BYLAWS OF THE COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

  I.          AUTHORITY

 These Bylaws of the College of Arts and Sciences are established by provision of UW Regulation 5-510:  Regulations of the College of Arts and Sciences, Part II, Section 2.C.

 

II.        DEFINITIONS: PERSONNEL

 Personnel within the College include Academic Personnel and Staff.  Academic Personnel refers to two categories: Faculty and Academic Professionals. Faculty are defined as Professor, Associate Professor, Assistant Professor, and Instructor.  The Academic Professional category includes all Probationary and Extended-Term Academic Professional Lecturers and Research Scientists. Temporary academic personnel are non-voting members of the College and are not eligible for elected committees. Classified staff are defined and governed by UW Regulation 4-174.  

 

III.       AMENDMENT OF THE BYLAWS

 Any voting member of the A&S College Academic Personnel may propose amendments to the bylaws to the Central Committee.  The Central Committee recommends to the Dean whether the proposal should be submitted to the Academic Personnel for a vote.  For the proposals recommended, the Dean will send out an electronic ballot with the exact wording of the proposed change(s).  The deadline for returning electronic ballots to the Dean's Office shall be one week (7 working days) from the date of transmission.  The Dean’s Office receives and reports the results of the ballots.  The majority decision of all votes cast shall be enacted. 

 

IV.       DIVISIONS OF THE COLLEGE

 
The College is comprised of Academic Divisions and Support/Outreach Units. Departments and programs are organized as follows:

 A.    Academic Divisions
 

1.       Biological Sciences

(Botany, Psychology, Zoology and Physiology)

 

2.       Fine Arts

(Art, Music, Theatre and Dance)

 

3.       Humanities

(English, Modern and Classical Languages, Philosophy)

 

4.       Mathematical Sciences

(Mathematics, Statistics)

 

5.       Physical Sciences

(Chemistry, Geology and Geophysics, Physics and Astronomy)

 

6.       Social Sciences

(Anthropology, Communication and Journalism, Criminal Justice, Geography, History, Political Science, Sociology)

 

7.       Interdisciplinary Programs

(African American Studies, American Indian Studies, American Studies, Chicano Studies, International Studies, Religious Studies, Women's Studies)

 

B.    Support and Outreach Units
 

1.    Fine Arts Outreach

2.    Cultural Programs

3.    Research Support (“Shops”)

4.    Wyoming Survey and Analysis Center (WySAC)

5.    Geological Museum

6.    Science Math Teaching Center (SMTC) [a unit that reports both to the College of Education and the College of Arts and Sciences)

 

V.         STANDING COMMITTEES

 

A.    Elected Committees and Appointed Committees
 

 

 Standing committees are those committees in the College that are on-going from year to year and require either election or formal appointment. 
 

 Elected standing committees are: Central Committee; Teaching Committee; and the Tenure and Promotion Committee.  Election processes are described in section V.A.2. 

 Appointed standing committees are: Academic Dishonesty Hearing Officers; Board of Visitors; Interdisciplinary Programs Advisory Committees; Scholarship Committee; Student Appeals Committee; Student Computer Fee Committee; Student Council; Self-Designed Major Faculty Council; and the Support and Outreach Units Advisory Committees.  The process for appointing members varies by committee (see Section V.C.1-9).

 
College representation on University standing committees shall be determined following the same procedures for nominating and electing members of elected College standing committees. 

 1.  Membership

 The Dean and/or at least one Associate Dean shall serve without voting rights on each standing committee.

Elected committees, with the exception of the Tenure & Promotion Committee, must have at least one Academic Personnel representative elected from each of the College’s Academic Divisions, and at least one A&S student (see individual committee descriptions in V.B.1-3). The membership of the College Tenure & Promotion Committee is described in Section V.B.3.

Department heads/chairs and program directors nominate candidates for the undergraduate and graduate student representatives with selection by the respective committees. Student representatives on standing committees have the same voting rights and privileges as Academic Personnel committee members.

Membership of appointed committees varies by committee—see specific descriptions in Section V.C.1-9.

All Academic Personnel members of standing committees have full voting rights on their respective committees with the exception of the T&P Committee (see Section V.B.3). 

2.  Elections

All voting Academic Personnel, except for department heads/chairs and program directors, are eligible for nomination to the Central Committee and the Teaching Committee.  Membership of the College Tenure & Promotion Committee is described in Section V.B.3.

Elections are held during the Spring Semester. Within the division where  a vacancy exists, the department heads/chairs and program directors, following consultation with their Academic Personnel, will submit a slate of three names to the Dean for a college-wide vote (the College Tenure & Promotion Committee is the only exception—see next paragraph). It is strongly recommended that department heads/chairs and program directors slate candidates with an eye toward rotating representation among each division’s departments.

All voting members of the Academic Personnel have the right to cast ballots for all elections with the following guidelines: Academic Professionals vote for Academic Professionals on the College Tenure and Promotion Committee and Faculty vote for College Faculty representatives on the University Tenure & Promotion Committee. The procedure for selecting Academic Professionals to the College Tenure and Promotion Committee is:

i.            The Dean will send an e-mail to all APs asking if they would be willing to run for election to the T&P committee. Recall that to be eligible an AP must be on extended term. Also, we do not permit members of the committee to succeed themselves on the T&P committee.
 

ii.          Prior to notifying the Dean if they are willing to stand for election, APs must seek approval of their department heads and carbon copy the department head when notifying the Dean.
 

iii.         No more than one candidate from a department may stand for election at any one time. If more than one candidate from a department indicates a willingness to run, the department head will select between or among them.
 

The Dean's Office compiles, distributes, collects and counts the ballots. The deadline for returning electronic ballots to the Dean's Office shall be one week (7 working days) from the date of transmission.

3.  Committee Terms

Elected committee members shall serve staggered three-year terms such that one-third of the terms expire each year. Terms begin with the Fall Semester following election. Academic Personnel members of elected committees may not serve consecutive terms. Student members shall serve no more than two, one-year terms. 

Appointed committee terms filled by Academic Personnel are normally for three years, with the possibility of reappointment. Student members shall serve no more than two, one-year terms. 

When a vacancy of a semester or longer arises on any of the elected standing committees (due to a sabbatical, resignation from the committee, leave of absence, or other circumstances) the department heads/chairs or program directors within the appropriate division shall consult with their Academic Personnel and recommend to the Dean a replacement for the period of the elected member's absence.  Appointment is made by the Dean.  Vacancies on appointed committees shall be filled by the Dean.

 
B.  Description of Elected Committees:
 

 1.  Central Committee
 

The Central Committee serves as the primary advisory committee to the Dean.  It may consider any matter of relevance to the College and advise the Dean.  These matters may include but are not limited to curricula, academic policies and practices, conferring of awards, budget allocation and hiring priorities.

One undergraduate student and one graduate student shall be appointed to this committee (see Section V.A.1).

Minutes of Central Committee meetings shall be distributed electronically to College Academic Personnel.

 2.  Teaching Committee

The Teaching Committee shall make recommendations to the Dean on ways to improve and assess teaching, learning, and advising, and make recommendations to the Dean for various awards. In addition, the Teaching Committee plays a primary role in the mentoring of new academic personnel.

It is recommended that Academic Personnel members of this committee have a demonstrated record of teaching excellence, such as having received a College award for Extraordinary Merit in Teaching, or the Golden Apple teaching award, or a University teaching recognition. It is further recommended that nominations of both academic professionals and faculty be forwarded from a division for the ballot.
 

One undergraduate student and one graduate student shall be appointed to this committee (see Section V.A.1).

 3.  Tenure and Promotion Committee
 

The A&S Tenure and Promotion Committee shall make recommendations on matters pertaining to tenure and promotion; reappointment for faculty; post-tenure review of faculty; reappointment of probationary academic professional lecturers and research scientists; and promotion and appointment to extended-term status for academic professional lecturers and research scientists in the College.  Faculty representatives review, discuss and vote on all cases; Academic Professionals review, discuss and vote only on Academic Professional cases.

The Tenure and Promotion Committee shall consist of the Dean or his/her designee as an ex-officio/non-voting member, one elected Faculty voting member from each Academic Division (all Faculty voting members must be tenured when their terms begin), and four voting Academic Professionals (three extended-term lecturers and one extended-term research scientist). If available a representative from the academic personnel outside the College shall be appointed by the Dean to serve a one-year term with full voting rights.

No department or program may have more than one Academic Professional representative at a time.  No person may serve consecutive terms, and no department may be represented in consecutive terms. 
 

No student serves on this committee.
 

 C. Appointed Committees
 

1.   Academic Dishonesty Hearing Officers

           
Cases of academic dishonesty are heard by  faculty members designated as Hearing Officers by the Dean.  Careful due process is observed as defined in the "College of Arts & Sciences Guidelines for Cases of Academic Dishonesty."  Collegge guidelines are in accordance with the University Regulations governing academic dishonesty.
 

2.  Board of Visitors

           
The purpose of the Board of Visitors is to assist with fund raising, development projects, public relations activities, student recruitment, etc.  The Board of Visitors shall consist of the Dean, Academic Personnel, and interested alumni and friends of the College appointed by the Dean for three-year renewable terms. 
 

3.  Interdisciplinary Programs Advisory Committees

           
These committees advise program directors about developing and coordinating interdepartmental curricula and other issues of relevance to their respective programs.  These Committees shall be composed of at least five members.  Following consultation with each program director, the Dean will appoint members for three-year staggered terms.  Each of the College's interdisciplinary programs shall have an advisory committee, and the committee shall meet at least once each semester. 
 

4.  Support and Outreach Unit Advisory Committees

These committees shall evaluate and make recommendations to the Dean regarding the operation of the various units.  These committees shall meet at least once each semester. Committee members are appointed by the Dean in consultation with the director/coordinator.  Each of the College’s Support and Outreach Units shall have an advisory committee.
 

 5.  Scholarship Committee

This committee shall select recipients of College scholarships and student awards, including the Outstanding Graduates and Honors Convocation student speakers.  This committee shall be composed of an Associate Dean, and representatives drawn from the College Academic Personnel.  Appointment is made by the Dean.
 

 6.  Student Appeals Committee
 

The committee will hear student appeals concerning academic matters (adverse academic decisions and grades, for example) in the College of Arts and Sciences.  Decisions of the Committee will be transmitted to the Dean who will review the case and, if s/he concurs with the decisions put them into effect.  Appeal procedure and due process are observed as defined in the "College of Arts & Sciences Guidelines for Cases of Student Appeals." The Committee will meet when notified by a College Associate Dean that an appeal or hearing is pending, or at other times agreed to by a majority of the members.  A quorum for any meeting or hearing is at least three members, including one student representative.

            The committee shall be composed of five College Academic Personnel members appointed by the Dean, two student representatives, and one Associate Dean. 
 

7. Student Computer Fee Committee
 

The committee makes recommendations to the Dean concerning the allocation of student computer fees.
 

The committee is composed of three Academic Personnel appointed by the Dean and four students.  An Associate Dean serves on the committee as an ex-officio member.

 8. Student Council

The Student Council meets with the Dean to discuss interests and issues of mutual concern.

This group is composed of undergraduate and/or graduate student representatives from each of the College’s departments and programs. Department and program representatives are nominated by department heads/chairs and program directors. College ASUW Senators are automatically members and may represent a department/program in place of, or in addition to, a nominated department student representative.
 

9.      Self-Designed Major Faculty Council
 

The Self-Designed Major Faculty Council is appointed by the Dean and Associate Dean. The council oversees the process of administering the major and reviews senior projects as students are ready to complete the major. The committee acts like a department in assessing the major and making recommendations to the Teaching Committee regarding the requirements of the major.

 

VI.       TENURE, PROMOTION, REAPPOINTMENT, AND POST-TENURE REVIEW FOR FACULTY; REAPPOINTMENT OF PROBATIONARY ACADEMIC PROFESSIONALS AND APPOINTMENT TO EXTENDED-TERM STATUS AND PROMOTION FOR ACADEMIC PROFESSIONAL LECTURERS AND RESEARCH SCIENTISTS

All procedures relating to Faculty reappointment, tenure, promotion and post-tenure review, and to Academic Professional Lecturer/Research Scientist reappointment, appointment to extended-term status and promotion, shall observe the standards and regulations established by the University. In addition, College Academic Personnel have the following rights and responsibilities:
 

 A.  Ballot

All those eligible to vote on personnel decisions shall have the right to a secret ballot, and each voting unit will have the responsibility to maintain procedures which guarantee the secrecy of the ballot to the extent possible.

 B.  Access to Records

All those eligible to vote on personnel decisions shall have complete access in advance to the information and records on which the decisions are to be based, including confidential letters of recommendation solicited in relation to the decision.

 

VII.      CURRICULUM OF THE COLLEGE

College curriculum requirements shall be proposed by the Central Committee and submitted to the College Academic Personnel for approval.  Curricular matters that pertain to College requirements must be voted on and approved by majority vote of the ballots cast by the voting members of the College Academic Personnel following the procedure detailed in III.

New majors, new minors, or name changes for majors or minors require discussion by the Central Committee, approval by the Dean, and, in some cases, University approval.  New concentrations within majors require discussion by the Central Committee and approval by the Dean. Changes in departmental curricular requirements that conform to College and University guidelines do not require action at the College level.

 

Accepted by Faculty: 2/27/98

Modified: 3/2001; 10/2002; 11/2007; 4/22/2009