COLLEGE OF EDUCATION BY-LAWS

THE JOHN H. LOUNSBURY COLLEGE OF EDUCATION BY-LAWS

ARTICLE I. PURPOSE

These by laws shall govern the operation of the College of Education faculty of Georgia College & State University as established under article IV, Section 8, of the Georgia College & State University Statutes. Nothing in these by laws shall be in conflict with the Georgia College & State University Statutes or the Policies of the Board of Regents.

ARTICLE II. MEMBERSHIPS AND MEETINGS

All individuals with full-time faculty status within the College of Education shall be governed by these by laws and the provisions for revision of them. They also shall be entitled to vote on College matters brought before them.
The College body designated above shall meet minimally twice a semester and in addition at the discretion of the dean. An agenda shall be electronically published two days before each meeting. Proxy votes will be accepted on announced agenda items.
Provision will be made for electronic or manuscript recording of the minutes of each meeting, these to be duly distributed.
As defined in this document, departments shall include the following administrative entities: Department of Early Childhood and Middle Grades Education, Department of Foundations and Secondary Education, and Department of Special Education and Educational Leadership.

ARTICLE III. OFFICERS

The Dean, or his/her designee, shall preside at all the meetings of the faculty.

ARTICLE IV. COMMITTEES

The operations of many aspects of the College of Education will transpire with the assistance of standing and ad hoc committees. The standing committees will be elected in the spring of the year preceding their operation. Agenda items may be sent to the Chairperson of any standing committee by any faculty member in the College or by the Dean. Requests for the formation of ad hoc committees may be sent to the Dean.

Each standing committee will meet initially at the beginning of the academic year in order to 1) elect a chairperson and secretary 2) plan possible meeting times noting governance calendar dates, 3) discuss the year's assignments. Meetings will be called by the chairpersons as required to fulfill the committee's charge.

Committees will post minutes electronically on the web after each meeting; the Dean's Advisory Committee and the Promotion and Tenure Committee have limited minutes posted. In the minutes for the final meeting of the year, the annual report for the committee will be posted in this format:

ASSESSMENT & TECHNOLOGY COMMITTEE

Purpose:

The Assessment and Technology Committee shall:

advise and advocate for appropriate assessments and create assessment policy in collaboration with assessment coordinator and faculty and
advise on technology for infrastructure, instructional and data needs.

Membership:
The Committee shall consist of one departmental representative from each of the three College of Education departments with permanent members (Assessment Coordinator, Technology Coordinator) to chair the subcommittee for Program and Student Assessment and the subcommittee for Technology. In addition the Technology Coordinator will also be on the University-wide Technology Committee to represent the College of Education.

The College of Education Dean, the Assistant Dean, the Certification Officer, the NCATE Coordinator, the Data-base manager, and the Graduate Program Coordinators are ex-officio members and are invited to all meetings.

Responsibilities:
Specifically the committee shall:

Assist the Coordinator of Assessment in developing policies and procedures for meeting requirements for the Institution, Regents, PSC and NCATE reports.
Report management
Advise the Dean on assessment issues and concerns.
Advise the Assistant Dean of technology challenges throughout Kilpatrick Building.
Develop policies and processes to assure that the COE meets all technology standards for accreditation. ISTE, NETS.
Perform periodic surveys of College of Education Faculty and Staff to gather information about technology needs such as basic requirements for hardware and software.
Prioritize technology needs from survey results and reports to the Dean.
Oversee the organizing, monitoring, and use of LiveText for program and unit reporting.

Assessment:

Provide assistance with oversight of unit and program assessment plans and data collection, analysis, and reflection.

Technology:

Develop policies and processes to assure that the COE meets all technology standards for accreditation. ISTE, NETS. On-going.
Oversee the organizing, monitoring, and use of LiveText for program and units reporting. July and August to be ready for fall semester.
Perform periodic surveys of College of Education Faculty and Staff to gather information about technology needs such as basic requirements for hardware and software. The survey will be done in September.

Prioritize technology needs from survey results and report to the Dean in October.

AWARDS COMMITTEE

Purpose:
The Awards Committee shall advise, coordinate and evaluate procedures, policies and issues related to COE student, faculty, alumni, and partner awards.

Membership:
he committee shall consist of Junior and M.A.T. Mentor Leaders and one faculty member familiar with the Awards Procedures. The Dean's Administrative Assistant is ex-officio.

Responsibilities:
Specifically the committee shall be responsible for activities and events that provide interaction among members of the College of Education and that acknowledge outstanding achievements of College of Education students. The committee shall:

Review and monitor the College of Education awards procedures.
Respond to various requests for student, faculty, staff, alumni, and partnership award nominations.
Perform other tasks dealing with awards as assigned by the Dean.

CURRICULUM COMMITTEE

Purpose:
The Curriculum Committee shall oversee the curricular changes at the undergraduate level.

Membership:
The Committee shall consist of one faculty member from each undergraduate teacher education program serving staggered terms of three years. The assistant/associate dean shall serve as ex officio.

Responsibilities:
Specifically the committee shall be responsible for matters relating to the undergraduate curriculum of the College of Education, including but not limited to, review of

new courses developed in the College
new or changed programs
matters such as grades, hours of courses, etc. and
other curriculum issues and problems. This committee shall serve as a forum for undergraduate curricular matters.

Procedural Guidelines:

Receipt of agenda items.
Schedule meeting. Electronic agenda with documents accompanying (example, revised programs or new courses for consideration) and time, date and place of meeting sent to all College of Education faculty members.
Presentation of agenda item at meeting by person initiating such item.
Discussion and written recommendation of item to Dean. Such recommendation should include information of all perspectives.
If recommendation is not acceptable to the Dean, he or she will meet with the committee to discuss the matter.
All items for the following academic year must be submitted to the committee no later than the February meeting.

DEAN'S ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Purpose:
The Dean's Advisory Committee shall serve as a liaison group from the COE with the Dean. The committee shall conduct annual elections and oversee committee minute postings.

Membership:
The Committee shall consist of one member from each department elected by their respective departments and one at-large member. Department Chairpersons or Area Coordinators are ineligible to serve on this committee. Members serve staggered terms of three years.

Responsibilities:
Specifically the committee shall:

Act as the liaison between the faculty of the COE and the Dean.
Monitor and provide support to COE committees for operation within by laws and completion of committee responsibilities including monthly reports at COE faculty meetings and posting of minutes.
Coordinate the nomination/election process by which faculty members are selected for each college committee, promoting an equitable membership distribution on college committees across the faculty and departments in the COE.
Oversee Electoral Procedures:
a. Distribute in the first half of the Spring Semester a committee preference and nomination sheet to each faculty member in the COE.
b. Check eligibility of all nominees and formulate a ballot from the returned committee preference sheets.
c. Organize and implement an orderly election process that is completed by the end of the Spring Semester.
d. Report the results of the election in writing to the Dean and faculty.
e. Perform other assignments dealing with the nominations/election process as requested by the Dean.
f. Post Dean's Advisory Committee minutes related to committee issues only.

DIVERSITY IN CURRICULUM AND PROGRAMMING COMMITTEE

Purpose:
The purpose of this committee is to foster dialogue among faculty members, creating an atmosphere in which issues of race, class, gender, sexual orientation and social class are discussed freely among ourselves, in classes, and by the COE community. Our goal is that the College of Education truly fulfill its goal of fostering Architects of Change. We look to understand diversity as more than tolerance, but as an issue of access to power for all individuals.

Membership:
The committee shall consist of one faculty member from each department serving staggered terms of three years and members at-large.

Responsibilities:

Collect data on ESL curriculum experienced by all COE students.
Initiate two faculty development days per semester on issues of diversity.
Invite guest lecturers on diversity issues.
Work on diversity issues for upcoming NCATE visit.
Other tasks as requested by the Dean.

DIVERSE RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION COMMITTEE

Purpose:
The Diversity, Recruitment, Admissions, and Retention Committee shall:

Promote diversity in all aspects of the College of Education including faculty/staff hiring, student recruitment, and student retention.
Oversee and monitor reports to the Institution, Board of Regents, Professional Standards Commission for accuracy in matters of diversity
Advise on oversight of Standard Four for NCATE and PSC including writing for required Institutional Report and issues of ESL.

Membership:
The Committee shall consist of one member from each department elected by their respective departments and one at-large member. Members serve staggered terms of three years.

Rationale for Diversity:
The primary mission of the COE is to provide quality education for our students. In today's global economy, and in a country as diverse as the United States, interaction with people from various cultures, races, religions, and perspectives is inevitable. To prepare our students for this changing world, we must provide them with the skills and knowledge necessary to interact positively with people unlike themselves.

Responsibilities: Specifically the committee shall:

Develop and coordinate an active program related to recruitment and retention of faculty, undergraduate and graduate students.
a. Set goals and then identify issues/obstacles that could impede progress in pursuing diversity goals and initiatives and develop strategies to overcome these.
b. Facilitate making diversity a core value for the COE. For example, incorporate and mention diversity in the mission statement of the COE and ensure everyone understands and appreciates the diversity efforts in the college.
Perform tasks dealing with admission, teacher education recruitment and retention as assigned by the Dean.
a. Establish a link on the COE website which gives details of the COE diversity policy and plans. This site could include a survey to allow for feedback.
b. Develop a faculty recruitment brochure that highlights diversity efforts and goals.
c. Seek sources to target groups that are under-represented in the university as a whole.
d. Establish communication with the Director of Institutional Equity and Diversity in order to assess minority students' academic and personal needs. Monitor minority students' progress and provide assistance and referral as needed. Provide counseling and guidance for minority students in the COE.
e. Seek formal agreements with specific institutions that are predominately minority communities to facilitate transfer of students to the COE, and "Adopt" a consortium of minority schools from which the COE will heavily recruit.
f. Attend recruitment fairs where and when it is believed larger numbers of minority students will attend
g. Communicate with minority fraternities and sororities on campus and their national affiliates.
h. Seek diversity incentive grants

FACULTY AND ALUMNI DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE

Purpose:
The Faculty and Alumni Development Committee shall be responsible for
         1) policies, procedures and initiatives related to alumni development and relations
         with College of Education Alumni, and
         2) policies, procedures and initiatives related to faculty development.

Membership:
The committee shall consist of one faculty member from each department
serving staggered terms of three years and one alumnus from the COE.

Responsibilities:
Specifically the committee shall:

1. Work cooperatively with the Georgia College & State University Alumni Office to increase alumni participation, giving, and collaboration with COE.

2. Advise the Dean and perform other tasks (as assigned) with matters on professional development and alumni relations relative to the College of Education.

4. Assess needs through formal and informal surveys, plan and promote College of Education faculty development opportunities and activities.

GRADUATE COMMITTEE

Purpose:
The Graduate Committee shall be responsible for matters relating to the graduate curriculum of the College of Education, including but not limited to review of 1) new or changed programs, 2) new or revised courses, 3) other graduate curricular issues and problems, and 4) nominations of graduate faculty from departmental chairs.

Membership:
The committee shall consist of one departmental representative from each department who meets any of the following qualifications: regularly teaches graduate courses, is a member of the graduate faculty, or is a graduate program advisor. The Graduate Admissions Coordinator and the Assistant/Associate Dean shall serve as ex-officios.

Responsibilities:
Specifically the committee shall:

Act in an advisory manner to graduate level concerns across programs;
Serve as liaisons who report committee concerns to and from the departments;
Review all graduate curriculum matters;
Review all graduate admission / retention policy matters;
Serve as a forum to promote discourse across programs;
Review documents and processes for continuous improvement of graduate programs;
Issue meeting invitations and/or establish hearings as needed for clarification and feedback on issues and drafts;
Hold sufficient workshops, meetings and/or hearings to review accumulated issues, identify others, agree on authored revisions and policy structure;
Recommend changes in graduate program policies to the COE Faculty.
All items for the following academic year must be submitted to the committee no later than the February meeting.
Facilitate faculty requests for Graduate Assistants

Call for requests:                                 October
Deadline for requests:                         November
Graduate Committee decisions:           Third week in November
Dissemination of awards:                    Third week in November
Choosing GAs:                                    As soon as notified of award

Operating Procedures:

Receipt of agenda items.
Schedule meeting. Electronic agenda with documents accompanying (example, revised programs or new courses for consideration) and time, date and place of meeting sent to all College of Education faculty.
Presentation of agenda item at meeting by person initiating such item.
Discussion and written recommendation of item to Dean. Such recommendation should include information of all perspectives.
If recommendation is not acceptable to the Dean, he or she will meet with the committee to discuss the matter.

All committee decisions will be made by consensus. The committee promotes a shared sense of purpose among the faculty by seeking positive, growth-oriented resolutions to matters before the committee.

RECRUITMENT, ADMISSIONS, RETENTION AND STUDENT DIVERSITY COMMITTEE

Shall be responsible for matters relating but not limited to:

Developing appropriate policies for assuring student diversity through recruitment, admission, and retention to the COE

a. Define elements of diversity
Definition of Diversity - Consistent with the pluralistic nature of the world the COE understands diversity to include, but not to be limited to, people from various races, religions, cultures, nationalities, socio-economic groups, physical and mental abilities, sexual orientations and/or preferences, ages and genders. It is our belief that each individual environment.

b. Rationale for Diversity - The primary mission of the COE is to provide quality education for our students. In today's global economy, and in a country as diverse as the United States, interaction with people from various cultures, races, religions, and perspectives is inevitable. To prepare our students for this changing world, we must provide them with the skills and knowledge necessary to interact positively with people unlike themselves.

c. Expand upon the work of the University's Diversity Task Force
Developing and coordinating an active program related to recruitment and retention of undergraduate students.

a. Formally engage the various personnel in the COE in meaningful, ongoing dialogue about diversity in order to explore what we mean by diversity; why diversity is important to a learning community; and what significant contributions various ethnic, racial, and other diverse groups in our region(s) can make both to the dialogue and to our campus communities. These dialogues should be as inclusive as possible to reach out broadly to members of religious, disabled, gay/lesbian/bisexual, racial, ethnic, "mainstream," and other groups and individuals.

b. Set goals and then identify issues/obstacles that could impede progress in pursuing diversity goals and initiatives and develop strategies to overcome these.

c. Establish communication between department heads for discussing their responsibilities in bringing about a diverse community in the COE, and encourage departments to develop guidelines for addressing issues related to diversity.

d.Analyze COE data and information to determine specific needs to document progress.

e. Facilitate making diversity a core value for the COE. For example, incorporate and mention diversity in the mission statement of the COE and ensure every one understands and appreciates the diversity efforts in the college.
Performing task dealing with admission and teacher education recruitment and retention as assigned by the Dean.

a. Establish a link on the COE website which gives details of the COE diversity policy and plans. This site could include a survey to allow for feedback.

b. Seek sources to target groups that are under-represented in the university as a whole.

c. Establish communication with the Director of Minority Affairs in order to assess minority students' academic and personal needs. Monitor minority students' progress and provide assistance and referral as needed. Provide counseling and guidance for minority students in the COE.

d. Emphasize diversity in COE/university events and encourage lectures on different cultures. For example, bring experts from across the country to campus to discuss various aspects related to diversity such as recruiting and retaining minority students, the role of non-minorities in achieving racial justice and diversity law.

e. Seek formal agreements with specific institutions that are predominately minority communities to facilitate transfer of students to the COE, and "Adopt" a consortium of minority schools from which the COE will heavily recruit.

f. Attend recruitment fairs where and when it is believed larger numbers of minority students will attend

g. Communicate with minority fraternities and sororities on campus and their national affiliates.

h. COE to seek diversity incentive grants

SCHOOL-COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP COMMITTEE

Purpose:
The School-Community Partnership Committee shall be responsible for policies, procedures, and issues related to community partnership with emphasis on P-12.

Membership:
The committee shall consist of one faculty member from each department serving staggered terms of three years and the COE Liaison. The Dean's Administrative Assistant shall serve as ex-officio.

Responsibilities:
Specifically the committee shall oversee all partnership activities and be held responsible for matters relating to, but not limited to:

Examining the role and responsibility of COE in meeting community and state goals in P-16 education.
Promoting COE, school and community collaboration.
Pursuing mutually beneficial partnerships.
Planning and evaluating of the induction of new teachers.
Performing other tasks dealing with partnerships as assigned by the Dean.

SOCIAL COMMITTEE

Purpose:
The Social Committee shall be responsible for creating a collegial social climate in the COE.

Membership:
The committee shall consist of the COE Liaison and four at-large members including one staff member.

Responsibilities:
Specifically the committee shall:

Create at least one social event for COE each semester.
Plan and execute recognition for any retiring faculty/staff
Plan for recognizing promoted and tenured faculty each year.
Plan for receptions such as graduation
Evaluate and assess collegiality and college climate
Oversee Sunshine Fund

TENURE AND PROMOTION COMMITTEE

Purpose:
The Tenure and Promotion Committee shall responsible for policies and procedures dealing with the tenure and promotion in academic rank of the John H. Lounsbury College of Education faculty. The Committee serves as the organizing body for individuals seeking tenure or promotion and submitting peer recommendations to the Dean. This committee assigns secretaries and schedules reviews overseeing written recommendations.

Membership:
The committee shall consist of one faculty member from each department serving staggered terms of three years. Any committee member who is eligible for tenure or promotion during his/her term must be excused during consideration of his/her documentation but may serve otherwise. Faculty members in administrative positions are ineligible to serve on this committee.

Responsibilities:
Specifically the committee shall:

Orient faculty to the processes related to tenure and promotion;
Receive from the Dean the departmental recommendations and all supporting documentation for tenure and/or promotion of individual faculty members.
Review the documentation for thoroughness and timelines according to University policy.
Coordinate a written peer review concerning tenure and/or promotion with supporting evidence including eligible COE faculty recommendations; give to the Dean.
Meet with the Dean following the submission of written recommendation should any substantive differences exist related to the tenure or promotion being considered.
Make recommendations related to possible revisions/additions/deletions of tenure and promotion procedures and documentation to the faculty to their consideration for approval.
Advise the Dean on matters relative to tenure and promotion.
Provide updated documentation to the COE web administrator on procedures and policies.

AD HOC COMMITTEES

Ad hoc committees may be created by any standing committee or by the Dean. Such committees are given specific charges in writing and are comprised of a membership determined by the party creating them with the advice of the Dean's Advisory Committee. Persons outside the College of Education may serve on these committees. When the tasks assigned to the committee are completed, the committees are dissolved. Faculty will be informed of the creation of each ad hoc committee and the ultimate disbanding thereof.

ARTICLE V. COUNCILS

Educator Preparation Council

The Educator Preparation Council will be the executive body responsible for all issues related to educator preparation and certification and shall represent the Faculty of Educator Preparation. Membership in the Educator Preparation Council will include:

Coordinating-Chair: Dean of the College of Education
Co-Chairs: Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences and Dean of Health Sciences
College of Education Representatives--One from each program: (Early Childhood,
Middle Grades, Special Education, Instructional Technology, Educational
Leadership, Foundations, and Secondary Education),
Liberal Arts Representatives--One representative from the following areas:

Music Education; Art or Theatre;
Mathematics;
English;
Social Science;
Science; and
Modern Foreign Languages

P-12 Representatives: Five elected from the formally identified host teachers and administrators
GCSU Education Students: Two undergraduates and two graduate
RESA representative
Certification Officer
Health, Physical Education, and Recreation Representative
College of Business Representative

College (Education, Liberal Arts, Business, and Health Sciences) and P-12 representatives shall serve two-year terms, with half the representatives elected each year. Representatives may serve consecutive terms.

The Educator Preparation Council shall:

Be responsible for all issues related to educator preparation and certification, including the approval of courses, programs, and degree requirements.
Have the authority to evaluate programs and to oversee the articulation of various teacher certification programs on campus within the terms of the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education, the Professional Standards Commission, the Board of Regents, and other standard setting bodies appropriate to each discipline.
Determine decisions of the Educator Preparation Council where possible by consensus.

ARTICLE VI. RULES OF PROCEDURE

The order of business at each faculty meeting shall be as follows:
a.   Call to order by the presiding officer.
b.   Disposition of minutes of previous meeting
c.   Announcement of communications to the faculty.
d.   Disposition of business as listed on the agenda including reports from Standing Committee.
e.   Presentation of new business.
f.   Adjournment.
Additions or alterations to the agenda may be made with the consent of the assembled faculty.
Should a question of parliamentary procedure arise, Robert's Rules of Order shall govern. Amendments to these bylaws may be proposed by any voting member. An amendment must be submitted to the faculty at least one week before the meeting at which final action may be taken.
Each member of the faculty shall be provided a copy of these bylaws.

Approved by the faculty of The John H. Lounsbury College of Education January 22, 1998
Rev. 4-03; 11-05; 8-09; 9-09

COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES BY-LAWS

COLLEGE OF HEALTH SCIENCES BY-LAWS