Glendale Community College Plan

 

 

 

The College Plan cultivates participation in decision-making between the faculty and the administration at Glendale Community College.  A primary goal of the College Plan is to facilitate a collegial working environment and to promote effective communication.  The College Plan is intended to be consistent with the Residential Faculty Policy (RFP).

 

 

I.                   College Organization

 

The college employs the minimum amount of administration necessary for optimal college functioning.

 

II.                Department/Division Chairs

 

Department Chairs are full-time faculty members as defined in the RFP who carry out certain administrative functions as described below in the Roles and Responsibilities of Chairs.  Only department members are eligible to be Chairs, i.e., a full-time faculty member certified to teach at least one of the disciplines in that department.

 

A.                Procedures for Selecting Department Chairs:

 

1.                  Department Chairs are elected to a three-year term of office.  There shall be no limitation on the number of terms that a Department Chair may serve.

2.                  Candidates for the position of Department Chair, and those eligible to vote in elections, must be full-time appointive or provisional faculty members whose responsibilities are more than fifty percent within the departments holding the elections.

3.                  The selection process for chairs will begin during the last academic year of the three-year term.  The College President will notify all faculty members that the terms of the incumbent Chairs will expire at the end of the following Spring semester and will call for nominations in the first week of November of that academic year.  The nominations will be considered closed the Friday before the week of Thanksgiving.  The President will provide faculty members with a form with which to submit nominations.  Department members may self-nominate or may be nominated by another department member with the Chair candidate's permission.

4.                  The week prior to Thanksgiving, a secret ballot will be distributed to each department member, including those on sabbatical leave and/or academic leave.  Members of the department will vote for only one candidate.  These ballots will be cast by Wednesday of the last week of regularly scheduled classes in the Fall semester.  The candidate receiving a simple majority of the votes cast will be elected.  The ballots will be counted by the College President or designee and the Senate President or designee.  The Senate President must designate someone else to count if he/she is running for Department Chair.

5.                  The College President will announce results upon the completion of balloting.

6.                  In the case that no one receives a majority or there is a tie, a runoff will be held between the two candidates who received the most votes.  At least a week, but not more than two weeks, will be provided for each balloting.  The same counting procedure as stated above will be used (4).

7.                  If the second ballot does not determine the Department Chair, the College President will select a Department Chair from that slate.

8.                  If for any reason a Department Chairpersonship becomes vacant during the Fall or Spring semesters before the term of office expires, the vacancy for the remainder of the term will be filled immediately.  The department will have one week to submit candidates, and then one week to vote.  The ballots will be counted as stated above (4).  If there is a tie or no one receives a simple majority, then the procedures as stated above will be used (6, 7).

9.                  If for any reason a Department Chairpersonship becomes vacant during the summer, the Assistant Chair(s) will select among themselves an acting chair until the start of the next semester when elections can be held by the above procedure (8).  If there isn't an Assistant Chair then the College President will appoint a temporary Chair until the start of the next semester when elections can be held by the above procedure (8).

10.              A Department Chairperson's tenure of office may be terminated at any time by the President or by a petition bearing a two-thirds majority of the department's members.

11.              Contested interpretation of the procedures will be decided by a committee composed of the College President, the Dean of Instruction, the Senate President, the Senate Vice-President, and a faculty member chosen by the Senate.  This committee may seek additional information from other district employees as deemed necessary.  This statement should not be construed as restricting the College President's ability to act independently in accordance with legal considerations.

 

B.                Roles and Responsibilities of Department Chairs:

 

This College Plan allows for early selection of Chairs in order to provide first-time Department Chairs the opportunity to be mentored for a semester by the out-going Department Chair or some other experienced person.  Furthermore, persons who will be Chairs for the first time shall be given a minimum of three hours of reassigned time during the Spring semester prior to their taking office.  The purpose of this is to allow them the time necessary to attend Department Chair meetings, to learn the roles and responsibilities first hand, to learn computer programs, and other necessary skills with the out-going Chair.

 

1.                  The Department Chair administers the instructional program and implements college/district policies and procedures, works with the faculty, staff, and Dean, as he/she:

 

a.                  Instructional

 

1.                  Recommends the addition, elimination, and/or change of courses and curricula in accordance with program review, enrollment, articulation, and community needs.

2.                  Monitors, adjusts, and develops the department's schedule as needed.

3.                  Maintains a file of current syllabi, as described in the faculty handbook, for each course currently taught by each residential and adjunct faculty member.

4.                  Establishes and maintains a departmental process for the selection of textbooks.

5.                  Recommends revision to the catalog and promotional materials as needed.

 

b.                  Personnel

 

1.                  Participates in screening and interviewing for full-time faculty and recommends the hiring of staff and part-time faculty for the department.

2.                  Participates in the supervision and evaluation of faculty, staff, and temporary employees.

3.                  Recommends the retention, renewal, and administrative review of residential faculty to the President through the Dean.

4.                  Recommends the retention, advancement, renewal, and dismissal of other personnel to the President through the Dean.

5.                  Serves on or appoints a representative to the Instructional Councils.

6.                  Appoints, as needed, one or more Assistant Department Chairs.

 

c.                   Administrative

 

1.                  Prepares an annual budget plan and develops budget requests in consultation with department members.

2.                  Manages the approved departmental budgets.

3.                  Establishes and maintains a departmental inventory of fixed and movable equipment not covered under the fixed asset inventory.

4.                  Submits required reports in a timely manner.

5.                  Conducts departmental meetings as needed or when requested by members of the department and maintains a meeting summary.

6.                  Establishes and attains, with faculty participation, both departmental goals and the goals of the college strategic plan.

7.                  Fosters faculty awareness of opportunities for faulty involvement in the community and supports faculty involvement in conjunction with the Deans.

8.                  Participates in training programs as needed.

9.                  Performs other departmental functions related to the evolving needs of the college.

10.              Shares with other college personnel a responsibility for maintaining a clean and safe environment in all classrooms, labs, and other work areas.

11.              Shares responsibility with other college personnel for interpersonal communication at all levels including student, faculty, and staff.

12.              Fosters and supports, with faculty, a diversity in teaching and learning concepts, content, and practices.

 

C.                Process for Evaluation of Chairs:

 

The procedure described below is intended to give Department Chairs constructive feedback concerning faculty perceptions of the Chair's administration of the department.  It is intended to facilitate communication within a department and to provide the evaluation process for Chairs described in Appendix D of the RFP.

 

1.                  Department Chairs shall initiate a Spring evaluation of their performance as Department Chair.

2.                  This evaluation is anonymous and is to be distributed to all residential faculty members within the department.

3.                  The purpose of this evaluation is for self-improvement.

 

 

D.                Assistant Department Chairs:

 

The Chairs will select Assistant Chairs.  The Chair and Assistant Chairs will jointly agree upon the roles and responsibilities of the Assistant Chairs.

 

E.                 Instructional Councils:

 

As per the RFP, the Department/Division Chair in collaboration with the residential faculty in the appropriate discipline will designate Instructional Council members.

 

F.                 Reassigned Time and Chairperson Pay:

 

A plan for reassigned time and Chairperson pay, per D.1.7, Colleges with both Divisions and Departments, will be developed by the college residential faculty and submitted to the College President for approval.  The parameters of this plan shall be in general conformity to those outlined in section D.1 in Appendix D.  The Vice Chancellor of Human Resources will review the plan for internal consistency.

 

III.             Process for Evaluation of Administrators:

 

The procedure described below is intended to give Administrators constructive feedback concerning faculty and staff perceptions of how effectively the Administrator is running the college.  It is intended to facilitate communication within the college.

 

A.                The College President and Deans shall initiate a Spring evaluation of their performance as Administrators.

 

B.                 This evaluation is anonymous and is to be distributed to appropriate employees.

 

C.                The purpose of this evaluation is for self-improvement.

 

IV.              Process for Modifying Departments:

 

Any change of existing academic departments will require the consent of the College President in consultation with the Faculty Senate President and the Dean of Instruction.

 

A.                Transition Status

 

A proposal for change shall provide the following:

 

1.      Justification that the restructuring is beneficial to the department, the college, and particularly the students.

2.      Identification of a similarity of issues or common interests that exist among the faculty and teaching disciplines, to ensure a collegial atmosphere.

3.      Description of the budget impact of the proposed reorganization to be prepared with the assistance of the Dean and/or fiscal office.

4.      Preparation of a plan to distribute existing budgets, classrooms, secretarial and other resources so that each of the newly created departments will be able to operate effectively.

 

V.                 Process for Modifying the College Plan:

 

A.                Proposed Change

 

Any employee may present a proposal for change in the College Plan to the Faculty Senate.

 

B.                Process for Change

 

1.                  A simple majority vote of the Faculty Senate is needed for a proposed change in the College Plan to be approved.

2.                  Any changes made by the Senate will be brought to the College President for approval.

3.                  Any changes in the College Plan do not go into effect until both the College President and a simple majority of the Faculty Senate agrees upon the changes.  If the College President does not approve of the faculty proposal, then faculty have the option of resubmitting.            

4.                  All agreed upon changes take effect at the start of the next academic year.