Chapter 2

Faculty and Academics

2.1 The Faculty

Statement of Regental Policy, Part One, Chapter IV, Sections 1.2 and 2.1:
The Board will not, except in extraordinary cases, act on important matters of academic policy until it has received, or requested and obtained, advice thereupon from the institutional faculty or faculties affected or their legislative bodies. When new policies originating in any faculty give rise to serious differences of opinion in that body, the advice and recommended legislation shall, at the request of the minority, be accompanied by a record of the vote and by a summary of the reasons for and against the matters proposed.

General Authority. -- Subject to the authority of the Board and subject further to the authority that the Board has vested in the various administrative officers and subdivisions of the System, the faculties of the component institutions regularly offering instruction shall have a role in the governance of their respective institutions in the following areas:
1. General academic policies and welfare.
2. Student life and activities.
3. Requirements of admission and graduation.
4. Honors and scholastic performance generally.
5. Approval of candidates for degrees.
6. Faculty rules of procedure.
The General Faculty:

The General Faculty of The University of Texas at San Antonio is composed of all personnel holding an academic title as Professor, Associate Professor, Assistant Professor, Instructor, Lecturer, Visiting Professor, Visiting Associate Professor, Visiting Assistant Professor, Adjunct academic titles, Emeritus academic titles, Teaching Associate, and Specialist. Voting members of the General Faculty include the following:
1. All Professors, Associate Professors, and Assistant Professors.
2. All Visiting Professors, Visiting Associate Professors and Visiting Assistant Professors who have had two semesters of service at The University of Texas at San Antonio.
3. All Instructors and Lecturers who have had four or more semesters of service at either rank at The University of Texas at San Antonio.
4. Such officials as are designated in the Regents' Rules and Regulations as being ex officio members of all institutional faculties of The University of Texas System.
5. Such other officials as the Board of Regents, upon recommendation of the President and the Chancellor of the University of Texas System, may designate.
In computing a semester of service under the subsections above, service for two summer terms shall count as one semester. A faculty member shall have voting status only on the basis of half-time employment or more at the University.

Those faculty members designated above shall retain their voting status while on modified service but not upon full retirement.

Each voting member, of whatever rank, shall be entitled to one vote.

Nonvoting members of the General Faculty shall consist of the following:
1. All Visiting Professors, Visiting Associate Professors and Visiting Assistant Professors who have served for fewer than two semesters.
2. All Instructors and Lecturers who have served for fewer than four semesters.
3. All individuals holding the title Adjunct Professor, Adjunct Associate Professor, Adjunct Assistant Professor, Professor Emeritus, Associate Professor Emeritus, Teaching Associate, or Specialist.
Nonvoting members have the privilege of attending meetings with the right to speak but without the right to vote.
The General Faculty Rules
The General Faculty shall establish its own rules of procedure.
Meetings of The General Faculty
The General Faculty shall meet at least twice a year upon the call of the President. The President or the President's delegate shall preside at all meetings of the General Faculty.
Secretary of The General Faculty
The General Faculty shall elect a Secretary who shall also serve as Secretary of the University Assembly. The qualifications, manner of election, term of office, and duties shall be determined by the General Faculty.
The University Assembly
The University Assembly shall exercise the authority vested in the General Faculty, except in matters specifically reserved to the General Faculty by its own action, and/or requiring ratification by the General Faculty. Specifically, the University Assembly shall have authority to consider the following:
1. All matters of academic policy except in the area of graduate education, which responsibility is reserved to the Council on Graduate Education.
2. Regulations dealing with student activities.
3. Requirements for admission, scholastic performance, graduation, honors, or degrees, except to the extent such authority is delegated to the Council on Graduate Education.
4. Approval of undergraduate degree candidates.
5. Reports of special and standing committees of the University Assembly, including committees of the General Faculty.
6. Faculty welfare.
Subject to ratification by the General Faculty and approval by the President, the University Assembly shall promulgate its own rules of procedure. The Assembly shall have the authority to conduct studies and investigations, to receive recommendations from other sources and to initiate and enact legislation constituting specific recommendations to the President.

The Assembly shall have power to create internal standing and special committees of its own that are necessary to the conduct of its business. Except for ex officio committee members designated in the University Assembly Bylaws, members of all standing and special committees shall be elected by the Assembly.

The Assembly may refer any matter within its purview to any appropriate body that the Assembly may designate. All such committees will report the results of their deliberations on matters referred directly to the University Assembly.

The Assembly may approve, amend and approve, or reject any recommendation made to it by a College faculty, by a committee of the General Faculty, or by a group of the faculty as qualified under the rules of the General Faculty. In the event of rejection or fundamental amendment, the proponents shall be notified. If protest is made within ten working days after such notification, the Assembly shall submit the matter to the General Faculty for decision.

The Assembly may, by affirmative vote, delegate for any academic year the approval or disapproval of all candidates for degrees to the respective Deans. The Director of Admissions and Registrar, as soon as possible after each commencement, shall provide the Secretary of the General Faculty with a complete list of all successful degree candidates, and the Secretary shall insert the list in the minutes of the General Faculty.

Actions requiring ratification by the General Faculty include (1) changes in the Rules of Procedure of the University Assembly, (2) proposed revisions in the Rules and Regulations of the Board of Regents, (3) items specified by the Board of Regents as requiring approval by the Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and the Board of Regents, and (4) items defined by the General Faculty as requiring its ratification. All such actions, if ratified, constitute recommendations to the President and are subject to the President's review.

The Assembly may submit directly to the President all legislation that is not specifically defined by the General Faculty as requiring its review and ratification, or that is not listed above as requiring review by the General Faculty before submission to the President. All such legislation passed by the Assembly shall be promptly prepared and transmitted by the Secretary of the Assembly to the President for his review.
Membership in the University Assembly

The University Assembly shall be composed of:
1. Four faculty members elected by and from the voting members of the General Faculty of each College, plus one additional faculty member for each ten percent (or major fraction thereof) of the University faculty appointed to that College, provided that all elected members must be qualified to vote in the General Faculty. For purposes of apportionment, only full-time faculty members are to be counted. The University Assembly shall reapportion the seats based on College faculty membership every two years.
2. Ex officio members with vote to include the President, all Vice Presidents, and Deans of the Colleges.
3. Ex officio members without vote to include the Dean of Students, Director of Libraries, and the Director of Admissions and Registrar.
4. The elected President of the student body, one undergraduate student from each College to be selected as determined by the College faculty, and one graduate student elected by the Council on Graduate Education from its student members.
5. Three members of the professional staff including at least one professional librarian to be selected as determined by the General Faculty. A "professional" staff member is defined as any full-time employee of the University who is neither faculty nor designated as "classified" personnel.
Terms of Office

The term of office of elected faculty members of the University Assembly shall be two years commencing September 1. One-half of the faculty members of the University Assembly shall be elected each year. Ex officio members shall serve by virtue of their position. Student members shall serve one-year terms. Professional staff members shall serve two-year terms.
The University Assembly Actions

The President must take action on all legislation, resolutions, or recommendations submitted to him by the University Assembly within four weeks after receiving the transmittal from the Secretary.Presidential approval of such legislation, resolutions, or recommendations constitutes a policy decision requiring action by the University administration. When Presidential approval is withheld, the reasons shall be forwarded to the Assembly. The President may also forward to the Assembly such recommendations for modification or reconsideration by the Assembly as he or she finds appropriate. An action once reconsidered by the Assembly must go forward. The President shall transmit to the Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, with such recommendations as the President may deem appropriate, those actions requiring approval of the Executive Vice Chancellor and the Board of Regents. The Assembly action must be transmitted without modification.
Presiding Officer

The President of the University or his or her delegate shall preside over all meetings of the University Assembly.
The Graduate Faculty

The Graduate Faculty of The University of Texas at San Antonio shall be composed of persons whose professional and scholarly accomplishments and effectiveness in teaching graduate students qualify them for active participation in graduate instruction at The University of Texas at San Antonio. The Graduate Faculty shall be composed of Members, Associate Members and Special Members.
1. Members
  
  Any University of Texas at San Antonio faculty member who holds a full-time professorial appointment as Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, or Professor.is eligible for appointment as a Member of the Graduate Faculty upon recommendation to the Council on Graduate Education by the appropriate Committee on Graduate Studies, the Division Director, where appropriate, and the College Dean and upon approval by the Council on Graduate Education and the Vice President for Academic Affairs. Members teach graduate courses, serve on graduate committees, and supervise theses and dissertations.
2. Associate Members
  
  Any University of Texas at San Antonio faculty member who holds a full-time professorial appointment as Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, or Professor is eligible for appointment as an Associate Member of the Graduate Faculty upon recommendation by the Committee on Graduate Studies, the Division Director and the College Dean, and upon approval of the Council on Graduate Education and the Vice President for Academic Affairs. Associate Members may teach graduate courses and serve on graduate committees. Associate Members may supervise particular theses by request of the appropriate Committee on Graduate Studies, the Division Director and the Dean of the College, and upon approval of the Vice President for Academic Affairs.
3. Special Members
  
  An outstanding person from government, industry, the professions, education foundations, a University of Texas System component institution, or another academic or professional institution of higher education who holds a visiting or part-time faculty position at UT San Antonio is eligible for appointment as a Special Member of the Graduate Faculty. When a division recommends such a person for employment, the division should recommend as part of the appointment process Special Member status. Approval of appointment will constitute approval of Special Member status.
  
  Special Members may teach graduate courses. Special Members may serve on graduate committees and supervise particular theses by request of the appropriate Committee on Graduate Studies, the Division Director and the Dean of the College and upon approval of the Vice President for Academic Affairs. The status of Special Members expires at the end of their appointment period.
Qualifications for membership on the Graduate Faculty as Members, Associate Members, or Special Members are established by the Council on Graduate Education and set forth in the Bylaws of the Council on Graduate Education.

Normally, persons holding faculty appointment at any of the professorial ranks who have achieved professional recognition through outstanding teaching and through scholarly or creative activities, who have taught graduate courses, and who have served on graduate committees and/or supervised theses or dissertations are eligible for appointment as Members of the Graduate Faculty.

Normally, faculty appointed as Associate Members are those holding a faculty appointment at any of the professorial ranks who have little or no experience teaching graduate courses or serving on graduate committees.
The Council on Graduate Education:

The Council on Graduate Education is the faculty body responsible for providing advice and counsel on graduate education to the President. Specifically, the Council's responsibilities include:
1. All matters of academic policy in the area of graduate education.
2. Establishment of qualifications for membership on the Graduate Faculty of Members, Associate Members, and Special Members.
3. Review and approval of faculty members as recommended by the Committees on Graduate Studies, Division Directors, and Deans of the Colleges to participate in the graduate program.
4. Coordination of graduate education in the University and maintenance of its quality by recommending minimum University-wide graduate academic standards.
5. Monitoring of the quality of graduate education at The University of Texas at San Antonio through a periodic evaluation of graduate programs and faculty.
6. Review of and recommendation on proposals for new graduate programs and courses and revisions of existing programs and courses.
Membership on the Council on Graduate Education:

The Council on Graduate Education shall be composed of:
1. A Member shall be elected from the Members of each Committee on Graduate Studies having ten percent (or fraction thereof) of the total University graduate enrollment. One additional Member for each additional ten percent (or fraction thereof) of the total University graduate enrollment registered in a program shall be elected by the Members of the Graduate Faculty of the programs' Committee on Graduate Studies.
2. Ex officio members with vote shall include the President, Vice President for Academic Affairs, Vice President for Administration and Planning, the Deans of the Colleges, and the Director of Libraries. Ex officio member without vote shall be the Director of Admissions and Registrar.
3. One graduate student with vote shall be selected from each College as determined by the Members of the Graduate Faculty of that College.
Terms of Office on the Council on Graduate Education

The term of office of elected members of the Council on Graduate Education shall be two years and shall begin on September 1, except that in the initial election one-half of the members shall be elected for a term of one year and one-half of the members for a term of two years. Ex officio members shall serve by virtue of their positions. Student members shall serve one-year terms. No elected members shall serve more than three consecutive terms. Any vacated positions shall be filled for the remainder of the term from those next in line on the basis of the previous election. The meaning of "vacated position" includes a member of the Council on leave of absence.
Presiding Officer and Secretary of the Council on Graduate Education

The Vice President for Academic Affairs or the delegate of that officer shall preside over all meetings of the Council on Graduate Education. The Council shall elect a Secretary from among its membership.
Actions of the Council on Graduate Education

The Secretary of the Council shall transmit the official record of the Council to the President for information and such action as may be required. Within four weeks of the date of transmittal, the President must inform the Council on the disposition of matters referred to the President's Office.

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Handbook of Operating Procedures

Chapter 2

Faculty and Academics

2.1 The Faculty