University of Wisconsin Colleges

Department of Mathematics

 

Bylaws

 

 (Last revised April 22, 2006)

 

 

 

Table of Contents

 

I.           Introduction

II.          Department Structure

A.      Membership             

                                                                          1.      Voting membership

B.       Department Chair

                                                                          1.      Election

                                                                          2.      Term.

                                                                          3.      Duties and responsibilities

C.       Standing Committees:

                                                                          1.      Executive Committee

a.        Membership

b.       Term

c.        Duties and responsibilities

                                                                          2.      Curriculum Committee

a.        Membership

b.       Term

c.        Duties and responsibilities

                                                                          3.      Grievance Committee

a.        Membership

b.       Term

c.        Procedures and guidelines

D.      Ad hoc Committees

                                                                          1.      Appointments Committee

a.        Membership

b.       Term

c.        Duties and responsibilities

d.       Procedures and guidelines.

                                                                          2.      Professional Development and Grants Committee

a.        Membership

b.       Term

c.        Duties and responsibilities

d.       Procedures and guidelines

                                                                          3.      Instructional Technology Committee

a.        Membership

b.       Term

c.        Duties and responsibilities

                                                                          4.      Developmental Mathematics Committee

a.        Membership

b.       Term

c.        Duties and responsibilities

                                                                          5.      Department Assessment Committee

a.        Membership

b.       Term. 

c.        Duties and responsibilities

d.       Procedures and guidelines

                                                                          6.      Other committees

E.        Associate Chairs

                                                                          1.      Appointment

                                                                          2.      Term

                                                                          3.      Duties and Responsibilities

III.        Personnel Procedures and Policies

A.      Faculty

                                                                          1.      Tenure track appointments

a.        Criteria for initial appointments

b.       Mentoring program for new faculty appointments (if applicable)

                                                                          2.      Retention, Tenure and Promotions

                                                                          3.      Tenured Faculty Review and Development Conferences

                                                                          4.      Emeritus status

a.        Procedures

b.       Criteria

B.       Instructional Academic Staff

                                                                          1.      Instructional Academic Staff Appointments

a.        Criteria for initial appointments

                                                                          2.      Evaluation of Instructional Academic Staff

C.       Merit Process

D.      Class Visitations

E.       Evaluation of Faculty by Former Students

IV.      Curriculum

A.      Curricular planning and new course development

B.       Special Topics courses

C.       Independent Study/Reading courses

D.      Workload

E.       Class sizes

F.       Final exams

G.       Placement exams

H.      Final grades

I.         Textbook selection

J.        Credit by Examination

K.      Course prerequisites

L.       Honors course work

M.     Summer teaching

V.       Amending Bylaws

VI.      Proxy and Mail Votes

VII.    Appendices: Operational Guidelines/Processes

A.      Procedures for the Composition of the Executive Committee

B.       Department Grievance Procedures

C.       Criteria for Faculty Appointment, Retention, Promotion and Tenure

D.      Criteria for Instructional Academic Staff Appointments

E.       Classroom Visitation Procedures

F.       Merit Evaluations

G.       Tenured Faculty Review and Development

H.      Instructional Academic Staff Evaluation Procedures

I.         Faculty Evaluation by Former Students

J.        Guidelines for Professional Service

K.      Procedures and Guidelines for Professional Development Grants

 

 

 

I.               Introduction


The following bylaws govern the operation of the Department of Mathematics of the University of Wisconsin Colleges.  They are in addition to the rules, regulations, policies and procedures of the University of Wisconsin System and the University of Wisconsin Colleges.  Parliamentary procedures not specified in these bylaws shall be governed by the latest available edition of ROBERT’S RULES of ORDER.

 

II.             Department Structure

 

A.  Membership

 

 Membership in the department shall consist of all faculty and academic staff with a teaching assignment in mathematics.  Other persons associated with the academic program of the department may be admitted to membership on a semester basis with a two-thirds majority vote of the executive committee of the department.

                               

                              1.      Voting membership

 

All members of the department with at least a 40% appointment in mathematics, at the time of the meeting, have voting rights at that meeting.

 

B.     Department Chair

 

                              1.      Election

 

a.        The Department shall elect a Chair to a three-year term, subject to annual appointment by the UWC Chancellor as prescribed in Chapter 4 of the UWC Constitution. 

 

b.       An election will be held in the fall of the last year of the incumbent chair's term.  If the incumbent is not reelected the chair-elect will work with the incumbent chair during the remainder of the academic year and assume the position of Department Chair on June 1.

 

c.        The department chair, or someone so designated by him/her, should solicit, by letter, nominations for the position of department chair for the following year.  Credentials of nominees (except for the incumbent) should also be solicited and this information distributed to department members prior to the election.

 

d.       In balloting for the department chair, only members present may vote unless the vote is a mail ballot, in which case the entire department shall vote by mail.

 

                              2.      Term

 

The term of the department chair shall be three years. A department chair may be elected to a maximum of two consecutive terms but may be elected to additional nonconsecutive terms.

 

                              3.      Duties and responsibilities

a.        Setting the agenda for meetings.

b.       Presiding over meetings of the Department.

c.        Serving as the chair of the Executive Committee.

d.       Recruiting applicants for vacant positions.

e.        Other matters as directed by the Department or UW Colleges.

 

C.    Standing Committees:

 

                              1.      Executive Committee

 

a.      Membership

 

Membership of the committee shall consist of the department chair and nine other tenured members of the department.  Membership shall be on a rotational basis as described in Appendix A of these bylaws.  The chair will not normally vote but may vote if his/her vote will change the outcome.

 

b.      Term

 

The term of a member shall be three years as described in Appendix A of these bylaws. 

 

c.      Duties and responsibilities

 

                                                         i.      Conduct all departmental evaluations for retention, promotion, and tenure as required by policies and procedures of UW Colleges.

 

                                                        ii.      Conduct merit evaluations of departmental members as required by UW Colleges policies.

 

                                                      iii.      Establish the department rosters determining faculty to be scheduled each year for review according to UW Colleges faculty review and development policies.

 

                                                      iv.      Act on behalf of the department when decisions must be made between scheduled meetings of the department.

 

                                                       v.      Advise the departmental chair on all matters for which such advice is sought.

 

                                                      vi.      Whenever the Executive Committee makes a personnel recommendation regarding an individual, the individual shall be informed immediately.

 

                                                    vii.      Minutes of all Executive Committee meetings shall be distributed to each member of the committee.  Copies of minutes, with specific personnel actions deleted, shall be available to all members of the department who request them.

 

 

                              2.      Curriculum Committee

 

a.      Membership

 

A committee of four members of the department shall be elected to serve as the Curriculum Committee.  The committee shall elect its own chair by majority vote.

 

b.      Term

 

Each member shall be elected for a four-year term.  The terms of members will be staggered so that one member will be elected each year. 

 

c.      Duties and responsibilities

 

                                                         i.      The committee shall annually review the department course offerings.  It shall be responsible for reviewing proposed course modifications and making recommendations to the department for new course offerings, revisions in course descriptions, revisions in course prerequisites, and deletions of courses from the curriculum.

                                                        ii.      The committee upon the request of the Chair and/or department Executive Committee shall review requests for one-time modifications of course prerequisites and make recommendations to the Chair.  Such requests shall be made at least six weeks prior to the beginning of the semester in which the change is requested.

 

 

                              3.      Grievance Committee

 

a.      Membership

 

The members of the Mathematics Department Grievance Committee will be the three Department faculty next in line for membership in the Department Executive Committee.  If a Department member is unable to serve on the Committee in the required rotation, or if, in any grievance, there is a conflict of interest for or a valid objection to any member of the Committee, a replacement for that member will be the faculty member next in line for membership in the Department Executive Committee.  If necessary to resolve conflicts, the Department will elect the Committee member at its next meeting.  If a vacancy must be filled before an election can be held, the Executive Committee will select the Grievance Committee member.  The Department Grievance Committee will elect its own Chair by majority vote.

 

b.      Term

 

The term of a member shall be one year.

 

c.      Procedures and guidelines

 

Grievance procedures and guidelines are set out in Appendix B of these bylaws.

 

 

 

D.    Ad hoc Committees

 

                              1.      Appointments Committee

 

a.      Membership

 

The Department Appointments Committee shall consist of the Department Chair and two members of the Executive Committee elected by the Executive Committee.

 

b.      Term

 

The term of a member shall be one year.

 

c.      Duties and responsibilities

 

It shall be the responsibility of the Appointments Committee to review the credentials of all job applicants and to select those applicants who appear to meet the qualifications for the position(s). 

 

d.      Procedures and guidelines.

 

The list of persons selected by the Department Appointments Committee for consideration for appointment shall be sent to the campus appointment committee(s) by the department chair.

 

 

                              2.      Professional Development and Grants Committee

 

a.      Membership

 

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