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Power
Structure in the UWC
Guess
putting power first shows a typical discipline-orientation!
As part of the UW, we operate under state laws and regent
policies that mandate shared governance. The academic program
clearly is a faculty prerogative.
We also operate under UWC and campus constitutions, and
departmental by-laws.
In the UWC we
enjoy a check and balance system between Department and Campuses
regarding hiring, renewal, and non-retention.
Departmental approval is absolute for hiring decisions.
Campuses must also agree, and have the power to non-renew.
It is important for you to maintain contact and satisfy
both. Neither can save you from
the other.
Can you vote
in the department? Departmental by-laws say:
All
individuals teaching at least six hours of political science per
semester in the Colleges
are voting members of the
Department, while those individuals teaching less than six hours of
political science per semester in the Colleges may be granted voting
membership by affirmative action of the Department members.
Can
you vote on the campus? Each campus has its own rules.
Ask the Steering committee chair (faculty member) or Dean.
Note that the Dean is not omnipotent on all campuses;
power varies from one to another. A major part of the
Dean's job is bargaining with central and with the local
community. He can steer, but it is the campus committees and collegium
that deliberate and make recommendations.
Their dean often supports their decisions.
Department
meetings are permitted twice each year:
last Thursday in August, and another in the spring (variable on
date). You are
cordially invited to attend both. The Executive Committee meets to determine merit, promotions,
tenure, and renewal decisions in early February.
The campuses
have a Collegium meeting monthly—the Collegium includes all
instructors, academic and non-academic staff,
and representatives of the student government.
All policy decisions by the UWC bodies must have support from
most of the campus collegia, in a two-step process (initial debate and
feedback, final version). If you contemplate a multi-year position, these meetings are
good for you to attend and to become acquainted with instructors,
administrators and students.
What about committee
work? On some campuses
IAS are not permitted to serve on committees.
On other campuses, IAS
are paid extra to serve, and on some they are expected to serve.
These are the powerful governing committees. Given the hiring freezes earlier in the 1990’s and
retirements of senior faculty, some campuses have IAS-dominance on
committees. This has
become a political issue in the UW Colleges, especially with
North-Central Accreditation.
State law requires faculty-governance on some issues, not IAS
governance. If you hear
about the debate, realize
that it is not a detrimental remark directed at you.
In addition
to departments and campuses, governance bodies exist at the all-UWC
level. The Senate
has faculty members elected from each campus; it also has members from
the separate Academic Staff Council elected by IAS. The
Senate has non-voting representatives of deans and department chairs.
The Senate
has four committees. The
Steering Committee determines the program, and often makes its own
studies and decisions. Academic
Policy committee deals with general policies.
The Budget Committee makes recommendations on priorities
(salary vs technology or library or new hires).
The Professional Standards Committee develops policy and
instruments for work-load, student evaluations, policies for and about
IAS.
The IAS have
their own committee that makes policy and takes issues to the standing
Senate Committees. The campus will provide you with the IAS rules
and policies. Ask the
Dean’s secretary if you are not given one.
Some of your questions can be dealt with by experienced IAS on
your campus.
E-mail is the
official communication and notification.
In our dispersed system, e-mail is essential.
Each instructor (and student, staff) has a UWC address. Group mailings go to, for example, UWCfac, UWCstaff, UWMTH
(Marathon Campus. Each campus has a 3 letter designation plus
all, or fac, or staff). It is imperative that you get these. You can send your preferred email address to the chair, and
when I use my personal list, it will go there.
But you still
MUST access the system/campus lists, because that is where
essential announcements will be posted.
Fortunately, you can do that from your home computer.
The e-mail system can be reached by typing in your campus url
followed by </email>. We in the department appreciate your input
into policy debates, and welcome your participation.
At
the bottom of the list of email folders are "public folders"
that contain documents and studies of the UWC.
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