Constitution, Bylaws, and Standing Rules

Article I: Name

The name of the organization is the Faculty Governance Organization of the College of Information Sciences and Technology.

Article II: Purposes

The purposes of the Faculty Governance Organization of the College of Information Sciences and Technology are: (1) to represent and advance the interests of the Faculty in the College; (2) to coordinate the efforts of the Faculty in achieving academic and scholarly excellence in keeping with the missions of the College; (3) to serve as the voice of the Faculty in legislative, advisory, consultative, and forensic functions, subject to the rules and regulations of the University, recognizing the authority vested in and delegated to it by the University Faculty Senate; (4) to have jurisdiction and oversight over the undergraduate and graduate Curriculum.

Article III: Functions

Section A: Functions

The Faculty Governance Organization of the College of Information Sciences and Technology shall have the following functions and authorities:

1. Legislative Function: To serve as the sole legislative body on all matters that pertain to the educational programs of the College.
2. Advisory and Consultative Function: To act as a consultative and advisory body to the administrators on any matter that may affect the attainment of educational objectives of the College
3. Forensic Function: To serve as a forum for the exchange of ideas among the members of IST Faculty.
4. Informational: To receive and disseminate information to the Faculty that is deemed important by the Faculty Council or its constituent committees

Section B: Delegation of Functions

The Faculty Governance Organization may delegate the above functions (listed in Article III, Section A) to specific committees or entities within the College, according to such procedures as the Organization may establish.

Article IV: Membership

Section A: Membership of "IST Faculty"

The body of the College’s Faculty Governance Organization is “IST Faculty.” For the purposes of this document, the term “IST faculty” shall mean all persons who hold fulltime academic appointments, with a rank as a tenure-line faculty, and non-tenure line faculty who hold budgeted appointments in the College, as defined in the University’s definition of academic ranks (AC 21) with the following exclusions:

1. The Dean of the College.
2. Those holding affiliate academic appointments with less than 50% of their academic appointment in IST.
3. Those whose professorial title includes “Acting,” “Interim,” “Visiting,” or another term that is included explicitly to highlight a short-term appointment.

Persons not meeting these qualifications may petition the Faculty Council to request membership.

All IST Faculty have full rights of membership, including voting rights (consistent to their ranks), floor and debate privileges during meetings, and the right to hold office in the organization subject to the Bylaws and Standing Rules.

Section B: Faculty Areas

IST Faculty is further organized into multiple “Faculty Areas.” Faculty Areas are composed of faculty who share an area of interest and hold primary responsible for a subset of the educational programs in the College. These Faculty Areas were established by the Faculty Council, in consultation with the Dean. Individual Faculty members choose which Area they want to be affiliated with based on natural groupings of their scholarly interests and curriculum responsibilities. Members of a Faculty Area take ownership and responsibilities of a subset of undergraduate degree programs, develop shared vision and infrastructures for advancing scholarship, and take pride in mutual upport through mentoring.

Each member of the IST Faculty may be affiliated with one primary Faculty Area and one or more secondary Area(s). A faculty member shall be counted in only one Faculty Area for all voting purposes.

Article V: Amendments

This document and the provisions hereof shall be subject to change by a two-thirds vote of the membership of the IST Faculty (as defined in Article IV). Successful amendments of this Constitution require a 2/3 vote from IST Faculty, and ratification by University Faculty Senate Council.

Article I: Officers and Faculty Council

The Officers of the Faculty Governance Organization of the College of Information Sciences and Technology are the Chair and members of the Faculty Council. The Faculty Council is designated to perform faculty governance functions on behalf of the IST Faculty.

Section A: Membership of the Faculty Council

The Faculty Council membership includes:

1. The Chair of the Faculty Governance Organization
2. Elected representatives from Faculty Areas
3. Appointed members

The Chair of Faculty Governance Organization also serves as the Chair of the Faculty Council. Each Faculty Area elects a representative to the Faculty Council. Only those faculty who have a primary affiliation within an Area are eligible to represent that Area and vote for the representative. At least one member of the Faculty Council must be a fixed-term faculty member. All members of Council have voting privileges.

The Chair of the Faculty Governance Organization, in consultation with the Dean of the College, may appoint additional members (from the IST Faculty at large) to the Faculty Council in order to augment and balance the representation of the faculty.

Section B: Meetings of the Faculty Council

The Faculty council will be convened by the Chair at least as once a semester or as often as necessary for the Faculty Council to execute its duties in a timely manner. The Chair shall convene a special meeting of the Faculty Council at the request of two-thirds of its voting members.

The Faculty Council shall publish its agendas, minutes, and reports and make those available to the College Faculty. All Faculty Council Meetings will be held in open sessions. Special meetings held in closed sessions may be called at the discretion of the chair. In the interest of transparency, the chair will only call a closed session with good cause when such privacy is absolutely required.

Section C: Duties of the Faculty Council

1. Interpret, maintain, and evolve the College Constitution, Bylaws, and Standing Rules (and other administrative policies) related to faculty rights and responsibilities. Review the Constitution, Bylaws, and Standing Rules at least every five years for currency.
2. Ensure that any issues of concern from the IST Faculty are addressed.
3. The Faculty Council shall have authority to make decisions on behalf of the IST Faculty.
4. Serve as an advisory body to the Dean of the College.
5. Review all legislative, advisory, consultative, forensic, and informational reports submitted for the Agenda of the IST Faculty meetings to ensure reports are adequately prepared.
6. Gather feedback and concerns from members of IST faculty, and communicate such feedback to the Dean via Faculty Council Chair.
7. Solicit and oversee College-wide initiatives aimed at enriching the interdisciplinary mission in research and teaching in the College.

Article II: Meetings

Section A: Regular Faculty Meetings

The Chair of the Faculty Governance Organization shall convene regular meetings of the Faculty for the purpose of the faculty governance, at least once per academic semester. During these Faculty Meetings, the IST Faculty shall hear reports from the Faculty Areas and the Faculty Council, and discuss and vote on matters including those pertaining to its jurisdiction. The dates of such meetings are chosen by the Chair, in consultation with the Faculty Council and the Dean.

Section B: Special Faculty Meetings

Faculty Council via its Chair, or at the request of ten percent of the IST Faculty, can call a Special Faculty Meeting to address urgent issues.

Section C: Attendance

Attendance and participation of Faculty Meetings are limited to members of the IST Faculty. Occasionally, guests may be invited by the Officers to address the faculty on appropriate agenda items. Examples of such guests include: (1) faculty representatives to the College from other colleges; and (2) representatives of undergraduate and graduate students of the College. Any members of the Penn State academic community may petition the Officers for the opportunity to make a forensic presentation at faculty meetings.

Section D: Agenda

The Chair of the Faculty Council, in consultation with the Dean, will establish the agenda, which will be made available at least one week prior to the meetings.

The order of business at each regular meeting of the Faculty called for the purpose of the faculty governance organization shall be as follows:

1. Minutes of the preceding meeting
2. Communications to the Faculty
3. Report of the Faculty Council and Standing Committees
4. Announcements by the Chair
5. Report from the University Faculty Senators
6. Forensic Business
7. Unfinished Legislative Business
8. Legislative Reports
9. Advisory and Consultative Reports
10. Informational Reports
11. New Legislative Business
12. Reports of Recognition
13. Comment and Recommendation for the Good of the College.

Article III: Elections

Officers of the IST Faculty Governance Organization are elected annually by the voting members of the IST Faculty.

Section A: Election of Chair of the Faculty Governance Organization

The term of the Chair of the Faculty Governance Organization shall be two academic years. Elections to fill the position of the Chair will be held every other year during the spring semester. Elections begin with a call for nominations from the whole IST Faculty, followed by a vote on candidates using secret and secure ballot. Candidates for the Chair position must be tenured faculty members. The Faculty Council, with assistance from the administrative staff to the Office of the Faculty Governance Organization, is responsible for holding the election.

Section B: Election of Faculty Council Representatives

The Faculty Council representatives serve a one-year term, and they are elected annually during the spring semester. Faculty Council representatives shall be elected by members of Faculty Areas. Elections begin with a call for nominations within each Faculty Area. Self-nominations are permissible. Candidates are voted on by their corresponding Faculty Area’s primary members using a secret and secure ballot, following the procedure established in Article I of Standing Rules.

Article IV: IST College Ombudsperson

Section A: The Function of the Ombudsperson

The function of the Ombudsperson is to advise faculty and administrators; assist in the informal resolution of differences; and help assure that appropriate College procedures are exhausted before referring a case to higher levels. The Ombudsperson will inform the appropriate College administrators if a matter cannot be resolved at the lower level.

Section B: Eligibility

Any current full-time or emeritus faculty member is eligible to serve as Ombudsperson. This candidate should not concurrently serve in administrative positions of the College, or the University Faculty Senate’s Committee on Faculty Rights and Responsibilities.

C: Selection of the Ombudsperson

To select the Ombudsperson, the Office of the Faculty Governance Organization will invite nominations or expressions of interests from full-time and emeritus IST faculty members. The Chair (of the IST Faculty Governance Organization) will consult with the Faculty Council to finalize the appointment of an Ombudsperson and an alternate from the candidates.

Article V: Amendments

These Bylaws shall be subject to periodic reviews. Successful amendments of the Bylaws require a 2/3 vote from IST Faculty, and ratification by the University Faculty Senate Council.

Article I: Rules of Procedure

Section A: Rules of Procedure in Faculty Meetings

The rules of procedure in the meetings of the Faculty Governance Organization will be The Standard Code of Parliamentary Procedure by the American Institute of Parliamentarians, most recent edition, except those special situations stated in the Faculty Governance Organization’s Constitution, Bylaws, and Standing Rules.

Section B: Rules of Procedures on Voting

Unless otherwise mentioned, all decisions brought to the Faculty for the purpose of faculty governance shall be made based on simple majority votes collected using a secure and secret ballot. A decision is reached when collected votes are more than half of the total number of IST Faculty members that are eligible to vote for a particular issue. The IST Faculty will receive information on the topic on the ballot at least 48 hours prior to voting.

To enable more efficient decisions, the Faculty Governance Organization adopts different voting procedures for low/high impact issues. The purpose is to enable low risk / low impact issues to be decided by small subset of the Faculty on behalf of the whole IST Faculty. Whether an issue is low impact or high impact is determined by the Faculty Council in consultation with the Faculty and the Dean.

For low impact issues, a decision can be made by a vote during a faculty meeting if a quorum of 33% (1/3)+1 of the faculty is in attendance. If the attendance does not reach a quorum, an eVote will take place after the meeting. In either case, a decision will be made using simple majority rule. Alternatively, the IST Faculty may delegate power to committees to make decisions without the need for a vote.

For high impact items, the whole IST Faculty will have full discussion in a faculty meeting and a decision will be made using simple majority rule when the number of votes reaches a quorum of 50%+1 of the IST Faculty. Otherwise, an eVote will take place after the discussion and a decision will be made when the number of votes reaches a quorum of 50%+1 of the IST Faculty.

Article II: Committee Structure

Section A: Standing Committees

The following standing committees shall be established by the Faculty Governance Organization:

1. Promotion and Tenure Committee
2. Fixed-Term Promotion Committee(s)
3. Undergraduate Advisory Committee(s)
4. Graduate Advisory Committee(s)
5. Graduate Recruitment Committee(s)
6. Academic Integrity Committee(s)
7. Faculty Awards Committee
8. Special Committees

Section B: Establishment and Responsibilities of Standing Committees

Promotion and Tenure Committee

The functions of the P&T committee are to review and make recommendations on faculty tenure and promotion cases following those rules and criteria defined in University and College documents, including AC23. The Committee’s membership consists of seven (7) members. Among the seven committee members, five of them are elected members by the Faculty. Two additional members are appointed by the Dean. The Chair of the Faculty Governance Organization, in consultation with the Dean, will appoint the committee Chair from the seven members. Among the five elected members, two are elected for two-year terms and at least one must be a Professor. In alternate years, three members are elected for two-year terms and at least two must be Professors.

Fixed-Term Promotion Committees

The functions of these committees are to review and make recommendations on faculty promotion cases following those rules and criteria defined in AC21. Applications of promotion for fixed-term faculty are reviewed by two committees. The first committee is charged with doing the preliminary review to produce a recommendation, which would be passed to the second committee for making final College-level recommendation for promotion.

The first committee functions as a general review panel. It consists of five (5) members. Four members are elected by the Faculty and serve two-year terms. One additional member is appointed by the Dean to serve a one-year term. The Chair of the Faculty Governance Organization, in consultation with the Dean, will appoint the committee Chair from the five members. Among the four elected members, at least one shall be a tenure-track member of the faculty and at least one shall be a fixed-term member of the faculty.

The second committee is specifically charged with making the College-level faculty committee decisions and recommendations regarding any Fixed-Term Promotions in the College. It consists of three (3) fixed-term faculty members. Two members are elected by the Fixed-Term Faculty and serve two-year terms. One additional member is appointed by the Dean to serve a one-year term. The Chair of the Faculty Governance Organization, in consultation with the Dean, will appoint the committee Chair from the three members. Among the two elected members, one is newly elected each year. Those who serve in the first FT Promotion Committee may not serve on the second FT promotion committee during the same year.

Undergraduate Advisory Committees (UAC)

The UACs have responsibility for oversight on all undergraduate curriculum matters of the College. Multiple UACs may be established to provide oversight of different academic programs if appropriate.

The College-level UAC consists of five (5) members elected from the University Park Campus. Two faculty members are elected each year to serve a two-year term. Two additional members from non-University Park campuses will be appointed by the Dean or Associate Dean to ensure representation of Commonwealth campuses offering IST undergraduate degrees. The Chair of the Faculty Governance Organization, in consultation with the Dean, appoints the Chair of the Undergraduate Advisory Committee (UAC) from the faculty. The two appointed members are for one-year terms. The Associate Dean with oversight of undergraduate programs serves as an ex-officio member (non-voting member).

Graduate Advisory Committee(s) (GAC)

The functions of the GAC are (1) to initiate and review policy matters pertaining to the graduate programs in the College and to recommend resolution of questions pertaining to graduate student or graduate program concerns; (2) to review and approve Graduate Faculty memberships.

Membership of GAC includes the Chair, four elected faculty members, and one appointed member selected by the Dean to ensure fair representation. The Associate Dean with oversight of graduate programs serves as an ex-officio member. The Chair of the Faculty Governance Organization, in consultation with the Dean, will appoint the Chair of the Graduate Advisory Committee (GAC) from the faculty. Among the four elected faculty members, two of them serve a two-year term. Members can serve multiple, successive terms.

Multiple GACs may be established to provide oversight of different academic programs if appropriate.

Graduate Recruiting Committee (GRC)

The function of the Graduate Recruiting Committee is to review application materials of graduate students and recommend admission decisions to the Associate Dean of Graduate Education.

The Graduate Recruiting Committee (GRC) is chaired by the Director of Graduate Programs. In addition to the Chair, the Committee includes four elected faculty members, and one appointed by the Dean. The Associate Dean and the Dean serve as ex-officio members (non-voting). Each year, two faculty members are elected to serve a two-year term. Members can serve multiple, successive terms. Each year the Dean appoints one member of the committee for a one-year term.

Multiple GRCs may be established to provide oversight of different academic programs if appropriate.

Academic Integrity Committee

The functions of the Academic Integrity Committee are to enforce the College's and University's Academic Integrity policies, as defined in Senate Policy 49-20. The Committee also orients and educates incoming students and faculty of the College with respect to these policies.

he Committee further serves as the hearing board for any alleged violations of Academic Integrity policies. The Committee consists of three faculty members, one undergraduate student representative, and one graduate student representative. These members are appointed by the Chair of the Faculty Governance Organization, in consultation with the Dean, based on nominations from IST Faculty and students. One faculty member is selected to chair the committee. The faculty members are appointed on a two-year term. The student members may be appointed for one or two years. The three faculty members also serve as the ad hoc Grade Mediation and Adjudication Committee per AAPPM G-10. The Dean of the College may add members to this Committee if an appropriate area of expertise is needed for a particular adjudication event.

Faculty Awards Committee

The purpose of the Faculty Awards Committee is to provide recognition of faculty members in the areas of teaching, research and service. The functions of this Committee are as follows: (1) to facilitate nomination of qualified IST Faculty for University and external awards; (2) to review all nomination packages to ensure the completeness and quality required for competitive awards; and (3) to serve as the principal advisory group to the Dean concerning matters related to faculty awards and recognition.

The Chair of the Awards Committee is appointed by the Faculty Council Chair, in consultation with the Dean. In addition to the Chair, the Committee has four elected faculty members who will serve for a one-year term.

Special Committees

Special Committees may be established by the Faculty Council as appropriate.

Section C: Election of Standing Committee Members

The Office of Faculty Governance Organization, in consultation with the Office of the Dean, conducts all the elections of members into standing committees, following procedures that ensure the validity, security, anonymity, and privacy of the election process. The Office of Faculty Governance Organization will document its procedures, use secret and secure voting technologies, and consult as necessary to comply with relevant policies and safeguard the integrity of all elections.

Elections start with announcing all the vacancies in the Standing Committees and inviting nominations and self-nominations to compile candidates to a ballot. The candidate receiving the highest number of votes in order will be elected to fill the vacancies. In case of a tie vote, a run-off election will be held and the candidate receiving the highest number of votes will be elected. All those whose names appear on the ballot should have agreed in advance to accept the nomination.

The Faculty Council, on behalf of the whole IST Faculty, will oversee the appointment or election of committee members, their leadership, and their charges.

Article III: Amendments

The standing rules hereof shall be subject to periodic reviews. Successful amendments of this Standing Rules document require a simple majority vote from IST Faculty, and ratification by the University Faculty Senate Council.