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01.     Policy Statement. The Clinical Laboratory Science (CLS) Chair is committed to not only managing the administrative affairs of the Program, but also as a member and representative of the faculty and the Program at large, must articulate Program aspirations, standards, and points of view to other groups inside and outside the University. The Chair works to ensure the spirit of collegiality so essential to a healthy academic institution.

02.     Chair

The Chair implements within the Program all policies of Texas State University and the College of Health Professions. As a leading faculty member and representative of the Program, the Chair speaks for the Program, for its goals and standards, and for the importance of Clinical Laboratory Science studies in the general academic setting. The Chair supervises the administrative routines of the Program and fosters an environment of shared governance. Among other duties, the Chair schedules and conducts faculty meetings, keeps Program records, accounts for the absences of faculty and staff who must be away from the campus, directs the advising of majors, assigns office space, assigns faculty workload and service duties in the Program, College, & University. In consultation with appropriate administrative departments, the Chair schedules classes, plans and supervises admittance to the Program, approves textbook orders, oversees the hiring of student employees, allocates funds for travel and other Program obligations, and prepares the annual budget. The Chair guides faculty and staff members in fulfilling their responsibilities toward students and colleagues and thus helps determine the overall success of the university. The Faculty Handbook outlines additional responsibilities of the Chair.

03.     Personnel Committee

03.01.   All tenured faculty make up the personnel committee of the Program. The personnel committee advises the Chair on all personnel issues (tenure, promotion, merit, and hiring). The Chair need not concur with personnel committee recommendations that are sent forward to higher administrative levels (e.g., hiring and tenure/promotion decisions).

03.02.   Personnel committee members at one level do not recommend promotion for those at a higher academic rank. Personnel committee members are tenured faculty who are expected to attend and participate; they may vote if they have 1) an academic assignment at a rate of 50% or more and do not hold an administrative position outside of the College of Health Professions; 2) at least one year of service at Texas State since the official start date of their appointment; 3) experience teaching at least three sections of courses at the college/university level. Tenured faculty who hold an academic assignment in a Program at a rate of 50% or more and who do not hold an administrative appointment outside of their college are expected to serve on the Personnel Committee as non-voting members until they have met the remaining requirements.

03.03.   In areas of T&P, non-tenure line faculty may be invited (as non-voting members) to participate in the discussion on the promotion of like faculty lines.

03.04.   During Annual Performance Evaluations and Reappointments, the Chair will orchestrate the meeting to advise, collect votes, and will collect comments to enter in the Faculty Qualifications system for the PC.

04.       Voting Faculty

Except for meetings and decisions that concern personnel issues (e.g., tenure, promotion, merit, and hiring), all faculty in the CLS Program are invited to attend faculty meetings. Faculty who are hired on the basis of a percentage of full-time at a rate of 50% or more, and who do not hold an administrative appointment outside of their college, are invited to vote on all non-personnel issues. Lecturers hired per-course, or who teach less than 50% are invited to attend general faculty meetings, but they are not voting members.

05.      Policy Changes

05.01    Temporary Policy Changes

To control class size and/or to balance the budget, and with at least one week’s notice to the faculty, the Director may make temporary changes in policies as required.

05.02    Amendments to the Policy Statement

Changes to this policy statement can be recommended at any time by the Chair, Program Personnel Committee, or petition from two or more faculty members. Changes or additions must be announced at least one week prior to their consideration and approved by two-thirds of the faculty present and voting at the faculty meeting during which the recommendations are considered. Through program meetings, memoranda, email, individual conferences, fall orientation sessions, etc., the Program Chair has a prime responsibility to ensure that communication between faculty and administration is prompt, accurate, and effective.