Code of Organization and Procedure
Faculty Bylaws
College of Arts and Sciences
University of Washington
In order to exercise the powers granted under the Faculty Code and Governance, Section 23-43, the faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences establishes herewith, under the Faculty Code and Governance, Section 23-45A, its organization and rules of procedure.
ARTICLE I Voting Membership
Members of the College faculty who are voting members of the University faculty shall be voting members of the College faculty.
ARTICLE II Officers
The presiding officer of the College faculty shall be the Dean of the College or, in their absence, a member of their staff to whom this responsibility has been delegated. A recording secretary shall be designated by the presiding officer.
ARTICLE III Meetings and Legislation
Section 1. Meetings of the College faculty shall be called by the Chair of the College Council. Special meetings shall be held when called by the Dean, the majority of the College Council or when requested in writing by ten percent of the voting membership of the College faculty.
Section 2. Meetings may be held for the purposes of hearing reports, discussing matters of interest to the total College faculty, and taking legislative action under the provisions of the Faculty Code and Governance, Section 23-43. An agenda for each meeting shall be prepared by the College Council chair and distributed to the voting membership not later than two weeks prior to the meeting. Upon written request of twenty voting members of the College faculty, additional items shall be added to the agenda. If offered in writing not later than one week prior to a meeting, such additions to the agenda shall be distributed to the voting membership.
Section 3. A meeting of the College faculty for which the agenda provisions of Section 2 have been followed may be held without regard to the presence of a quorum. Legislative action taken by the College faculty under the provisions of Sections 23-43 and 23-46 of the Faculty Code and Governance becomes effective upon approval by the Dean after passage by majority vote in any meeting at which at least half of the voting members of the College faculty are present, if the action has been included on the agenda distributed in advance. If less than half the voting members of the College are present at a meeting, the assembled members may consider and amend a proposed action as if in a committee of the whole, with College Council chair or delegate continuing to preside. Resolutions concerning proposed actions may be passed by those assembled without regard for the presence of a quorum. Such resolutions shall be reported to the College faculty.
Section 4. Legislative action under the provisions of Section 23-43 of the Faculty Code and Governance may be taken by the College faculty in the manner prescribed in Section 3 or on the basis of a vote by mail. A mail ballot shall be employed if a resolution favoring a proposed action has been passed by the faculty assembled at a meeting of the faculty for which the agenda has announced consideration of the action, or if a majority of the College Council approves submission of a proposed action for faculty vote. To become effective, a proposed legislative action shall require either an affirmative majority vote provided that at least one-half of the eligible voting members of the College faculty cast ballots, or a two- thirds majority vote provided that at least 45% of the eligible faculty members cast ballots. The provisions regarding mail ballots in Section 23-46C of the Faculty Code and Governance shall be followed.
Section 5. Balloting in any meeting shall be secret if requested as prescribed by the Faculty Code and Governance, Section 23-46F.Section 6. Unless it conflicts with provisions of this Code or of the Faculty Code and Governance, Robert’s Rules of Order Revised shall govern procedures at meetings of the College faculty.
ARTICLE IV Committees
The Dean and/or the College Council may establish standing or special committees of the faculty, prescribe their powers and duties, and appoint their members. Standing committees together with their powers and duties shall be listed in a form available to voting members of the College faculty.
ARTICLE V The College Council
Section 1. Under provisions of the Faculty Code and Governance, Section 23-41, the College faculty establishes herewith the College of Arts and Sciences Council. The Council shall be composed of eight members elected from the College faculty in a manner prescribed below plus the Dean who shall serve as a non-voting member of the Council. Only voting members of the faculty who hold the rank of Professor are eligible for election. The Dean may ask a Divisional Dean to attend a Council meeting when an agenda item is related to that individual’s area of responsibility. The Divisional Dean(s) are not voting members of the Council. The presiding officer of the College Council shall be elected annually by the eight voting members of the Council
Section 2. For purposes of representation on the College Council, the College faculty shall be divided into the following four groups.
GROUP I: HUMANITIES
Asian Languages & Literature; Classics; Comparative History of Ideas; Comparative Literature; English; French and Italian Studies; German Studies; Linguistics; Middle Eastern Languages & Cultures; Scandinavian Languages & Literature; Slavic Languages & Literature; Spanish and Portuguese Studies.
GROUP II: ARTS
Art; Dance; Digital Arts and Experimental Media; Drama; Music.
GROUP III: SCIENCES
Applied Mathematics; Astronomy; Biology; Chemistry; Mathematics; Physics; Psychology; Speech & Hearing Sciences; Statistics.
GROUP IV: SOCIAL SCIENCES
American Ethnic Studies; American Indian Studies; Anthropology; Communication; Economics; Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies; Geography; History; Jackson School of International Studies; Law, Societies and Justice; Philosophy; Political Science; Sociology.
Each of these groups shall be represented on the College Council by two of its voting members elected for a term of four years. The term of a Council member shall begin on the fifteenth of September following his or her election.
Section 3. In College Council nominating elections, a voting faculty member votes within the group with which their department is listed. If a faculty member holds an appointment that places them in more than one group, the faculty member must choose one in which they will vote. Written notification of this choice shall be submitted to the Dean.
Elections shall be held annually to replace members of the Council whose terms expire with the current academic year.
Section 4. For a period of four years following completion of their term in office, an elected member of the College Council shall be ineligible for further service on the Council.
Section 5. Nomination and election of Council members shall be conducted during the Spring Quarter of each year. Each group from which a Council member is to be elected shall choose between two and four nominees for each vacant position. For the purpose of nomination there shall be a secret ballot containing the names of all eligible members of the group. Nomination shall be decided by plurality vote. By a second secret ballot and plurality vote, the College faculty as a whole shall then elect from the nominees the Council member(s) who will fill each vacancy. In no event shall there be more than one representative from a single department elected to the Council.
Section 6. If for any reason a Council member is temporarily unable to perform their duties, the position may be filled by an eligible member from the same group recommended by the Dean, confirmed by a majority vote of the Council, and appointed by the Dean. Such an appointee shall serve until the original Council member is able to continue in their term of office. If an elected Council member becomes unavailable for Council service over a prospective period of two years or longer, their position shall be filled at the next Council election. Prior to assumption of office by an elected successor, this position may be filled by appointment as set forth previously in this Section.
Section 7. The functions of the College Council shall be:
(1) to review and make recommendations on faculty personnel actions for tenure, promotion, and new appointments at a tenured rank;
(2) to advise the Dean on matters of educational policy;
(3) to advise the Dean on matters of budget, including budget allocations and faculty salary policy;
(4) to advise the Dean on matters of College administrative policy and procedure;
(5) to act on behalf of the College faculty in recommending the granting of undergraduate degrees;
(6) to appoint standing and special committees of the College faculty; and
(7) to interpret the College Code of Organization and Procedure.
ARTICLE VI Delegation of Power to Department Faculties
Section 1. Under the provisions of the Faculty Code and Governance, Section 23-43C, the College faculty delegates certain powers to each of its department faculties. Subject to the limitations set forth in Sections 2 and 3 below, the faculty of each department may:
(1) determine its curriculum and academic programs;
(2) determine requirements for admission to its courses and course programs, and for graduation; (3) determine the scholastic standards to be required of its major students;
(4) recommend to the College faculty those of its students deemed qualified for degrees; and
(5) exercise additional powers necessary to provide adequate instruction and supervision of its students.
Section 2. In exercising the powers conferred in Article VI, Section 1, no department faculty may prescribe standards which fall below those of the College, nor may a department take action which is contrary to policies adopted by the College. The College faculty reserves the right to reject or to modify departmental action taken under Article VI, Section 1.
Section 3. In exercising powers delegated by the College faculty, departmental faculties shall note that they are bound by the provisions of the Faculty Code and Governance, Sections 13-21, 13-22, 13-23, 13-24, 13-31, 23-43, 23-45, 23-46, 23-47, and 23-48, and that their actions must conform with all applicable rules set forth in the Faculty Code and Governance.
Section 4. The faculty of each department shall make recommendations affecting personnel to the Dean of the College in accordance with the Faculty Code and Governance, Chapter 24 and Section 25-41.
ARTICLE VII Amendments to the Code
Any amendment to this Code may be proposed by the College Council or by action taken at a meeting of the College faculty. If the proposed amendment is approved by majority vote in the Council or in a meeting of the College faculty, it shall then be submitted to the voting members of the College faculty by secret mail ballot. The amendment shall become effective if approved by a majority of the votes cast in the mail ballot, provided that at least half of the voting members of the College have cast ballots.
Revised 1980 & later; revised June 2012; May 2013