4.1 Duties and Responsibilities of Department Chairs

The department Chair is the chief administrator of the department and is responsible for its academic business. The Chair represents the department in College and University matters. The Chair reports to the Dean. The Chair is responsible for leadership of faculty and students within the discipline as well as for the following functions:

1. Faculty Activities:

   Teach a portion of a faculty load as required by the university and college. Engage in scholarship and service activities.

2. Curriculum:

   Provide leadership in the planning, delivery, assessment, accreditation, improvement, and development of the academic curriculum in the disciplines housed in the department

3. Faculty Personnel:

   Administer evaluations, workloads, annual activities reports and other department personnel matters.

4. Support-Staff Personnel:

   Recruit, supervise and evaluate support staff.

5. Students and Academic Policy:

   Apply academic policy and respond to student needs; participate in student recruitment and retention.

6. Planning and Budgets:

   Coordinate department development, review, and revision of the department strategic plan; prepare the department budget request; and monitor departmental budget expenditures.

7. Facilities and Equipment:

   Oversee the use and maintenance of department facilities and equipment.

8. External Relations:

   Develop and maintain relationships with units and individuals external to the department.

9. Other Administrative Duties:

   Perform other duties and responsibilities as assigned by the Dean.

4.2 Election of Department Chairs

1. Specific procedures for election of Chairs in CAH are as follows:
   1. Departments will be notified by the Dean's office at the beginning of the academic year in which a Chair election is scheduled. Chair elections may take place in either Winter or Spring quarter, depending on the preference of the department. The Dean is to be informed of the department's preference, at which point a date for the election will be set.
   2. No later than one month before the election date, all candidates for Chair must formally announce in writing to department colleagues and the Dean their intention to run. Candidates may also be nominated by full-time faculty in the department, as long as the acceptance of the nomination and decision to run are formally announced in writing one month in advance of the election.
   3. Faculty in departments should have some formal exposure to candidates' positions on matters pertaining to the department and relevant academic issues, along with candidates' approaches to leadership and administrative style. It is up to each department what mechanisms they wish to put into place to insure that such information is available to faculty. Meetings or forums to present ideas and discuss relevant issues, with question and answer sessions, are encouraged.
   4. On the day of the election, written secret ballots will be distributed to voting faculty in their mailboxes. Ballots are cast, turned in to the department secretary, who submits them to the Dean. Ballots are counted by the Dean.

4.3 Department Chair Performance Appraisal

1. Policy: Feedback is essential to the effective functioning of any administrative position. The goals of the review process are to enhance the effectiveness of the Chair, as well as to provide affirmation of the Chair's strengths.
2. Timeline: Chairs serving four-year terms will be evaluated in the spring of the first and third years of their terms. Chairs serving shorter terms will be evaluated at least once every two years.
3. Process: The Dean will conduct the review as follows:
   1. The "Administrative Performance Appraisal" will be completed by full-time faculty and office support staff in the Chair's department at the beginning of spring quarter the first and third year of the Chair's term.
   2. Interviews may be conducted with students, staff, faculty, or other constituencies, at the Dean's discretion. Chairs may submit names for interviews.
   3. A self-evaluation by the Chair will be included in the review, and available to faculty and staff before they fill out the appraisal form.
   4. Based on faculty and staff evaluations and her/his own observations, the Dean will review performance relative to:
      • Budget Management
      • Management and Efficiency of Department Office and Day-to-Day Business
      • Accessibility and Collegiality
      • Handling of Matters Related to Students
      • Support for Faculty and Staff
      • Development of Clear, Accessible, and Codified Procedures and Policies
      • Fairness and Even-Handedness
      • Leadership, Vision and Direction
   5. Chair self-evaluation will address:
      • Goals established for the year, and for the long range in the context of department circumstances
      • Significant accomplishments
      • Significant challenges
      • Areas for improvement
      • Changes to enhance performance as department Chair
   6. In a meeting between the Chair and Dean, the Dean will summarize the information collected from faculty and staff. In addition, the Dean will provide the Chair with a written evaluation.

4.4 Department Chair Compensation

1. Academic year (from CBA 14.8)

   As compensation for their administrative functions, department chairs will receive one or a combination of the following as determined by the dean: reassigned time, an extended contract, and/or an annual stipend of between $1368 and $5652. In determining the amount of a chair's stipend, re-assigned time and length of contract, deans and chairs will consider the number of faculty in the department, the complexity of the programs, and historical work demands in the department.

2. Summer

   University policy on summer Chair compensation may be viewed at the Provost's web site http://www.cwu.edu/~cah/forms.html .

   For 9.5 month Chairs in CAH, administrative duties, as approved by the Dean, are compensated by a stipend (currently $600), plus a proportion of their academic year salary determined by the number of departmental faculty FTE teaching in summer session.

   Nine and one-half month Chairs may teach in the summer for additional compensation. Administrative credits and teaching duties cannot exceed the equivalent of 10 load credits of compensation.

   For eleven-month Chairs in CAH, one month of the summer assignment is considered 100% administrative. The second month may be a combination of teaching and administration, depending on the department's needs, to be arranged and approved by the Dean.

4.5 Support / Development Opportunities For Department Chairs

1. Department Chair Development Fund

   The College provides up to $400 per year to support travel by Chairs that enables them to enhance their professionalism in such areas as departmental management, keeping abreast of important issues in the discipline and in higher education (c. f. promotion and tenure of faculty, changing disciplinary and pedagogical paradigms, assessment strategies, budget oversight, etc.).

   Guidelines for Chair development grant support:

   1. Meeting or conference must be in the appropriate discipline (the discipline that matches the department), or must be an institute or conference for Chairs.
   2. Focus of event must be primarily administrative , though networking, pedagogical development, grantsmanship, scholarly development, and institutional collaboration may also be part of the mix. Administration , however, is the primary focus.
   3. Travel must take place during the tenure of the Chair. Priority will be given to those in earlier stages of their Chair terms, or to new Chairs, since there are not enough funds to cover all potential travel requests.
   4. In the case where departments have Co-Chairs or Associate Chairs, Chair Development Grants will be limited to one per department in any given year .

   Chairs are eligible for one award per year, and may apply at any time during the academic year for support. The appropriate form can be found online at: http://www.cwu.edu/~cah/forms.html

2. Chairs' Retreats and Workshops

   In addition to semi-monthly Chair meetings, the College annually holds a full-day retreat for Chairs and occasional half-day retreats to enable a fuller block of time to confer about issues and implement planning.

3. Support for New Chairs

   Each year, the Dean holds a clinic for new Chairs early in the fall quarter to familiarize them with procedures, policies, and protocol for the College and the University. The Dean will also pair each new Chair up with a mentor from among the more experienced CAH Chairs.

4. Tri-weekly Meetings

   During each academic quarter the Dean schedules meetings with individual chairs to discuss departmental events and issues.