FIDC Processes Document

Last updated - May 1, 2018

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;

NOTE (Fall 2017): FIDC should consider editing the statues to change the wording in the first paragraph regarding who FIDC discussed "the total budgeting process of the College" with...we do not meet with the president but the CFO (ie President, to VP for business and finance/CFO).

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

NOTE (Fall 2017): requests/proposals for faculty replacements (due to retirements or vacancies) usually come in very early in the semester. These have been reviewed on an "as needed" basis and recommendations made to the Dean with minimal review of data.

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

NOTE: (Fall 2017): Should FIDC invite the Director of Facilities Management to a meeting?

NOTE: (Fall 2017): FIDC was not notified of the renovation of Grier Hall...should this be a concern to the faculty?

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

NOTE: (Fall 2017): Should FIDC modify this charge to read something like:

review and approve funding of faculty professional development proposals through the Faculty Development Fund."

review and approve funding of student travel proposals through the Student Travel Fund."

review and approve funding of non-science equipment proposals through the Non-Science Equipment Fund."

review and recommend faculty sabbaticals (call sent out by Dean's assistant).

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'

NOTE: (Fall 2017): Should FIDC invite the Director of the Library to a meeting?

7) provide counsel on College fund-raising endeavors.

NOTE: (Fall 2017): Should FIDC invite the Director of Development to a meeting?

Assigned Committee Members Roles

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

1) Chair (or co-chairs) of Committee,

2) Secretary of Committee; job description,

3) Manager of Non-Science Funds.

4) Manager of Student Travel Funds.

5) Manager of Faculty Development Funds.

6) Manager of Sabbatical Requests.

7) Manager of Public Affairs Fund.

Early Fall Committee Tasks

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

1) Review/revise this processes document.

2) Review the previous year, "year-end report."

3) Request budget amounts from Dean of Faculty,

Non-Science Funds

Student Travel Funds

Supplemental Faculty Development Funds

Public Affairs Funds (surplus funds)

4) Request the following documents from the Dean of the Faculty

Course Credit per FTE by Department(past 10 years)

Graduated Majors Summary Report by Department (with 5 and 10 year average)

Total Majors Summary by Department (with 5 and 7 year averages)

Majors of Incoming Students (past ~10 years)

5) Send out email to the faculty with FIDC Committee structure information and fund amounts

Example of FIDC Committee Structure email

6) Send out notice of Faculty Professional Development Account policies

sample email

Faculty Professional Development Account Authorization from

7) Send out announcements/"calls" about policies/deadlines for:

- Non-Science Funds Request (generally only announced at faculty meeting official "call")

- Student Travel Requests

- Supplemental Faculty Development Requests

- New Staffing Proposals Example of "Call for Staffing Proposals"

8) Request CFO attends FIDC meeting to provide committee guidance.

sample CFO questions

9) Review the "Monmouth College Faculty Development Release" call from the Dean's Office. First, is this program still in operation? (send note to Dean) This call optimally will go out late Sept.

FIDC can request last year's call from the Dean's assistant, after review, the document will be sent out by the Dean's assistant.

Example Call

Proposed criteria

10) Generate and review the October "Electronic Report to the Faculty"

sample e-report

Sample Meeting Agenda

1) Approval of minutes from previous meeting.

2) Old Business

3) Continuing Business (Report and Discussion)

a) Faculty position requests

b) Non-Science Funds

c) Student Travel Funds

d) Supplemental Faculty Development Funds

e) Public Affairs Funds

4) New Business

5) Review of Processes Document

Faculty Position Requests (including Sabbatical Replacements)

FIDC is to "recommend, in consultation with administrative officers, faculty replacements, new faculty positions or faculty reductions." There are three separate requests that involve FIDC making a recommendation to the Dean regarding staffing: 1) request to Replace a Vacant Faculty/Staff Position(s), 2) request to Add a New Faculty/Staff Position(s), and 3) request for a Sabbatical Replacement.

Requests to Replace Vacant Faculty/Staff Position(s)

Faculty/Staff replacements are accepted at any time from departments or programs as a direct result of faculty retirement or resignations. Requests to fill vacant faculty are submitted directly to FIDC. The committee will review the request and make a recommendation to the Dean of Faculty who will ultimately make the final approval to search/hire. The submitter will be copied on the email recommendation to the Dean, with further discussions facilitated by the Dean.

The request to replace vacant faculty positions should be 1/2 - 1 page. FIDC strongly suggests that you include a clear documentation of the person who previously held the position and information regarding the "workload" of the previous faculty; for instance the "numbers" ie. course enrollment, # of dept majors/minors, etc. This information will help the committee in making its recommendation.

After receiving the request, FIDC may request additional information. If you have any questions while preparing the request, please feel free to contact the committee. Once FIDC makes a recommendation to the Dean, this issue is considered closed.

FIDC can make a variety of recommendations to the Dean including:

1) hire tenure-line replacement,

2) hire term (1-3 year) replacement,

3) do not recommend that the position be filled.

Request to Add a New Faculty/Staff Position(s)

FIDC will make a general call for new faculty/staff positions in the fall semester (late Sept?) which are due generally in mid-October, but has been extended to as late as Jan 15th. The following email is to be sent to the faculty in late fall. The example email below indicates a deadline of Nov 6th...this Nov deadline has generally occurred in previous years; in 2017 the deadline was extended to Jan 15th, since it was determined that no "new" hiring would be done before February.

example Staffing Proposal email

Request for Sabbatical Replacement(s)

Programs/Departments may make a request for a sabbatical replacement directly to the Dean of the Faculty/VP of Academic Affairs. These requests directly to the Dean will be for a 1 term or one year replacements. If a multiple term (>3) request is made, it must first go through FIDC for a recommendation.

Review of Crowdfunding Proposals

The Development Office in conjunction with the Dean of the Faculty had asked FIDC to review Crowdfunding proposals during the first few years of this program (2016-2018). The round of proposals collected during the fall of 2018 were NOT reviewed by FIDC and it was determined that such review by FIDC was not necessary and hence will not be done in future years. (BES, Jan 2019).

Non-Science Equipment Fund

FIDC’s Guidelines for Non-Science Equipment Fund (revised Sept, 2018)

Funding requests for equipment designated for scholarly work or for classroom/lab work may be made to the non-science pool. Requests should be for less than $500; larger requests will be considered at the end of the funding cycle if the budget is not depleted. Requests may be made for single item or a group of items. Each request should include a description of the item(s), the cost of the item(s), and the item(s) functional purpose. Small requests (<$300) may be approved by the FIDC Non-Science pool manager, while larger requests will be reviewed by the entire committee. Funds from this pool will not be used for the purchase of computer software as this should be covered by departmental funds, if available. Software requests should be directed to the Dean of the Faculty. Requests for a computer, a computer peripheral, or other specialized equipment cannot be considered, unless the NS pool is designated for specific curriculum-related items. Any requests by an FIDC member will be reviewed by the entire committee. The non-science equipment pool manager will report all requests to the entire committee. The non-science equipment pool manager will regularly report distribution of pool funds and balance of pool funds through the monthly FIDC e-report to the faculty.

History

(Sept 2017) The term "non-science pool" was used as a contrast to the "science pool" that funds the equipment needs of the science faculty. The "science pool" is funded primarily through an endowment but the College does contribute based on the conditions of the fund agreement.

(8/12/18): During the fall 2018, the "science departments" were notified that the science pool will now be referred to as the LeSuer Endowment and the funds in this pool will be distributed between Chemistry (66-2/3 %) and Biology (33-1/3 %) according to the fund agreement. Previous departments who once used science pool funds (Psychology and Physics) will no longer have direct access to these funds. Physics can receive any excess funds not spent by Chemistry of Biology. The outcome of this notification is that Psychology and Physics should now be eligible to request funds from the non-science pool, since this pool of money was to balance out funds available to the science departments, now only Chem and Biol. This notification should also result in a name change from non-science pool to something different.

Purpose and Procedures

The non-science pool was established to fund general financial requests from non-science faculty.

Criteria and Proscriptions

Any faculty or staff may submit a proposal to this fund.

Funding Amounts

Typical requests are for less than $500, but larger requests will be considered.

Application Procedure

Each written request (email ok) should include a description of the item(s), the cost of the item(s), and how the item(s) will be used. Small requests (<$300) may be approved by the FIDC non-science pool manager, while larger requests will be reviewed by the entire committee. Requests by a standing FIDC members will be reviewed by the entire committee.

Reimbursement

Reimbursements can be submitted through the Dean's office.

Committee Process

A formal call for proposals will not be made, 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)

Student Travel Authorization Form (revised July 2013)

THE MONMOUTH COLLEGE Reimbursement Policy for Travel on College Business (revised July 2015)

The Student Travel Fund is to be used to support faculty members who wish to travel with students in order to enhance academic learning goals. The most straightforward requests would involve local travel directly related to course content (ex. biology faculty member teaching BIOL XYZ taking students to a local fish hatchery). Faculty members apply for these funds using the following guidelines.

History

$15K -$20K of funds have been historically budgeted.

Name of fund:

This fund was once called the "Instructional Student Travel (IST) pool"

This fund has been referred to as the Student Travel fund.

This fund has been referred to as the faculty-student travel fund.

Old FIDC’s Guidelines for IST (revised September, 2009)

Old Student Travel Authorization Form (revised July 2013)

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 this should be sent to the faculty within the first few weeks of the fall semester. The sample 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 (see links to current forms above).

Questions: is there a formula for student travel? Is there a max $$ per student amount? Will this fund pay for international travel or airline cost?

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.

History

In order to facilitate "professional development" for tenured, tenure-track, and continuing faculty members, the Monmouth College administration has allocated funds for this purpose. Prior 2015, these funds were once placed into an account called "individual travel account," but since these funds are not always used for travel, the fund was renamed "Individual Professional Development" fund in 2015. It has been general practice to allocate $1,000 per faculty member to this fund with a maximum of $2,000 in the account at any given time. In 2015, there was an additional $500 (total of $1,500) allocation due to a successful "trustee challenge."

In 2015 Dean David Timmerman sent out a "Revised Policy for Individual Professional Development Accounts" that outlined the acceptable use of these faculty development funds. It was requested that FIDC remind the faculty of this policy in an electronic report to the faculty. The most recent email read:

Monmouth faculty members are able to use a portion of the annual Professional Development funds toward non-travel expenses up to a maximum of $250.00 per year. These funds may be used for the following purposes by requesting payment or submitting receipts through the Academic Affairs Office:

• Annual membership dues in academic and professional organizations. This will not include lifetime membership fees;

• Entry fees for art and creative writing contests;

• Page and subvention fees for publication in academic and professional journals;

• Tuition for ongoing education; and,

• Material costs for scholarship, research, and creative activity up to $250.00 per year, including (but not limited to) items such as books, computer software, and supplies for creative work. Requests for materials in excess of $250.00 in a given year will be considered by the Faculty and Institutional Development Committee utilizing the Supplemental Faculty Development Fund overseen by the Committee. Application for such should be made, initially, to the chair of that committee.

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.

Proposal

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.

Sabbatical Requests

Example Letter form the Dean/VPAA

- Only Tenured/Tenure-track faculty are eligible for a sabbatical leave.

- Faculty eligible for sabbatical will be notified directly by the Dean/VPAA's Office via email (the Dean/VPAA maintains a master list of faculty).

-

Purpose and Procedures

From the Faculty Manual (ie. Manual of Personnel Policies and Procedures for the faculty)

3.1.3. Sabbatical Leaves

Monmouth College maintains a sabbatical leave program for all tenured full-time faculty members. The sabbatical program benefits the College by providing periodic opportunities for professional development which result in an improved learning environment, up-to-date faculty knowledge or greater teaching effectiveness. This is consistent with the mission of the College. In many cases faculty members undertake activities which also result in publications, presentations at professional meetings and the like. These multiple outcomes are encouraged, but the primary focus remains on the benefits to both the faculty member and the College in terms of the quality of education which students experience as a result of the leave program.

3.1.3.1. Approval

Sabbatical leave is granted when a member of the faculty proposes and receives approval for a program of study which is deemed worthy. Approval of sabbatical leave is by the President acting upon the recommendations of the Faculty and Institutional Development Committee and the Vice President for Academic Affairs/Dean of the Faculty.

Funding Amounts

A faculty member is granted $500 to be spent during their sabbatical leave.

Application Procedure

The following items are to be included in the proposal:

1) The general purpose of the sabbatical and a description of your proposed project (500 words minimum).

2) List of any fellowships, scholarships or grants that you have requested or intend to apply for in support of the sabbatical.

3) The benefits of the sabbatical project for yourself, the department, and the College.

4) Estimation of expenses; each person on sabbatical receives up to $500.00 to support the project. Other funds may be available through supplemental Faculty Professional Development Fund (sFPDF) allocated by FIDC.

5) A one or two paragraph abstract which can be used for publicity purposes (e.g., Trustee reports, press releases).

6) A recommendation from your department/program chair proposing how essential duties can be covered while you are on leave and any replacement needs.

FIDC Review Criteria

1) Are all requested items provided.

2) As noted in the Faculty Manual, will the proposed professional development activities result in:

- an improved learning environment?

- up-to-date faculty knowledge?

- greater teaching effectiveness?

- publication or presentation?

3) Will the faculty member benefit from the proposed?

4) Will the College benefit from the proposed?

Additional Comments

- Upon return from the sabbatical, a public presentation on your sabbatical work will be delivered to the faculty during the 20202021 year. These are typically given during a Friday colloquium slot but can be given on other days of the week.

- Faculty are required to return for a minimum of two semesters of full-time teaching following a sabbatical leave.

Public Affairs Fund

Purpose and Procedures

2018 Call for Public Affairs Funding

Any faculty, staff or student group may request funding from the Monmouth College Public Affairs Fund. The purpose of this fund is to provide the community with educationally enriching programs that support and complement the College’s mission and purposes. The Faculty and Institutional Development Committee (FIDC) and Karen Ogorzalek, Associate Dean of Students and Director of Campus Events (KARENO@monmouthcollege.edu) manages the disbursement of funds; the Named Speaker Funds, funds made available to the College for specific departmentally sponsored programs for the campus community.

The "Call for Proposals" Example here goes out in early spring for the following academic year. Funds not spent/allocated can be requested at any time.

Criteria and Proscriptions

The Public Affairs Fund gives priority to requests that:

• Are interdisciplinary/multidisciplinary in nature
• Appeal to a wide audience
• Include events/speakers that reach beyond Monmouth College’s campus
• Reward positive first experiences or demonstrate a willingness to adjust to make the experience more positive

Funding Amounts

~$35K

Application Procedure

online at: monmouthcollege.edu/fidc-fund-request

Reimbursement

See Karen Ogorzalek, Associate Dean of Students and Director of Campus Events (KARENO@monmouthcollege.edu)

College Operating Budget Procedures

FIDC is to work with the Dean and CFO in order to generate the "guidelines" associated with requesting operating budgets. It has been practice that all "cost centers" (departments and other academic groups) were required to complete a budget and submit for review for FIDC, Dean, and CFO. In 2017-2018, when the request for budgets was made, it was stated that the budgets for the 2018-2019 academic year would be "flat" (no change) unless there were some extenuating curcumstances. This change is procedures should continue into the coming years since it saved a significant amount of administrative time. All departments are strongly encouraged to review their budgets, but unless change is desired, no formal paperwork will need to be submitted.