Faculty Senate and University Committees

Mandate

The Appeals and Sanctions Committee considers faculty appeals for denial of tenure, dismissal for adequate cause, and 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 based on their objectivity, competence, and personal standing in the North Park academic community. The committee meets as necessary.

Mandate

The Core Curriculum is foundational for all students and all areas of study and vocation. It promotes human excellence and gives students the knowledge, skills, and values to live a life of significance and service.

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

• Articulating a statement on and a rationale for specific general education goals in a liberal arts context
• Reviewing, developing, and recommending policy and standards regarding common learning
• Establishing and revising criteria for courses in the Core Curriculum
• Articulating skills, knowledge, and competencies needed to meet educational objectives aligned with the institutional mission, vision, and core identities
• Facilitating assessment and monitoring student outcomes within the Core Curriculum
• Considering strategies for improved writing across the curriculum
• Ensuring the integration of Christian, urban, and multicultural content and competencies throughout the Core Curriculum

Membership

Members include the directors of the Core Curriculum, the Writing Center, and the Office of Diversity and Intercultural Life; five representatives from the faculty at large; and Student Government Association representatives.

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 academic 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 college and school, the Division of Student Engagement, 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 of academic programs. It receives annual educational assessment 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 before 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 the Division of Student Engagement, the Athletics Department, University Ministries, and the student body. Members are appointed for three-year terms.

Mandate

The Faculty Personnel Committee prepares recommendations concerning promotion and tenure for the Office of the Provost. 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

Nine tenured members of the faculty who are neither deans nor directors —no one of whom is scheduled for a review for promotion during the academic years concerned—comprise the committee and are elected for three-year terms. A minimum of four and a maximum of five will have completed at least 10 years of service at North Park University. Representation is distributed among, and is as representative as possible of, the university’s colleges and schools.

Mandate

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

Membership

At least six full-time faculty members comprise the committee.

Mandate

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

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

Membership

Seven members elected for three-year terms comprise the committee.

Mandate

The Student Academic Standing Committee considers student appeals regarding the university’s academic policies and recommends changes in academic policies. The policy categories 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 include:

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 and apartments, University Ministries, athletics, etc.

Membership

The committee primarily consists of student development personnel, but is distributed among and representative of university constituencies, including three faculty members. In consultation with the Academic Council, the vice president for student engagement appoints the chair. The committee meets as needed, but at least once per month. Members are appointed for three-year terms.

Mandate

The Undergraduate Research Committee supports and facilitates the development of faculty-supervised student research. The committee oversees North Park’s annual Undergraduate Research Symposium and awards yearly travel grants to students presenting their research at regional or national conferences. The committee works to enhance programs and develop policies for integrating research into the curriculum and summer research activities.

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 eight weeks in the summer. NPRESS is open to faculty and undergraduate students of all disciplines. NPRESS students will receive a stipend plus free on-campus housing. Board is not included. No academic credit is 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 the student application (completed by the student) and the faculty application (completed by the faculty mentor) are to be submitted to the URC. The URC evaluates 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 eight full weeks of 30–40 hours of research work per week?
• Commitment: Is the student committed to the project and full participation in the NPRESS program?

Student Travel Grants

The URC 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 does not guarantee an award.

Applications for travel between November–March are due in October; applications for travel between April–October (of the following academic year) are due in March. The committee announces application updates in “This Week at North Park,” the weekly student e-newsletter that runs during the academic year.