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Negotiations: Article 10, Faculty Involvement in Governance

Wright State University Chapter

American Association of University Professors

The parties began an informal discussion of this article at the April 22, 2013 negotiating session. On May 3, the administration put forward the proposal shown below.

Reports about the status of this article will be found below the article itself.

See our CBA Negotiations page for a roster of the AAUP-WSU negotiating team, brief reports about each Monday's negotiation session, and an article-by-article summary table with links to detailed information about each individual article that either the administration or AAUP-WSU proposes to include in the CBA.

Article 10

Faculty Involvement in Governance

10.1 It is recognized that faculty are uniquely qualified to participate in the governance of the University, particularly with respect to academic matters. It is also recognized that faculty members can provide valuable contributions to all levels of the University administration. Bargaining Unit Faculty participation in governance consists of giving advice, making recommendations, and contributing to the establishment of bylaws as set forth in Section 10.4. During the term of this Agreement, Bargaining Unit Faculty participation in the governance of the University shall be no less than that provided for in this Article.

10.2 University Senate. The University and the AAUP-WSU recognize that Bargaining Unit Faculty and non-bargaining unit faculty participation in University-wide governance will be exercised through an independent Faculty Senate and committees and councils created by the Senate. It is understood that the Senate is a representative assembly of the fully affiliated members of the faculty and its voting members are elected by them, and it shall exercise its authority in the governance of the University so as not to conflict with this Agreement.

10.3 Departmental and College Governance.

10.3.1 The University and the AAUP-WSU recognize the necessity of Bargaining Unit Faculty participating in departmental and college matters and acknowledge the important collegial relationships that exist between Bargaining Unit Faculty, the Department Chair, and the Dean.

10.3.2 When a Department Chair takes action (or elects not to act) following a recommendation from the majority of NTE and TET Bargaining Unit Faculty in her or his department, the Chair shall inform them of such action and communicate the reasons for the decision either in writing or in a meeting with the Bargaining Unit Faculty. When a Dean takes action (or elects not to act) following a recommendation from the majority of NTE and TET Bargaining Unit Faculty in her or his College, the Dean shall inform them of such action and communicate the reasons for the decision either in writing or in a meeting with the Bargaining Unit Faculty. The parties recognize that deans and chairs will not communicate reasons for their actions (or decisions not to act) that are based on confidential information.

10.4 College and Departmental Bylaws

10.4.1.1 It is hereby agreed The University and the AAUP-WSU agree to modify the existing that each college and each academic department, excluding the School of Medicine and the School of Professional Psychology, shall establish bylaws specifying procedures for the participation by appropriate Bargaining Unit Faculty in the governance of their college and academic department bylaws such that (1) NTE Bargaining Unit Faculty are included in the approval process of the bylaws for their units and (2) the issues identified in Sections 10.4.2 and 10.4.5 are addressed as they pertain to NTE Bargaining Unit Faculty.

10.4.2 The majority of Bargaining Unit Faculty in a department must approve departmental bylaws and amendments, and a majority of Bargaining Unit Faculty voting in a college must approve college bylaws and amendments. A majority of Bargaining Unit Faculty in the College of Nursing and Health and at the Lake Campus must approve the bylaws for their units. All college and department bylaws and amendments must also be approved by the College Dean and by the Faculty Governance Committee (10.4.8). Those bylaws and amendments for the matrix departments and for the College of Science and Mathematics that pertain to or have an impact on the School of Medicine must also be approved by the Dean of the School of Medicine.

10.4.3 Departments or colleges that have difficulty with interpreting their bylaws may seek assistance from the Faculty Governance Committee.

10.4.4 All department and college bylaws and amendments shall be consistent with this Agreement.

10.4.4.2 The bylaws for each department will state procedures by which Bargaining Unit Faculty give advice and make recommendations regarding --

  • faculty appointment, reappointment, dismissal, and promotion, and tenure;
  • professional development and mentoring of new faculty;
  • teaching assignments and class schedules, including summer and overloads;
  • graduate and undergraduate curriculum and academic standards;
  • faculty involvement in review of chairs; and
  • issues affecting the department or college.

10.4.4.3 Department bylaws will also state criteria and procedures for annual evaluation of Bargaining Unit Faculty and for promotion and tenure, both of which shall include peer evaluation of teaching by Bargaining Unit Faculty Members. Peer evaluation need not include class visitation unless it is specifically required in bylaws, and both NTE and TET Members may serve as peers of NTE faculty. The bylaws will specify that peer evaluation of teaching shall be conducted annually for all untenured Bargaining Unit Faculty Members and may specify times and circumstances when peer evaluation of teaching is to be conducted for tenured Bargaining Unit Faculty Members.

10.4..4.4 The bylaws for each college will state procedures by which Bargaining Unit Faculty give advice and make recommendations regarding --

  • Promotion and tenure;
  • Professional development leaves;
  • Graduate and undergraduate curriculum and academic standards;
  • Faculty involvement in review of deans; and
  • Issues affecting the college.

10.4.4.4 Bylaws for the College of Nursing and Health and for the Lake Campus will state procedures and criteria required for both department and college bylaws in Sections 10.4.4.1 through 10.4.4.3.

10.4.5 Departmental and college bylaws will provide for calling meetings and setting agendas, voting at meetings, naming committees, and such other procedures as may be needed for faculty Bargaining Unit Faculty participation in governance. It is understood that chairs and deans may form other faculty committees, as long as they do not conflict with or usurp the functions of committees named in the bylaws.

10.4.4.6 Questions about whether the search process is consistent with bylaws requirements for Bargaining Unit Faculty participation in faculty searches may be brought to either the AAUP-WSU or the Office of the Provost. A representative of the AAUP-WSU and a provost will confer as soon as possible and will provide a joint response; that response is not subject to grievance.

10.4.5 Recognizing that the University has sole authority to appoint, evaluate, retain and remove chairs and deans, department and college bylaws will state procedures by which Bargaining Unit Faculty give advice regarding the naming of chairs and deans.

10.4.6 Except as expressly limited by the terms of this Agreement or by approved bylaws, nothing in this Article or in the bylaws of any department or college shall limit management rights, as enumerated in Ohio Revised Code 4117.08 and in Article 6 of this Agreement.

10.4.7 Only Bargaining Unit Faculty may participate in making faculty recommendations pertaining to reappointment, dismissal, tenure, promotion, and evaluation of Bargaining Unit Faculty as provided for in Sections 10.4.4.1 through 10.4.4.4. However, non-Bargaining Unit faculty in the School of Medicine shall be permitted to participate in making recommendations pertaining to reappointment, dismissal, tenure, promotion, and evaluation of Bargaining Unit Faculty in matrix departments in a manner not inconsistent with department and college bylaws.

10.4.7.1 Except as may be provided elsewhere in this agreement only Bargaining Unit Faculty may participate in selecting or electing the Bargaining Unit Faculty who will serve on Promotion and Tenure Committees.

10.4.8 To facilitate development and any subsequent revision of department and college bylaws, the parties will maintain a joint Faculty Governance Committee composed of three (3) persons selected by and representing the AAUP-WSU and three (3) persons selected by and representing the University.

10.4.8.1 The University and the AAUP-WSU shall each designate one of the Committee members as a co-chair.

10.4.8.2 The presence of both co-chairs and at least one other member from the AAUP-WSU and one other member from the University shall constitute a quorum for all meetings. A quorum is necessary to approve any bylaws or any subsequent revisions to bylaws.

10.4.8.3 Any approval of new or amended college or department bylaws requires four (4) affirmative votes.

10.5 Bargaining Unit Faculty Participation in the Review of Chairs and Deans.

10.5.1 Informal Reviews of Chairs and Deans. Annually, Deans will solicit feedback from Bargaining Unit Faculty about the performance of their department chair, and the Provost will solicit feedback from Bargaining Unit Faculty about the performance of their dean. Chairs and deans will not be given the informal feedback pertaining to themselves until after the Bargaining Unit Faculty Members in their unit have received their annual evaluations pursuant to Section 11.2.

10.5.2. Formal Reviews of Chairs and Deans. At least every five years, the University will conduct formal reviews of chairs and deans. Bargaining Unit Faculty will be included on all review committees. All Bargaining Unit Faculty in the administrator’s unit will be asked to respond to questions posed in the review. A final report that summarizes findings of the review will be made available to all Bargaining Unit Faculty in the administrator’s unit.

Status of Negotiations about Article 10

May 3, 2013

The administration opened discussions of its proposal above by stating that it was intended to save the parties time during the current negotiations. The key language is in section 10.4.1, which states in effect that the parties will postpone settling governance issues until a later date, presumably after an initial one-year CBA for the NTE faculty is ratified.

The two negotiating teams engaged in a wandering discussion. They touched upon the approval process for amendments to bylaws; among the issues there are which BUFMs can vote on promotion and tenure criteria applicable to faculty in the older bargaining unit for tenure-eligible and tenured (TET) faculty (only TET BUFMs); what happens in departments with two, one, or no NTE BUFMs vs. departments with a viable number of NTE BUFMs. They discussed the apparent need to retain language specifying the role of bylaws at the Lake Campus and in CoNH, the two colleges without departments.

Our negotiating team took an extended caucus to weigh the basic idea of postponing settling governance issues. Upon return, we informed the administration that we were 99% certain that we would agree to its postponement proposal. However, we also stated that we wanted to examine the particulars of the language that would remain in this Article 10.

April 22, 2013

The administration suggested that the parties have an informal discussion of this article, even though neither side had yet issued a formal proposal, and our team agreed.

To begin, the administration stated that it expected that NTE faculty would become part of the bylaws "system" brought into being by the existing CBA for tenure-eligible and tenured (TET) faculty. Our team replied by stating that we thought Article 10 should include provisions to codify the participation of NTE faculty.

The administration continued by reminding us that the bylaws are now ten to twelve years old, and that the Faculty Governance Committee "FGC", which has overseen the development of and subsequent amendments to the bylaws, will soon lose the consistency of membership that it has enjoyed -- this due to forthcoming retirements of three key long-serving members. [About the FGC, see section 10.4.8 of the existing CBA.]

Thus the administration suggested that the parties consider adopting what it called a divided scheme. One of the two parts would include criteria for annual evaluation and for promotion (and, for TET faculty, tenure); this part would remain as is, in which bylaws language requires approval of a majority of departmental BUFMs, of the Dean, and of the FGC. The other part would include procedures via which BUFMs make recommendations and otherwise participate in governance; this part would no longer entail such an involved approval scheme. The administration stated that any BUFM would be empowered to appeal to the FGC for relief from a problem pertaining to this latter part of the bylaws.

We understood that a key factor motivating the administration's suggestion is the presumed forthcoming deluge of bylaws amendments that would be brought to FGC, amendments that would be needed to incorporate NTE faculty into the bylaws system.

The administration stated that the parties could write CBA language to over-ride bylaws, or to guarantee that agreed upon matters (e.g., faculty participation on various search committees) are suitably dealt with by the parties, even if some bylaws are silent on the matter in question.

Finally, the administration suggested that in this one-year CBA, Article 10 could be very short, incorporating principles the parties agree upon or their shared statement of intent.

Extensive discussions produced no resolution of this matter. Importantly, the discussions were thoughtful and constructive rather than contentious.

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This page was last modified on Sunday, May 5, 2013. Corrections, comments, and suggestions are most welcome. Contact the webmaster for this page (Jim Vance) at jimvance.wsu@gmail.com, telephone 937-775-2206. To contact the chapter, please see our Staff, Officers, and Committees page.