The Faculty Senate is the primary governance body for the Simmons University Faculty. The Senate provides for the Faculty a forum and a voice beyond the individual Schools that allows the Faculty to assert its viewpoint and principles in support of the general welfare of Simmons University. It serves as the primary means of communication from the Board and the Administration to the Faculty and vice versa.
The Senate comprises representatives from the School of Library and Information Science (SLIS), the School of Management (SOM), the School of Nursing (SON), the School of Sciences and Health Professions (SSHP), the School of Social Work (SSW) and the Gwen Ifill School of Media, Humanities and Social Sciences.
The Senate meets biweekly (every other week) during the academic year and any faculty member may attend the first part of any meeting.
Faculty Committees under the purview of the Senate:
Committees of the Faculty
Faculty Senate. 15 Senators. Two from each School and three At-Large.
Faculty Fiscal Affairs Committee (FFAC). Four faculty from across the University.
Administrative Board (AdBoard). One faculty member from each School with Undergraduate programs.
Graduate Curriculum Committee (GCC). One faculty member from each School with Graduate programs.
Undergraduate Curriculum Committee (UCC). One faculty member from each School and two at-large faculty. Majority of members must be tenured.
University Tenure and Promotion (UPTC). One faculty member from each School, all tenured.
Academic Integrity Committee. One faculty member from Schools of Nursing, Social Work and LIS; one faculty member teaching primarily Undergraduates, and one appointed (by Senate)
Assessment of Teaching and Learning Committee (ALTC). One faculty member from each School.
Academic Technology Committee. Three faculty from across Schools.
Intellectual Property Committee. Three faculty from across Schools.
Promotion and Tenure Appeals Committee (Appeals) One from each School, all tenured.
Hearing Committee. One from each School, all tenured.
The Simmons University Faculty Policy Manual (FPM) sets forth general policies for all faculty of the University and represents a collaboration between the Faculty and the Administration of the University supported by the Board of Trustees of the University. The Implementation Guidelines (IGs) provide University-wide guidelines that operationalize specific provisions of the Faculty Policy Manual. These two documents contain information about important faculty processes such as appointments, promotion and tenure, reviews, sabbatical, and professional and special leave.