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Faculty involvement in the governance of the University occurs in several ways. The most basic way is through the academic departmental committee. Each academic program, and therefore each faculty member, has regular departmental meetings to consider the business of that educational unit. It is from those committees that the various admission, progress, and completion policies for those programs are initiated. In addition, those committees establish learning outcomes, oversee curricular development and propose new degree programs within a given department.
Policies, curricular matters, and program development recommendations move from these committees to the Academic Policies Committee (APC). The Academic Policies Committee is chaired by the Provost, and its membership, is representative of each academic program and department of the University. The APC studies course content changes, changes in course descriptions, and curriculum changes and then makes recommendations to the President’s Council for approval. Final approval for curriculum changes rests with the Board of Trustees. Approved changes are then communicated to departmental faculty via their department directors/chairs by the Office of Academic Administration.
Other faculty involvement in governance occurs through their membership on other committees. For example, the Faculty Handbook Committee is led by and comprised of faculty members. This committee oversees the annual revisions of the Faculty Handbook. These changes may range from editing and formatting to proposing and vetting policy changes. Another important policy and governance committee is the Curriculum Committee. This committee is responsible for leading the institution through the process of developing the seven institutional learning outcomes which have shaped the direction of the institution for the past several years. The Curriculum Committee is also responsible for the Program Review Process. It establishes the program review principles, process and timelines. It is also responsible for reviewing the departmental program reviews and making recommendations to APC relative to those reviews.
Faculty form the core of the membership on a number of other policy and governance related committees. The Faculty Rank and Promotion Committee, in addition to making recommendations to the President for initial rank and rank promotion assignments, the Committee has been commissioned by the President to work on the development of the rank criteria, the promotion procedures, and improvements in the hiring process for faculty. Faculty membership on the Technology Committee has also engaged them in the development of policies in the respective areas of responsibility.
A list of committees, their primary duty, and their reporting structure follows:
AdventHealth University
(Committee assignments are made annually and current assignments can be found at R:\Committees\Committee List 20-21.docx).
1. Mission Week Meetings
(1st week prior to Fall Trimester)
Edwin Hernandez, Chair
Required attendance:
All full-time faculty and staff
2. Mission Check/Townhall Meetings
(2nd Monday Monthly)
Edwin Hernandez, Chair
Required attendance:
All full-time faculty and staff
Academic Chairs/Graduate Council (Monthly)
Reviews and discusses academic and operational issues and their potential impact on the academic programs of the University.
Reports to: Academic Policies Committee
Academic Policies (APC) (Monthly - 2nd Wed.)
Reviews and recommends all academic policies and processes, including the academic catalog and handbooks.
Reports to: President’s Council
Academic Review (Once a trimester)
Reviews academic progression for all undergraduate students who are not in a program, including those on probation.
Reports to: Academic Policies Committee
Alumni Relations Advisory (Every other month)
Provides input and recommendations to the Alumni Department on ways to better serve and engage the AHU Alumni community. Assists in the planning and execution of events, and outreach campaigns to alumni
Reports to: Strategic Enrollment Management
Citizenship (As called)
Upholds standards of conduct by assessing serious or repeated violations, assigning and recommending appropriate penalties.
Reports to: Health & Safety Committee
Community Engagement (Monthly or as called)
Oversight for Carnegie Classifications for Community Engagement and policy and procedure setter for Community Engagement efforts.
Reports to: Health & Safety Committee
Convocation (As called)
Planning and implementation the annual Convocation program.
Reports to: President
Curriculum (As called)
Reviews, evaluates and recommends to the Academic Policies Committee all program development as well as all academic changes of programs, tracks, certificates and courses.
Reports to: Academic Policies Committee
Diversity & Inclusion (Monthly)
Provides educational resources on diversity issues for faculty, staff and students and facilitates spaces for students to address identity concerns as they arise.
Reports to: Academic Policies Committee
Electronic Systems (Every other week)
Discusses issues and makes recommendations that impact the major applications used on the campus.
Reports to: President’s Council
External Funding Steering (As called)
Provides strategic direction and advice on funding opportunities for AHU and nominates research grant awardees.
Reports to: Strategic & Operational Planning Committee
Faculty Development (As called)
To strengthen and expand the professional development training offers for faculty at AHU.
Reports to: Academic Policies Committee
Faculty Handbook (As called)
Reviews, edits, and produces the Full-Time and the Adjunct Faculty Handbooks.
Reports to: Academic Policies Committee
Faculty Rank & Promotion (Weekly)
Recommends academic rank to the President after examining the credentials of incoming faculty and regular faculty seeking academic promotion and includes the study of policies for academic faculty sabbaticals, annual portfolios, and merit awards.
Reports to: Provost & President
Graduation Steering (As called)
Works with the President in the organization and implementation of the graduation programs of AHU, including responsibilities for planning the various components of the program, staffing the event, and preparing the printed program.
Reports to: Provost & President
Health & Safety (Monthly)
Makes policy and procedural recommendations to administration relative to the health, safety, and security of the University community.
Reports to: President’s Council
Hope Clinic Steering Committee (Monthly)
To ensure optimal clinic planning, functioning, sustainability, and growth.
Reports to: Academic Policies Committee
Institutional Biosafety (As called)
Responsible for evaluating the biosafety containment level for research involving recombinant DNA and synthetic nucleic acid molecules. It carries out these functions pursuant to requirements set forth by federal, state, and local agencies, as well as AHU. It also oversees research with other potentially hazardous biologics.
Reports to: Academic Policies Committee
Institutional Effectiveness (Monthly)
Oversees assessment processes on campus, reviewing and recommending instruments, summarizing and reporting the results of assessment, and suggesting policies regarding assessment practices.
Reports to: Institutional Effectiveness Leadership Council
Institutional Effectiveness Leadership Council (As Called )
Develops overarching approaches for institutional effectiveness.
Reports to: Strategic & Operational Planning Committee
Institutional Review Board (IRB) (As called)
Ensures that research conducted under the auspices of AHU meets ethical standards for research that are congruent with the Mission of the University, the principles presented in the Belmont Report, and the federal requirements presented in 45-CFR-46 (Code of Federal Regulation, 1983).
Reports to: Academic Policies Committee
International Students (Monthly)
Create new opportunities to recruit mission fit students abroad and create, evaluate, and update policies effecting the success of international students.
Reports to: Strategic Enrollment Management
Interprofessional Practice and Education (2-3/term, As needed)
To foster the development, implementation, and ongoing assessment of evidence-based IPE experiences, practices, and resources internal and external to AHU.
Report to: Academic Policies Committee
Library (As Called)
Provides guidance and oversight by serving in an advisory capacity to the Library Director regarding library policies and planning.
Reports to: Academic Policies Committee
Mission Week/Check (As Called)
Planning and implementation of annual Mission Week and monthly Mission Check meetings working closely with the President.
Reports to: President
Policies and Procedures (2nd & 4th Friday)
Reviews approved policies and procedures to ensure consistency in all posting on appropriate media, i.e. employee manuals, AHU website etc. Approves final content for the Policies and Procedures Section of the AHU website. Conducts an annual review and update of all documents containing policies and procedures to maintain accuracy.
Reports to: Strategic & Operational Planning Committee
President’s Council (Weekly)
Functions as the ultimate decision making group deciding what policies and procedures need Board approval as well as directing and implementing daily operations of the University.
Quality Enhancement Plan (Monthly)
Develops and coordinates the Quality Enhancement Plan by providing oversight to the faculty and staff actually employed in the day-to-day running of the plan.
Reports to: Academic Policies Committee
Recognition (As called)
Oversees the process and nomination for merit/recognitions awards and recommends the names of awardees to the President.
Reports to: President
Registration (As Called)
Discusses the registration process, identifies problems, and requests changes or upgrades; significant changes to the registration process are first reviewed by this committee.
Report to: Academic Policies Committee
Research Steering (Monthly)
Provides oversight and support for research processes, infrastructure, and productivity to assure that high standards for both scientific and ethical merits are upheld.
Report to: Academic Policies Committee
Scholarship Awards (Students) (Annually)
Determines who will be awarded endowed scholarships and the amount they will receive for the next school year. Makes decisions concerning the cost of attendance for AHU students as it relates to Financial Aid.
Reports to: Strategic & Operational Planning Committee
Scientific Review Board (As called)
Ensures proposed studies at AHU meet acceptable standards of scientific rigor and merit PRIOR to submission for IRB review.
Reports to: Academic Policies Committee
Simulation (Quarterly)
Monitors the development and implementation of the simulation initiatives at AHU as well as collaboration with AdventHealth.
Reports to: Academic Policies Committee
Social (As called)
Promotes social interaction and communication among the faculty and staff of AHU.
Reports to: President
Strategic & Operational Planning (Monthly - 1st Wed)
SOP focuses on strategic and operational planning.
Strategic Enrollment Management (Monthly)
SEM evaluates the enrollment process and student experience to determine best practices, close gaps, enhance interdepartmental communication, track retention, implement retention strategies, and recommend policy changes to leadership.
Reports to: President’s Council
Technology (Monthly)
Examines and acts on issues related to technology for online and on-campus students.
Reports to: Strategic Operational Planning Committee
University Mission (Monthly)
The Institute of Spirituality in Healthcare Education aims to assist in preparing students to meet the diverse spiritual needs within the healthcare environment.
Reports to: President’s Council
AD HOC Committees (As called)
Note:
- The President is an Ex-Officio member of all Committees
- The Provost in an Ex-Officio member of all Academic Committees
- All committees report to one of the 5 committees listed below – with the exception of the Faculty Rank & Promotion Committee and the events committees (Convocation, Graduation, Mission Week / Check, Recognition, Social) that report directly to the President, the Provost or both:
- Academic Policies (APC): academic committees.
- Strategic & Operational Planning (SOP): strategic & operational committees.
- Health & Safety (HS): student affairs committees.
- Strategic Enrollment Management (SEM): enrollment committees.
- President’s Council (PC): Electronic Systems and University Mission.
- These 5 committees have final approval authority over the committees that report to them – unless the committee chair deems a particular action should be elevated to President’s Council.
- Only the Minutes for APC, HS & SEM will be approved by President’s Council.
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