OFFICIAL

Pen and Ink change to paragraph 6.a. on 1/7/2009

Role of Department Chairs and School Directors

1. Department chairs and school directors (hereafter chairs/directors) are the chief executives of their departments and schools (hereafter department/school) and are responsible for the implementation of university, college, and department/school policies and for the development, coordination, and administration of all academic programs and activities within their departments/schools. As representatives of their departments/schools, chairs/directors articulate program aspirations, directions, standards and points of view to other groups inside and outside the university community.
2. The department/school chair/director represents the Personnel Committee and other faculty and staff in negotiations, considerations or discussions relative to policy decisions under consideration by other divisions of the university, particularly when those decisions will have a direct or indirect impact on academic issues. Through consultation with and assistance of the Personnel Committee, the chair/director facilitates and furthers the day-to-day instructional function.
3. The role and duties of chairs/directors are defined by their responsibilities at the university, college, and department/school levels and includes, but are not limited to:
 


a.    University Responsibilities


Chairs/Directors are expected to cooperate with administrative personnel outside their departments/schools to promote the goals of the university.
Chairs/Directors are expected to participate with all other officers of the Division of Academic Affairs in the development of academic standards and to support those standards in all interactions with faculty, students, staff, and the public.
Chairs/Directors are expected to be familiar with, to follow, and to administer all university policies in their departments/schools.


b.    College Responsibilities.


Chairs/Directors are expected to know the policies of the college and to assist in the implementation of those policies.
Chairs/Directors are expected to participate with the dean in the formulation and implementation of new academic policies and educational direction.
Chairs/Directors are expected to assist the dean in the development, allocation, and monitoring of expenditures.
Chairs/Directors are responsible for assisting and supporting the dean in providing professional and academic leadership for the college.
Chairs/Directors are expected to represent their departments/schools to other departments/schools within the college and to the dean.


c.    Departmental/School Responsibilities -The role of the chair/director is defined through a listing of primary and secondary responsibilities within their own departments/schools.
 





Primary Responsibilities

i.    The chair/director is expected to be a faculty member, teaching classes, participating in activities of scholarship, and engaging in professional service.
ii.    The chair/director, through consultation with the Personnel Committee, has the responsibility for the development and monitoring of the departmental budget and any other budgets supporting specific programs, as well as insuring operation within approved budgetary constraints. The chair/director has responsibility for monitoring the departmental/school ongoing expenditures including maintenance and operation funds and course fees.
iii.    The chair/director, through consultation with the Personnel Committee, is charged to develop a plan for the recruitment of highly qualified faculty and staff for the various academic disciplines within the department/school. This includes following equity and access guidelines, and insuring that the most qualified applicants are selected.
iv.    The chair/director, with Personnel Committee and advising staff input, is responsible for the development and coordination of an academic advising plan for departmental/school majors as well as other majors taking courses in the department/school. This function will encompass career counseling and advising as well as responding to questions and/or problems related to departmental/school course offerings.
v.    The chair/director, through consultation with the Personnel Committee, has the responsibility for the career development of all faculty and staff through the annual review process, including all salary and tenure/promotion reviews.
vi.    The chair/director, through consultation with the faculty, is responsible for coordinating, assigning and reporting faculty workloads.
vii.    The chair/director, through consultation with the faculty, is responsible for the development and implementation of long-range and short-range strategic plans in the department/school.
viii.    The chair/director is expected to represent the department/school to other departments, schools, colleges and divisions of the university and to develop contacts and relations with external organizations and constituents.
ix.    The chair/director, with input from the faculty, is responsible for the monitoring of the department's/school's curricula, assuring that those maintain relevance, contribute to the students' overall academic growth and reflect the current academic practices of that field.
x.    The chair/director is responsible for establishing and maintaining an efficient office management system, which will support the daily instructional program.
xi.    The chair/director is required to keep the dean fully informed about all critical matters in their department/school.
 


Secondary Responsibilities

i.    The chair/director has the responsibility of facilitating prompt, accurate and effective communication between faculty and administration. This function includes presiding over departmental/school meetings and representing the department/school at college council meetings.
ii.    The chair/director is responsible for preparing the department's/school's schedule of classes and organizing, supervising and monitoring departmental/school registration each semester.
iii.    The chair/director is responsible for providing individual counsel to students, staff and faculty in order to resolve or reconcile differences.
iv.    The chair/director is expected to provide effective leadership for all faculty and staff in their unit, giving multiple opportunities on a regular basis for both short and long-range planning related to overall program goals and personal professional goals.


 

EVALUATION OF CHAIRS AND DIRECTORS

4. The dean of each college is responsible for conducting an annual and systematic evaluation of each department chair and program director in the college. The purpose of this evaluation is to assess the chair's/director's job performance.

 

ANNUAL PROCEDURES

5. The college dean will develop a process for conducting evaluations of each chair/director. At a minimum, this process will include:

a.    Soliciting the faculty's evaluation of their chair/director, using a performance based instrument with a core of questions used throughout the university [See Appendix A (pdf) (doc)];
b.    Reviewing the chair's/director's performance with regard to departmental goals, objectives, initiatives and policies;
c.    Conducting a personal interview with the chair/director and reviewing other information pertinent to job performance; and teaching, scholarly and professional service responsibilities.
d.    Providing evaluation results along with recommendations for the improvement of job performance to the department's chair/director, faculty and staff;
e.    Providing a written summary of the chair's/director's evaluation results to the provost.
f.    The college dean is responsible for initiating the annual evaluation, obtaining faculty and staff input by March 10 and reaching closure on the process no later than April 15 of each academic year.

 

SUMMATIVE REVIEW

6. At least once every four years, in addition to the annual evaluation described above, the dean of the college will provide a summative review of the chair's/director's performance to the faculty/staff of the department and the provost by March 30th.

a.    This review will be based upon a comprehensive written evaluation of the chair's/director's work during the previous three annual evaluations and the current year. The review will include, but not be limited to, a careful consideration of the views of the faculty, staff and students.
b.    After receiving information from faculty, staff and students, the dean will meet with, at a minimum, the personnel committee in the chair's/director's department to discuss the chair's/director's performance. The chair/director shall not attend this meeting.
c.    The review will include a recommendation, through secret ballot of the personnel committee and counted by members of the personnel committee, concerning the reappointment of the chair.
d.    The dean will also meet with the chair/director so that the chair/director may explain and/or respond to his/her preliminary evaluation.
e.    The dean will provide the chair with a summative review recommending termination or reappointment as chair/director.
f.    The chair/director may respond to the dean in writing.
g.    The dean's recommendation will be forwarded to the provost and president for their approval or rejection.
h.    If the provost and president agree that continued service as chair/director is appropriate, the results of the summative review will serve as the basis for developing performance expectations for the following four-year period.


 

7. The provost will develop a schedule for conducting summative reviews that will result in approximately one-fourth of the chairs/directors undergoing a summative review each year. All chairs/directors with more than four years of service will have a summative review within two years of the initiation of this policy.
8. Although the summative review outlined above is normally conducted once every four years, nothing in the above sections shall be interpreted to prohibit more frequent summative reviews at the discretion of the provost nor to contradict the policy stated in the Rules and Regulations of the Board of Regents, Texas State University System, that “administrative officers … shall serve without fixed term subject to the pleasure of the president and the board.”

 

 

COMPENSATION OF CHAIRS AND DIRECTORS RETURNING TO FACULTY

9. Compensation for chairs/directors returning to faculty will vary based on longevity and tenure in office.
10. In general, chairs/directors typically will receive a nine-month salary equal to 75% of their twelve-month salary, exclusive of a chair's/director's stipend if applicable. In unusual cases of successful and lengthy tenure, chairs may receive more than the typical return-to-faculty salary. In cases of short, unsuccessful tenures, chairs/directors may receive less than the typical return-to-faculty salary.
11. In those colleges with significant salary compression or other unusual circumstances, chairs'/directors' step-down salaries will be no less than the average of tenured faculty at the chair's/director's rank.

CERTIFICATION STATEMENT

This PPS has been approved by the reviewer listed below and represents Texas State's Division of Academic Affairs policy and procedure from the date of this document until superseded.

 
Texas State University-San Marcos
Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs
Last Updated: March 25, 2008
Send comments and questions to: tg12@txstate.edu