Procedures for Creation, Reorganization, Elimination, and Merger of Academic Units and Programs (Revised 2018)
I. Initiation of CREM
Both unit chairs and the Executive Dean of the College can initiate proposals for creating new units or changing the status of existing academic units. The person initiating the proposal shall inform the College Policy Committee of its interest in proposing a CREM at the earliest stage of planning and provide a prima facie case for doing so. A prima facie case entails a brief rationale that explains why the CREM is considered both desirable and feasible. The initiation should take place during the Fall semester to allow for full faculty involvement. The CPC will discuss a response to the prima facie case and the degree to which the CREM would affect multiple units on campus. The CPC will consider issues including but not limited to: widespread curriculum changes that affect units across the College, intellectual organization of multiple units, and impact on faculty in terms of teaching and service. Based on this discussion, the committee will make a public recommendation concerning which faculty or units are affected.
Any proposal for a CREM must be made at least a full academic year prior to its potential implementation. None of the CREM processes (here or below) should begin or be implemented over the summer since neither the faculty nor the CPC are working then. The clock on consultation and negotiations shall begin when a CREM proposal has been communicated between the proposing party, the affected units, the CPC, and the Executive Dean.
All units significantly impacted by the proposed change shall submit position statements focused on a description of the rationale for reorganization (see below) to both the Executive Dean and the College Policy Committee. All core members of the faculty in these units, and the prospective faculty of a new unit, shall be afforded an opportunity to express support for or objections to the proposal in a meeting or meetings where a CPC representative is in attendance. After the consultation, there shall be a vote of the core faculty in the affected unit(s) and the results shall be made publicly available. When deemed appropriate, the College Policy Committee may extend the remonstrance to the entire College faculty. The College Policy Committee will review the faculty vote, the position statements, as well as reports from internal and external review committees, and then recommend approval or disapproval of the proposal to the Dean. While unanimity is desirable, it is understood that parties involved may disagree; the final decision for recommendation for action rests with the Dean.
II. Planning Committee
A. Should a CREM initiation be voted upon and recommended, the CPC will oversee the formation of a planning committee. The planning committee will include elected representatives of the faculty from each affected unit as well as any ex officio members of the offices of the Deans for any of the affected units. It will also include one representative of (1) the undergraduate students; (2) the graduate students; (3) professional staff; and (4) support staff from the affected units, to be selected by the appropriate bodies through their representative organizations. The planning committee may constitute sub-committees as needed.
B. The planning committee will produce a comprehensive plan, as outlined below in "Required Elements of a CREM Plan." The planning committee will also compile a list of all affected faculty members, including any substantially affected individuals who have not yet been included in the CREM. The CPC and Executive Dean will give final approval to the list.
C. The plan and list of affected faculty members will be shared with the CPC and Executive Dean. The Executive Dean will disseminate the plan to all implicated deans and provosts. The CPC will be responsible for circulating the plan to all relevant College policy committees and all faculty members. All faculty members, students and staff shall have a reasonable period of time, to be decided in consultation with the CPC, to review and respond to the plan. The planning committee may make amendments to the plan based on this feedback.
III. Finalization
A. The planning committee will present a revised plan to the voting eligible faculty in the affected units, as well as other faculty members who have been identified as being affected by the CREM. All affected faculty members will vote as one body.
- The plan will not be deemed to have faculty approval if less than two-thirds of the votes cast by eligible faculty support the plan. The planning committee may resubmit a substantially revised proposal to the affected units for a new vote. At the request of one or more of the affected units, and following consultation with all the affected units and the planning committee, the CREM committee may disallow a revised proposal on the grounds that it has not been substantially revised or that an unreasonable number of revised proposals have been submitted for faculty approval.
- The plan will be deemed to have faculty approval if at least two-thirds of the votes cast by eligible faculty members support the plan.
B. The final votes will be reported to the CPC and to the Executive Dean.
IV. Required Elements of a CREM Plan
A. Budget
A detailed budget, including a rationale for new human and other resources, will be required. If the unit in question is a new school, for example, the budget should include an estimation of salaries and how the school will be funded. The budget should include a financial projection that estimates the number of years in which the costs of the CREM will be recouped.
B. Degree and curriculum design
The plan for a new program, department, or school (if any) should include an explanation of the centrality of the program to the mission of the IU Bloomington campus as a whole. It should also include a description of the curricula, including the requirements for degrees and programs. In addition, there should be a timetable for the approval of new degrees and programs (if any) by all relevant internal and external bodies by the anticipated date for the completion of the CREM and establishment or reorganization of academic units.
C. Unit(s) structure plan
The plan should include an organizational chart that outlines the structure of the unit. A restructuring plan must include a description and explanation of each component of the suggested structure.
D. Space and infrastructure plan
When applicable, the implementation committee should include a plan for a new building, including anticipated location of faculty, administrative, and staff offices, as well as teaching and research/creative spaces. For programs and entities moving into a current building(s), the plan should include a map of research and teaching spaces as well as of office-space to which personnel will be assigned.
E. Reassignment of staff to new positions
A list of proposed staff position reassignments must be included in the plan.
F. Transition timetable
A timetable for initiating and eliminating the degree programs, for introducing new degrees or programs (for example, choosing majors and minors, graduate student recruitment, and so on) must be included in the plan.
G. Legacy arrangements
Legacy arrangements for students in degrees and programs being eliminated (including staff and faculty support) must be included in the plan.
H. Faculty governance documents
Arrangements for faculty governance documents (including tenure and promotion guidelines and other policies and procedures) to be drawn up by the faculty of the affected units within a reasonable time must be included in the plan.
V. Arrangements for faculty graduate students, and academic courses
A. Tenure
Except under conditions of financial exigency (cf. AAUP 1940 Statement of Principles on Academic Freedom and Tenure: "Termination of a continuous appointment because of financial exigency should be demonstrably bona fide."), the appointments of tenured faculty members shall not be terminated as a consequence of such reorganization. Necessary reductions in the number of faculty shall be achieved instead by voluntary attrition or reassignment and in consultation with the CPC.
B. Expectations for Probationary Tenure-Track and Non-Tenure Track Faculty
Faculty members who are affected by the reorganization of units and programs during the tenure probationary or probationary period will be reviewed for tenure and promotion under the criteria and standards of the original home unit at the time they were first appointed or the criteria and standards of their new unit, depending on the faculty member's choice. The timing of the decision about which criteria will be used will be agreed upon by the faculty member and the unit head, and noted in writing in the faculty member's personnel file. The review for tenure will be conducted by the voting eligible faculty of the new home unit.
Where there is a remaining body of faculty from the original unit who are not part of the new tenure home, the new tenure home will use the split appointment tenure process as a model:
- The voting eligible faculty from the original unit will review the dossier and provide a letter, written by the former unit chair, offering their evaluation of the candidate to the new unit before it votes on the candidate's case.
- As in FTE splits, the new home unit is encouraged to consider seriously the letter from the original unit in voting.
C. Expectations for Promotion
Tenured faculty will be reviewed for promotion according to the criteria of their new home unit by the voting eligible faculty in their new unit.
D. Reassignment to New Academic Home
Faculty members whose academic home unit is merged, reduced, eliminated, or in some other fundamental way reorganized may be reassigned to a new academic home based on the mutual fit of scholarly, scientific or artistic interests. Every effort shall be made to find a new home that is agreeable both to the affected faculty member and to faculty members in the receiving unit, with the understanding that in rare instances it may be impossible to find an arrangement that fully satisfies all parties. The dean or chair of the affected unit and the Executive Dean have ultimate responsibility for finding a new academic home for affected faculty members. Faculty members remain obligated to perform customary research/creative activity, teaching and service responsibilities throughout the period of reorganization, subject to the availability of required resources.
E. Compensation and Other Benefits
Reorganization of academic units and programs shall not result in base pay reductions, in the alteration of negotiated agreements or in the loss of time accumulated for vacation or sabbatical leave eligibility.
F. Continuity of Degree Programs Every effort shall be made to enable students enrolled in degree programs at the time of reorganization to complete the requirements for those degrees by including arrangements for completion of degree programs in the plan of a CREM.
G. Contracts
Contractual rights and obligations of non‐tenure track faculty and graduate students shall be honored.
H. Grievances
Faculty members who object to personal consequences of the reorganization of academic units and programs may file a grievance with the CPC, BFC, and/or VPFAA.