Aerial view of North Park University campus with Chicago skyline.

Office of the Provost

University Committees

Mandate

The Appeals and Sanctions Committee considers faculty appeals for denial of tenure, for dismissal for adequate cause, and for appeals of major sanctions.

Membership

The Appeals and Sanctions Committee consists of 15 tenured faculty members with professor rank, elected by the voting faculty for three year terms. Election procedures shall ensure that representatives are elected from both arts and sciences and professional schools. The choice of members should be on the basis of their objectivity, competence, and personal standing in the North Park academic community. The committee meets as necessary.

Mandate

The Curriculum and Instruction Committee acts as an advisory and oversight body for faculty proposals regarding changes in curriculum including, but not limited to, policy, general education, and the University catalog:

  • To develop and propose curricular policy for approval by the faculty
  • To be available as advisors to faculty members on issues of curriculum and instruction

Membership

Representatives are from each division and school, Student Enrichment Services and Support, and Office of the Registrar. Members are elected for three-year terms.

Mandate

The Educational Assessment Committee provides leadership in developing a comprehensive assessment plan that provides opportunities for all University constituents to assess the effectiveness of the university in fulfilling its educational mission. The committee acts as an advisory and oversight committee for educational assessment (EA) of academic programs. It receives annual EA Outcomes Reports and reviews these for achievement of the stated program and University outcomes. The committee fosters assessment-based quality improvement activities of educational units.

All educational program proposals (majors and minors) must include an Educational Assessment Plan (EAP) as part of the approval process for offering the program. The program objectives and EAP must be submitted to the Educational Assessment Committee for review at least one committee meeting prior to moving to the North Park University faculty meeting for acceptance as a program.

Membership

At least four representatives from the University faculty constitute the majority of the committee; four representatives also serve from student development, athletics, University Ministries, and the student body. Members are appointed for three-year terms.

Mandate

The Personnel Committee prepares recommendations to the Office of the Provost concerning promotion and tenure. In doing this, it seeks to fairly evaluate a faculty member’s teaching competence, scholarly and professional attainment, responsible participation in institutional activities, and alignment with institutional mission.

Membership

The committee is comprised of nine tenured members of the faculty who are neither Deans nor Directors (elected for three-year terms), no one of whom is scheduled for a review for promotion during the academic years concerned. A minimum of four and a maximum of five will have completed at least ten years of service at North Park University. Representation is distributed among, and is as representative as possible of, University divisions and schools.

Mandate

The General Education Program is the undergraduate curriculum that constitutes core requirements for common learning. The core of courses ensures student learning towards lives of significance and service. General Education (GE) facilitates acquisition of knowledge, skills, abilities, appreciations, and values that promote human excellence through a liberal education.

The General Education Committee is responsible for investigating effective program design and recommending to faculty and administration a strategy for strengthening North Park’s GE program. The functions of the committee include:

  • Articulate a statement on and rationale for specific general education goals in liberal arts context.
  • Review, develop, and recommend policy and standards regarding common learning.
  • Establish and revise criteria for courses in the General Education Program.
  • Articulate skills, knowledge and competencies needed to meet educational objectives confluent with institutional mission, vision and core identities.
  • Coordinate the integration of Campus Theme programming with course content, across student’s time at North Park University.
  • Facilitate assessment and monitor student outcomes within the GE curriculum.
  • Consider strategies for improved writing across the curriculum.
  • Ensure the integration of Christian, urban, and multicultural content and competencies throughout the GE curriculum.

Membership

Members include the directors of General Education, the North Park Dialogueprogram, and the Writing Center; the Dean of Diversity and Intercultural Programs; five representatives from the faculty at large; and student government representatives.

Mandate

The Institutional Review Board studies, interprets, and enforces the University’s policies on human and animal research. It reports its approval and review of projects to the Provost.

Membership

The committee is comprised of at least six full-time faculty member

Mandate

The Professional Development Committee supports the professional development of faculty and staff in the areas of teaching, research, and service. The committee annually awards competitive grants in teaching, research, and service to faculty and staff members on the basis of individual development plans.

The committee is responsible for developing activities deemed appropriate, articulating development opportunities, and reporting the awarding of grants in writing to the administration and the University faculty.

Membership

The committee is composed of seven members elected for three-year terms.

More Information

For more details on the work of this committee, and to access forms and documents, North Park faculty and staff should visit the committee’s site in Sharepoint.

Questions may be addressed to Jud Curry in the School of Adult Learning, current chair of the Professional Development Committee.

Mandate

The Student Academic Standing Committee considers student appeals regarding the academic policies of the University and recommends changes in academic policies. The categories of policies include the following: student appeals of graduation requirements, student appeals of academic dismissal, and course registration issues.

Membership

The Student Academic Standing Committee consists of eight faculty representatives, the registrar, and the disability access specialist.

Mandate

The Student Development Committee initiates and supports co-curricular programs for student development. It prepares a yearly program for the development of the University student community, focusing on issues of concern to the holistic student educational experience at North Park.

The duties for this University committee will be:

  1. To initiate and support co-curricular programs for student development.
  2. To provide leadership in reviewing the current advising processes and structures present at the University and to make recommendations based on researched models, for improvement to those processes and structures.
  3. To prepare a yearly program for the development of the University student community, focusing on issues of concern to the holistic student experience at North Park. To look for ways to connect what happens in the classroom with student activities in the residence halls/apartments, university ministries, athletics, etc.
  4. To incorporate the University theme into the Student Development Committee deliberations throughout the year.

Membership

The committee primarily consists of student development personnel, but is distributed among, and representative of, University constituencies including three faculty members. The Vice President of Student Development, in consultation with the Academic Council, appoints the chair of the committee from student development. The committee meets as needed, but at least once per month. Members are appointed for three-year terms.

Mandate

The Undergraduate Research Committee (URC) supports and facilitates the development of faculty-supervised student research. The committee is responsible for overseeing North Park’s annual Undergraduate Research Symposium and awards annual travel grants to students who are presenting their research at regional or national conferences. The committee works to enhance programs and develop policies for integration of research into the curriculum and for summer research activities.

Undergraduate Research Symposium

Previous years’ programs are available here:

NPRESS

The North Park Research Experience for Summer Students (NPRESS) provides opportunities for North Park students to participate in directed undergraduate research with a North Park faculty mentor during a period of 8 weeks in the summer (specific dates TBD, pending coordination with summer housing schedule). NPRESS is open to faculty andundergraduate students of all disciplines. NPRESS students will receive a stipend of $3,500 plus free on-campus housing. Board is not included. No academic credit will be awarded for student participation in the NPRESS program.

Application Instructions

Faculty and students apply jointly to the Undergraduate Research Committee (URC) for approval to conduct an NPRESS research project. Both this student application (completed by the student) and the faculty application (completed by the faculty mentor) are to be submitted to the Undergraduate Research Committee (URC). The URC will evaluate proposals received
according to the following criteria:

  • Merit: Is the project “an inquiry or investigation conducted by an undergraduate student that makes an original intellectual or creative contribution to the discipline”?
  • Outcome: Does the project have clearly defined goals and are the goals achievable during the summer? Will the project engage the student for a period of 8 full weeks of 30-40 hours of research work per week?
  • Commitment: Is the student committed to the project and to full participation in the NPRESS program?
Forms

Look for application announcements in Weekly Announcements.

Student Travel Grants

The Undergraduate Research Committee has limited funds available to sponsor undergraduate students who wish to present their research at professional conferences. Students must be presenting on research conducted at North Park (that is, no internships, off-campus REUs, etc.). The URC will review all travel grant applications and make awards based on the number of applications received, total requested funds, and merit. Awarded funds may not cover all costs and an application is not a guarantee of an award.

Applications for travel between Nov-Mar are due in October; Applications for travel between Apr-Oct (of the following academic year) are due in March. Application announcements are made in Weekly Announcements.