Bylaws of the School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health Systems

Introduction
Mission Statement
Membership of the School
1. Dean
2. Faculty
Conduct of Business
Amendment of the Bylaws

Article I. Introduction

These bylaws of the School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health Systems (hereafter referred to as the “School”) of Drexel University (hereafter referred to as the “University”) establish the fundamental rights and responsibilities of the Faculty of the School (hereafter referred to as the “Faculty”) to participate in the governance of the School. These bylaws predicate the role of the Faculty on the principles of shared authority, responsibility, mutual understanding and respect. Reliance is placed on clear communication, active cooperation, rational argumentation and persuasion in a collegial environment in contrast to the rigid procedures of a hierarchical system.

In cases where the provisions of these bylaws conflict with University policies and procedures, the relevant University policy or procedure shall take precedence.

Article II. Mission Statement

The mission of the School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health Systems is to promote health and quality of life through education, research and innovation that integrates engineering and life sciences in a global context.

Article III. Membership of the School

Section 1 Dean

The Dean is the chief administrative and academic officer of the School and reports directly to the Provost. The chief responsibility of the Dean is to provide leadership and strategic direction to the School in fulfillment of its stated mission. As described in these bylaws, it is expected that the Dean will make decisions in consultation with the Faculty and in the spirit of shared governance.

Section 2 Faculty

The Faculty is comprised of all full-time tenured, tenure-track, and non-tenure-track teaching faculty with primary or joint (≥ 50%) appointments in the School and holding the rank of Assistant, Associate, or Full Professor.

Article IV. Conduct of Business

Section 1 Parliamentary Process

The current edition of Robert's Rules of Order shall govern the procedures of the Faculty and all committees of the School in the transaction of business in all cases where such rules are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with these bylaws or any special rules of order which the Faculty or a committee of the Faculty may adopt.

Section 2 Voting

Only the Dean and members of the Faculty may vote at faculty meetings and in School committees, unless otherwise stated or agreed upon.

Section 3 Faculty Meetings

The purposes and functions of faculty meetings shall be:

To serve as a forum for the Faculty as a whole to be informed on pertinent issues/activities of the School, to initiate and carry on a discussion of policy, and by elective representation, to advise University senior administrative officers on matters significant to the mission and programs of the School.
To oversee elections of School representatives to the University Faculty Senate and Standing Committees of the Senate.
To vote on all amendments to the bylaws in accordance with Article V.

Faculty meetings should be held monthly during the Fall, Winter, and Spring quarters, as scheduled by the Dean at the beginning of each academic year. One faculty meeting should be held during the Summer quarter. Written notice shall be sent to all Faculty and other participants by the Dean at least ten (10) business days prior to each meeting.

The Dean shall call all faculty meetings. In the absence of the Dean, an individual designated by the Dean shall call the meeting. Additional faculty meetings may be scheduled at the discretion of the Dean, at the recommendation of faculty members to the Dean, or as part of a motion approved at a faculty meeting.

The agenda of the faculty meeting should be determined in advance of the meeting and be distributed to all participants. Agenda items will consist of announcements and business. Announcement items should be informational only. Business items encompass those topics that merit discussion and may require a vote on a motion.

To conduct business at a faculty meeting, there must be a quorum present. A quorum consists of a simple majority of the Faculty.

The Dean and Faculty are expected to attend all faculty meetings. Research faculty, academic advisors, professional staff, appointed student representatives, and invited guests may also attend. These participants have privileges of the floor but may not make a motion or vote.

Section 4 Committees

Committees shall be formed to assist in the governance and transaction of business of the School. Committees shall either be designated as standing committees, which shall persist year to year, or ad hoc committees, which are formed to fulfill a specific charge and then dissolved when its charge has been completed.

At the time of the formation of a committee, it should be clearly identified whether the committee is intended to fulfill an advisory or executive role. A committee with an advisory responsibility shall report findings and/or recommendations, as appropriate, to the Dean and/or Faculty. A committee with an executive responsibility is granted narrow decision-making powers necessary to fulfill its charge.

Standing Committees

The School shall maintain standing committees for the Undergraduate Academic Affairs, Graduate Academic Affairs, and Academic Assessment and Quality Improvement. The following statements shall apply to each standing committee described herein unless otherwise specifically designated in the individual committee sections.
1. All standing faculty committees will be appointed by the Dean unless otherwise provided in these bylaws. At the end of each academic year the dean will notify the Faculty of committee vacancies and solicit interest in serving. Committee composition should include be representative of the School and incorporate a broad spectrum of academic experience as much as possible.
2. The Faculty reserves the right to review and rescind all standing committee appointments of faculty members. The committees shall elect their own Chairs at the beginning of each academic year, selected from members who have served one year on the committee, unless otherwise stated.
3. The Dean is an ex officio member of all committees, and may appoint additional administrative representatives to each standing committee as non-voting ex officio members.
4. The term of office for membership on each committee shall be three (3) years, unless otherwise specified in the bylaws. A committee member may not serve consecutive 3-year terms, but may serve multiple non-consecutive terms. The Chair will serve for one year, but may be reappointed as Chair for one additional year during a single term on the Committee.
5. All standing committees shall submit their minutes, using a standard format, to the Dean and Faculty. The Faculty will vote on all action items presented by the standing committees. Standing committees will submit reports to the Faculty when requested. Meeting schedules and agendas will be made available prior to meetings.
6. All standing committees shall submit an annual report to the Faculty describing activities completed and actions approved.
7. All standing committees shall submit recommendations and plans for action for the upcoming academic year to the Dean and the Faculty.
8. All standing committees shall meet as often as required to fulfill their charges, but not less than three times per Fall, Winter, or Spring quarter, and not less than once per Summer quarter.
Undergraduate Academic Affairs Committee
1. Responsibilities
  
  The Undergraduate Academic Affairs Committee (UAAC) is the academic policy committee for the undergraduate programs of the School. The responsibilities of the committee are:
  1. To ensure the academic integrity of the School’s undergraduate programs.
  2. To establish and disseminate guidelines governing submission, review and approval of any new undergraduate programs and all substantive changes in existing undergraduate programs. A substantive change is defined as a change in a program’s overall curricular content or design, or a change in an individual course (e.g., title, credits, course descriptions, or instructional methodology).
  3. To coordinate the submission for approval of all proposals for new programs and substantive changes in existing programs through all appropriate University channels. A substantive change is defined as a change in a program’s overall curriculum content or design, or change in an individual course (course titles/credits/course descriptions, or instructional methodology, e.g. movement to web based instruction).
  4. To ensure that the undergraduate program meets current and future ABET accreditation requirements.
2. Membership
  
  The UAAC shall be composed of no less than five members of the Faculty, and no more than ten members in total (voting plus non-voting). The committee should also include one or more academic advisors, the School’s officers for Academic Affairs and course scheduling, and the School’s representatives to the Undergraduate Council and undergraduate subcommittee of the Senate Committee for Academic Affairs (SCAA). As deemed appropriate, representatives from other academic units at the University may be invited to participate in the committee.
Graduate Academic Affairs Committee
1. Responsibilities
  
  The Graduate Academic Affairs Committee (GAAC) is the academic policy committee for the graduate programs of the School. The responsibilities of the committee are:
  1. To ensure the academic integrity of the School’s graduate programs.
  2. To establish and disseminate guidelines governing submission, review and approval of any new undergraduate programs and all substantive changes in existing undergraduate programs. A substantive change is defined as a change in a program’s overall curricular content or design, or a change in an individual course (e.g., title, credits, course descriptions, or instructional methodology).
  3. To coordinate the submission for approval of all proposals for new programs and substantive changes in existing programs through all appropriate University channels. A substantive change is defined as a change in a program’s overall curriculum content or design, or change in an individual course (course titles/credits/course descriptions, or instructional methodology, e.g. movement to web based instruction).
2. Membership
  
  The GAAC shall be composed of no less than five members of the Faculty, and no more than ten members in total (voting plus non-voting). The committee should also include a graduate program advisor, the School’s officers for Research, Academic Affairs and course scheduling, the School’s representatives for the Graduate Council and graduate subcommittee of the SCAA. As deemed appropriate, representatives from other academic units at the University may be invited to participate in the committee.
Academic Assessment and Quality Improvement Committee
1. Responsibilities
  
  The Academic Assessment and Quality Improvement Committee (AAQIC) is responsible for designing, collecting, analyzing and evaluating the assessment of student and alumni performance so as to judge the effectiveness of the School's academic programs in achieving student learning outcomes (SLOs) and program educational objectives (PEOs). The Committee will assist in the development and application of assessment tools and approaches as well as implementation of appropriate analytics to provide valid and actionable intelligence regarding student and alumni achievement. The Committee will oversee the collection and distribution of assessment data in order to facilitate faculty decision-making and curriculum design and implementation in consultation with the Undergraduate Academic Affair Committee and the Graduate Academic Affairs Committee. The Committee will produce bi-annual reports on the results of the assessment and evaluation of student and alumni performance to the School's faculty. The Committee will also help prepare reports related to ABET Self Study, site visits and accreditation, Middle States Regional accreditation, Drexel University Program Alignment and Review (PAR) or any other matters related to program review and/or accreditation.
2. Membership
  
  The AAQIC shall be composed of no less than four members of the Faculty, and no more than nine members in total (voting plus non-voting). The AAQIC should also include at least one academic advisor, the School’s officer for Academic Assessment and Quality Improvement, student representatives and other professional staff as deemed necessary. As deemed appropriate, representatives from other academic units at the University or the Biomedical Engineering Community Advisory Board may be invited to participate in the Committee as non-voting members.
Ad Hoc Committees

Ad hoc committees shall be formed at the discretion of the Dean, at the request of the Faculty, or through a motion passed at a faculty meeting. The composition, charge, and expected outcomes of the ad hoc committee shall be determined at the time when the committee is formed. It is expected that, except in extraordinary circumstances, an ad hoc committee should fulfill its charge within one (1) year after its formation, and should be dissolved when that charge is completed.

Unless otherwise specified, the ad hoc committee should follow the guidelines for standing committees where appropriate (e.g., the terms outlined for standing committees are not relevant to an ad hoc committee).

Article V. Amendment of the Bylaws

Section 1 Introduction of Amendments

All proposals to amend the bylaws, except those of a non-substantive nature, shall be introduced to a Bylaws Committee formed on an ad hoc basis. Proposals shall be received by the Bylaws Committee in one of the following ways:

Resolution of the Faculty
Recommendation by the Dean
As a motion passed during a faculty meeting
Formal petition by any five (5) members of the Faculty

Once a proposal to amend the bylaws is received by the Bylaws Committee, the committee shall review the proposed amendment and, if desired, revise the proposal. A simple majority vote by the committee is required to approve the motion to consider a proposal for bylaw amendment.

Section 2 Process for Consideration and Adoption

After a proposed amendment to the bylaws is reviewed and approved by the Bylaws committee, the proposed amendment shall be forwarded to the Faculty in writing. The Faculty shall consider the proposed amendment at the next regular or special faculty meeting, not less than fifteen (15) business days after distribution of the proposed amendment.

At this meeting the Faculty shall discuss the proposed amendment and may recommend that the proposal be returned to the Bylaws Committee for further revision prior to reconsideration.
If no substantive revisions are proposed at this meeting, the original proposal may be adopted by a two-thirds majority vote. Revisions of a non-substantive nature (see Section 3) shall not prevent the Faculty from voting on the proposal at this meeting.
If substantive revisions to the proposal are approved at the meeting by a simple majority vote, the proposal, as revised, shall be resubmitted to the Faculty following the above procedure.

Section 3 Non-Substantive Revisions

The Faculty shall have the power to adopt such revisions to these bylaws as are, in its judgment, non-substantive modifications, clarifications, reorganizations, or renumbering, or revisions made necessary because of organizational changes, name changes, punctuation, spelling, or other errors of grammar or expression. The action to revise may be taken by motion acted upon in the same manner as any other motion before the Faculty.