HBJD By-Laws Revised 01/09/2018

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Human Behavior, Justice, and DiversityDepartment Bylaws

Additional information can be found in the UW-Superior Unclassified Staff Handbook ( Where appropriate, reference has been made to relevant UW-Superior (identified as UW-Sup) and UW-System (identified as UWS) policies. These HBJD Department Bylaws will be amended, as needed, to maintain alignment with any changes to UW-Superior or UW-System policies.

Table of Contents

Page
Faculty Peer and Faculty Status / 2
Faculty Peer / 2
Faculty Status / 2
Definition of Programs / 2
Balloting and Decision-Making / 2
Absolute Majority / 2
Quorum / 2
Open and Closed Meetings / 2
Department Chair Advisory Elections / 2
Policies for Personnel Decisions / 3
Composition of the Departmental Personnel Committee / 3
Criteria for Personnel Decisions / 4
Portfolio / 4
Nonrenewal / 4
Annual Faculty Performance Evaluation / 4
Annual Instructional Academic Staff Evaluation / 4
Post-Tenure Review / 5
Roles and Responsibilities of Faculty Peers / 5
Workload / 5
Respectful Dialogue / 6
Student Evaluation of Instruction / 6
Syllabus Construction / 6
Standing Committees / 7
Program Criteria and Justifications for Retention, Tenure, and Promotion
First Nations Studies / 8
Legal Studies/Criminal Justice / 10
Psychology / 16
Social Work / 19

Faculty Peer and Faculty Status

Faculty Peer. A “faculty peer” is any person in the department who holds the rank of professor, associate professor, assistant professor, or instructional academic staff.

Faculty Status. If the appointment is for 50% or greater, the appointee is granted “faculty status” and is expected to participate in program and departmental matters, and may vote in non-personnel program and departmental issues. Faculty status does not confer rank or tenure, or convert an instructional academic staff appointment into a faculty appointment (see UWS 1.05).

If the instructional academic staff appointment is for less than 50%, the appointee may be invited, but not expected, to participate in departmental governance, though it does not include voting rights.

Definition of Program. We recognize the four unique academic disciplines that make up the HBJD Department as programs: First Nations Studies, Legal Studies & Criminal Justice, Psychology, and Social Work. Personnel and curricular decisions (and any others as agreed upon by the Department) will originate at the program level and then come to the Department for discussion and/or action.

Balloting and Decision-Making

Absolute majority vote shall determine the outcome of decisions for which departmental votes are made. Absolute majority vote is defined as 51% of votes cast.

Quorum has been defined as 50% of the department being present. A quorum shall be present in order to conduct a formal vote or take formal action on departmental matters.

Closed and Open Meetings:

  • To be congruent with the Wisconsin Open Meeting Law, all program and departmental meetings are to be posted as open.
  • The postings for such meetings should note that reconvening as a closed meeting is a possibility.
  • Meetings will be posted in accordance with UWS requirements.
  • This includes, but is not limited to, program meetings, department meetings, grievance committee meetings, personnel meetings, search and screen committee meetings, and meetings of student groups.
  • If a meeting is addressing confidential personnel or student material, after it is convened, it should be closed and then reconvened as a closed meeting.
  • Exceptions can be made for a meeting called to address unforeseen circumstances or difficulties.

Department Chair Advisory Election(UW-Sup 3.3.1.3). Any department member holding the rank of Assistant Professor or higher may serve as chair. Prior to the election, the Dean of Faculties will prepare a ballot containing the names of departmental members who are eligible to serve as chair. This ballot is distributed to the department members who are eligible to vote in the advisory election; all department members holding at least a half-time faculty appointment and those members of instructional academic staff granted faculty status by the department may cast ballots in the advisory election. The completed ballots are returned to the Dean of Faculties, who tabulates the results of the election and submits them with a recommendation to the Provost. The Provost submits the results and a recommendation to the Chancellor. If the Chancellor does not concur with the outcome of the election, the Dean will be asked to conduct another advisory election.

Policies for Personnel Decisions

The formal review of retention, promotion and tenure personnel decisions will have its genesis at the program level while annual faculty performance evaluations and post-tenure reviews will begin at the Department level; faculty from each program area within the Department will bear the initial professional responsibility to carefully review these materials. After such a review, the program coordinator for each program is to forward a written recommendation to the HBJD Department Personnel Committee (hereafter called “Committee”) regarding each case to be considered. The Committee will then review both the materials and the program recommendation to the department.

Each tenured, voting member of the Department has the professional obligation to carefully consider portfolio materials submitted to the Department for personnel decisions, noting any questions, concerns, expectations, and/or positive areas of feedback to be shared with the candidate.

The specific procedures regarding the timeline and requirements for retention, tenure, and promotion, decisions can be found in the HBJD Department Handbook. The HBJD Department Handbook is to be updated to maintain alignment with any campus or System-level procedure changes for personnel actions.

Composition of the Departmental Personnel Committee. The tenured faculty with at least 50% appointment in the Department shall serve as both Program and Departmental Personnel Committee members for all reviews: retention, tenure, promotion, post-tenure and annual evaluation/salary adjustment decisions. The Department Chair shall serve as Chair of the Committee. Non-tenured faculty and instructional academicstaff in both the Program and Department are considered non-voting members of the Committee.

For retention and tenure decisions, pursuant to rule UW-Sup 3.06.2, “only tenured peer faculty shall be present at the decision-making meeting unless the faculty member being evaluated requests an open meeting, subject to the provisions of the Wisconsin Open Meeting Law.” If a tenured peer faculty member is unable to attend the meeting, then he/she may participate and vote via teleconference or videoconference. A minimum of three tenured faculty are needed for retention and tenure decisions. If the department does not have sufficient members that meet this criteria, the Personnel Council will provide members to serve in this capacity (see UW-Sup 3.06.3b).

For promotion decisions, only those tenured members of the Department who are at-rank or at higher rank will serve on the HBJD Department Personnel Committee. A minimum of three tenured, at-rank faculty are needed for promotion decisions. If the Department does not have sufficient members that meet these criteria, the Personnel Council will provide members to serve in this capacity.

Criteria for Personnel Decisions. Rank definitions and the written criteria for personnel decisions are defined by program bylaws in later sections in this document. Personnel decisions require an evaluation of teaching, scholarship, and professional and public service as well as contribution to the Institution.

Portfolio. Each faculty and instructional academic staff person with at least a 50% appointment in the department to be reviewed for a personnel action (including annual review/salary adjustment) will submit a portfolio of materials. The format and content of that portfolio are to follow the portfolio guidelines established by the University Personnel Council and Provost’s Office and are to provide strong evidence to support the personnel action s/he is requesting. These portfolio materials are to be submitted to the Program for program-level review at least one week before that review; they are to be submitted to the Department at least one week prior to the departmental review meeting.

Non-Renewal. The Department will adhere to the UW-Superior and UW System policies and procedures for consideration and notification of non-renewal of probationary faculty or renewable instructional academic staff (see UWS 3.07 and UW-Sup 3.07). Should a probationary faculty or renewable instructional academic staff member wish to appeal a non-renewal decision, they should refer to UW-Sup 3.08 for guidance on the process.

Annual Faculty Performance Evaluation(historically referred to as ‘salary review’) meetings are centered at the departmental level, rather than the program level and are conducted annually.

  • The criteria for review are those established by the university: merit, satisfactory and unsatisfactory.
  • The same criteria for retention/promotion decisions described in Program bylaws shall apply to annual faculty performance evaluations.
  • For annual faculty performance evaluation, persons who have already been considered in that academic year for retention, tenure or promotion may use the presentations and materials submitted for those purposes, rather than submitting to an additional review.
  • Each peer is to receive his or her own motion relating to the annual faculty performance evaluation.
  • All annual faculty performance evaluation presentations shall:
  • Be succinct, 5 minute summaries of strengths and areas for development, goals and objectives for the coming academic year, and shall focus on progress and accomplishments for only the review period
  • Department members will discuss the material and presentation of each faculty member under annual evaluation, offering feedback and suggestions. The member under review will be an active participant in this discussion; this discussion is to be concise and provide the faculty person specific ideas regarding strengths and suggestions.

Annual Instructional Academic Staff Evaluation. All renewable instructional academic staff with 50% or greater appointment in the Department will complete an annual performance evaluation. The staff member under review will complete a modified portfolio, adapting the key areas (teaching, scholarship, and service) as appropriate to their contractual responsibilities.

The annual evaluation of renewable instructional academic staff will have a genesis at the program level; faculty peers in the program area will be responsible for carefully reviewing the evaluation materials. The program coordinator will forward a written recommendation to the Department Chair, who will also be responsible for attending the program review meeting. The Department Chair and staff member will then complete the necessary consultation and evaluation paperwork, and submit to Human Resources, according to the University’s deadlines.

Post-Tenure Review. In compliance with UWS 7.4.2, tenured faculty in the Department will undergo periodic post-tenure review every 5 years. The faculty peer under review will:

  • Develop a Portfolio, per the criteria established by their program, and make it available to the Department at least one week in advance of their post-tenure review meeting
  • Present a succinct 15 to 20 minute presentation of their professional accomplishments during the review period and identifying areas for development. The faculty member will also identify goals and objectives for the next 5 year period.
  • Department members will discuss the material and presentation of the faculty person under review, offering feedback and noting strengths and areas of development.
  • A Committee member will make one of two motions:
  • Meets expectations: This category is awarded to those tenured faculty members whose performance reflects the expected level of accomplishment.
  • Does not meet expectations: This category is awarded to those tenured faculty members whose performance reflects a level of accomplishment below the expected level and which requires correction. All reviews resulting in “does not meet expectations,” unless overturned upon further review, will result in a remediation plan.
  • The Department Chair will be responsible for writing a summary of the departmental discussion and will forward the summary, meeting minutes, and appropriate paperwork to the appropriate body for the next level of review.

Should a remediation plan (oftentimes referred to as a ‘professional improvement plan’) be needed, the Department Chair (or designee, if the faculty member under review is the Department Chair) and Dean of Faculties shall work with the faculty member under review to develop a written plan for professional development to address all issues identified in the review. Additional details regarding the timeline and process for a remediation plan can be found in the UW-Superior post-tenure review documentation. The remediation plan shall continue no longer than 3 semesters (per UW System policy); depending on the length of the remediation plan, the faculty member under review and the Department Chair will determine whether intermediate updates to the Department are necessary (and will schedule those, if needed). The process for determination of the successful completion of the remediation plan is detailed in the UW-Superior post-tenure review policy document.

Role and Responsibilities of Faculty Peers

Work Load.The quantifiable criteria for defining a full-time tenure track or tenured appointment for faculty are 12 semester credit hours of teaching or the equivalent and maintaining a minimum of five office hours per week. Tenure-track faculty in their first year of service will have a 3-credit release in their first semester, to accommodate participation in the Promoting Excellence in Teaching and Learning (PETL) series. After the first year of employment, faculty members are expected to carry academic advisement responsibilities, as well as Committee assignments as per each Program’s rules.

Academic Staff appointments in the Department usually take the form of renewable instructional academic staff (Lecturer or Senior Lecturer), but may also take other forms such as Research Associate. The quantifiable criteria for full-time instructional academic staff are 15 semester credit hours of teaching or the equivalent and maintaining a minimum of five office hours per week. Office hour expectations for part-time appointments will be adjusted according to the percentage of appointment.

Faculty peers are to be reasonably available to their colleagues for consultation and/or meetings and to respond to communications in a timely manner.

Faculty peers are responsible for productive and reasonable participation in curricular planning and review, student learning assessment, educational activities (as applicable), program reporting and documentation, performance evaluation, and department governance.

Respectful Dialogue.The Department acknowledges that difficult curricular, budgetary, and personnel decisions must be made, at times, and that differing opinions will exist and deserve voice. The Department expects that members will engage in civil and productive discourse, maintaining professionalism and respect in the midst of challenging conversations.

Student Evaluation of Instruction. Departmental faculty and instructional academic staff are responsible for conducting student evaluations of all courses taught, according to the following schedule and policies:

  • Faculty in their first two years will conduct both midterm and final evaluations for each course each semester.
  • Faculty in their third year (or longer) will conduct evaluations for each course each semester.
  • Instructional academic staff will conduct final evaluations for each course each semester and, in their first year of service (for their first ten courses taught), will conduct a midterm evaluation as well.
  • Formats and data collection methods to be used in these evaluations are to be selected by the faculty or instructional academic staff and approved by the program area.
  • A program may opt to require its entire faculty to use a particular evaluation, format or delivery method (for example, online surveys).

Syllabus Construction. All faculty and instructional academic staff will ensure that syllabi align with the course syllabus guidelines established by the Dean of Faculties. In addition, faculty and instructional academic staff will provide the ‘Student Information and Syllabus Attachment’ document (this can be shared electronically). Both documents can be found here:

Standing Committees. The only standing committee in the Department is the HBJD Department Personnel Committee, as previously defined. If an additional standing committee is needed, the Department will form it through self-nomination, discussion, and vote. If appropriate, a priority will be given to ensuring representation from each program. The Department will develop a charge and timeline for the work of the standing committee. The standing committee will be dissolved when the department determines the charge has been completed or is no longer needed.

(Revised and passed by HBJD on 02/21/2017)

Program Criteria and Justification for Retention, Tenure and Promotion

First Nations Studies Program

  1. Area of Consideration and Levels of Importance
  2. Teaching - most weight. 40%
  3. Professional and Public Service - second. 30%
  4. Research - third. 20%
  5. Contribution to University Community - fourth. 10%
  1. Retention
  2. Teaching - Indication of strong performance based on student and peer evaluation, contribution to the First Nations Studies curriculum, support to fellow staff.
  3. Professional and Public Service - Documentation of service to the community in the form of speaking engagements, workshop, consultations, and involvement with the Center’s effort to promote cultural awareness.
  4. Research - Evidence of scholarly activities such as publication, advanced education, presentations, and service to advancement of the area of cultural awareness and community relations.
  5. Contributions to University Community - Service on committees at all levels and service on the Center’s efforts to bridge curriculum development and cultural needs at the University level.
  1. Hiring and Promotion
  2. Instructor
  3. Education – Masters in American Indian Studies/First Nations Studies or other related discipline in combination with cultural training and experience
  4. Teaching – 3 years at university level teaching preferred
  5. Research – Evidence of scholarly activity such as work toward aPh.D., articles, books, or presentations
  6. Service – Indication of commitment to university and community.
  7. Assistant Professor
  8. Education – Masters in American Indian Studies/First Nations Studies or other related discipline in combination with cultural training and experience.
  9. Teaching experience - Minimum of three years university level teaching experience.
  10. Research - Evidence of scholarly activity like publication of books, articles, workshops, or conference materials.
  11. Service - Indication of service to the university and community in the form of awards, committee work, curriculum development, and development of cultural awareness of Native Americans.
  12. Associate Professor
  13. Education –Masters in American Indian Studies/First Nations Studies or other related discipline in combination with cultural training and experience.
  14. Teaching experience - Minimum of five years University level teaching and advising with a solid performance level.
  15. Research - Evidence of scholarly work, and/or publication particularly in the area of Native American cultural awareness or Native American Studies.
  16. Service - A documented record of serving the university and community through committee work and staff development in the area of cultural awareness of Native Americans.
  17. Professor
  18. Education – Masters in American Indian Studies/First Nations Studies or other related discipline in combination with cultural training and experience.
  19. Teaching experience - 10 years of university level teaching experience with a documented record of excellence in the classroom.
  20. Professional Service - Proven leadership to the university and the field of First Nations Studies.
  21. Research - Demonstrated record of publication, contribution, articles, books, chapters, workshops, classes or conferences in the area of Native American studies.
  22. Post-Tenure - Faculty member must demonstrate satisfactory progress through a post-tenure development plan guided by the department.
  1. Tenure
  2. Education – Masters in American Indian Studies/First Nations Studies or other related discipline in combination with cultural training and experience.
  3. Teaching - Five years of university level teaching experience with an indication of strongperformance in the classroom as evidenced by evaluations, awards, contribution to the Center, and curriculum development.
  4. Professional and Public Service - Demonstrated history of service to the university and community such as committees, being a consultant, public speaking on Native American issues, publication, and involvement in professional organizations.
  5. Research - Evidence of scholarly activity such as continuing education, participation in conferences, workshops, curriculum development, and publication.

(Revised and passed by HBD on 05/12/2014)