Constitution
Department of Educational Policy and Administration
College of Education and Human Development
University of Minnesota
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Adopted May 05, 2003
Equal Opportunity
The University of Minnesota is committed to the policy that all
persons shall have equal access to its programs, facilities, and
employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national
origin, sex, age, marital status, disability, public assistance
status, veteran status, or sexual orientation. In adhering to this
policy, the University abides by the Minnesota Human Rights Act,
Minnesota Statute Ch. 363; by the Federal Civil Rights Act, 42 U.S.C.
2000e; by the requirements of Title IX of the Education Amendments
of 1972; by Sections 503 and 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973;
by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990; by the Executive
Order 11246, as amended; by 38 U.S.C. 2012, the Vietnam Era Veterans
Readjustment Assistance Act of 1972, as amended; and by other
applicable statutes and regulations relating to equality of
opportunity. Inquiries regarding compliance may be directed to
Director, Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action,
University of Minnesota, 419 Morrill Hall, 100 Church Street S.E.,
Minneapolis, MN.
Preamble
The Department of Educational Policy and Administration is a
collegial body in the College of Education and Human Development.
The Department values the participation by regular faculty,
non-regular faculty, professional and administrative staff, civil
service/bargaining unit staff and students in the governance of the
Department. It is organized in accordance with the policies
established by the Board of Regents and is consistent with the
Constitutions of the College of Education and Human Development and
the Graduate School. This Constitution is not part of the employment
contract between the University and its employees, and does not
establish terms and conditions of employment.
ARTICLE I. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIONAL POLICY
AND ADMINISTRATION
This is the Constitution of the Department of Educational Policy
and Administration in the College of Education and Human Development
of the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities campus, hereinafter
referred to as the “Department.”
SECTION 1. Purposes
The primary purpose of the Department shall be to advance theory,
policy and practice concerning educational organizations and to
provide access to and excellence in learning experiences for leaders
and scholars in local, national and global educational settings.
The Department advances knowledge in the fields of educational
policy, leadership and administration, prepares personnel for
positions in educational policy, leadership and administration at
all educational levels and types of educational institutions both in
the United States and globally, and provides opportunities for
leadership development to individuals in educational institutions.
The Department shall be of service to persons interested in the
disciplined study of education, and to educational organizations,
agencies and associations through diverse activities which bridge
scholarly inquiry and practice.
SECTION 2. Powers and Rights
The Department shall exercise all powers and rights accorded to
it by the regulations of the Board of Regents, the University
Senate, the Twin Cities Assembly of the University of Minnesota and
the College of Education and Human Development. This Constitution is
not part of the employment contract between the University and its
employees, and does not establish terms and conditions of
employment.
SECTION 3. Name
The name of the Department may be changed without modification of
the basic organization, purpose or membership requirements of the
Department.
SECTION 4. Programs
The Department consists of the following named instructional
programs: Comparative and International Development Education,
Educational Administration, Evaluation Studies and Higher Education.
ARTICLE II. CHAIR OF THE DEPARTMENT
SECTION 1. The Chair
The Chair is the academic leader and primary executive officer of
the Department and is also a member of the faculty of the Department
and its governance system.
SECTION 2. Authority and Responsibility of the
Chair
- Academic Leader of the Department. The Chair shall be the
academic leader of the Department, and as such shall have
responsibility for:
- strengthening the Department and maintaining and
enhancing the quality of its programs and
- providing collegial leadership in formulating
policies, introducing research, instruction and outreach
proposals, and stimulating discussions in the Department leading
to improvement in research, instruction, and service and
outreach.
- Chief Executive Officer of the Department. The Chair shall be
the chief executive officer of the Department, and as such shall:
- have final authority to make budgetary
recommendations to the Dean after consultation with program
coordinators and other appropriate individuals in the
Department,
- have final authority to make recommendations to the
Dean on all faculty appointments, promotions, tenure, and salary
adjustments, and on the appointment of other departmental
administrators following established procedures in the
Department, College and University for review of promotion and
tenure, including the consultative procedures established in the
Department,
- establish procedures for the systematic and
periodic review of instructional programs in the Department and
- assume those responsibilities of the Chair as
specified by the Board of Regents’ policies on Delegation of
Authority and as assigned to the Chair by the Dean. (Link)
- Member of the Faculty. The Chair shall be a member of the
faculty of the Department and its governance system and as such
shall work with the faculty, staff and students in furthering the
goals of the Department. To this end, the Chair shall involve
faculty, staff, and students in decision making processes whenever
feasible, including:
- Consultation. The Chair shall involve faculty,
staff and/or students in discussions or in other ways seek their
views.
- Advisory Processes. The Chair shall seek advice
from departmental groups of faculty, staff and/or students who
may make non-binding recommendations to the Chair.
- Delegated Authority. The Chair shall at times
delegate authority to groups of faculty, staff and/or students
to make decisions on specified matters. These decisions are
subject to the review by the Chair, but will be altered only in
unusual circumstances.
- Shared Responsibility. The Chair shall as
appropriate share authority for decision making on specified
matters with groups of faculty, staff and/or students, either
though joint discussions or separate deliberations that result
in the exchange of written recommendations for action. In cases
where agreement cannot be reached, the issues may be appealed in
written form to the next administrative level for a decision.
SECTION 3. Appointment and Term of Service of
the Chair
The Chair of the Department shall be appointed by the Dean of the
College, after consultation with the faculty, staff and/or students
in the Department and other appropriate members of the communities
affected by the Department. The Chair’s initial term of service
shall be for a period of three years.
SECTION 4. Reappointment Following Review
The Chair may be appointed for subsequent terms by the Dean
following a review initiated by the Dean midway into the third year.
An earlier review may be initiated by the Dean or by a two-thirds
vote of the faculty. In all cases, the Chair’s performance shall be
evaluated based on input from faculty, staff and/or students.
ARTICLE III. OTHER DEPARTMENTAL
ADMINISTRATORS
SECTION 1. Other Departmental Administrators
Other departmental administrators shall include instructional
program coordinators, the Director of Graduate Studies, the
Coordinator of Graduate Studies, and heads of other units housed in
the Department.
SECTION 2. Authority and Responsibilities of
Other Departmental Administrators
- Instructional Program Coordinators. The authority and
responsibilities of program coordinators shall be those specified
by the Chair to assist her/him in the role of academic leader of
the Department and as the chief executive officer of the
Department.
- Director of Graduate Studies. The Director of Graduate Studies
shall fulfill the roles and responsibilities of the position as
outlined in the
Constitution of the Graduate School. The Director functions as
the chair of the Department’s Graduate Studies Committee.
- Coordinator of Graduate Studies. The Coordinator of Graduate
Studies shall fulfill the responsibilities assigned by the Chair
and the Director of Graduate Studies, and shall include oversight
of the Educational Policy and Administration Student Association (EPASA).
- Heads of Other Administrative Units. Heads of other units in
the Department shall have the authorities and responsibilities as
specified by the Chair.
SECTION 3. Appointment and Terms of Office of
Other Departmental Administrators
- Instructional Program Coordinators. Instructional
program coordinators shall be appointed by the Chair, following
consultation with faculty and/or students in the respective
program area.
- Director of Graduate Studies. The Director of
Graduate Studies shall be recommended for appointment by the Dean
of the Graduate School following consultation with faculty, staff
and/or students in the Department. The Director shall be a
tenure-track or tenured, voting member of the graduate faculty in
the Department. The Director is required to place on file with the
Graduate School the procedure for choosing the name(s) in
nomination and the length of term in office. The Dean of the
Graduate School shall have the authority to appoint and remove the
Director. The voting graduate faculty and the Director shall have
the authority to administer and govern the respective graduate
programs in the Department. The Director shall be a member of and
serve as the Department’s representative on the Policy and Review
Council for Education and Psychology of the Graduate School.
- Coordinator of Graduate Studies. The Chair, in
consultation with the instructional program coordinators and the
Director of Graduate Studies, shall have the option of appointing
a Coordinator on an annual, renewable contract.
- Heads of Other Units. Heads of other units in the
Department are appointed by the Chair after consultation with the
Dean and faculty, staff and/or students associated with the
respective unit in the Department. Their terms of office shall be
as specified by the Chair at the time of appointment.
SECTION 4. Reappointment Following Review
Other administrators in the Department may be appointed for
another term by the Chair, following a review by the Chair midway in
the final year of the appointment. The Chair or any member of the
faculty may initiate a review by petitioning the faculty and gaining
majority approval. In all cases, reasonable efforts shall be made to
afford an opportunity for faculty, staff and/or students to
participate in each review.
ARTICLE IV. COMPOSITION OF THE DEPARTMENT
The Department consists of the following groups: faculty members,
academic professional and administrative (P&A) staff, civil
service/bargaining unit (CS/BU) staff and the student body.
SECTION 1. Faculty
The faculty of the Department consists of regular and “term”
faculty, and such other departmental faculty as may be designated
members of the Department faculty under those circumstances defined
in the Bylaws.
- Faculty. Regular faculty are those individuals who
hold tenured or regular probationary tenure-track appointments as
professor, associate professor, or assistant professor in the
Department as defined in the Board of Regents’ Policy “Faculty
Tenure.” Only members of the tenured faculty participate in tenure
decisions, and only regular faculty members at higher ranks
participate in promotion decisions.
- “Term” Faculty. Term faculty are those individuals
who may be designated members of the Department faculty under
circumstances defined in the Bylaws.
- Graduate Faculty. The graduate faculty will be
appointed within their academic programs and confirmed by the
Graduate School according to Article III of the
Constitution of the Graduate School. The Dean of the Graduate
School has the authority to define the graduate faculty
appointment categories and to approve appointments for individuals
following recommendations by the nominating graduate program.
(Link) The categories of membership of a Graduate School are
described as follows in the Graduate School Constitution: Senior
Member, Member, Affiliate Senior Member, and Affiliate Member.
(Link) The responsibilities and authority of each category of
membership are those specified in the
Constitution of the Graduate School.
SECTION 2. Academic Professional and
Administrative (P&A) Staff
The academic professional and administrative (P&A) staff are
those individuals who hold positions in classifications (93XX, 96XX
and 97XX) as listed in Appendix I A of the University’s “Academic
Professional and Administrative Manual” (October 15, 1990, or the
most current subsequent version) and who hold their primary
appointment in the Department.
SECTION 3. Civil Service/Bargaining Unit
(CS/BU) Staff
The civil service/bargaining unit (CS/BU) staff are those
individuals who hold positions in civil service or bargaining unit
classifications as defined by current University policy, and who
hold their primary appointment in the Department. Participation by
CS/BU staff in program governance is confined to matters which
affect working conditions or working assignments of civil
service/bargaining unit staff.
SECTION 4. Student Body
The student body of the Department consists of all students
registered in the Department or in the Graduate School in majors,
licensure programs, certificate programs, and off-campus cohort
programs of the Department. Participation by students in program
governance is confined to matters of general administrative and
educational policy and shall not extend to considerations of
applications, petitions or evaluations which relate to the
employment or academic status of individual students, or to the
specification of student examinations.
ARTICLE V. ORGANIZATION OF THE DEPARTMENT
The Department shall be organized into two major structures: an
Administrative Structure, and a Departmental Governance Structure.
SECTION 1. Administrative Structure
The Administrative Structure shall consist of:
- The Chair, and may also include an associate and/or an
assistant chair. The Chair and associate/assistant chair shall
maintain regular contact with one another and with the
Departmental Standing Committees as specified in the Bylaws (see
Article VII).
- Instructional Programs. The instructional program is the basic
organizational structure within the Department.
- Departmental Centers. The Department may have research and/or
service and outreach centers that report directly to the Chair and
that have specified and direct administrative and budgetary
responsibilities.
- Chair’s Committees.
- Standing Committees shall include a Graduate
Studies Committee, an Administrative Committee, a Post-tenure
Review Committee, and a Grievance Committee. The members of
these committees shall be appointed by the Chair after
consultation and according to election procedures as specified
in the Bylaws.
- The Chair shall establish a Graduate Studies
Committee composed of the Director of Graduate Studies,
instructional program coordinators, the Coordinator of
Graduate Studies and others whom the Chair may designate. The
Graduate Studies Committee shall interpret the policies of the
Department regarding academic progress and determine the
academic progress of students as required by the Graduate
School. The Committee shall also interpret Department policies
regarding the requirements for degrees and shall authorize
each adjustment in the curriculum by exemption, substitution
or examination, or other appropriate means as are in the best
interests of the student and the Department.
- There shall be an Administrative Committee
composed of the coordinators of the Department’s instructional
programs, and others whom the Chair may designate. The duties
of the Administrative Committee shall be to advise and assist
the Chair in interpreting and implementing Department policies
related to instructional, research and service and outreach
programs and as related to faculty, academic professional and
administrative (P&A) staff, civil service/bargaining unit
(CS/BU) staff and students. The Chair or a person designated
by the Chair shall serve as the Chair of the Administrative
Committee.
- The Chair shall appoint a standing Post-tenure
Review, which shall be composed of only tenured faculty in the
Department, following election procedures specified in the
Bylaws.
- The Chair shall appoint an ad hoc committee of
the faculty for the purpose of reviewing materials and
preparing recommendations concerning individual faculty
members for the purpose of granting promotions and/or tenure.
The ad hoc committee prepares review materials to be presented
to the appropriate tenured faculty in the Department to be
used. The Chair may also empower an ad hoc committee to
conduct promotion and/or tenure reviews of P&A staff members,
provided that the Chair in such cases appoints appropriate P&A
representatives to the committee ad hoc.
- The Chair shall appoint an ad hoc Salary Advisory
Committee, based on the election procedure specified in the
Bylaws, for the purpose of reviewing annual faculty
accomplishment reports to be used by the Chair in making
annual salary recommendations to the Dean.
- The Chair shall appoint a standing Grievance
Committee, which shall be composed of at least six members and
alternates, broadly representative across programs in the
Department and broadly representative of faculty, P&A staff,
civil service/bargaining unit staff and students.
- Coordinators’ Committees
Instructional coordinators shall establish committees as needed to
fulfill specific responsibilities related to the instructional
program.
SECTION 2. Departmental Governance Structure
Departmental governance authority rests with the faculty of the
Department, and other persons designated by the Department in its
Bylaws and its standing committees.
- Departmental Meetings. The Department shall hold at
least one regularly scheduled meeting during each semester of each
academic year.
- Unit Governance Procedures. As required by the
Academic Unit Governance Policy, approved by the University Senate
on February 19, 2003, the Department shall provide for
participation in unit governance by all appropriate groups in the
decision-making processes of the Department. Although the regular
faculty hold ultimate authority for governance in the Department,
it is expected that this final authority would be exercised only
rarely, and as a last resort, if the Department is divided over a
fundamental issue or unable to reach a decision about the issue
through the use of its normal processes.
- Participation in the College Senate. Two members of
the Department shall be represented on the College Senate (Link)
according to procedures specified in Article IV, section 3 of the
Bylaws of the Department.
- Representation on Standing Committees of the College
Senate. The Chair shall appoint, as appropriate, members of the
faculty and academic professional and administrative staff to the
standing committees of the College Senate according to procedures
specified in Article IV, section 4 of the Bylaws of the
Department.
SECTION 3. Changes in Organization
Proposals for the establishment of new academic programs or for
other major changes in the organization of the Department shall be
referred to members of the Department for review and action. Such
action will become effective when approved by the Department
according to procedures defined in the Bylaws.
SECTION 4. Membership in Departmental
Structures
- Instructional Programs. Instructional programs are
composed of individuals from one or more of the following as
identified in Article IV: faculty members, academic professional
and administrative (P&A) staff and other persons designated by
action of the program.
- Faculty. Faculty are members of the instructional program to
which their position is aligned. In some instances, faculty
members may be affiliated with more than one instructional
program.
- Students. For purposes of participating in governance within
the Department, elected student representatives are considered
to be members of the Department.
- Departmental Centers. Centers are composed of
individuals from one or more of the following as identified in
Article IV: faculty members, academic professional and
administrative (P&A) staff, civil service/bargaining unit (CS/BU)
staff, graduate assistants, students and other persons designated
by the Center.
SECTION 5. Participation of Departmentally
Budgeted Academic Professional and Administrative (P&A) Staff and
Civil Service/Bargaining Unit (CS/BU) Staff in the Affairs of the
Department
There shall be academic professional and administrative (P&A) and
civil service/bargaining unit (CS/BU) staff on committees of the
Department, which directly affect the welfare of such staff and as
deemed appropriate by the Chair. This representation shall apply to
discussion on matters pertaining to planning, employment-related
affairs, the revision of the Department Constitution and Bylaws, or
on other matters affecting staff welfare and morale. Such
participation is to be regarded as a normal part of working at the
University, with released time to permit such participation and
appropriate recognition given such efforts at the time of staff
members’ annual evaluations.
SECTION 6. Departmental Student Associations
The Department shall permit the forming of student associations
following procedures outlined in the Bylaws.
ARTICLE VI. DEPARTMENTAL REPRESENTATION IN
UNIVERSITY SENATE AND TWIN CITIES ASSEMBLY
SECTION 1. Representation in the University
Senate
Individuals in the Department may serve as representatives from
the College to the University Senate according to the manner of
election prescribed under University Senate regulations and as
defined in the Bylaws of the College.
SECTION 2. Representatives to the Twin Cities
Campus Assembly
Those individuals in the Department who are elected by the
College to the University Senate shall also serve as the elected
representatives from the College to the Twin Cities Campus Assembly.
ARTICLE VII. GRIEVANCE AND APPEALS
PROCEDURES
SECTION 1.
The Department shall have an established procedure, as specified
by the College in its Bylaws, for responding to:
- Faculty and student grievances on matters of academic
freedom and responsibility; and
- Faculty grievances on matters of change in rank or
status.
SECTION 2.
The Department shall follow written procedures, as specified in
its Bylaws, for responding to grievances brought by academic
professional and administrative personnel.
SECTION 3.
The Department shall follow written procedures, as specified in
its Bylaws, for responding to grievances brought by nonacademic
personnel.
ARTICLE VIII. ADOPTION OF BYLAWS
SECTION 1.
To supplement this Constitution, the Department shall adopt
Bylaws, which are consistent with this Constitution.
SECTION 2.
Bylaws or amendments to them may be proposed by any member of the
Department at any regular or special meeting of the Department,
provided that written notice of the bylaws or amendments has been
circulated to members of the Department ten days prior to the
meeting when they are proposed for action. They may be adopted,
repealed, or amended by a simple majority of the members present and
voting, or by mail ballot as provided in the Bylaws.
ARTICLE IX. AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION
SECTION 1.
Amendments to this Constitution may be proposed either by a
majority vote of the Department, acting at one of its regular or
special meetings or by mail ballot provided in this document, or by
petition delivered to the Chair which has been signed by at least
ten voting members of the Department including faculty and academic
and administrative staff. Written notice of the proposed amendment
shall be sent to all members of the Department at least ten days
prior to the date for action. Amendments to this Constitution shall
be adopted when approved by a two-thirds majority of the members
present and voting at a regular or special meeting of the Department
or by mail ballot as provided for in the Bylaws.
SECTION 2.
Amendments to this Constitution that are adopted by the
Department shall be effective as of the day following their approval
by the Department.
ARTICLE X. EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS
CONSTITUTION
This Constitution shall be in effect as of the day following its
approval by the Department.
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