Faculty Association

Article I: Name

The name of this organization is the Faculty Association College of Nursing, University of Missouri - St. Louis, hereafter referred to as the Faculty Association.

Article II: Purpose

The purposes of the Faculty Association are to: 1) provide an organizational structure through which the faculty can implement the rights and responsibilities of faculty governance, 2) promote the mission and goals of the College of Nursing at the University of Missouri - St. Louis, 3) provide a framework for interaction and communication between and among the College's nursing administration and the Faculty Association, 4) determine policies and procedures relating to the Faculty Association functions.

Article III: Membership

Members of the Faculty Association with voting privileges include all benefits - eligible faculty members. Professional staff of the Office of Student Services and adjunct faculty will be ex officio, non-voting members.

Article IV: Officers and Duties

The officers of the Faculty Association are the chairperson, vice chairperson and secretary/treasurer. The officers will be elected by the Faculty Association members at the last meeting of each academic year and serve for the following year.

The chairperson will prepare the agenda and distribute it one week prior to the meeting, preside at the meeting, call special meetings, and prepare an annual report;
The vice chairperson will serve as parliamentarian using Robert's Rules of Order and will preside without vote at Faculty Association meetings in the absence of the chairperson (in which case a parliamentarian pro tem will be appointed); and,
The secretary/treasurer will a) collect, manage and disburse Faculty Association dues, b) review the minutes prior to circulation to faculty and maintain a permanent file of Faculty Association meeting minutes, c) follow-up faculty association decisions, d) maintain a list of voting members, and e) file approved policies and procedures with the Office of the Dean of the College.

Article V: Meetings

Regular meetings of the Faculty Association shall be held at least three times each academic year with a required annual meeting held each spring. Special meetings may be called by the chairperson or at the request of five members of the Faculty Association.

Article VI: Order of Business

The order of business at regular meetings will be:

Call to order
Minutes of previous meeting (s).
Committee reports
Administrative and program reports
Unfinished business
New business
Announcements
Adjournment

The order of business at special meetings will be:

Call to order
Consideration of business
Adjournment

VII: Voting

All benefits - eligible members of the Faculty Association have full voice and vote. A simple majority vote with a quorum present carries a motion. Professional staff of the Office of Student Services office will attend all regularly scheduled meetings and have voice but no vote. Faculty with administrative responsibilities will have vote. The chair will not vote unless there is a tie.

VIII: Quorum

A quorum of the Faculty Association consists of a simple majority of the voting membership, including one officer.

Article IX: Standing Committees

There are six standing committees of the Faculty Association: Executive Committee; Appointment, Promotion and Tenure Committee; Curriculum Committee; Evaluation and Outcomes Committee; Nominations Committee; Student Affairs Committee. Ad hoc committees may be appointed by the Executive Committee for specific and temporary purposes and dissolved following completion of those purposes.

All benefits - eligible faculty are eligible to serve on committees. A faculty member represents only one program on a standing committee. Faculty elected to the Curriculum, Student Affairs and Evaluation/Outcomes Committee serve 2-year terms with half the faculty members elected on odd-numbered years and half the members elected on even-numbered years.

Any committee meeting may be attended by faculty unless confidential matters are discussed.

Executive Committee. This committee is comprised of the three elected Faculty Association officers. Functions include:
- Facilitate faculty development by planning inservice or faculty development seminars for the members;
- Address faculty issues and concerns;
- Appoint ad hoc committees;
- Monitor progress and/or completion of work referred to other bodies or committees;
- Provide administration with input and comments regarding the College's academic calendar; and,
- Review bylaws for possible amendment.
Appointment, Promotion and Tenure Committee. This committee is comprised of all regular and clinical full professors. Recommendations regarding academic rank for individuals are made by the faculty of the regular and clinical tracks who implement the specific policies and procedures for these tracks. The functions of this committee of the Faculty Association include:
- Review annually promotion standards and procedures for each type of faculty appointment to assure consistency within and between appointment types and consistency with UMSL and UM-System policies.
- Regular faculty track subcommittee is comprised of all tenured faculty. The functions of this subcommittee are:
  - Elect a chair of this subcommittee;
  - Implement the APT guidelines and procedures;
  - Review candidates for regular faculty for rank, promotion and tenure and make recommendations to the Dean and the UMSL Senate APT committee; and,
  - Review all applicants for rank and tenure.
- Clinical faculty track subcommittee is comprised of all full time clinical professors and 1 elected from each rank (instructor, assistant professor and associate professor). The functions of this subcommittee are:
  - Elect a chair of this subcommittee;
  - Implement the clinical appointment and promotion guidelines and procedures;
  - Review full time candidates for rank and length of appointment and make recommendations to the Dean; and,
  - Review all applicants for rank.
Curriculum Committee. This committee is comprised of five elected faculty members (pre- licensure BSN, post licensure BSN, accelerated BSN, MSN, Doctoral), three elected students (BSN, MSN, Doctoral), who have voice and vote. The Program Directors and a non-voting professional staff member from the Office of Student Services serve as ex officio without vote. Functions include:
- Review the nursing curricula to ensure compliance with the University's requirements, and where appropriate, the standards of the Missouri State Board of Nursing, AACN standards for excellence in nursing education and other national nursing standards as appropriate;
- Provide advice to voting representatives for the cooperative degree programs;
- Approve recommendations for curricular change from the program committees.
- Recommend revisions in the overall curricula, philosophy and organizing framework.
- Recommend to the Dean or designee resource requirements for curricular implementation.
- Transmit approved changes to the Faculty Association for information and, where appropriate, for action
- Establish, publish and disseminate to the faculty the committee's policies and procedures for reviewing and revising curriculum.
Evaluation and Outcomes Committee. This committee is comprised of four elected faculty members (pre- and post licensure BSN tracks, MSN and Doctoral), three elected students (BSN, MSN, Doctoral), with voice and vote. The Director of Evaluation and a professional staff member from the College's Office of Student Services serve as ex officio. Functions include:
- Coordinate total program evaluation efforts within the College.
- Recommend policies and procedures regarding assessment and collection and storage of related materials.
- Develop, recommend, and evaluate instruments used for course and overall program assessment.
- Oversee implementation of the evaluation plan, including data collection, feedback and analysis.
- Maintain a link to the UMSL Outcomes and Assessment Committee for feedback and informational purposes.
- Disseminate assessment results and make recommendations as needed to appropriate groups and individuals.
- Review and update the College's evaluation plan.
Student Affairs Committee. This committee is comprised of five faculty (two from the BSN, one from BSN-C, two from the graduate programs, retention coordinator & clinical coordinator (both non-voting), a non-voting representative from Student Services and three elected students (2 BSN (if possible 1 BSN and 1 BSN-C) and 1 graduate). Student representatives will have voice and voting privileges in committee activities except discussions regarding specific students. Student representatives will be excused from those deliberations and will not receive the minutes pertaining to the same. At the Spring faculty association meeting, the summer committee and chair will be selected to address any needs of the committee during the summer term. The committee functions include:
- Review policies and procedures related to students to assure compliance with College and University Policies and Procedures, including recommendations regarding admission criteria for all programs.
- Implement policies and procedures related to admission, progression, dismissal and graduation.
- Review and make decisions regarding student petitions and/or grievances consistent with campus policy. When a grade appeal hearing takes place the Program Director of the program in which the student is enrolled, if that person is a member of the committee, should not participate in the hearing. In addition, ex-officio committee members involved in academic advisement, tutoring, counseling, or other support services for the student making the appeal should also be excused from the hearing.
- Implement the grade appeal procedures and make recommendations to the course instructor and program director.
- Recommend students and alumni for awards and scholarships.
- Review and recommend revisions of policies in the CON Student Handbooks to the program directors.
- Review admission, attrition, demographic assessment and graduation trends and rates and make recommendations to the Dean.
- Review recruitment-marketing plan and make recommendations to the Dean.
- Recommend students to Faculty Association for conferral of degrees.
Nominations Committee. This committee is comprised of three faculty elected from the membership of the Faculty Association having voting privileges. The committee functions include:
- Develop a slate of elected positions to the Faculty Association committees each spring.
- Secure the commitment of faculty to serve if elected.
- Conduct the election each Spring Semester for the following year.
- Fill vacancies in elected positions via an election process.
- Recommend faculty for administrative appointment to university committees and other bodies.

Article X. Amending Bylaws

Bylaws revisions may be amended by written presentation of the proposed revisions to the faculty at a regular faculty meeting and ratified by a two-thirds majority vote of members attending the next following regular business meeting. Any bylaws change will be effective at the beginning of the next academic year unless otherwise stipulated.

November 15, 1999
Amended & effective August 15, 2001
Amended & effective May 7, 2002
Revised & effective May 2005

Revised & effective October 26, 2010

College of Nursing