UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS:  ADMINISTRATION AND GOVERNANCE

OVERVIEW

The University of Arkansas is the original campus and flagship institution of the University of Arkansas System.  A 10-member Board of Trustees, each member appointed by the governor to a 10 year term, makes policy for the 13 institutions and three other units in the system.

Board of Trustees Policy 100.4 specifies general governance and administrative rules and regulations for the Board of Trustees, its committees, and campuses and units of the system.  Excerpts from Chapter III, Administration, are provided below.   Board of Trustees policy 810.1, Articles of Local Campus Government for the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville contains information on the Faculty, Faculty Senate, College and School at-Large Faculties, the Students, the Student Senate, the Staff, the Staff Senate, and the Campus Council. The complete texts of the policies are available at the web sites provided below:

Board of Trustees Policy 100.4 Rules and Regulations of the Board of Trustees of the University of Arkansas for the Governance and Administration of the University of Arkansas  - http://vcfa.uark.edu/Documents/BOTPol_0100_4.PDF

Board of Trustees Policy 810.1 Articles of Local Campus Government for the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville (Effective July 1, 1995; Revised June 6, 2003) - http://vcfa.uark.edu/Documents/BOTPol_0810_1.PDF 

Board of Trustees Policy 100.4, Chapter III, Administration (excerpt):

1.  General Provisions

The administration of the University of Arkansas, under the authority of the Board of Trustees, is unified in the office of the President.

2. The President

The President shall be the Chief Executive Officer of the University of Arkansas and shall be appointed by and responsible to the Board of Trustees. The President shall have a discussion annually with the Board of Trustees concerning an evaluation of his or her performance. Subject to the direction and control of the Board of Trustees and the laws applicable to the University of Arkansas, the President shall be responsible for the management of the affairs and execution of the policies of the University of Arkansas and all of its campuses, divisions, and units of administration. The President shall have broad discretionary authority to effect these functions and meet these responsibilities of the office. The President shall attend and shall participate in, without the privilege of voting, all of the meetings of the Board of Trustees and of its committees, except as excused by the Board.

The President and the Chief Fiscal Officer, as provided in Board Policy 300.1, shall have the authority to contract on behalf of the Board of Trustees and the University of Arkansas. As chief executive, the President shall be the official administrative spokesperson for the University of Arkansas and the officer responsible for liaison with the General Assembly, the Governor, state offices and governmental bodies, and the federal government. The President shall be responsible to the Board of Trustees for the prompt and effective enforcement of all laws relating to the University and of all resolutions, policies and procedures, budgets, and rules and regulations adopted by the Board for the operation of the University and all of its campuses, divisions and units of administration. It shall be the President's duty to bring to the attention of the Board all matters which, in his or her opinion, affect the University and require consideration by the Board. There shall be appropriate materials provided to the Board members and sufficient time for thoughtful discussion before decisions are required. The President shall make recommendations to the Board for securing the necessary personnel and the fiscal resources required for the operation of the University and shall make recommendations with respect to the adoption, modification or rescission of policies, budgets, and regulations applicable to the University and all of its campuses, divisions, and units of administration.

The President shall prepare and submit to the Board of Trustees an annual report to correspond with the fiscal year of the University and, in addition, any other reports he or she may deem wise or as the Board may require.

The President shall coordinate the activities of the University and all of its constituent campuses and units in accordance with the principles prescribed by the Board of Trustees. The President shall adjudicate all issues of jurisdiction and all issues in dispute between or among the constituent campuses and administrative units of the University. The President shall be a member of all faculties on all campuses of the University and shall have the responsibilities of facilitating the promotion of goals, programs, and needs of each campus after consultation with the Chancellor. The President shall establish administrative organizations to assist in the execution of the policies of the University of Arkansas. The President shall be assisted by Vice Presidents and other staff officers and by Chancellors of the several campuses of the University. The President shall prescribe the duties and assignments of the Vice Presidents and other staff officers. Furthermore, the President shall, in consultation with the Chancellors, establish and define the duties of universitywide councils, committees, or other bodies organized to advise and assist him or her. All official communications from faculty, staff, and students on a particular campus or unit shall emanate through the appropriate Chancellor or Director to the President.

The President's duties and responsibilities as defined herein expressly exclude any duties on behalf of or in connection with The University of Arkansas Foundation, Inc. ("Foundation"). It is expressly contemplated by the Board that the President may, if he or she so desires, and with the advice and consent of the Board of Trustees, enter into a consulting contract or other arrangement with the Foundation in regard to fund raising and other activities for the Foundation. Such consulting agreement shall not include any of the duties defined above.

4.  The Chancellors

The Board of Trustees shall appoint the Chancellor of any campus upon recommendation of the President. The Chancellor of a campus shall exercise complete executive authority thereon, subject to the policies established by the Board of Trustees and the President. The Chancellor shall be the leader of and the official spokesperson for the campus and shall promote the educational excellence and general development and welfare of the campus. The Chancellor shall define the authority of administrative committees and officers of that campus, and all projects, programs, and institutional reports to be undertaken on behalf of that campus shall be subject to authorization and approval of the Chancellor.

The Chancellor shall be responsible to the President for enforcement of the policies and procedures, budgets, regulations, and decisions of the Board of Trustees concerning that campus. It shall be his or her duty to keep the President, and through the President, the Board of Trustees fully informed concerning the operations and needs of that campus. The Chancellor shall make an annual report to the President corresponding to the fiscal year of the University of Arkansas, which report shall also be provided to the Board of Trustees. The Chancellor shall further provide any other reports that may be required.

At the meeting of the Board a designated Chancellor or Director shall give a report on the state of the campus or unit. Further, each Chancellor and Director shall be prepared to report to the Board on the status of his or her campus at any meeting upon request of the President or any member of the Board.

The Chancellor shall make recommendations for the development of the educational programs of the campus and shall serve as the general advisor to the President, and through the President, the Board of Trustees with respect to all programs and activities of the campus. The Chancellor shall present to the President all matters concerning the campus which are to be considered by the Board of Trustees or any of its committees. The Chancellor shall be expected to attend all meetings of the Board of Trustees when an agenda item for the campus is to be presented unless excused by the President.

Subject to the policies prescribed by the Board of Trustees and the President, the Chancellor shall make recommendations to the President with respect to the budget and the appointment of full-time academic personnel.

The Chancellor shall be the official medium of communication between the President and all deans, heads of departments and department chairs and all other administrative officers, faculty, staff, and students of the campus.

The Chancellor shall be a member of all faculties and other academic bodies of the campus and shall be a member of the campus governing body. [end of excerpt].

Fayetteville Campus Administration

Directly responsible to the chancellor of the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, are the provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs, the vice chancellor for finance and administration, the vice chancellor for university advancement, the vice chancellor for student affairs, the vice chancellor for government and community relations, the vice chancellor for intercollegiate athletics and director of athletics, and the director of affirmative action.

Deans are the chief administrative officials of the colleges and schools.  Deans, directors, and other administrative officials or units are responsible to the vice chancellors to whom they report, or, under certain circumstances, directly to the chancellor, for the discharge of the duties and responsibilities placed upon them.

The general areas of administrative or academic responsibilities of each of these officials are indicated by the official titles that the individuals bear.  Written charges, or memoranda of understanding, pertaining to specific areas of responsibility are prepared whenever such actions are considered necessary or appropriate.

The Council of Deans includes deans (and other officials as may be designated) and advises the provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs.  The dean or director of each college, school, or other division is the executive head of the division.  Such offices are responsible for and are empowered to execute university policies applicable to the school or college.  They may require such reports from members of their faculty and staff as may be needed in the administrative work of their unit.  They are responsible for recommending appointments, promotions, and other personnel changes to the provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs after consultation with appropriate members of the department concerned, other related department heads, and the deans of other areas which may be affected.  Deans and directors are authorized to determine the workload and assignments of the individual members of their faculty and staff.

The chairperson (or head) of a department is responsible for the general conduct of the affairs of the department.  At least once in each semester he or she shall call a meeting of the departmental staff for the purpose of discussing departmental affairs.  The chancellor appoints the head of a department on recommendation of the dean.  On recommendation of the dean, following his consultation with all members of the departmental faculty and such departmental faculty concurrence as is appropriate, the chancellor may appoint a departmental chairperson, in lieu of a head of a department, for a specified time.

OTHER GOVERNANCE WEB SITES

The Rules of Procedure of the Faculty Senate document is provided below as Appendix B.

For current information regarding campus governance groups, including agendas, minutes, committees, membership, and annual reports, consult the Governance website maintained by the secretary of the Faculty Senate at http://www.uark.edu/admin/vcacsey/vcaa/governence.html.

For current information regarding the Graduate Council, the governance body of the Graduate School, see the website http://www.uark.edu/depts/gradinfo/dean/gradcouncil/index.html

For the UA organizational structure, see http://www.uark.edu/home/12155.php

For brief descriptions of University Centers and Research Units, see the listing maintained in the Catalog of Studies,  http://catalogofstudies.uark.edu

For a Profile of the University of Arkansas, see the Chancellor’s website, http://www.uark.edu/rd_vcad/urel/publications/profile/2003/

APPENDIX

Rules Of Procedure Of The Faculty Senate
(Faculty Senate, adopted April 3, 1997; revised April 17, 2002;
most recently revised February 15, 2006)

The Faculty Senate has adopted its own rules of procedure to supplement the Board of Trustees policy 810.1 which establishes the Senate and its authority and organizational structure.  The text is provided below.

I.            Parliamentary procedure: The Faculty Senate shall be governed by the current edition of The Standard Code of Parliamentary Procedure by Alice Sturgis.

II.            Campus-wide elections:

A.   During the spring semester of each year, the Faculty Chair, Faculty  Vice Chair, and the campus-wide representatives on the Faculty Senate shall be elected by the following members of the faculty: those holding a halftime (or greater) faculty appointment who are tenured or on the tenure track or have been declared eligible to vote by the Faculty Senate, and those in their third (or greater) consecutive year of full-time appointment who are instructors or lecturers.

B.   During the spring semester of each year, the members of the Committee on Appointment, Promotion and Tenure shall be elected by tenured and tenure-track members of the faculty.

C.   The elections described in Sections A and B hereof shall be conducted by the Nominating and Election Coordinating Committee (“The Committee” herein) pursuant to these rules and any additional rules adopted by the Committee that are consistent with these rules. The Committee is hereby given the authority to resolve any questions concerning the elections or elective procedures. By the end of the first week of classes in the spring term, the Committee shall distribute a call for nominations for the following offices:  Faculty Chair, Campus-wide representatives to the Faculty Senate, and members of the Committee on appointment, Promotion, and Tenure.

D.   On or before the end of the first week of classes in the Spring semester, the Committee shall issue a call for nominations for Faculty Chair, At-Large Faculty Senator, and Committee on Appointment, Promotion, and Tenure to be elected.   The committee shall accept additional nominees for any of the offices if each such nomination is (a) made by a petition signed by ten or more members of the faculty eligible to vote in the election for the office in question, (b) submitted to the Committee within one week after the call is given, and (c) accompanied by a brief biographical sketch for the nominee.

E.   The nomination of any one person to more than one of the positions described in Section D hereof is not precluded.

F.   On or before March 1 of each year, the Committee shall distribute the following to all eligible voters:

1.      A ballot shall list the nominees for the primary election of each of the following:

(a)  a list of at least three nominees for the position of Faculty Chair;
(b)  a list of nominees for the position of campus-wide representatives on the Faculty Senate. The number of individuals on the list shall be at least 25% more than the number of vacancies;
(c)  a list of nominees for the Committee on Appointment, Promotion and Tenure.  The number of individuals on the list shall be at least twice the number of members of the Committee on Tenure to be elected.  Each list shall include all nominees nominated either by the Committee or by valid petition.

2.      A brief biographical sketch for each nominee.

3.      A call for the return of the completed ballots, specifying that valid ballots must be received by the Secretary of the Committee within 12 days after the call is mailed. The call shall be accompanied by appropriate instructions regarding proper voting procedures under the provisions of Sections I, J, and K hereof.

G.   On or before March 15 of each year, having counted the primary ballots in accordance with the provisions of sections I, J, and K hereof, the Committee shall announce the results of the primary elections.

H.   By April 1 of each year, the Committee shall have completed any run-off elections required under the provisions of sections I, J, and K hereof, and shall announce the results of such run-off elections.  Except for the reduction in the number of candidates as provided therein, the procedures set forth in sections F and G hereof shall apply to any such run-off election.  If there are more than three nominees, then the following actions shall be placed into action.

I.   The Faculty Chair and Faculty Vice Chair shall be elected from a common list of nominees for the office of Faculty Chair.

1. In the primary election, each eligible voter shall be entitled to vote for two of the nominees.

2. The candidates receiving the most number of votes equal to a majority of the ballots cast shall be elected Faculty Chair.  The candidate receiving the second highest number of votes will be  elected Faculty Vice-Chair.  If not candidate receives a majority of  votes, then the three candidates receiving the most votes shall stand for a run-off election where each voter shall be entitled to vote for two of the three candidates.  The winner of the run-off election shall be elected Faculty Chair and the runner-up shall be elected Faculty Vice chair.

3. In the event that only three candidates are nominated, the candidate receiving the most votes will be elected Chair and the candidate receiving the second highest number of votes will be elected Vice Chair.

J.   Campus-wide representatives on the Faculty Senate shall be elected as follows:

1. In both the primary election and any run-off election, each eligible voter shall be entitled to cast as many unit votes as there are campus-wide representatives to be elected, and to distribute these votes among the several nominees in any way, except that no more than half of these votes may be cast for any single nominee.

2. The nominee shall be declared elected in order of decreasing  number of votes received until all positions have been filled.  ion shall be declared elected.

3. Should a campus wide representative elected to the Faculty Senate be unable to complete his or her term of office, the vacancy shall be filled referring to the results of the same election in which that representative was elected.  Among the remaining candidates, the individual who received the most votes and who is able to fill the vacancy shall be a campus-wide representative in the Faculty Senate for the remainder of the unexpired term.

K.   Members of the Committee on Appointment, Promotion and Tenure shall be elected as follows:

1. Each eligible voter shall be entitled to cast as many unit votes as there are members of the Committee on Appointment, Promotion and Tenure to be elected, and to distribute these votes among the several nominees in any way, except that no more than half of these votes may be cast for any single nominee.

2. In the primary election, each nominee shall be declared elected in order of decreasing number of votes received until all positions have been filled.

III.            Vacancy in the office of Faculty Vice Chair

Should the office of Faculty Vice Chair become vacant during the term of office, a new Faculty Vice Chair shall be elected for the unexpired term by the Faculty Senate.   In such election, no one shall be declared elected until he or she has received at least twenty-four votes.

IV.            Election of faculty representatives on the Campus Council

At the Faculty Senate’s first meeting of each academic year, the Senate shall elect 16 senators from among its voting members (other than its Chair and Vice Chair to be faculty representatives on the Campus Council.  The Senate shall be governed by the following procedures for the election of these senators:

A.   Before any voting occurs, nominations for filling all of the representative positions shall be made from the floor.

B.   In case there are more nominations than positions to be filled, voting shall be each senator shall be entitled to cast as many unit votes as there are positions to be filled, and to distribute these votes among the several nominees for the positions in any way, except that no more than half of these votes may be cast for any single candidate.

C.   In the first round of voting, each nominee shall be declared elected upon receiving a number of votes equal to a majority of the valid ballots cast, unless the number In the latter event, the nominees shall be declared elected in order of decreasing number of votes received, until all positions have been filled.

D.   Should the number of nominees elected in the first round of voting be less than the number of positions to be filled, there shall be a run-off election among the runner-up nominees who received the greatest number of votes, the number of such candidates in the run-off election to be equal to the number of positions to be filled, plus three (or the number of remaining candidates, if fewer than three).  The candidates receiving the most votes in the run-off election shall be declared elected.

E.   Should a faculty representative elected to the Campus Council be unable to complete his or her term of office, the vacancy shall be filled by referring to the results of the Senate’s election in which that representative was elected.  Among the candidates who were eliminated in that election, the senator who received the most votes and who is able to fill the vacancy shall be a faculty representative on the Campus Council for the remainder of the unexpired term.

V.            Campus representative on the Arkansas Higher Education Faculty Council

The Faculty Chair shall serve as the representative-elect to the Arkansas Higher Education Faculty Council, and the Chair of the Faculty Senate shall serve as the representative on the Council.

VI.            Action on legislation of a separate faculty or the Graduate School Faculty

When the Faculty Senate receives legislation from a separate faculty or the Graduate School Faculty concerning its own academic affairs (“the legislation” herein), the Senate’s action on the legislation shall be governed by the following procedures:

A.   The presiding officer shall first call for a motion to approve the legislation.

1. If a motion to approve is made and is passed, the Senate shall take no other action on the legislation (unless, of course, it reconsiders or rescinds the motion).   After approval of the legislation, if the Senate has sole legislative jurisdiction over the legislation, the Chair of the Senate shall advise the Chancellor of the Senate’s approval of the legislation; if the Senate does not have sole legislative jurisdiction over the legislation and it directly affects students or staff, it shall be referred to the Campus Council for final action.

2. If a motion to approve is not made or if a motion to approve is made and is defeated, the presiding officer shall call for a motion to negate the legislation.

3. If a motion to negate is made and is passed, the Senate shall take no other action on the legislation (unless, of course, it reconsiders or rescinds the motion).  After approval of the legislation, if the Senate has sole legislative jurisdiction over the legislation, the Chair of the Senate shall advise the Chancellor of the Senate’s negation of the legislation; if the Senate does not have sole legislative jurisdiction over the legislation and it directly affects students or staff, it shall be referred to the Campus Council for final action.

4. If a motion to negate is not made or if a motion to negate is made and is defeated, the presiding officer shall announce that, in the absence of an objection from the floor, the legislation will be filed.  After filing of the legislation, if the Senate has sole legislative jurisdiction over the legislation, the Chair of the Senate shall advise the Chancellor of the Senate’s filing of the legislation; if the Senate does not have sole jurisdiction over the legislation and it directly affects students or staff, it shall be referred to the Campus Council for final action.  If a senator objects to filing the legislation, the presiding officer shall entertain a motion to file the legislation.  When a motion to file is made, if the Senate has sole legislative jurisdiction over the legislation, the Chair of the Senate shall advise the Chancellor of the Senate’s action on the motion to file the legislation; if the Senate does not have sole legislative jurisdiction over the legislation and it directly affects students or staff, it shall be referred to the Campus Council for final action.

VII.            Notices and minutes

A.   In any year, the distributions to faculty members required by Subsection D.2 and D.4 of Article II of Board Policy 810.1 may be complied with by (a) sending the required information by e-mail to all faculty members who receive e-mail, and (b) placing the required information on a website dedicated to faculty governance, provided however that early in the fall semester all faculty members are notified by campus mail of the Web site’s address and of the times tentatively scheduled for the six regular meetings of the Faculty Senate that year.

B.   Even if minutes of Faculty Senate meetings are distributed to them by e-mail, hard copies shall be distributed to the chairpersons of the Student Senate and the Staff Senate, to the Chair of the Campus Council, to the Chair of the Agenda Committee of the Campus Council, to all chairs of academic departments, to all directors of units, to all vice chancellors and deans, and to the Chancellor.  The office of the Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs shall send to the President and to the Board of Trustees all actions involving approval by, or notification to, the Board of Trustees. These postings, which shall be done in a timely manner, will be accompanied with explicit information in the required format.

C.   Although supporting information shall be distributed with each tentative agenda when it is feasible to do so, Subsection D.2 or Article II of Board Policy 810.1 shall be complied with whenever the agenda lists by item all of the business known by the one preparing the agenda to be scheduled for the meeting in question.

VIII.            “Prefiling” of motions

When any main motion (except to reconsider, rescind, or resume consideration) is made at a meeting, it shall not be voted upon at that meeting unless its language has been distributed to all members of the Faculty Senate at least 24 hours before the meeting; such distribution may be made by e-mail to all Senators who receive e-mail.

IX.            Committee reports

When the Faculty Senate asks a committee to act, the committee’s report shall be addressed to the Faculty Senate.  The original of the report shall be filed with the Chair of the Faculty Senate, and a copy of the report shall also be sent to the Faculty Chair.   When a committee addresses a report to the Campus Faculty, a copy shall also be sent to the Chair of the Faculty Senate.  All committee reports received by the Chair of the Senate shall be distributed to members of the Senate; such distribution may be made by e-mail to all senators who receive e-mail.

X.            Faculty Senate Curriculum Review (Faculty Senate 11-14-96)

Curriculum review is the responsibility of the Faculty Senate and is exercised as described herein.  The University Committee on Courses and Programs and the University Committee on Program Review are committees jointly of the Graduate Council and the Faculty Senate.

A.   University Committee on Courses and Programs

1.      The University Committee on Courses and Programs reviews and makes recommendations to the Graduate Council and Faculty Senate for actions on proposals approved by a college or school for the following: 1) new courses; 2) changes in title, description, number, prerequisites, etc. of courses; 3) new undergraduate and graduate degree programs; and 4) modifications to degree programs. The committee is responsible for resolving questions concerning course numbering, course or program duplication, completeness of course or program revision forms, and other questions pertaining to course and program changes, including compliance with administrative guidelines implementing Board Policy.

2.      Proposals made to this Committee will be collected by the Graduate School and distributed to the members prior to each meeting. A summary sheet listing all recommendations from the committee is distributed with the agenda to the Graduate Council and the Faculty Senate prior to the meetings at which they are reported.  Proposals which affect graduate courses or programs will be approved by the Graduate Council prior to consideration by the Faculty Senate.

3.      Voting committee membership consists of a representative with graduate faculty rank to be appointed by the dean of each undergraduate college or school, a representative with graduate faculty rank from each undergraduate college and school to be chosen from the voting membership of the Faculty Senate, a representative of the Graduate Council, a representative of the university libraries appointed by the Dean of Libraries, a representative of the School of Law chosen by the Dean of Law, a student member selected by the ASG and a student member selected by the Graduate Dean's Student Advisory Board, the chair of the Campus Faculty, the Vice Chair of the Faculty Senate, and the chair of the Graduate Council. In addition, one non-voting representative appointed by the Dean of the Division of Continuing Education will serve on the committee, and a representative from the Registrar's Office will meet with the committee to provide technical support. The committee elects its own chair.

B.   The University Committee on Program Review. The University Committee on Program Review has the responsibility for initiating, participating in, or evaluating the results of undergraduate and graduate program reviews consistent with University guidelines and the review schedule as set forth in Academic Policy 1620.10 and 1620.11 requiring that each program be reviewed at least once every 10 years by this process or external reviewers.  Revisions to the guidelines and the schedule for reviews may be developed by the committee and recommended by the Faculty Senate, consistent with Board of Trustees policy 620.1, Arkansas code 6-61-214, and policy of the Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Board including the provision that changes to program review guidelines and schedule must be approved by the AHECB.  Reviews of graduate programs will be presented to the Graduate Council before being presented to the Faculty Senate.

Voting committee membership consists of a voting member of the Faculty Senate and a voting member of the Graduate Council from each academic college, the chair of the Graduate Council, and the Vice Chair of the Faculty Senate or his/her representative.  The committee elects its own chair.

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