Article I. Definitions and Principles

A. Definitions

1. General Faculty. The general faculty consists of persons enumerated in Article 5 of the Laws of the Regents.
    
2. Faculty Government.

   The faculty government exists and derives its powers from the authority delegated to it by the Board of Regents. These powers and duties must be exercised in accordance with the Laws of the Regents , Regent policies and the laws, regulations and constitutions of the State of Colorado and of the United States.

   As the most durable and stable of the constituencies immediately involved with the academic operation of the institution, the faculty has direct responsibility for academic freedom.

   As provided in the Laws of the Regents, the faculty shall formulate faculty governance to effect the principles established under Article I.B. The faculty government bodies are the Faculty Senate and its committee(s), the Faculty Council and its committees, the campus faculty senates, the campus faculty assemblies and their committees and the faculties of the colleges and schools of the university. Colleges or schools, as provided in the Laws of the Regents, may be further divided into departments or divisions.

   1. The Faculty Senate consists of all members of the general faculty of the University of Colorado (hereinafter referred to as "the University") with the following titles whose appointments are fifty-percent or more:

Adjoint, attendant, clinical and research faculty with fifty-percent or more appointments in the above ranks are also members of the Faculty Senate; visiting professors are not. The designated representative from the Retired Faculty Association to the Faculty Council shall be a member of the Faculty Senate during her/his tenure as representative. Ex officio members with the right to vote are the president of the university; the vice presidents; the chancellors; the vice chancellors; all deans; the directors of the budget, libraries and museum; and professors emeriti and emeritae. University officers should not exercise their rights to vote if they are in a position to act on a recommendation. As faculty titles are created, the Faculty Council shall determine whether those faculty members may be voting members of the Faculty Senate.

• The Faculty Council

is the representative governing body of the Faculty Senate and consists of senate members elected or appointed as provided in Article III. The standing committees of the Faculty Council are those defined in Article III. From time to time, the Faculty Council may establish such other special committees as it may deem appropriate.

• The campus faculty senates

consist of those members of the Faculty Senate whose appointments are seated at the campus in question and such other members of the general faculty of the university as may be made members of that campus faculty senate by its faculty constitution.

• The campus faculty assemblies

are the representative governing bodies of the campus faculty senates and consist of members of that senate elected or appointed as may be provided in the faculty constitution of the campus in question. Committees of faculty assemblies shall be established as provided in the relevant campus constitution.

• The faculties of the colleges and schools

are those established in the Laws of the Regents and as further defined by the rules of the college or school in question. 

• Senate Year.

The senate year shall be from July 1 to June 30, inclusive. The terms of all elected members of the Faculty Council, of faculty members of Senate and Council committees and of campus faculty assemblies shall conform to the senate year. Election of new members of the Faculty Council and of standing committees of the Faculty Council shall take place in the spring semester.

B. Principles of Participation.

It is a guiding principle of the shared governance recognized by the Board of Regents that the faculty and the administration shall collaborate in major decisions affecting the academic welfare of the university. The nature of that collaboration, shared as appropriate with students and staff, varies according to the nature of the decisions in question. The faculty takes the lead in decisions concerning selection of faculty, educational policy related to teaching, curriculum, research, academic ethics and other academic matters. The administration takes the lead in matters of internal operations and external relations of the university. In every case, the faculty and the administration participate in the governance and operation of the university as provided by and in accordance with the laws and policies of the Board of Regents, and the laws and regulations of the State of Colorado. The chair or other designated representative of the Faculty Council shall be the spokesperson for the faculty when addressing the Board of Regents on matters of importance to shared governance.
 

1. The faculty shall have the principal role in the origination of academic policy and standards, including initial authorization and direction of all courses, curricula, and degrees offered, admissions criteria, regulation of student academic conduct and activities, and determination of candidates for degrees. 
    
2. The faculty shall have principal role in the origination of scholastic policy, including scholastic standards and requirements for admission, grading (consistent with the Uniform Grading System of the university), continuation, graduation and honors. As required by Article 4 of the Laws of the Regents, the deans of the colleges and schools shall have responsibility for enforcement of admissions standards and requirements. 
    
3. In the selection and evaluation of faculty, the faculty shall have the principal role, subject to the concurrence of the administration and the ultimate authority of the Board of Regents or its designee(s).
    
4. In establishing policies and procedures for faculty appointment, reappointment, promotion, tenure and post-tenure review and establishing policies and procedures for the appeal of decisions in these areas, the faculty shall collaborate with the campus and system administrations in the development of recommendations to the president for submission to the Board of Regents. 
    
5. In the selection and evaluation of department chairs and academic administrators, the faculty shall collaborate with the campus and system administrations in the development of recommendations for submission to the Board of Regents or its designee(s). 
    
6. In establishing and reviewing budget policies and plans for resource allocation, the faculty shall collaborate with the campus or system administration in the development of recommendations to the chancellor or the president, as appropriate, for submission to the Board of Regents. This includes review for new academic degree program proposals, academic program review and program discontinuance. 
    
7. In the preparation of budgets, the administration shall have the principal role, with collaboration with the appropriate faculty governance unit(s), subject to the ultimate authority of the Board of Regents or its designee(s). 
    
8. In the making of other policy concerning the general academic welfare of the university, the faculty shall collaborate with the administration in developing recommendations to the president for submission to the Board of Regents. 
    
9. Administrative policy changes with respect to matters listed in I.B that affect faculty shall be promulgated only after consultation with appropriate faculty governance bodies. 
    
10. In Articles II-IV, which define the structure and functions of faculty governance at different university levels, other aspects of faculty participation are specified.

C. Faculty Governance Service

Faculty governance work shall be included for consideration in annual merit evaluations and in other evaluation processes. Differential workloads may be negotiated by the faculty member and the chair of the appropriate academic unit when faculty governance roles exceed the time normally expected by the university service mission. The chair of the appropriate governance unit shall be consulted in determining whether the time and effort normally expected by the university service mission will be exceeded. Appropriate compensation, within the limits of system and campus policies, shall be negotiated for the service of officers and committee chairs in the ongoing business of faculty governance.

D. Procedures

Procedures for all faculty governance bodies of the university shall be as specified herein or in the appropriate bylaws or, if not so provided, according to the latest edition of Robert's Rules of Order.