Development of Operational Definitions for University Senate
An Ongoing History
Terms: Policy, Procedure, Guideline, Practice, Information, Concern, Resolution
Last Updated 03-25-2008
1. Operational Definition of Policy
A policy is a statement of record that governs the conduct of the university community and/or embodies a general principle that guides university affairs.
Contextual Information on the development of this operational definition
The Institutional Statutes state that the University Senate is the policy-recommending assembly of the University.
Institutional Statutes: ARTICLE IV. THE UNIVERSITY SENATE
Section 1. The University Senate is endowed with all the legislative powers and authority of the University Faculty and shall be the policy-making assembly at the Institution.
Section 2. The University Senate shall have the responsibility for establishing committees, including any committees required to remain in compliance with policies of the Board of Regents, federal or state law, and accreditation or certification organizations that are needed for orderly and efficient governance.
Section 3. The University Senate shall not adopt any regulations affecting curricula, or the internal affairs of an academic unit except insofar as such action may be necessary to protect the interests of the Institution as a whole, but it may make recommendations to the faculty of an academic unit concerning matters within their jurisdiction.
Section 4. The University President shall have fifteen (15) calendar days to decide whether to accept or veto an action taken by the University Senate. Should the President veto the action(s), the President shall provide the University Senate a written statement of the reason(s) for the veto. The University Senate shall have the right to (a) accept the veto; (b) confer with the President to construct a compromise action; or (c) reject the veto requesting that the President reconsider. The decision of which action to take must be approved by a two-thirds (2/3) majority vote of the voting membership of the University Senate. If the University Senate or University President refuses to recede, and if agreement cannot be reached, the matter shall be referred to the Board of Regents through the Chancellor for review pursuant to the pertinent policies of the Board of Regents.The University Senate Bylaws repeat this language quoting it in Article I. This is the source of the idea of policy. Over the three years 2003-2006 there were conversations among Executive Committee (ECUS) members and the longitudinal ECUS (aggregate members of all ECUS up to a certain year) committees that have taken various names such as University Policy Committee, Statutes and Bylaws Team, and University Senate Bylaws and Governing Concepts Committee. These discussions have been informed by a combination of sources such as Black's Law Dictionary, Educational Leadership jargon, and good ol' Webster's Dictionary to produce what is being called the "operational definition of policy".
This operational definition of policy was developed in three drafts
DRAFT 1: A policy is a statement that governs the conduct of the University Community or a general principle that guides University affairs.
Drafted by Executive Committee (ECUS) elected faculty Oct 3, 2006
Reviewed by entire Executive Committee on Oct 10, 2006
Shared and reviewed a joint meeting of ECUS and Standing Committee Chairs Oct 24, 2006
Shared as an information item within the ECUS report to University Senate on October 30, 2006
See Item 3 of the October 30, 2006 ECUS Report
DRAFT 2: A policy is a binding statement of record that (A) governs the conduct of the university community and/or (B) embodies a general principle that guides university affairs.
Resulting from Review by University Senate Bylaws and Governing Concepts Committee (USBGCC) on 11-08-06
See item 4 of the November 8, 2006 USBGCC Minutes
DRAFT 3: A policy is a statement of record that governs the conduct of the university community and/or embodies a general principle that guides university affairs.
Resulting from a Review by ECUS on 11-14-06
See item 5 of the November 14, 2006 ECUS Minutes
Endorsed by University Senate Bylaws and Governing Concepts Committee (USBGCC) on 11-15-06
Shared as an information item within the ECUS Report to University Senate on 11-27-06
See Item 2 of the November 27, 2006 ECUS Report
Provided to the Standing Committee Chairs on 12-05-06 with a request for committee review during Spring 2007
See Item 2b of the December 5, 2006 ECUS Minutes
Reviewed by some standing committees during Spring 2007
AGC: Academic Governance Committee
See Item 6 of January 12, 2007 AGC Minutes
BPC: Budget and Planning Committee
No explicit reference to such a review yet located in the Spring 2007 Minutes
SAC: Student Affairs Committee
See Item 4 under Agreements of January 12, 2007 SAC Minutes
USC: University Services Committee
No explicit reference to such a review yet located in the Spring 2007 Minutes
Not yet formally adopted by the University Senate as an "official statement
2. Other terms
Operational Definitions of other terms including Procedure, Guideline, Practice, Exhibit, Information Item, Concern, Resolution
March 13, 2007, Drafts prepared for Executive Committee review by Craig Turner
April 10, 2007 ECUS Meeting:
deferred to the next faculty workshop meeting April 17, 2007
See item 3.g. of April 10, 2007 ECUS Meeting Minutes
April 17, 2007 Elected Faculty Workshop
no time to discuss as other agenda items more time sensitive - Meeting Agenda for April 17, 2007
During the 2007-2008 academic year, these operational definitions were on the parking lot for consideration.
On February 21, 2008, the elected faculty of the executive committee reviewed the draft from 03-13-07 offering modifications and culminating with general agreement on revised statements of a definition for each term.
On March 6, 2008, the elected faculty of the Executive Committee reviewed their drafts from 02-21-2008 and offered further revisions to the drafts and agreeing to share these drafts with the Standing Committee Chairs and full Executive Committee on 03-20-2008.
On March 20, 2008, those present at the joint meeting of Standing Committee Chairs and Executive Committee endorsed the draft of the proposed definitions and recommended (1) the draft definitions be shared as a draft for use and review by participants of the Governance Retreat on May 8, 2008 and (2) the draft definitions be forwarded to the 2008-2009 Executive Committee for further development informed by broad review and further discussion.
Draft Definitions from March 20, 2008 (Procedure, Guideline, Practice, Exhibit, Information Item, Concern, Resolution)