School or Program Discontinuance and Program Relocation

Policy number: 2.18

Policy section: Academic Affairs

Revised Date: December 16, 2019

1.  Policy Statement

The discontinuation of a school or program, with significant consequences to faculty members, current students, and prospective students, may be required for budgetary factors, academic quality, changing student interests and needs, centrality of the school or program to the educational mission of the University, or other causes. The relocation of a program from one academic unit to another unit may be beneficial due to the changing academic emphasis of that program and/or one of the other programs affected by the relocation or to better align these academic programs with the educational mission of the school and University. It is the policy of the University to assure, as fully as possible, a fair accommodation of institutional and individual interests during the review and implementation process of school or program discontinuance and program relocation.

2.  Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to establish principles and procedures for making recommendations to the Board of Trustees concerning school and academic program discontinuance. This policy also establishes principles and procedures for program relocation.

3.  School Discontinuance

During periods when schools are under scrutiny for possible discontinuance, the following policy and procedures will be observed to assure fairness and due deliberation. A school is defined as one of those administrative and instructional units designated as such in the Bylaws of Southern Methodist University.

1. Initiation of the process whereby a school comes under consideration for discontinuance will rest with the Provost.
2. When the discontinuance of the school is under consideration, the Provost will establish a University-wide advisory committee representing both faculty and administration. The committee will have ten members, three administrators appointed by the Provost and seven members of the faculty selected as follows: six faculty members will be nominated by the Executive Committee of the Faculty Senate, confirmed by vote of the Faculty Senate, and appointed by the Provost. One faculty member from the school under consideration will be elected by the faculty of that school.
3. The committee thus established will (1) review the reasons for considering the discontinuance of the school in question, (2) assess the educational value of that school in relation to the educational mission of the University, and (3) make a recommendation as to whether or not the school should be discontinued.
4. The Provost’s recommendation for or against discontinuance of a school will be made in the light of the advisory committee’s report and will be submitted to the President together with a copy of that report.

4.  Program Discontinuance

In this policy, a program is defined as a designated course of study constituting an academic major or leading to an academic degree. A program exists within an academic unit such as a department. Program discontinuance may involve (1) the discontinuation of all programs within an academic unit and the discontinuation of the academic unit, (2) the discontinuation of a program within an academic unit that significantly impacts some of the tenure-track or tenured faculty in the academic unit, or (3) the discontinuation of a program as part of restructuring the programs within the academic unit without significant consequences for tenure-track or tenured faculty. The process described below is designed for the two situations in which discontinuation of a program has significant impact on one or more tenure-track or tenured faculty members and assures fairness, due deliberation, and faculty input. It is not intended for the restructuring of programs by an academic unit, which do not have significant consequences for tenure-track and tenured faculty (see University Policy 2.20, Initiation and Approval of Curricular Changes).

1. Initiation of the process whereby a program comes under consideration for discontinuance will rest with the Dean of the school in which that program is housed.
2. When the discontinuance of a program is under consideration, the Dean of the school in which the program is housed will establish an in-school advisory committee representing the faculty of that school. The committee will consist of six members of the faculty of the school in question, selected as follows: the members of the Faculty Senate from that school, acting as a nominating committee, will nominate a slate of ten members of that school’s faculty; the school’s faculty will then vote on the slate; and the five nominees receiving the highest number of votes will be appointed by the Dean. The sixth faculty member will be elected by the faculty of the program under consideration for discontinuance.
3. The committee thus established will (1) review the reasons for considering the discontinuance of the program in question, (2) assess the education value of that program in relation to the educational mission of the school in which the program is housed and in relation to the educational mission of the University as a whole, and (3) make a recommendation as to whether or not the program should be discontinued.
4. The Dean’s recommendation for or against discontinuance of a program will be made in the light of the advisory committee’s report and will be submitted to the Provost together with a copy of that report.
5. Upon receipt of a Dean’s recommendation that a program be discontinued, together with the accompanying advisory committee report, the Provost will establish a University-wide advisory committee to review both the Dean’s recommendation and the in-school advisory committee’s report with special attention to the educational value of the program in question in relation to the educational mission of the University as a whole. The University-wide advisory committee will consist of seven members of the University faculty nominated by the Executive Committee of the Faculty Senate, confirmed by vote of the Faculty Senate and appointed by the Provost.
6. When forwarding a Dean’s recommendation that a program be discontinued to the President, the Provost will include the reports of both the in-school advisory committee and the University-wide advisory committee.

5.  Effect on Faculty

1. Should the discontinuance of a school or a program affect faculty with tenure or with unexpired terms, such faculty members’ appointments may be terminated only under extraordinary circumstances due to a demonstrably bona fide financial exigency (i.e., an imminent financial crisis demanding immediate action in order to avoid financial instability of the institution as a whole and which cannot be alleviated by less drastic means). The faculty body defined in paragraph 4b above will participate in the decision that a condition of financial exigency exists or is imminent, and that all feasible alternatives to termination of appointments have been pursued.
2. In the case of tenured faculty, the University recognizes its responsibility for assuring the continuous tenure of tenured faculty in the institution through reassignment, when this is at all feasible. The Provost will make every effort to place the faculty member(s) concerned in another suitable position with the University, or for those eligible, to work out arrangements for early retirement. The University will provide the administrative direction, professional support and financial resources required for these efforts. If a tenured appointment is terminated, the faculty member will receive severance salary equitably adjusted to the faculty member’s length of past and potential service to the University. In the case of an untenured faculty with unexpired terms being terminated, the faculty members will receive salary or notice in accordance with the following schedule: at least three months, if the final decision is reached by March 1 (or three months prior to the expiration) of the first year of probationary service; at least six months, if the decision is reached by December 15 of the second year (or at least nine months but prior to eighteen months) of probationary service; at least one year, if the decision is reached after eighteen months of probationary service.
3. Short of a bona fide financial exigency, faculty with tenure or with unexpired terms will not be terminated as a result of program/school discontinuance. Instead, affected faculty members will be retained by reassignment of duties at the University, unless an affected faculty member agrees to accept an alternative such as those mentioned in paragraph 5b.
4. Any faculty member may appeal a proposed relocation or termination resulting from a program/school discontinuance, and has a right to a full hearing before a University-wide faculty review committee, composed of five tenured members of the faculty nominated by the Executive Committee of the Faculty Senate, confirmed by vote of the Faculty Senate and appointed by the President. The issues before that committee may include the institution’s adherence to this policy. The recommendation of that body will be advisory to the President.

6.  Effect on Students

In the event of a discontinuance, the University will make every effort to allow students in effected schools or programs to complete their course of study or to transfer to other schools or programs within the University. To that end, the termination of a school or a program should generally be phased over a reasonable period of time.

7.  Program Relocation

Program relocation may involve (1) the relocation of a program and the faculty members associated with the program from one academic unit to another academic unit or (2) the relocation of many programs as part of a major restructuring of programs and academic units within a school or within the University. The process described below is designed for the first situation. The second situation is more complex and should involve a task force with the composition and charges of the task force approved by the Provost. The task force, composed primarily of faculty, should review the options for major restructuring and provide recommendations to the Dean and/or Provost. The goal in both situations is to assure fairness, due deliberation, and significant faculty input. As discussed in Section 4 of this policy, a program is defined as a designated course of study constituting an academic major or leading to an academic degree.

1. Initiation of the process whereby a program comes under consideration for relocation will rest with the Dean of the school in which that program is housed.
2. When the relocation of a program is under consideration, the Dean of the school in which the program is housed will establish an in-school advisory committee representing the faculty of that school. The committee will consist of six members of the faculty of the school in question, selected as follows: the members of the Faculty Senate from that school, acting as a nominating committee, will nominate a slate of ten members of that school’s faculty; the school’s faculty will then vote on the slate; and the five nominees receiving the highest number of votes will be appointed by the Dean. The sixth faculty member will be elected by the faculty of the program under consideration for relocation.
3. The committee thus established will (1) review the reasons for considering the relocation of the program in question, (2) assess the education value of that program in relation to the educational mission of the school in which the program is housed and in relation to the educational mission of the University as a whole and (3) make a recommendation as to whether or not the program should be relocated.
4. The Dean’s recommendation for or against relocation of a program will be made in the light of the advisory committee’s report and will be submitted to the Provost together with a copy of that report.

The process for considering the relocation of a program and the faculty members associated with that program from one school to another school is similar. In this case, the advisory committee will be composed of three persons from each school and the seventh faculty member will be elected by the faculty of the program under consideration for relocation. The members of the Faculty Senate from each school, acting as a nominating committee, will nominate a slate of six members of that school’s faculty; the school’s faculty will then vote on the slate; and the three nominees receiving the highest number of votes will be appointed by the Dean. Each Dean will recommend for or against relocating the program and submit their recommendations and the advisory committee’s report to the Provost.

If the Provost agrees with the Dean(s) that the program should be relocated, the recommendations of all parties including the advisory committee’s report will be forwarded to the President.

As with program discontinuance, any faculty member may appeal a proposed relocation resulting from a program relocation, and has a right to a full hearing before a University-wide faculty review committee, composed of five tenured members of the faculty nominated by the Executive Committee of the Faculty Senate, confirmed by vote of the Faculty Senate and appointed by the President. The issues before that committee may include the institution’s adherence to this policy. The recommendation of that body will be advisory to the President.

8.  Questions

Questions regarding this policy should be directed to the Office of the Provost.

Revised: December 16, 2019

Adopted: June 1, 1994