I. Mission, Vision, and Values 

“Our past is your future….”

A. Mission

As a nationally and internationally prominent department at a major research university, KU historians appreciate the complexity and diversity of the human experience, question simple explanations, evaluate evidence in multiple forms, and offer insightful interpretations with clarity of expression. We

• Produce excellent scholarship that expands the boundaries of history.
• Mentor the next generation of historians through our MA and PhD programs.
• Educate undergraduate students about the value of intellectual curiosity, empathetic and critical thinking, and historical understanding.

The Department of History seeks to work with others across KU, throughout the country, and around the world to foster understanding of the complex origins of today’s world and its challenges and to aid in intelligent decision-making about the future.

B. Vision

We aspire to be a leading student-centered, research-intensive department that attracts and retains talented and intellectually curious students from across Kansas and beyond. We aim to have strong faculty and staff members who contribute to the department, the University, the community, and the world through the excellence of our teaching, research, and service. We seek to provide a welcoming, supportive environment for learning and working where differences are valued and all persons are offered an equitable opportunity to achieve their academic and professional goals.

C. Values

We believe that a critical understanding of the past is foundational to a sustainable future in which social and cultural diversity is appreciated. We accomplish our mission through the lens of shared values. Our goal is to be:

• Driven by excellence.
• Committed to the advancement of historical scholarship
• Creative, critical, and comparative thinkers.
• Committed to honor diversity in our classrooms, department, campus, and community.
• Proactive in efforts to promote an equitable and inclusive environment for all.
• Transparent and inclusive in our governance.
• Service oriented.
• Fiscally responsible.

II. Department Meetings and Membership 

A. Powers of the Department
The department recognizes that it is bound in its action by University regulations, particularly as expressed in the Handbook for Faculty and Other Unclassified Staff. Reference should be made to these regulations in all cases since the bylaws and other policies and practices of the department are supplementary to the main body of University regulation.

B. Conduct of Departmental Meetings
Within the limits imposed by these bylaws, the Chairperson of the department shall conduct departmental meetings in the manner most likely to ensure free, open, and orderly discussion. When questions of procedure arise, appeal should be made to the latest edition of Robert’s Rules of Order.

C. Scheduling of Departmental Meetings
Before the beginning of classes each semester, the Chairperson will typically schedule five regular departmental meetings (including the annual convocation), to be held at three- to four- week intervals over the course of the semester. Except in exceptional circumstances announced well in advance, these meetings will be held from 10:30 to noon on Friday and last no more than one and one-half hours.

D. Membership
Voting members of the department shall consist of those holding tenure-track professorships, teaching professorships, and other continuing multi-year appointments in the department (such as lecturers or visiting professors), as well as those students who have been duly elected or appointed as representatives to the department. The voting membership will be confined to persons holding tenure-track or continuing multi-year appointments in the department for final hiring decisions, promotion and tenure recommendations, faculty and student evaluation, policies governing student academic standards, and other matters explicitly delimited by departmental bylaws. Student representatives cannot vote on these matters, and in some cases do not attend meetings in which these matters are discussed. Professors emeriti of the department are encouraged to participate in meetings in an advisory capacity, but do not have a voting role.

E. Student Representation

1. At departmental meetings, the number of student representatives will be determined as follows: students will represent a number less than or equal to 20 percent of the permanent faculty. Two of these voting members will be undergraduates; the balance of these voting members will be graduate students.

2. Graduate student members are elected annually by the department’s History Graduate Student Organization (HGSO).
3. Undergraduate representatives are recommended by the Undergraduate Committee and appointed by the Chairperson.

F. Quorum
A quorum must be present at a departmental meeting in order for any vote to be held. Presentations and discussions may take place in the absence of a quorum. A quorum will be determined by the following procedure:

1. At the start of each semester, the quorum number will be calculated by counting the number of faculty holding tenure-track or continuing multi-year appointments, dividing this number by three and rounding up to the nearest whole number.
2. A quorum is constituted when the number of faculty holding tenure-track or continuing appointments present at a departmental meeting meets or exceeds the quorum number.

3. The presence of student representative at a meeting does not contribute to the determination of a quorum.

G. Matters for Consideration at Departmental Meetings
With the exception of bylaws revisions and general announcements, all agenda items must be distributed electronically to the members of the department before noon two business days preceding the meeting at which they will be discussed or acted upon. This rule may be waived by the majority consent of voting members present at the meeting.

H. Email and Paper Ballots
The Department Chair may call for a vote via email ballot for time-sensitive business that arises between regularly scheduled departmental meetings. Voting rights for email ballots are the same as voting rights for departmental meetings. For an email vote to be valid, the total number of votes cast by faculty must be greater than or equal to the number needed to constitute a quorum at a regular departmental meeting. Email ballots will be distributed and collected by the department’s administrative associate, who will convey the outcome to the Department Chair while protecting the confidentiality of the votes. The Chair will announce these results to the department. Under some circumstances (such as election of members of the Personnel Committee), the Chair may use paper ballots for holding departmental votes outside regular meetings. Unless otherwise stipulated by departmental bylaws, the rules governing paper ballots will be the same as email ballots.

I. Virtual Attendance and Voting
The right to vote has special importance at departmental meetings called to discuss major issues, such as promotion and tenure recommendations, the appointment of faculty or the Department Chair, and bylaw revisions. If a department member with voting rights on a major issue is unable to attend in person in the course of their professional duties, such as attending an out-of-town conference or research leave, provision can be made to attend and vote at a departmental meeting in a virtual manner using the following procedure:

1. The absentee shall provide a written statement to the presiding chair that appoints a proxy in attendance at the departmental meeting.
2. The absentee shall be admitted to virtual attendance based on the majority vote of those in attendance.
3. It is the proxy’s responsibility to arrange and handle the interface for the absentee’s virtual attendance, which should enable the absentee to hear discussion and to communicate questions, comments, and their vote.
4. When voting, the proxy should fill out a ballot on behalf of the absentee with the direct assistance of the presiding chair, who will then include the ballot in tabulations of the departmental vote, while otherwise protecting its confidentiality.
5. As an alternative, faculty members unable to attend a meeting in person may submit a concise signed opinion to the presiding chair to be shared during general faculty discussion.

J. Minutes
The role of the secretary for each regular and special departmental meeting is to take minutes. The secretary has the responsibility to convey them in a timely manner to the Department Chair and administrative associate, including a complete and accurate text of all formally adopted provisions.  The responsibility of secretary will circulate alphabetically through the tenure-system faculty and teaching professors.

III. Chairperson 

A. Duties
The Department Chairperson is the administrative and operating head of the department, the chair of departmental meetings, and an ex officio member of all departmental committees. The Chair is also the representative of the department with other units, departments, divisions, and administrators of the university, except in those cases when another member of the department has been specifically designated to act in that capacity. The Chair’s main duties include:

1. Providing oversight and leadership for all unit activities.
2. Administering the undergraduate and graduate academic programs of the unit, including the appointment in consultation with the Personnel Committee of a Director of Undergraduate Studies, Director of Graduate Studies, and committees to oversee these activities.
3. Reviewing and revising long-range plans for the unit, in consultation with the unit’s Personnel Committee.
4. Overseeing all internal budgetary, administrative, space, and personnel matters.

5. Supervising and reviewing the unit’s faculty and professional, academic, and support staff.
6. Seeking to enhance resources available to the unit by actively seeking internal and external funding Developing strategies, implementing plans, and organizing events for fundraising, including maintaining contact information for alumni and donors. Assisting KU Endowment and the College with fundraising initiatives that will benefit the department.
7. Developing and enhancing research and educational relationships between the unit and other units across the College and University, as well as with agencies outside the University, public and private.
8. Cultivating future leadership for the department by mentoring faculty members and providing leadership opportunities.
9. Executing College and University policy within the unit effectively. Informing and updating department faculty on changes to College and University policies that affect the History Department, and relaying to department faculty pertinent information from the meetings of chairs and program directors that affects the History Department.
10. Representing and reporting for the unit to the College and other University entities.
11. Serving as the main administrator, PI, or co-PI for grants originated by the department. (The PI would typically be a faculty member whose area of expertise lies in the area of the grant.)
12. Appointing other departmental officers, faculty representatives, and employees to perform designated tasks.
13. Maintaining, in consultation with the Personnel Committee, accurate, up-to-date versions of departmental bylaws and policies that are posted on the departmental website.
14. Hearing recommendations and complaints about faculty, staff, or students. When appropriate, the Chair will communicate these to University administration, or when relevant to Annual Faculty Evaluation or committee service, to the Personnel Committee.

B. The Chairperson, when acting in that capacity, routinely speaks and acts on behalf of the department as a whole. Consequently, it is vital for the Chairperson to ascertain the will of the department by consultation and to act on that will. It is recognized that this consultation may take many forms and that this requirement in no way inhibits the right of the Chairperson to speak and act as an individual.

C. The Personnel Committee is designated to serve the Chair in a general advisory capacity, and may advise the Dean on the Chair’s performance when appropriate.

D. The term of office of the Chairperson shall be three to five years. Term length is to be determined by agreement between the incoming chairperson and the Dean of the College, and whatever agreement is reached will be promptly communicated to the department. Extension of the term of office of the Chairperson for more than one year beyond the original term requires consultation with faculty at a departmental meeting.

E. Procedures for Selection and Appointment of a Chairperson
The selection of the Department Chair should reference current College policy on the matter: see Chairperson/Director Selection and Appointment in CLAS Policy. For the purpose of voting, the selection of a Chair is considered a personnel matter. In the case of an external search, the department will also follow bylaws for faculty appointments. In either case, the following procedure is required:

1. The Dean meets with voting members of the unit to review procedures and charge them to initiate the search.
2. Voting members of the department appoint a search committee and name a chair for it. The search committee chair must be a tenured member of the department.
3. The search committee prepares a position description and presents it to voting members for discussion and approval and then to the College Dean’s Office for final approval.
4. In conjunction with the Dean’s Office and SSC, the position announcement is uploaded to the University’s hiring system and published more broadly if it involves an external search.
5. A call for applications and nominations is emailed to the unit and affiliated faculty.
6. The search committee reviews applicants and conducts interviews with the most promising candidates. Traditionally, interviews have been conducted with the committee of the whole.
7. The search committee presents its recommendations to the unit, and the unit’s voting members identify candidate strengths and weaknesses and vote for their preferred candidate in a manner that will preserve the confidentiality of their votes. Student representatives are encouraged to participate in the initial discussion that follows the search committee’s recommendation, but are not allowed to vote and should vacate the room during general discussion by faculty entitled to vote on personnel matters. Faculty members must attend the meeting in person or via the procedure for virtual attendance to be eligible to vote.
8. Voting procedure: After the search committee chair closes discussion, each member entitled to vote on personnel decisions will receive a series of ballots with all finalist names.
   1. Each voting member will vote for their ONE favored candidate and designate any candidate they consider “unacceptable.”
   2. The candidate receiving the majority of votes will be designated the top- ranked candidate.
   3. Any candidate deemed unacceptable by the majority of voters at any point will be designated unacceptable by the department.
   4. If no candidate receives a majority on the ballot, the lowest vote recipient will be eliminated from consideration on the subsequent ballot. Voting will continue until a majority agrees on a top-ranked candidate.
   5. This procedure will be repeated for ranking the remaining finalists until all finalists are ranked.
   6. In the case of a persistent tie, the search committee chair will communicate a tied ranking to the Dean.

9. The ranking that results from this vote and the list of strengths and weaknesses produced by the search committee (modified as appropriate after meeting discussion) will provide the principal basis for the department’s recommendation for appointment to the Dean and other University administration. After ranking is completed, the search committee chair will inform official student representatives of this outcome, so that they can inform other interested students, taking care to protect the confidentiality of the outcome and process.

IV. Department Officers 

A. Associate Chairperson: The Associate Chair is appointed and supervised by the Chairperson and has the following duties:

1. Determining the department’s schedule of courses, including which courses are offered and the dates and times of instruction. In setting the course schedule, the Associate Chair sends out a call each fall semester for faculty to recommend courses for the subsequent academic year and consults with the Graduate and Undergraduate Directors and relevant groups of faculty with shared teaching interests.
2. Overseeing the performance of limited-term and multi-year lecturers, visiting professors, and similar appointments, when appropriate.
3.  Evaluating limited-term and multi-year lecturers, visiting professors, and other contingent faculty for reappointment and promotion.
4.  Taking the place of the Chairperson when they are unavailable or otherwise unable to perform the duties of the Chair, both for internal matters and when representing the department to outside units.
5.  Monitoring student credit hour production and the number of undergraduate majors and minors and pursuing strategies to maintain or grow these numbers.
6.  Other responsibilities as the directed by the Chairperson.

B. Director of Graduate Studies
The Director of Graduate Studies is appointed and supervised by the Chairperson. The main duty of the Director of Graduate Studies is to preside over the department’s graduate program and the Graduate Committee. If the Chair and Associate Chair are unable to perform the duties of Chairperson, the Director of Graduate Studies will substitute.

Other important duties of the Director include, but are not restricted to:

1. Ensuring that departmental protocols and policies for graduate students conform to College and University standards.
2. Representing the graduate program to the College and University.
3. Ministering to the questions and concerns of present, past, and prospective graduate students and of faculty regarding the graduate program.
4. Serving as liaison between graduate students and faculty.
5. Assisting faculty in guiding their students through the program.
6. Coordinating the annual admissions process and guiding applicants through the process.
7. In collaboration with the History Graduate Student Organization, planning and executing the annual Prospective Students Visit for newly admitted students.
8. Overseeing the granting of departmental awards for graduate students.
9. Preparing applications for graduate student funding and awards internal to the College and University.
10. Planning and executing professional development activities for graduate students.
11. Assigning GTAs to History courses each semester, in consultation with graduate students and instructors of record regarding preference.
12. Recommending to the Associate Chair advanced graduate students to teach their own History course(s) as Assistant Instructors.
13. Serving as liaison between GTAs and instructors of record regarding performance and related concerns.
14. Collecting, preparing, and submitting data on the graduate program for the College and University.
15. Regularly updating department faculty on the state of the graduate program, including providing faculty with enrollment information at the beginning of every semester, and regular updates on the progress of graduate admissions and matriculation.

C. Director of Undergraduate Studies
The Director of Undergraduate Studies is appointed and supervised by the Chairperson. The main duty of the Director of Undergraduate Studies is to preside over the department’s undergraduate program and Undergraduate Committee.

Other important duties of the Director include, but are not restricted to:

1. Ensuring that departmental protocols and policies for undergraduate students conform to College and University standards.
2. Representing the undergraduate program to the College and University.
3. Ministering to the questions and concerns of present, past, and prospective undergraduate students and of faculty regarding the undergraduate program.
4. Serving as liaison between undergraduate students and faculty.

5. Coordinating undergraduate course offerings within the department, with other units offering “meets with” courses or cross-listed courses.
6. Coordinating undergraduate advising with the department’s advising specialist, and where appropriate, with faculty and other student advisors in the College and University.
7. Collecting, preparing, and submitting KU Core assessments and degree-level assessments each year.
8. Overseeing the granting of departmental awards for undergraduate students.
9. Preparing applications for undergraduate student funding and awards internal to the College and University.
10. Overseeing cases of academic misconduct by undergraduates.
11. Implementing strategies for the recruitment of majors and minors.
12. Implementing strategies for promoting undergraduate enrollment in history courses.
13. Collecting, preparing, and submitting data on the undergraduate program for the College and University.
14. Around the twentieth class-day of each semester, soliciting and archiving syllabi for all courses being taught that semester.

D. Department officers are normally given ten-month appointments. The Chairperson will request supplemental summer salary for these positions from the College, and with approval of the Dean, will provide a one-course reduction in teaching responsibilities each year. Upon conclusion of a three-year term in the position, the Chairperson will recommend to the Dean a one-semester Special Research Assignment.

E. Strategic Planning
As our official leaders, the Chairperson and Department Officers are primarily responsible for strategic planning for the department and will do so in close consultation with other departmental committees and department members as a whole. Strategic planning involves envisioning desired futures for the department and formulating concrete goals that can be translated into operational plans and actions. It also involves accounting for the financial resources available for achieving these goals and planning for contingencies. Every three to five years, or at moments when requested by the Dean or University administration, such as before and after an External Review, the Chair and Department Officers will draw up a long-term Strategic Plan for the department, which they will submit to the department for discussion and approval. Each academic year, the Chair and Department Officers will make an annual assessment of the Strategic Plan’s progress, deficiencies, and intervening contingencies; discuss this assessment at a departmental meeting; and make appropriate alterations and amendments to the Strategic Plan. Whenever possible, this will be done in parallel with the discussion of priorities in hiring, following the procedure outlined under Faculty Appointments.

V. Faculty Appointments 

A. Permanent Additions to Faculty
Procedures for additions to the tenure-stream faculty and teaching professors will be governed by the Handbook for Faculty and Unclassified Staff and Guidelines on Academic Appointments of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. No one may become a permanent member of the department without the support of the majority vote of the members of the department present or virtually present at a regular or special meeting. Student representatives and emeriti faculty may not vote on faculty appointments.

B. Differential Allocation of Effort (DAE):
Differential Allocations of Effort are governed by the Provost’s policy, Differential Allocation of Effort (DAE) Policy. The Department of History normally expects tenured and tenure-track faculty to devote 40 percent of their effort to research, 40 percent to teaching, and 20 percent to service to the university, community, and profession, and it typically applies these weights when evaluating faculty performance. Teaching professors are normally expected to devote 10 percent to research, 75 percent to teaching, and 10 percent to service, with the additional 5 percent of effort allocated by contract to one of those three categories.

Changes in the standard allocation of effort or an existing DAE can be initiated by the faculty member or Department Chair. Reasons for Differential Allocation of Effort can include short- term alterations, such as research-intensive semesters or funded research, or longer-term alterations related to career stage, performance, editorial or administrative appointments, or other issues. Departmental needs take precedence over individual needs when making decisions to alter a faculty member’s Allocation of Effort, and redistribution must be consistent with the best interests of the unit.

If a faculty member would like to make a DAE agreement, whether temporary or permanent, they should make this request to the Department Chair, who will consult with the appropriate Dean about the feasibility of the request. Any changes to faculty Allocation of Effort will be documented in the faculty member’s personnel file and made available to the Personnel Committee for the purpose of annual evaluation. If the faculty member and Chairperson disagree about the DAE, the faculty member may request a non-binding review by an ad-hoc faculty committee designated to hear such matters. Long-term DAEs must be reviewed at least every three years.

C. Authorization for New Positions

1. Each year as requested by the Dean, voting members of the department will suggest and discuss potential hires and produce, by vote, a ranked list of priorities in hiring. The Chairperson will initiate this process and convey this list to the Dean with appropriate explanations for those hires and their ranking.

2. Discussion and voting procedure: In advance of the departmental meeting at which potential hires will be discussed, the ranked list of suggestions for future hires from the previous year will be distributed to members of the department. Each voting member of the department (including student representatives) is requested to submit a ranked list of up to five suggestions for future hires and turn in this preliminary ranking to the department’s administrative associate for tabulation. In consultation with Department Officers, the Department Chair will group suggestions that are very similar for the purpose of tabulating this preliminary list and to solicit further suggestions inspired by departmental teaching needs. The resulting non-binding tabulation will be circulated to the department and provide a starting point for discussion. From the list of possible positions discussed at the meeting, each voter should list on a ballot as many positions as desired; rank these selections numerically from highest preference to lowest preference; and turn in this ranking for tabulation to the department’s administrative associate who will maintain their confidentiality. Voters may also write in positions that were not discussed. For both the preliminary and final votes, one point will be allocated for each first- place vote; 1/2 point for each second-place vote; 1/3 point for each third-place vote; 1/4 point for each fourth-place vote; and so forth. The final list of positions submitted to the Dean will be ranked based on the number of points received from the total vote, and the final ranked list and points will be reported to the department as a whole. Ties will be reported in alphabetical order as ties. Votes for positions that are very similar may be combined or disaggregated in the preliminary and final rankings at the discretion of the Chair.
3. Recommendations for potential direct hires, including domestic partner accommodations and Langston Hughes Professorships, should be directed to the Department Chairperson. The Chair will then consult with the Dean and the department about the feasibility of such a hire.

D. Search Procedures for Tenure-Track Faculty Positions

1. Once a position has been authorized, the Chairperson will appoint a search committee to conduct preliminary evaluations of candidates. The search committee will be composed of faculty from relevant fields, faculty from the department at large, a graduate student representative, a member external to the department, and the total should be an odd number to avoid tie votes. The graduate student and external representative vote as members of the committee, but do not vote on final departmental hiring decisions. The Department Chair will designate a chairperson for the search committee.
2. In consultation with the Department Chair and Dean’s Office, the search committee will produce a draft position description and job advertisement and present them to the department for discussion and approval and to the Dean and University administration for final approval.

3. Search committee members and the Department Chair will carefully follow policies and procedures of the College, Provost, Human Resources, and Equal Opportunity for faculty recruitment, with the overall goals of maximizing the diversity and quality of the applicant pool.
4. When the deadline for initial review arrives, the search committee will obtain a complete list of applicants and access to their complete applications. After evaluating all application files and consulting with University administration to ensure that other procedural requirements have been met, the search committee will compose a list of between nine and twelve candidates for screening interviews. The committee will make this interview list available to voting members of the department, who will be given access to all application materials so they can provide feedback to the committee on these choices.
5. Once the search committee has secured permission from the appropriate University offices to interview these candidates, the Department Chair will solicit a vote by eligible members of the department to approve the interview list. This vote may be conducted electronically.
6. After screening interviews and thoughtful deliberation, the search committee will typically select three candidates to invite to campus, and will provide at least two names as ranked alternates. The search committee chair will secure permission from the appropriate University offices to invite those candidates to campus. At this point, the search committee chair will inform all candidates that invitations for on-campus interviews have been made.
7. After all candidates have visited campus, the search committee will compose a report summarizing the strengths and weaknesses of the finalists. The graduate student representative on the search committee will survey graduate students about their response to the candidates and submit this summary to include in the committee report. If the search committee can reach a consensus on ranking the finalists, it may include a suggested ranking in its report, or it can leave the finalists unranked. This report will be made available to faculty eligible for voting on hiring in advance of the meeting to discuss candidates, unless the department agrees by majority vote to waive the two-business-day rule. To help ensure confidentiality, this report will be made available in paper form and kept in the administrative associate’s office.
8. The Department Chair will call a departmental meeting to discuss the candidates and recommend appointments to the College. The meeting will begin with the search committee chair’s summary of the committee report. Student and external representatives are encouraged to participate in the initial discussion that follows the search committee’s report, but are not allowed to vote and should vacate the room during general discussion by faculty entitled to vote on personnel matters.
9. Voting procedure: If there are more than two finalist candidates, voting will proceed similarly to the procedure for electing a Department Chair. After the Department Chair closes discussion, each member entitled to vote on personnel decisions will receive a series of ballots with all finalist names. Faculty members must attend the meeting in person or via the procedure for virtual attendance to be eligible to vote.

1. Each voting member will vote for their ONE favored candidate and designate any candidate they consider “unacceptable.”
2. The candidate receiving the majority of votes will be designated the top- ranked candidate.
3. Any candidate deemed unacceptable by the majority of voters at any point will be designated unacceptable by the department.
4. If no candidate receives a majority on the ballot, the lowest vote recipient will be eliminated from consideration on the subsequent ballot. Voting will continue until a majority agrees on a top-ranked candidate.
5. This procedure will be repeated for ranking the remaining finalists until all finalists are ranked.
6. In the case of a persistent tie, the search committee chair will rank the tied candidates (in this specific situation, giving the search committee chair a double vote).

10. The ranking that results from this vote and the list of strengths and weaknesses produced by the search committee (modified as appropriate after meeting discussion) will provide the principal basis for the department’s recommendation for appointment to the Dean and other University administration.
11. After ranking is completed, the search committee chair will inform the student search representative of this outcome, so that the representative can inform other interested students, taking care to protect the confidentiality of the outcome and process. Once University administration formally approves that an offer of appointment can be made to a candidate, the search committee chair will inform in a timely manner all candidates for the position that an official offer of appointment has been made. When an offer of appointment is formally accepted by a candidate and approved by the University, the Department Chair will inform members of the department and the search committee chair will inform all applicants of the conclusion of the search.

E. Teaching Professors and Other Direct Hires

1. Teaching professors are appointed to three-year, renewable positions. They are eligible for promotion after six years as described in an appendix. They are not eligible for tenure, but their appointments are envisioned as continuing provided that their performance meets or exceeds expectations and the budget permits. They have voting rights on a par with tenure-stream faculty, but may not vote on promotion and tenure cases for tenure-track faculty. Annual Evaluation of teaching professors follows procedures similar to those of tenure-track faculty as described in an appendix. They may be appointed through a competitive search, in which case the search procedure should follow that of tenure-track faculty.

2. The Department of History will make a concerted effort to recruit faculty from underrepresented groups by recommending direct hires and to retain faculty within our department and in other units via domestic partner accommodations. Procedures for domestic partner accommodations and other direct hires are governed by policies of the College and Provost. See, for example, the Domestic Partner Accommodation in CLAS Policy and the CLAS Langston Hughes Center: Visiting Professors webpage.
3. The direct appointment of teaching professors and any other tenure-track faculty hires is governed by the following procedure, if it does not involve a competitive search:
   1. Once the Dean authorizes consideration of a prospective hire to move forward, the Chairperson or designated faculty will present their credentials to the department for consideration. If a majority of a quorum of those with the right to vote on personnel matters approves, consideration of this new hire will move on to a formal interview. Such a vote can be done electronically or in a departmental meeting.
   2. At a minimum, a formal interview will involve sharing a portfolio demonstrating the candidate’s accomplishments and potential in research, teaching, and service and a public presentation to the department demonstrating one or more of these capabilities.
   3. After completion of the interview process, the Department Chair will present a report summarizing the candidate’s strengths and weaknesses to a meeting of the department. After discussion, eligible faculty will vote to approve or disapprove of the candidate’s hire. This report and vote will provide the basis for the department’s recommendation for appointment to the Dean and other University administration.

VI. Other Appointments 

A. Professors Emeriti
Retired colleagues who have been relieved of departmental obligations and advanced to the rank of Professor Emeritus have not relinquished many of the rights and privileges that accompany membership in the department. The department will work to ensure that they will continue to enjoy such benefits as they care to utilize. These include, but are not limited to, a departmental mailbox, mailing privileges, use of departmental stationery and other office supplies, and secretarial assistance. They are eligible for office space as departmental availability permits, and may continue to advise students and offer such courses as University rules and departmental needs allow. Their participation in departmental meetings and other departmental activities will be welcomed, albeit without a voting role. All of this entails no obligation on their part, but merely represents the department’s desire to recognize that retirement should not diminish the fellowship they enjoy, in the conviction that Professor Emeritus is a highly esteemed academic rank which deserves respect and consideration.

B. Research Associates and Adjunct Faculty
The Department Chair may appoint qualified individuals as unpaid research associates or adjunct faculty, as permitted by University rules.

C. Courtesy Faculty Appointments

1. Faculty members who do not hold appointments in the Department of History but whose research and/or teaching is historical in nature may be appointed as courtesy members of the department.
2. The chairperson may make courtesy appointments based on the recommendation of departmental faculty or when approached directly by a prospective appointee. Such appointments are subject to approval by University administration.
3. Courtesy faculty are encouraged to participate in departmental programs, but do not hold voting rights within the department.

D. Non-Tenure-Track Appointments
Appointment of lecturers, visiting professors, assistant instructors, and other paid non-tenure- track appointments (with the exception of teaching professors) will be made by the Chairperson, who will do so in consultation with Department Officers and Subject Area Caucuses. The Chair will not recommend to the Dean the appointmnet of a multi-term lecturer without the support of a majority of the faculty. The Associate Chair is primarily responsible for supervising these appointments.

At the conclusion of their contract, a multi-year lecturer may be eligible for reappointment with an option for promotion. In the final semester of the contracted term, the Chair will convene a reappointment committee consisting of the Associate Chair as Chair and four other tenure-stream faculty or teaching professors. The reappointment committee will complete a review of the candidate’s record over the contracted term and determine whether (1) the candidate’s performance meets their contracted requirements and is worthy of reappointment and (2) department teaching needs warrant the continuation of the position. If the candidate meets or exceeds performance expectations, the committee may also recommend the candidate for promotion. The committee will inform the Department Chair in writing of its decision regarding reappointment and, if applicable, promotion. The Chair will then submit a written statement, incorporating the report of the committee, to the Dean’s Office.

E. Classified and Support Staff
The Department Chair is responsible for the hiring, assignment of duties, supervision, and evaluation of all support staff assigned to the department.

VII. Appointments to Regular Department Committees 

A. Each faculty member with FTE in the department will serve on one and only one of the following three Regular Committees during an academic year: Undergraduate, Graduate, and Personnel. The existence of these committees will not preclude the formation of ad hoc committees by the Chair or other departmental members to meet special needs.

B. At the end of the academic year (or as circumstances require), the Personnel Committee will make recommendations to the Department Chair regarding the appointment of faculty to Regular Committees to ensure that all committees have a balanced membership appropriate to their responsibilities and in the best interests of the department. Faculty committee assignments, whenever possible, should be no less than two years and no more than four (excluding ex oficio service).

C. Joint appointments: Faculty with 0.5 or less FTE in the department will be appointed to a Regular Committee, but with the exception of the Personnel Committee, they will be expected to provide less service, such as serving for only one semester during a calendar year, given their obligations to other departments. The details of their service will be negotiated among the faculty member, the committee chair, and the Department Chair.

VIII. Student Representation on Committees 

A. Students are entitled to be represented on all policy-making and search committees within the department at less than or equal to 20 percent of the faculty representation, and they are considered full voting members of departmental committees, unless specifically delimited by departmental bylaws. For example, student representatives are not involved in matters relating to faculty or student evaluation, and thus do not serve on the Personnel Committee. Students may serve in a representative capacity on a committee with fewer than four faculty members, but do so in an advisory capacity without a vote.

B. A graduate student shall be represented on the Graduate Committee. An undergraduate shall be represented on the Undergraduate Committee. Either graduate or undergraduate students may serve on the departmental committees other than the Personnel Committee. Students will not be represented on the Personnel Committee and shall not take part in any discussion or voting on personnel matters, including evaluation of sabbatical applications, misconduct deliberations, requests for travel/research funding, promotion and tenure committees, graduate admissions, or any matters that the Committee chair deems of a confidential nature. Student participation in changes to requirements in the undergraduate or graduate curriculum will be of an advisory nature, and without a vote in the matter. The participation of student representatives in faculty searches is discussed in the section on Faculty Appointments.

C. Selection: At the start of each academic year, the Director of Graduate Studies will initiate the process of selecting student representatives by distributing a call for nominations to all eligible students that includes this section of the bylaws. Faculty, student leaders, and interested students themselves are encouraged to nominate prospective representatives. The History Graduate Student Organization (HGSO) will annually select the graduate student representatives to the permanent committees and fill any vacancies that may occur. The Department Chair will select the undergraduate representatives to the standing committees, in consultation with the Undergraduate Director.

D. Expectations: Student representatives provide a vital service to the department. They are expected to attend all meetings of the committees to which they are assigned and to help fulfill the duties of these committees as described in their respective sections of departmental bylaws. It is important for student representatives to consult regularly with one another and with other students generally so that they can be effective representatives of the diversity of student interests and perspectives where departmental policies and activities are concerned. Student representatives will sometimes be involved in discussions of a confidential nature. It is important for students to protect this confidentiality and to ask faculty for advice on how to do so, as needed.

IX. Undergraduate Committee 

A. The chair will be appointed by the Department Chair and be designated as Director of Undergraduate Studies. The Director oversees the completion of the Undergraduate Committee’s tasks, delegates responsibilities to members of the Committee, and makes reports to the Department Chair and department as a whole.

B. Membership: The Undergraduate Committee will have no fewer than five members from among the tenure-stream faculty and teaching professors.

C. Duties of the Undergraduate Committee:

1. Curricula: Provide feedback on proposals for undergraduate courses. Review existing curricula and, as needed, suggest curricular changes to the department as a whole.
2. Academic Misconduct: Administer misconduct cases that arise in undergraduate classes.
3. Scheduling: Consult with the Associate Chair concerning the appropriate number, variety, and timing of undergraduate courses.
4. Recruitment: Monitor student credit hours and actively promotes the major and minor programs to students, and promote diversity and gender balance to enhance the undergraduate program. Promote retention of undergraduate majors and minors.
5. Advising: Maintain a system of advising for majors/minors and prospective majors/minors, in consultation with College and University undergraduate advising services.
6. Phi Alpha Theta: Select students for Phi Alpha Theta and plan the annual induction ceremony as well as other events for the organization.
7. Honors Program: Consult with the Associate Chair concerning staffing of the two- semester honors thesis sequence of courses (HIST 690 and 691) and other honors courses. Coordinates activities for the department’s honors students.
8. Awards and Scholarships: Present a call for nominations and applications for available undergraduate scholarships and awards and make recommendations to the Chair for the disbursement of such scholarships and awards to eligible students.
9. Undergraduate Research: Promote the research activities of undergraduate students, including advising the Chair on the expenditure of departmental funds to assist students in their research and to encourage faculty-undergraduate research collaboration.

10. Public/Social Events: Plan other events and programs directed towards undergraduate students.
11. Study abroad: Evaluate study abroad courses for History credit. Assist Study Abroad & Global Engagement in managing these aspects of the undergraduate major and minor.
12. Transfer course credit: In consultation with College and University student advisors, determine the appropriate awarding of credit for courses students have taken at other institutions.
13. All other duties and responsibilities for maintaining the integrity and proper functioning of the undergraduate program that are not specified above.

D. Student representation: Student representatives have an advisory but not a voting role in the determination of curricular requirements.

X. Graduate Committee 

A. The chair will be appointed by the Department Chair and be designated as Director of Graduate Studies. The Director oversees the completion of the Graduate Committee’s tasks, delegates responsibilities to members of the Committee, and makes reports to the Department Chair and department as a whole.

B. Membership: The Undergraduate Committee will have no fewer than five members from among the tenure-stream faculty and teaching professors.

C. Duties of the Graduate Committee:

D. Student representation: Student representatives have an advisory but not a voting role in the determination of curricular requirements. Student representatives do not participate in graduate admissions or deliberations on the granting of travel/research funding requests.

XI. Personnel Committee 

A. Membership
The Personnel Committee consists of five members chosen from among tenure-stream faculty and teaching professors:  three members selected from among tenure-stream faculty and teaching professors, who are elected by faculty vote for three-year terms, and two members appointed by the chair. It must include faculty from at least two different ranks or classifications. The following are ineligible: Department Chair, Associate Chair, Graduate Director, and Undergraduate Director; faculty on leave during all or part of the subsequent academic year; individuals who have served a full term within the past three years; persons not evaluated by the Personnel Committee; and individuals with an active Improvement Plan. The individual with the most years served will coordinate the duties and meetings of the Personnel Committee as its chairperson. In the case where there is no one with clear seniority on the Personnel Committee, members will choose their own chair. The chair oversees completion of Personnel Committee tasks, delegates responsibilities to members of the Committee, and makes reports to the Department Chair and department as a whole.  At least two members of the Personnel Committee must hold the rank of full professor.

B. Election Procedure
Board elections are staggered, so that each year one new member is added to the Personnel Committee. Before the end of spring semester each year, the Department Chair distributes a list of individuals eligible for election to the Personnel Committee to all members of the department eligible to vote on personnel matters. From this list, each voter should select up to five individuals for election; rank them from one (highest preference) to five (lowest preference); and turn in this ranking for tabulation to the department’s administrative associate who will maintain their confidentiality. One point will be allocated for each first-place vote; 1/2 point for each second-place vote; 1/3 point for each third-place vote; 1/4 point for each fourth-place vote; and 1/5 point for each fifth-place vote. Subject to provisions requiring committee membership to include faculty from at least two different ranks or classifications, the Chair will appoint the individual with the highest point total. Individuals with the second- and third-highest point totals will be the second and third alternates, and so forth for ranking additional alternates. In case of a tie, the Chair will choose between the tied candidates, while making an effort to keep the committee diverse.

C. Duties of the Personnel Committee

1. Annual Evaluations: The Personnel Committee administers annual evaluations of tenure-stream faculty, teaching professors, and multi-year lecturers and makes recommendations to the Chairperson on matters relevant to the annual evaluation, including Post-tenure Review and the allocation of merit salary increases, as stipulated in appendices.

2. Evaluation of Sabbatical Applications: 

3. Progress Toward Tenure Review (PTTR):

4. Post-tenure Review (see appendix)

5. Committee Appointments: The Personnel Committee appoints individuals to departmental committees as stipulated in sections above.

6. Review and oversight of departmental operations: The Personnel Committee will review the policies and actions of the Department Chair, Department Officers, other departmental committees, and their respective chairs and members as described in the section below. When appropriate, the Personnel Committee also advises the Dean on the Department Chair’s performance.

7.  The Personnel Committee advises the Department Chair and other members of the department on general policy and procedures within the department, both official and customary.

8. Bylaws: Maintain bylaws that authorize and regularize important departmental policies and procedures and that are consistent with College and University policies. All proposed changes must be approved by the process stipulated in the section below on Amendments to Bylaws.

9. Policy Changes: Monitor changes in policy of the College, Provost, Faculty Senate, University Senate, and Kansas Board of Regents. Report to the department on significant developments and institute changes to department bylaws and customary procedure as necessary.

10. Other Reports: The Governance Committee may also be charged by the Department Chair with composing other reports and self-studies, for example, in association with External Review.

11. Grievances: Handle formal grievance proceedings and make recommendations to the Department Chair regarding their outcome (see appendix).

12. All other duties and responsibilities for maintaining the integrity and proper functioning of departmental governance and procedure not specified above.

XII. Subject Area Caucuses 

Subject-area caucuses exist to advise the Chair and Department Officers on practical and strategic matters regarding staffing, course scheduling, curricular requirements, graduate reading lists, and other issues related to specific regional, thematic, and temporal areas of inquiry. There are two official caucuses: United States history and world history, and there can be any number of informal caucuses made up of two or more faculty with shared subject interests. Official caucuses should select their own faculty spokesperson and student representative each year. Faculty can be members of any number of caucuses, official or informal, in which they have a clear interest. Subject Area Caucuses are considered active if member faculty meet as a group at least once per year to discuss course scheduling, graduate student reading lists, or other matters.

XIII. Review and Oversight of Department Officers, Committees, and Operations 

A. No committee, board, or officer of the department shall attempt to determine in any way the decisions that department members make about their subjects for future research. The intent here is to limit assessments and evaluation to the products of research effort.

B. Any policy or practice promulgated by a departmental committee or its respective chair will be subject to formal review by the department when at least five voting members of the department submit a written statement to the chair of the Personnel Committee describing the need for such a review. The Personnel chairperson will present and moderate discussion of the review at a departmental meeting. When appropriate, this review and discussion will then be communicated to the Dean or other University administration for further action. When appropriate, the Personnel Committee also advises the Dean on the Department Chair’s performance.

C. Faculty who are dissatisfied with the Personnel Committee's actions and decisions regarding Annual Performance Evaluations should consult the department’s Faculty Evaluation Plan (see appendix for procedures). Issues related to any other policy or practice promulgated by the Personnel Committee or its chair will be subject to formal review by the department when at least five voting members of the department submit a written statement describing the need for such a review to the Department Chair. The Department Chair will present and moderate discussion of the review at a departmental meeting. When appropriate, this review and discussion will then be communicated to the Dean or other University administration for further action.

XIV. Teaching, Advising, and Scheduling Responsibilities 

A. The normal teaching load of full-time faculty is four courses per year, with the exception of teaching professors and faculty with temporary or permanent Differential Allocations of Effort. Faculty members’ teaching profiles should reflect an appropriate mix of courses at different levels that satisfy the department’s teaching responsibilities in regard to its undergraduate major, graduate program, and the KU Core Curriculum.

B. Per College policy, undergraduate courses normally must enroll at least 12 students and graduate courses at least 6 students, except as authorized by the Department Chair in order to satisfy the department’s curricular needs.

C. Team-Taught and Non-Departmental Courses: A faculty member may count participation in a team-taught course as the equivalent of serving as the sole instructor of a course if they normally attend all sessions of the course and participate fully in the planning of the course, selecting the textbooks, constructing the syllabus and schedule, preparing and grading all examinations, and assigning final grades; or if they are designated as the primary course coordinator with principal responsibility for all aspects of the course. When appropriate, assessment of load will be expressed in fractional terms (one-third, one-half, three-fourths, etc.) to reflect an estimate of each faculty member’s participation. Normally, courses taught outside the department (without a History listing) will be taught as an overload. Exceptions will be made after consultation and agreement between individual faculty members and the Department Chair.

D. Undergraduate Advising and Mentoring: The History Department faculty is collectively responsible for ensuring that our undergraduate students receive appropriate advising. To that end, each faculty member has the following responsibilities:

1. Cooperating with the staff academic advisor assigned by the College to the department in providing guidance to students in their fulfillment of major, minor, and Core requirements.
2. Providing information about their courses so that students can make informed decisions when selecting them.
3. Being available for consultation with students regularly in the department and/or electronically, preferably for three regularly scheduled hours each week that school is in session.
4. Advising students on how to succeed in their academic work.
5. Referring students encountering difficulties to the appropriate University offices.
6. Helping students to prepare for post-graduation careers.

E. Graduate Advising and Mentoring: Although a specific faculty member typically takes primary responsibility for advising a graduate student, the History Department faculty is collectively responsible for ensuring that our graduate students receive appropriate advice and mentoring. To that end,

1. Primary advisors of graduate students are responsible, in collaboration with the Graduate Director and the graduate program administrative associate, for tracking their advisees’ progress, and for intervening when graduate students do not make expected progress.
2. Members of graduate students’ committees are responsible for providing responses to student questions and for reviewing students’ written work in a timely manner.
3. Faculty members should make themselves available for consultation with graduate students regularly in the department and/or electronically, preferably for three regularly scheduled hours each week that school is in session.
4. Faculty members should refer graduate students encountering difficulties to the appropriate University offices.
5. Faculty members have a responsibility for mentoring their graduate students in professional development and career preparation.

F. Scheduling: The equitable distribution of teaching assignments is the responsibility of the Associate Chair, in consultation with the Department Chair, Directors of Graduate and Undergraduate Studies, and Subject Area Caucuses. Faculty in this section is understood to include teaching professors and lecturers with multi-year appointments. The following procedures should be utilized:

1. Early in fall semester, the Associate Chair, in consultation with the Undergraduate Director, will inform faculty of anticipated undergraduate teaching needs. The Associate Chair will solicit from faculty members their proposals of courses to teach in the fall and spring semesters of the following academic year, along with preferences for time, format, and size of enrollment. Faculty members are advised to consult with Subject Area Caucuses to which they belong and faculty who teach the same or related courses before submitting requests. As a part of this, faculty should also share tentative, long-term plans for rotating through courses in subsequent years.

2. Early in fall semester, the Graduate Director, in consultation with the Graduate Committee and Subject Area Caucuses, will solicit proposals from faculty to teach graduate classes for the following year. Such requests should include a justification for the course, including any students from outside the department who might be served by the course. When recommending a slate of graduate courses for scheduling to the Associate Chair, the Graduate Committee will consider the number of students likely to enroll and the equitable distribution of those courses across subject areas.
3. In consultation with the Undergraduate and Graduate Directors, the Associate Chair will review faculty preferences for teaching in light of the department’s needs and assign courses accordingly. If a particular faculty member’s preference cannot be sustained, the Associate Chair will endeavor to identify a substitute course that answers both to the department’s needs and the faculty member’s wishes. If faculty members have particular preferences concerning the format, size, days and times their courses are offered, they may express those preferences to the Associate Chair. However, the Associate Chair, acting for the Department Chair, has the final authority to assign teaching schedules.
4. If the Associate Chair, Graduate and/or Undergraduate Directors identify a teaching need that faculty are unable to fill or that might desirably be taught by an advanced graduate student as an Assistant Instructor to bolster their teaching credentials, they will consult with each other and the Department Chair concerning options for staffing those courses. If a limited-term lecturer is to be hired, the Department Chair will make the appointment.
5. When a current graduate student is assigned as the sole instructor for a course (i.e. Assistant Instructor), they must identify a teaching mentor from among the departmental faculty before the beginning of the semester. The teaching mentor will advise the Assistant Instructor concerning course design, syllabus preparation, assignments, and assessments throughout the semester. In addition, the teaching mentor will visit the class (in person or online), and is responsible for writing an evaluation of the Assistant Instructor’s performance at the end of the semester.
6. Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA) assignments: The Associate Chair will determine which courses should have GTAs assigned to them to assist instructors of record and inform the Graduate Director. The Graduate Director will then assign GTAs to these courses, taking into consideration the stated preference of graduate students and instructors of record when practical. GTAs and faculty members who prefer to be assigned together to particular courses may tell the Graduate Director, but the Graduate Director and the Associate Chair are empowered to make assignments in accord with the needs of the department.
7. If faculty or graduate students experience situational changes, such as fellowship leave or course reductions, that require changes in their future teaching schedule, they should inform the Associate Chair and Graduate Director immediately.

8. The Associate Chair will track advance enrollments in courses. When advance enrollments indicate that a course is unlikely to fill to the College minimum, the Associate Chair is empowered to cancel the course and reassign the faculty member to other instructional responsibilities. The Associate Chair will consult with the faculty members affected, but the Associate Chair, acting for the Department Chair, has the final say on teaching assignments. The Associate Chair may also reassign GTAs, Assistant Instructors, and limited-term lecturers based on course enrollments.
9. Summer Term and Winter Intercession Courses: Faculty members or advanced graduate students who would like to teach Summer Term or Winter Intercession courses should respond to the call for proposals for the next upcoming terms that is circulated by the Department Chair early in the fall semester. Proposals must demonstrate the likelihood that the course in question will meet minimum enrollment requirements. Courses that do not enroll sufficiently will be cancelled.
10. Study Abroad Courses: Faculty members may propose Study Abroad courses, but they are responsible for making all arrangements with Study Abroad & Global Engagement and for supplying all information in a timely manner to the Department Chair necessary for making application to the College for funding.

XV. Faculty Personnel Files 

A. Departmental Personnel Files
The department recognizes the need to maintain a complete and accurate record of each faculty member’s activities, while protecting the confidentiality of certain categories of information and limiting access to other categories of information. Therefore, the department’s administrative associate maintains a file documenting each faculty member’s professional activities. The Confidentiality of Personnel Records is governed by Faculty Senate Rules and Regulations (FSSR), Article VII, section 2 and by the Faculty Code of Rights, Responsibilities, and Conduct, Article III, section 5.

The following rules govern the use of materials in departmental personnel files:

1. Files concerning faculty members must be treated as confidential, and as such are available only to those administrators and committees who have direct responsibility for decisions concerning them. Within the History Department, the Department Chair, the Associate Chair, and the Personnel Committee may access materials in faculty files as necessary for fulfillment of their responsibilities. The department’s administrative associates may access the files for the purpose of maintaining them.
2. Files connected with faculty member applications for Progress Towards Tenure Review, Promotion and Tenure, and Post-Tenure Review are kept separate from other file materials. These files may be accessed only in connection with these processes by persons authorized to participate in these processes. Subsequent to the conclusion of these processes, these files may only be accessed by authorized persons in strict accordance with University rules and Kansas Open Records laws.

3. A faculty member may access their own personnel file upon request. A faculty member who wants to access their file will direct this request to the Department Chair. The Department Chair will remove from the file those items, such as letters of recommendation, that were provided to the department upon a pledge of confidentiality. The remainder of the file will be provided to the faculty member in a timely manner.
4. If, upon examination of their own file, a faculty member determines that information is incomplete or mistaken, they may notify the Department Chair, Dean, or other University administration of the inaccuracies and ask that the file be corrected.
5. Extraneous materials of an unofficial nature will not be retained in faculty members’ individual files.

B. Faculty Members’ Own Professional Files
According to the Faculty Code, Article III, section 6, faculty members have a right to keep their own offices and files, including computers and electronic files, secure from unlawful search and seizure. Faculty members also have the responsibility of compiling, preserving, and protecting the confidentiality of records they need to fulfill their professional responsibilities. This is particularly true of files relevant to student work, Progress Toward Tenure Review, Promotion and Tenure Review, Post-Tenure Review, and annual evaluations. Accordingly, faculty members should retain the following items:

1. A current curriculum vitae
2. Student grade records
3. Student evaluations of all courses taught
4. Annual evaluation reports and evaluation letters
5. Publications
6. Fellowships and grants awarded

The University of Kansas protects the privacy of its students’ records in compliance with the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and its implementing regulations. Therefore, faculty should take care to protect the privacy of students when maintaining these files. The department has secured bins for disposing of any paperwork that may be considered private, confidential, or sensitive. University Registrar policy covering the privacy of student records is available at Student Records Policy.

XVI. Student Academic Misconduct 

Cases of academic misconduct by students in courses taught by the History Department will be handled according to the policies established by University Senate Rules and Regulations, Article II, section 6.

Academic misconduct by a student shall include, but not be limited to, disruption of classes; threatening an instructor or fellow student in an academic setting; giving or receiving of unauthorized aid on examinations or in the preparation of notebooks, themes, reports or other assignments; knowingly misrepresenting the source of any academic work; unauthorized changing of grades; unauthorized use of University approvals or forging of signatures; falsification of research results; plagiarizing of another's work; violation of regulations or ethical codes for the treatment of human and animal subjects; or otherwise acting dishonestly in research.

Course instructors are required to report instances of academic misconduct. Therefore, faculty and other instructional staff should not handle suspected instances of academic misconduct in an informal manner, nor should they resolve them directly with the student.

When course instructors discover instances of suspected academic misconduct, they are required to act in a timely manner and should promptly compile the relevant documentation, including syllabus language relating to academic misconduct and its penalties, any course exercises to teach about plagiarism or other misconduct, assignment instructions, and all evidence of academic misconduct. If the student is an undergraduate, the course instructor will bring the evidence to the Undergraduate Director, who will initiate the process of charging the student with academic misconduct. If the student is a graduate student, the course instructor or academic advisor will bring the evidence to the Graduate Director, who will initiate the process of charging the student with academic misconduct. The course instructor may recommend a penalty, but resolution of this process will be handled by the Undergraduate or Graduate Committee.

XVII. Grade Appeals 

A. A student who objects to the final grade received in a History Department course, alleging improper application of course grading criteria and procedures should first seek redress directly with the course instructor. If the student is dissatisfied with the outcome at that point, they may file a grievance through the History Department’s Grievance Policy. If the student is dissatisfied with the outcome at that point, they may appeal to the Judicial Board of the University, per University Senate Rules and Regulations 2.3.5 and 6.4.4.

B. A student who objects to the final grade received in a History Department course alleging discrimination or other misconduct on the part of the instructor should file a complaint with the Office of Civil Rights & Title IX, per University Senate Rules and Regulations 6.4.5.