Texas Council of Faculty Senates

PURPOSE

The Texas Council of Faculty Senates is a federation of faculty senates, councils and assemblies at Texas public senior colleges and universities. The Council is an independent organization. It meets twice a year in Austin to share faculty governance experiences and problems and to exchange ideas on higher education with agents of state government, members and staff of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and others. All of the faculty governance organizations at state senior colleges and universities are members of the Texas Council of Faculty Senates. In addition, those that pay dues have voting privileges.

Purposes include maintaining communication and coordinating among faculty governance organizations from different institutions; assisting faculty governance organizations in the discharge of their responsibilities in college and university governance; and representing them, primarily in matters of professional standards and academic responsibility, to government and other bodies.

ACTIVITIES

The Texas Council of Faculty Senates meets twice each year and is governed between meetings by a President and four elected Vice-Presidents drawn from different geographic areas of the state. Among its regular activities, the Council:

Conducts workshops for faculty leaders on topics related to college and university governance.
Maintains a website that includes links to those member campuses.
Solicits information on topics related to faculty governance upon request.

AREAS OF COOPERATIVE ACTIVITY

The Texas Council of Faculty Senates, representing senates, councils, and assemblies at Texas's senior public institutions, is in a unique position to transmit information to and from the local institution by providing a broader understanding and input to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and its staff. In return, the Council receives information and reports of Coordinating Board actions that affect academic affairs and faculty interests. Close cooperation between the Council and the Coordinating Board is in the best interest of both groups and of all college/university faculty in Texas.

Faculty need to have the opportunity to discuss the issues and to directly participate in positions, policies and procedures that affect their academic responsibility. The Texas Council of Faculty Senates will provide resources to study any issue on which the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board requests faculty views and will investigate topics of our choosing that we believe may need clarification or study. The Council will provide personnel to read the codified Coordinating Board policy manuals and review them.

Communication between the Texas Council of Faculty Senates and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board will improve our ability to work together. The Coordinating Board agendas and reports can be found on their webpage. The address is: www.thecb.state.tx.us