FAQ - Faculty/Staff

Frequently Asked Questions – Faculty/Staff

17. What are the responsibilities of the new department chairs?

1. Department chairs are considered peer leaders, faculty colleagues with administrative responsibilities.  As peer leaders, department chairs will guide department decisions regarding curriculum.  They will also help shape staffing requests and the budget, and they will play a significant role in the hiring of department faculty and staff.  They will be responsible for managing day-to-day activities within the department.  For a more detailed list of responsibilities for department chairs, go to Chair Responsibilities.

17. How will budgets be handled in the new organizational structure?

1. Departments have separate budgets for operations and student employment.  Equipment budgets will continue to be centrally located in the Provost’s budget and will be allocated based on annual and special requests from the Deans.  Deans will create their equipment budget requests in consultation with their department chairs.

17. How will faculty travel funding be handled in departments?

1. Specific faculty travel and funding policies will be developed within the College of Arts and Sciences, School of Business and the School of Health Sciences and Education.  Funding for faculty and other department-related travel will be supported by operations money allocated by the Dean to the specific department budgets. 

17. Who will sign faculty Request to be Absent from Campus forms?

1. Department chairs will approve individual faculty requests to be absent from campus.  Deans will sign Request to be Absent from Campus forms for their respective Department Chairs.  The Dean’s Office will forward all requests to the Provost’s Office for final approval.

17. How do faculty go about getting a student worker?

1. Faculty should talk with their Department Chairs about getting a student worker.

17.  How has faculty governance changed as a result of the reorganization?

1. The Faculty Senate has adopted a provisional structure for the transition while it works on necessary revisions resulting from reorganization.  This provisional plan basically keeps representation based on the former divisional structure.  The Senate has created a working group to produce plan(s) for reorganizing faculty governance.  Faculty governance information can be found at http://provost.truman.edu/facsenate/index.asp.

17. Who will conduct individual faculty reviews (tenure, promotion and annual reviews) for the coming year?

1. A plan for faculty reviews for the coming year has been created by the Provost.  The details of this plan can be found here.  This plan has been approved by President Dixon and has been shared with the Deans and Faculty Senate.

17. Who will conduct annual reviews for staff in the new college and schools?

1. There is a chart outlining the reporting structure for academic staff in the College of Arts and Sciences available here.  Staff reporting structures in the School of Business and School of Health Sciences and Education will remain much like the former divisional structure.  Staff should talk with their supervisors about when and how annual reviews will be conducted.

17. How will appointments to the Graduate Faculty be made?

1. The Department Chair will initiate the process by making a recommendation to his/her Dean who will then recommend to the Dean of Graduate Studies.  The Dean of Graduate Studies will make the final appointment.

17. Has the Faculty Handbook been updated to reflect the new organizational structure?

1. No.  The Faculty Handbook will be revised over the course of the coming year to reflect various changes already caused by reorganization, and those that are anticipated over the next several months.  If you have specific questions related to the Handbook, you may refer those to the Provost’s Office.

17. How will summer school teaching assignments be made?

1. Summer school teaching assignments will made in the Provost’s Office in consultation with Deans and Department Chairs.  As in the past, setting assignments centrally from the Provost’s Office will be done to insure that course offerings meet student demand and are scheduled to provide the greatest opportunity for student access.  Faculty should talk with their Department Chairs about the prospect of teaching in the summer when a general call for course offerings is made sometime in October.

17. How will student research grants be awarded?

1. Student research grants will continue to be allocated based on the numbers of majors graduated by each unit (College or School) the previous year.  The Schools and College will need to create an appropriate review process for students.  Interdisciplinary research grant proposals should be submitted to the Director of Interdisciplinary Studies who will create an appropriate review process for those proposals.  Deadlines and guidelines for proposals will be communicated to the campus.

17. How will sabbatical applications be handled this year?

1. The Provost will create a plan for sabbatical proposal review and will consult with the Faculty Senate about this plan.  Once finalized, this plan will be made available to the faculty.  Traditional timelines will be followed.  Sabbatical proposals are due in the Dean’s Office by noon on September 7, 2007.  The Dean will consult with the Department Chair to determine what appropriate replacement plan should be submitted to the Provost.

17. How will student abstract proposals for the National Conferences on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) annual conference be handled?

1. Information regarding deadlines and abstract proposal guidelines will be communicated campus-wide.  The STEP Office will again coordinate Truman’s NCUR travel.

17. Will there be changes to Truman’s Student Research Conference because of reorganization?

A.     There should be little or no change because of reorganization.  The Student Research Committee will again coordinate the Conference and will communicate abstract deadlines once they are set.

17. How and how often will the faculty and staff in the new College of Arts and Sciences, the School of Health Sciences and Education, and the School of Business meet to conduct business?

1. Each Dean will schedule meetings and appropriate forums for faculty/staff business and will communicate those within the college or school.