COMPREHENSIVE STANDARD 3.7.5. (CS-P24):

Comments:

Cited in the Compliance Certification are a series of references associated with the responsibility and authority of faculty members including the Curriculum Development Manual, Council on Excellence Procedures Manual, Student Handbook, Board Policy on Academic Freedom (#EJA) and faculty job descriptions. Aside from the Board Policy on Academic Freedom these sources of responsibility and authority do not seem to meet the test of published policies. The responsibility and authority of faculty in academic and governance matters remains unclear in a published policy context. The institution needs to provide evidence of the responsibility and authority of faculty in academic and governance matters in a published policy context.

Response:

Collin County Community College District (CCCCD) publishes policies regarding responsibility and authority of faculty in academic and governance matters in multiple publications that are in print and online.

The responsibility of faculty in academic and governance matters are delineated in the Curriculum Development Manual (Reference 1), the Faculty Resource Guide (Reference 2), the Council on Excellence Procedures Manual (Reference 3), the Student Handbook (Reference 4), the Board of Trustees Policy Manual (Reference 5) and in faculty job descriptions (Reference 6).

Faculty members are responsible for curriculum development, peer review, and the evaluation and assessment of student performance in class. Their academic freedom is outlined in Board policy, and they participate in the overall governance of the College through leadership and participation on task forces and committees.

Curriculum Development:

The process for curriculum development at CCCCD is initiated by a faculty member or division and involves course or program development, revision, and deletion (Reference 7). The Curriculum Advisory Board (CAB) reviews and approves all CCCCD courses and programs. The CAB is comprised of faculty representatives who are appointed to serve three-year rotating terms. The CAB is charged with reviewing all changes in curricula or catalog listings, including the addition of new courses and programs in any division, and making recommendations to the Vice President of Academic Affairs (Reference 8).

Additional information on the responsibility and authority of faculty in course/program development and revision is contained in the Faculty Resource Guide and is available on the College’s intranet site (Reference 9).

Peer Review:

The Council on Excellence is a group of full-time faculty who are elected by the faculty. The responsibilities of the Council on Excellence are as follows:

• Serve as a peer review body for multi-year contracts applications of full-time faculty;
• Provide recommendations to the vice presidents, President, and Board of Trustees on the applications for multi-year contracts;
• Oversee the distribution of professional development funds and travel funds for full-time faculty; and
• Conduct the annual Outstanding Faculty and Piper Professor (a statewide award recognizing outstanding faculty) selection processes (Reference 10).

Evaluation and Assessment of Student Performance:

Information on the faculty members’ responsibilities related to grading is included in the online Faculty Resource Guide (Reference 11). The academic authority of faculty related to grading is described in the District’s Student Handbook, which states that “the assessment of the quality of a student’s academic performance is one of the major professional responsibilities of college faculty members and is solely and properly their responsibility” (Reference 12).

Academic Freedom:

The CCCCD Board of Trustees Policy Manual identifies specific policies related to the role of faculty in academic and governance matters. CCCCD Board Policy EJA (Local), Miscellaneous Instruction Policies: Academic Freedom states: “the Board believes that it is essential that the faculty have freedom in teaching, research, and publication. Faculty members shall be free from the fear that others might threaten their professional careers due to differences of opinion regarding such scholarly matters” (Reference 5).

The Board policy further states that “the mastery of a subject makes a faculty member a qualified authority in that discipline and competent to choose how to present its information and conclusions to students. The following are among the freedoms and responsibilities that should reside primarily with the faculty, with the advice and consent of the appropriate dean of instruction: planning and revising curricula, selecting textbooks and readings, selecting classroom films and other teaching materials, choosing instructional methodologies, assigning grades, and maintaining classroom discipline.”

Faculty rights and responsibilities concerning academic freedom, conflict of interest, and intellectual property rights are further delineated in the Faculty Resource Guide (Reference 13).

Overall Governance:

Faculty members are involved in governance, policy recommendation, and institutional decision making on multiple levels.

The Faculty Senate is actively involved in the review of policies before presentation to the Board of Trustees for approval. Officers in Faculty Senate meet with academic administrators and have input on a variety of issues, including faculty salaries and benefits, academic policies, workload, etc.

Additionally, faculty members serve as chairs of the following College committees and task forces:

• Academic Technology Roundtable
• Calendar Committee
• Council on Excellence
• Curriculum Advisory Board
• Discipline Appeals Committee
• General Education Outcomes Forum
• Grade Appeals Committee
• Honors Institute
• Learning Communities Committee
• Sabbatical Committee
• Service Learning Committee
• Institutional Review Board
• International Programs Task Force

Published faculty job descriptions also define the responsibility and authority of faculty members (Reference 6). Essential job functions of faculty in academic and governance matters are as follows:

• Teach assigned courses in accordance with the course syllabus and college policy.
• Continue to update and revise course content and teaching methodology in order to maintain currency and relevance.
• Maintain familiarity with current texts, materials, teaching aids, and techniques relative to courses within the discipline and recommend their adoption when appropriate.
• Actively seek ways to improve instruction.
• Provide advice and/or assistance to associate faculty in regard to course content and instructional materials.
• Actively participate in discipline, division, and College-wide task forces and committees for an average of two hours per week.
• Actively participate in assisting the College to maintain standards required for accreditation.

The responsibility and authority of faculty in academic and governance matters is documented in both printed and online publications. These resources delineate responsibilities and encourage participation of faculty in multiple aspects of academic and governance matters.

SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS: