Name of Committee: Handbook Committee
Current Committee Members (please indicate chair and any other officers):
Ellen Daugherty (Fall 2011 replacement for Joel Priddy)
Remy Miller
Haley Morris-Cafiero
Joel Priddy (Sabbatical Fall 2011)
Betty Spence
Part 1: MCA Faculty Handbook Description
1) The 2011-2012 MCA Handbook includes the following description of the Committee:
NONE (see pp. E-9, E-10)
2a) In the opinion of the committee, does the handbook description accurately describe the function, purpose, and membership of the committee? Please explain.
N/A
2b) Please suggest changes/edits/rewrites for the Handbook description of your committee. If the Handbook does not currently include a description for your committee, please write one. (Answers to this section of the self-study are suggestions only. They are intended to help the faculty move toward Handbook revisions, but they should be regarded as draft versions at this stage. Please don’t spend an inordinately long time trying to craft the perfect description—they can be changed and edited as we go through the process.)
The Handbook Committee is a standing faculty committee whose purpose is to review the MCA Faculty Handbook and suggest both editorial changes/corrections and policy revisions to the faculty and administration. The Handbook Committee also accepts recommendations from the faculty and administration for handbook changes, and handles questions and problems that faculty or administrators may have regarding handbook policy.
Part 2: Committee Charge, Duties, and Goals
1) Does the committee operate under a clearly stated committee “charge” (that is, a statement of purpose explaining what the committee is charged with doing on behalf of the faculty or college—this may be different from the catalog description of the committee)? Is this charge written down and made available to the members of the committee and the college community at large? Please explain. (If you feel that the current catalog description or any revision to the description that you made above functions adequately as a charge, please say so).
Currently, there is no charge. A possible charge might be:
The Handbook Committee shall continually and consistently review the MCA Faculty Handbook (hereafter, Handbook) and shall recommend changes in the Handbook (including prose, organization, corrections of errors, and substantive policy changes) to the faculty and the administration. The Committee shall address questions, concerns, and recommendations from the faculty and administration regarding Handbook matters. The Committee shall use appropriate means to recommend and seek approval for changes to the Handbook, including the Policy on Policies. The Committee shall be responsible for the correct and timely publication of all changes to the Handbook. The Committee shall be responsible for archiving past iterations of the Handbook and for the prompt distribution of all revisions to the Handbook to the full faculty and administration.
2) Does the committee maintain a set of specific duties? Are these written down? If a set of such duties exists (written down or in the minds of the chair or other members of the committee), please list them here. (In other words, what is the committee specifically responsible for? What does the committee do?)
No and No. A proposed list of duties would include those enumerated in the proposed charge (above) and the following.
* The Committee shall report its proceedings to the faculty body in written minutes and periodic reports at faculty meetings.
3) Does the committee have a set of goals (short and/or long-term)? If so, please list them and briefly explain the process the committee used to arrive at these goals.
We discussed the following goals at our October 28, 2011 meeting:
1) To root out evil policies and recommend changes
2) To find mistakes and inconsistencies in the current Handbook and correct them
3) To improve the overall prose of the Handbook
4) To change the format of the current Handbook in order to improve its logic, its usability, and its professionalism
4) Other than verbal reports at faculty meetings, does the committee make reports in verbal or written form to the faculty or administration? How often are these reports made? Where are written reports housed and are they available to other members of the college community?
At faculty meetings.
Currently, there are no written reports, but we have begun keeping minutes. As yet, we do not know where these minutes will be housed other than on Ellen’s laptop.
5) Please add any additional comments about the charge, duties, and goals of the committee.
None
Part 3: Committee Membership
1a) To the best of the committee’s knowledge, how are faculty members of the currently committee chosen?
The original committee was made up of volunteers who were then affirmed by the faculty.
1b) If it is not explicitly stated in the description/rules/by-laws of the committee, how do you think the members of the committee should be chosen?
It is the opinion of the members of this committee that, in general, this should be a voluntary committee with limited membership number.
2a) Do the faculty members on the committee have limited terms of service?
Not currently.
2b) If it is not explicitly stated in the description/rules/by-laws of the committee, should there be terms of service? Please explain.
The committee thinks that terms should be limited. This committee should be one on which the entire faculty body serves at one time or another. By limiting terms of service, we will encourage the membership of the committee to change (new ideas, different opinions are healthy) and we will encourage a larger portion of the faculty to embrace ownership of the committee and the Handbook. The committee also suggests that the membership of the committee be reviewed annually (not yet sure by what means). The chair of the committee should be a member who has served on the committee for at least one year already. The goal is to always have a committee on which at least one person is a carry-over from the previous year—a sense of continuity and an understanding of past decisions can be maintained within the committee.
3) Does the current committee membership structure make sense? Is the committee too big, too small, the right size? Please explain.
Currently, it is too big by 1 (if Ellen stays on in the Spring when Joel returns). The committee should be 4 people.
4a) Does the committee as it currently exists have faculty members from each of the Divisions of the College? If so, do you feel (or is it a requirement of the committee) that it always have representation from each of the Divisions?
Yes. Currently, we represent Fine Arts, Foundations, Liberal Studies, and Design Arts (when Joel returns from sabbatical). It is the opinion of the committee that having representation from all Divisions of the College is important and desirable—so we recommend this as a specification of membership.
4b) If the Committee does not include members from each Division, should it? Please explain.
See above.
5a) If there are administrators on the committee (according to Dean Strickland’s committee grid), explain their role(s).
No administrators.
5b) If administrators are members of the committee, do you feel that their roles are necessary? In other words, does the committee feel that administrators should be members of the committee? Please explain.
No administrators should have any role on this committee.
6a) If there are staff members on the committee, explain their role(s).
N/A
6b) If staff are members of the committee, do you feel that their roles are necessary to the successful functioning of the committee? Please explain.
N/A
7) To what extent are the decisions of your committee autonomous? In other words, do you make decisions that do not go to the full faculty for approval? Or do you make recommendations that then must be approved by the faculty or others? Please explain.
We don’t really know, although most of the changes that we would recommend will have to be approved by the full faculty and may have to be introduced through the Policy on Policies procedures. So our autonomy is most likely limited.
8) Please add any additional comments related to membership, committee structure, the appointment or election of members, participation of non-faculty members, etc.
None
Part 4: Committee Meetings and Time Commitment
1a) On average, how many times per semester does your committee meet? Please indicate if the number of meetings varies by semester and explain why.
This is a new committee. We have had only one meeting, so these are uncharted waters.
1b) Is there a set meeting schedule (e.g., once monthly, bi-weekly, etc)? If not, how does the committee determine if a meeting is necessary and who calls the meeting?
No set meeting schedule yet. Currently, the Chair calls the meeting.
1c) If there is no set meeting schedule, do you think that there should be a set meeting schedule or a minimum number of meetings for your committee per semester? Please explain.
Yes, In theory, the work of this committee is ongoing and substantial. In order to make the committee meaningful, we should have frequent meetings, probably one per month.
1d) How long is the average meeting?
50 minutes (lunch hour)
2) In general, how many hours of commitment per semester does this committee require of members?
Unknown, but if the committee functions as it should, probably a lot.
3a) Does the committee take minutes, keep notes, or otherwise track and archive the activities of the committee?
Yes.
3b) If you do keep minutes, where are they housed? Can other faculty (or administrators) not on your committee look at these minutes easily?
Unknown at this moment. Currently, Ellen has the minutes but they have not been archived in an easily accessible place.
4) Please add any additional comments on committee meetings and the time commitment required of faculty on this committee.
None.
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