Handbook of Operating Procedures 2-1310 (Interim)

Faculty Governance Committees

Effective September 1, 2025
Executive Sponsor: Executive Vice President and Provost
Policy Owner: Senior Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs

1. Policy Statement

The University of Texas at Austin (“University”) requires deans and heads of all academic units to maintain proper oversight and accountability for faculty employment and review recommendations. Deans are responsible for ensuring their collaboration with faculty governance committees furthers efficiency, accountability, and responsiveness to state priorities, workforce needs and the University mission while promoting the essential role of faculty governance in the processes of faculty employment and Faculty Review recommendations.

2. Reason for Policy

To define the university’s requirements for the establishment of Faculty Governance Committees in all academic units that participate in hiring and reviewing faculty, including departments, colleges, schools, Academic Centers, programs, institutes, and Organized Research Units.
 

3. Scope & Audience

This Policy applies to administrators and faculty in academic units that are responsible for participating in employment of faculty and faculty review (including promotion and tenure, mid-probationary review, comprehensive periodic review and annual review), as well as other responsibilities as assigned by the Unit’s supervisor, dean, or provost.

4. Definitions (specific to this policy)

Academic Center:

Any University institute, program or Center which offers instructional programs as a significant element in its overall mission. (See HOP 2-2120).

Center:

An Academic Center, program, ORU, or institute that is not an academic department nor a program in a non-departmentalized college or school, which employs Professional-Track Faculty who are not also employed by another primary academic department.

Faculty:

Any individual holding an academic title listed in Regents’ Rules and Regulations, Rule 31001, Section 2.1, 2.2, or 2.3.

Faculty Governance Committee:

A committee that offers recommendations to the Unit Supervisor for faculty employment and faculty review. The two kinds of Faculty Governance Committees are Budget Councils and Executive Committees. A Graduate Studies Committee is not a Faculty Governance Committee. (See HOP 9-1240).

Faculty Review:

Recommendations about faculty review include recommendations about promotion and tenure review for all faculty, mid-probationary review for tenure-track faculty, comprehensive periodic review for tenured faculty and annual review for faculty.

Organized Research Unit (ORU):

An interdisciplinary research unit that enhances the research activity of the University and complements the instructional and research goals of colleges, schools, and units (CSUs). (See HOP 7-1030).

Professional-Track Faculty:

Faculty who are not tenured and are not on the tenure-track. Another term used for this set of faculty title series is “non-tenure-track.”

Professional-Track Faculty Employment Recommendations:

Recommendations about Professional-Track Faculty Employment refers to recommendations about whether to hire a Professional-Track Faculty Member, about the track, title series and rank for the faculty member, whether to renew and the term of a contract for a Professional-Track Faculty Member, and compensation recommendations associated with Professional-Track Faculty Employment and review that can include new-hire salary, contract renewal-related salary and merit increase amounts. (See HOP 2-2160).

Tenured and Tenure -Track Faculty Employment Recommendations:

Recommendations about Tenured and Tenure-Track Faculty Employment refers to recommendations about whether to hire a new tenured or tenure-track faculty member and tenured and tenure-track faculty compensation recommendations including new-hire salary and merit increases. (See HOP 2- 2160).

Unit:

Any department, non-departmentalized college or school, program in a non-departmentalized college or school, or Center.

Unit Supervisor:

The head of the relevant Faculty Unit, which could be the department chair for a department, the dean in a non-departmentalized college or school, the director of a program in a non-departmentalized college or school, or the director of a Center.

5. Website (for policy)

https://secure4.compliancebridge.com/utexas/public/getdoc.php?file=2-1310
 

6. Contacts

7. Responsibilities & Procedures

Deans are responsible for exercising sound judgment and taking appropriate steps to implement and manage effective and efficient faculty employment and review processes that promote the best interest of the academic unit and meet the expectations of University leadership. 

All academic units that are responsible for participating in faculty employment and Faculty Review are required to have an approved Faculty Governance Committee. A Faculty Governance Committee is responsible for offering recommendations to the Unit Supervisor regarding Tenured and Tenure-Track Faculty Employment and review as well as any additional responsibilities assigned by the Unit Supervisor. For Professional-Track Faculty Employment and Review, the Unit Supervisor is encouraged where possible to engage the Faculty Governance Committee so that it can make recommendations for decisions about aspects of Professional-Track Faculty Employment and Review.

Each Committee must formulate its own Faculty Governance Policy that includes how faculty input will be provided to Unit Supervisors. Committees may opt to provide verbal feedback or votes on candidates being considered for employment. For promotion and tenure review, committees will provide feedback via voting. The governance policy must comply with the University’s policies about voter eligibility for each of the relevant types of recommendations (see Related Information below).
 

1. Ensuring Hiring Processes Meet State Law Requirements regarding Shared Governance.

1. Faculty employment. The dean must retain full authority and discretion to make faculty hiring decisions, subject to approval by the executive vice president and provost. This means:

1. Any Faculty Governance Committee recommendation or decision not to recommend is subject to independent review and decision by the academic Unit Supervisor and dean. Deans are authorized to hire or decline to hire any faculty, subject to review and approval by the executive vice president and provost, or delegate.

2. Faculty Governance Committee votes, or other input, on candidates for employment shall not operate as a veto of any candidate. Nor may the Faculty Governance Committee have final decision-making authority to hire a candidate for a faculty position.

3. Academic Unit Supervisors and deans may pursue faculty hires outside of the typical process involving a Faculty Governance Committee. This includes the ability to change approach mid-stream in the hiring process for a specific faculty position or candidate. In such circumstances, academic Unit Supervisors are encouraged to obtain faculty input via other appropriate methods, as determined using their best judgment.
    

2. Faculty Review. The dean must retain full authority and discretion to make recommendations on faculty review for tenure, tenure-track, and professional faculty. This means:

1. Any Faculty Governance Committee recommendation or decision not to recommend for promotion or tenure, is subject to independent review and recommendation by the academic Unit Supervisor and dean. Notwithstanding any action or inaction of the Faculty Governance Committee, deans, and dean delegates, are authorized to recommend, or decline to recommend, any tenure or tenure-track candidate for promotion or tenure. Notwithstanding any action or inaction of the Faculty Governance Committee, deans are also authorized to make the final determination on whether to recommend promotion of professional track faculty.

2. Faculty Governance Committee recommendations on salary adjustments for faculty are advisory only. Deans maintain discretion to recommend salary adjustments for faculty based on their best judgment. They may also consider factors unknown to the committee like performance management issues or discipline issues.

2. Types of Faculty Governance Committees.

1. Budget Council: A Budget Council consists of all tenured full professors in a Unit.
2. Executive Committee: An Executive Committee may include tenured, tenure-track, and Professional-Track Faculty. Committees historically referred to as Extended Budget Councils are a form of Executive Committee.

4. Voting Process for Generating Recommendations.

1. Promotion and Tenure Review: Eligible members of the Faculty Governance Committee vote on promotion and tenure recommendations. A promotion and tenure review committee must include a minimum of five voting-eligible members (not including the Unit Supervisor). Thus, it might sometimes be necessary to form an ad hoc promotion and tenure review committee for the Unit that includes all eligible voting members of the Unit’s Faculty Governance Committee as well as additional eligible voters from inside and outside of the Unit whose ad hoc membership is approved by the dean. See the University's Promotion and Tenure Guidelines for Tenured/Tenure-track Faculty and the Promotion Guidelines for Professional-Track Faculty that can be found on the Provost’s website. Some Units might have five or more eligible voters on their Faculty Governance Committee and still choose to include additional eligible ad hoc members (external to the Unit although still at the University) for promotion and review recommendations. The decision to augment a Faculty Governance Committee’s membership by adding ad hoc members to a Faculty Governance Committee that already includes a minimum of five eligible voters must be made through a majority vote made by voting-eligible members of that Faculty Governance Committee.
2. Other Types of Faculty Review and Faculty Employment: Eligible members of the Faculty Governance Committee are responsible for conducting, and voting on their recommendation for, additional types of Faculty Review (i.e., annual faculty review, mid-probationary review, and comprehensive periodic review). Faculty input on faculty employment may be provided via verbal feedback or voting. Regents’ Rule 31102 and the corresponding guidelines found on the Provost’s Faculty Evaluation website include information about who is eligible to conduct each kind of review, the timing of the review, and other considerations. 
3. Other Responsibilities as Assigned: The supervisor, dean, or provost might assign additional responsibilities to a Unit’s Faculty Governance Committee and may indicate the roles, titles, and ranks of the Committee members who are eligible to vote on associated recommendations.

5. Faculty Governance Committee and Voting Policy Creation, Renewal, or Modification.

1. Faculty Governance Proposal: A Unit Faculty member or members or the Unit Supervisor may develop a proposal for creation, continuation, or revision of the Unit’s Faculty Governance Committee structure (e.g., change from Budget Council to Executive Committee, change in membership eligibility for an Executive Committee) and its Voting Policy. The University’s Faculty Governance Committee Structure and Voting Policy Guidelines (found on the Provost’s website) detail the contents required in the proposal for creation, continuation, and modification of a Unit’s Faculty Governance Committee’s structure and Voting Policy.
2. Unit Review of Proposal: The Faculty Governance Committee and Voting Policy proposal should be circulated to the Unit Faculty allowing at least one week for the Faculty to review the proposal. A new Unit’s Voting Policy must include delineation of which Unit Faculty are eligible to vote on the next continuation or revision proposal for the Unit’s Faculty Governance Committee structure and Voting Policy.

3. Administrator’s Revision of a Faculty Governance Committee: The provost or president may determine, in consultation with the relevant dean and supervisor, that the operation of an academic Unit has deteriorated irreparably because of egregious actions taken or not taken by the Faculty Governance Committee, or because of irreconcilable differences within the membership of the Faculty Governance Committee, and that a change in the Faculty Governance Committee’s organization is essential to the effective administration of the academic Unit. In this circumstance, the executive vice president and provost or president may establish a temporary, modified Faculty Governance Committee structure and Voting Policy for the academic Unit. The temporary change in the Committee structure must conform to the regulations outlined elsewhere in this HOP. Such a change shall be reviewed annually and may be effective for a period of not more than three years before its revision or renewal.