Bylaws of the Department of Instruction and Teacher Education
Revised and Approved December 1, 2006
The following specification of the bylaws of the Department of Instruction and Teacher Education is offered under the basic premise that the faculty of the department, "have legislative powers in all matters pertaining to standards of admission, registration, requirements for and the granting of earned degrees, curriculum, instruction, [and] research" (Faculty Manual, December 2004, p. 3).
ARTICLE I: THE DEPARTMENT OF INSTRUCTION AND TEACHER EDUCATION
1.1 Specification of Departmental Composition.
a) The Department of Instruction and Teacher Education shall be comprised of academic programs in Early Childhood Education, Elementary Education, Middle Level Education, Secondary Education, and Language and Literacy Education. Faculty who are members of these program areas shall be responsible for all matters pertaining to degree programs in their program areas.
b) Faculty of the Department of Instruction and Teacher Education maintain the authority to review and make recommendations regarding the academic program composition of the Department, and may serve in more than one departmental program area.
1.2 Specification of Departmental Mission.
Faculty of the Department of Instruction and Teacher Education are committed to fulfilling the College of Education mission, which is:
The University of South Carolina College of Education is a dynamic, nurturing learning community that supports the growth of aspiring and practicing educators. The College, through purposeful interaction among faculty and students, emphasizes the active construction and application of knowledge, skills, and dispositions to promote educational excellence, equity and opportunity in the 21st century. We honor our responsibility to contribute to the high achievement for all learners and the development of an educated populace. Pursuant to this responsibility, we are committed to developing and sharing our expertise and leadership as well as offering a forum for educational dialogue and advancement. This commitment entails:
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Bridging the gap between theory, research and practice to promote excellence in teaching and learning within and across educational contexts;
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Conducting principled, free inquiry from diverse perspectives that promotes quantitative and qualitative scholarship to advance knowledge and practice;
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Active partnering with government agencies, P-12 educators, schools, and districts, families, professional organizations, and other institutions of higher education; and
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Preparing educators with a sincere understanding and appreciation of diversity as we challenge ourselves and others to work for social justice.
1.3 Faculty Membership in the Department.
The faculty of the Department of Instruction and Teacher Education shall consist of all its members having academic rank and all full-time non-tenure-track faculty.
1.4 Voting Rights.
Voting rights within the Department are extended to tenure-track faculty members and shall be based upon the same standards as in the University faculty. However, the right to vote on specific departmental matters may be extended by a majority vote of the tenure-track faculty to non-tenure-track faculty as appropriate.
ARTICLE II: DEPARTMENTAL ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICERS AND SELECTION PROCEDURES
2.1 Specification of Administrative Officers.
The Department of Instruction and Teacher Education shall be administered by the Department Chair and the Secretary of the Faculty. Programs shall be administered by Program Coordinators.
2.2 Selection of Administrative Officers.
a) The selection of the Department Chair shall result from a search by a department faculty committee and recommendation to the Dean of the College of Education. The selection and search committee shall include at least one representative faculty member elected by each academic program within the Department (see Article 1.1a). Candidates for Department Chair shall be interviewed by the faculty and the Dean; an acceptable candidate will be recommended by the Dean to the Provost and President. The Department Chair shall be appointed for a three-year term, renewable and subject to annual and end-of-term evaluations by the Dean and the Department faculty.
b) The selection of the Secretary of the Faculty of the Department shall result from yearly departmental election.
c) Each Program Coordinator shall be elected by the respective program faculty and approved by the Department Chair.
ARTICLE III: MAJOR DUTIES OF DEPARTMENTAL ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICERS
3.1 Specification of Department Chair's Duties.
The Department Chair shall have responsibility and authority to serve faculty in three major areas of departmental functioning: resource allocation, personnel, and educational and scholarly objectives of the programs and curricula in the Department. Within these capacities, the Department Chair shall be responsible for collaborating with appropriate faculty in the preparation of program and departmental budgets; supervising and coordinating personnel appointment and reappointment, supervising the process of promotion and tenure, determining faculty load assignments, and organizing and supervising the program and departmental development efforts of the faculty. The Department Chair shall be responsible for coordinating and setting the agenda for departmental faculty meetings and presiding at said meetings. The first item for the agenda of all regularly scheduled departmental faculty meetings shall be the "Report from the Department Chair."
3.2 Specification of the Duties of the Secretary of the Faculty.
The Secretary of the Department Faculty shall be responsible for compiling agenda for departmental meetings, recording and distributing to faculty the minutes of the Department faculty meetings and assuring that Departmental faculty receive proper notification regarding departmental meeting times and sites.
3.3 Specification of the Duties of the Program Coordinators.
Each program, in consultation with the Department Chair, shall be responsible for electing a tenured faculty member from within the program area to serve as Program Coordinator. Program Coordinators shall be responsible for leading program faculty efforts to maintain, assess, and develop degree programs, curriculum, and courses.
ARTICLE IV: MEETINGS OF DEPARTMENT FACULTY
4.1 Regular Department Meetings.
The faculty of the Department of Instruction and Teacher Education shall hold regularly scheduled departmental faculty meetings during the months of September, October, November, January, February, March and April. The Chair of the Department (or his/her designate) shall be the presiding officer at regularly scheduled Department faculty meetings.
4.2 Special Department Meetings.
Special meetings of the Department may be called by the Department Chair, the Dean of the College, or by petition of at least 20 percent of the voting faculty in Department. The Chair of the Department (or his/her designate) shall function as the presiding officer at special departmental meetings of the faculty.
4.3 Required Notification for Meetings.
The Secretary of the Department faculty shall be responsible for communicating meeting times and sites to the Department faculty.
4.4 Definition of Quorum.
With regard to Department faculty meetings, a quorum shall be defined as more than fifty percent of the voting faculty members of the Department.
ARTICLE V: STANDING COMMITTEE STRUCTURE OF THE DEPARTMENT
5.1 Specification of Standing Committees.
The Department of Instruction and Teacher Education shall, in part, be governed by three major standing committees: the ITE Steering Committee, the ITE Curriculum Committee, and the ITE Diversity Committee.
5.2 Specification of Standing Committee Charges and Membership.
a) ITE Steering Committee
Charge: The ITE Steering Committee serves as a nominating committee and as a planning body which studies issues confronting the Department and formulates recommendations for action to be taken by existing committees, the faculty, and administration. The Committee consults with and advises the Department Chair on annual and/or extraordinary budgetary matters and about the long-term fiscal strategies of the Department.
Membership: Program Coordinators, the Department Chair, and two faculty (tenure-track or full-time clinical) elected by the Department at large.
b) ITE Curriculum Committee
Charge: The ITE Curriculum Committee shall review proposals from academic programs in the department for new programs, new courses, and other substantive changes (including admission policies and procedures) in departmental teacher education programs. The Curriculum Committee shall make recommendations to respective programs and the departmental faculty on the basis of its deliberations.
Membership: Each ITE program shall elect one representative to the Curriculum Committee; the ITE Department Chair shall appoint two faculty members to the Curriculum Committee. Terms for elected faculty are two years; terms for appointed faculty are one year. ITE full-time clinical faculty members are eligible for one of the Chair appointments.
c) ITE Diversity Committee
Charge: The ITE Diversity Committee serves as a planning and research group to study diversity issues confronting the Department. To maintain or increase the diversity among students in ITE degree programs and faculty in the department, the committee shall formulate recommendations for action to be taken by existing committees, faculty members, or members of the department, college, or university administration. The Committee reviews student and faculty data in order to make recommendations regarding recruitment strategies, support activities, and appropriate diversity targets.
Membership: Each ITE program area shall elect one representative to the Diversity Committee; the ITE Department Chair shall appoint two faculty members to the Diversity Committee. The elected faculty shall serve two-year terms; appointed faculty shall serve a one-year term. ITE full-time clinical faculty members are eligible for one of the Chair appointments.
5.3 Specification of Additional Duties and Election Procedures.
a) Committee Ex-officio Status
By majority rule, standing committee members may extend ex-officio membership status to additional individuals.
b) Committee Chairs and Terms
The Chair of each committee will serve a term of one year, subject to nomination and re-election for a second year. The maximum term of any chair is two years, to be elected two consecutive times by the committee members. The Chair of each standing committee must be tenured and may request of the Department Chair reassigned time to carry out the duties of the Chair and assume the major responsibility of the work of the committee.
c) Committee Reports
Each Committee Chair will assemble and disseminate to ITE faculty by May 31st each year a Committee Report that describes the accomplishments of the committee for that academic year, and outlines the major agenda items to be considered for the upcoming academic year.
d) Notification of Meetings
Each Committee Chair shall be responsible for notifying committee members of time and site of meetings at least one week in advance of meetings.
5.4 Definition of Quorum.
Voting members present.
ARTICLE VI: SPECIAL DEPARTMENTAL COMMITTEES
6.1 Procedure for Forming Special Committees.
From time to time, special departmental committees will be required to consider departmental, college, and university issues that are either not in the purview of the departmental standing committees or that require the specific and intensive study of a separate departmental faculty group. In these instances, any voting member of the Department can make a motion for the formation of a special committee. Such a motion should include: (a) a rationale for the formation of a special committee (as opposed to consideration by extant standing committees); (b) a general statement of the committee charge and committee name; (c) a specification of what the committee should produce and the time-line to which it should attempt to adhere; and (d) suggestions for structuring the committee membership along programmatic lines. Once the work of the special committee is completed, the committee is retired.
6.2 Special Committee Election/Appointment Procedures.
All nominations and elections of members to special departmental committees shall be conducted departmentally. The Department Chair may be named by the elected members of a special committee to be a voting member of the committee. The Department Chair may appoint one member to any special committee formed by the Department Faculty. The chair of a special committee shall be elected by the committee. By majority rule, committee members may extend ex-officio membership status to additional individuals.
6.3 Duties and Charges of Special Committees.
Once a special committee has been elected, and the committee itself has elected its Chair, it shall be the responsibility of the committee Chair to detail the charges of the special committee and communicative these committee charges to the faculty of the Department. It shall further be the responsibility of the chair to periodically report committee progress to the Department faculty, and to submit a summary report upon completion of its work.
6.4 Definition of Quorum.
Voting members present.
ARTICLE VII: TENURE AND PROMOTION PROCEDURES AND CRITERIA
(Refer to current departmental supplement: Tenure and Promotion Procedures and Criteria for the Department of Instruction and Teacher Education.)
ARTICLE VIII: GENERAL AUTHORITY AND GOVERNANCE OF THE DEPARTMENT
8.1 General Governance Procedures.
Parliamentary procedure for making and approving motions as described in Robert's Rules of Order shall be used in the governance process of the Department.
8.2 Amendment Process.
The faculty of the Department reserves the right to amend the Department bylaws as it sees fit. In doing so, the amendment procedures described in Robert's Rules of Order shall be used.