THE GRADUATE SCHOOL CREIGHTON UNIVERSITY. By-Laws. ARTICLE I Definitions

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1 THE GRADUATE SCHOOL CREIGHTON UNIVERSITY A. Organization and Responsibilities By-Laws ARTICLE I Definitions The Graduate School of the Creighton University is charged with promoting graduate studies and research of high quality within the various graduate programs, and with fostering scholarship and research among the faculty. Evaluation of such programs shall occur on a regular basis with reference to the objectives, quality, and resources for each area of study. The Dean of the Graduate School shall work directly with program directors, departmental chairs, other deans, the Provost in matters concerning programs, faculty and students of the Graduate School. The mechanism for review of standards of quality shall be through the Executive Committee also known as the Graduate Board, and in harmony with University policy. The faculty shall also aid the Dean in reviewing, sponsoring, and monitoring intra-institution funded research, and in searching for extra-mural research grant and contract opportunities. According to Statutes, a department is an administrative division within a College or School consisting of faculty members engaged in educational and/or research pursuits under the direction of a Chair. A faculty member may be a member of more than one department in which case one department shall be designated primary, and the faculty member shall serve under the primary direction of this departmental Chair. Joint appointments shall be arranged by the appropriate Deans with the approval of the Provost. The Dean of each College or School of the University shall be empowered to establish, discontinue, combine, or reorganize departments with the prior review and comment of the executive committee of the College or School concerned and the approval of the Provost. The Department of Interdisciplinary Studies is established for the purpose of bridging expertise among multiple disciplines of various Schools and Colleges and to provide leadership and structure to emerging interdisciplinary programs. The Department in the Graduate School shall be: The Department of Interdisciplinary Studies B. Graduate Board or Executive Committee The Graduate Board or Executive Committee of the Graduate School shall be made up of twelve Graduate faculty members. To assure representation across major program areas, six (6) faculty are elected by the faculty and six (6) appointed by the Dean. Board members shall serve threeyear terms at staggered intervals. Board members shall not serve more than two consecutive terms. The Dean of the Graduate School shall be presiding officer of the Board. The Board shall advise the Dean on policy matters pertaining to admissions, appeals, and promotion of graduate students and shall aid the Dean in evaluating graduate faculty status, advanced study programs

2 and research enterprises. The university librarian shall be appointed a voting member. Two student representatives to the Graduate Board shall be appointed by the Dean, one (1) from nominees of graduate board members and directors of graduate programs, and one (1) from among and by the current Graduate Student Body. 1. Graduate Board Members: a) Shall be active in research as evidenced by publication in reputable scholarly journals, and/or by presenting reports of scholarly activity at conferences, and/or other equivalent scholarly productivity. b) Shall be full time graduate faculty members at Creighton University at the rank of Assistant Professor, Associate Professor or Professor. c) Each participating program shall be invited to nominate graduate faculty members from their ranks for inclusion on a ballot during September of every year that members are coming off the board according to the criteria outlined in Article I. This ballot will be sent to all graduate faculty members. The persons receiving the most votes will become the elected representatives of the faculty to the Graduate Board. The Faculty of the Graduate School ARTICLE II The faculty of the graduate school shall consist of all individuals who have a primary faculty appointment in the graduate school. The Dean of the Graduate School shall be empowered to designate members of the Graduate Faculty in accordance with provisions of the University Statutes. Eligibility for Graduate Faculty membership shall be based upon nomination by program directors and/or chairs of persons prepared at the doctoral level (Ph.D. or equivalent terminal degree) who regularly contribute graduate course work, and who demonstrate sustained personal scholarly endeavor. Graduate Faculty Advisors shall be appointed from the faculties of various departments offering graduate programs. The Graduate Student Body ARTICLE III The graduate student body shall be comprised of students enrolled in degree programs of the Graduate School.

3 ARTICLE IV Meetings The Graduate Board shall ordinarily meet monthly during the academic year, and in special meetings upon the call of the Graduate Dean. Each member shall have one vote, which may not be cast by proxy or in absentia. ARTICLE V A quorum shall consist of a majority of the members of the Board. Except in instances involving amendment of these By-Laws, in which two-thirds majority shall be required, motions shall be passed by a simple majority. The Dean shall preside at all meetings; in the event the Dean is incapacitated or the office of Dean of the Graduate School shall be vacant, the Associate Dean of the Graduate School shall preside. Minutes will be taken at all meetings. Copies of these minutes shall be distributed to Graduate Board members and made available to the President, the Provost, academic deans, the Registrar, Chairs of departments (or program directors) offering graduate majors, and to directors of interdisciplinary programs, and members of the faculty requesting such minutes. Standing Committees and Task Forces ARTICLE VI The Dean shall have authority to appoint task forces, and ad hoc committees, to be responsible for particular areas of graduate study, to undertake investigations, to make recommendations, or to administer certain details of graduate work. Committees will be convened as needed. Assessment Committee The Assessment Committee of the Graduate School shall consist of the Assistant Dean, two (2) representatives of the Graduate Board, two (2) representatives of graduate programs, and a student representative. The Assistant Dean, who shall be a voting member, shall chair the Committee. The Committee shall be concerned with formative and summative program assessment for all graduate programs. The Committee will advise the Graduate Dean on the tracking and reporting of assessment activities for graduate programs, and database management. The findings and activities of the Committee will be shared annually with the Graduate Program directors and recommendations shall be made to the University Assessment Committee. By-Laws, Policies and Procedures Review Committee The Bylaws, Policies, and Procedures Review Committee shall consist of two (2) representatives of the Graduate Board, two (2) representatives of graduate programs, and a student

4 representative. The Committee shall review the Graduate School Bylaws on an annual basis and bring justified recommendations for change to the Graduate Board. The Committee shall also review other Graduate School policies and procedures on an every-three-year basis and make justified recommendations for changes to the Graduate Board and Dean of the Graduate School. In discharging its responsibilities, the Committee is encouraged to seek input from other faculty members, as appropriate. Academic Hearing Committee The Academic Hearing Committee shall consist of representatives from the Graduate Board. The committee shall be chaired by the Assistant Dean who shall be a non-voting member. The Academic Hearing Committee shall review and act upon written academic misconduct or grade appeals as outlined in the Graduate School's Academic Misconduct Policy and Grade Appeals Policy, respectively, and other issues as determined by the Dean. All members of the Academic Hearing Committee shall maintain confidentiality concerning individual cases. Scholarships and Awards Committee The Scholarship and Awards Committee shall consist of not less than three (3) full-time graduate faculty members. The committee shall select students for the Graduate School Scholarship, as well as various awards, except where such selection is the responsibility of another organization or department. The Committee shall consider all proposals for addition of, change in, or deletion of, awards and scholarships. Mission and Ethics Committee The Mission and Ethics Committee of the Graduate School shall consist of not less than three (3) full-time graduate faculty members. The committee shall review the Graduate Mission Statement, bring initiatives that enhance the mission of the Graduate School and programs to the Dean, conduct an annual review on how graduate programs are implementing the various recommendations of the Resolution on Catholic-Jesuit Mission of Creighton University, recommend an outcomes assessment plan related to mission, and develop activities related to mission and ethics targeted to graduate faculty. Curriculum Committee A curriculum committee shall consist of two (2) representatives of the Graduate Board, two (2) representatives of graduate programs, and a student representative. The committee shall be available for review and approval of courses in programs where no identified established core faculty or advisory board is available. The intent is to serve the needs of interdisciplinary programs.

5 ARTICLE VII Graduate School Committee on Rank and Tenure i. Purpose The Graduate School shall maintain a peer-review Committee on Rank and Tenure to review all dossiers of Teaching-Research Faculty candidates whose primary faculty appointment resides in the Department of Interdisciplinary Studies of the Graduate School for conferral of tenure and advancement in rank. This Committee shall review all such completed dossiers and make a recommendation favoring or opposing conferral of tenure, or advancement in rank. This Committee shall forward all its recommendations, together with its vote and the reasoning for its recommendation, in writing to the Graduate School Dean. This recommendation shall be added, together with the vote and reasoning, to the dossier of the candidate. ii. Membership A) Members The Graduate School Committee on Rank and Tenure shall consist of five members of the faculty who are tenured and who are members of the Faculty of the Graduate School. In the event that the number of faculty members with tenure should be fewer than (8) at any point, the Graduate School Committee on Rank and Tenure shall consist of five members, at least three (3) of whom shall be tenured. The members shall be elected by the Graduate Faculty, with appropriate representation from the various programmatic areas of its faculty. Elections shall be held in the spring, and terms of office shall commence on the first day of the fall semester following. Terms shall be for three years, at staggered intervals. B) Chair The Chair of the Graduate School Committee on Rank and Tenure shall be elected by the Committee at its first meeting following the first day of the fall semester each year. The Chair may designate an Acting Chair for any meeting. C) Conflicts of Interest If the case of a Committee member is initiated for promotion or tenure review, the member must take a leave of absence from the Committee for the academic year in which the case will be considered. Such a vacancy shall be filled in accordance with Article III, Section 2.F of the University Statutes, and Article III, Section G.8.b.ii.E of the Faculty Handbook. If the case of any Faculty member is referred to the Committee over whom any member of the Committee has a direct supervisory relationship, or if any members of the Committee have any other actual or perceived conflict of interest, those Committee members may be asked by the Committee to answer specific questions, and then shall leave the proceedings for the duration of the deliberations on that case. Such an absence shall not constitute a vacancy. Each candidate shall

6 be allowed one (1) preemptory challenge which shall not count as a vacancy. Those faculty members who have excused themselves in accordance with this section shall not have access to the dossier for the case from which they have excused themselves. D) Confidentiality By accepting membership on the Graduate School Committees on Rank and Tenure, each member agrees to refrain from discussing the cases brought before the Committee outside formal Committee sessions, except with other Committee members, or as otherwise duly directed. E) Vacancies All vacancies on the Graduate School Committee on Rank and Tenure shall be filled for the period of vacancy, or the remainder of the elected term of the member, by the Dean of the Graduate School from nominees selected by the Committee. F) Quorum Two thirds of the voting members of the Graduate School Committee on Rank and Tenure who are not excused for conflict of interest or by challenge shall constitute a quorum. G) Voting All votes on tenure and/or promotion shall be by secret ballot. H) Exclusion from membership No member of a Graduate School Committee on Rank and Tenure shall serve in the same academic year on the University Committee on Rank and Tenure. Right of Petition ARTICLE VIII Petitioners shall have the right to request the Graduate Board to review their cases, and they shall have the right to appeal decisions of the Dean to the Graduate Board. In matters of appeal the Graduate Board has judicial power.

7 ARTICLE IX Dean s Search Committee Upon the vacancy of the post of Dean of the Graduate School, a Search Committee shall be established. This Search Committee shall be composed of two members of the Graduate Board (elected by the Board) plus two graduate student members appointed by the President. Three other faculty members shall be elected at large from the Graduate Faculty. The final composition of the Search Committee shall also include two members appointed by the President from outside the Graduate Faculty. The President may appoint two additional at-large members so as to provide for involvement by affiliated institutions and alumni. Program Review ARTICLE X External program review shall be conducted every seven (7) years. For those graduate programs that are in units or disciplines that undergo specialized accreditation, transmittal of the accreditation final report shall constitute this external review process. To the extent possible, external program review for graduate programs shall be coordinated in conjunction with the undergraduate program review for disciplines that have both graduate and undergraduate programs. New programs shall be scheduled for an internal review at the end of the third year to evaluate progress. Review shall follow the procedure recommended by the Council of Graduate Schools of the United States. Program directors and their graduate faculty colleagues shall be responsible for drawing together preliminary data for review by the program faculty, representatives of the Graduate Board, the University Administration, and (if needed) a panel of external experts on graduate programs. Review shall include a determination of the objectives of the program and its relationship to the University and Graduate School mission, the human and material resources required for achievement of the program goals, a determination of faculty, administration and financial support for the program, the need for graduates of the program, and the prospect for attracting adequate numbers of promising graduate students to the program, as well as available openings for students upon their graduation. Non-periodic targeted program review may occur in response to a request from either the Graduate Program, Graduate Dean, or the Provost. Final determination of the establishment and retention of each program shall be made by the Dean with the approval of the President in consultation with the appropriate Dean(s), and Provost, and the Graduate Board shall be informed of the final decisions. In addition to the periodic program review, annual assessment data shall be gathered from each graduate program that includes enrollment, in-program student progress and achievements, major curricular changes, and graduate placement.

8 ARTICLE XI Amendment These By-Laws may be amended by a two-thirds vote of the Graduate Board and approval by the Graduate Dean. Suggestions for revision must be submitted to the Dean or the Board at least three (3) weeks prior to the meeting at which the revision will be considered.