Faculty Handbook 
    
    Mar 29, 2024  
Faculty Handbook

The Administration of Fayetteville State University



Board of Trustees

The 1971 General Assembly provided that, effective July 1, 1973, the Board of Trustees shall consist of thirteen members: eight elected by the Board of Governors, four appointed by the Governor, and the elected president of the student body serving ex-officio. The term of office of all trustees, except the ex-officio member, shall be four years.

The Powers and Duties of the Board of Trustees

The Board of Trustees shall promote the sound development of the institution with the functions prescribed for it, helping it to serve the people of the State in a way that will complement the activities of the other institutions and enable it to perform at a high level of excellence in every area of endeavor. The Board of Trustees shall serve as advisor to the Board of Governors on matters pertaining to the institution and shall also serve as advisor to the Chancellor concerning the management and development of the Institution [The Code, 403.A].

Chancellor

The Chancellor is the Chief Executive Officer of Fayetteville State University, and exercises complete authority for the institution. The Chancellor is subject to the direction of the President of The University of North Carolina and is responsible for carrying out policies of the Board of Governors and the Board of Trustees. It is the duty of the Chancellor to keep the president, and through the president the Board of Governors, fully informed concerning the operations and needs of the institution. The Chancellor is a member of all faculties and other academic bodies of the institution and has the right to preside over the deliberations of any legislative bodies of the faculties of the institution. [The Code, 502]

The Office of the Chancellor is staffed by assistants to the Chancellor. In addition to the Provost/Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, the Chief of Staff, the Vice Chancellor for Business and the Finance, the Vice Chancellor for University Advancement, the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, Vice Chancellor for Legal, Audit, Risk, and Compliance, Vice Chancellor for External and Military Affairs are the Vice Chancellors that report directly to the Chancellor.

Chief of Staff

The Vice Chancellor and Chief of Staff ensures that the vision of the Chancellor for Fayetteville State University is effectively implemented. This official is also responsible for the coordination of the Chancellor’s staff with the other Vice Chancellors and their units.

Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs

The Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs (Provost) is the chief academic officer of Fayetteville State University, reporting directly to the Chancellor. The Provost has the broad responsibility for ensuring that the University’s programs and faculty are of the highest quality. This involves working with the Chancellor, deans, faculty, students and staff to promote academic excellence throughout the institution.

The Provost leads the University in its academic planning and in the setting of academic values, policies, and practices. S/He is responsible for providing guidance to the dean of each college, and is accountable for regularly evaluating the deans, associate and assistant vice Chancellors for academic affairs, as well as candidates for those positions. The Chancellor makes the final decision on senior administrative appointments in consultation with the Provost.

The Provost makes major resource allocation decisions relative to state funding and overhead funds. The Provost prepares budget requests for academic and capital projects that are forwarded to UNC General Administration for review and approval. The Provost provides oversight and assigns budgets to the dean of each college, and the director of the library.

The Provost recommends and approves all promotions, retentions, special hires, tenure decisions, new appointments to the faculty, and helps the schools and colleges establish their own promotion and tenure policies. The Provost also authorizes, directly or through a representative, all salaries and leaves, and reviews faculty grievances.

The Provost is responsible for ensuring the quality of student learning by overseeing the curriculum and supporting educational initiatives, overseeing the conduct of research and scholarship, and stimulating a high level of scholarly productivity on the campus.

The Provost is responsible for oversight of the quality and practices associated with undergraduate, graduate, and professional study; honors and first-year programs; faculty affairs; global relations; and academic budget, planning and administration at the University. The Provost oversees the administrative practices associated with enrollment and graduation, course offerings, and of the policies and values which guide these endeavors. The Provost is responsible for compliance with institutional policies, system-wide policies and external regulations, including accreditations.

The Provost is responsible for working effectively with the Executive Committee of the Faculty Senate and the Faculty Senate on matters of general welfare to the university and faculty.

Vice Chancellor for Business and Finance

The Vice Chancellor for Business and Finance is the chief financial officer and is responsible for the general financial operation of the university, including accounting of financial records, financial reporting, preparation of the university budget and the biennial (expansion budget), legislative appropriation requests and budget control. The Vice Chancellor for Business and Finance assists the Chancellor in allocating university funds, managing properties, capital improvement and debt financing, managing property acquisition, and representing the university’s interests and relationships with state and other governmental agencies. The Vice Chancellor for Business and Finance is also responsible for fiscal operations including accounting, auxiliary services, purchasing, and campus safety. The Division of Business and Finance operates under policies and procedures consistent with state and federal laws and the University of North Carolina policies and procedures.

Under the Vice Chancellor for Business and Finance’s leadership, its staff is responsible for conducting training and assistance to the university to ensure effective fiscal management.

Vice Chancellor for University Advancement

The Vice Chancellor for Institutional Advancement is responsible for developing and securing philanthropic opportunities through alumni giving and partnerships with corporations and other public or private sources. The Vice Chancellor provides leadership for strategic planning and execution of major campaigns. The Vice Chancellor plays a vital role in building and maintaining relationships with donors. Creating a positive image of the University and managing publicity through media are important responsibilities of the Vice Chancellor for Institutional Advancement.

Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs

The Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs is responsible for the supervision of all areas related to student life. The Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs’ office provides programs and activities that complement the academic mission of the university and contributes to the intellectual, social, moral, cultural, and personal development of students. The Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs provides oversight and coordination of units such as residential life, counseling, health and medical services, services for students with disabilities, and career services. This administrator serves as an advocate for students to the administration and interprets university policies to students to assure and maintain quality student life.

Vice Chancellor for Legal, Audit, Risk, and Compliance

The Division of Legal, Audit, Risk and Compliance (LARC), through its units, assists Fayetteville State University in carrying out its mission by managing its ethical, legal, and regulatory responsibilities. The Division consists of the following units: Legal, Internal Audit, Compliance and Enterprise Risk Management and Title IX.

  • Legal Affairs, in representing the best interest of Fayetteville State University, provides comprehensive high quality legal services on a wide range of legal issues.
  • Internal Audit provides independent, objective evaluations and other services designed to add value and improve Fayetteville State University’s operations.
  • Compliance and Enterprise Risk Management promotes an organizational culture that encourages ethical conduct and a commitment to complying with policies, regulations and laws governing Fayetteville State University. Compliance and Enterprise Risk Management also identifies, assesses, prioritizes and monitors significant University-wide risks that may adversely impact the University
  • Title IX assists in fostering a safe and respectful environment at Fayetteville State University in an effort to protect students, faculty, staff, and visitors from incidents of sex/gender-based discrimination.

Vice Chancellor for External and Military Affairs

The Division of External Affairs and Military Relations serves to promote and manage key relationships on behalf of the Fayetteville State University. Developing and maintaining strong relationships with the North Carolina General Assembly, governmental agencies, the United States Congress, the United States Military, the business community as well as a variety of quasi-governmental entities whose missions may support the interests of Fayetteville State University, is vital to our mission.

This division works to engage business and community leaders, and government officials at every level on behalf of the university while leading pursuit of legislative priorities. In doing so, the division seeks to build and strengthen relationships that help develop the university’s agenda.  In this way, the Division of External Affairs and Military Relations helps to collaborate with partners across the public, private, and nonprofit sectors to bring the universities intellectual, capital, and human resources to bear on collective public problem solving in Fayetteville and the greater Sandhills region.

College Deans

The deans of the constituent colleges (the College of Humanities and Social Sciences; the College of Health, Science, and Technology; the College of Education; the Broadwell College of Business and Economics; and University College) report to the Provost/Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs in the fulfillment of their responsibilities. The deans serve at the pleasure of the Chancellor.

As the chief academic officer of an academic school or college (unit), the dean serves as the academic leader of the unit and therefore must have credentials appropriate to be awarded tenure in a department within their respective College. The dean represents the unit to the university and other constituents and must be able to effectively communicate and advocate for the university’s concerns to the unit. The dean manages the unit’s resources in a fair and equitable manner. In consultation with department chairs, school associate deans, and other leaders within the unit, the dean has the primary responsibility and authority for: (a) developing and articulating a vision, mission, and strategic plan which support the particular goals of the unit, the broader goals of the university and the University of North Carolina, and any relevant accrediting bodies; (b) articulating the budgetary needs of the unit, managing the budget allotted, prioritizing allocations, maintaining accurate records of expenditures, and ensuring adherence to university fiscal policies and procedures; (c) overseeing all personnel matters involving academic and non-academic employees including formulating performance criteria and monitoring their application to unit personnel during hiring, tenure, promotion, retention and performance evaluation processes; (d) recommending leaves and special assignments to the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs; (e) ensuring that faculty in the unit are fully engaged in departmental, school, and general faculty duties; (f) reviewing student-related requests to maintain academic integrity while promoting student success, and providing additional support for student academic advising to the various academic units; (g) providing a key communication link between the university administration, faculty, staff, and students for purposes of information sharing as well as mediation when necessary; (h) promoting excellence in teaching, research, and service to include coordinating the assessment and development of academic programs, research and scholarship agendas, and service agendas within the unit; (i) acting as a mentor and facilitator for the department chairs as they carry out their mission, and evaluating department chairpersons, associate/assistant deans, administrative staff, and other direct reports according to university policy; (j) serving on university committees as requested by the Provost and the Chancellor; (k) coordinating development, advancement and fundraising activities at the unit level and promoting and participating in university level fundraising; and (l) promoting the visibility of the college in the region, state, and nation.

Associate/Assistant Deans

The associate/assistant deans report to and support the dean in administration of the college programs. The associate deans of two schools (the School of Social Work and the School of Nursing) report to the deans of their respective colleges. These two associate deans have similar duties and responsibilities as the academic department chairs.

Academic Department Chairs

The academic department chairs report to the deans of the designated college. The academic department chair is responsible for the leadership and administration of the department and responsible for the leadership and administration of the department and is responsible for engaging faculty in the strategic planning process. Each academic department chair is responsible for the leadership and administration of their departments and is responsible for engaging faculty in the strategic planning process. Each academic department chair is responsible for budget development, management and allocation. Primary responsibilities in personnel management include recruitment, hiring, faculty assignments and workload, evaluation, reward, development and professional guidance, and participation in the reappointment, promotion, tenure, and post-tenure review process. The academic department chair oversees accreditation and curricular and program development, secures external funding, and supports faculty research, teaching and service.

As the chief administrative officer of the department, the academic department chair serves at the pleasure of the Chancellor. Department chairs serve as liaisons between faculty and deans. The academic department chair is responsible for promoting high standards in teaching, research, and service. The academic department chair is expected to communicate with, and solicit the counsel and recommendations of, the faculty in the development of departmental programs and policies. In consultation with the faculty of the department, the academic department chair is responsible for recruiting and maintaining faculty with the proper competencies for implementing the programs of the department.

Assistant Academic Department Chairs/Assistant School Deans

The assistant academic department chair supports the academic department chair, supervises academic programs, coordinates program assessment, coordinates academic advisement, recruitment and course scheduling, and is nominated by the department chair and voted on by the department faculty. The position is a one-year renewable term.  The assistant deans in the School of Social Work and the School of Nursing perform the same duties as the assistant department chairs. The associate dean nominates the assistant dean and is voted on by the school faculty. They serve a one-year renewable term.

Program Coordinators

Each academic unit must assign program coordination to a program coordinator(s) to ensure quality of educational programs. A single individual within a program may conduct appropriate program coordination duties.  In some instances, the chair can perform some program coordination duties if they have the appropriate credentials.

Fayetteville State University defines an academic program as a combination of courses (equal to 120 credit hours at the undergraduate level and a minimum of 30 credit hours at the graduate level) and related activities organized to achieve specific learning outcomes leading to a degree. Academic programs are assigned a unique Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) code.

Each program coordinator has the responsibility of overseeing the curricular content of programs. He/she is qualified in the appropriate fields related to curricular content and has earned the appropriate/requisite degree for the program.

The program coordinator is responsible for directing student learning, including overseeing and coordinating educational programs to assure that each program contains essential curricular components, has appropriate content and pedagogy, and maintains discipline currency.

Depending upon the structure/size of the program, the coordinator may be responsible for several general program management duties. The duties may include curriculum development and review, reviewing transcripts, program recruitment, creating or maintaining 4-year degree plans, processing admissions (for graduate programs), and advising the department chair. Other duties may also include maintaining the program and student records/files, analyzing program/student data, academic advising/mentoring, and assisting with program assessment and/or accreditation.

In some circumstances, the program coordinator may also be responsible for reporting to accrediting bodies/organizations.

Coordinators of interdisciplinary programs have the same or similar program management responsibilities. However, issues such as changes (i.e., additions or deletions) to curriculum courses are done with collaboration, input, and review from faculty with appropriate expertise from across multiple disciplines.