Bylaws

A.  Governing Policy Statement

The School of Global Integrative Studies is a professional and administrative unit dedicated to excellence in teaching, research, and service, as specified by the Bylaws of the Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska. This document describes the governance structure and operation of the School of Global Integrative Studies (SGIS), which includes program faculty in the divisions of Anthropology, Geography, and Global Studies. Hereafter, the School will refer to SGIS.

A. The faculty of the School consists of all specific term (fulltime Lecturers with a two-year or more contract, tenure leading Assistant Professor or Professors of Practice of any rank) and continuous Academic-Administrative appointments in the department holding at least 0.5 FTE appointments and the rank of Assistant Professor or above. Research Professors of any rank and Lecturer/Ts do not have voting rights as members of the faculty. Persons on leave are considered members of the faculty.  Persons holding less than 0.5 FTE in the School because of administrative or other university assignments, but not more than 0.4 in any other academic unit, are considered members of the School as long as they hold specific term or continuous appointments in the School.

B. Voting Membership 

B.1. On the general business of the School, the voting constituency shall be all faculty of the School as defined in II.A. Proposals related to faculty composition (e.g., hiring priorities, hiring decisions, joint appointments, etc.), programmatic changes, and general policy matters must be brought before the faculty as defined in II.A. for a vote. 

B.2. On a recommendation for the reappointment or continuous appointment of tenure-line faculty, the voting constituency shall be faculty who hold tenured appointments in the School. 

B.3. On the appointment or reappointment of Professor of Practice faculty, the voting constituency shall be all faculty members in the School holding tenure and all Practice faculty in the School holding higher rank. 

B.4. On a recommendation for promotion of faculty (both tenure line and Professors of Practice), the voting constituency shall be tenured and Professor of Practice faculty in the School who hold rank higher than that of the faculty member under consideration for promotion. 

B.5. On a recommendation for tenure of faculty, the voting constituency shall be tenured faculty in the School. 

B.6.  On all matters concerning graduate education, the voting constituency shall be members of the Graduate Faculty. 

B.7. The Guidelines for Lecturers in the College of Arts and Sciences states: “The College recognizes that departments vary in how they structure faculty governance but encourages all departments to include lecturers in department decisions related to instructional mission, curriculum development and course planning, experiential learning, and student outreach/enrollment, retention, and graduation. Service to faculty governance cannot be required of lecturers, unless it is formally recognized as part of their teaching-related duties.” Lecturers considered members of the faculty as per II.A. may vote on department decisions related to instructional mission, curriculum development and course planning, experiential learning, and student outreach/enrollment, retention, and graduation.

A. Administrative Roles

A.1. Director: The school has a director who is the chief administrative officer of the composite divisions and reports to the Dean. The director is appointed by the dean and serves at the pleasure of the dean. The director is responsible for making recommendations to the dean regarding appointment, reappointment, award of tenure, promotion in rank, leaves of absences, salaries, faculty development leaves, and teaching responsibilities of individual faculty members. The director is responsible for the administration, leadership, and development of the school including all undergraduate and graduate teaching, research, public service, and outreach/community service activities and professional development of the faculty and staff.

The director is also responsible for carrying out the annual review of faculty performance mandated by Section 4.6 of the Bylaws of the Board of Regents. 

The Associate Director will act in his/her/their name if the Director is not able to perform duties for a short period.  If the Director is to be absent for a semester or longer, the Dean will appoint an Acting Director.   

Appointment and Review:

In the language of the Bylaws of the Board of Regents, the appointment of director is a “Special Appointment” for an indefinite term in the academic-administrative staff of the university, subject to annual review and a major administrative review every five years.  The special appointment is at the pleasure of the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, and the appointment is cancelable on 90 days’ notice.  Faculty and staff of SGIS shall have the opportunity to provide input into the director’s annual evaluation and five-year review. 

In the case of a vacancy, the Dean may initiate a national search or solicit nominations from the faculty of SGIS.  If internal nominations are solicited by the Dean, the following procedure will be followed by SGIS:

1. The executive committee will solicit nominations from the SGIS faculty and determine the willingness of any nominated candidates to be considered and will create a ballot of the willing. 
   1. The executive committee shall poll all eligible voting faculty for a rating of acceptable/non-acceptable for each candidate.  A second vote is cast by the faculty to rank the candidates.  Both votes are conducted by secret ballot.  The executive committee then reports the votes for the preferred candidate(s) to the Dean.  The dean may also poll faculty members and makes the actual appointment. 
      1. The Dean appoints the Director.  The Dean may reach out to school faculty for more input prior to making the decision.

A.2. Associate Director and Undergraduate Chair:  The associate director will be appointed by the Director, with a portion of his/her/their appointment apportioned to administrative duties.  He/she/they will assist the director in the administration of SGIS; oversee recruitment, advising, and undergraduate curricula; be an official administrative representative of SGIS; and will have signatory authority when the director is absent. The associate director shall be a faculty member with a majority of his/her/their appointment in SGIS. The associate director will provide leadership on specific tasks or agenda items delegated to him/her/them by the director. 

A.4. Graduate Chair:  The graduate chair will be a graduate faculty member, appointed by the director for a three-year term.

The graduate chair shall be responsible for the administration of the graduate program. Duties of the position include chairing the school’s graduate committee, advertising and recruiting for the graduate programs, corresponding with applicants, overseeing the graduate student admission process, orienting new graduate students to the program, providing initial advising of incoming graduate students, processing forms for UNL Graduate Studies, coordinating graduate assessment, updating faculty and graduate students on internal and external funding opportunities, keeping the graduate section of the school’s webpage current, and reviewing the school’s section of the graduate bulletin. 

The graduate chair works closely with the director, associate director and undergraduate committees on matters of graduate course scheduling, GTA teaching assignments, and other matters related to the graduate programs and will keep the faculty apprised concerning issues related to needs and planning for the graduate program. 

B. Executive Committee: The Executive Committee shall consist of the Director, the Associate Director, and at least two additional SGIS faculty members nominated and elected by the voting SGIS faculty. The elected faculty members will serve a three-year term. We prefer but do not require that one elected member of the Executive Committee be a Professor of Practice and one elected member be a tenure-line faculty member. We prefer that the Executive Committee also include a third elected member, a Lecturer, depending on the willingness of the Lecturer to serve and on the remit of the Lecturer’s contract. Members who serve as Lecturers do so on a voluntary basis and will contribute to the following committee responsibilities as allowed by II.B.7.

The Executive Committee serves as the primary advisory committee to the Director on all aspects of the School’s operation. The Executive Committee is responsible for the following:

1. conduct annual merit reviews of School faculty including the director.  The director does not vote on merit scores but provides an independent assessment;
2. make recommendations to the director for hiring search committee members;
3. develop strategic planning and hiring priorities prior to consideration by the full faculty;
4. review major budgetary decisions proposed by the director;
5. prepare an annual report on the activities and status (including academic and financial status) of the school;
6. consider faculty grievance, faculty feedback, and student grievance against faculty. In matters concerning grievance, the Executive Committee may convene without the Director or Associate Director for discussion. Any Committee member may request such a meeting.

C.  Graduate Committee:  The Graduate Committee is comprised of the Graduate Chair and a Vice Chair. The Vice Chair is elected by the Graduate Faculty of the School and will serve a three-year term. The committee performs the administrative functions required by graduate studies and recommends to the School policies concerning the graduate programs.

The functions of the Graduate Committee are: 

1. to assist the Graduate Chair in admitting students to the graduate program by seeking recommendations on admission from delegated graduate faculty and in the ranking of applicants for funding;
   1. to determine the status of graduate students;
   2. to uphold the policies for graduate education formulated by the School;
   3. to provide general supervision over work of candidates for the MA and to recommend the appointment of supervisory committees for the PhD;
   4. to formulate policy, subject to the approval of the Graduate Faculty, concerning matters of the graduate program;
   5. to assist in the administration of the graduate program;
   6. to assist in recruitment efforts; 
   7. make recommendations for graduate teaching assistants;
   8. provide nominations to members of the graduate faculty of candidates for appropriate graduate faculty status; 
   9. to conduct the annual assessment of the graduate program;
   10. review and decide grade appeals brought to it by graduate students;
   11. to consider other relevant matters referred to it by the Director, Associate Director or division representatives, Graduate Studies, or members of the faculty. 

D.  Undergraduate Committee:   The Undergraduate committee is comprised of the Associate Director/Undergraduate Chair and one faculty member representing each division. The committee members are elected by the faculty of each division and will serve three-year staggered terms. Committee members will also act as undergrad advisors as they will relay information about structure and content of the division they represent.

The committee performs administrative functions associated with the operations of the undergraduate curriculum.  These include:

1. the review of all proposed curricular changes affecting undergraduates;
   1. the status of the major and minor courses of study;
   2. the priorities for curricular development at the undergraduate level;
   3. review of proposals for participation in interdisciplinary ventures, study abroad, or internships and experiential learning at the undergraduate levels;
   4. policy governing undergraduate advising;
   5. assessing and reporting on the undergraduate program, as directed by the College and by the University;
   6. undergraduate recruitment;
   7. review and decide grade appeals brought to it by undergraduate students;
   8. ACE certification or recertification of courses.

In consultation with the Director, the Undergraduate Advisor shall be appointed by CAS Undergraduate Advising and is responsible for advising majors in all divisions within the School as to program of studies, School, college and university degree requirements, and career options, along with other associated duties. 

E.  Reappointment, Promotion and Tenure Committee:   The Reappointment, Promotion and Tenure committee is variably comprised of a subset of voting faculty, as specified in II.B.  Process and specific duties and responsibilities are described in VI.E.

F.  Search Committees:  Searches will comport with directives of the Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor, the Office of Institutional Equity and Compliance, and the College of Arts and Sciences. Search committees shall be formed on an ad hoc basis depending on the position opening. The Director will seek recommendations for search committee members from the Executive Committee.  Search Committees shall consist of a chair and at least two additional faculty members.   The Director of the School meets with the committee at their initial meeting to instruct them in the research goals and policies. After that, the Director withdraws from the search process and awaits the committee report. 

The search committee has the following responsibilities: 

1. oversees the drawing up of the recruitment advertisement;
   1. monitors the development of the files, writing any necessary letters to see that the files are completed, and enforces the cut-off date specified in the ad;
   2. after the date for submitting files is past, all committee members review all of the files;
   3. develops a short list of candidates to recommend to the School, which may or may not be ranked;
   4. after the short list is presented to the faculty, the files of these candidate are made available to faculty members for review to initiate the selection and hiring process.

G.  SGIS Ad Hoc Committees:  After consultation with the Executive Committee, the Director shall appoint such other committees as they thinks necessary to conduct School business.  Committee chairs shall normally serve for two-year terms. 

H.  Committee Membership and Rosters:  Insofar as possible, the Director shall ensure that every member of the faculty. has the opportunity to serve on standing committees.  The Director should endeavor to ensure that the extent of faculty committee duties and responsibilities are consistent with their promotion rank.

I.  Faculty Senate Representative(s):  SGIS faculty will elect faculty senator(s) in accordance with the Bylaws of the Faculty Senate (3.1.4.5.A), which stipulates that departments with more than five members and less than 25 will have one senate representative.

J.  Library Coordinator:  The Library Coordinator serves as liaison with UNL Libraries and will be appointed for a three-year term by the Director. 

K. Certificate Coordinators:  Each certificate program shall have a Coordinator who is appointed by the Director. The Coordinators’ responsibilities include:

1. Serving as an advisor for certificate participants;
   1. Overseeing certification application and approval processes;
      1. Providing an annual report to the SGIS faculty;
      2. Working with the Undergraduate and Graduate Committees to assure that class offerings and scheduling meet the needs of the certificate.

L. Archaeology Board: The Board of Archaeology addresses matters related to the MA specialization in Professional Archaeology and conduct of archaeological fieldwork by anthropology personnel and collections curation. 

M. Faculty Liaisons to student Organizations: SGIS includes various student organizations. Each student group shall have a faculty liaison, appointed by the Director, who will coordinate communication between the student organization and the School and assists in supporting the group’s activities.

A. Meeting Frequency: The School shall meet regularly as a body at least twice a semester during the academic year.  If there is insufficient time at a regularly scheduled meeting, additional meetings may be called for items requiring faculty action. Meetings may be called by any of the following: 

1. the Director
2. the Executive Committee
3. any standing or ad hoc committees,
4. a call by 1/3 of faculty.

B.  Special Meetings:  Special meetings of subgroups of faculty shall be convened whenever necessary to deal with the responsibilities of their respective committees

C. Meeting Announcement: Meetings shall typically be announced by means of a written agenda normally distributed one week prior to the scheduled meeting along with any committee reports to be considered.  There may, on rare occasion, be special circumstances that require a meeting to be called without this level of advanced notice and documentation.  All meetings will be held in accordance with University rules concerning open meetings.

D. Agenda: Items may be placed on the agenda, with the approval of the committee or body convening the meeting, by any voting faculty member or by action from the floor of the meeting itself.

E. Meeting Attendance:  SGIS faculty as defined in Section II.A. are expected to attend faculty, staff, and SGIS general meetings and actively engage in discussions and voting decisions.  School meetings cannot take place without the presence of a quorum. A quorum shall consist of a simple majority of the Faculty. Regular Faculty meetings shall be deemed open unless otherwise specified. Members of the teaching staff, i.e., Lecturer/Ts and adjunct professors in the School, and other Faculty members of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln are welcome to attend open meetings.  Meetings addressing personnel actions are limited to the appropriate voting body of faculty. 

F. Meeting Records: The Director will ensure that minutes are taken at each faculty meeting. The minutes will be distributed prior to the next meeting and be moved for approval at the start of each meeting.  Meeting minutes should be in the format of action minutes, and not include attribution of comments on personnel or other confidential matters.  Approved minutes will be stored on a secure School or cloud server to which all faculty have access.

G.  Voting Privileges:  Voting faculty members (as defined in Section II) shall have voting privileges in all matters relating to School governance.  After adoption of the Bylaws, voting will be conducted according to the current edition of Roberts Rules of Order, with each voting faculty member having a full vote, except as may be noted under other sections of the Bylaws. Faculty members on leave retain their right to vote

H. Voting Plurality Requirements:  In order to pass, a vote must have simple majority support from the voting faculty unless a simple majority of a constituent division raises an objection, in which case, the motion goes to the Executive Committee for a vote.

I.  Quorum:  A quorum shall consist of a simple majority of the Faculty. All votes will be based on a simple majority of voting members (except for a revision of the Bylaws, see Section X).

J.  Electronic Voting:  If circumstances prohibit in-person voting at a meeting of the SGIS faculty, voting shall be conducted electronically.  In cases where a confidential vote must be conducted electronically, a confidential ballot will be disseminated with support from the College of Arts and Sciences.

K.  Proxy Voting:  Except in the case of personnel matters, proxy votes are permitted so long as the person holding the proxy provides written evidence from the proxy giver of the transfer of his or her voting rights to the proxy holder. 

L. Passing a Motion:  In conformity with generally accepted practices in the State of Nebraska, the School shall follow the parliamentary prescriptions of Robert's Rules of Order.

N.  Voting by the Director:  School practice will be that the Director votes only to break ties.

O. Confidential Voting:  Any member may request voting by a show of hands or a confidential vote. The tally of confidential paper ballots will be taken by the Associate Director and recorded in the minutes. Verified results of confidential electronic votes will be shared with the faculty.                              

P.  Other Issues that Call for a Vote:  Other issues may be placed on a ballot by the Director in consultation with the Executive Committee or by a majority vote of the members attending any general School meeting. These issues shall be a simple majority vote.

A. Division meetings are expected to occur at least once per semester and additional meetings may be called.

B. The Director calls the division meeting. Division members may request additional meetings to be scheduled by the Director as needed.

C. The division representative to the Executive Committee shall serve as the meeting chair.

D. A meeting agenda will be distributed one week prior to the meeting.

E. A division member will be delegated to keep notes, which should be distributed to all division members and to the Director following the meeting.

F. Votes on curriculum and other matters will be made by a simple majority of the division members present.

The School shall follow the policies, procedures, and criteria set out in the operative documents of the Board of Regents, the Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor, and the College of Arts and Sciences.

A. Faculty Recruiting and Hiring

1. Procedures for Hiring Faculty: The hiring strategy will follow the five-year hiring plan submitted to CAS as per CAS guidelines.

2. Search Committee. The Search Committee will be constituted and will proceed as described in Section III.F.

B. Mentoring for Faculty

1. See Appendix C. (Under development)

C. Workload Apportionment for Faculty

A 100% regular apportionment for SGIS faculty shall consist of:

1. Teaching: 10% apportionment/course/semester; supervision of undergraduate and graduate students may constitute 5-10% apportionment.

2. Research: 10-50%, as per contract. In general, tenure line faculty have a 40-50% Research apportionment; Practice faculty have a 10% Research apportionment.

3. Service: 5-10%, as per contract.

4. Administration: varies by duties, as per contract.

5. Departures from this expectation shall be specified in letters between faculty member, the Director and Dean.

D. Annual Review

D.1 Annually, faculty members will provide information on their teaching, research, service, and administration over the three preceding calendar years using the form developed and released by the Executive Committee.

D.2 The Executive Committee reviews the information provided by the faculty member. It offers an evaluation of and also guidance to enhance performance in each of the apportioned areas of teaching, research, service, and administration.

D.3 The Director, with advice from the Executive Committee, offers an independent assessment of performance in the apportioned areas of teaching, research, service, and administration, also providing guidance to enhance performance.

D.4 Director and faculty member may meet annually to discuss their evaluation and goals for growth.

D.5 The evaluations of the Director are communicated to the faculty member in a formal letter. Upon receipt, the faculty member signs the letter acknowledging receipt.

D.6 The faculty member may appeal their annual evaluation in writing. Appeals are returned to the Executive Committee for discussion and review.

D.7 The Director uses information from the annual review to inform merit decisions.

E. Reappointment, Promotion, and Tenure Process and Policies

E.1 The School shall follow the policies, procedures, and criteria set out in the operative documents of the Board of Regents, the Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor (Guidelines for the Evaluation of Faculty), and the College of Arts and Sciences (Faculty Handbook).

E.2 Faculty shall be evaluated on their teaching, research, service, and administration records based upon their apportionment for each of these areas of responsibility.

E.3 Faculty are required to use the College of Arts and Sciences Reappointment, Promotion and Tenure online system to submit their reappointment, promotion, and tenure files and should follow the School guidelines on faculty promotion as detailed in Appendices A and B of the Bylaws.

E.4 The online files should be completed and made available to the faculty conducting the review at least 10 working days in advance of the first meeting. The faculty eligible to be included in a specific department faculty review committee varies by rank and tenure status of the faculty to be reviewed.

E.5 In order to participate in the review, faculty review committee members are required to examine the file prior to the initial committee meeting. It is the expectation that each member of the faculty review committee will be familiar with the file and prepared to participate in the discussion.

E.6 The Director will be present to observe, but not vote, in the faculty review committee meeting. In advance of the meeting, a senior faculty member will be designated by the Director as the faculty review committee chair. The committee chair will have the responsibility to oversee the meeting, count and report the votes, and write a letter of transmittal, addressed to the School Director, summarizing the discussion and votes.

E.7 The faculty review committee, described in Section II.B.2., will evaluate the candidate’s file in each area of apportionment (e.g., teaching, research, service, administration). As specified in the College Handbook for the College of Arts and Sciences, the following range of adjectives should be used for rating the candidate in each area of work performance; Outstanding, Superior, Good, Adequate, or Inadequate. Mid-adjective ratings are permitted (e.g., Good-to-Superior). It is expected that faculty will openly discuss factors that will influence their rating. This will give the committee chair the type of detail needed to describe the bases for the ratings and recommendation votes in the letter of transmittal. Committee members vote by secret ballots, and the committee chair will report the votes to the committee at the completion of the count.

At the completion of the evaluation of the candidate’s areas of work responsibility, the committee would then move to the appropriate comprehensive vote(s). This may be a reappointment vote, a promotion vote, or votes on both promotion and tenure. Again, voting is conducted by secret ballot with the committee chair counting and reporting the votes.

E.8 Following the meeting, the faculty review committee chair will draft a letter of transmittal to the School Director summarizing the discussion and votes. The letter will be provided to the candidate for review. If the candidate does not have a concern or objection to the letter, it will be placed in the committee review section of the Reappointment, Promotion and Tenure online file with a copy to the candidate.

If the candidate has concerns with facts or interpretations in the letter, they have 5 working days following receipt of the draft letter to request a reconsideration by the committee. Typically, this is accompanied by a written statement in response to points of dispute with the committee letter. Following the reconsideration meeting, the committee chair will complete the transmittal letter and distribute as described in the prior paragraph.

Regardless of the committee votes and recommendations, the candidate always has the opportunity to add a response to their online file. The candidate should inform the Director if they plan to add a response. This is done to ensure that the next level of administrative review is not initiated until the candidate’s response is added to the file. Any such responses need to be added to the file within 5 working days of the decision.

E.9 The remainder of the procedure follows that prescribed by the Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor and the College of Arts and Sciences.

The School shall follow all policies as described by the Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor and the College of Arts and Sciences. In addition to those regulations:

A. Teaching Assignments and Course Scheduling: All final decisions regarding teaching assignments are made by the Director in consultation with the Associate Director and the Undergraduate and Graduate Committees. Assignments will be made pending needs of individual divisions, availability, seniority, expertise, and, for students, progress toward degree. Faculty will be asked to fill out a form indicating teaching preferences for the year. While the School will make every effort to accommodate preferences and assign teaching opportunities for faculty, Lecturer/Ts, and GTAs fairly, the School must balance preferences for classes, days/times against the needs for the students and curriculum.

The Undergraduate and Graduate committees will establish class size guidelines and update those as needed with the goal of ensuring class size limits reflect pedagogical commitments of the School and parity among instructors.

Teaching Load for Faculty

Teaching load is determined by apportionment assigned to a given position and as indicated in their contract at time of hire. In general, tenure-track and tenured faculty members teach two courses each semester, while Professors of Practice teach three courses each semester. However, in consultation with the Dean’s office, the School shall maintain flexibility by making exceptions to this normal assignment for unusually heavy administrative or service responsibilities. These exceptions are made by an agreement between the individual faculty member and the Director, pending approval by the CAS Dean

Course releases may be granted to faculty holding administrative positions in the School (e.g., Associate Director, and Graduate Chair) and faculty may request reductions from the

Director (e.g., editing a journal, association leadership, or other commitments). Ad hoc requests for course releases should be made to the Director in advance of the requested release and must be approved before applying for or accepting a given leadership or service role. Given limited funding and personnel, the School may not be able to support all requests or multiple requests at one time.

In general, the School regards a course commitment or replacement commitment to comprise between 10 and 12 hours per week during the semester. Work replaced should be equivalent to that commitment. It is the faculty member's responsibility to research current understandings of equivalences as they consider their request for a course release..

Summer Teaching Assignments

Summer teaching availability will be governed by budget allotted from the College and assignments are made by the Director of the School in consultation with the Undergraduate and Graduate Committees. For GTAs, the Director will use a priority system that takes into account progress toward degree completion, seniority, expertise and School need, and past teaching evaluations. GTAs returning the following year and those with minimal opportunities in the past will have priority.

Field School and International Education Teaching

All faculty must submit a request to lead a field school/tour or international education courses in the early Fall prior to the start of summer program. International education programs must also be screened and approved by the College of Arts and Sciences and Education Abroad Office 18 months prior to departure. Instructors will be assigned based on budgetary and enrollment constraints. All summer school programs and budget need specific approval from the Director prior to any advertising.

Office Hours and Student Communication

All faculty, Lecturer/Ts and GTAs will post and hold a minimum of two hours per week (however faculty with higher teaching loads should attempt to provide additional office hours), not all on the same day and at times convenient to students, during the academic year. Office hours, location, and contact information should be posted on syllabus, office door and/or through UNL’s learning management system. If missing office hours instructors should notify their students and the main office and ask the office or a colleague to post a note on their office door. It is important to provide alternate or ‘make-up’ office hours as a replacement.

All faculty, Lecturer/Ts and GTAs are expected to make appointments and to respond to email and other messages in a timely fashion; normally within 48 hours during the work week. Instructors of distance education courses should recognize the importance of email as the only direct contact they have with students and attempt to respond within 24 hours during the work week.

Instructors should not schedule extended (longer than a week) personal or professional travel during semester unless they have discussed this with the Director in advance.

B. Absence from Class and School Duties: All School members should strive to limit absences and, in the case of instructional staff members, cancelling classes, planning ahead as possible. Classes should not be cancelled for

weather-related reasons if the university has not posted a closure of the campus. School members should confer with the Director, and if not available, the Associate Director if they have questions or concerns in these situations. It is critical that the Director and main office know when instructional staff are missing or moving a class and what the students are to do.

Absences for Instructional Staff (which includes all instructors of record and GTAs): Inform students in writing and in class multiple times. Let them know what will be happening with the class that day. Complete and submit (to the main office either via email or in person) the School “Memorandum of Absence,” specifying details of absence and plans for the students, and when applicable, who is covering the course. For last-minute absences, instructors should attempt to find a colleague to fill in and/or put up a note in the classroom. Instructors should contact the students in the best ways possible and make sure the Director, Associate Director, and main office are informed. Complete a “Memorandum of Absence” so the School has a record of what happened with the class that day.

When absences from classes or other duties will be for an extended period of time, faculty, Lecturer/Ts, GTA, or staff should work with the Director about how to cover duties and/or apply for or negotiate a leave of absence following college and university policies. The Director may initiate these conversations and actions as necessary.

Any member of the faculty who does not inform the Director prior to an absence and does not fill the “Memorandum of Absence” or send an email about an absence, even if arrangements take place to cover the class, is in violation of the School absenteeism policy. More than two cases of unreported absenteeism may impact merit pay increases for that academic year.

A. Travel Funding for Faculty Originating from SGIS

A.1 Requests for funding to support conference travel should be made to the Director who will attempt to accommodate requests as funding allows.

A.2 Priority will be given to junior faculty presenting in national or international conferences with the likelihood of publication or furtherence other important scholarly activity, e.g., meeting with potential collaborators or funding agencies, to issue from the conference.

B. Faculty Grievance Procedures

B.1 The School shall follow the guidance provided by the UNL Academic Senate and the UN Board of Regents in addressing violations of faculty rights and responsibilities. The powers of the Faculty Grievance Committee are described in UN Board of Regents Bylaws 4.13.2. The Academic Rights and Responsibilities Committee, described in UN Board of Regents Bylaws 3.1.5.D, is the committee responsible for dealing with such violations.

These Bylaws shall become effective immediately upon their adoption by a two-thirds vote of all SGIS voting faculty (see membership, Section II).

Changes to these Bylaws may be initiated by the Director, Associate Director, Executive Committee, or by a petition of 10 percent of SGIS faculty with voting privileges. These Bylaws may be amended at any regular meeting of the faculty provided the amendment has been presented in writing at a previous regular meeting. Approval of amendments to the Bylaws requires a two-third majority by secret ballot.

APPENDIX A: TENURE AND PROMOTION CRITERIA FOR TENURE-LEADING FACULTY

APPENDIX B: PROMOTION CRITERIA FOR PROFESSORS OF PRACTICE

Approved April 2021

Promotion of Professors of Practice (PoP) decisions are made in accordance with CAS Faculty Handbook and UNL Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor guidance. Appendix B provides the detailed guidelines and rubrics by which Professors of Practice qualify for promotion to Associate Professor of Practice or for promotion to Full Professor of Practice. The guidelines below are meant to serve as a sample of what we seek in promotion of Professors of Practice, but they are not exhaustive, and we recognize a broad combination of ways in which teaching, research and service can be demonstrated.

Description of the Position: Professors of Practice (PoP) are individuals with a primary responsibility of supporting the educational mission of the University with usual apportionment of 80% in teaching. We recognize that there are many different ways by which the educational mission of the University is supported and, thus, there are several different foci among the Professors of Practice. For example, some PoP may be devoted to developing curriculum. Others may be hired to teach existing foundational classes. Others may be content specialists, whose mission it is to train students to be effective researchers within that specialty. Thus, we recognize that what constitutes excellence in supporting the educational mission of UNL may vary according to Professor of Practice appointment and we support their review according to the responsibilities specified in their appointment letter.

School PoP Expectations: SGIS faculty are expected to employ teaching methods and techniques that recognize a variety of learning styles, cultural backgrounds, and instructional settings. Instructional and curricular innovation is encouraged, especially when it provides ways for students to become actively engaged in the lesson or the work of the discipline. Faculty members should also be skillful advisors and mentors, encouraging students to seek and engage in education and professional development outside of the classroom, when appropriate. All faculty are expected to demonstrate excellence in teaching, to maintain a regular program of assessment of their teaching, to stay abreast of new techniques in the literature, and to share those ideas with the campus community. As faculty become more senior, it is expected that the scope, depth, and/or impact of their teaching efforts should also increase, especially with regard to directed student learning activities outside of the classroom and curricular contributions beyond their immediate course responsibilities.

Teaching: Expectations for the teaching performance of candidates for promotion to Associate Professor of Practice parallel those for promotion to Associate Professor on the tenure track. Because of the importance of teaching and because teaching apportionment for Professors of Practice is 80%, no candidate will be recommended for promotion to Associate or Full Professor of Practice without demonstration of effective teaching and dedication to teaching improvement and earning a SUPERIOR or OUTSTANDING ranking.

PROMOTION FROM ASSISTANT TO ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR

College Handbook: For appointment or promotion to associate professor there should be clear evidence of significant contributions to the department, College and University in teaching, research, and service beyond the level of accomplishment for promotion to assistant professor.

Evaluation for Promotion: All PoP faculty going up for promotion will submit their promotion documents to the College of Arts and Sciences Promotion & Tenure File Preparation online portal. As per bylaws Section II B.4., the file will be presented to members of the faculty who hold a rank higher than that of the faculty member going up for promotion. Once the vote is completed, the voting faculty will write a letter discussing their recommendation and the summary of the faculty vote. This letter informs the Director, who prepares a final letter with their independent analysis. These letters become part of the promotion dossier reviewed by the College. The criteria outlined below must be considered and used as a guide to help assess promotion of Professor of Practice taking into consideration progress towards rank.

The candidate for Associate Professor of Practice appointment will submit the following during the spring semester before their year of review (e.g., May for consideration in Fall of the next school year):
· A statement of teaching philosophy and how that philosophy is carried out in the candidate’s classes.
· A memo summarizing student evaluations over the course of the promotion period in which the candidate presents evidence (including examples of representative qualitative student feedback) of consistent excellence in teaching. This memo needs to contextualize and critically address qualitative feedback and should include a reflection in the case recognized patterns of negative comments.
· A minimum of four peer observations/assessments of their teaching by more than one peer reviewer.
· Evidence-based course assessments of student learning, including descriptions of course enhancements based on student performance (e.g., what the candidate has done to update their classes to meet student learning outcomes, the demands of the professional world, to enhance teaching skills and to provide evidence of the use of student feedback and peer evaluations).
· Complete list of courses taught during the review period, including copies of all received course evaluations (including quantitative scores and qualitative comments).
· Evidence of participation in Peer Review of Teaching program, Center for Transformative Teaching Programs or other University or discipline-based pedagogy programs.
· Evidence of willingness to work individually with undergraduate and graduate students in and out of class.
· Evidence of the development of new courses and/or new course materials.

Examples of Ratings of Teaching Records for Promotion from Assistant to Associate Professor of Practice for an FTE apportioned for Teaching at 80%. These are not exhaustive examples, and we recognize a broad combination of various ways in which teaching effectiveness is demonstrated.

*When assessing student evaluations of teaching one should take into account these recommendations from the Executive Vice Chancellors Office.

Service is outreach or engagement by SGIS faculty for the purpose of contributing to the public good of the academe/profession, the College, the University, and community. SGIS faculty are expected to demonstrate commitment to service over the course of 6 years. We recognize that certain service appointments and duties require more commitment, time, and dedication. Therefore, we will assess and evaluate service components (see examples below). Various service components are weighed differentially, and the scores will be based on evidence of this service.

The candidate for Associate Professor of Practice appointment will submit the following:
· A detailed summary statement of all the service appointments with the length of time and level of commitment (e.g., chair, members, etc.).
· A statement outlining various service duties over the course of pre-promotion period with a discussion of each service activity. The statement must also include explanation of the nature and importance of the service and a reflection on faculty member’s performance on these committees and the accomplishments of the committee. The discussion must make light of the level of commitment in terms of time (e.g., length of time served to the committee/service activity) and work as well as provide a summary of accomplishments during the service period.

Examples of Ratings of Service Records for Promotion from Assistant to Associate Professor of Practice for an FTE apportioned for Service of 10%. These are not exhaustive examples, and we recognize a broad combination of various ways in which service is demonstrated.

Research is an important aspect of the School’s mission. Therefore, all faculty with research apportionments must make continuous contributions in research activity.

The candidate for Associate Professor of Practice appointment will submit the following:
· A summary statement of all papers presented at professional meetings, colloquia delivered, and grant activity.
· Copies of all articles published, manuscripts of papers accepted for publication, papers presented, sessions chaired, colloquia delivered, books or monographs published.
· A summary statement of current research projects/activities and future plans.

Examples of Ratings of Research Records for Promotion from Assistant to Associate Professor of Practice for an FTE apportioned for Research of 10%.

PROMOTION FROM ASSOCIATE TO FULL PROFESSOR

College Handbook on Promotion to Full: For appointment or promotion to full professor, there should be clear evidence of continued contribution in the areas of teaching, research, and service significantly beyond the level of accomplishment expected for promotion to associate professor. In general, promotion to full professor will occur after the candidate has attained a high level of accomplishment in teaching activity. Promotions to full professor should be accompanied by an overall rating of superior over a sustained period of time and taking into account the candidate’s assignment, recognizing that changes in emphasis in assignment may occur over a career. While in almost all cases accomplishment and participation is expected in all areas, in exceptional cases, outstanding performance over a sustained period of time may lead to promotion to full professor for candidates whose careers have become more narrowly focused to the benefit of the department, college, and university. An evaluation of outstanding performance in any area must be definitive.

SGIS Promotion to Full (in addition to College Handbook): We also recognize evidence of leadership in service, research or instructional activity that has had significant impact on the School, college, University, or the discipline.

College Teaching Requirements for promotion to Full PoP: For promotion to Full Professor of Practice, the instructional work should include evidence of national or international visibility, leadership and impact. The College of Arts and Sciences supports hiring the best candidates and encouraging them to use the resources available to build a local, regional, national, and, if relevant, international record for instructional excellence. (CAS Guidelines)

Evaluation for Promotion: All PoP faculty going up for promotion will submit their promotion documents to the College of Arts and Sciences Promotion & Tenure File Preparation online portal. As per bylaws Section II B.4., the file will be presented to members of the faculty who hold a rank higher than that of the faculty member going up for promotion. Once the vote is completed, the voting faculty will write a letter discussing their recommendation and the summary of the faculty vote. This letter informs the Director, who prepares a final letter with their independent analysis. These letters become part of the promotion dossier reviewed by the College. The criteria outlined below must be considered and used as a guide to help assess promotion of Professor of Practice taking into consideration progress towards rank.

SGIS Teaching Requirements for promotion to Full PoP: For promotion to Full Professor of Practice there should be evidence of special and recognized contributions through teaching as well as evidence of contributions to advancing learning in the field and/or pedagogy. Possible evidence of contributions through teaching could include leadership in curriculum development through activities such as the development of new courses, including distance education courses; new degree or certificate programs; and new teaching techniques. Candidates for Full Professor of Practice status should also provide evidence of helping other faculty, including adjuncts and graduate assistants, to improve their teaching. Mentoring students who receive awards in national competitions is considered evidence of teaching effectiveness as are receiving teaching and other student service-related awards and high student and peer evaluations. Evidence of leadership in instructional activity that has had significant impact on the School, college, or University.

The candidate for promotion will submit the following:
· A statement of their philosophy of teaching and how that philosophy is carried out in their classes.
· A memo summarizing student evaluations for all courses taught over the course of promotion period in which the candidate presents evidence (including examples of representative qualitative student feedback) of consistent excellence in teaching. This memo needs to contextualize and critically address qualitative feedback.
· Multiple (minimum of three) peer observation/assessment of their teaching by more than one peer reviewer.
· Evidence-based course assessments of student learning, including descriptions of course enhancements based on student performance (e.g., what the candidate has done to update their classes to meet student learning outcomes, the demands of the professional world, to enhance teaching skills and to provide evidence of the use of student feedback and peer evaluations).
· Complete list of courses taught during the review period, including copies of all received course evaluations (including quantitative scores and qualitative comments).
· Evidence of participation in Peer Review of Teaching program, Center for Transformative Teaching Programs or other University or discipline based pedagogy programs.
· Evidence of willingness to work individually with undergraduate and graduate students in and out of class.
· Evidence of innovativeness in instruction and the development of new courses and/or new course materials.
· Evidence of willingness and effectiveness in teaching a variety of courses.
· Candidates for promotion to Associate or Full Professor of Practice may choose to obtain letters from people internal to UNL who can speak to the qualities of the candidate’s instructional activity. These letters are comparable to peer-review documentation and can be included in the file as evidence of excellence. They do not count, however, as external review letters.

Examples of Ratings of Teaching Records for Promotion from Associate to Full Professor of Practice for an FTE apportioned for Teaching at 80%. These are not exhaustive examples and we recognize a broad combination of various ways in which teaching effectiveness is demonstrated. This rubric assumes consideration of teaching output starting after the Associate Professor rank begins.

Research is an important aspect of the School’s mission. Therefore, all faculty (including those faculty members with smaller research apportionments) must make continuous contributions in research activity.

Examples of Ratings of Research Records for Promotion from Associate to Full Professor of Practice for an FTE apportioned for Research of 10%. This rubric assumes consideration of scholarly products starting after the Associate Professor rank begins.

Service is outreach or engagement by SGIS faculty for the purpose of contributing to the public good of the academe/profession, the College, the University, and community. SGIS faculty are expected to demonstrate commitment to service over the course of 6-7 years. We recognize that certain service appointments and duties require more commitment, time and dedication, which is why we will assess and evaluate service components differently through use of a detailed rubric. Different service components are weighed differently, and the scores will be based directly on evidence of this service.

Examples of Ratings of Service Records for Promotion from Associate to Full Professor of Practice for an FTE apportioned for Service of 10%. These are not exhaustive examples and we recognize a broad combination of various ways in which service is demonstrated. This rubric assumes consideration of service leadership starting after the Associate Professor rank begin