Guidebook for Department Chairs

Claremont McKenna College Guidebook for Department Chairs

Introduction

1. Curricular Issues

   1. Staff and schedule courses each semester

   2. New course proposals

   3. Substitutions for GE requirements and approval of transfer credits for major requirements

   4. Degree audits

   5. Student advising

2. College Administration

   1. Curriculum Committee

   2. Committee of Academic Chairs

   3. Departmental representatives on college committees

3. Departmental Administration

   1. Coordination with department’s administrative staff

   2. Budgets and finance

   3. Calling and Chairing department meetings

   4. Coordinating student awards

   5. Annual assessment of student learning outcomes

   6. Point of contact for complaints

   7. Compliance responsibilities

   8. Annual performance reviews of faculty members

   9. Monitoring teaching performance of departmental members

   10. Post-tenure review

   11. Grade disputes

   12. CMC Catalog

   13. Departmental planning reports

   14. Research funding opportunities

4. Appointments, Promotion, and Tenure

   1. Tenure-track and tenured hiring and appointments

   2. Mentoring

   3. Annual junior faculty progress meetings

   4. Third-year reviews

   5. Tenure and promotion

   6. Visiting faculty

5. Leaves and Sabbaticals

   1. Monitoring the department’s leaves and sabbaticals

   2. Encouraging external funding for enhanced sabbaticals

   3. Reviewing sabbatical applications

6. The Chair’s Role in the Summer

   1. Transition of new faculty

   2. Emergency short-term hiring

   3. Advising

7. Conditions of Office

   1. Term

   2. Compensation

8. Sample Academic Year Timeline

9. Resources

10. Appendices

    1. Academic Advising FAQ

    2. Policy on Reimbursement of Business Expenses

    3. Grade Dispute Policy

    4. Mentoring Policy for Junior Faculty

    5. Mentoring Policy for Associate Professors

    6. Requests for Appointment and Reappointment of Non-Tenure-Track Faculty

Introduction

Department Chairs are selected by the faculty of their academic departments to represent the department in the College, to assure the ongoing organization of the department, to serve as the Chair of department faculty meetings, and to undertake a number of administrative tasks on behalf of the department.  

This guidebook provides a general overview of the customary activities of Department Chairs. Since many departments have their own written bylaws or unwritten customs, Chairs will often find it helpful to consult with former Department Chairs regarding appropriate practices; administrative staff personnel assigned to specific departments can also be a valuable source of information and institutional memory. Chairs are always welcome to make enquiries about procedures to the Dean of the Faculty’s office. 

Although this guidebook sets forth information that is current as of the date of issue, it is always possible that certain policies and procedures will be revised from time to time. 

 I. Curricular Issues

1. Staffing and course schedules

A Department Chair:

• ensures that sufficient sections are offered each semester of core courses, lower-division courses, and upper-division courses, as well as Freshman Humanities Seminars if the department has committed to teaching such;
• checks whether faculty members are teaching their required course load;
• monitors course enrollment figures. Courses without at least six CMC students are subject to cancellation and courses should not exceed assigned enrollment limits (except in consultation with the Dean of the Faculty’s office and Registrar).
• coordinates the department’s teaching schedule so as to minimize scheduling conflicts, especially for necessary courses;
• maximizes student opportunities to take necessary courses and to utilize facilities efficiently;
• considers offering required courses before 2:45pm so student athletes may attend both required classes and afternoon athletic practices and games;
• encourages a distribution of courses over all five days of the week;
• coordinates the department’s schedule of sabbaticals and leaves for the next three to five years (see Section V-1).

In roughly the third week of the semester, faculty will receive a call from the Registrar’s office for course offerings and textbook orders for the following semester. Faculty will be asked to submit their course offerings to their department chair within approximately 2 weeks. Normal procedure is for the Chair to collect faculty teaching preferences, negotiate whatever adjustments are necessary, and submit the department’s schedule to the Registrar’s office by roughly the fifth week of the semester. Consultation with the Dean of the Faculty may also be necessary to assure coverage of critical College priorities. 

Primary contact: Registrar 

Secondary contact: Dean of the Faculty

2. New course proposals

Proposals for new courses or substantial revisions of old courses made by faculty members in the department are usually forwarded to the Curriculum Committee by the Department Chair. Some departments have their own internal curriculum review process prior to advancing the proposal to the Curriculum Committee and some departments rely on the Chair to perform such reviews. The Curriculum Committee’s recommendation will then be brought to the full faculty, and the Department Chair may be asked to explain or clarify the proposal. The New Course Proposal form can be found on the Dean of the Faculty website.

Primary contact: Curriculum Committee via Dean of the Faculty

3. Substitutions for GE requirements and approval of transfer credits for major requirements

Department chairs have the authority to grant individual substitutions for or exceptions to requirements for the major, including approvals for transfer and study abroad courses. They may also approve course substitutions for departmental GE requirements. Note that transfer courses must be worth at least three semester hours or four quarter hours at the sponsoring college or university to qualify for substitution within a major or for GE purposes. Requests for waiver of general education requirements may only be granted by the Academic Standards Committee.

Primary contact: Registrar

4. Degree audits

The Registrar’s Office performs degree audits for every student three times prior to graduation: two semesters in advance of graduation, one semester in advance of graduation, and immediately prior to graduation. The Registrar’s Office will refer students to Department Chairs for curricular waivers or substitutions that are not otherwise on record in advance of each audit. Chairs should email individual approvals to the Registrar’s Office after considering each student’s request.

Primary contact: Registrar

5. Student advising

Department Chairs should familiarize themselves with the College’s General Education requirements and with their own department’s major requirements (see the Academic Advising FAQ in Appendix 1). Chairs or their designees typically coordinate their department’s student advising, and usually need to do the following: 

• Make themselves available to sign forms during pre-registration each semester for their own advisees and for advisees of other members of the department who may not be available (pre-registration takes place about 2-3 weeks before the end of each semester);
• Send 1-2 faculty members from their department to lead the academic information sessions during orientation before the fall semester and during pre-registration in the fall and spring semesters.

Primary contact: Dean of the Faculty

II. College Administration

1. Curriculum Committee

Each Department Chair has a vote on the faculty Curriculum Committee (see Faculty Handbook 2.5.1.4 ), which considers proposals for new courses, substantial course revisions, and new majors, sequences, or other curricular programs. The Committee is staffed by the Associate Dean of the Faculty for the Curriculum and typically meets once or twice per month, always on Thursdays from 11:00-12:30 or 1:00, so Department Chairs should plan their teaching schedules accordingly. If they can’t be present, they should select a proxy from among their tenured faculty to represent their department and to convey the Curriculum Committee’s decisions and any action items to the department.

Primary contact: Dean of the Faculty

2. Committee of Academic Chairs

The Committee of Academic Chairs is an ad hoc advisory body for the Dean of the Faculty and the President. It is convened by the Dean at the Dean’s discretion to solicit input regarding both issues of specialized concern for the Chairs and issues of broader concern to the College, although Chairs may request a meeting to raise and discuss issues of interest to the academic departments.

Primary contact: Dean of the Faculty

3. Departmental representatives on college committees

Department Chairs coordinate the assignment of departmental representatives on the following college committees: Admission and Financial Aid (AFAC), Appointment, Promotion, and Tenure (APT), Student Recruitment, and others as needed. This work should be done by spring break, after which faculty preferences for committee assignments are solicited by the Dean’s office.

Primary contact: Dean of the Faculty

III. Departmental Administration

1. Coordination with department’s administrative staff

Each department is assigned an administrative staff assistant from the Faculty Support Center. The Department Chair, or some designated departmental substitute, should coordinate appropriate departmental activities with this assistant. Such activities may include departmental meetings; departmental hiring actions; and departmental tenure, promotion, third-year review, or post-tenure review paperwork. Please remember that the department’s support staff is not private support staff for help with personal work or personal issues.

Primary contact: Department’s administrative support staff 

Secondary contact: Faculty Support Center supervisor

2. Budgets and finance

Department Chairs, often working with their administrative support staff, formulate and monitor the departmental budget for operating expenses, including telephones, office supplies, photocopying, and support for faculty members not eligible for Individual Faculty Accounts. Some departments also maintain departmental gift accounts consisting of discretionary funds that are also budgeted by the Chair. November 1 marks the beginning of the budget process for the next academic year. Budgets are on a fiscal year basis that begins July 1. To access the department budget in the Workday Financials system, go to the Workday Financial Systems Project website.

Requests for reimbursements should be processed through the department’s faculty support staff. Department Chairs should become familiar with the College’s policies regarding reimbursement for expenses. Please be aware that expenses for unauthorized purposes will not be reimbursed. (Appendix 2).

Primary contact: Department’s administrative support staff

Secondary contact: Director of Academic Affairs (Dean of the Faculty’s office) 

3. Calling and Chairing department meetings

Department Chairs may call meetings of the department’s faculty as needed. Departments with written bylaws may also provide an alternative means for departmental members to call a meeting. If departments do not have written bylaws, then department meetings are governed by the bylaws and rules of order set forth in the Faculty Handbook, Appendix 2.2  and Appendix 2.3 . Meetings are normally Chaired by the Chair of the department. It is recommended that accurate notes of department meetings, and especially the results of department votes, be taken. When appropriate, Department Chairs may coordinate with support staff for this purpose.

4. Coordinating student awards

Near the end of each spring semester, departments supply the College with a list of student award winners, including best senior thesis and best overall achievement in the major. Department Chairs coordinate the department’s award selection process and communicate the results to the Dean of Students office by around May 1. The Senior Awards Celebration is typically held on the evening of the last day of classes in the spring. All academic awards are presented by the Dean of the Faculty. One representative from each academic department, either the Chair or their proxy, should attend in order to hand their winning students the awards and have a photo taken during the ceremony.

Primary contact: Dean of Students office

5. Annual assessment of student learning outcomes

As a requirement of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, CMC must conduct annual assessment of student learning outcomes at both the institutional and major levels. Each department has derived a set of learning outcomes and has established an assessment plan. It is the Department Chair’s responsibility to ensure that the assessment plan is executed annually and that the results are reported to CMC’s Accreditation Liaison Officer.

Primary contacts: Dean of the Faculty; Associate Dean of the Faculty for the Curriculum; Accreditation Liaison Officer; Chair of the CMC Assessment Committee

6. Point of contact for complaints

The Department Chair may become a point of contact for complaints involving a faculty member or members in that department (such as faculty member versus faculty member, student versus faculty member, administrative support staff versus faculty member, or faculty member versus Dean). There are a variety of possible sources for such complaints, including reports of harassment, conflict of interest or financial wrongdoing; grade disputes; and teaching or secretarial incompetence. When confronted with a complaint, the Chair should:

• never summarily dismiss a complaint;
• take good notes of all meetings regarding the complaint;
• promptly refer the matter to the Dean of the Faculty’s office and/or Human Resources office (or refer the complainant/s directly to the appropriate office/s) unless posted policies indicate otherwise;
• become familiar with posted procedures, if any, related to the complaint. For example, the Faculty Handbook includes sections on harassment (10.6) , conflict of interest (10.2) , reporting of financial misconduct/confidential whistleblower’s policy (10.5) , and grade disputes (5.5.7) , as well as a general process for grievances (4.4) .

  Primary contacts: Dean of the Faculty; Human Resources

7. Compliance responsibilities

Department Chairs have significant roles in helping ensure the College remains compliant with the many federal and state laws governing higher education. Awareness of the following key compliance areas and tools for reporting various types of behavior will help Chairs fulfill their responsibilities and convey them to their department.

If, as part of your current job description, you have the authority to respond to sexual misconduct, CMC has given you the duty to report such misconduct, or a student believes that you have this authority or duty, then you are a Responsible Employee under Title IX and so you must report allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct by filling out the Sexual Harassment and/or Sexual Misconduct Reporting Form or notifying the Title IX Coordinator immediately. You cannot withhold the names of the alleged victim or reporting party. If you have questions, please contact the Title IX coordinator.

If, as part of your current job description, you have significant responsibility for student and campus activities, then you are a Campus Security Authority under the Clery Act and so you must report good-faith allegations of specific crimes by filling out the Campus Security Authority Incident Report Form immediately. You can withhold the names of the alleged victim/reporting party, unless you are also a Responsible Employee reporting a Title IX matter. In that case, you cannot withhold the names. If you have questions, please contact the General Counsel.

If, as part of your current job description, your duties bring you into contact with minors (those under 18) on a regular basis, then you are a Mandatory Reporter under the California Penal Code and so you must report known or suspected abuse or neglect of minors by, first, notifying local law enforcement or social services and, second, notifying your supervisor. Call an agency immediately and submit a Suspected Child Abuse Report within 36 hours; an internal report must be submitted within two business days. You cannot withhold the names of the alleged victim/reporting party, but on the internal report, you can withhold your name. If you have questions, please contact the General Counsel.

Title IX/Civil Rights

All faculty members are designated as Responsible Employees for Title IX purposes. Any report received regarding stalking, sexual assault, sexual harassment, bias, and/ or intimate partner violence must be reported to the Title IX Coordinator immediately after receiving such disclosure. Department Chairs are precluded from resolving the matter internally or informally in any manner (see the Sexual Harassment and/or Sexual Misconduct Reporting Form).

Primary Contact: Title IX Coordinator

Mandatory Reporting

Faculty members (and their supervisors) whose duties bring them regularly into contact with minors on a daily basis have duties to immediately report known or suspected child abuse or neglect to local law enforcement/child welfare agencies and to the college. The college’s policy and reporting forms can be found on the Reporting Child Abuse and Neglect  webpage. 

Primary Contact: Title IX Coordinator

The Clery Act

Certain faculty members are “Campus Security Authorities” (CSA’s) with duties to immediately report specific crimes. CSA’s are those employees who have significant responsibility for student and campus activities.  For example, faculty who travel with students, supervise student workers, advise student clubs or organizations, or are Institute/Center Directors are CSA’s. To report applicable crimes, please use the Campus Security Authority Incident Report Form. Chairs will be asked to update the list of designated CSA’s once a semester, and CSA’s will receive training.

Primary Contact: Assistant to the Vice President of Student Affairs and Clery Compliance Coordinator

Student/visitor injuries

In order to properly document and respond to injuries that occur on campus, all faculty should be familiar with and use the Student/Visitor Injury Report Form.

Primary Contact: General Counsel

CMC Listens

This is an anonymous reporting platform for any member of the community to pose a question or report an issue that concerns them. This is only an alternative to reporting a concern directly and should not be used to report an emergency situation.  Information about this platform can be found on the CMCListens webpage.

Primary Contact: General Counsel

CMC Cares

CMC is committed to a proactive, collaborative, and thoughtful approach to the health and safety of our community. Faculty, staff, and students are encouraged to identify struggling community members so a designated team of professionals can connect them with services, and when necessary, develop support plans to mitigate the possibility of unsafe or violent behavior. Faculty are encouraged to report any behaviors of concern so that the appropriate level of help can be offered to the struggling community member. The College’s reporting form can be found at the CMC Cares Reporting Form webpage. Faculty are also welcome to call or email the Dean of Student’s Office directly for matters related to students. All emergency situations should be reported immediately to Campus Safety (909) 607-2000.

Primary Contact: Senior Associate Dean of Students for Student Success

8. Annual performance reviews of faculty members

The Department Chair receives the annual performance reports from their department’s faculty members (who also send a copy to the Dean of the Faculty). The due date for these reports is usually around early January. During the spring semester, the Chair consults with the Dean and discusses each member of the department on the basis of the reports, student experience surveys, and any other sources of information that might be appropriate.

Primary contact: Dean of the Faculty

9. Monitoring teaching performance of department members

Department Chairs review student experience surveys as part of the annual performance review and serve as a contact person for students who wish to convey their views about their professors. If the Chair notes problematic or poor teaching performance, the Chair should discuss these concerns with the faculty member and work with the faculty member to devise a strategy for improvement, possibly with input from the Dean of the Faculty and/or other members of the department. While not a typical practice, the Department Chair or designee/s may ask or be asked by the faculty member to observe the faculty member in the classroom. Early and consistent feedback to the faculty member is important. Monitoring of the teaching of junior tenure-track faculty is discussed more thoroughly in the Faculty Handbook in sections dealing with mentoring and annual performance reviews.

Primary contact: Dean of the Faculty

10. Post tenure review

The College has a post-tenure review policy requiring reviews of Associate Professors in their third year in rank and again between their sixth and tenth year in rank, as requested by the faculty member and if they have not come up for promotion to Full Professor. The Chair of the department serves as one of two members of the review committee for Associate Professors (in addition to the DOF or designee), unless the Chair is also an Associate Professor. If the Chair is an Associate Professor, the Dean will appoint a Full Professor from the department to serve as the chair’s designee. Subsequent reviews for Associate Professors and reviews for Full Professors will be based on a review of the annual reports (in a single year and over time), and the Dean of the Faculty in consultation with the Department Chair will ask to meet with an Associate Professor or Full Professor for a review if issues arise in teaching, research, or service. The Dean of the Faculty will initiate these processes. Moreover, at any time, an Associate Professor or Full Professor may ask to meet with the Dean of the Faculty to discuss their teaching, research, and service or request a review. (See Faculty Handbook Section 3.2.6 ).

Primary contact: Dean of the Faculty

11. Grade disputes

In the event of a grade dispute, if the faculty member and student cannot reach a mutually agreeable conclusion, the Chair of the department is called upon to work with the Dean of the Faculty to review the dispute and related documents. If the Dean finds sufficient grounds to proceed with the grade challenge, the Dean will refer the matter to the Academic Standards Committee (ASC), which may call upon additional faculty members, including the Department Chair, as needed. The ASC’s decision is final and binding on all parties. (Appendix 3).

Primary contact: Dean of the Faculty

12. CMC Catalog

Department Chairs should submit all changes to the department’s section of the CMC Catalog by June for the following academic year catalog.

Primary contact: Registrar

13. Departmental planning reports

Department Chairs may be asked to coordinate departmental self-study or planning reports for external reviews, the College’s Strategic Plan, WASC accreditation, or other purposes.

Primary contact: Dean of the Faculty

14. Research funding opportunities

Department Chairs are often relied upon by the department’s faculty members as a source of information regarding College policies or resources. Questions about College policies can be answered by consulting the Faculty Handbook or contacting the Dean of the Faculty’s office. If asked about research funding opportunities, Chairs can direct faculty members to the Dean of the Faculty’s office, which distributes research funds through the Faculty Research Committee; the College’s research institutes, several of which offer research funds to CMC faculty; and the Office of Institutional Philanthropy, which helps faculty members seek government grants as well as foundation awards for research. Some departments also have departmental research funds disbursed at the discretion of the Chair.

IV. Appointments, Promotion, and Tenure (see Faculty Handbook, Chapter 3)

1. Tenure-Track and Tenured Hiring and Appointments

a. Requests for hiring authority

The formal process of approving searches begins when the Dean of the Faculty’s Office asks Department Chairs for their department’s medium-term departmental curricular and hiring priority report. This takes place approximately every 2-3 years, and from these hiring priorities documents, the Dean of the Faculty creates an overall institutional hiring strategy that specifies each department’s approved searches and is shared with the full faculty. Every year, the Dean of the Faculty’s Office will ask Department Chairs for updates to their department’s strategic hiring summary based on the current medium-term report.

b. Job advertisement

Once a search is approved, the Chair works with members of the department, the Dean of the Faculty, and Human Resources to devise wording for the job advertisement, including required boilerplate language. The Chair also works with Human Resources to place the advertisement in the appropriate venue/s in a timely manner.

c. Constituting a search committee

In accordance with the customs or written procedures of each department, the Chair appoints a search committee to review applications. Depending on the nature of the position and the department, the Chair may also ask faculty members in affiliated areas of study outside of the department or from the other Claremont Colleges to serve on a search committee. In instances of a search for an endowed Chair, the Dean of the Faculty establishes the search committee. These issues will normally be decided during the spring semester.

d. Managing the search

The Chair of the department monitors the progress of the search and may be called on by the Dean to provide occasional progress reports. The Chair calls the departmental meeting to consider the search committee’s recommendations when it is ready to present them, and may call other meetings related to the search as necessary.

e. Hiring report

The Chair of the department notifies the Dean of the Faculty of the department’s recommendation once an appointment is decided upon. The Dean makes the formal offer to the candidate and negotiates the terms of the contract. Within 30 days of acceptance of an offer, the Department will forward to the Dean of the Faculty a Hiring Report. In the words of the Faculty Handbook,

The Hiring Report will normally include a brief description of the search process (such as the composition of the search committee, the advertising method, the number of applicants, the names of those interviewed on campus, and the departmental decision-making process), a summary of the qualities of the successful candidate, an explanation for why the Department selected the candidate, a copy of the candidate’s curriculum vitae, and the candidate’s original letters of reference. 

For a thorough discussion of the appointment process, see Faculty Handbook Chapter 3 , sections 3.2.2 , 3.2.3 , and 3.3 .

Primary contact: Dean of the Faculty

2. Mentoring

Department Chairs ensure that all departmental obligations under the College’s mentoring policy for junior faculty (see Section 3.2.5.1 of the Faculty Handbook ) and mentoring policy for associate professors (see Section 3.2.5.10 of the Faculty Handbook ) are fulfilled. It is recommended that departments also assign formal mentors to non-tenure-track faculty members to be a resource to them during their time at the College.

Primary contact: Dean of the Faculty

3. Annual junior faculty progress meetings

Department Chairs coordinate, as needed, an annual set of meetings aimed at assessing the progress toward tenure of junior faculty members. These include a) an annual meeting of the department’s tenured faculty to discuss the department’s junior faculty, b) a subsequent meeting of the Department Chair with each junior faculty member to discuss the department’s tenure standards and provide feedback from the tenured faculty, and c) an annual individual meeting of the Dean, Department Chair, and each junior faculty member.

4. Third year reviews

Working with the Dean of the Faculty’s office, Department Chairs initiate and help to complete third year reviews for tenure-track faculty who are seeking a contract renewal. Department reports are due to the Dean of the Faculty by October 15. The Chair appoints a review committee from among the faculty of the department, monitors their progress, and answers questions about the case at the APT meeting.

Primary contact: Dean of the Faculty

5. Tenure and promotion

a. Departmental tenure standards

The Chair maintains and distributes the department’s standards for tenure and promotion. The Chair should see that junior tenure-track faculty are given a copy of the standards and that subsequent discussions keep those standards in view. From time to time, the Chair may also ask the department as a whole to consider its standards with an eye to revision. Such changes will then be reviewed and discussed by the APT Committee.  The Chair will meet with junior faculty each year to discuss the tenure standards.

b. Departmental tenure and promotion reports

The Chair appoints a committee (including a committee chair) to research and write the report, ensures that external evaluators are successfully solicited, and monitors the committee’s work for timeliness and thoroughness. Department reports are due to the Dean of the Faculty by October 15. Guidelines and a checklist for the preparation of candidate materials and departmental reports are sent to the Chair by the Dean of the Faculty’s office and may be requested at any time.

c. Departmental action

Once the report is completed, the Chair calls a meeting of the eligible voting members of the department to consider the report and make a recommendation. The Chair then conveys the recommendation in the department report.

d. Representing the department to the FIS and APT Committees

The Chair of the department is interviewed by the candidate’s FIS and answers questions about the candidate’s case posed by the Appointment, Promotion, and Tenure Committee.

For a thorough discussion of the tenure and promotion process, see Faculty Handbook Chapter 3, sections 3.2.4  and 3.2.5.4  to 3.2.5.8 . 

Primary contact: Dean of the Faculty

6. Visiting faculty

The Department Chair should identify temporary staffing needs and request authority from the Dean to hire visiting faculty. Visiting faculty are appointed, reappointed, and reviewed in accordance with the procedures laid out in the Faculty Handbook (section 3.3 ). Department chairs complete a form to submit a request to APT-EC for non-tenure-track appointments/reappointments. (See Appendix 5 for the request for appointment/reappointment of non-tenure-track faculty.)

If the proposed length of the reappointment is three years or the candidate has taught at the College for two academic years (whether part-time or full-time, whether in academic years that are sequential or nonsequential, whether for a semester in each academic year or for three or four semesters across the two academic years), they will be required to have a third-year reappointment review (see section 3.3.1.IV of the Faculty Handbook ).

Non-tenure-track faculty members who will be teaching for more than one year or who will be recommended for reappointment by the Department will be evaluated annually (see section 3.3.1.V of the Faculty Handbook ).

Usually after an initial six years of full-time teaching at the College, non-tenure-track faculty members are eligible for promotion (see section section 3.3.1.VI of the Faculty Handbook ).

Primary contact: Dean of the Faculty

V. Leaves and Sabbaticals (see Faculty Handbook, Chapter 7)

1. Monitoring the department’s leaves and sabbaticals

As part of the process of course staffing, the Chair monitors sabbaticals and non-sabbatical leaves by the department’s faculty members. Chairs are advised to maintain a long-term plan for future leaves and replacements. The Chair is expected to promote a sabbatical schedule that is mutually beneficial for the faculty members and the College. Chairs should ensure that junior faculty are informed of when they are eligible for and should apply for junior research leaves. Chairs should also discuss post-tenure sabbatical plans with junior faculty up for tenure and associate professors to facilitate their progress toward promotion to full professor.

Primary contact: Dean of the Faculty

2. Encouraging external funding for enhanced sabbaticals

Chairs should encourage faculty applying for enhanced sabbaticals to contact the Office of Institutional Philanthropy to discuss possible external funding sources.

Primary contact: Office of Institutional Philanthropy

3. Reviewing sabbatical applications

Upon receipt of sabbatical applications, the Dean of the Faculty’s Office will ask Department Chairs if there are any concerns about staffing needs during the sabbaticals (e.g. needs to replace courses or needs to hire sabbatical replacements).To facilitate both departmental planning and mentoring of junior faculty and associate professors, Department Chairs are asked to review all sabbatical and junior leave applications when requested by their faculty before submission to the Dean of Faculty’s office. Chairs should encourage faculty to address any serious shortcomings in those applications.

VI. The Chair’s Role in the Summer

1. Transition of new faculty

It is customary in most departments for Department Chairs to greet new faculty shortly after they arrive, let other faculty know their new colleagues have arrived, and assist new faculty with their transition.

2. Emergency short-term hiring

Occasionally, last-minute enrollment pressures will require that course offerings be expanded over the summer before first-year registration, or, in the worst case, during the period of first-year registration. In those cases, the Registrar will notify the Dean of the Faculty and the Department Chair. At that point, the Chair may arrange for the hiring of additional visiting faculty or for overload courses by existing faculty, whether visitors or tenure track faculty, in collaboration with the office of the Dean. Usually this will involve adding some number of sections of introductory courses.

Primary contact: Dean of the Faculty

3. Advising

Chairs usually assist with or designate members of their department to lead academic information sessions during orientation before the fall semester and during pre-registration in the fall and spring semesters.

VII. Conditions of Office

1. Term

Department Chairs typically serve a fixed term that varies depending on the customary practices or written rules of each department. Eligibility for consecutive terms also varies from department to department.

2. Compensation

Department Chairs are given the option of a one-course release or a $15,000 stipend each year they serve as Department Chair.

VIII. Sample Academic Year Timeline

IX. Resources

C. K. Gunsalus. (2006). The College Administrator’s Survival Guide. Harvard University Press.

Deryl R. Leaming. (2007). Academic Leadership: A Practical Guide to Chairing the Department, 2nd Edition. Anker Publishing Company, Inc. 

Jeffrey L. Buller. (2012). The Essential Department Chair: A Comprehensive Desk Reference, 2nd Edition. Jossey-Bass.  

Appendices

Appendix 1: Academic Advising FAQ

See Resources for Academic Advisors

Appendix 2: Policy on Reimbursement of Business Expenses

See CMC’s Reimbursement Policy  

Appendix 3: Grade Disputes

See Grade Challenges

Appendix 4: Mentoring Policy for Junior Faculty

See section 3.2.5.1 of the Faculty Handbook, Mentoring for Junior Faculty  

Appendix 5: Mentoring Policy for Associate Professors

See section 3.2.5.10 of the Faculty Handbook, Mentoring Policy for Associate Professors  

Appendix 6: Requests for Appointment and Reappointment of Non-Tenure-Track Faculty

REQUEST TO APT-EC FOR NON-TENURE TRACK APPOINTMENTS/REAPPOINTMENTS

For one- or two-year non-tenure-track appointments/reappointments for which APT-EC has NOT requested a more extensive review: complete this form only.

For all other non-tenure-track appointments/reappointments: complete this form and submit it along with a departmental report akin to the teaching section of the 3rd year review of tenure-track faculty (see guidelines), including interviews with a range of students (preferably 10-12 randomly selected) who have taken the candidate’s courses. A list of randomly selected current or former students will be provided by the Dean of the Faculty’s Office. Incomplete requests will not be forwarded to the APT-EC until all items have been received. Please submit official student experience surveys and grades for all relevant semesters. 

Chair’s name and department:

Candidate’s name:

Candidate’s employment history at CMC (if any):

Position (and length of contract) requested:

Course/s to be taught and brief rationale for the request:

Brief description of the search procedure:

Summary of the candidate’s prior student experience surveys and grading practices, and any other relevant information explaining the reasons for selecting the candidate: 

For first-time appointments at CMC, please attach non-CMC teaching evaluations and grades (if available). 

For reappointments, please submit a request for tables of CMC student experience surveys and grades to the Dean of the Faculty’s Office. 

Please attach the candidate’s CV and check as appropriate:

____ Candidate’s CV attached

____ Tables of CMC student experience surveys/grades since Spring 2012 attached

____ CMC student experience surveys prior to Spring 2012 attached

____ Non-CMC teaching evaluations and/or grades attached

Additional comments (optional):