3.4 Management Structure for Academic Issues
The management structure of the University is described in the Chapter 2. The administrative organization responsible for faculty governance and academic issues will be the Faculty Assembly (the “Assembly”). The Assembly will have an executive body, the Faculty Council (the “Council”). The Assembly and Council are described in sections 3.4.1 and 3.4.2, respectively. The administrative home of the members of the faculty will be the Dean for Faculty Affairs.
The Provost will administer research resources, promote good conduct in research and ensure that the research program conforms to the highest ethical standards; lead appropriate subcommittees of the Core Facilities as well as represent OIST in research-related domains; liaise with the Deans of Faculty Affairs, of Research and of the Graduate School.
The Dean of the Graduate School will administer the OIST Graduate School. The position of Dean of the Graduate School will be a rotating position of the faculty with a three-year term, which is renewable at the discretion of the President.
The Dean of the Graduate School will manage the academic program, including the following matters:
- Student recruitment and admissions
- Curriculum and organization of courses
- Student guidance and supervision
- Student career development
- Award of degrees and graduation
- Enrollment, re-enrollment, withdrawals, transfers, overseas study, leave of absence
- Appraisals and sanctions of students
- Evaluation of teaching
- Other matters relating to education
As necessary, the Dean of the Graduate School will appoint committees that the Dean of the Graduate School chairs, the Dean of the Graduate School’s committees, which include faculty members to advise on those matters requiring academic and educational input. For instance, faculty will staff the Admissions Committee. To enable changes to the curriculum in a given area, the Dean of the Graduate School will choose specific people to help in approving suggested modifications.
A Senior Assistant to the Dean of the Graduate School will administer the student-related functions including financial aid to students, student housing, student organization, student activities, student welfare, mentoring and career development, and student records. The position of Senior Assistant is an administrative, non-rotating position that will provide continuity in administration of the Graduate School.
3.4.1 Faculty Assembly
3.4.1.1 Role of the Assembly
The Assembly is a self-governing body of the whole professoriate that provides the faculty with information about university matters and serves as a forum for open discussion of University affairs with the President. The Assembly is advisory to the President. The Assembly can bring issues that warrant the attention of the University management directly to the President. For operational efficiency the Assembly elects a sub-group, called the Council. The Council, under the leadership of the Chairperson of the Assembly, acts as the executive committee of the Assembly. The members of the faculty in addition have administrative duties on various committees. These functions are services to the University; the President, Senior Vice President, Provost, Dean of the Graduate School, Dean of Faculty Affairs and Dean of Research make appointments to these committees.
3.4.1.2 Membership of the Assembly
The membership of the Assembly includes all full-time Professors, Associate Professors, Assistant Professors and Adjunct faculty. Emeritus, Distinguished and Visiting faculty members may participate in Assembly meetings as non-voting members. Two student representatives (elected by the students), two researcher representatives (elected by the OIST Researcher Community) and one representative of the Science and Technology Group (elected by the Science and Technology Group Forum) may participate in the Assembly, with speaking rights but without voting rights.
The President, Senior Vice President, Provost, Secretary General, Dean of the Graduate School, Dean of Faculty Affairs, and Dean of Research may participate as ex officio members. The ex-officio members and student and research representatives attend the Assembly meetings at the invitation of the Chairperson and may be excused when the Chairperson deems necessary.
3.4.1.3 Chairperson of the Assembly
The Assembly has a Chairperson. The Chairperson of the Assembly will be elected by secret ballot of the Assembly. Elections to the position of Chairperson will take place every two years. The term of office as Chairperson is two years. For the election of the Chair of the Faculty Assembly, a call for nominations will be made on February 1. Candidates will make their presentations at the Faculty Assembly meeting in March. The election will be held immediately following the Faculty Assembly presentations. If the Chair of the Faculty Assembly is unable to serve, the Faculty Council will appoint an interim Chair, who will hold elections within two months, to fill the position until the end of the previous Chair’s term.
The role of the Chairperson is to preside at meetings of the Assembly. The Chairperson will set the dates of meetings. The agenda is set by the Chair of the Assembly, but the President, Senior Vice President, Provost, Dean of the Graduate School, Dean of Faculty Affairs, and Dean of Research should always be consulted and be invited to the meeting. The Chairperson will represent the faculty as ex-officio member of OIST administrative committees as deemed necessary. The Chairperson will communicate the results of the deliberations of the Assembly and its subsidiary bodies to the appropriate members of the administration (Board of Governors, Board of Councilors, President, Senior Vice President, Provost Dean of the Graduate School, Dean of Faculty Affairs, and Dean of Research).
3.4.1.4 Frequency of Convocation
The Chairperson will call meetings of the Assembly at least three times per year.
3.4.1.5 Items to be Discussed at Meetings of the Assembly
The Assembly will deliberate on policy matters, strategic direction and educational philosophy. The Assembly may consider specific matters as follows:
- Election of the Council
- Enrollment, re-enrollment, withdrawals, transfers, overseas study, leave of absence
- New research initiatives
- Common resources and space
- Faculty recruitment, promotions, and tenure
- Staff welfare
- Information technology and libraries
- Formation of subcommittees
- Reports on academic matters
- Reports on other committees
- Other matters
The Faculty Assembly shall state its opinion for the admission and graduation matters and completion of academic programs. Authority is delegated to the Admissions Committee to select students for admission to the PhD program. Authority is delegated to the Curriculum and Examinations Committee to deal with matters related to the curriculum and individual student progress in the PhD program, The Admissions Committee and the Curriculum and Examinations Committee are advisory to the Dean of the Graduate School, and report to the Assembly through the Dean of the Graduate School.
3.4.1.6 Procedures and Rules of the Faculty Assembly
- The Faculty Assembly may transact its business but shall not vote on resolutions unless a majority of full-time faculty members with voting rights is present.
- Resolution of the Faculty Assembly shall be passed by a majority vote of attending faculty members with voting rights. Faculty members who hold Executive positions will be asked to abstain from voting on matters that relate directly to their responsibilities as members of the OIST Executive. The Chair shall decide in the event of a tie vote.
- As deemed necessary by the Chair, faculty members may participate in the Faculty Assembly by teleconference and may exercise voting rights. Absent faculty members may not vote.
- If there are resolutions that need to be voted on but a quorum of faculty members is not present, the Chair will decide and announce during the Assembly meeting whether to conduct voting online or to postpone voting until the next Assembly meeting. In regard to online voting, the Faculty Assembly shall formulate a summary of the topic under discussion or the Assembly may delegate this duty to the Chair. This summary will be circulated to faculty members, who will be given 5 business days to vote. A resolution will be deemed to have passed if there is an online quorum (i.e., a majority of faculty members with voting rights participate in online voting) and the majority of those who vote are in favor.
- As deemed necessary by the Chair, people other than faculty members may be invited to attend the meeting.
- Agendas and minutes of Faculty Assembly meetings shall be made available to all faculty members.
3.4.2 Faculty Council
The Council is the elected executive body of the Assembly and its role is to advise to the President on academic and administrative matters. The agenda is set by the Chair of the Council, but the President, Senior Vice President, Provost, Dean of the Graduate School Dean of Faculty Affairs and Dean of Research should always be consulted and be invited to the meeting. Other members of the administration can be invited as appropriate. These meetings are critical for the healthy operation of the institution and provide a venue in which the trust and cooperation between administration and faculty can be established and maintained. The Assembly delegates the responsibility to deliberate on specific matters to the Council. Council members are elected members of the Faculty, including the Chair of the Faculty Assembly, who is also the Chair of the Council. Consistent with the Japanese government gender equality goal of 30% women in leadership positions, at least 20% of Faculty Council positions will be reserved for female faculty members. In order for a quorum of the Faculty Council to conduct business, at least one female faculty member must be present. If the remaining reserved position(s) is/are not filled, then the position will remain vacant, to be filled via an election, when one or more female candidates become available.
Terms of Faculty Council members and the Chair of the Faculty Assembly start on September 1. Members are elected for a term of two years and may serve two consecutive terms. The Assembly may vote to increase the number of members on the Council proportionately as the faculty grows, but the number may not exceed 20% of the whole faculty. The following ex-officio members and the advisor may attend the Council. The composition of the Council is as follows:
Elected Members
Chair of the Assembly
Nine elected members of the Assembly
Ex-Officio Members
President
Senior Vice President
Provost
Dean of the Graduate School
Dean for Faculty Affairs
Dean of Research
Secretary to the Assembly
The Council will meet monthly. Council minutes will be available to all faculty members.
3.4.2.1 Election of Council members
It is important that the Faculty Council reflects the composition of the Faculty, with an appropriate mix of gender, ethnicity, scientific discipline, and seniority. All full-time Professors, Associate Professors, and Assistant Professors are eligible to serve as Council members. Voting members of the Assembly, including Adjunct faculty, are eligible to nominate and elect Council members.
For the election of the Faculty Council members, a call for nominations will be made on April 15. Candidates will make their presentations at the Faculty Assembly meeting in May, but if a quorum is not convened in May, a special faculty meeting may be called in June for candidate presentations. The election will be held immediately following the presentations at either of the foregoing Faculty Assembly meeting.
Election Rules and Procedures are as follows:
- If the number of candidates does not exceed the number of positions to be filled, candidates who receive more than 50% of the votes cast will be elected, including reserved positions for female faculty members.
- If the number of candidates exceeds the number of positions to be filled, the candidates who receive the greatest numbers of votes will be elected until all positions are filled.
- Election results must be publicized to Faculty Assembly members as soon as practicable after the close of voting.
- When there is a need to replace a Council member before his/her term completes, the Council will appoint the eligible candidate with the highest vote in the latest Council election within the last 6 months. If there has been no election for the last 6 months, the Council will decide whether to hold an election. The replacing member will serve for the remaining term of the departing member.
3.4.2.2 Procedures and Rules of the Faculty Council
- A majority of votes is required to pass any resolution in the Faculty Council. Elected members of the Faculty Council have voting rights, but Ex-Officio Members and Advisors do not have voting rights. If there is not a majority of the members with voting rights is not in attendance, the Faculty Council shall not transact any business.
- The Faculty Council agendas and minutes will be available to all faculty members.
3.4.3 The Secretariat of the Faculty Assembly and Faculty Council
The Faculty Affairs Office serves as Secretariat of the Faculty Assembly. A Secretary to the Assembly will work with the Chair of the Faculty Assembly and act as the Executive Secretary to the Assembly and to the Council, with the responsibility for preparing agendas, preparing or commissioning documents for meetings, serving any sub-Committees created by the Assembly or Council, and coordinating with Senior Executives.