Role of the Department Chair

**Taken from 2023-2024 Faculty Handbook

The role of department chair is primarily one of providing a vision for a curriculum of quality for academic programs and

reports to the School or Associate School Dean.

Liaison to the Dean and Program Faculty

• Regular meetings with the School or Associate School Dean as appropriate for the program.

• Disseminate information from School or Associate School Dean and other committees to program faculty as

needed.

Administrative Functions

• Work with School or Associate School Dean to coordinate course scheduling that maximizes service to students.

• Provide advisement for the acquisition and maintenance of library, instructional and technological materials, and

other support needed for meeting program goals.

• Monitor the staffing needs of their department, help with recruiting when necessary, and assist in the mentoring and

supporting of new faculty and adjunct faculty.

• Make teaching observations of adjunct faculty members when assigned by School or Associate School Dean.

• Oversee department honors process, student awards, and discipline honor societies when assigned by School or

Associate School Dean.

• Assume additional responsibilities as required by program (such as responsibilities related to external accreditation).

Program Quality

• Work with School or Associate School Dean to establish a calendar of academic planning activities in the area of

curriculum development.

o Facilitate regular curriculum analysis, evaluation, and revisions, as appropriate.

o Work with School or Associate School Dean to review program syllabi, making sure that course goals and

content are aligned with program learning outcomes and Catalog description and make recommendations as

needed.

o Coordinate with other departments to periodically review coursework that serves as support to other majors as

determined by School or Associate School Dean.

o Manage the departmental internal self-study process.

o Collect and review student response to curriculum, advising, and other matters related to the department, as

assigned by the School or Associate School Dean.

• Coordinate annual assessment of departmental learning outcomes.

o Develop assessment plan at the beginning of school year.

o Coordinate the development and review of assessment instruments.

o Coordinate assessment activities (e.g., comps exams, summary data collection, course-embedded measures)

during the school year (including summer, if needed), including General Education as applicable.

o Coordinate data entry into University database

o Coordinate the assessment analysis and write annual assessment report at end of the year and submit materials

to the Institutional Effectiveness database.

o Facilitate discussion and decision-making for use of assessment data to improve student learning relative to the

department’s learning outcomes.

o Coordinate program accreditation reviews with School or Associate School Dean.

• Student Support.

o Ensure advising materials for the department are current and available to all (website, curriculum guides).

o Maintain and update the “what you can do with your major” section of website.

o Plan time/opportunities for program faculty to meet and to discuss effective teaching practices within the

department.

o Coordinate department internship program when directed by School or Associate School Dean.

o Coordinate student participation in regional, state, and national conferences as needed.

• Discuss the University’s Strategic Plan with program faculty to identify opportunities to support the plan through

departmental policies, procedures, and departmental activities.

Advocate for the Department through Recruitment and Marketing

• Coordinate program representation and presentation at University-wide open houses, Annual Academic Fair, and

other University-related events.

• Help with the development of program marketing materials.

• Monitor the accuracy of program web pages, recommend updates as needed.

• Review and update program information for web pages, newsletters, Student Handbook, Faculty Handbook, and

Catalog copy (as determined by your School or Associate School Dean).