Policy Statement - 17-08 Academic Administrators, Policies and Procedures for the Selection, Appointment and Review of (Supersedes PS 02-04)
Policy Number: 17-08
Date: July 24, 2017
POLICIES AND PROCEDURES FOR THE SELECTION, APPOINTMENT, AND REVIEW OF ACADEMIC ADMINISTRATORS
(This policy supersedes Policy Statement 02-04.)
This policy statement was recommended by the Academic Senate on April 20, 2017 and approved by the President on June 6, 2017.
1.0 Introduction
This document establishes the policies and procedures that shall be used for the selection, appointment, and review of all MPP (Management Personnel Plan) academic administrators in any division of the University where at least one of the following three conditions applies:
According to the position description, the appointee is granted tenure to an academic discipline in the appropriate department. All position descriptions that include reference to academic criteria (including rank or tenure) shall be included under this provision.
According to the position description, the appointee reports directly to the Provost.
The President (or designee) determines that the policies and procedures are appropriate.
University-Wide Administrators
University-wide administrators in the Division of Academic Affairs to be selected, appointed, and reviewed according to this policy have traditionally held position titles such as Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, Vice Provost, Dean of Graduate Studies, Dean of Undergraduate Studies, and Associate Vice President.
Traditionally, Assistant Vice Presidents have only had operational roles and have therefore not been included as academic administrators according to this policy. However, if the position description for an Assistant Vice President were to meet any of the categories articulated in 1.0 above, their selection, appointment, and review would be governed by these policies and procedures.
College Administrators
- Deans of the Colleges are to be selected, appointed and reviewed pursuant to this policy.
- Associate and Assistant Deans of the Colleges are to be selected and appointed pursuant to this policy.
- For purposes of this policy, the Library shall be considered a College.
2.0 Principles and Responsibility for Final Decision
2.1 Principles. It is vital to the mission of the University that academic administrators be selected and reviewed through a process which involves the meaningful participation of administration, faculty, and other members of the academic community; the aim of this process is to foster both excellence in individuals appointed to these positions and confidence in them on the part of their constituencies. To protect the individuals being considered or reviewed, and to maintain the integrity of the process, confidentiality shall be preserved throughout the process. Those choosing members of committees established in accordance with this policy shall attempt to ensure that the committee membership represent the University’s ethnic and gender diversity.
2.2 Responsibility. The final decision concerning the selection, appointment, and reappointment of individuals serving in the administrative assignments listed above shall be made by the President of the University, or by the Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs (or designee) when delegated that authority by the President.
3.0 Selection and Appointment of Search Committee
3.1 Initiation of the Search Process. Although the search process normally should be initiated shortly after the vacancy is announced, there may be situations where the administration may wish to delay the search process. (For example, if the position being filled reports to an interim or acting administrator, the search may be delayed until a permanent appointment to the supervisorial position is made.) Under these circumstances an interim or acting appointment of the position under Section 6.0 may be made.
3.2 Position Description. A job description for the position to be filled shall be prepared jointly by the administrator to whom the individual will report and the Executive Committee of the Academic Senate or, in the case of college-level administrators, the Faculty Council of the College and the Provost or Dean as appropriate. This position description shall be the basis for advertising the position.
3.3 Selection of Search Committee. When a vacancy in one of the above positions occurs, the President, or Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs where appropriate, shall call for the establishment of a search committee. This call shall be directed to the Chair of the Academic Senate for university-wide positions, or the Chair of the College Council for college-level positions.
3.3.1 The membership of the search committee for the Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs shall include:
3.3.1.1 Five tenured faculty members elected by the Academic Senate. The five faculty members shall include the Chair of the Academic Senate and four other tenured faculty members elected by the Academic Senate.
3.3.1.3 An additional assistant or associate professor elected by the Academic Senate.
3.3.1.8 One lecturer faculty member with a three-year contract on a time base of 0.5 (7.5 WTU) or higher, elected by the Academic Senate.
3.3.1.2 One academic dean elected by a majority of the current academic deans.
3.3.1.4 One CSULB administrator selected by the President or the Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs where appropriate. If appointment of a CSULB administrator is not feasible, the President or the Provost may appoint an appropriate administrator from another CSU campus.
3.3.1.5 One full-time member of the staff from the Division of Academic Affairs, elected by the Staff Council.
3.3.1.6 One student member, selected by the Associated Students.
3.3.1.7 The President may appoint a representative from the community-atlarge who does not duplicate previously included categories.
3.3.2 The membership of the search committee for other University-wide academic administrative positions shall include:
3.3.2.1 Five tenured faculty members elected by the Academic Senate.
3.3.2.2 One lecturer faculty member with a three-year contract on a time base of 0.5 (7.5 WTU) or higher, elected by the Academic Senate.
3.3.2.3 One CSULB administrator selected by the President or the Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs where appropriate. If appointment of a CSULB administrator is not feasible, the President or the Provost may appoint an appropriate administrator from another CSU campus.
3.3.2.4 One full-time member of the staff from the Division of Academic Affairs, elected by the Staff Council.
3.3.2.5 One student member, selected by the Associated Students.
3.3.2.6 The President may appoint a representative from the community-atlarge who does not duplicate previously included categories.
3.3.3 The membership of the search committee for a Dean shall include:
3.3.3.1 The Chair of the Faculty Council of the college. If the Chair of the Faculty Council is not tenured, the Faculty Council shall elect a tenured member of the Council to serve in place of the Chair.
3.3.3.2 Four other tenured faculty members from the college and, if appropriate, its affiliated programs, elected by the Faculty Council of the college.
3.3.3.3 One lecturer faculty member with a three-year contract on a time base of 0.5 (7.5 WTU) or higher, elected by the Faculty Council.
3.3.3.4 One department chair or program director elected by a majority of the college’s Council of Chairs (or its equivalent).
3.3.3.5 One CSULB administrator selected by the Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs.
3.3.3.6 One full-time member of the staff from the college concerned, elected by the staff of that college.
3.3.3.7 One student member from the college concerned, selected by the appropriate student council or by the Associated Students if no student council exists.
3.3.3.8 The Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs may appoint a representative from the community at large who does not duplicate previously included categories.
3.3.4 The membership of the search committee for other college administrative positions shall include:
3.3.4.1 The Chair or Vice Chair of the Faculty Council of the college. If the Chair and Vice Chair of the Faculty Council are not tenured, the Faculty Council shall elect a tenured member of the Council to serve in place of the Chair.
3.3.4.2 Four other tenured faculty members from the college and, if appropriate, its affiliated programs, elected by the Faculty Council of the college.
3.3.4.3 One lecturer faculty member with a three-year contract on a time base of 0.5 (7.5 WTU) or higher, elected by the Faculty Council.
3.3.4.4. One department chair or program director elected by a majority of the college’s Council of Chairs (or its equivalent).
3.3.4.5 One CSULB administrator selected by the Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs.
3.3.4.6 One full-time member of the staff from the college concerned, elected by the staff of that college.
3.3.4.7 One student member from the college concerned, selected by the appropriate student council or by the Associated Students if no student council exists.
3.3.4.8 The Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs may appoint a representative from the community at large who does not duplicate previously included categories.
3.3.5 No candidate for the position involved may be a member of the search committee.
3.4 Committee Vacancies
3.4.1 If one required position on a search committee cannot be filled while the committee is being constituted, and if the person(s) or leader of the body that makes the appointment has confirmed in a written communication to the Academic Senate office (for University-wide positions) or to the Faculty Council (for college-level positions) that every effort has been made to fill the position, the search may proceed. If two or more positions cannot be filled, the search may not proceed.
3.4.2 If a search committee member is not fulfilling their duties, e.g., by missing most committee meetings or not evaluating candidates as agreed upon in the committee, the search committee chair may request from the convener of the committee (see 4.1 below) and the Academic Senate Chair that that member be removed. The committee member will be removed and that position declared vacant only if the convener and the Academic Senate Chair agree.
3.4.3 If one member of a search committee resigns or is removed (see 3.4.2 above), the person(s) or body that made the initial appointment to the search committee position now vacant may fill that position, provided that the vacancy is filled prior to the selection of the semi-finalist candidate(s). The search process shall continue without delay despite the existence of the vacancy and despite the fact that the vacancy may be in the process of being filled. If one member of a search committee resigns after the selection of the semi-finalist candidate(s), that position will not be filled, but the search process may continue.
3.4.4 If the membership of the committee falls below quorum for a committee fully constituted with required members, the search will be aborted.
4.0 Consultation and Selection Procedures
4.1 Convening and Consultation. Once all members to the committees have been elected and appointed, search committees for University-wide positions shall be convened by the Associate Vice President for Faculty Affairs. Search committees for college-level positions shall be convened by the chair of Faculty Council for that College. At the convening meeting, using the position description, the committee shall consult with the administrator to whom the administrative position reports (or designee) to discuss the role of the position in the administration of the University, the qualifications for the position, the criteria for selection, and the process and timelines by which the search shall be conducted.
4.2 Equity and Diversity Guidelines. Selection procedures utilized in the search process shall be in accordance with the policies and procedures set forth in the Equity and Diversity Guidelines and this policy. The committee shall subsequently meet with the Director of Equity and Diversity to discuss the equity and diversity guidelines to be followed.
4.3 Internal or External Searches for Associate Deans. For appointments to the position of Associate Dean, the Dean and the College Faculty Council shall mutually determine whether an internal or external search is needed. If the two parties cannot agree, there shall be an external search.
4.4 Search Committee Chair and Staff Support. The committee shall elect a chair at its first meeting. Staff support for the committee shall be provided by the office of the administrator to whom the appointee shall report.
4.5 Forwarding Applications to the Committee. Following the announced date for beginning review of applications and approval of the applicant pool, applications shall be forwarded to the committee for review.
4.6 Invitations for Interviews. The Committee shall evaluate all applications forwarded to it for review, and select those candidates to be invited for interviews on campus. The appropriate administrative office shall make travel arrangements for off-campus candidates.
4.7 Candidate Itineraries. In consultation with the appropriate administrative office, the search committee shall arrange an itinerary for each candidate.
4.8 Candidate Interviews. Candidates will be interviewed by the following:
4.8.1 Candidates for University-wide academic administrative positions shall be interviewed by the search committee, the administrator to whom the candidate would report, the President where appropriate, the Academic Senate Executive Committee, officers of the California Faculty Association, the Deans’ Council, and the faculty of the department to which the candidate may be granted faculty retreat rights.
4.8.2 Candidates for dean and associate or assistant dean positions shall be interviewed by the search committee, the administrator to whom the appointee would report, the college council or other appropriate faculty governing body, the chairs of the departments in that college and the faculty of the department to which the candidate may be granted faculty retreat rights. Candidates for Dean positions shall also be interviewed by the President, the Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, the Academic Senate Executive Committee, and officers of the California Faculty Association, and others as appropriate to the position.
4.9 Written Reports of Interviewers. When all interviews have been completed, each of the appropriate campus constituencies that conducted interviews (except the President or designee and the administrator to whom the appointee would report) shall submit a written report to the search committee for its review. The committee shall meet with any of the above if needed to clarify the evaluations, and shall prepare its own confidential evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of each candidate.
4.10 Search Committee Report. The committee shall submit its report along with an unranked list of those three to five candidates who it believes are the best qualified for appointment to the appointing authority via the administrator to whom the appointee would report. If the appointing authority, or the administrator to whom the appointee would report, does not concur with the committee’s recommendation(s), he/she shall meet with the Committee to discuss the disagreement between them. The committee may revise its report after this meeting, if it so chooses.
5.0 Appointment
5.1 Responsibility for Appointments. All appointments to the above academic administrative positions are made by the President unless specifically delegated to the Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs by the President.
5.2 Term of the Appointment. Appointees serve at the pleasure of the President (or designee) and are subject to periodic review.
5.3 Retreat Rights. Candidates recruited with job descriptions that include academic qualifications (including rank and tenure) shall be formally evaluated for retreat rights in an appropriate department following the procedures outlined below.
5.4 Granting of Tenure and Academic Rank. Tenure or academic rank in an academic discipline may be granted by the President to an academic administrator at the time of appointment. The President may grant tenure or assign rank only after a formal evaluation of the individual’s qualifications. This evaluation shall take the form of a secret ballot on a formal recommendation to grant tenure or assign rank by the eligible tenured faculty of the appropriate department or program. Normally the department or program shall respond as soon as possible after meeting with the candidate. Subsequent to exercising retreat rights, tenure and rank actions for administrators shall follow the normal RTP process for the department and college in which they have retreat rights.
6.0 Interim or Acting Appointment When Vacancy Occurs
6.1 Power to Make Interim and Acting Appointments. When an academic administrative position becomes vacant, the President (or designee) may make an interim or acting appointment.
6.2 Initiation of the Interim Appointment Process. The consultation and selection process for the interim administrative appointment shall be initiated no later than 60 calendar days after the vacancy is announced except as provided in Section 6.5.
6.3 Consultation on Interim Appointments. An interim academic administrator shall be appointed only after consultation with the appropriate constituencies. The representative faculty body of the appropriate constituency shall choose which of the following procedures will be used:
6.3.1 The person making the appointment shall meet with representatives of the various constituencies that would be involved in the search process described in Section 4.0; or
6.3.2 The search process described in Sections 3.0 and 4.0 will be used, with the search limited to on-campus candidates.
6.4 Term of Interim Appointment. An interim academic administrator shall serve until the effective date of the permanent appointment or the date when the appointee reports for duty, whichever is later. The term for an interim appointment shall not exceed one year. The interim appointment can be extended for an additional six months after consultation with the appropriate constituencies (the Academic Senate for the University-wide positions, and the Faculty Councils for College Positions) and after providing a written justification for that extension to those constituencies. Extensions of interim appointments beyond 18 months require consultation between the President, Provost and Executive Committee of the Academic Senate, and a vote on the decision shall be taken and recorded for the minutes of the Academic Senate Executive Committee.
6.5 Need for Acting Appointment. An acting appointment shall be made only when, due to extenuating circumstances, it is not possible for the President (or designee) to consult as described in Section 6.3 or for the search process of Sections 3.0 and 4.0 to be completed before the appointment must be made. Under these circumstances, the interim appointment process should be started as soon as the appropriate consultations described in Section 6.3 can occur. This provision is not meant to limit the use of acting appointments in other situations (e.g., a temporary vacancy due to illness).
6.6 Term of Acting Appointment. An acting academic administrator shall serve until:
6.6.1 the appropriate constituencies have been consulted as described in Section 6.3,
6.6.2 an interim or permanent appointment has been made; and
6.6.3 the date on which the appointee reports for duty.
6.6.4 The term of an acting appointee shall not exceed six months. The term for an acting appointment may be extended for an additional three months. In no case shall an acting appointee serve more than nine months.
7.0 Periodic Review of Academic Administrators
7.1 Need for Periodic Reviews. Each of the academic administrators covered by this Policy should maintain the confidence of faculty, staff, and students, in addition to the President (or designee) and the administrator to whom the person reports. Accordingly, each of these administrators shall be reviewed and evaluated periodically. The following administrators shall be reviewed in accordance with Section 7.2 of this Policy: Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, Associate Vice Presidents in the Division of Academic Affairs, the Dean of Undergraduate Studies, and the Deans of the Colleges (including the Library).
7.2 Schedule of Reviews. Evaluation of the administrator’s performance shall be conducted during the third year of the administrator’s initial appointment, and every fifth year thereafter. The President, or appropriate administrator, may initiate a review more frequently, if desired. The initial appointment means the date an individual begins to serve in a position, whether in an acting, interim, or permanent appointment. When an individual who has served as an acting or interim administrator is selected for the permanent position as the result of a search, the time for the review shall be counted from the date of permanent appointment. If an appointment to an administrative position is made later than the start of the academic year, the first review shall take place in the first academic year that begins after the second anniversary date of the appointment.
7.3 Establishment of Review Committee for Periodic Review of Administrators. During the spring semester prior to the year in which a review is to be conducted, the President (or designee) shall request the Chair of the Academic Senate to establish a review committee for each administrator to be reviewed. The committees should be formed as early as possible in the fall semester.
7.4 Membership of University-Wide Administrator Review Committees. For the Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs as well as Associate Vice Presidents in the Division of Academic Affairs and the Dean of Undergraduate Studies positions, the membership of the periodic administrative review committee shall include:
7.4.1 Five tenured faculty members elected by the Academic Senate. For review of the Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs or Associate Vice Presidents in the division of Academic Affairs, and the Dean of Undergraduate Studies, the Chair of the Academic Senate shall serve as one of the five faculty members and the other four shall be elected by the Academic Senate.
7.4.2 One CSULB administrator appointed by the President (or designee). Should a situation exist where it is not feasible for a campus administrator to serve, the President (or designee) may appoint an appropriate administrator from another CSU campus.
7.4.3 One full-time member of the staff elected from the Division of Academic Affairs by the Staff Council.
7.4.4 One student member selected by the Associated Students.
7.4.5 A representative from the community-at-large may be appointed by the President (or designee) when appropriate.
7.4.6 One lecturer faculty member with a three-year contract on a time base of 0.5 (7.5 WTU) or higher, elected by the Academic Senate.
7.5 Membership of Dean Review Committees. For deans of the colleges and the Library, the membership of the periodic administrative review committee shall include:
7.5.1 The chair of the Faculty Council of the College, and four other tenured faculty members from the college, elected by the Faculty Council of the College. If the Chair of the Faculty Council is not tenured, the Faculty Council shall elect a tenured member of the Council to serve in place of the Chair.
7.5.2 One CSULB administrator selected by the Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs.
7.5.3 One full-time member of the staff elected from the Division of Academic Affairs by the Staff Council.
7.5.4 One member of the staff elected by the full-time staff of the college.
7.5.5 One student selected by the college student council or by the Associated Students if no student council exists.
7.5.6 One lecturer faculty member with a three-year contract on a time base of 0.5 (7.5 WTU) or higher, elected by the Faculty Council.
8.0 Review Process
8.1 Convening and Consultation. Once all members of the committees have been elected and appointed, review committees for University-wide positions shall be convened by the Associate Vice President for Faculty Affairs, and review committees for college-level positions shall be convened by the chair of Faculty Council for that College. At the convening meeting, using the position description, the committee shall consult with the President (or designee) or other appropriate administrators to discuss criteria and to determine timelines to be used in evaluating the individual being reviewed. In addition, a committee chair shall be elected at this meeting.
8.2 Staff Support. Staff support for the review committee shall be provided by the Office of Academic Affairs for university-wide positions, or by the office of the Dean for collegelevel positions. Support shall include clerical duties, if requested, duplicating materials, arranging meetings, providing mailing lists for appropriate sources to be contacted, and providing contacts with these groups.
8.3 Confidentiality. The review committee shall maintain the same standards of confidentiality that apply to other personnel actions. Confidential materials shall be kept at the Office of the Academic Senate during the review process. The Chair of the Academic Senate shall be responsible for seeing that materials that do not become part of the individual’s personnel file are destroyed after the review process is completed.
8.4 Right to Submit Information and Documentation. The individual being reviewed shall submit information and documentation to the committee on the activities, progress, accomplishments, and problems of the areas of responsibility during the time since initial appointment for the first review, or since the last review for subsequent reviews. Either the committee or the individual being reviewed may request a meeting to discuss any information pertinent to the review.
8.5 Right to Obtain Publically Available Empirical Data. The review committee may obtain publically available empirical data relevant to the administrator’s work.
8.6 Solicitation of Letters of Evaluation. The chair of the review committee (or the Chair of the Academic Senate, if several administrators are being reviewed at the same time) shall invite all members of the campus community to contribute to the review by submitting signed letters of evaluation of the administrator(s) being reviewed.
8.7 Right to Use Questionnaires. The review committee may also employ questionnaires (written and/or electronic) concerning the administrator’s work to groups of people familiar with the administrator’s work during the review period, such as faculty members, staff members, the Academic Senate Executive Committee, the Deans’ Council, the leadership of the California Faculty Association, the Associated Students, other campus organizations, alumni, members of advisory groups, donors, other members of the public. For Deans such questionnaires may be distributed to all faculty and staff in the college and to others as appropriate. The questionnaires shall normally include both objective questions and open-ended questions, and shall address the duties of the position. The Academic Senate office shall maintain a file of sample questionnaires for use by the review committees.
8.8 Right to Use Interviews. Review committees may also choose to gather information from the groups of people specified in Section 8.7 by conducting structured interviews.
8.8.1 The same questions must be asked in the same manner of each group of interviewees.
8.8.2 At least two members of the review committee must be present at such interviews.
9.0 Committee Report
9.1 Preparation of Report. The review committee shall prepare a confidential report of the review and findings on the performance of the individual being reviewed and evaluated. The report should make clear the basis for the committee’s findings. The entire committee should discuss and agree upon the conclusions to be drawn and on any recommendations included in the report, and shall review the draft report to assure that it is an accurate reflection of the committee’s thinking. Each member of the review committee shall sign the report, unless they sign a minority report. If there is a minority report, it shall be shared with the entire committee.
9.2 Right to Respond. Prior to submission of the review committee’s final report to the President (or designee), the individual being reviewed shall be provided a copy of the report and be afforded an opportunity to review it and submit a written response within ten working days.
9.3 Submission of Report and Response. The review committee shall submit its final report, with any written response appended, to the President (or designee). Following submission of the review committee’s final report and the individual’s written response, if any, the President (or designee) shall meet with the individual who has been reviewed and discuss the results of the evaluation.
9.4 Placement of Report and Response in Personnel File. The committee’s report (and minority reports and the response, if any) shall be placed in the individual’s official Personnel File.
9.5 Report of the President’s Disposition of Review. For the Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, the Associate Vice Presidents in the Division of Academic Affairs, and the Dean of Undergraduate Studies, the final disposition of the review by the President (or designee) shall be reported in writing to the Chair and Executive Committee of the Academic Senate. For deans, the final action of the President (or designee) shall be reported in writing to the faculty council of the college and to the department chairs in the college.
EFFECTIVE: Immediately
