Psychology Department Bylaws

A. Objectives. 

The objectives of the psychology faculty, as a constituent of the College of Health, Science and Technology, will be (1) to provide a liberal and professional education in psychology, (2) to engage in scholarship in psychology, and (3) to serve the Department of Psychology, university, and community at large. 

B. Statutes & Bylaws. 

The Department of Psychology Bylaws must be in accordance with the University of Illinois (U of I) Statutes and College of Health, Science and Technology (CHST) Bylaws, and if not in agreement, the U of I Statutes prevail first and then the CHST Bylaws.

A. Membership

The department members include tenured, tenure-track, non-tenure track faculty and instructors with a 100% appointment in the Department of Psychology, graduate teaching assistants, a student representative, academic advisors, online coordinators, and office support staff. Faculty whose positions include modifiers of adjunct, affiliated, clinical, emeritus, research, or visiting shall be considered members. All members of the department fulfill critical roles necessary to carrying out the mission of the department, college, and university. The members of the department are in agreement that all members, regardless of classification, are to be treated with respect, dignity, and professionalism. 

B. Faculty & Faculty Privileges

The faculty of the Department of Psychology are defined in the U of I Statutes Article II section 3a(1) as those with the rank or title of professor, associate professor, or assistant professor who are tenured or receiving probationary credit toward tenure. Specific faculty privileges including voting rights are given to additional department members outside of the faculty as indicated below, consistent with Article II section 3a(2) of the U of I Statutes. While the U of I Statutes define faculty specifically as tenure track, the Department of Psychology views all individuals who fill faculty lines at UIS, both tenure and non-tenure track, as equally valuable in providing instruction and determining the direction of the department. 

C. Voting Rights 

As specified in the U of I Statutes, only tenure-track faculty may vote on changes to the bylaws that grant additional members faculty privileges. For all other matters, voting privileges are extended to all members who have the rank or title of professor, associate professor, assistant professor, instructor, or lecturer including the modifiers clinical, research, and/or visiting with a 100% appointment in the Department of Psychology. Voting privileges shall be extended to eligible department members when on leave whenever feasible. The adjunct, and emeritus faculty, graduate teaching assistants, student representative, academic advisors, online coordinators, and office support staff may participate in faculty discussions and are invited to attend all official department functions and open meetings. However, they are non-voting members of the department. 

D. Voting Procedures

Voting will be open response unless a faculty member requests that the voting on a particular issue should be by secret ballots. Proxy votes from faculty not present at the meeting will be allowed, as long as there is a quorum present at the meeting. According to the UIS Faculty Personnel Policies, voting on all personnel matters shall be taken by secret ballot.

A. Minimum Number of Meetings and Notice

Meetings will be held no less than once each month at times agreed upon at the beginning of the semester by the department faculty. The meeting schedule for the semester shall be distributed via email by the department chair. Meeting agendas shall be distributed by the department chair via email at least 24 hours in advance of a meeting. 

B. Special Meetings

Special meetings of the department may be called by the department chair, the Dean, or by petition of at least two faculty members. The chair of the department (or their designate) shall function as the presiding officer at special departmental meetings. A minimum of five calendar days advanced notice must be given for special meetings. A written call to the meeting shall include a statement of the purpose of the meeting. Only business stipulated in the call to the meeting may be transacted at a special meeting. 

C. Summer Emergency Meetings

Emergency decisions may be made by the faculty during the summer term on the condition that one fourth of the voting faculty are available to meet. The chair of the department (or their designate) shall function as the presiding officer at summer emergency meetings. Decisions made during the summer will be terminated at the end of the summer and will be introduced for reconsideration by the full voting faculty at the first faculty meeting of the subsequent fall semester. Efforts will be made to inform all faculty of emergency issues and any temporary decisions. 

D. Minutes

The department chair shall publish minutes of all meetings that shall become the official record, upon being submitted to and approved by the faculty at the next department meeting. Minutes will be posted to the department Box account and sent to any members of the department upon request. 

E. Use of Electronic Technology

Unless otherwise prohibited, it is permissible for a voting member of the department to participate in a regular or special meeting by telephone or video conference so long as a quorum otherwise exists, the member participating by telephonic or video conference can hear all comments of the department members, and can be heard by all members, and the department reasonably has facilities and equipment to accommodate such participation. Assuming a quorum otherwise exists, a member participating in a regular or special meeting by telephone or video conference may vote on action items and their vote shall count. 

F. Quorum

The quorum for meetings and actions of the department shall consist of a majority of the voting membership. According to the UIS Faculty Personnel Policies, a quorum for all personnel decisions is a majority of members present and eligible to vote.

A. Appointment

The Unit Executive Officer (UEO) is appointed annually by the Board of Trustees as outlined in the U of I Statutes Article IV Section 2a. Though annual appointment is required, informal practice is for Chairs to serve a three year term once elected by the voting members of the unit and approved by the Dean and VCAA. The UEO is responsible to both the unit and the Dean. 

B. Eligibility and Selection

1. Internal Selection 

a. Only unit tenure track faculty are eligible to be nominated and serve as the UEO. In exceptional circumstances, a department's faculty may, by majority vote, petition the College Executive Committee for an exception to this policy 

b. The Dean shall ask for nominations of eligible faculty to stand for election by secret ballot. Members eligible to vote but who are absent because of sabbatical leave, leave of absence, or for other official reasons will be provided with absentee ballot, when feasible. 

c. The person receiving a simple majority of the secret ballots cast will be named UEO, subject to approval by the Dean and the VCAA. In the case of a tie which cannot be resolved by the unit voters, the Dean shall have the deciding vote in selection of the UEO. 

d. If no nominee receives a simple majority, a run-off vote between the top two nominees shall be held immediately under the same procedures outlined above and the one receiving the simple majority will be named UEO. 

e. If the Dean or VCAA does not approve the person selected by the voting members, the voting members will submit another nominee or may hold another vote with existing nominees under the same procedures outlined above. 

2. External Selection 

In some cases, it may be desirable to go outside the existing unit faculty for a UEO. If the voting members and the Dean agree on the need for an outside search, the Dean will meet with the Provost to discuss options. If an external UEO search is authorized, a search committee which follows University policies and procedures for searches for new faculty appointments will be followed. Given the time required to conduct an external search, the incumbent UEO or another tenure-track faculty member shall normally be selected to serve as interim UEO until the new UEO is in place. 

3. Appointment by the Dean 

In the event a unit is unable or unwilling to select an executive officer, the Dean after seeking the advice of the College Executive Committee, will select a faculty member to provide direction as UEO. Should the Dean be unable to appoint a faculty member, the Dean's office will provide administrative support to the unit. 

C. Duties of the UEO

The responsibilities of the UEO shall include those listed by the U of I Statutes and UIS Faculty Personnel Policy and include: The officer shall (1) report on the teaching and research of the department; (2) have general oversight of the work of students in the- unit; (3) be responsible for the preparation of the budget and the expenditure of unit funds for the purposes of the unit, (4) include activities necessary for support of any accredited programs housed in the unit, (5) call and preside at meetings of the executive committee and at meetings of the department faculty of which there shall be not fewer than one in each academic year for consideration of questions of unit governance and educational policy, (6) serve as the unit's representative for all function unless an alternate is designated, (7) be responsible to both the Dean and the unit and, when needed, serve as a conduit between them, and (8) ensure school/department documentation is up to date. The UEO together with the unit's faculty through its executive committee is responsible for the organization of the work of the unit and for the quality and efficient progress of that work. 

D. Annual Evaluation

Both the department voting members and the Dean shall annually evaluate the performance of the UEO in providing unit direction. The College Executive Committee and the Dean shall develop evaluation procedures and timelines. 

E. Removal

Either the unit or the Dean may initiate discussions to remove a UEO before their annual reappointment; early removal normally requires concurrence of both the unit and the Dean. Voting will be by secret ballot forwarded to the Dean's office. In the event the unit votes to remove and the Dean wants to retain the UEO, the unit can choose to utilize the formal removal process for an administrative officer as outlined in Article IX, Section 10 of the U of I Statutes. The UEO may not vote on the question of their removal. 

F. Vacancies

If a UEO position becomes vacant, or if a UEO is unable due to illness or other circumstances to fulfill the duties of the position, the unit faculty and the Dean will select an Acting UEO using the procedures specified in this Article until the UEO is able to resume duties or until the normal selection process for the UEO can take place. 

G. Term Limit

For an individual elected into the UEO position, a term limit of 3 consecutive informal terms will be in effect. For an exception to the term limit, a super majority (2/3) of the voting members, within the unit, must vote in favor of exception by secret ballot.

A. Standing & Ad Hoc Committees 

Standing committees may be created or abolished by a majority vote of the voting faculty at any regular or special meeting. The rules governing such committees shall be determined by the voting faculty at the time the committee is formed. Ad hoc committees may be created by a majority vote of the voting faculty. Such committees shall exist only to perform such functions as specified in the charge to the committee. Dissolution of the committee shall be automatic after acceptance of the final committee report by the voting faculty. 

B. Unit Executive Committee 

The unit Executive Committee shall consist of all tenured, tenure-track, non-tenure track faculty and instructors with a 100% appointment in the Department of Psychology. The UEO of the unit is an ex-officio member and Chair of the unit Executive Committee. If the unit Executive Committee is in session to evaluate the UEO's performance, the UEO shall not be a member and the committee shall be chaired by a committee member elected by the committee for that purpose. 

C. Department Personnel Committee 

1. The department personnel committee shall be made up of all tenured and tenure-track faculty with a 100% appointment in the Department of Psychology at the rank of Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, and Professor. Full-time administrators who hold faculty rank, including acting and interim, are not eligible to serve on personnel committees. Non-tenured faculty members who resign, are not reappointed or are denied tenure shall not serve on personnel committees or participate in personnel processes. 
2. All committee deliberations relating to a faculty member’s performance shall be based solely upon applicable criteria set forth in the UIS Faculty Personnel Policy and documentation contained in the personnel file and/or portfolio. Deliberations and voting by all personnel committee members shall be conducted only when a majority of all voting members of the committee is present. For purposes of majority, faculty members who are on leaves of absence or sabbatical and are not present for the complete deliberation and voting during the semester in which the review takes place, are not considered voting members of the committee. Candidates for reappointment, promotion, or tenure shall not deliberate and/or vote on their own cases. Spouses, domestic partners, household or family members of candidates for reappointment, promotion or tenure shall not deliberate and/or vote on the case of their spouse, partner, household or family member. A committee member who serves on more than one personnel committee must recuse themselves from discussion and voting on the case either at the Department Personnel Committee level or at the higher level of review (College Level Personnel Committee, Tenure Review Committee, or University Promotions Committee) to ensure that they deliberate and vote on each candidate only once. In order to vote on a candidate’s case, a committee member must have read the candidate’s personnel file and must have participated in the entire substantive discussion of the case. All votes taken shall be by secret ballot. 

D. Diversity, Inclusion, & Social Justice Committee

The department shall maintain a standing committee to provide resources and guidance that promote diversity, inclusion, and social justice (DISJ) within the department. The DISJ Committee will be comprised of a minimum of three faculty members and a student representative who will be selected either on a volunteer basis or via a secret ballot vote at the beginning of each academic year or when openings arise. Once the committee is staffed, the members shall elect a chair. All members will be charged with collecting, assessing, and creating DISJ resources, and recommending changes in pedagogy, curriculum, and/or policies in the department that foster DISJ. The committee will coordinate the development and evaluation of assessment methods for proposed changes to pedagogy, curriculum, or policies to measure their impact. The chair will be responsible for a) organizing committee meetings, b) creating and maintaining a resource database, c) transmitting assessment rationale to the department for consideration, d) summarizing assessment results for the department, and e) regularly providing information about the DISJ committee’s efforts to the student body. 

E. Curriculum Committee

The department shall maintain a standing committee to guide and assess the department’s curriculum. The Curriculum Committee will be comprised of a minimum of three faculty members who will be selected either on a volunteer basis or via a secret ballot vote of eligible faculty at the beginning of each academic year or when openings arise. Once the committee is staffed, the members shall elect a chair. All members will be charged with assessing the department’s curriculum that may include the addition, deletion, and updating of courses and concentrations. The chair of the committee will be responsible for transmitting the appropriate rationale and forms for changes to the department chair. 

F. Assessment of Student Learning Committee

The department shall maintain a standing committee to conduct assessments of student learning outcomes. The Assessment of Student Learning Committee will be comprised of a minimum of three faculty members, one of whom will be the department chair. The other members will be selected either on a volunteer basis or via a secret ballot vote of eligible faculty at the beginning of each academic year or when openings arise. Once the committee is staffed, the members shall elect a chair. All members will be charged with developing assessment methodology, compiling assessment data, and distributing the results to the department faculty and department chair. The department chair will be responsible for writing the department’s Assessment Report. The committee chair’s duties include: a) leading the development of assessment methods, b) creating and maintaining a database of assessment results, and c) delivering assessment data to the department chair.

U of I Statutes dictate that only faculty can amend or revise the bylaws when granting faculty privileges to other members. Other amendments or revisions can be voted on by all voting members. Any voting member of the department may propose an amendment or revisions to these bylaws for discussion at a regular meeting or call a special meeting for that purpose during the nine-month academic year. Proposed changes must be distributed to all faculty at least one week prior to the meeting with the suggested language change clearly marked. After discussion, proposed changes to the bylaws shall be distributed to members eligible to vote at least one week prior to the vote. In order for an amendment or revisions to the bylaws to pass: a) the vote must be taken during the academic year, b) 50% of the members eligible to vote must cast a ballot, and c) the proposed changes must receive a 2/3 majority of those voting in support.