FIDC Processes Document

Aug 21, 2017

This document is being prepared as a road map for committee members. A similar document was previously prepared for the Curriculum Committee and was veiwed as extremely helpful to new and returning committee members.

Background

Excerpts from Monmouth College Faculty Statues:

Section IV. Faculty Committees

ARTICLE 1.

STATEMENT REGARDING THE PHILOSOPHY OF COMMITTEE WORK

"Through its committees the faculty as a whole is subdivided into small groups for the purpose of more intensive discussion of particular issues and to formulate and project specific means for implementing policies decided upon. Long-range planning should be a function of each committee. Each faculty committee is responsible to the faculty as a whole, from which it derives its ultimate authorization. This responsibility should be expressed through the free flow of information between the faculty and its committees."

"Insofar as possible, routine administrative matters, involving judicious application of already existing rules and recognized procedures, should not be the concern of committees of the faculty, but rather of the administrative officers of the College. The committees of the faculty should be concerned with formulation of positions and means of implementation in areas which affect the functioning of Monmouth College as an academic community."

Section IV. Faculty Committees

ARTICLE 8.

FACULTY AND INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE

"The Faculty and Institutional Development Committee shall be responsible for recommending to the faculty and administration policies and procedures relative to the use and development of human and financial resources of the College."

"The committee shall: review with the President all matters relating to the total budgeting process of the College, recommend, in consultation with administrative officers, faculty replacements, new faculty positions or faculty reductions; advise the administration on building, remodeling and grounds decisions; promote individual and corporate professional development, including such programs as sabbatical leaves, professional travel, faculty grants and the development and improvement of pedagogy; discuss with administrative officers matters concerning salary and fringe benefit policies; serve in an advisory capacity concerning the Library, Instructional Technology and Information Systems; and provide counsel on College fund-raising endeavors."

"The Faculty and Institutional Development Committee shall consist of five faculty members and two students. The Vice President for Development and the Vice President of Finance and Business shall be ex officio members." (Note: The President and Dean of the faculty are ex offico on all committees.)

Summary of Responsibilities

1) review with the President all matters relating to the total budgeting process of the College;

2) recommend, in consultation with administrative officers, faculty replacements, new faculty positions or faculty reductions;

3) advise the administration on building, remodeling and grounds decisions;

4) promote individual and corporate professional development, including such programs as sabbatical leaves, professional travel, faculty grants and the development and improvement of pedagogy;

5) discuss with administrative officers matters concerning salary and fringe benefit policies;

6) serve in an advisory capacity concerning the Library, Instructional Technology and Information Systems; and

7) provide counsel on College fund-raising endeavors.

Assigned Committee Members Roles

The following "roles" should be assigned within the first few weeks of the fall semester.

1) Chair of Committee,

2) Secretary of Committee,

3) Overseer of Non-Science Funds.

4) Overseer Student Travel Funds.

5) Overseer of Faculty Development Funds.

6) Overseer of Sabbatical Requests.

Early Fall Committee Tasks

The following items should be done within the first few weeks of the fall semester.

1) Request budget amounts from Dean of Faculty,

Non-Science Funds

Student Travel Funds

Supplemental Faculty Development Funds

Public Affairs Funds

2) Send out email to the faculty will FIDC Committee structure information and fund amonts

Example of FIDC Committee Structure email

3) Send out announcements about policies/deadlines for:

- Non-Science Funds Request

- Student Travel Requests

- Supplemental Faculty Development Requests

Sample Meeting Agenda

1) Approval of minutes from previous meeting.

2) Old Business

3) Continuing Business (Report and Discussion)

a) Non-Science Funds

b) Student Travel Funds

c) Supplemental Faculty Development Funds

d) Public Affairs Funds

e) Faculty position requests

4) New Business

5) Review of Processes Document

Non-Science Equipment Fund

FIDC’s Guidelines for Non-Science Equipment Fund (revised Sept., 2007)

Requests may be made for equipment that a faculty member needs for either personal scholarly work or for classroom/lab work. Typical requests are for less than $1500, but FIDC will consider larger requests. Requests may be made for single or groups of items. Faculty members may make email requests to the FIDC member managing the Non-science equipment pool. Each request should include a brief discussion of the item, the cost of the item (preferably a direct quote), and how that item will be used by the faculty member. Small requests (<$100) may be approved by the FIDC non-science pool manager, while larger requests will be reviews by the entire FIDC. Typical requests might be for a computer, a computer peripheral, or for some specialized equipment for a department. Request by FIDC members should come to the entire FIDC. The FIDC Non-science equipment pool manager will make regular reports to FIDC on the status of the pool.

Reimbursement

Committee Process

A formal call for proposals will not be may but instead reference to the fund will be made at the first faculty meeting.

Student Travel Funds

FIDC’s Guidelines for Instructional Student Travel (revised September, 2009)

The Instructional Student Travel (IST) pool for the 2009-10 year has up to $15,000.00 to support travel for students in furthering academic learning goals. Faculty members may apply for these funds using the following guidelines.

Purpose and Procedures

The principal purpose of the IST pool is to fund instructional field trips arranged by faculty members for their classes (e.g. an art class goes to Chicago to visit the Art Institute) or other curricular-related travel (e.g. taking students to a professional conference). Individual students and those college-recognized student organizations related to a major or department may petition FIDC to request funding for curricular-related travel, but they must have a faculty sponsor. One or more faculty members must accompany the student group on such trips. Funding will only be considered if the activity is related to a class, a major or other program of study. Social events, refreshments, t-shirts, etc. will not be funded through the IST.

Additionally, the IST can support a limited number of students who have completed a research project and would like to present a paper at a professional meeting or conference. In such cases, the student(s) should be sponsored by a faculty member, who makes the application for the grant on the student’s behalf. Please note that in all cases – a field trip or presentation of a paper at a professional meeting/conference – the benefits for the student(s) should be linked to an academic program of the college. Events funded by IST will not be funded by other FIDC pools.

Funding Amounts

Student travel for field trips and other similar travel will be funded up to $25 per day, per student, plus standard mileage for the group or individual. The per diem allocation is to cover all expenses, such as registration and food. The cost of transportation itself is covered by the mileage allotment. We strongly encourage travelers to take box lunches from the food service whenever they can. Faculty accompanying students on approved trips are eligible for a per diem stipend at the $25 per day rate. For educational trips that involve expenses in excess of the per diem amount (e.g., lodging or registration fees), any faculty member may receive up to $100 above the per diem, not more than twice during the academic year If a student has been accepted to present his or her work at an academic conference (or in special circumstances to conduct research off-campus), the student is eligible for the per diem and mileage allocations described above plus up to $250.

Application Procedure

Application for grants from the IST pool may be sent to the Instructional Student Travel Pool Chair of FIDC (see FIDC Committee Assignments on this site) by the sponsoring faculty member, using the Monmouth College Student Travel Authorization Form, which can be accessed in two ways:

Via Microsoft Outlook: Click on Mailbox/in the upper right of your screen, click on MC Forms /click on FIDC Forms /click on MC Student Travel Authorization Form. (This process takes you to the FIDC website.)

Via the Monmouth College website: Click on Academics on the Monmouth College homepage, and then in the gray list on the left side of the screen under Resources, click on FIDC /click on Student Travel Authorization Form.

In your request, please be sure to include these elements:

1. Details of the field trip/professional meeting;

2. Benefits for the students;

3. Relationship of the travel to academic program goals;

4. The number of students and faculty members participating in the field trip/professional meeting;

5. A detailed budget for funds requested.

Reimbursement

Claims for reimbursement of approved student instructional travel, supported by appropriate receipts, should be submitted to the office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs. A brief report on the trip should be included with the claim.

Committee Process

An email similar to the following should be sent to the faculty within the first few weeks of the fall semester. The following email needs to be revised by the committee and agreed upon the contents. The committee should also review and edit the Guidelines for Student Travel and the Student Travel Authorization Form. Question: is there a formula for student travel? Is there a max $$ per student amount? Will this fund pay for international travel or airline cost?

Colleagues.

FIDC has been notified that <$##,###> has been budgeted for the 2017-2018 academic year for to support Student Travel. Attached is the FIDC's "Guidelines for Student Travel" and the "Student Travel Authorization Form." These forms and others pertinent to FIDC can be found here: https://ou.monmouthcollege.edu/academics/committees/fidc.aspx

FIDC will be accepting/reviewing requests starting immediately. FIDC will report on the allocation of Student Travel Funds at each monthly faculty meeting through the Committee's electronic report. FIDC suggests that all requests be made as soon as possible to allow the committee to appropriately allocate funds.

Best, <name of committee member> on behalf of FIDC committee (Last names of committee members).

Faculty Development Funds

DEADLINES: Since each proposal is considered on its own merits, the deadline will roll throughout the academic year. Our hope is both that new ideas are generated throughout this period and that proposals which are initially denied will be revised and resubmitted after consideration of FIDC’s feedback.

Purpose and Procedures

As the Faculty Statutes remind us, Monmouth College has long had a pool “designed to provide assistance to continuing faculty members in meeting expenses associated with improving scholarly skills, pursuing research, and publication” (3.1.2). Although fallow in recent years (because the funds were committed to Faculty Travel Accounts several years ago), this year the Faculty Development Fund has been renewed, and funded at $20,000 for the 2017 – 2018 academic year.

FIDC believes that “faculty development” should be interpreted in its broadest sense, and support given to all levels of faculty interest and projects, whether those address scholarship, pedagogy, presentation/publication, professional development, or a combination of activities. Thus, we encourage faculty to propose the project they envision, not the one they believe – because of cost, emphasis, or other criteria not outlined below -- will be supported. Our hope is that by allowing faculty room for imagining, and by supporting the projects which ensue, we can not only develop our faculty in ways which they desire, but that we can all concomitantly improve the academic program of the College.

Criteria and Proscriptions

Each proposal will be evaluated on its own merits, using the Primary and Secondary Criteria below, with written response coming within three weeks of submission.

Primary Considerations:

· Creativity: To what extent does the project foster something distinctive, new or energizing in the work of the faculty member or the institution?

· Generativity: To what extent does the project show the potential to foster interesting follow-up projects, inspire new programs, birth new collaborations, or build bridges between individuals or across disciplines?

· Sustainability: To what extent can the project be sustained after the granting period?

Secondary Considerations:

· Does the project cohere with current mission, vision, and priorities of the College?

· Does the project support student learning, directly or indirectly?

· Does the project support the development or improvement of existing programs or initiatives already sanctioned by the College?

Proscriptions:

At this time, Faculty Development Fund proposals cannot include release time or direct stipends for faculty involved. No matter the proposal’s overall requested amount, all requests for books will be capped at $250. For research or supplemental travel funds, FIDC assumes that faculty proposers will spend down their individual Faculty Travel Accounts before applying to the Faculty Development Fund. All projects must be completed by June 30, 2018.

Application Procedure

FORM OF PROPOSAL: All proposals should be submitted to the Chair of FIDC and contain: a narrative of not more than two pages, including relevant references, if any; a timeline; a proposed budget with brief justifications if called for; a (brief) letter of support from the Department Chair; and, the Faculty Development Fund Cover Sheet (attached). The relevant criteria above should be addressed within the narrative itself, though they need not be set out in distinct sections.