Accessibility Advisory Committee
The Accessibility Advisory Committee is charged with advising the President and Administrative Committee on accessibility-related issues; analyzing campus policies, procedures, and practices and recommending new, or changes to, existing policies, procedures, and practices as needed, pertaining to campus compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and other applicable federal and state laws and mandates; and promoting the awareness of accessibility issues across the campus in order to realize a barrier-free campus community in which people with disabilities have full, equal, and integrated access to, and opportunities within, all campus activities, services and programs, and that recognizes and appreciates the variety of perspectives that individuals with disabilities have about disability identity, culture, and pride as members of the Berea College community.
The responsibilities of the Committee include:
- Reviewing and promoting external and internal reports related to the accessibility of buildings, grounds and pathways, accessible parking, and construction and building design.
- Reviewing and promoting general campus policies and procedures around access for students, staff, faculty, and other constituents, ranging from workplace accommodations to student accessibility issues.
- Reviewing and promoting access to public events held on campus, including Convocations, Commencement, and performances, etc., to look at a variety of issues such as the provision of auxiliary aids (sign language interpreters, alternate format text), building and meeting room access, accessible seating, and evacuation protocols.
- Tracking progress on the accessibility of Berea College web pages, computing, equipment acquisition, access information, alternative formatting of information, and communication for on and off campus users.
- Working with those who need guidance on a specific electronic and information technology (EIT) Accessibility Compliance issues, in collaboration with Information Technology (IT) and Educational Technology.
- Promoting the development and maintenance of academic and administrative services that are effective, usable, and accessible to all users, and informing and advising the administration when existing services or planned services do not meet standards and/or laws for usability and accessibility.
- Serving as a venue for faculty, staff, and students to provide feedback and suggestions regarding the accessibility of campus living, working, and learning environments.
- Educating the campus about the benefits of being a campus community where all living, working, and learning environments can be accessed, understood, and used by all people, regardless of ability or disability.
The composition of the committee is as follows: ADA Coordinator, ex officio and Co-Chair; Senior Specialist, Disability and Accessibility Services, ex officio and Co-Chair; Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, ex officio; Chief Information Officer, ex officio; a representative from Facilities Management, ex officio; Associate Dean of Student Life, ex officio; a representative from the Web Team, ex-officio; a representative from Strategic Initiatives, ex officio; Associate Vice President of Human Resources, ex officio, to serve as an advisory member to be consulted as needed; two elected members of the College Faculty; one elected General Assembly member who is not a member of the College Faculty; and a student member appointed by Student Government Association. The Administrative Committee will appoint for a three-year term one member who self-identifies as a person with a disability, selected from a list provided by the Accessibility Advisory Committee. College Faculty and General Assembly members will be elected by the General Assembly Delegates and will serve staggered three-year terms. Service on this committee for College Faculty counts as committee service. The Office of Disability and Accessibility Services will provide primary staff support to the committee.
Administrative Committee (AC)
The Administrative Committee is responsible to the Board of Trustees and the President of the College for matters of finance, physical properties, and internal management of the College. The Committee consists of the President; Provost; Dean of Faculty; Vice President for Operations and Sustainability; Vice President for Finance; Vice President for Student Life; Vice President for Alumni, Communications and Philanthropy; Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion; Vice President for Strategic Initiatives; Dean of Labor; and Chief Information Officer. All instructional and operating departments of the institution are organized under a member of this committee.
Benefits Committee
The Benefits Committee is a subcommittee of the Budget Committee that serves as an advisory body to the Administrative Committee and the Budget Committee in the matter of employee benefits plans. Membership consists of the three members of the General Assembly elected to the Budget Committee and a representative selected by the Staff Forum. The Committee elects a chair from among its membership. The Associate Vice President of Human Resources will serve as secretary for the committee.
Budget Committee
The Budget Committee serves as an advisory body to the President in the preparation of the annual budget. Membership consists of the President; Provost; Dean of Faculty; Vice President for Operations and Sustainability; Vice President for Finance; Vice President for Student Life; Vice President for Alumni, Communications and Philanthropy; Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion; Vice President for Strategic Initiatives; Dean of Labor; Chief Information Officer; and three elected members of the General Assembly. The faculty should be on staggered terms of three years in length. The Controller will serve as secretary for the committee.
Campus Conduct Hearing Board (CCHB)
The Campus Conduct Hearing Board (CCHB) consists of five elected faculty members, five elected staff members, and four students appointed by the Student Government Association (SGA), plus other students as needed from a pool of Judicial-Board student chairs (trained in judicial hearing processes). Additionally, the Student Life Council (SLC) will annually appoint one member to serve on the Campus Conduct Hearing Board. The board should have racial and gender diversity. No member of the Campus Conduct Hearing Board may serve simultaneously on the Faculty Status Council or the Faculty Appeals Committee. Faculty and staff members are elected to serve terms of five years, with two members elected each year. The four student members shall be appointed annually by SGA. These students must not be on any form of probation and they must have already completed or be willing to complete judicial training. The Campus Conduct Hearing Board serves as a pool of persons from which panels are selected to hold formal hearings on matters presented to it. Student members may not sit on hearing boards involving employees.
Staff Hearings
These matters may include individual complaints of harassment, sexual harassment, unlawful discrimination, or other employment-related grievances which apply to all employees of the College. For each case to be heard, a panel of three persons from the Campus Conduct Hearing Board is selected by the President with attention given to gender balance and other relevant factors. As noted above, student members may not sit on hearing boards involving employees. For cases involving non-teaching staff at least one member of the panel must be a General Assembly Delegate member. One panel member may be excused on challenge by each party.
To provide an opportunity for members to excuse themselves if appropriate or in any instance in which there are an insufficient number of Hearing Board members to meet the above requirements or to satisfy other essential material needs to ensure a fair hearing, the President may appoint one or more panel members from outside the Board.
The chair, appointed for each panel by the President, is expected to convene the panel in a timely way, to conduct the hearing, and to submit a written report of findings and recommendations to the President. The Title VII/IX Coordinator and the Associate Vice President of Human Resources will advise panels hearing cases involving harassment, sexual harassment, unlawful discrimination, or alleged violations of the College’s Consensual Relationship Policy, as described in the procedures for hearing such cases. They will advise the chair on the hearing process, including such things as evidence and witnesses, and will be responsible for training and advising the panel members on the hearing process and for facilitating the hearing process. The Associate Vice President of Human Resources will also serve as advisor to panels hearing cases involving employee relations in the same way the Associate Vice President of Human Resources currently advises grievance committees. The Campus Conduct Hearing Board is also charged with ongoing review of procedures for reporting, investigating and acting on charges of sexual harassment, and with recommending to the President and the Executive Council any needed changes in those procedures.
Student Hearings
The Campus Conduct Hearing Board hears all suspendable nonacademic cases of student misconduct, including violations of the Student Conduct Regulations and misconduct arising in the student labor program or financial aid programs.
Cases of student misconduct are heard by a panel of three hearing officers including two staff or faculty members and one student. Any member of the Hearing Board may chair the hearing. Students may appeal Campus Conduct Hearing Board decisions to the Chair of Student Life Council. If the appeal is judged to have merit, the SLC Chair will constitute, from SLC membership, a hearing board consisting of two faculty or staff members and one student.
A member of the Student Life Council will also serve as a member of the Campus Conduct Hearing Board and will, along with the Residential Life Collegium Judicial Liaison, report annually to SLC regarding student hearings.
Division Council (DC)
The Division Council serves as an advisory body to assist the Dean of Faculty on all matters pertaining to the academic division. The Council meets regularly with the Dean of Faculty to discuss, identify, inform, and recommend policies and decisions. Division Chairs ensure communication between the council and division faculty colleagues, and minutes of the Council's work are electronically available to faculty. The members of the Division Council include the chair of each division, the Dean of Faculty, and the Associate Provost.
Enrollment Policies Committee (EPC)
The Enrollment Policies Committee (EPC) is primarily concerned with matters of enrollment management and student progress. It sets goals each year for freshman, transfer, and returning student admissions, monitors retention and graduation rates, rules on student requests for leaves of absence, and coordinates planning and policy implementation among the offices represented on the Committee. This committee also ensures quality of education offered through consortial relationships and the ongoing compliance of these institutions with the comprehensive requirements. The members of the Committee include the Provost, the Dean of Faculty, the Director of Admissions, the Vice President for Student Life, the Dean of Labor, the Associate Director of the Office of Student Success and Transition, the Registrar, the Director of Student Financial Aid Services, the Curriculum & Advising Specialist (housed in the Office of Academic Affairs) and the Director of Institutional Research and Assessment (non-voting member). The Provost or designee serves as chairperson. A staff member in the Office of Academic Affairs maintains the minutes of the Enrollment Policies Committee.
Faculty Advisors to the Student Government Association
Two elected Faculty Advisors to the Student Government Association (SGA) provide guidance in the development of policies, practices, and other procedures that pertain to the student body. As indicated in the current SGA Constitution, one advisor serves as an ex officio voting member of the Senate and the other serves as an ex officio voting member of the Board of Residents. The two advisors are elected for three-year terms from the College Faculty Assembly. Service as Faculty Advisor to the Student Government Association counts as committee service.
Faculty Appeals Committee
The Committee conducts appeals of tenure and promotion recommendations, cases involving termination for cause of tenured members of the faculty, and cases involving alleged violations of academic freedom. The processes for appeal of Tenure or Promotion recommendations or appeals of Professional Competence and Dismissal for Cause are described in separate sections in the Faculty Manual. The Committee is composed of five tenured representatives of the College Faculty Assembly, elected to three-year terms. No member of the Faculty Status Council may serve simultaneously on the Faculty Appeals Committee.
Faculty Liaison to the Board of Trustees
The Faculty Liaison to the Board of Trustees serves to provide an avenue of communication between the Board and members of the College community, particularly members of the College Faculty Assembly. The Faculty Liaison to the Board of Trustees has the following responsibilities: to attend meetings of the full Board, to participate with voice but not vote, and to report regularly on Board meetings to the College Faculty Assembly and General Assembly. The Faculty Liaison must be a member of the College Faculty Assembly and General Assembly Delegates and is elected for a three-year term by the College Faculty Assembly. Service as Faculty Liaison to the Board of Trustees counts as committee service.
Safety Committee
The Safety Committee is responsible for coordinating and directing safety efforts on campus. It serves to promote safe and healthy work environments, to keep the College informed of Occupational Safety and Health Association (OSHA) regulations, to address general and specific safety issues and concerns, to recommend solutions to these concerns and to ensure that all of the programs in the Comprehensive Safety Plan are current and functional and support training efforts as defined by that plan. Membership consists of the Vice President for Operations and Sustainability/Risk Manager, Director of Regulatory Affairs, Director of Public Safety, Director of Facilities Management, Associate Vice President of Human Resources, Director of Dining Services, Occupational Health and Safety Manager, Student Crafts designee, Student Life designee, College Farm designee, a College Faculty Assembly member, a General Assembly member, and a student representative.
Staff Liaison to the Board of Trustees
The Staff Liaison to the Board of Trustees serves to provide an avenue of official and regular communication between the Board and members of the College’s staff. The Staff Liaison to the Board of Trustees has the following responsibilities: to attend meetings of the full Board, to attend meetings of the Labor and Student Life Committee, to participate with voice but not vote, and to report regularly on Board meetings to the Staff Forum and General Assembly Delegate meetings. The Staff Liaison must be a full-time employee of the College, either an exempt or nonexempt member of the staff, but not a College Faculty member. The Staff Liaison to the Board of Trustees is elected by the Staff Forum for a three-year term.