Scope

All committees of the Bloomington Faculty Council.

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Policy Statement

Responsibilities of the standing committees

1. Standing committees, save the Budgetary Affairs Committee and the Nomination Committee, shall schedule meetings at least monthly and be provided with staff support managed by the Director of Faculty Council Offices.
2. Minutes for each committee, save the Budgetary Affairs, Nomination and Executive committees, should be prepared within two weeks of each meeting, and posted on the Bloomington Faculty Council website after approval at the subsequent meeting.
3. Committee chairs are expected to attend a brief orientation prior to the start of the fall semester. Details about that session will be circulated by the Faculty Council as far in advance as possible.
4. Terms on standing committees are for one year. Anyone interested in serving on a committee for additional years, must be reappointed by the Nomination Committee. No person, elected or appointed, may serve as a member of the Executive Committee for more than seven consecutive years.
5. At the beginning of each academic year, the Executive Committee will task each standing committee with items to do for the year. Standing committees should report back to the Executive Committee regularly on their progress on those items. Standing committees may also initiate their own proposals for Council action, but should keep the Executive Committee apprised of any new projects.

Duties of the standing committees

1. The Benefits Committee is a standing committee with a primarily consultative role. It shall serve as a liaison to IU Human Resources (IUHR) to provide faculty feedback to on benefits policies and their implementation. In addition, the committee communicates with the VPFAA office to represent faculty concerns and queries with regard to the implementation of academic appointee benefits that do not fall under the purview of IUHR. The committee should report annually to the BFC regarding and HR programs, changes or initiatives of which the faculty should be aware.
2. The Budgetary Affairs Committee (BAC) shall act as a representative of the Council in offering to the Provost About This Policy Effective Date: Date Last Updated: Date Administering Office: Bloomington Faculty Council Related Information BFC Bylaws B38-2022 and criticism on all aspects of the Bloomington Campus budgetary policy and the allocation of the Bloomington Campus financial resources, especially those proposed allocations and re-allocations of financial resources that have bearing on the economic well-being of the faculty and academic staff. Among others, the committee's responsibilities shall include:
   1. Considering the relative allocations of the University's resources with respect to new programs and significant changes in existing programs.
   2. Considering the setting of priorities with regard to capital outlays.
   3. Considering the setting of general faculty salary policies. 
   4. Reporting annually to the Bloomington Faculty Council regarding the prior year’s budget process.
3. The Constitution and Rules Committee (CARC) regularly shall evaluate the Constitution of the Bloomington Faculty and the operation of the Council's rules, shall receive and initiate proposals for modifications, and shall advise the Council on the desirability of these modifications. In addition, it shall advise officers or committees of the Council on questions concerning the interpretation of the Constitution of the Bloomington Faculty or the Council rules, which do not arise in the course of a Council meeting. The Parliamentarian shall chair this committee.
4. The Creation, Reorganization, Elimination and Merger Committee (CREM) is a standing committee charged with monitoring and safeguarding the legislative authority of the faculty over CREM initiatives. The committee is governed by policy BL-ACA-D16, Creation, Reorganization, Elimination, and Merger of Academic Units and Programs.
5. The Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee (DEIC) is a standing committee with a primarily consultative role. It shall serve as a liaison to the office of the vice provost for diversity and inclusion to collaborate on initiatives and services to enhance those efforts for faculty across the campus. In addition, the committee oversees the awarding of the BFC Inclusive Excellence Award. The committee should report annually to the BFC regarding progress, challenges, and recommendations with regard to diversity and inclusion issues.
6. The Educational Policies Committee (EPC) is the standing committee charged with executing the legislative authority of the faculty on matters pertaining to the educational mission of the campus, including but not limited to, policies and procedures related to teaching, curriculum, general education, admissions and the academic calendar. It shall consult with administrative offices connected to the undergraduate education, graduate education, enrollment and the office of the registrar, and bring pertinent matters to the BFC for discussion and vote. 
7. The Faculty Affairs Committee (FAC) is the standing committee charged with executing the legislative authority of the faculty on matters pertaining to the rights, privileges, and responsibilities of academic appointees, including, but not limited to, policies and procedures related to issues of academic freedom, appointments, tenure and promotion, compensation, and working conditions. It shall consult with the office of the vice provost for faculty and academic affairs and other relevant campus administrators about issues affecting the faculty; and bring pertinent matters to the BFC for discussion and vote.
8. The International Affairs Committee (IAC) is the standing committee that solicits feedback on international policies and programs (current or to be developed) and likewise provides feedback and serves as a conduit for concerns from IUB faculty to the Office of the Vice President for International Affairs. In addition, the IAC serves as a link to solicit and provide feedback on international students’ conditions and concerns to the relevant student organizations, BFC committees, and/or administrative office at IU Bloomington.
9. The Libraries Committee’s purpose is to be well informed concerning current library policies, functions, and collections, and to advise and collaborate with the Ruth Lilly Dean of the University Libraries in order to advance the mission of the University. The committee and Dean regularly update the Bloomington Faculty Council on matters concerning the Libraries. B38-2022
10. The Long Range Planning Committee (LRPC) is a standing committee with a primarily consultative role. It monitors national trends in higher education as well as the Bloomington campus environment affecting teaching, research, and service, and strategize ways to support faculty into the future. It should alert the BFC to significant issues that may affect faculty interests, and the committee should be consulted when faculty are engaged in strategic planning processes at the campus level.
11. The Nomination Committee is responsible for conduction elections of the Bloomington Faculty Council per these Bylaws, nominating faculty to stand for election to BFC elected committees, and appointing faculty to the various standing committees of the BFC. The Nomination Committee also works closely with the Executive Committee on making appointments to ad hoc committees and task forces.
12. The Research Affairs Committee (RAC) is the standing committee charged with executing the legislative authority of the faculty on matters pertaining to the research mission of the campus, including, but not limited to, issues related to intellectual property, and initiatives that support and encourage the research interests of faculty. It shall consult with the office of the vice provost for research and the office of the vice president for research; and bring pertinent matters to the BFC for discussion and vote.
13. The Student Affairs Committee (SAC) is the standing committee charged with executing the legislative authority of the faculty on matters pertaining to student-faculty relations, including but not limited to, campus student conduct and discipline, student wellbeing and success outside of the classroom experience. It shall consult with the office of the vice provost and dean of students, and bring pertinent matters to the BFC for discussion and vote.
14. The Technology Policy Committee (TPC) is a standing committee with a primarily consultative role. It shall consult with and represent faculty interests in technology applications with the office of the Vice President for Information Technology and the various subdivisions of this office pertaining to technology issues on the Bloomington Campus.
    
    

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Procedures

Committee selection process

1. Each spring the Nomination Committee will solicit faculty volunteers for the next academic year’s standing committees. Concurrently, the Nomination Committee will reach out to existing committee chairs and members to ask if they are interested in serving again. 
2. The Nomination Committee must consider committee appointments while keeping in mind diversity in all aspects including, but not limited to, ethnic, gender, discipline and tenured/tenure-track or non-tenure-track status. In addition, a guiding principle for populating committees should be to strike a balance between continuity from year to year and the introduction of new faculty, perspectives and ideas.
3. After consultation with individual Council members to determine the most effective distribution of talents and preference, the Nomination Committee shall appoint at least one Council member to each standing committee. Where reasonably possible, every elected member of the Council—including students and associate instructors—shall serve on a committee of the Council. Members of the Council who serve as liaison to faculty and librarian election unit policy committees, or equivalents, shall have that participation in Council work recognized as committee service.
4. The Nomination Committee shall designate the chairs or co-chairs of the standing committees for the following academic year. Whenever possible, chairs and co-chairs will serve for two years, and the Nomination Committee will reappoint chairs and co-chairs for a second year.
5. Whenever appropriate, each standing committee should have a designated ex officio member from the IU Bloomington administration. Ex officio members of the committee who are voting members of the Bloomington Faculty Council shall have voting rights on the committee. All other ex officio members are non-voting members of the committee.
6. Additional non-Council faculty members, administrators, students, associate instructors and staff may be appointed to each committee by the Nomination Committee. The Nomination Committee shall solicit recommendations from faculty and librarian unit policy committees, or equivalent, for committee appointments in order to facilitate communication between council and school committees with similar responsibilities.
7. Student representatives on committees are appointed by the IU Student Government and the Graduate and Professional Student Government. The following committee should have 1 graduate and 1 undergraduate student representative.
   1. Diversity Equity and Inclusion Committee
   2. Educational Policy Committee
   3. International Affairs Committee
   4. Research Affairs Committee
   5. Student Affairs Committee
   6. Technology Policies Committee
8. Each committee may, itself, select additional members, appoint co-chairs, and create and staff subcommittees in consultation with the Executive Committee.
9. Committee organization for an academic year shall be completed, as early as possible before the beginning of the fall semester.

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History

Policy established April 2022

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