Ohio Administrative Code|Rule 3342-2-03.1 | Administrative policy and procedures regarding academic administrative structures.

                                                
(A) Purpose. The university recognizes and designates several types of academic administrative structures that serve to facilitate its academic mission. Primary academic structures aligned with the institutional goals and strategic directions of the university are designated as departments, schools, colleges, and regional campuses. These secondary structures are designated as institutes, centers, or other general-purpose organizational structures. Other general-purpose organizational structures may include advisory councils, associations, boards, bureaus, councils, forums, or programs. Approval for academic administrative structures shall be given at various levels of the university's governance structure depending upon the unit's mission, scope, and fiscal impact. Academic administrative structures exist to coalesce disciplinary expertise, to provide administrative support, to enhance the possibility of obtaining financial resources or extramural funding, and to increase the possibilities for educational or community outreach.
(B) Policy implementation.
(1) Regional campus.
(a) A regional campus may be created to provide instruction, outreach, and research for a geographical service area distinct from the Kent campus.
(b) Each regional campus provides on-site academic and administrative services and generally maintains its own physical plant.
(c) Regional campus faculty set degree requirements for associate degree programs through cognate committees with the approval of the provost, the regional campuses curriculum committee, the college curriculum committee, and the educational policies council and the faculty senate.
(d) The regional campus is a unit of analysis for student headcount, credit hour generation, faculty appointments, academic staff, and budgetary support.
(e) A regional campus shall be established or eliminated by the Ohio board of regents and the KSU board of trustees upon the recommendation of the president and the provost. Prior to recommending the establishment or elimination of a regional campus, or the substantial modification of the academic structures of an existing campus, the president and provost shall consider the recommendation of the vice president for regional development and the executive dean for regional campuses. The president and provost also shall consider a recommendation from the appropriate curricular and governance bodies, including the regional campuses FAC and curricular committee, the educational policies council and the faculty senate.
(f) A regional campus shall be headed by a dean who shall have a dual reporting line to the provost and to the vice president for regional development.
(2) College.
(a)  A college may be created to align more effectively academic departments, schools, and programs that share a common mission, similar instructional goals, and related scholarly programs. Typically, the component units of a college shall represent disciplinary or professional specialties that have a close affinity with one another.
(b) The primary rationale for a college is to facilitate cooperation and collaboration among its various academic components while at the same time providing enhanced visibility and stature for these units within the university and with external publics.
(c) A college is also expected to yield substantial benefits for faculty, students, and staff, as well as external constituent groups.
(d) A college shall be established or eliminated by the board of trustees upon the recommendation of the president and the provost. Prior to recommending the establishment or elimination of a college, or the substantial modification of the structures of an existing college, the provost shall consider the recommendation of the appropriate curricular and governance bodies, including the educational policies council and the faculty senate.
(e) A college shall be headed by a dean who shall report directly to the chief academic officer of the university (i.e., provost) and who shall have primary responsibility for all curricular, budgetary, and personnel actions of the college. The dean shall be appointed by the provost upon the recommendation of the appropriate advisory body and approval of the board of trustees.
(3) Departments and dependent schools.
(a) A department or dependent school may be created to house one or more academic programs with associated faculty, degree programs, and students.
(b) The primary rationale for a department or dependent school is to provide instruction in a professional discipline, an academic area or field. Each department has a resident faculty that offers instruction in one or more academic disciplines or fields. Each dependent school has a resident faculty that offers instruction in one or more professional disciplines, academic areas or fields. 
(c)  Department and dependent school faculty set degree requirements for unit major programs, with the approval of the college curriculum committee and the educational policies council. 
(d) The department or dependent school is a unit of analysis for student headcount, credit hour generation, faculty appointments, academic staff, and budgetary support. 
(e) Other purposes of departments and dependent schools are to focus scholarly and disciplinary activities of the faculty and to provide professional services in the areas(s) of departmental expertise. 
(f) A department or dependent school shall be established or eliminated by the board of trustees upon the recommendation of the president, the provost, and the dean. Prior to recommending the establishment or elimination of a department or dependent school, or the substantial modification of the structure of an existing department(s) or dependent school(s), the provost shall consider the recommendations of the appropriate curricular and governance bodies, including the college curriculum committee, educational policies council and the faculty senate. 
(g) A department or dependent school shall be headed by a chair or director who shall have primary responsibility for all curricular, budgetary, and personnel actions of the unit. The chair/director shall be appointed by the dean in consultation with the provost upon the recommendation of the appropriate faculty advisory body and approval of the board of trustees. 
(4) Independent school or graduate school. 
(a) An independent school or graduate school may be created to house one or more academic programs with associated faculty, degree programs, and students. 
(b) The primary rationale for an independent school or graduate school is to provide instruction in a professional field. Each independent school has a resident faculty that offers instruction in one or more professional disciplines or fields. 
(c) Independent school or graduate school faculty set degree requirements for the schools major programs, with the approval of the educational policies council. 
(d) The independent school or graduate school is a unit of analysis for student headcount, credit hour generation, faculty appointments, academic staff, and budgetary support. 
(e) Other purposes of independent schools and graduate schools are to focus scholarly and professional activities of the faculty and to provide professional services in the area(s) of the schools expertise. 
(f) An independent school or graduate school shall be established or eliminated by the board of trustees upon the recommendation of the president, the provost, and the dean. Prior to recommending the establishment or elimination of an independent school or graduate school, or the substantial modification of the structure of an existing independent school(s) or graduate school, the provost shall consider the recommendations of the appropriate curricular and governance bodies, including the educational policies council and the faculty senate. 
(g) An independent school or graduate school shall be headed by a dean who shall report directly to the chief academic officer of the university (i.e., provost) and who shall have primary responsibility for all curricular, budgetary, and personnel actions of the school. The dean shall be appointed by the provost in consultation with the appropriate advisory body and approval of the board of trustees. 
(5)  Divisions. 
Divisions within academic affairs exist to provide services beyond those offered by colleges, department and dependent schools, or independent schools and graduate schools. These services include, for instance, advising, fundraising, instruction in library use and in research methods, management of the librarys collections and databases, and planning and installation of classroom technology, and/or technology support. Current divisions include: 
(a)  libraries and media services; 
(b)  research and graduate studies; 
(c)  undergraduate studies. 
(6) Institute. 
(a) An institute may be created to facilitate comprehensive research on a major problem or on a cluster of significant related topics or issues. The topics or issues that provide the focus for the institute shall involve two or more departments or schools and incorporate a university-wide perspective. Ordinarily, institutes are created because the organization, advantages, and support they provide are not feasible under existing department or school structures. Institutes shall be supported insofar as possible through extramural resources. 
(b) An institute shall facilitate and administer the performance of research and provide an organizational identity to selected research programs and participating faculty, staff and students. An institute shall supplement and complement the mission of the academic departments, schools and colleges. 
(c) An institute shall be established or eliminated by the board of trustees upon the recommendation of the president and the provost. Prior to recommending the establishment or elimination of an institute, the provost will consider the recommendations of the appropriate curricular and governance bodies [i.e., college curriculum committee(s), the educational policies council and the faculty senate]. 
(d) An institute shall be headed by a director appointed by the provost upon the recommendation of the appropriate dean(s) and approval by the board of trustees. 
(e) The director shall file an annual report with the appropriate dean(s), with copies to the provost and the vice president for research and dean of graduate studies. 
(7) Center. 
(a) A center may be created to make faculty expertise available to university and outside constituencies; research, while endemic to its operation, is not necessarily the primary focus of a center. Centers typically provide a service or serve purely an administrative purpose. 
(b) The rationale for a center is to provide an administrative structure to focus and bring together the efforts of a faculty on a single area or cluster of related areas. Centers shall supplement and complement the mission of the academic department and college. 
(c) A center shall be established by the provost upon the recommendation of the deans of participating colleges and independent schools and the chairperson(s) and director(s) of participating department and dependent schools. In the case of regional campuses, a center shall be established by the provost upon the recommendation of the vice president for regional development and the regional campus dean(s). Prior to recommending the establishment of a center, including those at a regional campus, the provost will consider the recommendations of the appropriate governance bodies (i.e., department or dependent school curriculum committee, college curriculum committee, and the educational policies council, the faculty senate and the RCFAC, when appropriate). 
(d) A center shall be headed by a director or coordinator appointed by the provost upon the recommendation of the appropriate dean(s) and approved of the board of trustees. 
(e) The director or coordinator shall file an annual report with the dean, chairperson, or director. The annual report for each center shall be included in the regional campus, college department or dependent school, or independent school annual mission report, whichever is appropriate. 
(8) Other designations for general-purpose organizational structures. 
(a) In addition to institutes and centers, the university recognizes other designations more limited in scope such as bureaus, forums, advisory councils, associations, boards, and councils. 
(b) These general-purpose organizational structures may be established by the appropriate dean with the approval of the provost. Prior to recommending the establishment of a general-purpose structure, the dean will consider the recommendations of the department faculty advisory committee and/or the regional campus faculty advisory committee. 
(C) Review procedures for secondary administrative units. 
(1) Unless an exception is approved by the provost, all institutes and centers will be reviewed every five years. 
(2)  The review will include a comparison of the activities and achievements of the institute, center, or general-purpose structure with the elements called for in rule 3342-2-03 of this Administrative Code in order to determine if the unit is meeting its intended mission. Each review will conclude with a recommendation to continue, modify, or abolish the structure. 
(3) An institute, center, or general-purpose structure may be abolished as a result of a review or abandoned as a result of inactivity. The action to abolish or abandon will be taken by the board of trustees in the case of institutes; by the provost in the case of centers; and by the appropriate vice president, dean, or other administrative officer in the case of general-purpose structures. In each case, the abolishment or abandonment will not be finalized without a notification to governance bodies, such as the faculty senate and a notification and consideration of the recommendation of the affected department, dependent school, independent school, college and/or regional campus.