Section 3. Governance 

3.1 Executive Committee

3.2 Committee on Committees

3.3 Undergraduate and Initial Preparation Appeals Committee

3.4 Graduate and Advanced Preparation Appeals Committee

3.5 Standing Committees

3.6 Departmental Committees

3.6.1 Personnel

3.6.2 Program Input from External Constituents

3.7 Documentation of Committees and Other COEHS Group Meetings


Section 3. Governance

The COEHS maintains four statutory committees; the Executive Committee, Nominating Committee, Undergraduate and Initial Preparation Appeals Committee, Graduate and Advanced Preparation Appeals Committee; and a number of standing committees. Each of these committees supports the goals of the college and provides an organizational structure that facilitates shared governance. All committees are required to adopt and follow a set of operational guidelines. Each committee’s purpose and membership is regularly reviewed by the COEHS Executive Committee and the Nominating Committee (see COEHS Committee webpage).

3.1 Executive Committee

The COEHS Executive Committee is chaired by the Dean and is composed of selected Dean’s Office personnel, all department heads, representatives from the Colleges of the Arts and Arts and Sciences offering teacher education programs in conjunction with the COEHS, and a faculty representative. The faculty representative is elected by the COEHS faculty annually. Policies specific to the COEHS are approved by the Executive Committee. Suggestions for policies and procedures can be submitted by faculty members or administrators to the Executive Committee.

3.2 Committee on Committees

The COEHS Committee on Committees is charged to maintain faculty membership on standing committees, oversees the election of Faculty Senators and other University committee members, and may advise on appointments for membership on College-wide special committees or task forces. The COEHS Committee on Committees arranges the membership of each standing committee so that, wherever possible, each department or required stakeholder group are properly represented. This representation is determined by the charge and membership requirements of the committee. The Committee on Committees also reviews all Standing Committees annually to determine whether overlap or duplication exists and reports its findings to the COEHS Executive Committee. The COEHS Committee on Committees is composed of one faculty member elected from each department and an ex officio appointed by the Dean.

3.3 Undergraduate and Initial Preparation Appeals Committee

The Undergraduate and Initial Preparation Appeals Committee is charged with hearing college level appeals pertaining to academic program issues involving undergraduate or initial educator preparation students (including those enrolled in the Master of Arts in Teaching degree). All college level academic appeals are remanded to this committee. The committee will provide a timely, fair, and independent appeals process and make an appropriate recommendation to the Dean. The role of the committee is also to provide policy recommendations. The committee is composed of one faculty member from each department with an undergraduate or initial educator preparation program and one Dean’s Office representative.

3.4 Graduate and Advanced Preparation Appeals Committee

The Graduate and Advanced Preparation Appeals Committee is charged with hearing college level appeals pertaining to academic program issues involving graduate or advanced educator preparation students. All college level academic appeals are remanded to this committee. The committee will provide a timely, fair, and independent appeals process and make an appropriate recommendation to the Dean. The role of the committee is also to provide policy recommendations. The committee is composed of one faculty member from each department with a graduate or advanced educator preparation program and one Dean’s Office representative.

3.5 Standing Committees

It is the policy of the COEHS to maintain a Standing Committee structure to ensure that critical issues related to the health and functioning of the unit are addressed in a consistent manner and faculty members have an on-going involvement in the decision-making and problem-solving processes. To this end, the Standing Committee structure and charge are annually reviewed by the Committee on Committees and the Executive Committee. Committees may be added or deleted depending on the current needs and directions of the unit. Each Standing Committee is assigned a charge important to the mission and goals of the unit. The Standing Committees’ chairs maintain committee membership, coordinate the activities of the different committees, and report the results of committee work to the Executive Committee. Faculty members volunteer for membership through the Committee on Committees. Generally, the individual committees have at least one representative from each department in the COEHS and other appropriate stakeholder groups as determined by the committee’s charge. The current Standing Committees for the COEHS can be found on the COEHS committee webpage.

3.6 Departmental Committees

The following committee functions are required at the department level. Each department may decide how to best organize committees as long as there are committees that serve the following functions.

3.6.1 Personnel

Each department maintains a committee for the purpose of reviewing specified decisions related to faculty. Faculty members on this committee, as part of their professional responsibilities, participate in the evaluation process by making formal recommendations on the status of their colleagues in respect to initial appointment to the faculty; pre-tenure and post-tenure review; promotion in professorial rank; and the awarding of tenure at the institution. Determining the status of colleagues is a primary responsibility of faculty because of their expertise, credentials, and experience. Recommendations to promote or award tenure are made after consideration by the appropriate personnel committee according to procedures adopted by the faculty.

This committee is also responsible for carrying out searches to fill vacant positions. Faculty members have input into establishing the qualifications for appointments to the faculty. Specific requirements concerning searches are described in the Valdosta State University Recruitment Handbook which is available from The Office of Social Equity.

3.6.2 Program Input from External Constituents

Each COEHS department is responsible for creating and maintaining  “Advisory Committees” for the purpose of soliciting input from external constituents concerning instructional programs. Minutes from all departmental Advisory Committee meetings are maintained on the departmental websites.

3.7 Documentation of Committees and Other COEHS Group Meetings

Statutory committees are required to maintain formal minutes. Standing committees and other groups use the approved Meeting Documentation Form.