Professional Relations Committee

University of Maine at Machias
Policy & Procedures Manual
SECTION: ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURES AND RELATIONSHIPS SECTION II
DATE: /90, /98, /05
SUBJECT: Professional Relations Committee

Professional Relations Committee
 
Purpose
The Professional Relations Committee serves as the voice of the faculty in assuring that hiring, evaluation, and recognition of faculty in all aspects of their work in service to the university are carried out with integrity and in a timely fashion.  The PRC also serves as the voice of the faculty in assuring that all administrators who significantly affect the work of the faculty are evaluated fairly and regularly.
 
Responsibilities

  1. The PRC will make recommendations to the administration on behalf of the faculty in the following areas or policies of Faculty Personnel, as consistent with the AFUM contract:
  • Professional and ethical practices
  • Evaluation, promotion and/or tenure
  • Emeritus Ranks
  • Pay equity, including Merit & Appeals
  • Diversity
  • Trustee Professorship

 

  1. On behalf of the faculty the PRC will assure that Administrator evaluations, including those of the President, Vice President for Academic Affairs, Division Chairs, and other administrators as requested, are completed on a regular basis*.
  • Beginning in the second year of their service to UMM, the President and VPAA will be evaluated every other year.  The evaluations will be formative, informal, and will be done in a manner that the President and VPAA see as useful.  Every September the PRC will also ask the supervisors of the President and VPAA if the UMM faculty’s input is necessary or desired for any summative evaluations.  If the supervisors request such input, the PRC will be responsible for gathering requested materials.
  • Each year the divisional chairs will be evaluated in a formative fashion, either through the division itself or via the PRC.  Where appropriate divisional procedures do not exist, the PRC will assure that a review is completed.  Where divisional procedures do exist, the PRC will do nothing.
  • Other administrators will be evaluated in a formative fashion only if the faculty deems it is necessary.

 
*As the faculty has no supervisory or line authority over any administrators, a summative evaluation is not possible.  In cases when the faculty contributes data to the summative evaluation of an administrator, comments need to be signed.
 
Membership
 
Only tenured faculty will serve on the Professional Relations Committee. As an ex-officio member, the Vice President for Academic Affairs would attend the meetings of the Committee when it discusses pay equity and merit recommendations.