Articles of Organization and Procedure

Based on DEAN'S ADMINISTRATIVE MEMORANDUM Number 425
Approved on, April 20, 2016 Supersedes Number 404
Revised effective October 26, 2023 

Preamble. The faculty of the Purdue Polytechnic Institute (Polytechnic) adopts the following articles in order to describe its organization, define its responsibilities, and determine its operating procedures. A unit is defined as an academic school or department. 

ARTICLE I - Functions of the Polytechnic 

The functions of the Polytechnic are:

  1. To discharge the appropriate administrative and faculty responsibilities for all undergraduate curricula offered by the Polytechnic; 
  2. To provide new higher educational opportunities for students whose career interests and aptitudes are essentially application oriented and that serve the tradition of Purdue University as a land-grant college; 
  3. To provide, through consultation and cooperative arrangements with colleges of the university, appropriate courses for their students; 
  4. To encourage continuing education activities related to the goals of the college’s individual units; and 
  5. To provide opportunity for research that is consistent with the goals of the college’s individual units. 

ARTICLE II - Responsibilities of the Faculty

The faculty of the Polytechnic is responsible for the nature and quality of the academic programs offered by the college. Powers for discharging those responsibilities are derived from the general faculty which, in turn, derives its powers from the Board of Trustees of Purdue University. In general, the faculty of the Polytechnic shall have the power to: 

  1. Approve or disapprove new courses and curricula and course or curriculum revisions; 
  2. Consider, discuss, and make recommendations regarding matters affecting the welfare of the students and faculty, and the quality of the educational programs; 
  3. Approve or disapprove all reports and recommendations brought to it by an appropriate committee; and 
  4. Consider all matters introduced by any member from the floor at a meeting of the faculty assembled in convocation. 

ARTICLE III – Membership and Composition of the Voting Faculty

The voting members of the faculty shall consist of those professorial members that hold a majority tenured, tenure track, research track or clinical appointment within the college.

For the purpose of representation, the faculty are organized into academic units. A unit is defined as an academic school or department. A unit’s size is defined as the number of faculty whose majority appointment resides within that specific unit. 

ARTICLE IV - Secretary of the Faculty

The dean of the Polytechnic shall appoint a Secretary to the Faculty who shall keep the minutes of all faculty convocations, be responsible for the archives, and perform such other functions as are appropriate. 

ARTICLE V - Faculty Convocations

The faculty shall convene no less than once each academic year during the regular session at a time designated by the dean. Additional convocations may be called by (1) majority vote of the total Faculty Senate, or (2) a petition signed by fifteen (15) percent of the voting faculty. A majority of the voting faculty shall constitute a quorum. The dean or a designated representative shall preside at all convocations. 

ARTICLE VI - The Faculty Senate

Section 1: Delegation of Powers. The faculty hereby delegates to the Faculty Senate power to act in its behalf in the transaction of the normal business of the faculty. 

Section 2: Composition of the Senate. The Faculty Senate shall consist of no fewer than twelve (12) members consisting of: 

  1. The dean of the Polytechnic or designee. 
  2. One (1) administrative representative appointed by the dean who shall serve as the Secretary of the Faculty. 
  3. One (1) elected representative per twenty (20) faculty members in an academic unit with a minimum of one (1) representative per unit. 
  4. Two (2) elected representatives from statewide locations. The members shall be from different statewide locations and different units. 
  5. One (1) member of the University Senate who shall be appointed by the dean only in the event that no university senator is already a member of the College Senate. 

Section 3: Apportionment.  Senate seats will be reapportioned at the expiration of a senator’s term (if a unit decreases in number of faculty) and annually (July 1) for the addition of representatives (if a unit increases in number of faculty). 

Section 4: Chair of the Senate.  The dean of the Polytechnic or the dean’s designated representative shall serve as chair of the senate and shall vote only in case of a tie. 

Section 5: Quorum.  A majority of the voting senators shall constitute a quorum. The dean or a designated representative shall preside at all senate meetings. 

Section 6:  Voting Privileges.  Elected members of the senate shall have voting privileges but appointed members shall not. 

Section 7: Tenure.  Elected members of the senate shall serve for three (3) years, except when specifically chosen to fill the remainder of an unexpired term. 

Section 8: Eligibility.  All members of the voting faculty with at least three (3) years of experience in the Polytechnic, excepting department heads and other administrative officers, are eligible for election to the senate. 

Section 9:  Bylaws.  The senate shall establish its own bylaws and rules of procedure. 

Section 10: Reconsideration of Issues.  The voting faculty, by majority vote in convocation or by a petition signed by ten (10) percent of the voting faculty, may mandate the senate to reconsider its action on any issue. 

Section 11: Faculty Veto.  The voting faculty, by two-thirds vote in convocation, may veto any action of the senate. 

ARTICLE VII - Committees of the Faculty

Section 1: Structure and Tenure.  The committee structure of the faculty shall consist of standing committees, special committees, and ad hoc committees. All committee members serve for a term of one (1) year, from July 1 to June 30, unless otherwise stated. 

Section 2: Standing Committees.  Standing committees are defined as those critical to shared governance of the college, whose work requires quarterly action by the senate, and are therefore chaired by a faculty senator appointed by the dean from the elected senate representatives. Committee members may or may not be members of the senate. 

  1. The Curriculum Committee. The Curriculum Committee shall study and review all proposals for new undergraduate programs and/or new curricula, all proposed undergraduate course and/or curriculum changes, and make recommendations to the Faculty Senate for action.

    The committee shall consist of one (1) faculty representative per twenty (20) faculty members in an academic unit, with a minimum of one (1) representative per unit. The unit’s curriculum chair, who may be appointed or elected in the unit, must be a member of the college Curriculum Committee. 

  2. The Election Committee. The Election Committee shall propose elections procedures to the Faculty Senate and shall conduct all college level elections by senate approved procedures.

    The committee shall consist of one (1) faculty representative per academic unit. The unit’s election chair, who may be appointed or elected in the unit, must be a member of the college Election Committee. 

  3. The Educational Policy Committee. The Educational Policy Committee shall study the relationships between the academic units in order to promote their orderly growth and development. The committee shall give attention to such items as admission policy, broad degree requirements, educational needs, and related matters.

    The committee shall consist of one (1) faculty representative per twenty (20) faculty members in an academic unit, with a minimum of one (1) representative per unit. The unit’s educational policy chair, who may be appointed or elected in the unit, must be a member of the college Educational Policy Committee. 

  4. The Faculty Affairs Committee.  The Faculty Affairs Committee shall be concerned with and advise the dean on those matters that pertain to the responsibilities, rights, privileges, opportunities, and welfare of the faculty. Such items as tenure, dismissal, academic promotion, academic responsibility, selection of unit head, faculty governance, and all matters that affect the quality of life of the faculty may be considered by the committee. 

    The Faculty Affairs Committee for each academic unit within the Polytechnic shall consist of all non-administrative, voting members of the unit’s faculty holding professorial rank. At their discretion, the eligible faculty of a unit may choose to elect representatives of their peers to serve as the unit’s Faculty Affairs Committee. The chair of the college Faculty Affairs Committee shall not hold an administrative appointment.

    The college Faculty Affairs Committee shall consist of one (1) faculty representative per twenty (20) faculty members in an academic unit, with a minimum of one (1) representative per unit. The unit’s representative(s) to the college Faculty Affairs Committee shall be elected from the associate or higher faculty rank (e.g., tenure-track or clinical) having at least three (3) years of experience in the Polytechnic. The unit’s elected committee chair must be on the college Faculty Affairs Committee. 

Section 3: Special Committees. Special committees, whose work is equally important to the operation of the college, are those who do not require quarterly action by the senate and that provide reports to the senate as needed or requested. The chair of each committee is designated as described in the following sections. 

  1. Polytechnic Area Committee. The Polytechnic Area Committee shall act on faculty promotions concordant with the West Lafayette Campus Promotion and Tenure Policy. In addition, this committee shall consider and vote on cases of faculty tenure without promotion, clinical faculty promotion, and deviations from regular emeritus policy. The committee shall also consider and make recommendations for honorary doctoral degrees. The committee will maintain and approve the college’s promotion and tenure document template, handbook and associated guiding materials for promotion and tenure candidates. 

    The committee shall consist of the dean as chairperson. The dean will appoint one (1) associate or assistant dean to the committee. The dean shall also appoint one (1) full professor from each academic unit to the committee.  Each academic unit shall elect one (1) full professor to the committee. The term of each of the elected full professors on the committee shall be two (2) years. The elected representative per unit must not hold an administrative appointment. At least one third of the membership shall consist of tenured faculty members without administrative responsibilities. In addition, one (1) clinical/professional full professor who is selected by the dean, in accordance with university procedures, joins the area committee for the discussions and votes on all clinical/professional faculty being considered for promotion.  

  2. The Graduate Education Committee.  The Graduate Education Committee shall study and review policies and procedures related to graduate education, including graduate curricula, new graduate course proposals, approval and review of graduate faculty, and the review of applications for admission. 

    The committee shall consist of an associate dean as chairperson and representatives from each academic unit offering graduate programs. The head of each academic unit shall appoint or elect a unit representative who shall serve on the Graduate Education Committee and also serve as the chair of the unit’s Graduate Education Committee. A prerequisite for membership on this committee is graduate faculty certification by the Graduate School. 

  3. International Programs Committee. The mission of the International Programs Committee is to provide students and faculty opportunities for learning, engagement, and discovery in the international setting. This work will include support of collaborative projects, curriculum development toward inclusion of international elements, faculty and student exchanges and faculty professional development in the international setting.

    The committee shall consist of an associate dean as chairperson and representatives from each academic unit. The head of each academic unit shall appoint or elect a unit representative who shall serve on the International Programs Committee. A statewide member shall also be appointed by the dean. 

  4. Polytechnic Diversity Committee. The Polytechnic Diversity Committee promotes a culture of equity, inclusion and advocacy within the college. The Technology Diversity Committee focuses on strategic planning and college-wide diversity activities. The mission of the committee is to provide the leadership necessary to ensure that all people are valued and respected within the Polytechnic as evidenced by attitude, policies and procedures.

    The Polytechnic Diversity Committee shall be comprised of nine (9) faculty (with all academic units represented by at least one (1) faculty and one (1) serving as elected co-chair), four (4) staff members (with representation from clerical, technical, A/P, and M/P), three (3) student members, and the Director of Diversity, who will serve as the co-chair. Term of service for faculty is three (3) years and one (1) year for students. Faculty and students may serve multiple terms. 

  5. The Faculty Grievance Committee. The Faculty Grievance Committee hears and acts upon all cases brought before it in accord with the provisions of the University Policy on Faculty Grievances.

    The Faculty Grievance Committee consists of thirty (30) voting faculty selected by a stratified random process such that the committee will consist of not less than nine (9) or more than eleven (11) of each of the three (3) professional ranks. Further details (chair selection and procedures) are provided in the college’s policy on Grievance Procedures for Academic Personnel. 

  6. The Safety Committee. The Safety Committee addresses issues of health and safety policy and procedure within the college. The committee reviews and makes policy and procedure recommendations to the administration and maintains the college’s Building Emergency Plan.

    The head of each academic unit will, by appointment or by vote, select a unit representative who shall serve on the college Safety Committee and serve as the unit’s Safety Committee chair. One faculty is elected co-chair from within the committee. All building deputies serve in ex officio capacity, while the building administrator of Knoy Hall serves as co-chair. 

  7. The Grade Appeals Committee. The Grade Appeals Committee operates in accordance with procedures specified by the faculty of the university at the West Lafayette campus governing student grade appeals and associated process.

    The committee shall consist of an associate dean as chairperson and one faculty representative per twenty (20) faculty members in an academic unit, with a minimum of one (1) representative per unit. Each unit will also provide one (1) undergraduate and one (1) graduate student to serve on the committee. 

  8. The Library Committee. The Library Committee reviews, consults and advises on, plans for, and receives reports and recommendations on the performance of library services, automation, budget, administrative structure, and allocation of resources.

    The head of each academic unit will, by appointment or by vote, select a unit representative who shall serve on the college Library Committee and serve as the unit’s Library Committee chair. The committee will elect a chair from within the committee. 

Section 4: Ad Hoc Committees. Ad hoc committees are established for necessary work or topic deliberation outside the duties defined in existing standing or special committees. Ad hoc committees may be appointed by the dean when deemed desirable or when the Faculty Senate, by majority vote, so requests. No ad hoc committees shall be appointed to consider matters which fall within the responsibility of already-formed standing committees. 

ARTICLE VIII - Parliamentary Procedure

All meetings of the faculty assembled in convocation and all meetings of the Faculty Senate shall be conducted in accordance with standard parliamentary procedure. The most recent edition of the Standard Code of Parliamentary Procedure from the American Institute of Parliamentarians, or whatever parliamentary procedural standard is subsequently applied by the Purdue University Senate, shall be used as the reference authority. 

ARTICLE IX - Amendment Procedures

Section 1: Initiation.   An amendment to these articles may be initiated in either of two (2) ways: 

  1. A member of the faculty may initiate an amendment by submitting to the secretary of the faculty the proposal in document form. The proposal document must be received at least one (1) month in advance of convocation in order to be considered. The secretary will distribute the document to all members of the voting faculty at least one (1) month in advance of convocation. 
  2. The Faculty Senate may initiate an amendment by similarly preparing a document and having it distributed to all members of the voting faculty at least one (1) month in advance of convocation. 

Section 2: Action.  Provided a proposal has been distributed at least one (1) month in advance of convocation, the faculty may take action after debate and may amend the articles by a two-thirds majority of those voting.