Writing Department Bylaws

Western Connecticut State University
Department of Writing, Linguistics, & Creative Process

BYLAWS

The name of this department is the Department of Writing, Linguistics, & Creative Process.

To design, approve, and teach graduate and/or undergraduate courses and programs in Writing (including Composition and Journalism), Linguistics, and Creative Process.

All full-time Writing faculty, employed on a continuing basis for more than one semester, are voting members of the department.

Department meetings to transact such business as may properly come before the department will ordinarily be held on the first Wednesday of each month, September through May (the month of January excluded) from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Extraordinary meetings may be scheduled by the department Chairperson upon sufficient notice to the department members. A quorum for any meeting shall consist of 50% plus one of those eligible to vote in a meeting. Policy matters may not be voted on at the meeting in which they are introduced.

Standing committees of the department include:

                                                Each committee shall construct a set of bylaws which shall include its area(s) of responsibility, its membership, and its conduct of business. These bylaws shall be attached to and filed with the departmental bylaws.

                                                Committee bylaws shall be presented to the department for its approval. Any amendments to these bylaws shall be presented to the department for its approval.

                                                Committee slates shall be presented to the department in April of each year, and committees shall be elected in May of each year. Each committee shall elect its chairperson at the first committee meeting in September.

                                                Additional Standing Committees may be formed upon the recommendation of the Department Chairperson and the approval of the department.

Ad-hoc Committees may be formed and called together by the department chairperson from time to time as the need arises.

The election of the department chairperson shall be conducted by the Nominations & Elections Committee and shall be by secret ballot every two (2) years. If one person receives a majority vote, he or she will become the candidate whose name is sent to the Dean of Arts & Sciences for approval. If no one receives a majority vote on the first ballot, then the names of the candidates with the highest totals constituting a simple majority will be submitted to the department for a second ballot.

The Nominations & Elections Committee shall solicit nominations from members of the department, including the current chairperson, and determine which members wish to stand for election. Nominations will be presented to the department at its December meeting.

The election of the department chairperson shall take place at the February meeting.

Agenda items will be submitted to the Agenda Committee no later than Monday preceding a departmental meeting.

Any new course or new program and any Student Developed Study (SDS) or Faculty Developed Study (FDS) with a Writing Department number, whether given by the department or not, must be approved by vote of the department before any further action can be taken.

Roberts Rules of Order shall constitute the ruling authority in all cases in which they are not inconsistent with these bylaws, the Collective Bargaining Agreement, and/or state statute.

Nothing in these bylaws is intended to alter the provisions of the Collective bargaining Agreement; and, in case of any inconsistency between the two documents, the Collective Bargaining Agreement prevails. The invalidation of any part of these bylaws shall not operate to invalidate the other parts thereof.

These bylaws may be amended or new ones adopted at any meeting of the department called for that purpose. A quorum for this purpose shall consist of 2/3 of those eligible to vote. Notification of such meeting shall specifically include a statement of the proposed change(s) in the bylaws.

These bylaws shall be effective upon passage by the department.

Western Connecticut State University
Department of Writing, Linguistics, & Creative Process

Agenda Committee Bylaws

The Agenda Committee is responsible for soliciting items for the agenda of the monthly WLCP Department meeting and for publishing and distributing that agenda prior to the meeting.

The Chairperson of the WLCP Department, ex officio, and one (1) member of the WLCP Department.

At least one week prior to the monthly department meeting, the Agenda Committee shall publish a call for agenda items. At least one day prior to the department meeting, the Agenda Committee shall finalize the agenda. That agenda shall be distributed to all department members prior to the meeting.

Western Connecticut State University
Department of Writing, Linguistics, & Creative Process

Department Evaluation Committee Bylaws

The Department Evaluation Committee (DEC) shall evaluate all full-time department members for renewal, tenure, promotion, and professional assessment as required by the CSU BOT-AAUP contract and by the University-wide Committee on Tenure & Promotion.

The Chairperson of the WLCP Department, ex officio, and two(2) tenured, full professors to be elected each May for one(1) year terms. Should the department lack sufficient full professors, associate professors shall be eligible for membership.

The chairperson of the Committee shall be elected in September of each year.

Meetings shall be held monthly from September to April. Additional meetings shall be held as necessary to meet the deadline(s) required by the CSU BOT-AAUP contract.

All proceedings of the DEC shall be conducted in accordance with procedures specified in the AAUP contract and by the University-wide Committee on Tenure & Promotion.

DEC Class Visits: When a department member is to be considered for tenure, promotion, non-tenured evaluation, or professional assessment, two (2) members of the DEC shall visit classes taught by the department member. The classes and times shall be mutually agreed upon by the department member and by the members of the DEC.

Evaluation of Class Visit: The DEC member shall then prepare a written evaluation of the class attended and of the instructor.

Recommendation for Promotion: Recommendation for promotion shall be determined by a majority vote of the DEC. In case the vote is not unanimous, the dissenting DEC member may present a minority opinion to be included in the final report.

Recommendation for Tenure: The DEC shall make a recommendation regarding the award of tenure and forward it to the Dean.

Western Connecticut State University
Department of Writing, Linguistics, & Creative Process

Nominations & Elections Committee Bylaws

The Nominations & Elections Committee is responsible for conducting the elections for all departmental standing committees, for the department chairperson, for the departmental representative to the University Senate, and for such other committees as may be required for the conduct of departmental business.

Two (2) full-time members of the WLCP Department.

The N & E Committee shall distribute a willingness-to-serve ballot to all full-time members in February of each year, requesting that each member indicate his/her preference(s) for committee service.

At the April department meeting, the N & E Committee shall present the slate of candidates for each committee to the department.

In those instances where an election is required (i.e., when there is an excess of candidates for the number of available positions), said election shall be conducted at the May department meeting.

The N & E Committee shall conduct the election to this position in the same manner as described above.

The N & E Committee shall conduct elections to ad-hoc committees in a manner similar to that used for the election to standing committees should elections be necessary.

A willingness-to-serve ballot will be distributed to all department members as soon as possible following the department meeting at which the ad-hoc committee was authorized. Within two weeks of that meeting, the N & E Committee shall distribute a final ballot to all department members and tally the votes prior to the next department meeting.

The N & E Committee shall conduct the election of the WLCP Department Chairperson by secret ballot every two years.

The N & E Committee shall distribute to all full-time members on continuing appointment a nomination and willingness-to-serve ballot prior to the December meeting in the academic year in which the election is to be held. The nominations for Department Chairperson shall be presented to the department at its December meeting.

The N & E Committee shall request from all candidates for the position of department chairperson a position paper identifying their goals and plans for the department. The Committee shall distribute those position papers to all voting members of the department by Jan. 15.

The N & E Committee shall conduct the election of the department Chairperson (should one be necessary) by secret ballot at the February department meeting.