Structure and Organization of the Department

The Department Chair (hereinafter “Chair”) is the chief administrative officer of the Department and reports directly to and is accountable to the Dean of the College (hereinafter “Dean”) and his/her departmental faculty.  The Chair must be a tenure-track member of the Kent Campus Faculty. The Chair is responsible for recording, maintaining, and implementing the policies and procedures stated in this Handbook.  The Chair is expected to seek the advice and counsel of the Faculty and work in close cooperation with them.  To this end, regular meetings of the Department and of appropriate consultative bodies within the Department are essential.

The Chair is an ex officio, non-voting member of all Department committees (except those involved in the evaluation of the Chair), and may make appointments as necessary and permitted to Department committees and to the various administrative and service positions in the Department.

The selection, review, and reappointment of the Chair is the responsibility of the Dean, who must consult with the Department faculty on such matters. Details on Chair Search Procedures are provided in Appendix 2. The Chair review committee is selected from and by the Faculty. The Chair review committee seeks input from all members of the Department of Psychological Sciences and provides a summary of this input to the Dean.

The Associate Chair is responsible for assisting the Chair in carrying out his/her duties and serves as an ex officio, non-voting member of the FAC.

The Graduate Coordinator is responsible for all graduate training functions in the Department.  He/she is responsible for initiating policy and proposing directions for the graduate programs. He/she works closely with the Clinical Psychological Science Training Director and Psychological Science Training Director to assure close communication between graduate training programs and to facilitate consistency in graduate training policies wherever possible.

The Undergraduate Coordinator is responsible for all functions of undergraduate training in the Department (e.g., curriculum, course offerings, student advising) including initiating policy and proposing directions for the under-graduate program.

The Director is responsible for all functions of the Psychological Clinic including coordinating the training of students in practicum, monitoring of Clinical Psychology services, developing clinic policies and procedures, record keeping, and serving as liaison with outside agencies.

The Director’s primary function is to facilitate existing Faculty and student research, training, and service activities and to help to extend these activities by identifying relevant settings, subjects, and funding sources.  The Director chairs and works with the APC Advisory Committee to develop policies and to administer funds. 

The Director of Clinical Psychological Science Training is responsible for all aspects of the graduate program in Clinical Psychological Science, including curriculum planning and evaluation of students.

The Director of Psychological Science Training is responsible for all aspects of the Psychological Science graduate program, including curriculum planning and evaluation of students. 

The Admissions Coordinator is responsible for all aspects of admissions, from the arrival of the first application until applicants have accepted positions in the Department, declined offers of admission, or have been informed that they were not selected.  He/she works closely with the Graduate Coordinator, the ETC director, the CTC director, and the Chair to oversee the admissions process.

Appointments to other Departmental administrative positions are made by the Chair after consultation with the FAC. Appointments will be dependent upon the specific requirements of the position and an individual’s qualifications for the position.  Duties and terms of office shall be specified   by the Chair and FAC in the Departmental Operating Procedures Manual.

The Department’s non-academic staff includes all classified and unclassified staff positions within the Department including but not limited to the Business Manager and secretarial staff.  The specific duties associated with each position are described in the Departmental Operating Procedures Manual.

The CBA specifies the functions of the FAC.  The FAC is representative of the Faculty and provides advice to the Chair on all matters deemed significant by it or the Chair in the Department.

The Faculty Advisory Committee (FAC) of the Department shall consist of six elected Faculty members.  There are three major Faculty areas to be represented:  Psychological Science, Clinical Psychological Science, and regional campus.  At a minimum, two members of the committee must be from the Psychological Science Faculty, two from the Clinical Psychological Science Faculty, and one from the Regional Campus Faculty.  The Associate Chair is an ex officio, non-voting member of the FAC.  The FAC elects one (1) member to act as the Department representative to the College Advisory Committee (hereinafter “CAC”). 

The nomination and election procedures for the FAC are specified in Appendix 1

The FAC, along with at least one student appointed by the FAC, serves as the Student Academic Complaint Committee (SACC).  The Chair of the SACC is elected by the SACC at the beginning of each academic year. The policies and procedures of this committee are governed by University Policy 3342-4-02.3. The policy provides for only one SACC in each Department.  In the event that a member of the Student Academic Complaint Committee is the subject of or may other-wise be involved with a student complaint, the FAC will select a replacement from the full-time Faculty.  If the Chair of the SACC is the subject of or may otherwise be involved with a student complaint, the Chair will appoint a member of the Student Academic Complaint Committee to chair the committee and the FAC will appoint an additional member to the committee from the full-time Faculty.

This committee consists of the Graduate Coordinator, Director of Clinical Psychological Science Training, Director of Psychological Science Training, Admissions Coordinator, two other Faculty members (one from the Clinical Psychological Science Faculty and one from the Psychological Science Faculty), and one staff member.  The committee is chaired by the Graduate Coordinator, who serves as the Departmental representative to the Arts and Sciences Graduate Council.  The GCC advises the Chair concerning all aspects of the graduate training programs.

This committee consists of Faculty who hold the rank of Professor and tenured members of the FAC in the Department.  The policies and procedures which govern the Department’s RTP Committee are included in University Policy.  Procedural and operational guidelines for this committee are provided annually by the Office of the Provost.  This committee reviews materials relevant to the professional performance of Faculty who are candidates for reappointment, tenure, or promotion in rank, and make recommendations to the Chair on each of these personnel decisions.

This committee is responsible for all aspects of the undergraduate program in psychology.  It is chaired by the Under-graduate Coordinator.  It is composed of four to six Kent Campus Faculty members, and ordinarily includes FTNTT instructional faculty, one Regional Campus Faculty member and an Academic Advisor.

This committee consists of the all Clinical Psychological Science Faculty members.  This committee is chaired by the Director of Clinical Psychological Science Training and recommends policies and for the graduate students majoring in Clinical Psychological Science.  This committee is responsible for monitoring the academic and professional progress of graduate students in Clinical Psychological Science, recommending continuation in the program to the entire graduate Faculty, and developing graduate curriculum in the Clinical Psychological Science area.  Graduate students in Clinical Psychological Science have representatives on this committee.

This committee consists of all Psychological Science Faculty members.  The committee is chaired by the Director of Psychological Science Training and recommends policies for the training of graduate students in Psychological Science psychology.  This committee is responsible for monitoring the academic progress of graduate students in Psychological Science psychology, recommending continuation in the program to the entire graduate faculty, and developing graduate curriculum in the Psychological Science area.  Psychological Science graduate students have representatives on this committee.

The APC Faculty Advisory Committee is representative of the tenure track Faculty and provides advice to the Director of the APC on all matters deemed significant by it, the Director, or the Chair.  There shall be five Faculty members on the APC Faculty Advisory Committee.  The nomination and election procedures for the APC Faculty Advisory Committee are specified in the departmental Operating Procedures Manual.

The Chair appoints members of faculty search committees after consulting with the Faculty Advisory Committee.  Typically, a search committee will be chaired by a Faculty member in the content area in which the search is focused.  The Faculty vote is advisory to the Chair of the Department who must ultimately recommend a candidate to the Dean of the College.

When events make it necessary and/or when so advised by the FAC and with their consultation regarding membership, the Chair may create ad hoc committees to accomplish specific tasks.  The Chair, when making appointments to Department committees, will be mindful of the diversity of disciplines within the Department and will consider the expertise and interests necessary for the effective functioning of specific committees. Unless University policy or procedures dictate otherwise, the chairpersons of such committees are appointed by the Chair after consultation with the FAC.  Such ad hoc committees are usually formed for a limited time and cease to function after the specific task has been accomplished.