9. General Information

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9.1 Governance

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. 

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 23-24.docx).

1.  Mission Week Meetings

     (1^st week prior to Fall Trimester)

     Edwin Hernandez, Chair

     Required attendance:

     All full-time faculty and staff

2.  Mission Check/Townhall Meetings

     (2^nd Monday Monthly)

     Edwin Hernandez, Chair

     Required attendance:

    All full-time faculty and staff

Academic Leadership (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 - 2^nd 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 & Program Engagement (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: President’s Council

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, Equity & 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:  President’s Council

Educational Technology (Monthly)

Identifies challenges with current educational technology providing recommendations for improvement and new technology. Connects educational technology, faculty development, and IT infrastructure to enhance the delivery of education.

Reports to: President’s Council

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 (As called)

Works with the President  & Provost 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 & Wellness (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 (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 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

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 (2^nd & 4^th 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 (QEP) (Monthly)

Develops and coordinates the Quality Enhancement Plan by providing oversight to the faculty and staff 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

Recruiting Events (REC) (As Called)

The Recruiting Events Committee plans, supports, staffs, and conducts events to attract and recruit new students to AHU. It works closely with AHU marketing & communications, academic leaders and supporting departments. 

Reports to: Academic Policies Committee 

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  (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

Research Institutional Clearance (RIC) (As Called) 

Responsibile for ensuring the scholarly activities.  (IRB review and non-IRB review track projects) are conducted in compliance with AHU and federal policies, guidelines and regulations that govern research and Quality Improvement (QI) and Quality assessment (QA). Institutional Review Board (IRB) review track projects include the Human Subject Research and Non-Human Subject Research. The non-IRB review track projects include the Quality Improvement (QI), and Quality Assessment (QA) studies.

Reports 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: President’s Council

Scientific Review (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 (SOP) (Monthly - 3rd Wed)

SOP focuses on strategic and operational planning.

Student Advancement 

Provides a venue to listen to and foster the student voice at AdventHealth University. 

Reports to: Health & Wellness

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)

• Campus of the Future Task Force

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 4 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 & Wellness(HW): student affairs committees.
  • President’s Council (PC): See list.
• These 4 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 & HW will be approved by President’s Council.

9.2 Other Professional Employment 

A full-time faculty is expected to faithfully fulfill University responsibilities by full-time service. There are occasions when it is permissible for faculty to engage in a minimal amount of work outside of the University for extra remuneration for such activities as teaching a class, consultation, or clinical service. This can be of value to both the faculty member and the University.

University faculty may accept part-time employment only if such activity does not interfere with the individual’s duties or responsibilities to the University. Such employment is subject to the following conditions:

• No more than one class per quarter (maximum four credit hours) or trimester (maximum three credit hours) may be taught by full-time faculty.
• No more than two classes may be taught in any one calendar year.
• Clinical service must be done outside of the regular workday unless it is part of the calculated workload.
• Other employment must not compete with regularly scheduled classes, labs, or University and departmental meetings.

Prior to any part-time employment, the faculty member must have the written consent of the appropriate Department Chair and the Department Chairs’ supervisor. This request needs to be provided to the AHU Human Resources and Compliance Departments which will be reviewed with the Department Chair and approved or denied.  See CW HR 270 Moonlighting Policy. If the Department Chair or the Department Chairs’ supervisor determines that outside employment is interfering with the faculty member’s responsibility to the University, the individual will be asked to decrease or cease such employment.

9.3 Rising Together Awards

The Rising Together Awards recognize, award, and highlight employees who exemplify and exhibit key values at AHU.  Each year cash awards and certificates will be presented to a maximum of eight employees. The award categories are:

LOVE ME

OWN IT

MAKE IT EASY

KEEP ME SAFE

One staff member and one faculty member are awarded for each category. Recipients will be eligible for only one Rising Together award while employed at AHU. Award winners cannot win again in another category.

9.4 Travel

The University pays authorized travel and travel-related expenses for employees in the following ways:

• Reimbursement of funds paid by the employee.
• Direct payment to a vendor for business-related services to the employee.
• Each department will receive a travel expense budget, based on the number of individuals in the department.  An average amount per person will be allotted as a total sum for the annual departmental budget.  The Chair is responsible for assessing the individual and departmental continuing education and professional development travel needs prior to the new academic year.  Individuals who are presenting or involved in conference leadership will be prioritized.  

Procedure

Faculty will submit for approval a travel authorization form with all estimated expenses to their department heads prior to the event. Approved travel will be reimbursed after the expenses have been incurred and only subsequent to filing an expense report with appropriate documentation.

It is the responsibility of the employee to make every effort to minimize travel expenses and:

Obtain Prior Authorization

1. All employees must receive prior approval from their leader before booking any travel.  Pre-authorization includes confirmation that the funds are available in the departmental budget.
2. Travel that exceeds $2,500 requires additional approval by Senior Administration through a Travel Authorization Form. The form can be obtained from Financial Services or the University network in the “Read-Only” drive under “Forms.”

Obtain Proper Documentation

Original itemized receipts for expenses must be submitted with the Expense Report to receive reimbursement. Only the back copy of the travel ticket (not itinerary) is acceptable for reimbursement of airfare. If electronic or E-ticketing is used, the e-mailed copy of the ticket must be submitted as proper documentation.  The employee must provide documentation of the conference dates and participation, as applicable.

Submit Expense Report

The Expense Report Form may be obtained on the University network or from Financial Services.

1. Fill out the Expense Report Form promptly. Even though travel has been authorized, it is essential that the Expense Report Form be submitted with original receipts for all expenses within 30 days of paying or incurring the expense. If older than 30 days, CFO approval is required. 
2. Complete all required areas of the form.
3. Attach all original receipts. (If a photocopy is used, the supervisor should sign the copy.)
4. Attach a copy of the Travel Authorization Form.
5. Sign and submit the form to your authorizing signatory.
6. Report expenses for multiple trips on separate forms.
7. Provide conference brochure and registration confirmation, as applicable. 

Expense Report Guidelines

Reimbursable Expenses

Reasonable cost for the following expenses will be reimbursed.

Single Hotel or Motel Accommodation

Reservations should be made far enough in advance to qualify for any group discounts.

Coach Rate Air Travel

It is the responsibility of the employee to make airline reservations. These reservations should be made for appropriate days of the week and far enough in advance to minimize air travel costs.

Mileage

Mileage is paid to an employee for using his or her personal automobile on approved travel for the University. Charges for travel-related expenses such as tolls, parking, etc., on the most direct route of travel may be reported in addition to the authorized mileage. Mileage reimbursement will be made at the current rate.

Meals/Per Diem

Per diem for one person, and spouse when approved, will be reimbursed at the current rate. Meals are reimbursed at the current per diem rate for overnight travel.

Auto Rental

The University requires employees to use AVIS car rental when securing a rental car for business related travel.  To make your reservation please go to: https://www.avis.com/car-rental/profile/go.ac?B501400.  This has the corporate discount number already supplied and this account provides insurance coverage.  Please do not elect the additional coverage suggested by the car company.  For your protection in the event of an accident, please do not rent compact or sub-compact cars.

Taxi Fare, Ride Share or Shuttle

A receipt is required.

Convention or Registration Fees

Fees should be prepaid if this will reduce cost (receipt or a paid invoice is required).

Parking & Tolls

A receipt is required.

Non-reimbursable expenses

• Fines for traffic violations and parking tickets
• Costs associated with legal defense of moving violations
• Alcoholic beverages and smoking materials
• Airline cabin upgrades
• Gifts
• Child care
• Personal side trips
• Travel club membership
• Lost items
• In general, any non-business-related travel, entertainment, etc. 

Receipt of Gifts

Employees should consider whether giving or receiving gifts or entertainment would cause AHU any embarrassment or discredit if the action is publicized.  If in doubt, a written request should be made to their immediate supervisor.  If the amount accepting or giving is greater than $250 per single item, the AHU employee must have approval from the direct supervisor prior to accepting or giving.  The employee should also fully disclose the benefit received or given.  In addition, all employees must report all gifts or entertainment totaling $100 or more from a single source in one calendar year (January - December) each December to the manager two levels above the employee.  Employees should always refer to the AdventHealth Code of Conduct-Gifts and Entertainment CW CR 101.5. 

Personal Vehicle versus Commercial Travel

An individual who elects to drive her or his personal vehicle rather than use public transport for business-related travel will be reimbursed for actual miles driven at the current approved rate or an amount equal to airline coach fare, whichever is less. Refer to the Travel and Business Related Expenses-Overnight policy.

Vehicle Insurance

In the event that an employee elects to use a personal vehicle to transport students or conduct University business, it is the responsibility of the employee to make sure that the vehicle is insured at the following minimums:

Travel Time

When a non-salaried employee travels to a meeting, that employee will be paid at his or her base rate (no differentials) for the time involved.

Reservation Cancellations

Any changes or cancellations of lodging, convention, or travel reservations should be done enough in advance to avoid “no show” charges. Should this not be possible through no fault of the employee, the University will pay such expenses if they are approved and initialed on the Expense Report by the authorizing signatory.

Mixed Business and Personal Travel

The University does not reimburse for personal receipts or per diem on personal days. Separate business from personal receipts. For IRS purposes, the business reason for the trip must be clearly stated and dated.

*Travel Policies

Please refer to all official travel policies at https://my.ahu.edu/policies/overview, as procedures are subject to change.