AA/11/AS/04/AdHoc - Academic Organization

Effective July 1, 2004

1. Formal proposals for creating or restructuring* academic units may originate with interested groups of faculty, with academic /administrative officers, or the Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs.

2. Proposals for creating, dissolving, restructuring, or renaming academic units shall contain, at a minimum, the following elements:

   • A description of the proposed organizational structure.

   • A description of the involvement of other groups or individuals in the development of the proposal if any.

   • The rationale, including

     • The benefits of the proposed organizational structure;

     • The anticipated costs of implementation; and

     • A statement of how the proposed change advances the campus vision, mission, and goals.

3. Proposals for organizational structure affecting units within one college will be considered following the college’s governance structures. Changes considered within the college’s governance structure are to be shared with appropriate University governance. Changes must have the concurrence of the provost.

4. Proposal for the following organizational changes require following steps 5-11:

   • Involving units from more than one college

   • Creating or deleting a college or school

   • Moving academic departments among or between colleges

5. Proposals for academic organization/restructuring shall be presented simultaneously

   • To the appropriate dean(s) and governance units,

   • To the Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs (P/VPAA), and

   • To the Senate Executive Committee (SEC) and Faculty Speaker. Such proposals shall be presented in time to allow for reasonable review.

6. The P/VPAA, in consultation with the SEC and Faculty Speaker and with the dean(s)/director(s)/chairs involved, shall appoint an ad hoc committee to study the proposal. The committee shall be comprised of a majority of faculty: at least four faculty members, appointed jointly by the Speaker of the Faculty and the Provost after consultation with the Committee on Committees. Faculty membership must include representation from the units involved and at least one member from a college not involved in the proposed restructuring). The committee must also include at least one student from one of the units involved. All committee members shall have voting rights. The chair of the committee will be selected jointly by the Speaker and the Provost.

7. As part of its deliberative process, the ad hoc committee shall hold at least one open forum where individuals may express their opinions about the proposal. Announcement of this open session shall be made well enough in advance to insure adequate notice.

8. The charge of the ad hoc committee shall be to evaluate the proposal and provide a report to the P/VPAA, the SEC, the Faculty Speaker, the dean(s), director(s), department chair (5) and the faculty/staff of the units involved. The ad hoc committee shall report its findings no later than eight weeks following formation of the committee. Reviews will occur during the academic year.

9. The SEC shall forward the reports to the University Educational Policies Committee and/or Graduate Council and the Faculty Budget Advisory Committee, each of which shall make its recommendation to the Senate. Any curricular changes resulting from the administrative restructuring shall be approved through regular governance processes.

10. The Academic Senate shall review the proposal, the Senate committee recommendations, and the ad hoc committee’s recommendation, subsequently forwarding its recommendation to the President.

11. The President shall have final authority to accept/reject the proposal.
     

Definitions of Academic Units

The following definitions are adopted for use of naming academic units at CSU Stanislaus:

1. Division refers to large unit that may contain colleges and support units. A division is normally headed by a Vice President.

2. College refers to the principal academic unit whose chief academic/administrative officers are deans. Departments, schools, and program are standard terms for units within colleges

3. Schools are significant academic units within or outside of colleges that serve an important role in advancing the goals of Academic Affairs. A school within a college is normally headed by a Director; a school outside of colleges is normally headed by a Dean.

4. Department refers to a collection of faculty in a discipline or closely related disciplines responsible for the operation of one or more degree programs, minors, and concentrations. Departments are normally headed by Chairs.

5. Program, as defined in the WASC standards, is “a systematic, usually sequential, grouping of courses, forming a considerable part, or all, of the requirements for a degree or credential; may refer to the total educational offerings of an institution,”

*Restructuring may occur as a result of the following:

1. Creation, dissolution, restructuring or renaming of colleges/schools
2. Creation, dissolution, restructuring or renaming of departments
3. Reassignment of departments to a different college

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