Description

Educational Policies Council (EPC)

CLASSIFICATION: Faculty Senate Council

REPORTS TO: Chair of Faculty Senate and Provost

CHARGE: The educational policies council shall be concerned with conceptual and structural aspects of long-range academic planning; overall curricular planning; the arbitration of interdepartmental and intercollegial curricular disputes; the conformity of collegial and departmental curricular programs and proposals to university-wide policies; the establishment, inactivation or significant revisions of academic programs; the establishment or discontinuance of bodies or agencies that are directly related to academic programs; the standards for admission and graduation of students; library policies and facilities; and such matters as may be referred to it by college curriculum committees, advisory councils or the faculty senate that are related to issues that affect undergraduate and graduate education.

An executive body of the council shall prepare the agenda for council meetings and shall transact routine business for the council between meetings. All commissions appointed to consider academic planning for the university shall report to the council.

While the faculty senate may elect to review any or all council actions, it will normally review and take action only on those action items that require further review by the Kent State University Board of Trustees and/or the Ohio Department of Higher Education.

Unless further review is requested by the faculty senate, the educational policies council shall have final approval of the following curricular actions:

1. Lesser revision of a major
2. Establishment, revision or inactivation of a certificate or minor
3. Establishment, revision or inactivation of a major concentration
4. Establishment, revision or inactivation of other academic programs within a college, department or school not specified above
5. Establishment, revision or inactivation of a course
6. Establishment, revision or inactivation of program-specific admission, progression or graduation requirements
7. Establishment, revision or inactivation of an academic policy in a college, department or school

All recommendations of the educational policies council related to the following actions shall be submitted to the faculty senate for approval:

1. Establishment of a new degree, reactivation of a previous degree, revision of an existing degree title or inactivation of an existing degree
2. Establishment of a new major, reactivation of a previous major, substantial revision of an existing major, revision of an existing major title or inactivation of an existing major
3. Establishment, revision or inactivation of a university-level academic program
4. Revision to university-level admission, progression or graduation requirements
5. Establishment, revision or inactivation of an academic university policy, administrative policy, operational policy or procedure
6. Revision to the academic administrative organization of the university (as specified in the faculty senate charter)
7. Long-range planning and/or university strategic planning

Proposals for the inactivation or significant revision of an academic program shall be preceded by a program review conducted according to established procedures in the appropriate college.

The responsibility, authority and structure of the council shall be reviewed once every five years or at any time review may be considered appropriate by majority vote of the whole membership of the council.

COMPOSITION: Membership on the council shall consist of two (2) members of faculty senate; two (2) faculty members from each degree-granting college, preferably one with graduate faculty status and one who teaches undergraduate courses; one (1) faculty member from the university libraries; two (2) college deans; one (1) senior administrator from the office of the provost; and two (2) students, of whom one is an undergraduate student and one is a graduate student. If a degree-granting college does not have the capacity to have two (2) faculty members on the council in a given year, the college is permitted to have one (1) faculty member on the council.

Membership on the executive council shall consist of the following members from the council: two (2) members of faculty senate; two (2) faculty members from degree-granting colleges, preferably one with graduate faculty status and one who teaches undergraduate courses; and one (1) senior administrator from the office of the provost.

The secretary of both the council and executive council shall be from the office of curriculum services without voting privileges.

A quorum shall be a simple majority of the council members. The presence of a quorum is required for the council to take binding action and to vote on substantive matters. There shall be no voting by proxy.

QUALIFICATIONS OF FACULTY MEMBERS: Faculty members of this council shall be full-time faculty with an interest in university curricular planning and development.

TERM: Members appointed by the faculty senate chair-elect shall serve for two years, with new members beginning their term as of July 1. Members elected from each degree-granting college shall serve for one year. Members appointed by the provost or by the academic leadership group shall serve for two years. Members appointed by the university libraries dean or by the student government bodies shall serve for one year.

MEANS OF APPOINTMENT: The faculty senators shall be appointed by the faculty senate chair-elect from the elected representatives on the faculty senate to serve on both the executive council and the council. The chair-elect shall make every effort to provide continuity on the council by replacing approximately one-half of the appointed faculty members each year.

The faculty members from each degree-granting college shall be elected by their respective college curriculum body and/or college graduate coordinating body.

The library faculty member shall be appointed by the dean of university libraries upon consultation with the university libraries advisory committee.

The senior administrator from the office of the provost shall be appointed by the provost. The deans shall be elected by the academic leadership group, chaired by the provost.

The undergraduate student shall be appointed by the undergraduate student government, and the graduate student shall be appointed by the graduate student senate.

ALTERNATES: Members of the council shall not have alternates. If members are unable to fulfill their duties for an extended period of time, their appointing/electing body must appoint/elect another member to serve on the council. When a member has been absent from three consecutive council meetings, the secretary of the council shall notify the executive council of this fact. After reviewing the circumstances and discussing them with the affected member, the executive council may recommend that the member be removed and request that the member’s appointing/electing body appoint/elect another member to serve on the council.