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Bylaws for Faculty Policies Committee

  1. Name
    Faculty Policies Committee
  2. Purpose
    To advise and make recommendations to the Faculty or to the Chief Academic Officer on matters of policy concerning faculty personnel, faculty hiring, sabbaticals, faculty evaluation and promotion, faculty compensation, and on other such matters as the CAO may request.
  3. Composition of Committee Membership, Criteria for Selection
    Chief Academic Officer, without vote. Three elected faculty members, all with vote. One division chair, ex officio, without vote, as liaison from Faculty Executive Committee (liaison will review minutes but will not be required to attend).
  4. Terms and Process for Selection of Membership
    Chief Academic Officer, by virtue of office. Division chair liaison, selected annually by Faculty Executive Committee. Elected faculty members serve three-year terms, one member elected each year by division. Re-election is not barred. Terms run for academic year, July 1 to June 30.
  5. Leadership
    Chief Academic Officer serves as chair and also arranges for minute-taking and archiving.
  6. Meeting Procedure
    Meetings will be held as coordinated by the chair. A quorum shall consist of the Chief Academic Officer or the CAO’s designee plus two of the three elected faculty. Decisions shall be made by majority vote of the three voting members. Minutes will be kept on all meetings and archived by the CAO. The minutes of any given meeting shall be available from the CAO’s office upon request, following their final approval.
  7. Committee Charge – Responsibilities & Accountabilities
    1. Review Faculty Handbook on a regular schedule and keep it current.
    2. Recommend to the Faculty policies and procedures for the faculty hiring process and periodically review the implementation and effectiveness of same.
    3. Recommend to the Faculty policies to guide the practice of faculty evaluation.
    4. Recommend to the Faculty policies to guide the granting of sabbatical leave for faculty members.
    5. Recommend to the Faculty policies to guide the granting of tenure and promotion.
    6. Prepare an annual written report and presentation to Faculty Meeting on the status of faculty salaries and benefits.  This report should include distribution of the salary schedule and comparative information on McPherson College salaries and benefits relative to state and national norms. When justified, recommend to Faculty and the President  revised compensation policies and salary plan structures.
  8. Reporting Relationships
    Matters on which this Committee makes recommendations to the Faculty:

    • Policy guidelines on faculty promotion, tenure, and evaluation.
    • Other policies necessary to keep the Faculty Handbook current.

    Matters on which the Committee makes recommendations to the President:

    • Faculty salary plan structure or periodic modifications thereof.

    Committees or groups that make reports and/or recommendations to this Committee:

    • Ad hoc or standing committees this Faculty Policies Committee deems necessary to carry out its charge.
  9. Appeal Process
    • Appeals of policy recommendations :
      Appeal to Faculty Meeting may be initiated by any academic department or, alternatively, by any group of not fewer than six faculty members that takes exception to any action of this committee that was not referred to Faculty Meeting. The department or group may lodge a request in writing to the Faculty Executive Committee that such issue or action be submitted to Faculty Meeting. Any such request shall not be unreasonably refused by the Faculty Executive Committee.

Revised by FPC November 2015
Approved by Faculty Meeting 02 December 2015
Revised by FPC 31 August 2017