Departmental Committee (Approved: 05/11/07)
Composition
The Departmental Committee comprises:
- all full-time faculty (BUFA members);
- 2 undergraduate student representatives;
- 1 graduate student representative;
- full time staff;
- sessional instructors (CUPE 4207);
- others as approved by the Department.
The Administrative Assistant shall serve as recording secretary.
Operation
Recruitment Subcommittee (Article 19)
A Recruitment Subcommittee will be struck by the Chair only when appointments are to be made.
The Committee will consist of two tenured faculty members plus the Chair plus a senior student. Should the department have a gender imbalance, the subcommittee shall include a member of the under-represented gender if possible or an additional member as appointed by the Dean (19.05(a)(iii)). The Committee shall adopt its own procedures consistent with the Collective Agreement.
It is the responsibility of this Committee to
- review the Department’s Employment Equity Plan and propose amendments to the Departmental Committee if necessary
- monitor the application of the Employment Equity Plan
- recommend to the Department Committee the qualifications required of an applicant for an available appointment
- prepare a draft advertisement for approval of the Department Committee
- evaluate and respond to replies to the advertisement
- request further information and recommendations from the applicants
- prepare a "long" short list for presentation to the Departmental Committee
- arrange for interviews with the department and the Dean and BUFA
- make a hiring recommendation to the Departmental Committee
All applications will be kept in a file open to all members of the Department Committee who may make recommendations to the Recruitment Committee on the drawing up of a short list.
Visits of short-listed candidates will be arranged so as to provide an opportunity for all members of the Department to meet them or attend a lecture or presentation. The candidate will present both a teaching and a research presentation. In scheduling the visit, the meeting with the BUFA Hiring Advice Committee member will be included.
The Departmental Committee will meet to receive and discuss the recommendation of the Recruitment Committee during the hiring process. When the Recruitment has prepared a hiring recommendation, the Department Committee will meet. After non-voting members have had an opportunity to be part of the discussions, they will be excused from the meeting. The voting members will continue discussions as required and then vote by secret ballot.
Reappointments (Article 19.09)
The Subcommittee is the committee of the whole.
The Chair will consult with the members of the department. If no voting member views the reappointment as problematic, the Chair shall make a recommendation to reappoint to the Dean.
If any voting member views the reappointment as problematic, s/he may request an email ballot of the voting members on the question of holding a reappointment review (19.06(b)(i),(ii)). If a majority believes a reappointment review should be held, the Chair will collect evidence of the member’s performance and schedule a meeting of the Committee to discuss the issue. After the meeting, the candidate will be informed of the areas of concern and invited to present evidence at a subsequent meeting, accompanied by an academic colleague or a BUFA representative, to present evidence and answer questions. The member shall then be excused. After non-voting members have had an opportunity to be part of the discussions, they will also be excused from the meeting. The voting members will continue discussions as required and then vote by secret ballot on the reappointment recommendation.
The Chair will forward the recommendation, result of the vote, and appropriate documentation to the Dean.
Promotions (Article 21.13)
The Subcommittee is the committee of the whole.
A candidate may be nominated by a Department member or may apply on his/her own. A candidate may refuse nomination or withdraw at any time.
The candidate should seek advice of the BUFA Promotion and Tenure Advice Committee and will compile a dossier (21.13(e)). The Chair will check the completeness and accuracy of the dossier that will then be open to all members of the Department. External referees will be chosen where required according to Article 21.13(f).
The Chair will consult any faculty members on leave.
The Departmental Committee, meeting in camera without the candidate, will consider the application. After non-voting members have had an opportunity to be part of the discussions, they will be excused from the meeting. The voting members will continue discussions as required and then vote by secret ballot whether the promotion should be recommended or is considered problematic.
Should the case be considered problematic, the Chair will inform the candidate of the specific concerns and the candidate may respond in writing and/or attend a subsequent committee meeting accompanied, if so desired, by a BUFA representative. The committee will meet, in camera, a second time to consider the case. The candidate will be allowed to present information and answer questions and then shall be excused. After non-voting members have had an opportunity to be part of the discussions, they will also be excused from the meeting. The voting members will continue discussions as required and then vote by secret ballot. The Chair will inform the candidate of the reasons for the recommendation and any specific concerns of the Department Committee members. The Chair will forward the recommendation, the recorded vote and minority view, if any to the candidate and the Dean.
Should the candidate be applying for both promotion and tenure, the questions can be addressed at the same meeting(s).
Tenure (Article 21.17)
The Subcommittee is the committee of the whole.
The candidate should seek advice of the BUFA Promotion and Tenure Advice Committee and will compile a dossier (21.17(c)). The Chair will check the completeness and accuracy of the dossier that will then be open to all members of the Department.
The Chair will consult any faculty members on leave.
The Departmental Committee, meeting in camera without the candidate, will discuss the application. After non-voting members have had an opportunity to be part of the discussions, they will also be excused from the meeting. The voting members will continue discussions as required and then vote by secret ballot whether granting tenure should be recommended or is considered problematic.
Should the case be considered problematic, the Chair will inform the candidate of the specific concerns and the candidate may respond in writing and/or attend a subsequent committee meeting accompanied, if so desired, by a BUFA representative. The committee will meet, in camera, a second time to consider the case. The candidate will be allowed to present information and answer questions and then shall be excused. the granting of tenure. If this vote is negative, and the candidate is eligible for “deferral of tenure” the voting members will then vote, by secret ballot, on the question of deferral of tenure. The Chair will inform the candidate of the reasons for the recommendation and any specific concerns of the Department Committee members. The Chair will forward the recommendation, the recorded vote and minority view, if any to the candidate and the Dean.
Should the candidate be applying for both promotion and tenure, the questions can be addressed at the same meeting(s).
Sabbatical Leaves (Article 34.03)
The Subcommittee is the committee of the whole.
The candidate(s) will prepare and submit a dossier (34.03(c)) to the Chair who will then make it available to the Department. The Department will meet to consider the application(s) during which time the candidate(s) may present their application and answer questions. The candidates will be (individually) excused. After non-voting members have had an opportunity to be part of the discussions, they will also be excused from the meeting. The voting members will then vote, by secret ballot, on the question of recommendation of the sabbatical. The Chair will inform the candidate(s) and forward the supporting documentation and recommendation(s) to the Committee on Academic Leaves.
The departmental recommendation on sabbatical shall be on the basis of merit only. Should the number and timing of sabbaticals be problematic regarding departmental staffing, the Chair shall present the issues to the Dean. The Dean may negotiate a postponement (34.02(j)) or delay (34.03(b) of a sabbatical with the candidate to meet the Department’s needs.
Appointment of Chair (Article 27.03)
The department shall meet during the fall term of the final year of a Chair’s term to make a choice of a Chair for the subsequent year. Any tenured, full-time faculty member (BUFA) of the Department normally at the rank of Associate or above may declare themselves as a candidate and a Chair’s term may be renewed. A renewal will be considered in the same manner as a vote for selection. After the candidate(s) have had an opportunity to provide information to the Committee and answer questions, they will be excused. After non-voting members have had an opportunity to be part of the discussions, they will also be excused from the meeting. The voting members will then vote, by secret ballot, for the choice of a Chair.
The current chair will forward the result of the vote to the Dean.
Course Evaluation Procedures (Articles 16.02(a), 16.03(f))
- Course evaluation instrument is approved by department committee.
- Course evaluation is performed in the last two weeks of term.
- Administrative Assistant prepares course evaluation packages for each course, places packages in instructors’ mailboxes and notifies them via email.
- Instructor will ask another instructor or a volunteer from the class to conduct the evaluation. The instructor will not be present during the evaluation. The volunteer signs receipt for evaluations and instructor leaves the class.
- Volunteer oversees course evaluation, collects forms and returns forms to Administrative Assistant.
- Administrative Assistant separates T.A. forms from instructor forms, fills in scantron forms for both, delivers forms to ITS. When forms are returned from ITS, Administrative Assistant prepares summary (template in Word) including comments, if requested by instructor (BUFA) or chair (others). The Administrative Assistant packages all course evaluation materials by instructor and course.
- For non-BUFA instructors, Administrative Assistant places course evaluation packages in Chair’s mailbox and emails summary to the Chair.
- For TAs, Administrative Assistant places the TA evaluation packages in the Course Co-ordinator’s mailbox and emails the summary to the instructor, Course Co-ordinator and Chair.
- When instructor submits final marks, Administrative Assistant places the BUFA instructor course evaluation package in members’ mailboxes and emails summary to the instructor (BUFA and non-BUFA).
- The Administrative Assistant, for BUFA members, deletes summary and retains no copies of course evaluations or summaries in departmental files. The BUFA member is solely responsible for archiving course evaluations. Course evaluations for non-BUFA instructors are maintained in departmental files.
Performance Review Procedures (Articles 16.03(e), 35)
- Annual Report is completed as normal.
- Faculty may wish to consult with the BUFA Performance review Advice Committee.
- Faculty member prepares a dossier including the Annual Report and any other supporting documentation such as course evaluations as desired. Members should be advised that the Dean will be making a recommendation based on the materials provided after possible consultation with the Chair(27.01(l)).
- Chair receives the dossiers from the member(s) and forwards them to the Dean.
- Supplemental comments by a faculty member on his/her performance can also be submitted independently to the Dean.
- Should the deadline for performance reviews to the Dean precede the submission of grades for a faculty member’s course(s), the member may supply the course evaluations (or other related supplementary material) to the Chair and Dean when they become available.