Instructional Council

Section: II.  INST - 140
Approved By: Dr. Ivan Harrell, 07/27/23
Prior Revisions: 6/08/09, 7/26/11, 12/05/18, 06/07/19
Initial Adoption: unknown

Purpose

This policy defines the purpose, membership, and procedures of Instructional Council. The Instructional Council shall function as the primary faculty component of the College’s shared governance structure. The faculty has primary responsibility for such fundamental areas as curriculum, subject matter and methods of instruction, research, faculty status, and those aspects of student life which relate to the educational process. (From AAUP Statement on Government of Colleges and Universities).

Instructional Council will develop and make recommendations to the College Council and/or Leadership Team about academic policies and practices and provide a venue for the sharing of issues and information between the faculty and the administration. The Instructional Council will address academic issues pertaining to student learning and success. However, it will not supplant the role of the faculty union in bargaining the terms and conditions of faculty employment.

The Instructional Council meets every second Monday of each month from October through June of the academic year, 3:30-5:00 p.m. According to the negotiated instructional calendar, when the 2nd Monday is not a contract day, Instructional Council will be rescheduled to an appropriate time by the co-chairs.

To Whom Does This Policy Apply

This policy applies to all college faculty and instructional administrators.

References

Definitions

Instructional Council: The body through which the faculty participate in in shared governance through the formulation of academic policies and practices and communication on matters impacting instruction.

College Council: An advisory group reflective of and accountable to relevant stakeholders. The college council makes recommendations to the President and/or Leadership Team on proposals, policies, and procedures affecting college-wide operations and matters affecting the general welfare of the college.

Faculty Forum: Faculty Forum provides faculty with the opportunity to share information, questions, concerns, and other issues related to instruction. An elected faculty member serves as the Faculty Forum Facilitator who leads Faculty Forum discussions and brings faculty concerns forward to Instructional Council. Faculty forum is open to all employees whose primary role at the college is as a faculty member. Faculty Forum will meet every second Monday of each month from October through June of the academic year for the hour prior to Instructional Council, 2:30-3:25 p.m. According to the negotiated instructional calendar, when the 2nd Monday is not a contract day, Faculty Forum will be rescheduled to an appropriate time by the Faculty Forum Facilitator.

Instructional Council Roster: The official roster for Instructional Council of voting members and their alternates. Non-voting members may be part of the roll call but will not be on the Roster.

Leadership Team: Consisting of the College President, Provost, and all other vice-presidents at the college, the Leadership Team provides oversight on college policy, budget, institutional planning, and accountability and makes appropriate recommendations to the Board of Trustees.

Student Learning Centers: Includes the Writing Tutoring Center, the Business Education Center, the Math Advising Resources Center, and Supplemental Instruction.

TCCFT: Tacoma Community College Federation of Teachers

Policy

It is the policy of Tacoma Community College to fully support, implement, and recognize the strength of a shared governance system through which the constituents of the college may participate in the development of policy, practice, and procedure. The primary body through which faculty participate by recommending academic policies and practices and communicate on matters other than compensation, workload, and work conditions is the Instructional Council.

Membership
  1. The Instructional Council is composed of the following voting members:
    1. One (1) representative from each instructional department or program recognized by the college as an operational unit for the purpose of offering or supporting instruction. The department/program representative is a full-time faculty member chosen by the faculty who comprise the particular
      instructional program by the May IC (Instructional Council) meeting. An alternate will also be elected by this meeting, and the alternate will serve in the place of the elected representative if that representative is unable to attend an Instructional Council meeting.
    2. There are five (5) at-large representatives to IC. One of the at-large positions is filled by the previous IC faculty co-chair and serves as one of the 3 representatives to College Council. The other four (4) are full-time faculty members nominated during spring quarter and voted on prior to the June Instructional Council meeting. After the four at large members are determined by balloting, the two faculty with the fifth and sixth highest vote counts will become alternates to serve if an at-large member is not able to attend an Instructional Council meeting.
    3. One part-time faculty member will be elected from each Division of the college prior to the first IC meeting in October. If one division does not identify a part-time faculty member willing to stand for election prior to the October Instructional Council meeting, nominations will be sought for an at-large part-time faculty member, which will be voted on by all part-time faculty prior to the November Instructional Council meeting. When possible, one alternate part-time faculty representative from each division will also be elected by the October IC meeting.
    4. A standing representative from Student Learning Centers.
    5. The President of TCCFT or designee.
  2. Voting members for each program/department, along with the designated alternates, shall be communicated to the office of the Vice President of Academic and Student Affairs at least one week prior to the October meeting for inclusion on the Instructional Council roster. Only members identified on this official roster shall be allowed to vote. Voting members may only represent one program/department and have only one vote.
  3. Non-voting members of Instructional Council shall include:
    1. Chairs or their designees from each of the Instructional Council-affiliated “primary committees” (see Appendix A). Committees that are officially represented at Instructional Council will be approved by Instructional Council.
    2. The Faculty Forum Facilitator
    3. The two co-chairs of Instructional Council (see section 3).
    4. These members may suggest items for the agenda and advance recommendations to the floor to be moved upon by voting members.
  4. Instructional Council leadership includes:
    1. Instructional Council Co-Chairs - The Instructional Council is co-chaired by an elected faculty representative and the Chief Academic Officer of the College. The Co-Chairs are non-voting members of Instructional Council. The Faculty Co-Chair may serve more than one elected term but not consecutively. If a new Faculty Co-Chair was a voting representative of IC, their former role as voting member shall be filled by the appropriate alternate (either from the program/department or the at-large alternate).
    2. Faculty Co-Chair Elect -Faculty will elect a Faculty Co-Chair Elect by the May meeting with their term beginning in September. The Co-Chair Elect may be any full-time faculty member and may serve simultaneously as Co-Chair Elect and as a voting member of IC (see sections 1a and 1b). The Co-Chair Elect will serve in this “Elect” capacity for one full academic year. In the second academic year the Co-Chair Elect will become the active Faculty Co-Chair.
    3. Council of Past Co-Chairs – A Council of Past Co-Chairs shall exist and shall consist of all previous faculty co-chairs of IC who are still faculty members at the college and whose schedules allow.
    4. If the position of Co-Chair Elect becomes vacant for any reason, a member of the Council of Past Co-Chairs will be asked to fill the position until new elections for Co-Chair Elect can be held. Elections for a new Co-Chair Elect shall be held within 40 instructional days of the Co-Chair Elect’s vacancy and will be run by the current Faculty Co-Chair.
    5. Faculty Forum Facilitator- Faculty Forum provides a venue for faculty to discuss issues outside the presence of College or Instructional Administrators. These discussions will occur outside of Instructional Council and will be presided over by an elected Faculty Forum facilitator or, when the Faculty Forum facilitator is unable to attend, the Instructional Council faculty co-chair. The Faculty Forum Facilitator is elected by the members of Faculty at the June Faculty Forum meeting. (See Appendix B for specific duties of the Faculty Co-Chair, Co-Chair Elect, Council of Past Co-Chairs positions, and Faculty Forum Facilitator)
  5. All college employees are invited to attend and participate in the Instructional Council’s deliberations and discussions. However, only voting members of the Council or their designated alternates may vote on forwarding an item to the College Council and/or Leadership Team for consideration.

Procedures

  1. The Instructional Council will conduct business utilizing Robert’s Rules of Order.
  2. Only voting members of Instructional Council or their designated alternates who are present at an Instructional Council meeting may vote on recommendations coming before Instructional Council.
  3. Instructional Council may recommend an academic policy or practice to College Council or Leadership Team through the following process. The academic policy or practice is presented to Instructional Council as a first read, followed by a period for Instructional Council membership to offer feedback. The academic policy or practice will then be presented as a second read and voted on by Instructional Council A simple majority of Instructional Council Representatives (51% of those attending the meeting when a recommendation is considered) may
    approve the recommendation of the academic policy or practice to the College Council or Leadership Team for further review.
  4. Concerns by the Leadership Team to a recommended academic policy will be reported to the Instructional Council by the chief academic officer of the College in a reasonable time to allow reconsideration and dialogue prior to implementation.
  5. If the outcome of Faculty Forum discussions warrants timely consideration by Instructional Council, the Faculty Forum facilitator will present them to Instructional Council voting members at the Instructional Council meeting. If faculty determine that the outcomes or recommendations warrant a more formal presentation, the Faculty Forum facilitator, Instructional Council faculty co-chair, or faculty designee may prepare a white paper or an issue paper on the matter which outlines the details of the issue, the possible impact the issue may have on the institution, the recommended solution or action, and a primary contact who is willing to serve as the liaison for the issue.
  6. All faculty, as well as instructional committees that fall under the purview of Instructional Council, may submit ideas for the agenda of the Instructional Council. Faculty are encouraged to submit their requests to their Instructional Council representative(s) who may then submit requests to the co-chairs. The faculty co-chair and faculty co-chair elect will then work with the chief academic officer of the college to determine the agenda for each meeting. The office of the chief academic officer will distribute the agenda to all faculty, instructional administrators, and other stakeholders as deemed appropriate a week before the Instructional Council meeting.
  7. The minutes of the Instructional Council meetings will be published for the TCC community in keeping with the recommendations of the current shared governance model. These minutes shall include all actions taken by the council as well as recommendations pertaining to the action taken.

APPENDIX A: Primary Committee/Subcommittee Structure

This committee structure is subject to change.

instructional council structure graphic

Responsibilities of Committees/Subcommittees
  1. Each primary committee shall have a committee member that regularly attends Instructional Council to represent the committee. This person is a non-voting member of Instructional Council.
  2. All subcommittees shall report to their primary committees as necessary, and the primary committees decide what needs to move on to Instructional Council.
  3. For time sensitive issues, subcommittees may receive approval from their primary committees to bring items directly to Instructional Council for informational reasons before they are addressed by the primary committee itself.
  4. New instruction-related committees that wish to form will bring their request to Instructional Council to be approved.
  5. Current instruction-related committees that wish to dissolve will bring their request to Instructional Council to be approved.
  6. All committees will keep active rosters and post agendas/minutes in the appropriate location as per the Tacoma Community College shared governance policy & procedures document.

APPENDIX B: Responsibilities of Instructional Council Faculty Co-Chair, Co-Chair Elect, Voting Representatives, and Council of Past Co-Chairs

Duties of the Faculty Co-Chair:
  • Co-Chair the monthly IC meetings with the Chief Academic Officer
  • Coordinate election of Faculty Co-Chair Elect, with the Co-Chair Elect position to be filled no later than the May IC meeting in normal circumstances, and within 40 instructional days in the case of a vacancy in the Co-Chair Elect position.
  • Set agendas for the monthly IC meetings with the Chief Academic Officer and the Co-Chair Elect
  • Serve as one of three faculty representatives on College Council while Faculty Co-Chair and for the year after their term (PAU eligible)
  • Attend Faculty Forum each month and support Faculty Forum Facilitator
  • As appropriate, attend TCC Board of Trustee meetings as an observer and report back to faculty as needed
  • Communicate and coordinate with faculty about issues relevant to instruction
  • Meet with TCC President and other administrators as a member of the Faculty Leadership Team (along with the Union President, the Faculty Forum facilitator, and the Faculty Co-Chair Elect)
  • The Faculty Co-Chair is eligible for one-third release for their duties
  • Attend Extended Leadership Team meetings (PAU eligible)
  • Serve as an at-large representative to IC the year following their term as Faculty Co-Chair
Duties of the Faculty Co-Chair Elect
  • Attend Instructional Council each month
  • Assume the responsibilities of the Faculty Co-Chair if they are unable to fulfil those duties, either for one meeting or for the duration of their term (a member of the Council of Past Co-Chairs may assist in this matter if needed). If the Faculty Co-Chair is unable to fulfill their term, the Faculty Co-Chair Elect will serve out the remainder of that term, in addition to their own full term in the second year of their service.
  • Attend Faculty Forum each month
  • Serve as one of three faculty representatives on College Council (PAU eligible).
  • Set agendas for the monthly IC meetings with the Chief Academic Officer and the Faculty Co-Chair
  • Meet with TCC President and other administrators as a member of the Faculty Leadership Team (along with the Union President, the Faculty Forum facilitator, and the Faculty IC Co-Chair)
  • The Co-Chair Elect would be eligible to receive 1 full PAU per quarter but not release time
  • Attend Extended Leadership Team meetings (PAU eligible)
Duties of Voting Representatives
  • Prepare for and attend all Instructional Council meetings.
  • Inform the alternate* about current Instructional Council issues and arrange for alternate attendance at meetings in case of absence.
  • Communicate with faculty peers about current Instructional Council issues. Representative members are responsible for communicating to their respective department/program.
  • Communicate with program/department faculty about current Instructional Council issues.
  • Represent and vote on issues on behalf of constituents.
  • Be willing to serve on additional Instructional Council-related tasks.
  • Be familiar with Robert’s Rules of Order.

*Alternates will fulfill the duties of the respective voting member in case of absence.

Duties of the Faculty Forum Facilitator
  • The Faculty Forum Facilitator would be eligible to receive 1 full PAU per quarter but not release time
  • Gather agenda items for Faculty Forum meetings and set a monthly agenda
  • Facilitate Faculty Forum discussions
  • Attend Instructional Council meeting and bring faculty interests, issues and concerns forward that are consistent with the primary purpose of Instructional Council to “inform the development of academic policies and provide a venue for sharing of issues and information between the faculty and the administration.”
  • Follow-up with faculty on the results of communication with leadership about the interests, issues, and concerns brought forward from Faculty Forum
Duties of the Council of Past Co-Chairs
  • Provide guidance and support for the current IC Faculty Co-Chair and Co-Chair elect as needed and as their schedules allow.
  • Council of Past Co-Chairs may be convened by the current Faculty Co-Chair, Co-Chair Elect, or by any member of the Council of Past Co-Chairs.
  • Members of this Council are eligible for 1/3 PAU during quarters where the Council is actively involved in supporting the work of Instructional Council.