Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Bylaws Article VI

Last Amended: 4/23/19

Article VI- Committees and Councils

  1. Nominating Committee
  2. Budget Transparency Committee
  3. Committee on Provost and Presidential Performance
  4. Council on Admission, Graduation, and Academic Standards
  5. Council on Campus Planning and Usage
  6. Council on Curricular Programs and Instruction
  7. Council on General Education
  8. Council on Intercollegiate Athletics
  9. Council for Instructional Technology
  10. Council for International Education
  11. Council for Writing Instruction in the Disciplines

Article I - Election to Membership

Article II - Conducting of Nominations

Article III - Election of Members and Officers of the Faculty Senate

Article IV - Agenda

Article V- Amendments

Article VI - Committees and Councils

Article VII - Rules Governing Committees and Councils of the Senate

Article VI - Committees and Councils

Section 1.

The Faculty Senate may create such standing and special committees and councils as it deems necessary to the exercise of its powers and responsibilities. The Faculty Senate shall determine the powers, duties, and organization of each such committee and council. No provision of this section shall be construed to preclude administrative officers from creating administrative committees and councils, from assigning to them such duties and powers as they desire, and from appointing members of the faculty to serve on them.

Section 2.

Ex-officio members of committees and councils do not have voting rights. Committees and councils shall elect their own chairperson unless it is otherwise stipulated in the bylaws or by action of the Senate

A. Nominating Committee

  1. The Senate shall elect four of its members, one from each college, to serve for one year as a Faculty Senate Nominating Committee member. The Senate shall also elect one of the four members of the Nominating Committee as the Chair of the Nominating Committee. This Committee shall nominate members for all Senate committees and councils and shall nominate members for other committees upon the request of the President of the University.
  2. The Nominating Committee shall make its recommendations to the Senate by the first regular meeting in April.
  3. The Senate shall act upon the recommendations of the Nominating Committee by the last regularly scheduled meeting in April.

B. Budget Transparency Committee

Membership:

The Budget Transparency Committee shall consist of five members, including one member of the Senate Executive Committee. Faculty Senate shall appoint one senator from each of the four academic colleges. Members shall serve two-year staggered terms.

Duties:
  1. To review budgetary items and documents on a monthly basis and to formulate lists of questions to be sent to the Senate Executive Committee. The Executive Committee and Budget Director will have the opportunity to address these budget questions and report back to the Committee and the Senate.
  2. To meet with the Budget Director when needed but no less than once per semester. The Committee would like for the Budget Director to present outstanding or requested items from the Senate Executive Committee or the Budget Transparency Committee to the Faculty Senate no less than once a semester.
  3. To serve as consultants to the faculty and the Faculty Senate and respond to any concerns that may arise at Faculty Senate meetings and elsewhere.
  4. To serve as a resource to the faculty and Faculty Senate on budgetary questions, issues, and ideas.
  5. To investigate peer institutions and their budget committees for items of interest to Western Illinois University.
  6. To submit an annual report of all requested items/answers to Faculty Senate at the first fall meeting.
  7. To perform such other duties as designated by the Faculty Senate.

C. Committee on Provost and Presidential Performance

Membership:
  1. The Committee shall consist of five Senate members elected by the Faculty Senate. At least one member shall be elected from among the current membership of the Faculty Senate Executive Committee.
  2. The Committee shall be constituted annually at one of the first Senate meetings of the year and shall conduct the surveys annually. There will be no survey distributed in the first year of a given person’s appointment to the position of Provost or President.
Duties:
  1. To create a survey instrument (or modify one previously used) for the Provost and Presidential positions. Each survey will include items that will allow faculty members to indicate their opinions of the performance of the Provost and President and will include at least one question soliciting written feedback from respondents.
  2. To request self-evaluations from the President and the Provost to be distribtued with the surveys.
  3. To ensure that each new or modified survey is approved by the Faculty Senate prior to implementation.
  4. To distribute the Provost and Presidential surveys to all WIU faculty who are eligible to serve on the Faculty Senate.
  5. To oversee the collection and data analysis of each survey.
  6. To prepare a summary report to include tabulation of responses to each question on the survey and an executive summary highlighting points of interest.
  7. To distribute a draft of the summary report and the executive summary to the Faculty Senate by the first Senate meeting in April of each year. The summary report and the executive summary must be approved by the Faculty Senate prior to distribution.
  8. To distribute a summary report and the executive summary of the Provost survey to the Provost, President, and to the members of the Faculty Senate.
  9. To distribute a summary report and the executive summary of the Presidential survey to the President, the Board of Trustees members, and to the members of the Faculty Senate.
  10. To share written comments for the President in their entirety with the Committee on Provost and Presidential Performance, the Executive Committee of the Faculty Senate, the members of the Board of Trustees, and the President. To share written comments for the Provost with the Committee on Provost and Presidential Performance, the Executive Committee of the Faculty Senate, and the President.
  11. To make data available to Faculty Senate members upon request and approval of the Faculty Senate.

D. Council on Admission, Graduation, and Academic Standards

Membership:

The Council shall consist of seventeen members, including two undergraduate students selected by the Student Government Associations. The Senate shall appoint ten members. Each college of the University shall have at least two members. The two at-large members must be from different colleges. The Provost and Academic Vice President, the Registrar, the Assistant/Associate Vice President for Student Judicial Affairs, the Director of Admissions, or their designees, and an advisor elected from the Council of Academic Advisors shall be ex-officio members

Duties:
  1. To review and evaluate policies, procedures, and requirements concerning admission, retention, academic standards and graduation for departments, colleges and the University.
  2. To make recommendations to the Senate regarding policies concerned with admission, retention, academic standards and graduation, and to establish procedures for the implementation of these policies.
  3. To recommend policy to the Senate and establish procedures for dealing with proficiency examinations and other special examinations, substitution of courses and changes in course of study, credit granted by transfer, honors courses, and other matters involved in the academic progress of students.
  4. To maintain liaison with agencies of student government that are concerned with academic matters, and to consider the recommendations of such agencies.
  5. To maintain liaison with the Council on Curricular Programs and Instruction when issues arise concerning both curricular matters and matters of admission, graduation and academic standards.
  6. To maintain liaison with the Graduate Council when issues arise concerning policy of common concern.
  7. To interpret University policies, procedures and requirements regarding admission, retention, graduation and academic standards, and to consider appeals regarding these policies, procedures and requirements.
  8. To perform such other duties as designated by the Faculty Senate.

E. Council on Campus Planning and Usage

Membership:

The Council shall consist of nine members, including one undergraduate student selected by the Student Government Associations. The Senate shall appoint six members. Each college of the University shall have at least one member. The Director of Facilities Management shall be an ex-officio member. A faculty liaison to the Master Plan Implementation Team shall be appointed by Faculty Senate to serve as an ex-officio member of the Council.

Duties:
  1. To provide faculty input and interaction on the academic relevance and impact of proposed modifications to campus facilities and physical resources.
  2. To make recommendations through the Faculty Senate to the Provost, President, and other administrators on new space needs or modifications required to support academic programs of the University.
  3. To provide input to the Faculty Senate, the Provost, and the President on campus planning and usage.

F. Council on Curricular Programs and Instruction

Membership:

The Council shall consist of thirteen members, including one undergraduate student selected by the Student Government Associations. The Senate shall appoint ten faculty members. Each college of the University shall have at least two members. The Associate Prrovost for Undergraduate and Graduate Studies shall be an ex-officio member. The Admissions Records Coordinator from the Registrar's Office and the curricular liaison from the Provost's Office shall also be ex-officio members.

Duties:
  1. To recommend to the Faculty Senate the approval or disapproval of all new academic programs and courses as well as changes in existing academic programs and courses which affect catalog copy.
  2. To develop such policies and procedures as are needed to implement a. of this section. To maintain liaisons with CAGAS, CGE, CIE, WID, and UCEP when issues arise concerning their respective areas.
  3. To recommend to the Senate which specific curricular matters may be approved at department or college level without requiring Senate approval.
  4. To serve as an agency for arbitration in cases of conflicting interests and responsibilities involving curricular matters which may arise between departments and colleges.
  5. To sponsor  faculty and staff workshops to provide information about the curricular approval process.
  6. To perform such other duties related to curriculum as designated by the Faculty Senate.

G. Council on General Education

Membership:

The Council shall consist of sixteen members, including one undergraduate student selected by the Student Government Associations. The Faculty Senate shall appoint twelve members. There shall be two representatives per category from disciplines offering courses in categories I-IV. For the two members representing category I, one member must teach courses on college writing and one representative must teach public speaking. For the two members representing category IV, one member must teach courses in the Fine Arts and one representative must teach courses in the Humanities.

Categories V and VI shall each have one representative selected from the disciplines offered in those categories. There shall be two at-large representatives from disciplines not offering courses in categories I-IV and VI. All colleges shall have at least one member and no college may have more than six members. Should any seat go unfilled by a member of its constituency, this seat shall be opened to all eligible faculty. The Dean's Council representative, the Provost's representative, and the Council of Academic Advisers (COAA) representative shall serve as ex-officio members.

Duties:
  1. To review periodically and to evaluate the philosophy and goals of General Education.
  2. To review the General Education Curriculum in order to insure that the curriculum reflects the University's philosophy and goals of General Education.
  3. To respond to departmental requests for inclusion of courses in the General Education curriculum.
  4. To collaborate with other University agencies in order to foster awareness and understanding of General Education, to inform General Education instructors about specific pedagogical practices well-suited to General Education courses, and to educate General Education instructors about writing as a pedagogy.
  5. To oversee the development of procedures designed to improve student learning and instruction in the General Education Curriculum.
  6. To receive and review departments' plans and reports on assessment of General Education.
  7. To determine on the basis of assessment results the level of adequacy of students' achievement of the goals of General Education.
  8. To determine on the basis of assessment results the effectiveness of any changes the Council on General Education approved for the curriculum of General Education.
  9. To deliberate and make recommendations about the effect of any changes in General Education on certification and accreditation programs and respond to the needs of those programs.
  10. To deliberate and make recommendations about the articulation of Western's General Education requirements with those of community colleges and other colleges and universities.
  11. To establish ad hoc subcommittees as needed.
  12. To maintain liaison with CCPI, CAGAS, COAA, and other agencies in order to consider matters of interest in the area of General Education to any or all concerned.
  13. To perform such other duties as designated by the Senate.
  14. To make recommendations to the Faculty Senate regarding any or all of the duties described above.

H. Council on Intercollegiate Athletics

Membership:

This Council shall consist of eight members (seven voting) including two undergraduate students (one male and one female), one appointed by the Student Government Associations and one appointed by the Student-Athlete Advisory Board, and the faculty representative to the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The Senate shall appoint one faculty member from each college. The Director of Athletics (or appointee) will serve as an ex-officio member.

Duties:
  1. To review all current intercollegiate athletic programs; to recommend policies and procedures for maximizing effective athletic programs as they relate to federal, NCAA, and conference guidelines and to University missions and resources; and, to designate ways in which athletics can contribute effectively to the University and its constituencies.
  2. To formulate and submit to the Senate for approval University policies and procedures regarding athletics and to determine whether all policies and procedures conform to the regulations of the athletic conferences and accrediting agencies with which the University holds affiliation and academic credentialing. Such policies and procedures shall include but are not limited to the athletic mission statement, rules for eligibility, approval of scheduling, athletic academic counseling, student-athletes' grades, graduation rate reports, sportsmanship and NCAA rules violations. Exceptions to scheduling must be referred to CAGAS for approval. These policies and procedures may be changed by a majority vote of the Council with the approval of the Senate and the President.

I. Council for Instructional Technology

Membership:

The Council for Instructional Technology shall consist of fourteen members, including one undergraduate student selected by the Student Government Associations. Faculty Senate shall appoint three faculty members from each of the four academic colleges and one faculty member from University Libraries.

Duties:
  1. To facilitate the use of new technologies in the classroom.
  2. To serve as a focal point for faculty to bring forward ideas pertaining to instructional technology.
  3. To communicate the technology needs and desires of the faculty to the administration.
  4. To assist administrators to communicate new and applicable technology advancements to the faculty.
  5. To facilitate communication with units such as the Center for Innovation in Teaching and Research to ensure that appropriate workshops are offered for new technologies.
  6. To recommend or interpret University policies, procedures, and requirements regarding instructional technology.
  7. To serve as consultants to the faculty, the Faculty Senate, and appropriate university technology committees.
  8. To perform such other duties as designated by the Faculty Senate.

J. Council for International Education

Membership:

The Council for International Education shall consist of thirteen members including nine faculty members from either campus (two from each college and one from the Library) appointed by the Faculty Senate, two students (one study abroad student and one international student), and the Executive Director of the School of Global Education and Outreach, or the Executive Director's designee, as a non-voting ex-officio member. Preference will be given to faculty with international education or experience.

Duties:
  1. To recommend approval of all courses and curricula with Global Issues (GI) designation.
  2. To recommend approval of all significant changes in the Global Issues courses.
  3. To conduct period reviews of all Global Issues courses to assure compliance with the goals and objectives of the Global Issues requirement.
  4. To maintain a list of all current instructors of Global Issues courses.
  5. To monitor course enrollment in Global Issues courses.
  6. To work with and through the School of Global Education and Outreach to promote Global Issues courses and relevant academic activities on campus.
  7. To serve as consultants to faculty and Faculty Senate on international education.
  8. To support campus internationalization efforts, such as international student recruitment and retention, study abroad, and institutional collaborations.
  9. To perform such other duties as designated by the Faculty Senate.

K. Council for Writing Instruction in the Disciplines

Membership:

The Council shall consist of eleven members (nine voting), including one undergraduate student selected by the Student Government Associations, eight faculty members (two from each college) appointed by the Faculty Senate, and two ex-officio members.Preference will be given to faculty members who are (or have been) instructors in WID courses. The Director of the Writing Center and the Director of Writing Programs shall serve as the two ex-officio members

Duties:
  1. To recommend to the Faculty Senate the approval and disapproval of all new WID courses.
  2. To recommend to the Faculty Senate the approval and disapproval of all significant changes in the WID requirements for individual majors.
  3. To conduct periodic reviews of all WID courses to assure compliance with the principles of the Writing Instruction in the Disciplines graduation requirement.
  4. To maintain a list of all current instructors of WID courses.
  5. To monitor course enrollment in WID courses.
  6. To secure periodic feedback from students, faculty, alumni, and employers concerning the implementation and effects of the Writing Instruction in the Disciplines graduation requirement.
  7. To sponsor one or more faculty development activities each year to improve Writing Instruction in the Disciplines courses.
  8. To perform such other duties as designated by the Faculty Senate.

Past Amended Dates:

  • 12/09/69
  • 1/13/70
  • 2/10/70
  • 2/24/70
  • 2/26/70
  • 3/28/70
  • 9/22/70
  • 9/21/71
  • 4/11/72
  • 5/16/72
  • 12/17/73
  • 11/5/74
  • 10/21/75
  • 3/9/76
  • 10/26/76
  • 3/20/79
  • 4/29/80
  • 2/14/84
  • 1/26/90
  • 5/9/90
  • 4/25/91
  • 10/27/92
  • 11/8/94
  • 3/28/95
  • 5/2/95
  • 2/10/98
  • 2/9/99
  • 4/29/99
  • 11/16/99
  • 9/4/01
  • 10/15/02
  • 4/06/04
  • 4/25/06
  • 4/10/07
  • 9/18/07
  • 3/18/08
  • 9/30/08
  • 3/31/09
  • 9/29/09
  • 10/27/09
  • 4/27/10
  • 3/8/11
  • 3/11/11
  • 4/5/11
  • 4/12/11
  • 3/26/13
  • 10/8/13
  • 9/30/14
  • 9/13/16
  • 3/28/17
  • 2/6/18
  • 11/27/18
  • 3/26/19
  • 4/23/19
  • 9/24/19
  • 9/12/23