Academic Affairs

Proposed organizational chart of Academic Affairs administration.

Provost and Dean of the Faculty

The Provost and Dean of the Faculty serves as the chief academic officer of the University and is the senior executive when the President is absent. Within his/her overall responsibilities for every facet of academic affairs, he/she bears the following specific responsibilities:

• Supervising the Associate Provost for Planning and Academic Standards, the Associate Provost for Administration and Academic Programs, the Associate Dean of the Faculty, and the Associate Dean of Curriculum
• Supervising all academic department chairs/program directors/school directors
• Overseeing the resources and administrative heads of the library, athletics programs, the registrar’s office, and information technology
• Authorizing and recruiting new and replacement faculty members in consultation with department chairs, program directors, and school directors
• Managing faculty resources to meet the needs of students in fulfilling program and degree requirements, including supervision of course offerings and scheduling of courses
• Providing oversight of diversity issues in Academic Affairs
• Evaluating individual faculty members in consultation with Department Chairs/School Directors and the Promotion and Tenure Committee with regard to advancement in rank, salary, and tenure
• Sharing with the Associate Dean of the Curriculum administrative responsibilities for curricular design and the implementation of the will of the faculty in curricular matters
• Developing policies and planning procedures, in consultation with the Council on University Programs and Policy and the President
• Editing the Faculty Handbook
• Reviewing and approving operating budgets for all academic departments, programs, and schools
• Advancing the highest standards of academic excellence and professional ethics in every part of the University community and representing these standards and ethics to the larger national community of higher education
• Serving as the sexual harassment officer for the University

Associate Provost for Planning and Academic Standards

The Associate Provost for Planning and Academic Standards fulfills responsibilities as assigned by the Provost. This administrator supervises areas relating to student academic issues. The Associate Provost for Planning and Academic Standards also oversees planning associated with the faculty salary budget, managing the academic equipment budget, and hiring of full-time visiting faculty. The Associate Provost for Planning and Academic Standards bears the following specific responsibilities:

• Implementing the academic standards of the University and serving as the administrative representative on the Academic Standards Committee of the Curriculum Council
• Participating with the Associate Provost for Administration and Academic Programs in hearing student petitions for exceptions to academic requirements, cases of academic disqualification, and merit award eligibility.
• Coordinating all-University honors programs including Presidential Scholars, research honors, and Dean’s List programs
• Managing the John Wesley Powell student research conference
• Managing the budgets for student research and travel support
• Serving as Director of Disability Services and assisting students with disabilities in determining appropriate accommodations
• Managing cases of academic dishonesty and disqualification from the University
• Developing policies, in consultation with the Financial Aid Director, for student financial aid
• Managing the academic budgets for permanent equipment
• Hiring full-time visiting faculty in consultation with department chairs, program directors, and school directors and managing the associated budget
• Assigning and overseeing academic facilities
• Maintaining faculty salary information and performing faculty salary modeling
• Managing the budgets for departmental honoraria and entertainment and administrative travel
• Serve as Academic Affairs administrative representative to the Capital Projects Committee
• Performing other responsibilities as assigned by the Provost/Dean

Associate Dean of the Faculty

The Associate Dean of the Faculty fulfills responsibilities as assigned by the Provost. This administrator manages areas relating to faculty development. The Associate Dean of the Faculty bears the following specific responsibilities:

• Directing the Mellon Center for Faculty and Curriculum Development
• Developing and administering orientation programs for new faculty
• Serving as the administrative representative to the Faculty Development Committee
• Administering general faculty development funds, including grant and leave programs recommended by the Faculty Development Committee and faculty travel budgets
• Coordinating with the Associate Dean of Curriculum resources to meet program needs of all-University programs, including General Education, May Term, Study Abroad, the Writing Center, and the Ames Library
• Serving as administrative liaison for collection development in the University library
• Coordinating all curricular and program grants with the Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations and the Associate Dean of Curriculum
• Performing other responsibilities as assigned by the Provost/Dean

The Associate Dean shall be appointed by the Provost and Dean of the Faculty from among the tenured members of the faculty for a term of four years. The position is not intended to become a career for its occupant; rather, it is a term assignment, with the expectation being that after four years, the Associate Dean will reassume his/her duties on the regular faculty. Replacement of the teaching duties of the Associate Dean during his/her administrative term will usually, therefore, be handled with four-year term contracts.

The Provost/Dean will request that nominations for the position be sent to the chair of CUPP. CUPP will then review the nominations and act as an advisory screening committee to the Provost/Dean.

Associate Provost for Administration and Academic Programs

The Associate Provost for Administration and Academic Programs fulfills responsibilities as assigned by the Provost. This administrator is responsible for oversight of academic records, registration and advising. The Associate Provost for Administration and Academic Programs also supervises areas related to academic program reviews, academic facilities and equipment, and preparation of the University Catalog. The Associate Provost for Administration and Academic Programs bears the following specific responsibilities:

• Participating in, along with the Associate Registrar, maintaining complete and accurate records for each student
• Coordinating, along with the Associate Registrar, Department Chairs, and other administrators, the preparation of the course schedule
• Coordinating, along with the Associate Registrar, the registration process
• Participating, along with the Associate Provost for Planning and Academic Standards, in hearing student petitions for exceptions to academic requirements, cases of academic disqualification, and merit award eligibility
• Convenes the Academic Appeals Board
• Convenes the Calendar Committee
• Supervising, in consultation with the Director of the Advising Center and Coordinator of First-Year Advising, the University system of academic advising
• Coordinating the review of academic programs and departments
• Assigning and overseeing academic facilities (transition from Associate Provost for Planning and Academic Standards)
• Managing the academic budget for equipment (transition from Associate Provost for Planning and Academic Standards)
• Hiring part-time faculty in consultation with department chairs, program directors, and school directors and managing the associate budget
• Editing the University Catalog
• Performing other responsibilities as assigned by the Provost/Dean

Associate Dean of Curriculum

This position reports to the Provost/Dean and will provide assistance to the Provost/Dean on a wide range of academic and curricular issues as well as share in the oversight of some offices and operations related to curricular development. The Associate Dean of Curriculum will provide leadership in strengthening all curricular programs. In addition, the Associate Dean of Curriculum will ensure that existing and new program content and delivery are of consistently high quality by overseeing assessment of program curriculum and student learning outcomes. Finally, the associate dean will facilitate the sharing of best practices among faculty and assist in balancing the needs of particular academic programs with those of other disciplines and general education.

• In consultation with the faculty, initiating curricular planning and research and coordinating the development and revision of curricular programs
• Managing the London and Madrid Study Abroad programs, and supervising the International Office (Note: study abroad programs removed from Associate Dean of Faculty and supervision of the International Office removed from Associate Provost)
• Directing May Term (Note: eliminates May Term Director)
• Directing the general education program (Note: eliminates General Education Director)
• Facilitating the coordination of interdisciplinary programs with other academic programs (Note: interdisciplinary program directors would continue to report to the Provost/Dean)
• In partnership with the faculty, working on the continual improvement and expansion of diversity in the curriculum
• Facilitating the implementation of recommendations for improvement of the curriculum from faculty committees such as Curriculum Council or the Strategic Curricular Review Task Force
• Overseeing the assessment of academic programs and student learning outcomes with the assistance of the Assistant Provost and Director of Institutional Research and Planning
• Assisting with the incorporation of undergraduate research into the curriculum
• Serving as the administrative representative to the Curriculum Development Committee of the Curriculum Council (Note: removed from Associate Dean of Faculty)
• Coordinating resources with the Associate Dean of Faculty to meet program needs of all-University programs, including General Education, May Term, Study Abroad, the Writing Center, and Ames Library
• Coordinating with the Associate Dean of Faculty faculty development opportunities in order to ensure quality delivery of the curriculum
• Performing other responsibilities as assigned by the Provost/Dean

The Associate Dean shall be appointed by the Provost and Dean of the Faculty from among the tenured members of the faculty for a term of four years. The position is not intended to become a career for its occupant; rather, it is a term assignment, with the expectation being that after four years, the Associate Dean will reassume his/her duties on the regular faculty. Replacement of the teaching duties of the Associate Dean during his/her administrative term will usually, therefore, be handled with four-year term contracts.

The Provost/Dean will request that nominations for the position be sent to the chair of CUPP. CUPP will then review the nominations and act as an advisory screening committee to the Provost/Dean.

A Plan for the Restructuring of the Academic Affairs Administration

April 2008

Statement of Need

A discussion of the academic administrative structure has been ongoing for many years. For example, in 2003 Institutional Self- Study prepared for the North Central Accreditation, the Study Committee identified many complexities to staying with the current structure or moving to a structure that includes midlevel leaders. In summer 2002, a faculty summer study group examined academic administrative structures at a number of liberal arts colleges and reported the findings to the Provost/Dean and also shared the findings with faculty colleagues. This information was shared with CUPP during the 2006-07 academic year as the Committee explored structures that may be most effective at IWU.

Why change Academic Affairs administrative structure and why do this now? The current academic administrative structure has been in place since the mid-1990’s. The number of students has increase from 1,830 in 1994-95 to currently 2,100. Additionally, the number of tenure-line faculty has increased from about 120 to 165 during the same time period. However, the number of full-time and part-time Academic Affairs administrators has remained the same. In addition, the curriculum has increased in complexity with, for example, changes to the General Education requirements, the addition of the London and Madrid programs, and an increase in number of interdisciplinary programs.

Further changes are expected with the implementation of recommendations from the Strategic Curricular Review Task Force and the Summer Writing Study Group. Additionally, the need for assessment of the academic programs, including writing and critical thinking, has increased. More students arrive with needing special accommodations. The way that our students learn and the manner that the faculty are teaching is rapidly changing. In general, the work of the University and Academic Affairs, specifically, has become much more complicated.

There are two implications of current staffing in the Academic Affairs administration. The first is that some administrative issues have been postponed or delayed. For example, the Provost/Dean is unable to update the faculty hiring guidelines and provide assistance in the search process, the Associate Provost is not able to provide support for students submitting applications for fellowships such as Fulbrights, the Associate Dean of Faculty does not have time to address new pedagogies involving technology, and the Assistant Provost/Registrar has little time to address advising issues. The second implication of current staffing is even more important. Faculty are feeling less engaged with the Administration as they experience an increase in the demands on their time and fewer opportunities to interact with an Administration that is spread thin. The Academic Affairs administration struggles to find opportunities to discuss new ideas from faculty and students. The Administration, therefore, is less able to initiate any new projects that stem from faculty and/or students.

The proposed structure reflects a call from faculty to provide more support of issues related to the curriculum. In addition, the Provost/Dean has begun to implement a series of communication mechanisms such that ideas can percolate from faculty to the administration. These include:

· Regular meetings with the chairs/directors as a whole and in divisions

· A series of lunch with the Provost/Dean to provide an informal mechanism for faculty to talk about issues that concern them

· Open forums once per semester

· An Academic Affairs blog (see http://blogs.iwu.edu/bcunning/) for disseminating information about new policies and other initiatives with the opportunity for faculty to provide feedback

· Inviting the chair of CUPP to several meetings of the Academic Affairs staff each semester

The Provost/Dean also has asked CUPP to examine ways that the Council can take a lead in facilitating the percolation of ideas from the faculty to the administration. The Provost/Dean meets regularly with CUPP as does the President. CUPP has representatives from each academic division and has as part of its charge to advise the President, the Provost/Dean, any member of the Council, or any member of the faculty. Furthermore, the Council can make recommendations to the President, the Provost/Dean, or the faculty on a variety of matters. It is natural for CUPP to consider ways to facilitate the flow of ideas between the faculty and the administration.

The issue of moving forward on the diversity goal of the Strategic Plan remains a topic of discussion. During the deliberations this year on the new academic administrative structure many faculty members continued to have questions about how the university will address diversity issues. Various suggestions have been put forward. President Wilson and I remain committed to making progress on the diversity goal. One idea that we are considering is a university-wide “diversity council.” The council would include representatives from faculty, staff, and students. We imagine that the council would engage in conversations across campus about diversity and make recommendations regarding the campus climate, issues of diversity in the curriculum and classroom, and the diversity of our students, staff, and faculty. In the fall we will involve the faculty in discussions of potentially constituting this council.

The following outlines the major revisions and aspects that remain unchanged to the structure of the Academic Affairs administration:

• The Provost/Dean will provide oversight of diversity issues in Academic Affairs. In partnership with the faculty, the new Associate Dean of Curriculum will work on the continual improvement and expansion of diversity in the curriculum

• A new full-time administrator, the Associate Dean of Curriculum, will be added to provide support to the faculty for issues related to the curriculum. The Provost/Dean will continue to be the chief academic officer of the University and will, therefore, be the supervisor of the new Associate Dean. However, the new Associate Dean will have the authority to act to deliver resources in the area of the curriculum. The new Associate Dean position will be a four year, rotating position with the selection of the Associate Dean from current tenured faculty.

• The Academic Affairs staff will continue to work cooperatively with each other, meeting frequently as a management team for academic affairs to work through issues together. The new Associate Dean will be brought into the fold.

• The Director of General Education and the May Term Director positions will be eliminated. The new Associate Dean will take on the responsibilities associated with these two part-time administrative positions.

• All department chairs, school directors, and interdisciplinary program directors will operate on an equal footing in relationship to central administrative offices. That is, all department chairs, school directors, and interdisciplinary program directors will continue to report directly to the Provost/Dean.

• The Provost/Dean will continue to act as direct supervisor to all department chairs, school directors, and interdisciplinary program directors in all areas that relate to personnel management – hiring, promotion, tenure, retirement, etc. All matters related to faculty salary and program operating budgets will also move directly from chairs/directors to the Provost/Dean.

• The term of the Associate Dean of Faculty will be four years rather than three.

• The title of the Associate Provost will be changed to Associate Provost for Planning and Academic Standards and the title of the Assistant Provost/Registrar will be changed to Associate Provost for Administration and Academic Programs. These positions also have adjustments to their responsibilities to reflect their new titles.
  

Childbearing and Childrearing Leaves

It is the policy of the University that a full-time faculty member with one year of University service may choose one of the following options for childbearing and/or childrearing:

1) Childbearing leave for female faculty.

Six to eight weeks childbearing leave using short term disability (thirty days full pay followed by two to four weeks at 70% pay) when a full-time teaching load is maintained for the academic year. Disability length is determined by medical necessity.

2) Combined childbearing/childrearing leave for female faculty.

(a) Combined childbearing/childrearing leave for nine or ten month faculty.

(i) A combined childbearing/childrearing leave of one semester and a three course teaching load for the remainder of the academic year at two-thirds annual salary or (ii) a combined childbearing/childrearing leave of one semester and a four course teaching load for the remainder of the academic year at five-sixths annual salary. Note that a faculty member may teach at most three courses in a semester. Hence, this option would require three courses in fall or spring semester plus one course in May Term.

When both parents are faculty members, they are entitled to combined total of either three course releases and a one-sixth reduction in each parent’s salary or two course releases and a one-twelfth reduction in each parent’s salary.

(b) Combined childbearing/childrearing leave for twelve month faculty.

A combined childbearing/childrearing leave of one semester or four months during the summer (May, June, July, and August). Pay for the year will be at five-sixths annual salary.

3) Childrearing leave for male or female faculty.

Faculty members who are parents of children newly placed for adoption [original language: newly adopted children] or male faculty members with newborns may request a paid childrearing leave of absence for childrearing purposes. The terms of the childrearing leave are the same as those described above for the combined childbearing/childrearing leave.

Health care benefits, life insurance, short term disability, and long-term disability insurance will be continued during the childbearing, combined childbearing/childrearing, or childrearing leave at University expense. The faculty member will continue to be responsible for her/his own premium share of the health insurance. TIAA-CREF payments will be continued based on the amount of salary paid to the faculty member as specified in the summary plan description.

Multiple births/adoptions count as one event.

Faculty members taking semester length (or longer) leaves of absence normally do not receive credit in determining eligibility for tenure, promotion, and sabbaticals.

A nine month faculty member who gives birth after the end of classes in May and whose disability ends prior to the start of classes in late August is not eligible for a childbearing leave. In this case, with reasonable notice, she may choose to apply for a childrearing leave. Any male faculty member whose child arrives after the end of classes in May and prior to the start of classes in late August, with reasonable notice, may also apply for a childrearing leave.

The faculty member should discuss the delivery date of the baby or arrival date of the adopted child and the timing of the leave of absence with the Provost/Dean to determine the option that works best. The Provost/Dean will consider special circumstances.

Requests for childbearing leaves, combined childbearing/childrearing leaves, or childrearing leaves of absence should be made directly to the Provost/Dean, who will consult with the Department Chair or School Director and the President before acting on the request.

4/19/2008

The proposed policy for faculty is based on several principles:

1. Provides time to parents of newborn or newly adopted children when they most needed it – at the time the child arrives. The policy would apply to any male or female faculty member anticipating the arrival of a child.
2. Keeps the best interests of IWU students in mind and minimizes disruption in instruction during the semester by providing an opportunity for parents to take a semester-long leave.
3. Retains the short term disability benefit currently available to all Illinois Wesleyan faculty for those who do not want to take a full semester leave.
4. Recognizes the financial situation of parents while allowing adjunct coverage of courses during a childbearing/childrearing leave.
5. Parallels the proposed policies for university exempt and non-exempt staff which also will allow new parents to take time off when a new child arrives.
6. Provide several options to new parents without being too complex or too cumbersome to administer.

During the 2006-07 academic year Provost Cunningham realized that Illinois Wesleyan University did not have any written leave policy for faculty members who have children or adopt children. Various faculty members expressed concern to the Provost that each individual faculty member had to negotiate the terms of their leave with the Provost. Until now, only women who were pregnant were able to negotiate leaves with the Provost. The Provost also discovered that Illinois Wesleyan did not have a written childrearing or childbearing policy for staff. In spring 2007 the Provost asked the Child Care Committee if members had any suggestions for a policy for faculty. Note that membership of the Child Care Committee includes both faculty members and staff. The committee “expressed discomfort in sharing input without seeing a draft of the policy” (see minutes of the Child Care Committee 5/23/07).

Data regarding the childbearing and childrearing policies for faculty and staff at other institutions were collected in late spring from the Higher Education Data Sharing institutions of which Illinois Wesleyan is a member. After reviewing the data, Associate Vice President for Human Resources Cathy Spitz prepared a draft policy for staff and Provost Cunningham prepared a draft policy for faculty with the premise that the two policies should share the same basic principles. With President Wilson’s arrival and with support from the faculty, the administration has been careful to offer the same or similar benefits to both faculty and staff. Both the faculty and staff childbearing/childrearing policies are based on the idea that all members of the Illinois Wesleyan community should have some time away from work to spend with their newborn or newly adopted children, a time that is critical to both the child and the parents. For the complete list of overarching principles, please see other postings on the Provost’s blog.

Provost Cunningham shared the draft policy with chairs and directors of academic programs in early fall 2007. She also shared the policy with CUPP and met with the committee in fall 2007. She invited feedback from the faculty throughout the fall and spring semesters. In March 2008, Provost Cunningham met with CUPP again to obtain additional feedback and answer questions about the policy. A second draft is now available for viewing on the Provost’s blog.

Provost Cunningham anticipates the implementation of the new policy at the beginning of the 2008-09 academic year.

Frequently Asked Questions Regarding the Proposed Childbearing/Childrearing Policy

Q. What is the difference between a childbearing leave and a childrearing leave?

A. Only female faculty members who bear a child can take a childbearing leave. Any female or male faculty member can take a childrearing leave.

Q. Who can take a childbearing or childrearing leave?

A. Only female faculty members who bear a child may request to take a childbearing leave. Otherwise, any male or female faculty members may request to take a childrearing leave.

Q. If a female or male faculty member welcomes a new child over the summer are they eligible for a childrearing leave?

A. Yes, a female or male faculty member can request a childrearing leave in the fall. If a female faculty member bears a child less than six weeks before the start of the fall semester, she may be eligible for a childbearing leave or a combined childbearing/childrearing leave.

Q. Does the policy appreciate the uncertainty involved in many adoption cases in which the timing of the adoption is often unpredictable?

A. Yes. The faculty member planning the adoption should work with the Provost/Dean and her/his supervisor to determine various options regarding the timing of the leave.

Q. Why must a faculty member apply for a childbearing or childrearing leave? Under what circumstances would a leave be denied?

A. Like all leaves, faculty members must apply for a childbearing or childrearing leave in order for her/his supervisor and the Provost/Dean to be able to plan for their absence from the classroom. Hence, the application facilitates planning. Requests for childbearing or childrearing leaves consistent with the policy will not be denied.

Q. Doesn’t the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) allow for new parents to receive up to six weeks paid leave?

A. No. FMLA requires covered employers to provide up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave to “eligible” employees for certain family and medical reasons, including care for a child after birth or adoption. (See http://www.dol.gov/esa/whd/fmla/ for more information.) The proposed childbearing/childrearing leave policy provides paid leave for up to one semester in length.

Q. If a faculty member takes a childbearing or childrearing leave, what happens to their eligibility for tenure or sabbatical?

A. As stated in the policy, leaves of absence that are one semester or longer normally do not count toward determining eligibility for tenure and sabbaticals. That is, a faculty member who takes a one semester childrearing leave normally would have her/his sabbatical or tenure delayed by one year. An untenured faculty member who takes a shorter leave of absence or no leave at all when a child arrives has the option of “stopping the tenure clock.”

Q. Why aren’t childbearing leaves at full pay?

A. The University provides short-term disability for any medically related absence from work for a short period of time including the birth of a child. In particular, IWU’s short-term disability program begins on the 31^st day of continuous disability, and provides monthly income for a period of up to 22 weeks amounting to 70% of current compensation. “Short-term disability” is the terminology used by insurance companies and the federal government to describe the type of coverage available to employees for replacement of a certain percentage of income during an illness or medical condition that prevents the employee from working for a set period of time.

Q. Why doesn’t the policy provide childbearing leave during the summer?

A. Most faculty members have nine or ten month contracts and are not under contract during the summer. The policy was developed to provide time off during the academic year to alleviate pressures arising from formal classroom teaching and other time-rigid duties. The policy allows a faculty member who welcomes a new child during the summer to take time off during fall semester to provide time to care for a new child and reduce the responsibilities associated with being a faculty member. Those untenured faculty members who welcome a new child over the summer and decide to forgo a leave during the following academic year can request to have the tenure clock stopped. A faculty member’s productivity will naturally decline following the arrival of a new child. These policies try to address some of the time pressures that faculty members, particularly those who are untenured, face in raising a family.

Q. If a nine or ten month faculty member chooses to take a childrearing leave or combined childbearing/childrearing leave of one semester for 5/6^th salary, can they teach four courses in one semester?

A. No. The faculty member would teach three courses either in the fall or spring and one course in May Term. The Provost/Dean will not approve a faculty member’s request to teach more than three courses in one semester as a part of a childbearing/childrearing leave. Note that there may be circumstances in which the 5/6^th salary option is not possible to implement due to the timing of the child’s arrival.