OVERVIEW
Full-time faculty members, students, and staff contribute in the college's decision-making process through participation in the governance process. Governance committees are established in accordance with the MSCA, APA, and AFSCME union contracts.
Please feel free to reach out to Kate Russell (krussell@massart.edu) in Academic Affairs or the appropriate union chapter president if you have questions, want to help, or want more information either about specific committees or future plans to bring more clarity, transparency, and efficiency to our governance and decision making processes.
MSCA Governance Committees
In accordance with the MSCA faculty contract, MassArt maintains a standing governance body composed of several committees governed by faculty, staff, and students. Written charges, or proposals, to establish new or revised academic policies, curriculum, and academic reorganization are reviewed and passed through a variety of committees before being presented to the president for final approval.
How do I submit a charge?
Any faculty, staff, or student can submit a proposal to establish new or to revise academic policies, curriculum, academic organization, or other matters relating to academic or student life. The process involves writing a clear description of your idea, the rationale behind it, a description of which stakeholders are affected and its anticipated impact. You are encouraged to include any additional documentation that you think would help All University Committee (AUC) discuss and direct your charge to the appropriate committee for review. Proposals/charges must be addressed to the AUC and submitted to the AUC Recording Secretary, Kate Russell (krussell@massart.edu), in the Office of Academic Affairs.
If there is not enough information in the original proposal, AUC will return the charge with a request for what specific information is needed to move ahead in the review process.
2022-2023 MSCA Committees
MassArt's 2022-2023 MSCA Governance Committee List includes overall responsibilities and committee membership for last year. Please note the posted list is current as of September 26th.
In general, these committees are primarily comprised of faculty members recommended by the MSCA chapter president, administrators assigned by the president, and student members recommended by SGA. For All-University Committee, the Tenure Committee, and the Promotions Committee, faculty are elected in the spring for the following academic year.
To help guide committee work and set expectations, guidance is provided in preparation of their first meeting. This includes information about roles and responsibilities, reporting structures, advice, and best practices. Each committee’s chair is responsible for the meeting logistics and communicating with committee members.
The 2022-23 Governance Calendar is published at the start of the academic year, by the Office of Academic Affairs, in accordance with the contract. In general, these committee meetings are held in the designated 1:00 – 3:00 block on Wednesday afternoons, though committees may choose to schedule additional meetings depending on their workload. A committee can choose to meet at another time, but only if ALL members of the committee agree and are available at that other time.
Mark your calendars for the 2022-2023 MSCA governance meetings!
Types of MSCA Committees
There are six different types of committees outlined in the MSCA contract and the rules a committee has to follow depends on the type of committee.
The number of faculty, students, and administrators serving on AUC, the Standing Committees, and Graduate Education Council is contractual for all state universities and can not be changed. In addition, their responsibilities (charges) are outlined in the contract.
More information regarding some of the specific governance committees can be found on these groups' pages:
Standing Committees
Ad Hoc Committees
Formed by AUC upon request of the president or by a majority vote of either the faculty, the student body, or the administration
Must consist of an equal number of faculty, students, and administrators. Number of members is determined by AUC.
Special Committees
Includes, but not limited to:
Sustainability in the Curriculum
International & Intercultural Opportunities
Formed in agreement with the president, the MSCA chapter president, and a majority vote of AUC.
Formed only for defined time periods established when the committee is created or upon the agreement of the president, the MSCA chapter president, and a majority vote of the AUC.
University-Wide Advisory Committees
Includes, but not limited to:
Travel Course Review Committee
Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI)
Created by the president; MSCA chapter president provides names of faculty to the president.
APA Governance Committees
Management-Association Committee on Employee Relations
In accordance with the APA contract, we have established the Management-Association Committee on Employee Relations, which is composed of four members, two who are appointed by the president and two who are appointed by the chapter president of the APA. The committee meets once a month for the purpose of maintaining good relationships through regular communication and for discussing matters that are necessary to the implementation of the contract. Appointments for 2020-21 are in progress.
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Many of the actions in our strategic plan revolve around governance and decision making, and include improving committee effectiveness through better support and guidance. These include expanding orientation support with the development of a committee handbook, creating a template for submitting a charge, and better communication and alignment of work between the committees.