Departmental Governance Documents
Departmental documents should be transparent and well-organized. The following principles should be applied when writing or revising these documents.
- Statements should be succinct, brief, and to the point.
- Define essential terms such as tenure, academic freedom, free speech, and others.
- Avoid conflicting statements across sections.
- Keep related information in a single article or section.
- Documents should be dated, with dates of any changes noted.
- Include a table of contents for long documents.
- Avoid issues with budgetary impact (e.g., release time, summer teaching opportunities, resource allocation).
Governance document writing is an iterative process. Anticipate discussion among unit members, between unit membership and unit administration, and between the unit and the Office of Academic Affairs. These discussions will be crucial to the ultimate utility of the documents.
Prior to drafting or revising governance documents. Abiding by University policies is a requirement. Reading University policies provides essential context for issues that may emerge during the development of unit documents. The following are key policies:
Revising Governance Documents
Governance Document Revisions
Checklists
Bylaws Templates
Incorporation of NTTF-I Continuous Employment
Incorporation of NTTF-I Teaching Professor Ranks
Incorporation of Post-Tenure Review