Faculty Handbook 2022-2023 
    
    Mar 29, 2024  
Faculty Handbook 2022-2023 [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Section 4: Standing Committees of the College


4.1 President’s Cabinet

The President’s Cabinet is the primary policy-making body of the College and includes the President; Provost and Dean of the College; Vice President for Institutional Advancement; Vice President for Enrollment Management; Vice President for Student Life and Dean of Students; Dean of Student Success; Strategic Communications Advisor; Dean for Institutional Diversity; Chief Financial Office and Vice-President for Finance and Administration; Director of Athletics and Recreation; and Director of Human Resources, Payroll and Title IX Deputy. The Chair of Faculty Council also participates in Cabinet meetings but is not a member of the President’s Cabinet because Faculty Council is a Standing Committee that does not report to the President. The President’s Cabinet reviews all major financial, administrative, academic, and programmatic issues. Additional information about the senior leadership of the College and the current membership of the President’s Cabinet can be found online at the President’s Cabinet.  

(Revised 22 April 2021)

4.2 Campus Life and Community Standards 

1. Functions 

The Campus Life and Community Standards (CLCS) Committee formulates and recommends policy related to the nature and quality of life on campus, represents the faculty and the student body in hearings concerning the Honor Code and appeals concerning the non-academic student conduct system, and provides faculty consultation to the Athletics Department. 

The specific responsibilities of the Campus Life and Community Standards Committee are: 

  1. To provide advice and consultation on the quality of campus life and the nature of student involvement in out-of- class activities. All members of the community may raise issues for the Committee’s consideration, but the Committee will pay particular attention to matters related to the residential college experience, intercollegiate athletics and recreation, spiritual and religious life, experiential learning, admissions, student activities, and student conduct issues. 
  2. To represent the faculty and student body on the Academic Integrity Board. The Academic Integrity Board is the hearing board for cases of alleged violations of the Honor Code. A full description of the Allegheny Student Conduct System can be found in The Compass. 
  3. To represent the faculty and student body on the Community Standards Board. The Community Standards Board is the appeals board for all non-academic student conduct cases. 
  4. To provide two faculty members, one man and one woman, to serve as Faculty Athletic Representatives to the athletic department and relevant NCAA conferences. 

2. Membership, Membership Selection, Terms of Office and Chairperson Selection. 

  1. The Committee will be composed of the following: 
    1. Five faculty members, nominated by the Faculty Council and approved by faculty vote to serve three-year, staggered terms. Attempts should be made to have divisional and gender representation on the committee. All faculty members of the Committee will serve as the faculty representatives on the Community Standards Board and the Academic Integrity Board. Additionally, two of the faculty members will serve as the Faculty Athletic Representatives. Faculty substitutes are appointed by Faculty Council in the event that there are not enough board members present to conduct a hearing for either the Academic or Community Standards Boards;
    2. The Dean of Students, Chaplain, Director of Athletics (or an appointed representative from Athletics), Director of Student Involvement, Director of the Counseling Center, and Director of Residence Life (or their substitutes if they are unable to attend), and one staff representative appointed by the Staff Advisory Committee as ex officio, voting members of the CLSC Committee;
    3. Student members of the Committee will include the student Director and Assistant Director of Student Affairs for the Allegheny Student Government and six other students, selected at-large and appointed by a two-thirds vote of the student government. In making appointments, every effort will be made to ensure representation of many facets of student life, including (but not limited to) athletics, spiritual and religious life, cultural activities, and residence life. The six students selected at large will serve as the student representatives on the Academic Integrity Board and the Community Standards Board. The ASG President and Vice-President are not eligible to serve on the boards but are welcome to attend CLSC Committee meetings. Honor Committee members are not eligible to serve on the Academic Integrity Board. Residence Life staff members are not eligible to serve on the Community Standards Board. Additionally, student members who are on probation during the time of service will not be eligible to serve as a member of the boards.
    4. The Assistant Dean of Students coordinates all administrative functions of the Academic Integrity Board and the Community Standards Board. This person can attend CLCS committee meetings but is not a voting member.
  2. The faculty chairperson for the Academic Integrity Board will be elected from among the faculty members of the Campus Life and Community Standards Committee to serve for one year (the AIB chair should not be one of the Faculty Athletic Representatives). If unable to serve for a particular AIB hearing, the chairperson appoints a substitute chairperson from among the faculty members. A chair for the Community Standards Board will be appointed for each hearing and can be either a faculty representative or one of the administrative members of the CSB. 
  3. The Chairperson of the Campus Life and Community Standards Committee will be a faculty member selected by the Committee. The Dean of Students will serve as co-chair to assist with administrative matters and to stand in for the chair as needed. 

(Revised 11 April 2019) 

4.3 Council on Diversity and Equity 

The Council on Diversity and Equity (CoDE) is a standing committee of the College composed of administrators, faculty, staff, and students. CoDE is primarily an oversight committee with the essential functions of advocating for diversity, equity, and inclusion at Allegheny College; making policy recommendations to the President’s Cabinet, Allegheny Student Government (ASG), Faculty Council, the Board of Trustees, and other appropriate Allegheny College governing bodies or offices; reviewing and evaluating the College’s progress towards diversity, equity, and inclusion; and considering and addressing any relevant issues presented to the Council by any member of the College community. For CoDE to perform these principal functions, it must receive relevant data annually from the College’s senior diversity officer, Human Resources, Provost and Dean of the College, Public Safety, Senior Vice President for Enrollment and Dean of Admissions, Vice President for Information Services and Assessment, Vice President of Student Life & Dean of Students, and/or other College units. 

1. Functions

The specific functions of the Council on Diversity and Equity are 

  1. To review data on employee hiring, retention, and promotion by race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religion, and other available diversity characteristics (i.e., historically marginalized and/or underrepresented social identities or groups) 
  2. To review data on student enrollment, retention, and graduation rates by race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religion, and other available diversity characteristics (i.e., historically marginalized and/or underrepresented social identities or groups) 
  3. To monitor trends in and review reports on campus social climate for employees and students, including but not limited to 
    1. Social climate surveys
    2. Bias reports
    3. Student conduct reports
    4. Employee and student exit interviews and reasons for leaving the College
    5. Employee satisfaction and workload, in particular employees from historically and systemically marginalized and/or underrepresented groups 
  4. To review, monitor, and provide input regarding diversity, inclusion, and equity in the College’s strategic plan 
  5. To serve as a sounding board for the College’s senior diversity officer. 

2. Membership, Membership Selection, Terms of Office and Chairperson Selection

The council will be composed of the following: 

  1. The College’s senior diversity officer or a member of the Administrative Executive Council (AEC) with an undefined term length. 
  2. Four faculty members appointed by the Faculty Council for staggered three-year terms that represent a mix of divisions, diversity, tenured and non-tenured status 
  3. One exempt employee appointed by the Administrative Advisory Committee (AAC0 for a two-year term 
  4. One non-exempt employee appointed by the Staff Advisory Committee (SAC) for a two-year term 
  5. Allegheny Student Government (ASG) Director of Diversity and Inclusion for an undefined term 
  6. Three students representing the diversity of the student body appointed by Allegheny Student Government (ASG) for one-year terms 
  7. Representative(s) from Athletics, Division of Student Affairs, IDEAS Center, International Education, Spiritual and Religious Life, and Title IX serving as consultants will be invited to regular meetings and contacted when issues pertaining to their units are being reviewed 
  8. CoDE will be co-chaired by the College’s senior diversity officer and a faculty member. The faculty member will be selected for at least a one-year term through internal committee vote. 

(Revised 11 April 2019) 

4.4 Finance and Facilities

1. Functions 

The principal functions of this Committee are to participate in the determination of general financial and facilities planning policy for the College and to serve as a liaison between Administration, Faculty and Staff on financial matters. 

The Committee’s specific functions are: 

  1. To engage in a continuing review of the financial and facilities situation at the College and to report this information to the campus community; 
  2. To monitor the financial condition of the College and the state of the College’s facilities as compared to other institutions; 
  3. To advise the Administration on all financial and facilities matters that concern the members of the College community, such as the size of the College, the level of tuition and fees, the size and distribution, over broad categories, of the College budget, needs for new construction, renovation, and deferred maintenance on the campus, and long-range financial and facilities planning; 
  4. To recommend priorities for broad financial aggregates and ratios, and for construction, renovation and maintenance projects; 
  5. To hear and deal with related issues brought to the Committee by any member of the College Community.

2. Reporting Frequency and Procedure 

  1. Meetings of the Committee will normally be open to all members of the College community. An agenda will be established for each meeting and distributed to Committee members and made available to members of the College community in advance of the meeting. 
  2. The Committee will appoint a Secretary who will keep minutes of each meeting. 
  3. The Official Meeting Minutes will be made available to members of the College community on a timely basis. 
  4. The Committee will report periodically to the campus community. 
  5. An annual report will be filed with the Faculty Council, the Administrative Advisory Committee, and the Staff Advisory Committee at the end of each academic year. In addition, the annual report will be deposited in the College Archives. 

3. Membership, Membership Selection, Terms of Office, and Chairperson Selection 

The Committee membership, selected to represent broadly the campus community, will be composed of the following: 

  1. Four faculty members nominated by the Faculty Council and elected by the Faculty for three-year, staggered terms; 
  2. Two non-instructional non-exempt employee representatives and two non-instructional exempt employee representatives appointed by the President of the College for four-year staggered terms; 
  3. Four students nominated by the Allegheny Student Government and confirmed by the President of the College for two-year staggered terms; 
  4. The CFO/VP for Finance and Administration, and the Provost ex officio. Both are non-voting members. 
  5. The Director of Human Resources, the Director of Physical Plant, and the ASG Director of Finance will serve as non-voting consultants to the committee. 
  6. The Co-Chairpersons of the Committee will be the CFO/VP for Finance and Administration and a faculty member of the Committee selected for a one-year term. 

(Revised, Spring 2022) 

4.5 Administrative Advisory 

The Administrative Advisory Committee (AAC) is elected to communicate the interests and opinions of exempt (salaried) employees and acts as a liaison to the President’s Cabinet. Information about the AAC can be found online at the Administrative Advisory Committee.  . 

4.6 Staff Advisory 

The Staff Advisory Committee (SAC) is elected to communicate the interests, opinions and concerns of the non-exempt (hourly) staff to the President’s Cabinet. Information about the SAC can be found online at the Staff Advisory Committee

4.7 Study Away and Campus Internationalization 

1. Functions 

The Study Away and Campus Internationalization Committee is responsible for coordinating international educational opportunities and initiatives, including overseeing international aspects of the curriculum, evaluating and approving study away programs, and administering resources related to study away and campus internationalization. 

The Committee’s specific functions include: 

  1. developing and periodically updating a comprehensive internationalization plan, including an inventory of areas such as globally focused course offerings, international faculty development opportunities, study away programs and enrollment, EL travel seminar frameworks, and international student and scholar recruitment and retention. 
  2. setting benchmarks and timelines for the comprehensive internationalization plan and monitoring institutional progress. 
  3. ensuring coherence and communication between curricular and co-curricular aspects of international education. 
  4. vetting new off-campus study programs, EL Seminar Proposals, and Study Away proposals, and making changes to existing programs in support of strategic goals before their review by the Curriculum Committee. 
  5. serving as an advisory body for the International Education Office. 
  6. promoting recruitment and retention of international students. 

2. Reporting Frequency and Procedures 

  1. An agenda will be established for each meeting and distributed to Committee members in advance of the meeting. 
  2. Meetings of the Committee normally will be open to all members of the College community. 
  3. The Committee will appoint a Secretary who will keep minutes of each meeting. After approval by the Committee, minutes will be made available to the campus community. 
  4. The Committee will file an annual report with Faculty Council. 

3. Membership, Membership Selection, Terms of Office, and Chairperson Selection. 

The Committee will be composed of the following: 

  1. Voting members: 
    1. Three faculty members nominated by Faculty Council and elected by Faculty for three-year, staggered terms with divisional representation;
    2. The Director of International Education;
    3. The Assistant Director of International Education;
    4. The Associate Director of Admissions and Coordinator of International Recruitment, or another representative from Admissions;
    5. The Director of Foundation & Corporate Relations, or another representative from the Alumni Affairs & Development Division;
    6. The TESOL instructor;
    7. Two student members appointed by Allegheny Student Government for two-year staggered terms, preferably one international student and one student who has studied away. 
  2. Non-voting member: representative from the President’s Cabinet, preferably the Director of the Allegheny Gateway. 
  3. The Committee Co-Chairs will be a member of the faculty and the Director of International Education. 

(Created 13 April 2012, Revised 10 May 2019) 

4.8 Faculty Athletics Representatives (FARs) 

The functions of the Faculty Athletics Representatives (FARs) are to advise the Department of Athletics & Recreation and members of the faculty on issues related to Allegheny’s athletic programs. Responsibilities and duties include ensuring student-athlete welfare and the academic integrity of the athletics program. Because of the expertise required for understanding NCAC and NCAA responsibilities and regulations and to provide continuity in representation, appointments will typically be for 5 years with an option to renew, ideally with some overlap between incoming and outgoing FARs . The Provost will appoint FARs after consultation with the Director of Athletics and with Faculty Council. Any full-time faculty member is eligible. Appointments will be compensated in lieu of a standing committee appointment. The appointment will be reviewed every five years as part of the NCAA Institutional Self-Study Guide (ISSG) process coordinated by the Athletics Director. 

(Revised 8 December 2016, 21 April 2022)

4.9 Safety Committee 

  1. Purpose:
    1. The Allegheny College Safety Committee supports the overall college mission “to prepare young adults for successful and meaningful lives in a diverse, interconnected world” by providing a safe and healthy place to live, work, and learn. In partnership with the College administration, faculty and students, the Safety Committee strives to reduce environmental, health, and safety risks through programs that promote stewardship for the College’s human and environmental resources. The most up to date information regarding the committee can be found on the committee website. https://sites.allegheny.edu/safety/
  2. Functions:
    The specific duties of the Safety Committee are:
    1. Promoting safety awareness throughout the college.
    2. Organizing and /or providing safety training programs for employees and students.
    3. Assisting in safety inspections of buildings, grounds, and work sites on a periodic basis as dictated by our inspection program.
    4. Promptly reviewing all safety-related incidents, injuries, accidents and illnesses. Including investigation, recommending appropriate corrective action, follow-up and compliance.
    5. Periodically evaluating Safety Committee by-laws, structure and operations, and recommending any changes.
    6. Coordinating with other departments to monitor completion and compliance of all training and inspections as well as an overall awareness of safety on campus to meet these objectives as a unified college body. Safety at Allegheny College is a campus wide initiative involving everyone.
  3. Procedures:
    1. In order to be legally certified, the Safety Committee is required to have more employee (non-supervisory) representatives than employer (supervisory) representatives as voting members, to have representation from particularly high-risk areas, and to achieve a quorum each month. Thus, alternate members must be designated to meet these requirements if some members are unavailable for any given meeting. Members designated as alternates are voting members of the committee only when they are filling in for voting members of the Safety Committee. 
    2. The election of the committee chair and vice-chair will be held during the monthly committee meeting the month before the incumbent’s term expires. If the chair or vice-chair leave office before the term expires, an election will be held during the next scheduled Safety Committee meeting. The elected officer will serve for the remainder of the term. 
    3. Consultants serve on the Safety Committee as non-voting members.
    4. The Safety Committee is governed specifically by its own bylaws which can be found here: https://sites.allegheny.edu/safety/committee-by-laws/
  4. Membership:
    The Safety Committee will be composed of at least four committee members (voting members) at all times. Employee representatives will serve a continuous term of at least one year. Employer representatives can be appointed by the employer or can be rotated onto the committee as business needs dictate. To ensure at least one experienced representative serves on the committee at all times, it may be advisable to stagger the terms of the members.  Committee membership, voting members, and bylaws will be maintained on the Safety Committee website.
    1. The committee will be composed of the following.

      1. One faculty member from the laboratory sciences, nominated by Faculty Council, will serve as a voting member of the committee. 
      2. Up to two individuals contracted by the college, with expertise in safety compliance, will serve as Ex-officio members.
      3. One representative each from Physical Plant, Athletics, Public Safety, Human Resources, Library Information Technology Services, Student Life, Conferences and Events, Finance, and Theater. These members can be appointed by the head of their respective departments. 
    2. A Chair and Vice-Chair will be elected from among the voting committee members. 
    3. The President of the College, or a designated representative of the office, will determine voting members of the Safety Committee from among the representatives listed above in order to meet state guidelines at the start of each year and ensure that information is posted publicly. 

(17 March 2022)

 

4.10 Health Professions Faculty Advisors

The functions of the Health Professions Faculty Advisors are to advise the Maytum Center for Student Success and members of the faculty on issues related to Allegheny’s health professions programs. 

Responsibilities and duties include working with professional staff to counsel students concerning career opportunities in the health field; to advise students about undergraduate liberal arts curricula suitable for graduate health education; to assist students in compiling dossiers and obtaining graduate placement; to plan, arrange, and supervise public lectures, symposia, visits by scholars and practitioners, and other programs designed to introduce students to the opportunities and requirements of prospective graduate health fields; to consult with current students to ensure that their needs and viewpoints are represented in health professions advising; to represent Allegheny College at admissions events, orientation, and appropriate professional institutions and association meetings; and to provide counsel, guidance, and support to the Senior Assistant Dean of Student Success for Health Professions Advising, and the Dean for Student Success. Limited work may be required during the summer months, which should be primarily confined to attending admissions events and participating in orientation as needed.

In order to assist students in compiling their application dossiers, the Health Professions Faculty Advisors, the Senior Assistant Dean of Student Success for Health Professions Advising, and the Dean for Student Success or their designee will constitute the Health Professions Advisory Committee for the purpose of completing committee letters of recommendation. The Senior Assistant Dean of Student Success for Health Professions Advising will convene and chair the Health Professions Advisory Committee.

Because of the expertise required for understanding health professions advising and to provide continuity in advisement, appointments will typically be for 5 years with an option to renew, ideally with some overlap between incoming and outgoing advisors. The Provost will appoint two (2) Health Professions Faculty Advisors after consultation with the Dean for Student Success and with Faculty Council. Any full-time faculty member is eligible. At least one (1) Health Professions Faculty Advisor should be from the health professions-aligned STEM fields (Biology, Biochemistry, Chemistry, Neuroscience, and Physics). The other Health Professions Faculty Advisor should be from a program outside of those fields. Appointments will be compensated in lieu of a standing committee appointment. 

(21 April 2022)