Governance Document of The University Of Massachusetts Worcester
Article II: Organizational Structure
A. Schools
UMW consists of the T.H. Chan School of Medicine, the Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, the Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing, and such other schools as may be developed. Schools are the sole degree awarding entities.
1. Bylaws
Schools shall prepare, adopt and regularly review bylaws for the purpose of establishing School-specific organizational structure and standard operating procedures, including formulating educational policy. As defined in said bylaws, Schools may (1) be organized into Departments; and (2) establish Representative Bodies and Standing Committees consistent with the principle of joint effort described in the University’s Board of Trustees Statement of University Governance (Doc. T73-098, as amended).
Schools should regularly review their bylaws at a minimum of every five years. Any faculty member within a particular School may propose an amendment to that School’s bylaws. A proposed amendment shall be handled as follows:
a. Amendments
i. The proposed bylaw amendment must be in writing and provided to the Secretary of that School’s faculty Representative Body. The Secretary will transmit the proposed amendment to the Office of the Dean, unless the amendment originated from that Office.
ii. The proposed amendment shall be included as an agenda item at a reasonably soon future meeting of that School’s faculty Representative Body. The proposer and a representative of the Dean’s Office will be provided an opportunity to address the body.
iii. The officers of that School’s faculty Representative Body will finalize the language for the proposed amendment. During this time, the amendment will be transmitted to the Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs who shall facilitate administrative and legal review.
iv. At a future meeting of that School’s faculty Representative Body, a vote will be taken on whether to recommend adoption of the amendment. Before such a vote is taken, the Office of the Dean may state its position on the amendment and the Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs may report on the results of the administrative and legal review.
v. A two-thirds majority vote to recommend adoption shall result in the proposed amendment being forwarded to the campus’ Faculty Council and Executive Council for review and consultation. These two Councils may provide a recommendation (positive or negative) to the School’s faculty Representative Body.
vi. The proposed amendment (including the recommendations, if any, of the Dean’s Office and the Faculty and Executive Councils) shall be transmitted to the Faculty-at-large of that School for a vote on the amendment. A simple majority of votes cast shall be required for approval and adoption.
b. Ratification
Those Schools that already have bylaws in existence remain in full force and effect subject to any subsequent amendments. A School seeking initial ratification of its bylaws must conform to the Amendment language above (Article II.A.1.a.) and then obtain approval from the Provost and Chancellor.
2. Academic Departments
Academic Departments are administrative subdivisions of a School organized for the purpose of one or more of UMW’s four (4) core missions as defined in Academic Activities. The Department’s faculty shall perform these activities, as overseen and managed by the Department Chair, consistent with the provisions of this document and Trustees’ policies and in a manner that does not adversely impact the operations of other Departments or Schools. Recommendations for appointments, reappointments, promotions and tenure to a School that has Departments shall be made within a particular Department. The process for conferring academic appointments, including reappointments, promotions and tenure may be found in the appropriate school’s Academic Personnel Policy or bylaws.
Departments may create departmental divisions based on recognized subspecialties within the Department’s academic discipline. Establishment of new academic Departments or consolidation or realignment of existing Departments may be recommended by either the Faculty, Chairs, Deans, Provost, or Chancellor. Such recommendations shall be forwarded to, and administered by the Dean of the relevant School. The School’s faculty Representative Body, the Faculty Council and Executive Council shall be consulted throughout the review process of any such recommendation. Any such recommendation shall be subject to approval by the Provost and the Chancellor.
B. Programs, Centers and Institutes
Programs, Centers and Institutes are organizational units created to implement academic and training programs, clinical or community service, or research activities that cannot ordinarily be accommodated within existing School and Departmental structures. Programs, Centers and Institutes cannot award degrees and cannot confer faculty appointments. Rather, faculty associated within Programs, Centers and Institutes must have appointments in Schools (and if applicable, Departments).
1. Programs
Programs represent a thematically-aligned group of faculty members who share an academic research focus under the leadership of a Director and may serve as sponsors for degree-granting programs, concentrations, and courses. The establishment, approval and administration of Programs is governed by each School’s Bylaws.
2. Centers and Institutes
The definition, establishment, approval and administration of Centers and Institutes is governed by the University of Massachusetts Board of Trustees Policy On Centers and Institutes (Doc. T96-096, as amended).