to

 

Academic Integrity: serves as an appeals board for students involved in academically violating the Honor Code. #

 

Advisory Committee for Service Learning:  selects criteria for service learning courses, works towards a designation for service learning courses, recommends learning outcomes and goals for service learning course, and serves as a resource for all matters pertaining to service learning.*

 

Animal Care and Use:  assures adherence to all State and Federal animal care regulations. *

 

Biological Safety:  promotes the safe research use of biohazardous and infectious agents. *

 

Citation Appeals Board: serves as an appeals board for students, staff, faculty, and visitors of ECU for the appeal of campus parking and traffic citations. *#

 

Committee on Canvassing and Soliciting:  monitors regulations concerning solicitation, selling, and merchandising at ECU.  *

 

Copyright: monitors trends and changes in copyright ownership models, oversees policy and guideline development, serves as a hearing body for dispute resolution. #

 

Environmental Safety: works to provide a safe and healthful environment for all persons associated with ECU. *

 

Family Weekend: coordinates Parents Weekend activities. *

 

Homecoming Steering: coordinates Homecoming activities. *

 

Honorary Degrees, Awards, and Distinctions:  recommends to the Chancellor men and women of outstanding accomplishment who have graduated from ECU or have ties to the university or region by which they enrich the communities.  (Board of Trustees Oversight) #

 

Infection Control: ensures that any ECU units with exposure to human blood and body fluid or TB, and all ECU clinical facilities comply with state and federal regulations to protect their employees, clients, patients, and the community from infection.*

                                           

Information Resources Coordinating Council: oversees the facilitation of information technology. *#

 

Intellectual Property and Patent:  reviews all patent disclosures. *

 

Living History:  review all proposals for visible improvements to the campus to assure conformance with the Campus Plan.*

 

Natural Areas: advises the Chancellor concerning the management of the Otter Creek Natural Area and other similar properties. *

 

Parking and Transportation: assists in the planning of traffic parking and traffic management; evaluates suggestions and complaints from faculty, staff, and students concerning parking on campus, and develops recommendations that address beneficial improvements. *#

 

Radiation Safety: makes recommendations concerning the radiological aspects involved in the safe use and disposition of radioactive material and electronic equipment emitting ionizing and nonionizing radiation. *

 

Research Ethics Oversight: reviews allegations of research misconduct, assists in planning courses on research integrity and professional development, and organizes workshops in research ethics. #

 

Resident Status Appeals:  hears appeals in any case in which a student is dissatisfied with a residency status determination. *

 

Scholarship: develops procedures and regulations for administration of scholarships. *

 

Status of Women: advises the Chancellor on matters of concern to women faculty, staff, and students.*

 

University and Medical Center Institutional Review Board:  reviews proposals for research using human subjects to assure adherence to federal, state, and hospital regulations.

 

University Benefits:  recommends benefits applicable to all University employees. *#

 

University Special Collections:  provides direction and counsel for the ECU Manuscript Collection. *

 

STUDENT UNION COMMITTEES

(with faculty representation)

 

Barefoot:  sponsors Barefoot On The Mall, an all-day outdoor festival featuring live music and novelty attractions.

 

Cultural Awareness:  responsible for selecting, planning, promoting, and presenting a broad scope of programs geared toward informing the majority of contributions in the arts made by minorities

 

Films: responsible for the three aspects of film programming: popular film series designed to present contemporary films, special series which present avant-garde, classical, and international films, and film festivals.

 

Marketing: responsible for packaging publicity and coordinating total promotion of the Student Union.

 

Popular Entertainment: responsible for selecting, planning, promoting, and presenting contemporary music artists and attractions as deemed appropriate by the committee to meet the needs of the students, faculty, and staff.

 

Spectrum: responsible for selecting, planning, and promoting a wide variety of special entertainment that includes special concerts, novelty attractions, magicians, comedians, and coordination of Barefoot on the Mall.

 

Visual Arts: responsible for selecting, planning, promoting, and presenting art exhibitions, as well as workshops, lectures, demonstrations, and other presentations by artists.