Faculty Promotions Committee Charter

Mission and Scope

Alignment with Strategic Plan

Student Success

  • 1A. Advance student success by optimizing the Student Lifecycle
  • 1B. Undifferentiated outcomes for all

2. Affordable & Accessible Education

  • 2A. Deliver quality, affordable education
  • 2B. Ensure accessible education

3. Advance the Local and Global Workforce

  • Meet evolving workforce needs

4. Inclusive Culture

  • 4A. Foster a high performing organization driven by a culture of engagement, respect, and accountability (Employees)
  • 4B. Foster a high performing organization driven by a culture of engagement, respect, and accountability (Students)

Alignment with NWCCU 2020 Accreditation Standards

  • 1.B.4 The institution monitors its internal and external environments to identify current and emerging patterns, trends, and expectations. Through its governance system it considers such findings to assess its strategic position, define its future direction, and review and revise, as necessary, its mission, planning, intended outcomes of its programs and services, and indicators of achievement of its goals.
  • 2.A.4 The institution’s decision-making structures and processes, which are documented and publicly available, must include provisions for the consideration of the views of faculty, staff, administrators, and students on matters in which each has a direct and reasonable interest.
  • 2.D.2 The institution advocates, subscribes to, and exemplifies high ethical standards in its management and operations, including in its dealings with the public, NWCCU, and external organizations, including the fair and equitable treatment of students, faculty, administrators, staff, and other stakeholders and constituencies. The institution ensures that complaints and grievances are addressed in a fair, equitable, and timely manner.
  • 2.F.1 Faculty, staff, and administrators are apprised of their conditions of employment, work assignments, rights and responsibilities, and criteria and procedures for evaluation, retention, promotion, and termination.
  • 2.F.4 Faculty, staff, and administrators are evaluated regularly and systematically in alignment with institutional mission and goals, educational objectives, and policies and procedures. Evaluations are based on written criteria that are published, easily accessible, and clearly communicated. Evaluations are applied equitably, fairly, and consistently in relation to responsibilities and duties. Personnel are assessed for effectiveness and are provided feedback and encouragement for improvement.

Mission 

The Faculty Promotions Committee manages a fair and transparent promotion process for awarding rank and recognizing the commendable work of faculty in teaching, service, and professional development.

Charge and Objectives

The Faculty Promotion Committee provides promotion related training for faculty, maintains the promotion process, evaluates faculty promotion portfolios, makes recommendations on faculty to be promoted, and develops promotion processes and procedures. The Chair of FPC updates the Seniority and Promotion Timeline document annually.

Membership and Representation

Leadership

  • Chair
    • The committee will have a chairperson to call and organize, represent the committee to various CWI Stakeholders, coordinate the accomplishments of committee objectives and projects, and facilitate communication between the committee and the Faculty Senate.
  • Vice Chair
    • The vice chair will assume all responsibilities of the chair in the chair’s absence, support the chair in the fulfillment of their duties, learn the Chair responsibilities to transition to Chair position, and attend meetings with the Chair as appropriate.
  • Secretary
    • The secretary will be responsible for taking and maintaining a record of minutes and maintaining committee records and membership, as well as information on the committee’s teamsite.

Selection of Leadership

Leadership positions are elected through the voting procedures of the committee and organized by the Secretary. Election of leadership positions will occur at the April meeting prior to the position being vacated.

Terms

  • Term Periods
    • Leadership positions will be held for a period of three years.  Leadership should rotate off the committee during their promotion eligible year.
  • Limits
    • A person may serve up to two consecutive terms in a single position. Faculty Senate may vote to extend a person’s terms in a single position beyond two terms for substantial need.
  • Vacancies
    • Should any leader resign from duties an interim will be chosen and voted on by the committee members to complete the term.

Members

A. Regular/representative members

The Faculty Promotions Committee will be made of 5-9 members, 4-8 regular members and the chair of the committee. Each school of CWI must be represented, with a maximum of two members from each school. The chair of the committee will not be counted as a representative of a division or school. Department chairs or program chairs may serve on the committee, but when a supervisory relationship is identified with an applicant for promotion, the department/program chair will abstain from discussion or voting regarding the applicant.

B. Non-voting members/visitors

Volunteers may join ad hoc work groups without becoming official committee members.

C. Selection of members

Members will volunteer to serve on the Faculty Promotions Committee. If the committee would like to have more than nine members and there are volunteers, the existing committee members will elect additional members from the volunteers. 

D. Terms

  • Term Periods
    • Membership is three years. Membership should be staggered so that no more than half of the Committee rotates off during any given year. Faculty will rotate off during their promotion eligible year.
  • Limits
    • Members may serve up to two consecutive terms.
  • Rotations
    • The committee may vote to extend the terms of members for the period of a year to avoid more than 50% of the committee rotating off at a time.

E. Participation Expectations

Members are expected to participate in meetings, committee communication, projects, and work groups. Involvement in projects and work groups is on a volunteer commitment basis. Members may be considered as inactive and removed by vote of the committee. See voting procedures. Inactivity is considered missing two or more meetings without notifying the chair and/or consistently failing to contribute to the work of the committee as agreed to by the member.

Formation of Subcommittees or Workgroups

A. Standing Subcommittees

In order to achieve its objectives, standing subcommittees may be formed by vote of the committee. Such subcommittees will have leadership that reflects that set forth for the committee in this charter, and the chair of the subcommittee is responsible to report on the subcommittee’s work prior to each monthly committee meeting. Standing subcommittees may have members from outside of the Faculty Promotions Committee but will have at least one representative member of FPC to act as communication liaison between the committee and subcommittee. Once a standing subcommittee is formed, it will be added to this charter.

B. Formation of workgroups

The committee may form workgroups on an ad hoc basis.

Reporting

A. Reporting body

Faculty Promotions Committee is a subcommittee of and reports to Faculty Senate.

B. Method of reporting

The chair will send a brief monthly update to the Faculty Senate President one week prior to each meeting. The update will be added to the Senate minutes. If the committee has business to be discussed by the Senate, the chair will send a separate request one week prior to the meeting.

C. Required report content

Monthly reports will contain information on current projects, upcoming issues, and recent decisions.

Operating Procedures

A. Frequency of meetings

The Faculty Promotion Committee will meet monthly and/or as needed in accordance with the academic year contracts of the committee members.

B. Methods of meeting

Meetings will be in person or via video conference.

C. Voting procedures

Decisions of the committee will be made by simple majority vote of the members present. In order to make a decision, a quorum—at least half of the committee members—must be in attendance. In instances of a tie, the chair will abstain from voting.

Maintenance of Committee Documents and Records

Committee documents and records, including meeting minutes, will be maintained on the committee’s Faculty Senate teamsite page.