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• Definitions – What is “Governance”?• Chapter 36• How it works on our campus• Things to Know About Faculty Policies &

Procedures (FP&P) and the Implications for Departmental Operations

• Sources/Links

Outline of Presentation

Governance & University Policies and Procedures

Gary Sandefur, DeanNancy Westphal-Johnson, Associate DeanElaine M. Klein, Assistant DeanCollege of Letters and Science

This presentation was given live on October 25, 2012, and was modified into a self-paced presentation. It is part of a series coordinated by L&S Administration, intended to connect L&S faculty and staff with topics and information that may be helpful in their positions. More presentations and information about this series of trainings can be found at https://kb.wisc.edu/ls/page.php?id=25131

What is “Governance”?• From the Latin verb gubernᾱre and Greek kubernan,

meaning “to steer”• Refers to: • the act of governing and the exercise of authority• a method or system of government or management

When people at UW-Madison refer to “Governance,” we’re referring to a different type of management than you would normally find in a corporation or state agency. It is also different from a democratic process (one vote per person) that you would think of in governing the country.

How does Governance work?At UW-Madison, Governance works through:

• Formally established Policies and Procedures• A wide variety of committees with elected and appointed

representation• Many “deciders” in many places, at different levels, with

different responsibilities/authority

Yes, it can be a bit confusing.

These various committees and formally established policies and procedures not only determine who the decision-makers are, but also determine “Who decides who decides.”

Origins of the University

• The fourth act of Wisconsin legislature• The Wisconsin Constitution of 1848, Article X,

Section 6:

“Provision shall be made by law for the establishment of a state university at or near the seat of government, and for connecting with the same, from time to time, such colleges in different parts of the state as the interests of education

may require…”

One of the first acts of the Wisconsin state legislature was to establish the state university. The University of Wisconsin System, as well as UW-Madison, were created through state statutes. That means our university is a statutory institution, compared to some other state universities (for example, University of Michigan) that are established through a state Constitution. Because our university is statutory, it is more tightly managed by the state in comparison to these other universities.

Chapter 36, Wisconsin Statutes• http://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/statutes/statutes/36.pdf

36.09 (4), (4m), and (5) grant various rights related to governance to Faculty, Academic Staff, and Students

36.09(4) FacultyThe faculty of each institution, subject to the responsibilities and powers of the board, the president and the chancellor of such institution, shall be vested with responsibility for the immediate governance of such institution and shall actively participate in institutional policy development. As such, the faculty shall have the primary responsibility for academic and educational activities and faculty personnel matters. The faculty of each institution shall have the right to determine their own faculty organizational structure and to select representatives to participate in institutional governance.

This is a pretty broad range of responsibilities.Since you can interpret almost anything on the academic side of the university to be an academic or educational activity, this statute gives faculty very broad governance power. (The term “Faculty” used in the statutes is also strictly defined as tenure or tenure-track faculty.)

36.09(4m) Academic staff.The academic staff …shall be active participants in the immediate governance of and policy development for the institution. The academic staff members have the primary responsibility for the formulation and review, and shall be represented in the development, of all policies and procedures concerning academic staff members, including academic staff personnel matters. The academic staff members of each institution shall have the right to organize themselves …and to select their representatives to participate in institutional governance.

This is a more narrow range of rights & responsibilities.

Academic Staff governance was added to the statutes much later. Academic Staff shall be ‘active participants’ in governance (not primarily responsible). Their primary governance responsibility is with issues related to their status as academic staff. These issues include job titles, defining grievance procedures, defining dismissal, layoff, and are outlined in Academic Staff Policies and Procedures.

36.09(5) StudentsThe students …shall be active participants in the immediate governance of and policy development for such institutions. As such, students shall have primary responsibility for the formulation and review of policies concerning student life, services and interests. Students in consultation with the chancellor and subject to the final confirmation of the board shall have the responsibility for the disposition of those student fees …the right to organize themselves …and to select their representatives to participate in institutional governance.

This is even more narrow.

Students have primary governance responsibility for issues regarding student life. All of these sections to the statutes mean that faculty, academic staff, and students are on a lot of committees around campus. Classified staff are included on many committees, but at this point they do not have statutory governance rights. In the new HR Design project, one goal is to formally establish institutional level governance for classified staff.

What is “Faculty Policies & Procedures” (FP&P)? Why is it important?• FPP& P is a faculty document that enacts the faculty’s broad

responsibility “for immediate governance” of the university• FP&P articulates procedures for the faculty’s “primary

responsibility for academic and educational activities and faculty personnel matters”.

• This “academic side” is distinct from the “business side” of the university

FP&P is a document that goes into great detail about faculty rights, faculty responsibilities, how academic departments should be formed, who’s in charge of them, the process for tenure, and many additional policies and procedures.

UW-MADISON

More like a state agency or corporation

Business ServicesAuxiliary Enterprises

such as Housing, Memorial Union, etc.

Physical Plant

Governance

STATUTORY Faculty

Faculty Policies and ProceduresUniversity

Committee/Faculty Senate

Academic Departments

Academic Planning Councils

STATUTORYAcademic StaffAcademic Staff

Policies and Procedures

Academic Staff Executive

Committee/Academic Staff

AssemblyCollege Councils on

Academic Staff

STATUTORYStudents

Associated Students of Madison (ASM)

NOT STATUTORYClassified StaffCouncil for Non-

Represented Classified Staff

L&S Classified Staff Issues Committee

Institutional Governance as part

of HR Design

And FP&P establishes Academic Departments. The university is a very decentralized campus, and many decisions are made at the department level.

Two Sides / One University

Finally, FP&P establishes a University Planning Council (UAPC) and Academic Planning Councils in each school or college. Any new programs must go through the UAPC, and sometimes the UW System. The L&S APC meets twice a month, and the Dean brings to that any major budgetary or administrative issue.

Academic Staff is governed by Academic Staff Policy & Procedures, and responsibility for statutory governance is mainly regarding academic staff issues.

There is an Academic Staff Executive Committee that also meets with the Provost weekly, an Academic Staff Assembly, which is elected, and the College Councils on Academic Staff, which comes together every month.

The academic side of the university, however, uses a faculty governance model, as determined by the state statutes, and outlined in Faculty Policies and Procedures.

FP&P establishes the Faculty Senate, an elected body of faculty members from across the university. Any academic changes that would affect the whole university must go to the University Committee and be voted upon by the Faculty Senate.

Faculty have established Faculty Policies and Procedures (FP&P). FP&P establishes the University Committee, which is a group of six faculty members that meet every week with the Provost or Chancellor.

Some areas of the university, such as Business Services, are run like other state agencies, and have a more typical organizational hierarchy and decision-making process.

As mentioned earlier, Classified Staff governance is not currently statutory, but the institution has a Council for Non-represented Classified Staff, and staff are on many university committees. L&S has a Classified Staff Issues Committee (CASI), and a goal of the new HR Design is to formalize Classified Staff institutional governance rights, in a similar way to Academic Staff.

The statutory interest of students is represented by Associated Students of Madison. For committees that include a student representative, ASM will typically appoint a student member.

• Faculty Senate• University Committee• University Academic Planning Council• Divisional Executive Committees• Many standing committees (including a “committee on

committees”!)• Secretary of the Faculty

• Academic Staff Assembly• Academic Staff Executive Committee (ASEC)• Many standing committees• Secretary of the Academic Staff

• Associated Students of Madison

UW-Madison GovernanceIf you look at the committees required by governance, it makes up a several page booklet, and involves the work of hundreds of people.

Most of these committees were mentioned on the previous page, with the exception of the Divisional Executive Committees. At the campus level, there are Divisional Executive Committees for the Biological Sciences, Physical Sciences, Social Sciences, and Arts & Humanities. These are the groups that makes decisions on all tenure cases (after the department and school/college approval).

If you’re unsure about what governance process an issue or item should go through, staff in L&S Administration can help!

These governance rules do mean that faculty have more authority and power on campus than staff, and that Academic Staff have more statutory authority rights than Classified Staff. Different departments handle this in different ways. It is possible to find ways to involve Academic Staff and Classified Staff in the governance of the department. If you would like to see models of how other departments have done this, please contact one of the presenters or your divisional associate dean.

The Secretary of the Faculty helps coordinate issues relating to the Divisional Committees and FP&P.

Advisory Groups

“Governance” is expanding to include formally established advisory groups, often at the school/college or department level:• Council for Non-Represented Classified Staff• Classified Staff Issues Committees• Committee on Academic Staff Issues• Graduate Student Collaborative

Some of these groups exist at the campus level alone, others at the campus and college level

The Committee on Academic Staff Issues (CASI) and Classified Staff Issues Committee (CSIC) are advisory groups that meet regularly with the Dean about staff issues. The committees communicate to the Dean issues staff are concerned about, and the Dean shares relevant information as well.

To encourage communication and sharing of information, the L&S Dean also regularly holds listening sessions, and invites all members of the L&S community to attend.

Graduate students have most of their rights through their student status. The Graduate School also has the Graduate School Collaboratives.

Other considerations• We are highly decentralized – departments make many

decisions• We have a consultative culture• Consultation contributes to a positive culture (even if

everyone doesn’t get his/her own way)• Some decisions start locally and move up a chain of

approval

UW-Madison is one of the most decentralized schools in the country. Decentralization starts at the UW System level, which allows each university and college in the system to have quite a bit of autonomy about what they do and how they do it.

Decentralization continues down to the department level. Departments have a great deal of autonomy in departmental concerns and determining how to best use their budget to fulfill their mission to the college and the university (Many undergraduates in other schools and colleges take a large number of credits in L&S, and departments must meet this need as well). Faculty in the department also have autonomy to elect their chair and to develop ‘local’ rules for running the department.

Things to Know about FP&P1. Where to find it.

The Secretary of the Faculty maintains the current version of Faculty Policies and Procedures.

http://secfac.wisc.edu/governance/FPP/Table_of_Contents.htm

It’s helpful to be familiar with FP&P because so many of the policies and procedures we follow are required and documented in FP&P, and it influences many things that happen in departmental and college processes.

http://secfac.wisc.edu/governance/FPP/Table_of_Contents.htm

You can see by this list of Chapter titles how much FP&P lays out the academic organization of the department and the university.

Things to Know about FP&P2. It covers a wide range of topics.For example, FP&P…

• Defines “the faculty” (“all persons who hold the rank of professor, associate professor, assistant professor, or instructor with at least a one-half time appointment in UW-Madison, or with a full-time appointment jointly between UW-Madison and UW-Extension”)

• Defines “departments” (collection of faculty around a common field of interest)

• Explains who can be Chancellor or Vice-Chancellor (must hold tenured faculty rank)

• Lists faculty rights and responsibilities

Instructor also has a specific definition, of someone that has been hired as assistant professor but has not yet completed a PhD.

Faculty Responsibilities…Academic administration• Setting the academic calendar, requirements for admission, requirements for

graduation, titles of degrees, commencement, convocation• Honorary degrees• Intercollegiate athletics• Student (academic) misconduct and administration of student discipline

Personnel policies that affect faculty• Recruitment, appointment, and review of performance; hearing dismissal

cases; dealing with allegations of misconduct or violation of rules or policies; grievances; “outside interests” and conflicts of interest; layoff and termination if a financial emergency is declared

Governance• Creation and adoption of rules and regulations for the conduct of faculty

proceedings, and to establish faculty committees to do any and all of the work listed above

Any changes to, for example, the academic calendar or the requirements for admission, must go through faculty governance channels.

Faculty Responsibilities…

Responsibilities• teaching, research or other scholarly activity appropriate to the

discipline, and public service• professional honesty, integrity• to seek knowledge and to share knowledge freely with others• duties assigned by department• share in the governance of the institution, including attending

departmental, college and university faculty meetings

Rights• Constitutional rights (US and WI), Academic Freedom,

Academic Responsibility• Professional behavior standards, academic due process and just cause,

and rights granted by policies and procedures

Faculty should be sharing their research and professional knowledge of their discipline as well. When you notice faculty gone for conferences or presentations, this is part of their responsibilities.

For example, faculty have a responsibility to teach courses as assigned by the departments, even if it’s not their preference (though colleagues can usually come to agreements about teaching).

They also have a responsibility to participate in departmental governance.

Things to Know about FP&P3. It creates certain structures.University LevelFaculty Senate, University Committee, University Academic Planning Council, Divisional Executive Committees

School/College LevelSenateAcademic Planning Council (with “divisional representation)

Department LevelDepartments (and who may be in departments)Executive Committees (and who may be on the EC)Department Chair (and how the chair is elected)

FP&P dictates what a department is, who may be in the department, who may be on the Executive Committee, and how the Chair is elected (as well as duties required of the chair).

Things to Know about FP&P4. Only certain people can do some jobs.Department Faculties• Consist of university faculty members with probationary, tenure, or joint

governance appointments; may vote on academic matters• The Executive Committee may invite members of academic staff to vote

and participate in some departmental meetings• May establish rules that allow them to seek advice of others

Executive Committees• Tenured faculty with 50% or greater appointment in the department, or

who have 50% or less appointment but who were sponsored by the department, or who are granted joint executive appointment by the Executive Committee

• If retired, they need at least a 20% AY appointment as academic staff

Department Chair• Elected from the department faculty, by the department faculty, but

votes are advisory to the Dean

You’ll notice membership in department Executive Committees is fairly narrow. The Executive Committee is empowered to invite others to participate in departmental meetings for consultations and may determined if these guests may also participate and vote.

Things to Know about FP&P5. Certain bodies do certain jobs.Department Faculties• Immediate governance over the interests of the department• All decisions not vested in Executive Committee• Election to express preference for Chair, appointed by Dean

Executive Committees• Personnel matters (review and make recommendations)• Budget (including salary/merit)

Department Chair• “Executive of the Department”• Official channel of communication, reports to Dean• Responsible for ensuring records (teaching, research, service, course

proposal) are kept • Handles emergencies until department/exec comm can meet

The main method of communication between departments and L&S Administration is through the Divisional Associate Deans and the chairs. So, Divisional Associate Deans and L&S Admin staff will typically share information for departments through the chairs, and will include the chair in most email communication about department concerns as well.

Things to Know about FP&P6. We are a sunshine state.• Meetings are subject to State of Wisconsin open meetings

law• Some types of discussions may held in “closed session” by

the Executive Committee• Meetings generally follow Robert’s Rules of Order; however,

departments can define more appropriate local operating rules (as long as they don’t conflict with FP&P)

Open meeting laws apply to committee meetings related to governance, just as it does to other meetings (unless they are closed for a particular reason). Open meeting laws give rights to individuals to observe, but do not give individuals the right to participate or speak in the meetings.

Executive Committees are often primarily concerned with personnel and budget matters related to salaries. Given the confidential nature of some of these issues, they may be held in closed session more than other types of committees.

State Budgetary ProcessThe campus budget is allocated by the state and split into three areas:

• Operating Budget• Budget for Capital Projects• Third part that involves the pay plan

The operating budget is what we think of as “Fund 101.”This is money that comes from the state’s contribution and tuition revenue.

The legislature and governor are responsible for establishing a pay plan for all state employees including employees of the university. Historically, we have not had the authority to establish our own pay plan, though this may change with our personnel system. In January or February the governor releases the proposed budget, and it will have an allocation

for the UW System and UW-Madison. That budget will be discussed and debated in the legislature. Hopefully by the beginning of the fiscal year we have a new budget (although that doesn’t always happen).

Many other state universities are given one budget, and can determine how to spend in each of the areas. UW-Madison’s funding is sectioned into these three areas by the state, which therefore somewhat limits budget flexibility.

This capital budget hasn’t been shrinking as much, because the state can use bonding to borrow money to build buildings. It’s been easier to get money to build buildings than it has been to maintain the size of our operating budget.

Thank you for your attention!Questions? Comments?

Contact the presenters:

Nancy Westphal-Johnson – westphal@ls.wisc.edu

Elaine M. Klein – emklein@ls.wisc.edu

This concludes the presentation. If you have feedback about the presentation, please email Kimbrin Cornelius at klcornelius@ls.wisc.edu. More presentations from this training series can be found at https://kb.wisc.edu/ls/page.php?id=25131