Rule 3335-3-34 | Schools, departments, divisions, and sections; defined and located.
(A) The units of a college organization for instruction, research, and service are the school, department, and division.
Each of these units should normally meet the following qualitative requirements:
(1) A recognized, discrete area of academic concern not already included within the mission of another school, department or division.
(2) A proposed or existing academic program at both undergraduate and graduate or graduate professional levels.
(3) A source of faculty members prepared to offer academic work in the subject concerned.
(4) An academic subject that offers research and/or public service opportunities in addition to formal classroom teaching and has the potential for developing recognition by other scholarly groups.
(5) An academic field that has developed or is in the process of developing a student clientele either for the purpose of major programs or as an important "service" discipline to other major programs.
(6) The ability to assume primary fiscal responsibility.
(B) A particular unit may not meet all the aforementioned criteria, but the formation of a unit that does not meet all of the criteria should only be approved when circumstances dictate that approval is important to the academic development of the university.
(C) Schools and departments shall have a minimum of ten tenure-track faculty positions spread through at least one of each of the three academic ranks of assistant professor to professor, unless persuasive academic reasons demonstrate the need for exceptions.
(D) A school is differentiated from a department as follows:
(1) The undergraduate or graduate work offered by a school may lead to tagged degrees.
(2) Recipients of "tagged" degrees shall be recommended for such degrees by the faculty of the appropriate school.
(3) A school, with the exception of the graduate school, may be organized into departments, divisions, or sections.
(4) A school, with the exception of the graduate school, shall be responsible to a college for administrative purposes. Curricular proposals developed by the school shall be transmitted to the council on academic affairs for review and action after approval by the college dean or designee.
(5) A school may establish its own admission and retention policies and requirements within the framework of university policies and may retain student personnel records for those students enrolled in degree programs under the control of the school. To facilitate the conduct of these activities, a school shall appoint a secretary, with the responsibilities outlined for a secretary of a college (see rule 3335-3-33 of the Administrative Code).
(E) A "division" is an academic unit established within a college or a school to provide for a developing need in a circumscribed subject. The head of such a unit shall be known as the chair of a division, shall have academic responsibility, and may be assigned fiscal responsibility by the respective dean of the college or director of the school. This unit shall be responsible for instruction, service, and research in a specific academic concern. Such units may be established in any field in which a new department is not feasible, but in which there is a possibility that growth in the subject may eventually lead to the status of a department. However, the determination to establish such a unit need not be based solely on the presumption that such a unit will attain this status. The status of these units shall be reviewed periodically by the council on academic affairs.
(F) A "section" is an informal unit within a school, department, division, or academic center that is established to expedite the administration of a given academic subject. The function of a section shall be to assist the parent unit in the administration of the subject and to provide an organizational structure for relationships with professional organizations or other individuals with similar interests. The faculty member in charge shall be known as the section head. The head of the section is appointed by the administrator of the parent unit and has responsibilities delegated by the administrator of the parent unit. The formation of a section must be reported to the council on academic affairs.
(G) The establishment or abolition of schools, departments, and divisions shall require approval by the council on academic affairs, the university senate, and the board of trustees (see rule 3335-3-37 of the Administrative Code).
Last updated September 20, 2022 at 8:49 AM
Supplemental Information
Amplifies: 3335.08
Prior Effective Dates: 3/13/1978, 7/1/1984, 8/18/1986, 8/2/1993, 6/15/1996, 9/1/2001, 6/30/2012, 11/9/2020