Context
In this post we'll take a look at how faculty governance works here at SUNY Plattsburgh and then the range of Standing Committees at the other SUNY Comprehensives. As a reminder our current bylaws are at:
https://www.plattsburgh.edu/faculty-and-staff/faculty-senate/governance.html
Frequently Asked Questions
Who are the Faculty?
From Article 1, the term "Faculty" refers collectively to academic, administrative, and professional staff. Although colloquially we often use faculty to refer to only teaching faculty, in these discussions I will use it as defined in the Bylaws. Part-time employees may also be part of the voting faculty, it depends on their specific status and recent employment at the college though.
What are the rights and responsibilities of the Faculty?
Basically, Faculty should be active and involved in the college carrying out its mission. There are two caveats: 1) matters that are covered by negotiated agreements (i.e., union contracts ) are out of scope, and 2) shared governance actions are advisory to the chancellor and chief administrative officer of the college.
How is everything organized?
There are a few officers of the Faculty ( Presiding Officer, Supervisor of Elections, UFS Rep, and Bylaws ) and the Faculty Senate. The Faculty Senate is the primary means for carrying out the work we do. In addition to the Senate itself, there are seven Standing Committees. The Standing Committees are where most of the work is accomplished. The Senate oversees the Standing Committees' work and addresses matters that are referred to it from one of the Standing Committees. Each academic school has two committees: Courses and Programs and Faculty Affairs Committees.
What are the Standing Committees and what do they do?
The Standing Committees are:
Executive
Academic Policies
Curricula and Programs
General Education
Resources and Planning
Student Life
Writing Across the Curriculum
Their areas of responsibilities correspond fairly well with their names. Their specific charges are provided in articles 3.5 - 3.12. We can discuss more detailed questions about the committees.
Other SUNY Comprehensives
To get a sense of what shared governance looks like at other places I visited our sister SUNY Comprehensives' webpages to learn about how they are organized. Since most shared governance work is done in the Standing Committees I’ll focus on those here. I found over a hundred standing/permanent committees across twelve comprehensives ( I did not include Empire State because it is not as similar to us as the other comprehensives. )
A disclaimer before we start. This information is only meant as suggestive, not definitive. I spent a limited amount of time collecting the data and I probably made mistakes in the process. I'm happy to publish/update with any clarifications / corrections that you find. A list of links is provided at the end of the post to the websites.
Committee Types
To better make sense of the work being done, the committees are grouped into a few general categories, these are:
Community
Curriculum
Policies
Planning
Infrastructure
Research
Community Committees
About a third of all of the committees I found dealt with supporting different communities within their college.
Three-quarters of colleges had committee(s) that addressed faculty/staff affairs. This was one of the biggest differences between ourselves and the other SUNYs. Locally we have Faculty Affairs committees at the school level, but those are focused on administrative review, and do not have the broader scope that is present at other colleges. Two colleges also have committees specifically for contingent faculty concerns.
A little more than half of the comprehensives had committees that focused on student life/welfare, often with significant student participation.
Half of the comprehensives had committees that oversaw nominations and elections. Here at Plattsburgh, the Executive Committee handles most nominations and there is a Faculty Supervisor of Elections.
Brockport and Purchase have DEI / EDI committees.
Other committees in this area included: Sustainability, Administrative Review, Academic Outreach, Public Events, and Awards.
Academic Faculty Affairs Committee - Cortland
Faculty Affairs - Geneseo
Faculty and Professional Affairs - Fredonia
Faculty Business Committee - Oneonta
Faculty Personnel - Geneseo
Faculty & Professional Staff Policies Committee - Brockport
Faculty/Staff Welfare - Buffalo State
Personnel Policies Council - Oswego
Professional Affairs Committee - Cortland
Professional Leave Review - Geneseo
Appointment, Reappointment, Promotion and Tenure - Old Westbury
Reappointment, Tenure, and Promotion - New Paltz
Staff Affairs - Purchase
Committee on Student Life - Oneonta
Joint Committee on Student Interests - Cortland
Student Affairs - Geneseo
Student Affairs - Potsdam
Student Life - Plattsburgh
Student Policies Committee - Brockport
Student Welfare - Buffalo State
Academic Outreach Council - Oswego
Faculty Rights and Responsibilties - Old Westbury
Bylaws and Elections Committee - New Paltz
By-Laws & Elections - Buffalo State
Nominating - Potsdam
Nominations and Elections Committee - Purchase
Nominations and Elections - Geneseo
Committee for Part-time Faculty Concerns - Oneonta
Contingent Faculty Affairs - Fredonia
Committee on Administrative Review - Oneonta
Committee on Public Events - Oneonta
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee - Purchase
Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee - Brockport
Faculty University Awards - Old Westbury
Honorary Degree and Speaker Committee - Geneseo
Sustainability - New Paltz
Curriculum
The archetype faculty committee is a curriculum committee, and as expected there are numerous curriculum committees. In two cases, Fredonia and Purchase, the curriculum committee is combined with the academic policies committee.
Three-quarters of the comprehensives have a separate general education committee.
Several colleges have separate committees for undergraduate and graduate courses and programs.
Our Writing Across the Curriculum committee is unique as a top-level standing committee.
Two colleges have standing committees on Assessment/Teaching Effectiveness.
Academic Programs and Curriculum - Potsdam
Committee on Instruction - Oneonta
Curriculum and Academic Planning - Old Westbury
Curriculum and Programs - Plattsburgh
Curriculum - Buffalo State
Curriculum Committee - New Paltz
Curriculum Committee - Oneonta
College Curriculum Review - Cortland
Undergraduate Curriculum Council - Oswego
Undergraduate Curriculum - Geneseo
College Assessment Council - Geneseo
Committee on Teaching Effectiveness - Cortland
GE Board (Standing Committee of the Curriculum Committee) - New Paltz
General Education Committee - Cortland
General Education Committee - Geneseo
General Education Committee - Oneonta
General Education Council - Oswego
General Education & Curriculum Policies Committee - Brockport
General Education - Fredonia
General Education - Plattsburgh
Liberal Education - Old Westbury
Graduate Academic Affairs - Geneseo
Graduate Affairs - Potsdam
Graduate Committee - Oneonta
Graduate Council - Fredonia
Graduate Council - Oswego
Graduate Curriculum & Policies Committee - Brockport
Writing Across the Curriculum - Plattsburgh
Policies
Most of the comprehensives have standing committees that consider college-wide policies, especially with respect to academics. In some cases these committees also review curriculum and programs.
Three colleges have standing committees related to admissions and enrollment.
Two other task specific committees are a calendar committee and a grievance committee.
Academic Affairs - Fredonia
Academic Affairs - New Paltz
Academic Policies Council - Oswego
Academic Policies - Plattsburgh
Academic Policies, Standards and Advising - Potsdam
Academic Practices - Old Westbury
Educational Policy Committee - Cortland
Undergraduate Academic Standards - Geneseo
Undergraduate Curriculum & Policies Committee - Brockport
Undergraduate Policies, Core, and Review - Geneseo
Standards for Students - Buffalo State
Academic Calendar Committee - Oneonta
Academic Grievance Tribunal - Cortland
Admission and Student Service Council - Oswego
Admissions - Potsdam
Enrollment Planning & Policies Committee - Brockport
Planning
Most colleges have a standing committee focused on planning, either college wide or focused on academics. Most of these committees have a wide scope of responsibility, but from a cursory review it is difficult to get a sense of the specific work they do.
Academic Plan - Buffalo State
Budget Planning Committee - Purchase
Budget Priorities Committee - Geneseo
Budget & Staff Allocations - Buffalo State
Business Affairs - Potsdam
Committee on Academic Planning and Resource Allocation - Oneonta
Faculty Budget and Resource Allocation - Geneseo
Goals and Planning - Potsdam
Planning and Budget Advisory - Fredonia
Priorities and Planning Council - Oswego
Resources and Planning - Plattsburgh
Strategic Planning and Assessment Committee - Purchase
Strategic Planning Group - Geneseo
Infrastructure
Several colleges have standing committees related to technology. Locally we have some non-faculty senate committees ( Teaching, Learning, Technology Advisory Group (TLTAG) and Information Technology Advisory Committee (ITAC) ) that have similar roles.
Two colleges have a standing Library committee, and one has a Facilities and Master Plan Oversight group.
Committee on Technology - Oneonta
Ed Technology - New Paltz
Information Technology Council - Oswego
Instructional Technology Advisory Committee - Purchase
Teaching and Learning Resources - Old Westbury
Facilities and Master Plan Oversight - Cortland
Library Committee - Oneonta
Library Council - Oswego
Research
Five colleges have a standing committee that focuses on and promotes research.
College Research Committee - Cortland
Committee on Research - Oneonta
Instruction & Research - Buffalo State
Research, Awards, and Leaves - New Paltz
Research Council - Geneseo
Links
It is interesting to see how our sister Comprehensives are organized, and think about some of choices they have made with respect to shared governance. Here is a list of links if you are interested in learning more about how they are setup. In the next post we will consider some alternative ways of assessing the scope of work we are doing.