Middlebury Handbook

What is Faculty Governance?

In this Faculty Handbook we employ a definition of Faculty Governance at the Middlebury Institute based largely on the one proposed by the National Education Association, which has been adopted by many institutions of higher education in the United States:[1]  

The term “Faculty Governance” is commonly used to describe a distinct feature of academic governance, which itself is a unique aspect of the governance culture in academia. Faculty governance is derived, even embedded, in the ethos of “academic freedom,” arguably a fundamental value and pillar of all academic life. Commitment to faculty governance is founded on the idea that the search for knowledge/truth is the essence of the academic mission and thus faculty, as the experts in teaching and scholarship, must have input in the core decisions of the institution

While academia is a hierarchical system, it is also a system that -- at least in certain areas, particularly in curriculum, professional evaluation, and development -- is built on peer faculty judgement. The faculty, as a collective body and individuals, has a unique and major role in some aspects of the academic decision-making process.

Hence, in academia the practice of governance is a shared activity between administration and faculty. Shared governance is essential to protecting academic freedom, the advancement of knowledge, and the pursuit of truth.

While those mutually related terms “Faculty Governance” and “Shared Governance” appear fundamental and intuitively straightforward, in practice they are often used as no more than academic clichés, terms devoid of clear and well-defined meanings.

For the purposes of this document, we define “Faculty Shared Governance” as the balance between faculty and administration in academic planning and decision-making processes on the one hand, and administrative responsibility and accountability on the other.[2] 

State and federal government and other external agencies have no role in the internal governance of institutions of higher education when they are functioning in accordance with state and federal laws.

Approach to Faculty Governance at MIIS

Shared governance at the Middlebury Institute is a joint effort among faculty, staff, administrators, and the governing boards. This relationship should be based on collegiality, accountability, transparency, and mutual respect.

The Middlebury Institute Faculty Senate (including the Senate’s regular faculty standing and ad- hoc committees) and Assembly are the only authorized Institute faculty governance bodies that issue collective recommendations to Institute administration and the Institute/Middlebury governing boards on academic standards and policy, and on faculty status matters.  The Senate’s and Assembly’s exact roles, responsibilities, and relationships are spelled out in the policies of this Faculty Handbook.  Such governance activity is a regular part of an Institute faculty member's professional duties and should not be construed to confer managerial or supervisory status.

While all legal authority in any institution of higher education originates from its highest governing board, which means that the legal right and fiduciary obligation to exercise authority is vested in -- and flows from -- its board and delegated further to lower administrative levels, at each decision level there should be a role for faculty engagement. That role could be divided to three distinct categories: primary decision-making responsibility, meaningful consultation, and being adequately and systematically informed.[3]

Faculty members at MIIS, through their program chairs and through the Senate and its committees, have shared [i.e., joint] decision-making responsibility regarding the following areas:  

1. Determine the curriculum, subject matter, methods of instruction, and other matters of academic standards and processes.
2. Establish the requirements for earning MIIS degrees and certificates and authorize the administration and governing board to grant same.
3. Exercise primary responsibility for determining the status of faculty colleagues, especially appointment, contract renewal, and promotion.
4. Establish procedures for awarding promotions, sabbaticals, research support, and other rewards or perquisites.

If, for any reason, the Middlebury Institute administrators and/or the Middlebury governing boards should fail to accept the faculty's recommendations in these areas, the faculty should have the right to appeal a decision it considers flawed.  Details on the appeal process on annual review, contract renewal, promotion and sabbatical and other grievances are spelled out in the Faculty handbook.  

While relevant administrators at MIIS and in Middlebury possess primary decision-making responsibility, Institute faculty members should, via meaningful consultation, participate in decision-making in the following areas:4

1. Decisions about the future of the Institute, particularly in matters of personnel restructuring and strategic planning.
2. Selecting and evaluating administrators, particularly but not exclusive to deans.
3. Launching, resizing, or closing a degree or non-degree academic programs.
4. Master planning for campus facilities and grounds.
5. Decisions about policies and procedures governing salary structure, pay increases, and benefit programs.
6. Decisions about MIIS budget, making recommendations on financial issues with implications for academic programs, in the short- and long-term.

For all other decision-making matters that do not fall into the categories above, and therefore do not require academic involvement, Institute faculty should be adequately and systematically informed well ahead of execution.

[1] http://www.nea.org/home/34743.htm

[2] See Gary A. Olson, “Exactly What Is 'Shared Governance'?”, The Chronicle of Higher Education, July 23, 2009 https://www.chronicle.com/article/Exactly-What-Is-Shared/47065

[3] The Institute’s administrative leadership has adopted the ARCI model – Who is Accountable, Responsible, Consulted, Informed – as its practice for describing the roles of participants in various kinds of decisions.

[4] We define “meaningful” consultation as: (1) sufficient time for consultation with appropriate stakeholders, (2) thorough documentation of the substance of the consultation, and (3) full transparency with the relevant authorized faculty governance bodies. On most occasions the transparency should include all members of the Senate, in other cases where discretion is required, the Senate President and Vice President should be consulted. 

C.4.a. Faculty Assembly
The Faculty Assembly consists of all regular faculty and multi-year visiting faculty (those on a multi-year contract), excluding faculty also serving as the Institute's academic administrators (VPAA, deans, and any associate/assistant deans). Visiting faculty on single-year contracts, research professors, adjunct faculty and professors emeritae/i are not voting members of the Faculty Assembly: they may attend the Assembly and contribute to the discussion but are not eligible to vote.

July 1st will be considered the beginning of the year for governance purposes, when new officers assume their responsibilities, and when handbook changes from the previous year are normally take effect. 

The Faculty Assembly shall hold a minimum of two meetings each semester (fall and spring). The meeting held the second week of the fall semester shall be used to review the past year and lay out the objectives for the coming year. Faculty may also be asked by administrators to provide feedback through town halls called by administration. Special meetings of the Faculty Assembly may be called by the Senate president for the purpose set forth in the notice thereof. Such notice shall indicate the time and place of the special meeting.  Special meetings of the Faculty Assembly may also be called pursuant to a petition of more than one-fourth (¼) of the members of the Faculty Assembly. Such special meetings shall be held at the time and place indicated in the petition.

Voting will be conducted via an electronic polling system whenever practicable. Eligible faculty who attend meetings virtually will count towards the quorum.

Around the end of the Spring Semester, a Senator will be elected to the presidential track, serving first as President-Elect, who will in the first year shadow the current president and assist them in their duties, before becoming President in the second year of their term, and then finally serving as Past-President in their third year. This will ensure that the workload of the Senate leadership is distributed, and that there are opportunities for mentoring prior to an individual assuming the roles and responsibilities of the presidency.

C.4.b. Representative to the Institute Board of Advisors

The faculty representative to the Board of Advisors in an ex officio member of the Faculty Senate. This representative is voted on by the Faculty Assembly from a pool of self- or other-nominations solicited by the Faculty Senate. This representative normally serves a term of 3 years. Ex officio members must attend meetings when requested to by the Faculty Senate president on behalf of the Senate, and may vote to break a tie. Ex officio members of the Senate can attend Senate meetings more frequently than this, if they desire. Ex officio members may run to be directly elected members of the Senate after their term as ex officio members has expired.

C.4.c. Voting Procedures

A Faculty Assembly quorum shall consist of fifty percent (50%) of the eligible Faculty Assembly members (regular faculty plus multi-year visitors) plus one member. No votes may take place at a Faculty Assembly meeting without a quorum. In order to maximize participation, the Faculty Senate may take votes using a secret electronic ballot.

The Faculty Assembly shall elect regular faculty members  to fill vacancies on the Senate, the Senate leadership track (president-elect/ president/ past-president), Senate, the Faculty Evaluation Committee, and the Academic Policy, Standards and Instruction Committee. Elections will normally be for three-year terms, and confirmed by a simple majority of those voting. Voting shall be by secret ballot.

The Faculty Assembly may, by a simple majority of those voting, designate an issue as “significant,” for the purpose of the Faculty Assembly’s taking up this issue. Any proposed resolutions that involve “significant” issues require a two-thirds majority of the Faculty Assembly voting to pass. Any such resolutions passed shall be binding upon the Faculty Senate.

The Faculty Assembly, by a two-thirds majority vote of all members voting, may vote to reverse previous decisions made by the Assembly.

If there are complaints about the Senate breaching its functions or mandate, these complaints must be brought to the Senate via a Breach of Senate Mandate petition signed by a minimum of one-third of the faculty members who are eligible to vote. The Senate must include discussion of and a vote on this petition as an agenda item at a promptly-scheduled regular or special Faculty Assembly meeting.

Dissolution of the Senate or Recall of Senators

If the Faculty Assembly agrees by a two-thirds majority vote of those present in the Assembly that such breach requires the dissolution of the Senate, the Faculty Senate will be dissolved. 

A caretaker appointed by the meeting of the Assembly will oversee the recruiting of candidates, and an election for a new Senate conducted by secret electronic ballot within 2 weeks of the vote to dissolve the Senate. Individuals on the prior Senate are eligible to run for election again if their time of service has not elapsed.

By the same process, an individual Senator or Senate leader can be recalled. In this case, continuing Senate leadership shall manage the election to fill the vacancy. 

C.4.d. Faculty Senate
The Faculty Senate is the principal representative of the faculty of the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey.

Except as otherwise provided herein, the Faculty Senate shall have plenary power; that is, complete or full power to make decisions. Despite this power, it is anticipated that, in the usual course of business, Faculty Senate will use its discretion and facilitate Faculty Assembly discussion and voting on issues of importance to the faculty.

The Faculty Senate is composed of the three members of the Senate leadership track  and four additional faculty members. Care shall be taken in the nomination process to try to ensure that a wide range of academic programs are represented in the Senate. Only regular faculty with multi-year contracts shall be eligible for election to the Faculty Senate. The term of a senator shall be three (3) years. Terms run from July 1 through June 30 of each year, though summer work is typically limited to urgent needs.

The Faculty Senate may hold closed meetings, at which attendance shall be by invitation only. The Faculty Senate may take action in closed meetings. A quorum shall consist of a majority of the members of the Faculty Senate, participating in person or digitally.

Chairpersons of standing committees serve as ex-officio members of the Faculty Senate. They shall attend Senate meetings when requested to do so. The President-Elect of the Senate shall be the liaison to  the chairs of the Faculty Evaluation Committee and Academic Policy, Standards and Instruction Committee, bringing the committees’ concerns to the Senate as needed.

The VPAA or Council designee shall meet at least once a term with the Faculty Senate and schedule more frequent meetings with its leadership.

The members of the Senate shall keep faculty regularly apprised of current academic policy issues, and receive feedback from them on matters of concern. On someissues, the Senate may desire to conduct  a vote or poll of faculty.

In addition to its other responsibilities, the Faculty Senate:

• nominates and elects retiring faculty members to emeritus status.
• liaises with the leadership of student council.
• liaises with the leadership of the Middlebury Faculty Council.
• may nominate candidates for honorary degrees. For this purpose, the Faculty Senate shall operate under the general principle that honorary degrees are awarded to recognize individuals whose work exemplifies the qualities of intellect, character, and creativity most valued by the Institute; and to acknowledge individual accomplishments, especially academic accomplishments, and general contributions to society. These nominations may be forwarded to the VPAA and the president of Middlebury for consideration.

C.4.e. Senate Officers
The Senate leadership (President, President-Elect, and Past President), shall divide the leadership duties. Faculty Senate develops and maintains job descriptions for each role, though the leadership may decide by mutual agreement to make adjustments to the division of labor, as long as all required work is completed.  Responsibilities of the Senate leadership include representing faculty at appropriate Middlebury meetings, representing faculty in decisions on distributing faculty development funds, meeting regularly with the VPAA and/or Deans, organizing Senate and Assembly meetings, organizing faculty elections, keeping records of faculty decisions and votes, soliciting faculty input in shared governance, and organizing changes to the Faculty Handbook in consultation with Middlebury's General Counsel and Human Resources representatives as needed.

There shall be a budget for those activities deemed necessary for the effective operation of the Faculty Senate, approved as part of the Institute’s normal budget process. The President of the Senate shall receive release time from teaching in agreement with the VPAA of the Institute. As with sabbatical leaves, release time for these positions is dependent on the ability of the school to continue its academic programs given the reduced teaching load of the Presidentof the Senate, and the requisite budgetary support. The Senate president may also request a work-study student for specific projects. 

C.4.f. Faculty Committees

Standing Committees of the Faculty Senate shall include the Faculty Evaluation Committee (FEC) and the Academic Policy, Standards, and Instruction Committee (APSIC). These committees are important elements of faculty governance. They receive instructions from the Faculty Senate, and shall keep the Senate apprised of their work in a timely fashion.

Standing committees shall have the responsibilities and authorities set forth in the committee descriptions below, together with such additional duties and responsibilities as may be assigned them by the Faculty Senate. Committee terms run from July 1 through June 30 of each year, though summer work is typically limited to urgent needs.

A standing committee consists of five faculty members elected by the Faculty Assembly, each with full voting power. Faculty Evaluation Committee members must be regular faculty on multiple-year contracts and shall not be eligible for promotion or contract renewal during their terms of office. The Academic Policy, Standards, and Instruction Committee shall have a student member with full voting power, selected by the Student Council. The VPAA and the registrar are ex officio members of the Academic Policy, Standards, and Instruction Committee and attend meetings when necessary.

The term of office for each faculty member serving on a standing committee (i.e. Senate, FEC, APSIC) shall be three years,* normally with a turnover of approximately one-third (1/3) of the membership on each committee each year. If faculty members are unable to serve out the full 3-year terms on FEC due to an application by these faculty members for contract renewal, sabbatical, or promotion during their 3-year terms, then as an exception, said faculty members may serve a 2-year term on the FEC.  In elections, priority for being included on the slate of candidates will go to faculty members who are able to serve 3-year terms. Nominations should be managed to try to ensure a diverse representation of academic programs on the committees. 

The Faculty Senate may appoint ad hoc committees to help it discharge its functions or to perform periodic functions, and to engage with substantial changes that may affect the nature of the Institute. These may include, but are not limited to:

• Salary and Benefits
• Strategic Planning
• Faculty Development
• Faculty Handbook

C.4.g. Faculty Evaluation Committee

The Faculty Evaluation Committee shall review all faculty files of faculty applicants for contract renewal, promotion, and sabbatical leave. After ensuring that due process has been observed, the Committee shall make an independent recommendation based on the procedures outlined in this handbook.

The Faculty Evaluation Committee shall review a faculty Annual Review file only when requested to do so by the faculty member in question, or by the Dean of Teaching, Learning, and Faculty Development, or by the VPAA (see page 28).

The Faculty Evaluation Committee may also evaluate and recommend changes to the current systems and policies governing faculty contracts. It also may evaluate and recommend changes to the process of evaluating faculty performance, with particular attention to any inequities that may arise. Any such recommended changes shall first be approved by the Faculty Senate before forwarding to the Dean of Teaching, Learning, and Faculty Development and the VPAA.

The Faculty Evaluation Committee shall conduct its deliberations in closed meetings. All proceedings of this Committee will respect the privacy of all individuals involved in any evaluation.

C.4.h. Academic Policy, Standards, and Instruction Committee

The formulation and administration of academic policies at the Middlebury Institute is a shared responsibility of the Institute Board of Advisors, the Middlebury Board of Trustees, the Middlebury provost and president, the VPAA, deans and associate deans, and the faculty.

The Academic Policies, Standards, and Instruction Committee (APSIC) serves as the faculty committee charged with oversight of Part I of the MIIS Policies and Standards Manual (PSM). Early in the fall semester, APSIC reviews Part I of the PSM in light of its deliberations over the preceding year, recommending changes and amendments to the Faculty Senate and VPAA for action and approval. Those changes and amendments that are approved by the administration are then included in the new edition of the PSM, prepared during the summer for distribution to students at the beginning of the fall semester.

In addition, APSIC:

• evaluates and provides recommendations concerning proposed changes to the curriculum;
• ensures compliance with academic policies and procedures;
• deliberates on student grievances and appeals;
• has at least two members serve on any Student Conduct Board dealing with an alleged student violation of academic standards or policies.

APSIC reports its recommendations to the VPAA for action and approval. For all recommendations related to academic programs or policy, the Senate President-Elect should be copied on recommendations in order to keep the Senate informed. In the case of curricular and programmatic proposals requiring further deliberation, APSIC consults further with the proposers before forwarding revised recommendations to the VPAA and Senate. APSIC’s primary contact on the Institute Council is the Dean of Academic Innovation.

C.4.i. Salary and Benefits Committee (ad hoc)

Whenever constituted by the Faculty Senate, the primary role of this committee is to review and examine the structure of faculty benefits and salaries and make recommendations to the VPAA. The Committee shall work closely with the Human Resources staff in the discharge of its responsibilities. Specific tasks and responsibilities are assigned at the time of constitution.

---

• Faculty members should not serve on the FEC while their own contract renewal, promotion, or sabbatical is being evaluated by the FEC. However, if an insufficient number of faculty members are able to serve on FEC without such a conflict for a full three years, then as an exception, faculty members may, 1. when the issue precluding their service is contract renewal or promotion (during what would otherwise be the third year of their term), run for and serve on the FEC for a term of 2 consecutive years or 2. when the issue precluding their service is an application for sabbatical (to be submitted during the third year of their term), run for and serve a 3-year term, but recuse themselves from deliberations over their own sabbatical applications.

Approved by the Faculty Assembly, May 2018.