Faculty of Humanities Operating Structure

COMMITTEE STRUCTURE
The Faculty of Humanities has established the following standing committees:

• Advisory Committee to the Associate Dean
• Committee on Committees
• Curriculum and Academic Standards Committee
• Faculty Advisory Committee
• Humanities Computing Committee
• Teaching Excellence Award Selection Committee

The Dean, on the advice of, and in consultation with the Chairs and Directors of the Faculty, may establish other committees, either on an ongoing basis or for a limited duration, to deal with business outside the terms of reference of any of the standing committees of the Faculty.

FACULTY GOVERNANCE
In accordance with the Senate motion of 1 May 2009, the Faculty of Humanities defines its membership to include all part and full-time regular faculty members, including those on Limited Term appointments, appointed to a Department within the Faculty. In addition, the following groups will have a standing invitation to provide one representative each to attend Faculty meetings, and these representatives will be granted full voting privileges except on issues that present a conflict of interest:

Meetings of the Faculty are scheduled monthly September through May of each year. Additional exceptional meetings may be called by the Dean as necessary. Fifteen (15) members of the Faculty of Humanities constitutes a quorum at meetings of the Faculty. The Dean is the Chair of the Faculty meeting.

Under the terms of Policy GV0660 (formerly #1025) the Dean of a Faculty has the responsibility to “consult when formulating policy and reaching decisions in order to maintain an atmosphere of collegiality and cooperation in the University community.” In the Faculty of Humanities this is facilitated by the regular meetings of the Faculty and, on a more frequent basis, of the Chairs of its departments. These meetings are to allow for a full and free discussion of matters of departmental, Faculty, and University concern in the formative stages of policy-making and decision-taking and, in this way, they serve as a vital channel of communication. The “Strategic Plan for the Faculty of Humanities” from December 1999 indicates in its action point 9 that Faculty meetings should especially be devoted to regular annual reports on the budget, anticipated retirements and sessional replacement budgets, equity, research and teaching within the Faculty, and relations with the Library.

The Dean will schedule meetings of departmental Chairs [in the case of unavoidable absence, a delegate may be sent] and the Associate Dean at least once a month September through May. Attending the meetings is a part of a Chair’s assigned duties.

Meetings of the Humanities and Social Sciences Interdisciplinary Program Directors Council serve the same general purpose as the meetings of departmental Chairs, while recognizing the different mandates and responsibilities of Chairs and Program Directors. The meetings of the Council are devoted to discussion of issues and concerns, for formulation of policy and program development, and for ensuring full communication between the Program Directors and the Deans. Meetings will be held on a regular basis September through May; attending the meetings is a part of a Program Director's assigned duties. The Deans of the two faculties have delegated responsibility for chairing the meetings of the Interdisciplinary Program Directors Council to the Associate Deans of both faculties (who will chair alternate meetings). Directors invited to the meetings will include those with responsibility for Faculty-level (i.e., non-departmentalized) Majors and for interdisciplinary Minors which either of the two faculties have a role in offering.

I. MEMBERSHIP
The Advisory Committee to the Associate Dean shall have the following members:

i) Five members from different departments in the Faculty, appointed by the Faculty on the recommendation of the Committee on Committees, for a term of two years;

The Committee on Committees nominates new members and secures their agreement to serve, for approval at the April meeting of the Faculty of Humanities. The Dean will send letters of appointment to the new members.

II. RESPONSIBILITIES
The Committee shall advise the Associate Dean when requested on matters relevant to the Associate Dean's mandate, with a focus on issues surrounding the research culture of the Faculty of Humanities.

• the Faculty of Humanities Award for Excellence in Research
• the Humanities Faculty Fellowship
• the Faculty's annual long-term Lansdowne visitor
• the Humanities Interdisciplinary Fellowship for graduate students
• the Scottish Studies Faculty Fellowship
• the Scottish Studies Graduate Student Scholarship

The Committee shall advise the Associate Dean when requested on other matters relevant to the Associate Dean's mandate.

The Committee may appoint ad hoc members to assist the Committee in the performance of its duties. The Committee will report to the Faculty each April on its activities of the year.

COMMITTEE ON COMMITTEES

I MEMBERSHIP
The Committee shall have four members, each serving two-year staggered terms beginning on July 1st. Membership on this Committee is by election conducted through the Office of the Dean of Humanities in April of each year. Nominations will be solicited from the Faculty. The Dean will secure the agreement of those nominated to stand for election. The slate of candidates will be submitted to the Faculty for a selection by a secret ballot. Ties will be broken by the toss of a coin. If no nominations are received for a vacancy, such a vacancy is filled on recommendation of the Committee on Committees. The Dean will send a letter of appointment to new members and will appoint one of the members as Chair of the committee. The Dean may not serve on the committee.

II RESPONSIBILITIES
The function of the Committee on Committees is to nominate to the Faculty members as required for the Advisory Committee to the Associate Dean, the Curriculum and Academic Standards Committee, and the Teaching Excellence Award Selection Committee. Nominees will be solicited by an open call to all faculty members.

• To consider Major Curriculum Changes and Minor Curriculum Changes at the undergraduate level.
• To determine and announce annually the deadline for receipt of curriculum proposals (currently July 1). This announcement shall be accompanied by a copy of current guidelines concerning the format of submissions. Consideration of any late submissions must first be authorized by the Dean.
• To review annually the regulations of the Faculty as published in the Calendar, with a view to recommending any necessary or desirable changes to the Faculty.
• To examine on a continuing basis the entire Calendar entry for all constituent units of the Faculty, with a view to making that entry as clear, consistent and accurate as possible.
• To consider curricular matters which may be referred to it from time to time by the President, the Dean, the Senate, the Faculty, the University Secretary, or any Department or Committee of the Faculty.
• To assess the summaries of curricular proposals circulated (usually in November) by other Faculties, and to respond to them as appropriate when they affect the Faculty of Humanities.
• To submit an annual report to the Faculty summarizing any issues that have arisen and recommending any changes that would make the curriculum revision process more effective.
In addition, the Committee will also consider matters related to academic standards and, in particular, shall:
• Advise the Faculty on matters concerning academic standards, criteria for admission and grading practices.
• Advise the Faculty on matters concerning standards, which are referred to the Faculty by the Senate.

II MEMBERSHIP
Six regular Faculty members from Humanities, normally on staggered three-year terms, with no more than one member from any unit of the Faculty; normally members will have experience in curriculum matters. Two students majoring in Humanities, on one-year terms: these members will be nominated by the UVSS at the request of the Chair of the Committee. Ex officio and voting: the Dean or a nominee (normally a member of the Advising Centre); ex officio and non-voting: the University Librarian or a nominee. Additional ex officio non-voting members may be appointed by the committee. The quorum of the Committee shall be four Faculty members.

III APPOINTMENT OF FACULTY MEMBERS
Nominations for the Faculty positions (normally two) to be filled for the following academic year will be made by the Committee on Committees, from among the eligible members of the Faculty of Humanities. These nominations will be submitted to the Faculty for approval at a meeting in the Spring term. "Eligible members" will be regular Faculty members from Departments other than those currently represented on the Committee, who are not currently serving on the Faculty Advisory Committee , and who will not be on leave in the Fall of that year. If a continuing member of the Committee plans to be on leave in the Fall Term, the Committee on Committees shall find a replacement.

IV EXECUTIVE
The outgoing Committee shall elect the Chair for the following year from among the continuing members at a meeting in the Fall. When necessary and appropriate, the Chair shall recommend the naming of a Vice-Chair and a Secretary of the Committee. The Chair, Vice-Chair and Secretary shall together constitute the Executive of the Curriculum Committee. The Executive shall carry out the business of the Committee between the meetings of the Committee, subject to the approval of the Committee or on specific instructions from the Committee.

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I COMPOSITION OF THE COMMITTEE
1. a. The Faculty Advisory Committee will consist of five elected tenured members from the Faculty of Humanities, plus an elected alternate from Humanities. The Alternate will replace any regular member when a candidate under consideration comes from the same Department as that regular member or when that regular member has a potential conflict of interest in a specific case. A majority vote of 3-2 will be considered a decisive recommendation.

b. Candidates for a continuing appointment, tenure or promotion whose activities have a focus that lies in some other Faculty will have their cases reviewed by a Faculty Advisory Committee that includes a member from that other Faculty, if candidates request this option, in keeping with the provisions of the Framework Agreement article 32.3 (d). Requests for this option will be initiated by the candidate through a written request to the Dean of Humanities by September 30.

c. No formal business of the Committee will be conducted without the Dean or the Dean's representative being present at the meeting.

d. The Committee will select its own Chair and Vice-Chair from among its voting members.

2. Chairs and Acting Chairs of Departments will be ineligible for membership on the Committee.

3. a. Persons being considered for promotion in a given year may not serve on the Committee in that year.

b. No more than one person from each Department will be permitted to sit on the Committee.

II ROLE OF THE COMMITTEE
1. The Faculty Advisory Committee is an Advisory Committee to the Dean, passing its recommendation regarding a continuing appointment, promotion or tenure in a given case to the Dean, who then passes this recommendation on to the President, along with his/her recommendation on the case.

2. The Committee evaluates the specific case made by the candidate and by the Department, ensuring that the standards applied meet those set out in articles 15.2, 16.3 and 18 of the Framework Agreement.

3. In sum, the Faculty Advisory Committee's role is an advisory one. The Faculty Advisory Committee assists the Dean in making recommendations regarding a continuing appointment, tenure and promotion. The primary duty of the Faculty Advisory Committee is to ensure that due process and natural justice have been observed in the evaluation of candidates for a continuing appointment, tenure and promotion; and that the criteria of Departments have been applied fairly with respect to the Framework Agreement. Insofar as the distinction between ensuring due process and evaluating cases can be made, the Faculty Advisory Committee evaluates a candidate's scholarship, teaching, and other contributions, relying primarily on the judgment of experts in the relevant discipline, including the judgment of peers at the University of Victoria and, where appropriate, the peer evaluation by external referees.

4. The Dean is not a voting member in the Advisory Committee deliberations. The Dean's participation is that of an interested observer, who may join the discussion on request or provide input on procedural matters.

III ELECTION OF MEMBERS TO THE COMMITTEE
1. Participation in the Committee is considered a collegial duty and necessary responsibility of all tenured faculty members in Humanities. All tenured faculty members in Humanities are considered eligible to serve as members of the Committee for two-year terms. The exceptions are those who currently occupy administrative positions, who are on study leave or other approved leave, who are serving on the Curriculum Committee, or who have served on the Faculty Advisory Committee, or as Dean, for two of the last five years.

2. A list with the names of the eligible tenured members of the Faculty of Humanities will be circulated by the Dean's office in March, for a vote by the regular faculty members of the Faculty of Humanities for the positions required to be filled in a given year. Ballots will be returned no later than two weeks after the day of circulation, at which time the scrutineers will tally the ballots and notify the successful candidates. The scrutineers will be the Dean and the Chair of the current year's Faculty Advisory Committee. The Faculty of Humanities will be informed of the final results of the election no later than April 30.

3. Two ballots are conducted to select the members of the Advisory Committee. On Ballot #1, all members eligible for membership on the Advisory Committee will be listed by department. Electors may vote for one person per department only. On Ballot #2, the two people in each department gaining the most votes on Ballot #1 will constitute the candidates for Ballot #2. Electors may vote for up to six candidates each of whom must be from different departments. The resulting ranked list (excluding candidate from departments which have ongoing members already on the Committee) will identify in order the additional members required to create a committee of six members. All ties will be resolved by the Dean's coin-toss with the current FAC Chair as witness.

4. Candidates who are unable to undertake this commitment must appeal to the Dean, providing reasons why they are unable to fulfill this faculty responsibility. If the Dean excuses an elected member, the candidate with the next highest number of votes will take that member's place, as needed.

IV ANNUAL REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE
The Chair of the Committee will report to the Faculty at the April or May meeting of each academic year. The Chair of the Committee will also meet with Department Chairs in April or May in order to review continuing appointment, tenure and promotion procedures from the point of view of the Faculty Advisory Committee.

V INTERNAL PROCEDURES OF THE COMMITTEE
1. The general mandate and the procedural frame of reference for the Faculty Advisory Committee are contained in the Framework Agreement.

2. The quorum of the Committee will normally consist of five members. In the event that illness or conflict of interest prevents the achievement of a quorum, and the Alternate cannot serve, the Dean will select the next eligible person(s) from the ballot results to achieve a quorum, while respecting the right of the candidate to challenge the composition of the reconstituted committee (FA 32.4.7). If a committee member becomes ill or is otherwise unavailable during the deliberations on a specific case, the Committee will continue on with four members for that case only.

3. Voting will be a simple expression of 'yes' or 'no' via secret ballot. A member who is absent will not vote by proxy. Abstentions are not permitted.

4. The standards of article 69 of the Framework Agreement, “Conflict of Interest and Reasonable Apprehension of Bias”, will apply to the proceedings of the Committee. An individual member must withdraw from deliberations on a case of a candidate for appointment on promotion or tenure within the same Department. In all other cases of conflict of interest, a faculty member will declare such a conflict and will be replaced by the Alternate if the Committee agrees that a conflict of interest does exist. No member of the Advisory Committee should act as an advocate for or against anyone being brought forward for consideration. An Alternate will vote only when serving as a replacement for a regular member who has withdrawn from consideration of a case.

5. When dealing with promotions, the Committee will consider initially all applications for promotion to Associate Professor and then cases for promotion to Professor. In all cases, all the applications in a given Department in a given category will be considered in sequence: i.e., it will consider all cases for tenure in the Department of, say, English, and then all cases for tenure in another Department such as History.

6. The case reports will be signed by all members of the Committee considering the case and will be forwarded to the Dean and the candidate by November 15 in the case of a continuing appointment, December 15 in the case of tenure and promotion which will also confer tenure, and March 15 in the case of promotion (FA 35.0).

VI MEETINGS OF THE COMMITTEE
1. Meeting times for the Committee will be decided upon by the Committee at its first meeting.

VII SCHEDULE OF BUSINESS
1. RPT Committees will complete and submit their continuing appointment, tenure and promotion dossiers to the Dean according to the following schedule:

2. The Committee will complete its consideration of candidates for continuing appointments by November 15, tenure and promotion which will also confer tenure by December 15, and promotion by March 15.

VIII CONTINUING APPOINTMENT, TENURE AND PROMOTION
1. The files for continuing appointment, tenure and promotion cases must be accompanied by a completed Faculty of Humanities Recommendation Form.

2. Chairs will include with each Departmental recommendation for tenure four external letters of reference solicited from the list of nominees, in accord with the provisions of the Framework Agreement article 23.3 through 23.5, and a copy of the letter sent to the referees. Letters of reference will be available to both the Departmental RPT Committee and the Faculty Advisory Committee.

3. Chairs will include with each Departmental recommendation for promotion to the rank of Associate Professor four external letters of reference solicited from the list of nominees in accord with the provisions of the Framework Agreement article 23.3 through 23.5, and a copy of the letter sent to the referees. Letters of reference will be available to both the Departmental RPT Committee and the Faculty Advisory Committee.

4. In the case of candidates for promotion to the rank of Professor, Chairs will include with each Departmental recommendation a minimum of four and a maximum of six external letters of reference solicited from the list of nominees, in accord with the provisions of the Framework Agreement article 23.3 and 23.5, and a copy of the letter sent to the referees. Letters of reference will be available to both the Departmental RPT Committee and the Faculty Advisory Committee.

5. An English translation of a referee's letter which is not in English should be provided for the Committee through the Dean's office, as well as the original letter.

IX MEETING WITH CHAIRS OF DEPARTMENTS
1. Meetings between the candidate, the Department Chair and the Faculty Advisory Committee must take place within the guidelines of the Framework Agreement 32.4.10 through 32.4.13.

X GENERAL
1. On an ad hoc basis, the Committee is empowered to invite to its meetings any faculty member whose advice it may deem useful to its deliberations (FA 32.4.5).

2. At the end of its proceedings each year, the Humanities Faculty Advisory Committee will review the "Faculty of Humanities Reappointment, Tenure and Promotions: Procedures and Practices" document and recommend necessary changes. Such changes will be included in the final report of the committee and, after consideration by the Faculty, will be incorporated into the document which will be available on the Faculty of Humanities web site.

3. The Faculty Advisory Committee should take into account the variety of computer-related or electronic activities that today can constitute contributions to scholarship and teaching.

4. In fields where professional work forms a part of the faculty member's scholarly work, and where that professional work deepens or expands the faculty member's published work, that activity can be considered as part of the scholarly contribution.

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• representative from each department with an interest in the activities of HCMC and digital humanities in general, selected by each department
• representative of the staff of HCMC, selected by those staff members
• representative of the University Library, appointed by the University Librarian
• Associate Dean, Faculty of Humanities

Additional representatives of programs in the Faculty or elsewhere (Professional Writing, Medieval Studies, Computer Science and Software Engineering etc.) may be invited as the committee deems appropriate.The term of appointment to the committee would be three years.This is an active, decision-making committee, involving a substantial time commitment. Membership on this committee would not normally be combined with other major Faculty-level committees such as the Curriculum and Academic Standards Committee.The Chair of the Committee will be elected by the committee from among the departmental representatives. The Chair of the Committee will co-ordinate the activities of the committee and will liaise with the staff person responsible for coordinating the activities of HCMC.

II RESPONSIBILITIES
The committee will take a leadership role in providing direction to HCMC in the first instance, as well as to the Faculty as a whole in all areas related to HCMC’s overall mandate of “enhancing and supporting the research and teaching activities of members of the Faculty of Humanities in the fields of digital humanities, including all aspects of humanities computing, computer-mediated language learning, and other fields involving audio, video or computing technology.”
Among its tasks will be:

set priorities for major (teaching and research) proposals that are seeking substantial support from HCMC. The Associate Dean would work with the committee to ensure that all grants that may have a substantial implication for the work of HCMC are brought to the committee’s attention. The committee would ensure that appropriate resources from research grants are assigned to HCMC.
provide input and a forum for discussion of computing-related issues on campus (especially in the design/use of computing labs, equipment etc)
provide input and a forum for discussion of HCMC budget planning and HCMC policy decisions and practices, as issues might arise
provide input and guidance regarding the teaching of the courses in Digital Humanities and in the development of future curricular
sponsor and develop teaching/information/training sessions related to Digital Humanities using the expertise of HCMC

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TEACHING EXCELLENCE AWARD SELECTION COMMITTEE

MEMBERSHIP
THE AWARD
ADMINISTRATION AND PRESENTATION
NOMINATION
ELIGIBILITY
MATERIAL TO BE SUBMITTED TO THE COMMITTEE
CRITERIA

I MEMBERSHIP
The committee that administers this award consists of three regular faculty members, each from a different department in the Faculty of Humanities. The members will be selected by the Faculty of Humanities Committee on Committees once the list of nominees for the award is known on February 15. The Committee on Committees will secure the agreement of the members to serve on the committee and will designate the Chair of the committee. Normally the Committee on Committees will avoid appointing members from a department from which there is a nomination. Where possible, consideration will be given to having some continuity of membership on the selection committee; the maximum length of service on the committee is three consecutive years. At least one previous recipient of the award will normally be a member of the committee. Chairs and Directors are not eligible for membership.

Every year the UVSS and GSS will each be invited to designate one student who is registered in the Faculty of Humanities to serve on the committee.

II THE AWARD
One award will be presented each year. Any faculty member, excluding previous recipients of this award or of the University of Victoria Alumni Award for Excellence in Teaching, can be nominated in any given year, with no limit on the number of nominations or areas represented by the nominees. The recipient will be recognized in the Convocation ceremony, will receive a grant of $1000, and have his or her name inscribed on the commemorative plaque displayed in the Dean's Office.

III ADMINISTRATION AND AWARD PRESENTATION
This Award is administered by the Office of the Dean of Humanities which receives the nominations and makes them available to the Faculty Selection Committee. The deadline for nominations is February 15. The Faculty Selection Committee decides who should receive the award each year. The announcement of the recipient will be made at a Faculty meeting during the Spring term. The Dean will inform the Ceremonies Office and the University Secretary’s Office of the name of the award winner. The Dean will prepare (by early May) a 250 word citation that will be read by the Vice President Academic at the Convocation ceremony.

IV NOMINATIONS
Requests for nominations will be circulated to all departments by the Dean’s Office at the end of October. Faculty, students, staff and alumni of the Faculty of Humanities are eligible to nominate candidates. Nominations must be signed by two principal nominators and by not fewer than five supporters. At least two of the nominators and/or supporters shall be students who have received some instruction from the nominee; these students must not be currently enrolled in a class taught by the nominee. Nominations must include supporting documentation in the form of a letter from each nominator outlining specific reasons for the nomination. Repeat nominations are accepted and nominations remain active for three years (they may be updated each year).

V ELIGIBILITY
Candidates for the Teaching Excellence Award must be tenured or tenure-track faculty members, senior instructors or sessional lecturers in the Faculty of Humanities. Nominees must have completed three years of teaching duties at the University of Victoria in the Faculty of Humanities and be currently employed in one of the above categories. Clarification on matters of eligibility will be provided by the Dean of Humanities.

VI MATERIAL TO BE SUBMITTED TO SELECTION COMMITTEE
The nomination package must contain the following:

• A completed nomination form;
• Letters of support from the 2 principal nominators, which draw the superior qualities of their candidate to the attention of the Faculty Selection Committee;
• A consent form signed by the nominee;
• A statement prepared by the nominee, that reflects his/her perspective on university teaching and learning;
• A current summary curriculum vitae of the nominee;
• Student evaluations and/or ratings from the current year and preceding two years;
• Peer reviews which are based on actual teaching observation;
• Examples of course material: outlines, assignments, manuals, examples of student work and instructor feedback.

The above information will be compiled as a dossier in one tabulated binder. Dossiers will be kept in the Office of the Dean of Humanities where they will be made available to the Faculty Selection Committee. (These dossiers are not considered confidential and may be viewed by other visitors to the Dean’s Office during this period.) They will be held by the Dean’s Office until the winner has been announced, then returned to the nominees unless the nominees wish them to remain active for a three-year period.

VII CRITERIA TO BE USED BY SELECTION COMMITTEE
The following criteria will be considered in the nomination and evaluation of candidates:

• a comprehensive knowledge of the subject for the level of the course or courses taught;
• consistently good preparation for teaching sessions, whether lectures, laboratories, seminars, or tutorials;
• enthusiasm for the subject, and capacity to arouse interest in it among students;
• student participation in the teaching-learning process;
• high standards and the motivation of students to attain high standards;
• effective communication through various media at levels appropriate to students’ capacity;
• methods of evaluation of student performance that stress a coherent understanding of the subject;
• accessibility to students outside class hours;
• a reputation for superior teaching and recognition for this quality by students and colleagues alike;
• clear evidence of efforts to keep abreast of new teaching methods, curriculum development, and course design;
• participation in extramural teaching;
• able to create a positive and inclusive classroom atmosphere supportive of the diversity of the students.