The College Plan for Division Chair Selection
 Chandler-Gilbert Community College
March 2008 revision

Chandler-Gilbert Community College's College Plan for Division Chair Selection consists of:
1.    the Division Chair Selection Policy,
2.    a list of Division Chair Roles, Duties, and Responsibilities, and
3.    the Chair Evaluation Process (to be added Fall 2008).

The College Plan for Division Chair Selection is consistent with the 2008 RFP Appendix D.  It is intended to promote effective communication, facilitate a collegial working environment, and safeguard the rights of all faculty.  Members of the CGCC Faculty Association and the College President, in accordance with the RFP, negotiated this document.

Changes to this plan
This plan should be reviewed on a regular basis and amended as needed to ensure that it addresses the changing needs of the institution. Changes in this document may be made when both the College President and a majority of the members of the Faculty Association Senate agree.  A proposal for change in this document may be presented by either the College President or by any member of the Faculty Association. When changes that affect this document are made in the RFP, those changes will automatically be incorporated.

Academic Structure
Historically, the Chandler-Gilbert Community College Faculty and Administration have agreed to an organizational structure of academic divisions.  A division is an educational unit composed of faculty from one or more disciplines.  The purpose of a division is to coordinate the instructional programs to help meet the educational needs of students. Each division is led by a faculty chair elected from the division members according to the process described in the Division Chair Selection Policy.  The division chair is responsible for the educational program of the division as defined by the Division Chair Roles, Duties and Responsibilities.  Chairs are evaluated annually by members of their division according to the Chair Evaluation Process.

Division Name Change
If an existing academic division requests a name change, and that request does not include or imply any other changes to the division makeup, and the request has no impact on any other division, then by a simple majority vote of the Faculty Senate, the request will be approved.

CHANDLER-GILBERT COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Division Chair Selection Policy

I. Definitions

1. President shall mean the Chief Executive Officer of CGCC or designee.
2. Vice President of Academic Affairs shall mean that Vice President or a designee.
3. Faculty Association Senate President, (FA President), shall mean the currently elected CGCC Faculty Association Senate President or Vice President.
4. Faculty shall mean full-time residential Governing Board approved CGCC faculty including those on leave, sabbatical or serving pro-rated (e.g.1/2 time) contracts. It does not include faculty on one-year only, one-semester only, or 49% contracts.
5. Member shall mean faculty assigned to a division for the purposes of conducting division business. If a faculty member is assigned to more than one division, then at the time of the chair election, that member will vote in the division with the majority of their teaching load. Faculty serving in temporary MAT assignments will not vote in division chair elections.
6. Division Chair shall mean the faculty member elected by the division.

II. Term of Office for Division Chair

1. Each term shall be for two years.
2. The term shall begin July 1. Chair-elects shall have mentoring opportunities during the preceding spring semester.
3. During the fall semester of the second year of each term there shall be an election.
4. There may be no limitations on the total number of terms that chairs may serve; however, they may only serve 3 consecutive terms (six years). If there are no nominees when the first call is made the current Chair may self-nominate at the second call regardless of the number of terms served.

III. Election Process
Faculty members' conduct during the election process should show respect for each person's right to self-nominate, to run, and to engage in privacy of their vote.

1. The President shall, in writing, by the first week of October, inform all members, including those on leave or sabbatical, of those divisions in which an election is due, and shall call for self-nominations of individuals willing to run for election. The self-nomination form shall include the terms of eligibility, Roles, Duties and Responsibilities, estimated remuneration (including stipend, reassigned time, secretarial support and summer hours based on previous year's actual amounts), and the due date for the form's return (see III.C below).
2. Faculty members who have completed two consecutive semesters at CGCC may self-nominate.
3. Self-nomination by interested faculty shall be made in writing to the President by the end of the third full week in October.
4. Each division will hold an open meeting to discuss candidates for chair between the first call for self-nominations and the due date for self-nominations. Candidates are encouraged, but not required, to share their vision and goals for the division at this meeting in either written or oral form.
5. In the event of no self-nominees, the President shall issue a second call for self-nominees during the fourth week in October. Nominations shall be due by the first Friday in November.
6. In the event of no self-nominees after the second call, the College President will inform the FA President who will call for a division meeting during the second week in November. At that meeting, the division members will agree on one or more nominees.
7. The President shall prepare a ballot of nominees and distribute it by e-mail during the third full week in November to all members of the division, including those on leave or sabbatical, at all campuses. Ballot due dates will be written on the ballot and will be not less than two weeks from the date sent.
8. Election shall be by secret ballot. Voting members shall return ballots to the Faculty Association ballot box by the due date. Ballot boxes will be located at each campus.
9. Ballots shall be collected from all locations, opened and counted by the FA President and Vice President in the presence of the Vice President of Academic Affairs, or designee, on the day after the due date. If either the FA President or Vice President is on a ballot, another FA officer or senator shall replace him or her.
10. The FA President shall hold all ballots in a secure and confidential place until the newly elected Chairs take office
11. Election is determined by a simple majority of the votes.
12. If there are more than two nominees on the ballot and there is no majority vote cast, there shall be an immediate runoff election between those nominees having the two highest vote tallies.
13. Runoff elections will be conducted by secret ballot sent out by the President, following the procedures described in this section.
14. If there are only two nominees on a ballot and there is a tie, the FA President shall call for a division meeting as soon as possible. At that meeting the members of the division will agree to which nominee shall be Chair-elect.
15. The President shall announce the results of Chair elections to the entire college.

IV. Vacancy

1. A vacancy in a Chair position shall be declared when the current Chair resigns, retires, is absent for 30 consecutive days of accountability, or is removed in accordance with the RFP.
2. A vacancy shall be filled by an immediate election conducted as specified in section III.
3. The newly elected Chair shall serve the remainder of the term vacated.
4. If the vacancy is filled during the last 2 months of the last semester of the term, the individual elected shall be declared Chair for the remainder of the current term and the following full term, if that Chair so chooses.
5. An Interim Division Chair may be selected by the members of the division to do the work of the Division Chair while the election to fill the vacancy is being conducted. The Interim Chair will be selected by the agreement of the division members, at a division meeting called by the FA President for the purpose of selecting an Interim Chair.
6. In the case of a vacancy during the summer months, when faculty are not accountable, an Interim Chair may be appointed by the FA President and the Vice President of Academic Affairs to conduct division business until the election process can be completed.

V. Recall Election

1. A recall election shall be held when the President is presented with a petition, signed by a majority of the division members, that requests a division chair election.
2. The President will notify all division members, in writing, that a new election will be held.
3. A new election shall be conducted immediately, following the procedures in section III.
4. The current Chair will continue to serve the division until the new election is completed and may self-nominate in the new election.

VI. Special Circumstances
Any situation not covered by the above statements related to the selection and retention of division chairs, including immediate removal of a chair, shall be resolved by a hearing of a five-member committee composed of the President, the Vice President of Academic Affairs, the FA President, a division chair selected by the Division Chair Council and a faculty member chosen from the affected division by the FA President after consulting with members of that division. Resolution of the hearing shall be decided by a majority vote of the five-member committee.

CHANDLER-GILBERT COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Division Chair Roles, Duties and Responsibilities

A Division Chair performs duties in ways that are consistent with this institution's values:

1. Places primary focus on student success.
2. Involves faculty in decision-making; seeks consensus among division members.
3. Exhibits and develops in others the spirit of cooperation.
4. Exhibits and develops in others a sense of shared purpose.
5. Is committed to dialogue and conflict resolution.
6. Keeps faculty and staff informed on instructional issues.
7. Works closely with the appropriate Vice Presidents.

The Division Chair is responsible for planning, budgeting, staffing, curriculum development, and administrative functions for their academic division. Duties include, but are not limited to:

Planning

• Participates in college-wide strategic planning process.
• Involves faculty in division planning.
• Prepares an annual report on division goal achievement.

Budgeting

• Participates in college budgeting process.
• Solicits input from division faculty on budgeting issues.
• Keeps division faculty informed about budget development and decisions, and about the status of the division budget throughout the academic year.
• Coordinates with the Vice President of Academic Affairs regarding division budget development.

Staffing

• Participates in the selection of residential faculty.
• Submits staffing requests to the staffing committee in collaboration with division members.
• Involves division faculty in the selection of part-time faculty.
• Assists part-time faculty with course preparation, i.e., outlines, syllabus, desk copies of textbooks, etc.
• Encourages division faculty in monitoring of part-time faculty.
• Evaluates division faculty in accordance with the RFP.
• Evaluates adjunct faculty according to the Adjunct Faculty Board Policy, or assigns a designee within the discipline.
• Provides for substitutes as needed.
• Supervises and evaluates staff.
• Appoints division members to appropriate and equitable committee service including Instructional Councils.

Curriculum

• Participates in the development of new programs.
• Identifies and helps develop new course or project initiatives within the division.
• Attends curriculum meetings.
• Maintains files of current syllabi.
• Prepares division class schedule in collaboration with division faculty, other division chairpersons, the Associate Dean(s), Deans and the Vice President of Academic Affairs.
• Initiates schedule changes and submits them to the Vice President of Academic Affairs or designee.
• Coordinates the selection of textbooks.

General Administrative Items

• Holds regular division meetings during times of accountability and publishes minutes of those meetings to all division members.
• Maintains files and records of the division.
• Attends division chairperson meetings.
• Participates and encourages others to participate in staff development activities.
• Coordinates divisional assessment activities.
• Provides support to each discipline throughout the Program Review Process.

Chair Evaluation Process to be added here Fall 2008

revised  2008