Faculty will now also have more influence over programs to enhance the University's academic departments through a new proposal.
The proposition will restructure the academic review program to include Faculty Senate representation and allocate more responsibility over the review procedure to department deans, Associate Dean for Academics J. Milton Adams said.
At the most recent Faculty Senate Executive Council meeting, Adams proposed this reorganization to better assess the needs of each department and ensure an understanding of each department's agenda.
"It's really a sort of quality assessment," Faculty Senate Chair Marcia Childress said.
The restructuring will allow for increased communication among departments, which was not sufficiently provided for under the previous system, Adams said.
"The programs review covers a huge range of size and scope," he said. "It will give faculty a chance to see how things connect across schools."
Under the new structure, the deans of each department will create a committee to produce a self-study, which assesses that department's current status, plans for the future and designates areas for improvement. The evaluation will be returned to the deans for further consideration.
The Faculty Senate then will appoint a faculty member to evaluate a particular department's self-study. The findings will be addressed to the Academic Affairs Committee, Adams said.
Childress said she believes the new structure will increase communication between the faculty and the Provost's Office.
"I think it is a good idea indicative of the Provost's Office's interest in involving the faculty in more substantive ways in academic enterprises," Childress said. "I think the faculty will have a lot to contribute."
The Faculty Senate's new role will provide departments with outside viewpoints and allow members to present their perspectives to deans, Adams said.
"It helps to get somebody different to look at what you do," he said.
The new structure also broadens the University's commitment to interdisciplinary studies, Childress said.
"It is a good opportunity to learn something about how other units of the University operate beyond their own department," she added. "We can possibly look at a group of departments, such as the sciences, and see how they logically work together. It should shape forward thinking."
The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools requires programs review for accreditation, Adams said. The review process spans five or six years, and each year the faculty assesses academic areas such as the humanities and the sciences.
"Programs review is an ongoing, continuous process," Adams said "I am optimistic because I think it will serve to benefit the departments."
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