April 29, 2008
The following document was adopted by the Faculty Assembly of the
University of
A strong tradition of shared governance is essential to the
excellence of any institution of higher learning. This principle is embodied in
Section 502D(2) of the Code of the Board of Governors, which makes it the
responsibility of the chancellor of each constituent institution of the
University of North Carolina to ensure that the institution’s faculty has the
means to give effective advice with respect to questions of academic policy and
institutional governance, with particular emphasis upon matters of curriculum,
degree requirements, instructional standards, and grading criteria, and that
the appropriate means of giving such advice is through an elected faculty
senate or council and an elected chair of the faculty. To the end that
chancellors may more effectively carry out this responsibility, the Faculty
Assembly commends the following statement of essential standards of governance.
As used in this document, the following terms have the meanings
indicated.
1. “Faculty” includes all persons holding full-time tenure-track
appointments in the institution and such other faculty members and librarians
as may have been accorded voting privileges in faculty elections.
2. “Faculty senate” means the elective body, by whatever
nomenclature, empowered by the faculty to exercise its legislative powers.
3. “Chair of the faculty” means the faculty member, by whatever
nomenclature, elected by the faculty at large or by the faculty senate as the
chief faculty officer and spokesperson.
1. The faculty senate must hold regularly scheduled meetings
throughout the academic year.
2. With few exceptions, voting membership of the senate must be
limited to elected faculty representatives.
3. Members of the senate must represent the academic units of the
institution and must be elected directly by the faculty of those units.
4. While it is the chancellor’s prerogative to preside over the
senate, it is preferable and customary for the chancellor to delegate this
privilege to the chair of the faculty, especially for those portions of
meetings during which the senate is deliberating on questions of academic
policy and institutional governance.
5. The officers of the senate must be elected by the membership of
that body or by the faculty at large.
6. The structure, method of election, and powers of the senate
must be specified in a document approved by and amendable by the faculty at
large or its designated representatives.
7. Procedures for the operation of the senate must be established
by reference to recognized authorities such as Roberts’ Rules of Order or in
published bylaws adopted by the senate.
8. The senate must be given adequate resources to ensure effective
governance, including (a) an adequate budget; (b) reasonable authority over its
budget; (c) adequate office space; and (d) adequate secretarial support.
1. There must be a chair of the faculty who is elected either by
the faculty at large or by the faculty senate. The chair of the faculty shall
be the chief spokesperson for the faculty.
2. The chair of the faculty must be allowed reassigned time
commensurate with the duties of the office.
1. The legislative and consultative powers of the faculty must be
codified in a published governance document approved by and amendable by the
faculty or [its] elected representatives.
2. The university’s curriculum is the responsibility of the
faculty. The faculty, acting as a committee of the whole or through
representatives elected by the faculty or designated pursuant to procedures
established by faculty legislation, must give approval to academic policies
prior to their implementation, including but not limited to the following: (a)
graduation requirements; (b) the undergraduate curriculum; (c) the
establishment, merger, or discontinuation of departments, schools, and
colleges; (d) the establishment of new degree programs (including online
programs); (e) the establishment of or substantive changes to majors; (f) the
elimination or consolidation of degree programs; (g) the establishment of individual
new courses; (h) admissions policies; (i) attendance
and grading policies; (j) grade-appeal procedures; (k) drop-add policies; (l)
course-repeat policies; (m) policies for honors programs; and (n) honor-code
policies.
3. The curriculum leading to and policies with respect to the
award of graduate and professional degrees must be established by the faculties
of the schools or colleges that admit and certify candidates for those degrees.
4. The faculty, through its designated representatives, must be consulted
on any proposal to adopt or amend campus policies of reappointment, tenure, and
promotion, and of post-tenure review. It is expected that any such proposals
will be initiated by the faculty, and that full opportunity for faculty
analysis and discussion will be allowed before any modifications in such
proposals are adopted.
5. The faculty, through its designated representatives, must be
afforded full opportunity to review and approve faculty handbooks, academic
policy manuals, and any institutional policy statements that affect the
faculty’s teaching, research, or conditions of employment.
6. For joint committees on which the faculty is represented: (a)
faculty representation must appropriately reflect the degree of the faculty’s
stake in the issue or area the committee is charged with addressing; and (b)
the faculty members of joint committees must be selected in consultation with
the elected faculty leadership or by processes approved by the senate.
7. The granting of honorary degrees is a prerogative of the
faculty. All nominees for honorary degrees must be approved by the faculty or
its designated representatives before final approval by the board of trustees.
1. A collegial, candid, and cooperative relationship should exist
between the administration and the faculty. When requested, administrators
should appear before the senate and respond to questions.
2. It is expected that senior administrators will uphold the
decisions of the senate in areas in which the faculty has primary
responsibility, such as curriculum and tenure and promotion policies.
3. The chancellor and other senior administrators should consult
in a timely way and seek meaningful faculty input on issues in which the
faculty has an appropriate interest but not primary responsibility, including
but not limited to the following: (a) the university mission, emphases, and
goals; (b) budget; (c) campus master plan or strategic plan; (d) building
construction; (e) enrollment growth; (f) tuition policy; (g) student
discipline; (h) intercollegiate athletics; (i)
faculty and staff benefits; (j) and libraries and other research facilities.
4. The chancellor should effectively advocate the principles of
shared governance to the board of trustees.
5. The chancellor should typically sustain the recommendations of
faculty tenure, hearings, and grievance committees. When the chancellor acts
against the recommendations of such committees, the chancellor should meet with
the committee or otherwise adequately communicate the reasons for not
sustaining its recommendations.
6. The board of trustees should exercise due respect for the
governance prerogatives of the faculty.
7. The faculty should participate meaningfully in the selection of
academic administrators through membership on search or hiring committees and
the opportunity to meet and comment on “short listed” candidates before hiring
decisions are made.
8. The faculty of each college, school, or department should be
consulted in the appointment or reappointment of the dean or department chair
either through majority membership on the search or evaluation committee or by
direct consultation with the appointing administrator either in person or by
other means approved by the faculty senate.
9. The term of appointment of academic deans and department chairs
should not exceed five years. If appointed for an indefinite term, an academic
dean or department chair should be formally evaluated for continuation in
office not less frequently than every five years.
10. The chancellor or provost, in consultation with the faculty
senate, should establish effective procedures that enable members of the
faculty having voting privileges to regularly evaluate the performance of
senior administrators. This evaluation should be in addition to and independent
of the mandated periodic evaluation of administrators by the chancellor or the
board of trustees.
It is the responsibility of the faculty of each campus to
advocate, seek, and monitor the campus’s adherence to the Standards of Shared
Governance. When a campus is not in compliance with one or more standards,
faculty should seek resolution through processes at the campus level. However,
when the faculty’s sustained efforts to secure compliance have not been
successful, the faculty, through its senate or the chair of the faculty, is
encouraged to consult with the officers of the Faculty Assembly, who will bring
the matter to the attention of the president and work with all parties to
achieve a resolution.