Academic Curricular Program Directors
OFFICIAL DIVISIONAL POLICY
Policy regarding Academic Curricular Program Directors
Contents
2.0 Duties of an Academic Curricular Program Director
4.0 Evaluation of Program Directors
5.0 Compensation (Including Release Time)
6.0 Appointment of Program Directors
7.0 Policy Manager and Responsible Party or Office
8.0 Departments/Offices Affected by this Policy
9.0 Procedures Related to this Policy
10.0 Related Policies, Documents or Forms
1.0 Purpose
A Department Chair is often responsible for directing one or more undergraduate majors and/or minors in degree programs and/or certificate programs. Occasionally, a departmental or interdisciplinary curricular academic program is sufficiently complex to require a part-time administrator other than a Department Chair, or a Department Chair is not otherwise suitable for appointment to supervise a specific Academic Program. In such cases, a tenured faculty member normally shall be assigned administrative responsibility for the coordination and oversight of the program as a Program Director.1 This Policy has been developed to clarify the reporting lines, process of evaluation, and responsibilities of these part-time administrators and to provide guidelines for their compensation and appointment.
2.0 Qualifications and Duties of an Academic Curricular Program Director
For the Director of each major in a degree program, the SACSCOC Principles of Accreditation require that the institution assign responsibility for program coordination, as well as for curriculum development and review, to persons academically qualified in the field. At the College of Charleston, credential guidelines for Program Directors are outlined in the Divisional Policy on Instructors of Record and Faculty Credentials. In the case of an interdisciplinary Academic Program or a Academic Department housing two or more degree programs that are not strongly related, a Program Director might not be academically qualified in each teaching discipline. In that case, additional faculty who play a lead role in the advising of students and the development and review of curriculum should be identified on the Program Director credentials form. Directors of academic minors and certificate programs should meet the same criteria for Academic Program direction.
The title of Program Director is used to describe part-time administrative appointments of faculty to leadership positions in various curricular programs. Directors normally have some or all of the following responsibilities, as specified in the letters of appointment and written descriptions of each position:
2.1 Coordination: ensure effective communication and cooperation with faculty, staff, students, chairs and deans as necessary and with the community as appropriate to assure the effective administration of the program.
2.2 Student recruitment: attract and retain appropriate numbers of students to programs where minors, majors or graduate degrees are offered.
2.3 Curriculum development: lead program faculty in the development of the curriculum and manage the processes of curricular change and review. As appropriate, chair the program curriculum committee or serve as ex officio member of the program curriculum committee.
2.4 Scheduling, staffing of courses, and enrollment management: staffing and scheduling of classes, including monitoring and managing enrollments; coordinating with chairs the assignment of faculty to teach and advise in the program; ensuring faculty teaching online courses have the requisite training; managing workload of faculty residing in the program; and supervising classified staff assigned to the program.
2.5 Credentialing of faculty: Ensuring that all faculty assigned to courses are appropriately qualified and formally credentialed.
2.6 Transfer credit: evaluate requests for transfer credit of courses, as forwarded by the Registrar’s Office.
2.7 Evaluation of faculty: contribute to the evaluation of program faculty by providing input to department chairs or deans as requested.
2.8 Advising: advise students and coordinate the advising done by other program faculty.
2.9 Planning: prepare planning documents (goals and objectives) for the program.
2.10 Assessment: develop an assessment plan; coordinate assessment activities; report results and plans for improvement; prepare for internal and external program reviews as appropriate.
2.11 Annual report: prepare and submit an annual report to the chair and dean (and Dean of the Graduate School, in the case of a graduate program).
2.12 Budgeting: prepare annual budget request and administer program budget accounts (where appropriate and in conjunction with chairs and deans).
2.13 Summer duties: be available on a limited basis during the summer months for the effective management of the program.
While the duties of a Program Director for an interdisciplinary program are virtually the same as those of a discipline-based Program Director, there is often more need for coordination with other academic units in the case of interdisciplinary programs.
3.0 Reporting Lines
The Program Director of a discipline-based degree program (undergraduate or graduate) or a disciplinary minor housed in an Academic Department is recommended by, reports to and serves at the pleasure of the Department Chair, subject to the approval of the relevant Dean and the Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs (hereafter, "Provost").
The Program Director of an interdisciplinary program is recommended by and serves at the pleasure of the Dean of the school in which the program resides (the "program Dean"), subject to the approval of the Provost. The Program Director of an interdisciplinary program may report to the Dean, the Associate Dean, or the Assistant Dean of the school in which the program resides.
The program Dean will consult with the Chair of the Academic Department or Academic Program in which the faculty member is housed, prior to recommending the appointment to the Provost. In those cases where more than one school is involved in the program, the program Dean will assume responsibility for involving the Department Chair(s), Program Director(s), and other Dean(s) in the initial appointment and oversight of the relevant Program Director.
Typically, the Program Director is appointed for a fixed term (renewable) not to exceed five years.
4.0 Evaluation of Program Directors
In the case of a discipline-based program, the Department Chair evaluates the Program Director on his/her performance, both as a faculty member, in the areas of teaching, research and professional development, and service, and as the administrator of a curricular program.
In the case of an interdisciplinary Academic Program, the program Dean, Associate Dean, or Assistant Dean will evaluate the Program Director's performance as the administrator of a curricular program, and the Department Chair will evaluate the Program Director's performance as a faculty member in the areas of teaching, research and professional development, and service.
The Dean of the school in which the faculty member resides (the "home" Dean), who may also be the program Dean, will complete an overall evaluation of the faculty member, incorporating input from both sources and addressing both components of performance. All individual evaluations of the Program Director's faculty and administrative work should be appended to the faculty member's overall evaluation.
In the case of graduate programs, the Dean of the Graduate School will provide written input to either the Department Chair, in the case of a disciplinary program, or the program Dean (or the Dean’s designee), in the case of an interdisciplinary program. Such input should be appended to the faculty member’s overall evaluation.
The Department Chair, Associate Dean, Assistant Dean, or program Dean, as appropriate, may also request input from program faculty in evaluating the administrative performance of the Program Director.
The home Dean will provide a recommendation on any merit raise to the Provost, incorporating input and recommendations from the Department Chair and program Dean as appropriate.
5.0 Compensation (Including Release Time)
The Dean recommends a compensation level for each Program Director position within his or her school based on the size and/or complexity of the program to the Provost, who approves the compensation level. The following guidelines are provided, with the understanding that Deans and Department Chairs are best able to judge the extent to which the duties of a particular position require compensation.
When possible, Department Chairs and Deans will attempt to accommodate the Program Director’s assignment through the service requirements of the faculty member’s load. Should additional compensation be appropriate, this may take the form of a stipend, course release, or both. In particular, the Program Director may receive both a stipend and a course release in cases where the program size and duties require a significant commitment of time, including during periods the faculty member is not normally under contract. A Department Chair may direct a program but will not normally receive additional compensation for that work.
In determining an appropriate level of compensation, a Dean or Department Chair should consider the minimum amount of work required for one 3-credit-hour course release (or its equivalent in terms of student credit hours) as equivalent to approximately 9-10 hours per week. Program Directors may be released by the Department Chair, with the approval of the Dean and Provost, from no courses, one course an academic year, one course per semester, or an appropriate combination of course release that accurately reflects the amount of work required for the position.
6.0 Appointment of Program Directors
The Dean requests appointment of a Program Director through submission to the Provost of (1) a request for appointment specifying date and term of appointment, specific detail on responsibilities as necessary, and compensation, and (2) a statement of the credentials of the faculty member qualifying the faculty member for this appointment. Upon approval by the Provost, the Office of the Provost will complete the appointment, with the appointment letter to be copied to the Chair of the department in which the faculty member resides, the Program Director’s Dean, the home school Dean and the Graduate School Dean, as appropriate, in addition to the appropriate personnel in Business Affairs.
From time to time, the President of the College may modify the terms and conditions under which the President’s signatory authority is delegated to the Provost or to other administrators at the College. Should the current Policy conflict with the provisions of any Presidential direction regarding signatory authority, the President’s directions in such matters shall prevail. To the fullest extent possible, this Policy shall be interpreted as consistent with whatever guidance has been provided by the President regarding the delegation of signatory authority.
7.0 Policy Manager and Responsible Department or Office
Provost (or Provost’s Designee), Office of the Provost
8.0 Departments/Offices Affected by this Policy
Office of the Provost
All Academic Deans, Departments, and Academic Programs
Graduate School
9.0 Procedures Related to this Policy
Such Procedures may be developed and published by the Office of the Provost, consistent with other College and Divisional Policies.
10.0 Related Policies, Documents or Forms
Faculty/Administration Manual
College Policy 7.8.1, “Policy on Creation, Reorganization, and Elimination of Academic Units”
Divisional Policy, “Instructors of Record and Faculty Credentials”
11.0 Review Schedule
Approved: July 1997
Revised: February 2005
Revised: February 2013
Revised: August 2016
Revised: September 2016
Next Review Date: October 1, 2021
1 The title of director is also appropriate for those administering institutes and centers, consistent with the provisions of College Policy 7.8.1. Directors of such units typically will have different or additional duties and responsibilities that have been detailed in their letters of appointment and individual position descriptions.