Recurring Chair Activities
1. Regular meetings with the Dean of the Faculty
Near the start of the fall semester the Dean's Office distributes the year long administrative calendar, which should provide information about the general tasks of the year. All chairs are expected to meet regularly with the Dean (every block to every other block). Each block's meeting may have specific foci (e.g., upcoming hires, retirements, reviews, annual and long range budget planning), and will also have time for emergent matters.
2. Chairs and Directors Meetings
Chairs and directors are expected to attend blockly chairs and directors meeting, typically held on the second Monday (~3:30pm) of each block. Additional meetings will be called when necessary.
3. Department Teaching Schedules
By mid fall, the chairs and the dean and associate dean of the faculty will begin to discuss staffing needs for the subsequent academic year and an official application for visiting faculty ("personnel planning process") will open. The review decision and approval for visiting positions (visiting blocks and year long positions) will be issued by the end of half-block.
Typically, chairs begin working internally on the course schedule in block 3. See Chairs and Directors Teams page for more detailed information. Chairs and directors typically share a in-progress draft of their course grid in January, and begin discussion with the deans on department and college needs with timing of course offerings.
The college-wide teaching schedule will be finalized and approved by the Dean of the Faculty in early February.
Factors that influence course schedule approval include but are not limited to class sizes and room/space needs, need for general education and First Year Program courses, not over offering courses in some blocks and under offering in others. Visiting faculty should typically be scheduled later in the academic year (blocks 2-8) to allow for additional time for enrollment and onboarding of new visiting faculty.
4. Updating the Course Catalog
The Registrar's Office will send the department chair instruction to update the catalog every spring.