Institutional Organization and Roles Policy

Overview

UNIVERSITY COUNCIL

Power is granted under New York State Education Law, Article 8, Section 356, which provides for the establishment of a local council to supervise the operations and affairs of each state-operated institution of the State University. Duties include, but are not limited to, serving as an advisory board to the President by reviewing all major plans for its more effective operation, make regulations governing care, custody and management of lands, grounds, facilities and equipment, and governing the conduct and behavior of students, review budgetary requests and name buildings and grounds. The Council functions subject to the general management, supervision and control of and in accordance with rules established by the State University Trustees. The Council consists of 10 voting members, nine appointed by the Governor and one elected by and from the University students. Voting members are appointed to seven-year terms. A more detailed description of the roles and responsibilities of the council can be found in New York State Education Law, Article 8, Section 356.

University Council

ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICERS

PRESIDENT OF THE UNIVERSITY

Appointed by the SUNY Board of Trustees and reporting to the SUNY Chancellor, the President is the Chief Administrative Officer of the University and has overall legal responsibility for the operation of the University. Among the duties assigned, the President is responsible for the preparation and recommendation of the annual University budget request and the allocation of resources. The President makes policy decisions with respect to the mission, plans, and development of the campus. The President promotes the development and effectiveness of the University through the supervision of the academic and nonacademic staff and has legal responsibility for the appointment, reappointment, promotion, and separation from services of all staff members. As Chief Administrative Officer, the President assigns duties, powers, and responsibilities to other administrative and academic officers or to special committees (8 NYCRR § 333).

Reporting directly to the President and serving as a member of the President’s Cabinet are:

• Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs
• Vice President for Administration and Finance
• Vice President for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
• Vice President for Enrollment and Student Success
• Vice President for Institutional Advancement

PROVOST AND VICE PRESIDENT FOR ACADEMIC AFFAIRS

The Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs is the senior officer focused on Academic Affairs. The Provost supports the University’s academic mission by providing vision, leadership, and management in a diverse multicultural, international, and high-technology environment, working with all constituents on campus to proactively and effectively coordinate campus connections. The position is responsible for the strategic and timely implementation of plans, policies, and procedures that ensure high-quality academic programs anchored in the liberal arts tradition. The Provost leads the development and implementation of a data-informed strategic plan including standards for ongoing academic program review while maintaining a focus on resources, national and regional higher education trends, and overall campus goals. In the absence of the President, The Provost serves as the Officer-in-Charge.

Reporting to the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs:

VICE PRESIDENT FOR ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCE

The Vice President for Administration and Finance is the Chief Financial Officer for the University. The VPAF is responsible for providing ethical leadership, management, and general oversight of the administrative and financial resources of the University, as well as the Maintenance and Operations departments of the university. The Vice President for Administration and Finance also serves as the Operations Manager of the Research Foundation and the Treasurer of College Auxiliary Services. In the absence of the President and Provost, The Vice President for Administration and Finance serves as the Officer-in-Charge.

Reporting to the Vice President for Administration and Finance are:

VICE PRESIDENT FOR DIVERSITY, EQUITY & INCLUSION

The Vice President creates and implements policy to reflect the University’s commitment to inclusive excellence, evaluate inclusiveness, and implement best practices related to diversity, equity and inclusion. The Vice President is responsible for leading the further development, implementation and on-going assessment and monitoring of SUNY Plattsburgh’s strategic plan for diversity and inclusion.

Reporting to the Vice President for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion are:

VICE PRESIDENT FOR INSTITUTIONAL ADVANCEMENT

The Vice President for Institutional Advancement is responsible for all aspects of fundraising at the University, including annual fund initiatives, capital projects, major and planned gifts and corporate and foundation relationships. The Vice President also directs activities in the areas of alumni affairs, advancement, and marketing. The Vice President provides overall leadership for the Office of Institutional Advancement, including maintaining a key liaison with the President of the University in implementing strategic planning initiatives; supervise, manage and coordinate advancement staff; provide direction in areas of research, identification, and cultivation of prospects. The position also serves as the Executive Director of the Plattsburgh College Foundation.

Reporting to the Vice President for Institutional Advancement:

VICE PRESIDENT FOR ENROLLMENT AND STUDENT SUCCESS

The Vice President for Enrollment & Student Success is the senior officer focused on enrollment, retention, and student engagement. The Vice President provides vision, leadership, and management in areas related to enrollment services, retention and support programs, and traditional student affairs operations. The Vice President is responsible for the strategic and timely implementation of plans, policies, and procedures that attract and enroll qualified students and ensure support services for their success. The Vice President will foster data-informed strategic enrollment plans and approaches that reflect industry best practices, national and regional higher education trends, and campus goals, with particular focus on market analysis, positioning, and program development in direct alignment with the Vice President for Academic Affairs.

Reporting to the Vice President for Enrollment and Student Success:

ACADEMIC DEANS/DEANS OF FACULTIES

Role and Responsibilities of Deans of Faculties

The Deans of the Faculties are responsible to the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, who relies on them for the coordination and communication necessary for the fulfillment of the academic purposes of the university. The Deans assist the President and the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs in the development of the academic goals and objectives for the university. They are responsible for planning programs and services to be offered by their faculties suited to these goals and objectives, and for the cultivation of human and physical resources to support these programs and services.

The Deans serve as the liaisons between officially designated administrative and non-administrative units of the university. They communicate the interests, concerns, and needs of their respective faculties to other administrative officers and those of the university and other administrative offices to their faculty. They shall consult with faculty units before taking actions which alter the faculty status and shall assist faculty units in meeting the goals of the university.

Each Dean serves as the academic leader of their Faculty in consultation with the chairs of departments and other faculty and staff. Vice Presidents & Deans

The responsibilities of a Dean of a Faculty cover seven major areas:

(a) Academic Planning,
(b) Personnel,
(c) Students,
(d) Budget,
(e) Space and Equipment, and
(f) General Operations.

A. Academic Planning

1. Ensures that clear goals and objectives, consistent with those of the university, are established for that faculty; that programs in the faculty are designed to achieve these ends; and that goals, objectives, and programs are periodically evaluated to guarantee that they are suited to the needs of students.
2. Coordinates programs in the various units to ensure coherence in faculty curricula.
3. Coordinates the development of new programs and revisions of existing programs in the faculty.
4. Plans, in consultation with the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, and supervises a systematic evaluation of programs and services within the faculty.
5. Presents to the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs a coordinated schedule of courses for the academic year and for summer and winter sessions.
6. Coordinates all long- and short-term planning for the faculty.

B. Personnel

1. Oversees the recruitment of new faculty and recommends appointments to the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs.
2. Evaluates the teaching effectiveness, scholarship, research, and university and community services of the departments and units within the faculty.
3. Makes recommendations to the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, after appropriate consultation with faculty, concerning all reappointments, continuing appointments, promotions, salaries, changes in status, and other personnel matters for faculty and non-teaching personnel assigned to the faculty.
4. Ensures that the workload within the faculty is equitably distributed among its members and suited to their individual talents and accomplishments, and to the needs of the faculty and its units.
5. Approves the assignment of courses for the academic year and summer and winter sessions.
6. Assigns responsibilities to and supervises clerical and non-teaching personnel assigned to the faculty.
7. Supervises the departments and units within the faculty to ensure that teaching and institutional obligations are met.
8. Supervises and coordinates the multi and interdisciplinary groups, units, or activities within the faculty.
9. Recommends to the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs tuition waivers for faculty and students within his/her jurisdiction.
10. Maintains records of faculty sick leaves and of vacation time for calendar year employees and submits this information periodically to the Human Resource & Payroll Services.
11. Formulates, implements, and evaluates a program of faculty development.

C. Students

1. Oversees student advisement and retention within the faculty.
2. Oversees the independent study, honors, and thesis programs within the departments and other units of the faculty and ensures that they are consistent with university and faculty policies and directives.
3. Approves course overloads and deviations from faculty requirements and recommends to the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs deviations from appropriate university requirements.
4. Admits students to graduate programs within the faculty.

D. Budget

1. Formulates, after consultation with appropriate faculty groups, long-range faculty budget projections, which indicate how resources will be allocated to achieve faculty goals and objectives.
2. Presents budget recommendations to the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, after consultation with faculty.
3. Allocates, after appropriate consultation with the faculty, the faculty budget; administers the budget of his or her office and is authorized to make valid expenditures within this budget.
4. Maintains current records on expenditures within the faculty.
5. Disseminates full information on budgets and expenditures to members of the faculty.
6. Evaluates annually the effectiveness of department expenditures in relation to department and faculty goals and objectives.

E. Space and Equipment

1. Maintains a current inventory of faculty equipment.
2. Prepares long-range projections of faculty space and equipment needs.
3. Allocates the space and equipment assigned to the faculty.
4. Submits requests for repairs, maintenance, and plant improvements.
5. Supervises the security of faculty equipment and space.

F. General Operations

1. Cooperates with other administrative officers in planning and administering programs and services that depend upon the resources of more than one faculty.
2. Provides accurate data to the institutional Effectiveness for the production of official university statistics.
3. Coordinates and supervises the preparation of all faculty reports.
4. Represents the faculty to the general public and communicates newsworthy activities of individuals and groups within the faculty to the Institutional Advancement and Marketing Departments as applicable.
5. Appoints appropriate faculty committees and chairs faculty meetings and meetings of its chairpersons.
6. Serves on the Deans’ Cabinet and the Academic Council of the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs.
7. Communicates faculty opinions and needs to the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs; transmits faculty and university policies, directives, and opinions to the faculty; fosters inter-faculty communication.
8. Assumes such other duties and responsibilities as are assigned by the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs or the President.

ADMINISTRATIVE ORGANIZATION OF THE FACULTY

Recognizing a collegiate identity built upon mutuality of support among all members of our community of scholars as the ideal, the two basic functional elements of the organizational structure of this university are the Faculty (as broadly defined in the university Bylaws) and the Office of the President as represented by him/her and other administrative officers. Each of these elements has subdivisions created for convenience and functional utility in the interest of the larger collegiality.

Through its representative Senate, the collegiate Faculty considers matters within its purview as defined in the Trustees’ policies and the university Faculty Bylaws. The teaching staff is further organized into three Faculties (see Definitions), each responsible for matters of specific interest to its academic program within the context of the total university mission. Each Faculty is under the jurisdiction of an Academic Dean who is responsible to the President through the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs for all aspects of departmental and staffs organization and operation. Changes in the internal organization of a Faculty must have the approval of the President. All new programs of instruction, new programs of research, and new programs of public service as well as major changes in established programs, must be consistent with the campus master plan and university policy and have the approval of the President.

Consistent with policies of the college, each Faculty is charged to:

1. Develop, conduct, and improve specialized courses, sequences, and programs within the special competence of that Faculty as required by the various instructional and service programs of the university;
2. Develop, conduct, and improve a program of academic guidance and counseling for all students enrolled as majors within that Faculty;
3. Consider and recommend to the Dean administrative policy governing conduct of instructional, research and service programs within its area of responsibility;
4. Consider and recommend to the Dean plans for development of the program offered by that Faculty;
5. Consider and recommend to the Dean plans for development of the teaching staff within its area of responsibility;
6. Consider and recommend to the Dean plans for the development of financial resources other than those provided in the State budget in support of its programs of research, public service, and Instruction;
7. Advise the Dean on administrative matters within its area of concern;
8. Discharge such other responsibilities as the Dean, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, and President may assign.