A campus of The California State University
Office of the Academic Senate • One Washington Square • San Jose, California 95192-0024 •408-924-2440 Fax: 408-924-2451
S06-3
At its meeting of March 13, 2006, the Academic Senate passed the following Policy Recommendation presented by Senator Parsons for the Organization and Government Committee.
POLICY RECOMMENDATION:
SELECTION AND REVIEW OF ADMINISTRATORS
Whereas, the policy on selection and review of administrators was last revised in 1998, and
Whereas, a rearrangement of responsibilities and a clearer definition of the scope of the policy and of certain of its terms is now appropriate, and
Whereas, the expanded activities of the university indicate that broader participation of staff and community representatives in such searches and reviews is now also appropriate, therefore be it
Resolved, that F98-2 be superseded as follows:
Approved: 02-20-06
Vote: 5-0-0
Present: Larsen, Hebert, Hooper, Selter & Parsons
Not-present: Gleixner, Kellum & Easter
Financial Impact: None
Selection and Review of Administrators
I. Academic Administrator and Vice President Searches and Appointments
1. Applicability. This policy applies to searches for and reviews of Management Personnel Plan (MPP) administrators who serve university-wide as vice presidents and those within the Academic Division including the Provost and all other associate vice president or equivalent positions such as Vice Provosts, and Associate Vice Presidents of Faculty Affairs, Graduate Studies and Research, International and Extended Studies, Undergraduate Studies, the college deans, and the Dean of the University Library. Where not otherwise specified, the words ‘academic administrators’ as used in this policy means all those listed in the Academic Division listed above.
2. Vacancies and Initiation of Procedures. As soon as practical after it is known that a vacancy has occurred or will occur in any of these positions, the President (for all vice presidents) or the Provost (for all other offices) shall cause a selection committee to be formed in accordance with these procedures.
3. Composition of Search Committee.
a. Committees shall be large enough to allow for sufficiently broad representation, yet small enough so as not to be unwieldy. Faculty, students, staff, and administrators shall be represented. Consideration should be given to breadth of representation, with respect to lower as well as upper faculty ranks, area of management responsibility, and with respect to gender and ethnicity. Regular (tenured and tenure-track) faculty shall comprise a majority on all search committees for academic administrators and at least one-third of other committees. If appropriate, alumni and community representatives may serve on search committees.
b. Special Procedure for College Deans: The search committees for college deans shall be composed of nine members: three tenured faculty who are not department chairs, elected by and from the college faculty (but not more than one from any department); two department chairs from the college, elected by its department chairs; one staff member, elected by the staff of the college; one tenured faculty member from another college, designated by the Provost; one student, and one member of the community, each designated by the Provost. Elections for the three faculty representatives from the college shall be arranged and conducted by ad hoc elections committees comprised of all department chairs in that college. Each department in the college shall nominate one student from its majors, and the Provost shall designate one student as a committee member from the departmental nominees. The community member should have experience or expertise relevant to one or more of the programs in the college.
c. Special Procedure for the Dean of the University Library: The search committee shall include three faculty librarians selected by and from the faculty librarians. In addition, the operating agreement between the University and the City of San José libraries provides some additional requirements regarding the search process for the Dean of the University Library and must be followed.
4. Appointment. For search committees other than for a college dean and the Dean of the University Library, an open nomination process for potential committee members shall be used. The Academic Senate shall publish notice of intention to appoint a search committee and shall solicit written nominations for membership on the committee from the University community. Committee members shall be selected from among those nominated by mutual consent of the President and the Senate Executive Committee. If the President and the Executive Committee cannot arrive at mutual agreement, the President (or Provost, if the search is not for a vice president) shall confer with the chair of the Senate to attempt to arrive at a mutually satisfactory course of action. Failing that, the President or Provost shall appoint the membership. The President or Provost shall select the committee chair from the committee membership.
5. Scope and Procedures. The President or Provost shall determine the scope and procedures of the search process in consultation with the committee. The scope and procedures of the search, the target date for the report, the funds and clerical assistance available, the minimum requirements for candidates, the qualifications of the expected finalists, and other matters relating to the selection process should be discussed. The scope of the search shall always be as wide as feasible under the circumstances and shall be conducted in accordance with the University's policies and procedures on equal opportunity and diversity. Likely candidates must be interviewed. Provisions should be made for the campus community to meet the candidates. The deliberations and recommendations of the committee shall be confidential.
6. Committee Recommendations. At the conclusion of its search, the committee shall report to the President or Provost, without ranking, the names of the best-qualified candidates. The President or Provost shall meet with the committee to discuss its recommendations. Members of the committee shall not take part in negotiations with a candidate unless requested to do so by the President or Provost. The search committee's records shall be turned over to the President or Provost with its report. Upon delivery of the committee's report to the President or Provost all committee records shall be destroyed.
7. Action by the President. The President or Provost may appoint any person recommended by the committee. If the President or Provost decides not to appoint, or is unable to appoint, any of the recommended candidates, the President or Provost may ask the committee to extend the search, or the President or Provost may consult with the Senate Executive Committee regarding appointment of a new selection committee for a new search, consistent with the provisions of this policy.
8. Interim Appointments. An interim appointment occurs when a position covered by this policy has or will be vacated and there is insufficient time or it is otherwise impractical to complete the normal search process explained above. The President or Provost, in consultation with the elected members of the Senate Executive Committee, may make interim appointments. Alternatively, at the discretion of the President or Provost, the selection of an interim appointee may consist of a selection committee process wherein the interim position is announced campus-wide and interviews are to be held. While there is no requirement to announce the position off-campus, such announcement is not prohibited. The search committee must be no smaller than three people and will be selected by the President or Provost in consultation with the elected members of the Senate Executive Committee. Interim appointments usually are for a period of one year, unless a different period is specified at the time of the appointment. An interim appointment may be renewed or extended by the President or Provost as needed in consultation with the elected members of the Senate Executive Committee.
9. Acting Appointments. The title “acting” (e.g., acting dean) shall be applied to an individual who is designated to act on behalf of an administrator covered by this policy, who is on a short-term absence (illness, vacation, etc.), on leave, or has left his/her position on extremely short notice. The President or designee in consultation with the elected members of the Senate Executive Committee may make an acting appointment. In an emergency, acting appointments may be made by the President or Provost (in consultation with the Chair of the Academic Senate if possible). Acting appointments usually are of short duration, lasting until either the incumbent returns or an interim appointment can be made according to the procedure described in this policy. In unusual circumstances, an acting appointment may be renewed or extended by the President or Provost in consultation with the elected members of the Senate Executive Committee.
II. Reviews of Administrators
1. Timing of Review. If the incumbent wishes to continue in his or her position beyond the sixth year, a review of the incumbent shall be initiated according to the provisions of this policy in the second semester of the fifth year of an incumbent's term. The review shall be concluded by the beginning of the sixth year of the incumbent's term. The President may at any time initiate an interim review.
2. Appointment and Composition of Review Committee. For all offices covered by this policy, a review committee shall be appointed and constituted in accordance with the procedures specified in Part I, Sections 3 and 4 of this policy. The Provost and Academic Vice President shall not be eligible to serve on committees to review academic administrators.
3. Criteria for Review. The review committee, in consultation with the President (for vice presidents) or the Provost (for all other offices), shall specify the criteria for evaluating the incumbent's job performance, based upon the incumbent’s job description and the function of the particular administrative office. The incumbent shall be asked to examine the criteria developed and to make such comments or suggestions as may seem advisable.
4. Procedures for Review. The review committee, in consultation with the President (for all Vice Presidents) or the Provost (for all other offices), shall develop procedures for conducting the review. The procedures shall be designed to secure appropriate information and appraisals of performance from as many persons as may be feasible who are knowledgeable of the incumbent's performance. If he/she so desires, the incumbent shall be given an opportunity to provide the review committee with a self-evaluation based upon the criteria developed by the committee. The opinions and judgments received by review committees, the deliberations and reports of such committees, and any accompanying materials, shall be confidential.
5. Report of the Review Committee.
a. The review committee shall consult with the President (for all vice presidents) or the Provost (for all other offices) before drafting its report. Following that consultation, and at the conclusion of its evaluative activities, the review committee shall prepare a written report embodying findings and conclusions. The report of the review committee shall include a statement of strengths found and improvements desired in the incumbent's performance with respect to the evaluative criteria. All raw data collected for review shall accompany, but not be part of, the review committee's report.
b. The report shall normally contain a specific recommendation by the review committee that the incumbent be reappointed or not be reappointed, with or without qualification. A majority vote of the review committee shall be sufficient to approve the report; the numerical vote shall be stated in the report; the numerical vote shall be stated in the report. A minority report or reports shall be appended if requested by any member of the committee. Minority reports shall be seen by all members of a review committee.
c. Before forwarding the report, the review committee shall:
1. provide a draft copy of the proposed report to the incumbent
2. provide the incumbent with an opportunity to meet with the review committee in order to discuss the report
3. provide the incumbent with the opportunity to submit to the committee a written statement which shall become part of the report to the President
d. The President (for all vice presidents) or the Provost (for all other offices) shall again consult with the review committee to share his or her inclination and the reasons therefore.
6. Action of the President. Ultimate responsibility for the retention of administrators belongs solely to the President. If, after discussion with the review committee, the incumbent, and other appropriate sources of information, the President is inclined to believe a decision other than that recommended by the committee would best serve the interests of the University, before acting on that inclination the President shall:
a. Consult with the Executive Committee of the Academic Senate, at which time both the report of the review committee and the reasons why the President is inclined to a decision other than that recommended would be revealed to and shared with the Executive Committee. The purpose of such a meeting would be to ascertain if some mutually agreeable course of action or decision can be found upon which the President could act. Failing that, the President shall
b. Make such decision as he or she considers best for the welfare of the University.
ACTION BY UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT: Signed by President Don Kassing on April 10, 2006