Academic policies are disseminated to faculty, staff, and students through various channels, such as the undergraduate and graduate bulletins, the law school website, and the student handbook and the faculty handbook. Each of the university’s publications has a separate review process overseen by the office responsible for that publication. This review process ensures that all academic policies adhere to principles of good educational practice.
Undergraduate Bulletin
The University of Memphis (UofM) Undergraduate Bulletin [1] is reviewed and revised annually by the colleges, schools, departments, divisions, and the University Undergraduate Curriculum Committee, which are responsible for ensuring current and correct academic policies. The Office of Academic Affairs is responsible for ensuring accuracy in the policies, for the updates to the undergraduate bulletin, and for the distribution of the new and revised academic policies to the students, faculty, and administration. New or revised academic policies that may need to be adopted before the annual review are disseminated to the university at large through the online undergraduate bulletin.
Graduate Bulletin
The UofM Graduate Bulletin [2] is revised annually via a process originating at the departmental level and involving detailed reviews by the graduate councils of the various colleges and schools and by the University Council for Graduate Studies and Research. The Office of Academic Affairs, through the Graduate School, is responsible for ensuring accuracy in the policies and for updating the graduate bulletin.
Law School Policies
Academic policies of the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law are coordinated by the Law School’s Admissions Office; the academic regulations are under the purview of the associate dean. Regulations are circulated once a year through the proper channels within the Law School for updating as appropriate. All changes must be approved by a majority of the faculty. The Law School updates academic regulations every summer, reflecting any approved changes that have been made during the year. The academic regulations are disseminated during registration in printed form to all matriculating students, who sign a sheet saying they have received them; the current regulations are posted on the website. [3]
Curricular Procedures Handbook
The Curricular Procedures Handbook [4] is the source for procedures, documents, and formats used in the preparation of curricular requests. The procedures, formats, and summaries direct attention to details and consistency in order to facilitate the review process. Consideration of curricular requests at the university level takes place once a year so that the requests may be reviewed in relation to each other and from the perspective of university programs as a whole. Undergraduate requests are submitted to the associate director of curriculum planning for processing; graduate requests are submitted to the assistant vice provost for graduate studies.
Student Handbook and Planner
The Office of Judicial and Ethical Programs in the Dean of Students’ Office oversees annual updates to the information and policy portions of the Code of Student Rights and Responsibilities [5] in the Student Handbook and Planner. All offices that are responsible for information and policy contained in the handbook are contacted for updates and revisions during the spring semester. The administrative staff of the Office of Judicial and Ethical Programs reviews and endorses recommended changes for final approval by the dean of students. The Student Handbook and Planner is provided to students through funding by the Student Activity Fee at various locations around campus, such as the University Center information desk and the campus bookstore.
Faculty Handbook
The Faculty Handbook [6] outlines the duties and privileges of faculty members and provides information about policies of the university and the Tennessee Board of Regents. The handbook is prepared and the website administered by the Office of the Provost; any proposed changes are reviewed by a committee of the Faculty Senate. [7]
UofM Policies and Procedures
The goal of the University of Memphis is for the university community to have access to well articulated and understandable university policies and procedures that state what the university wants done, why it wants it done, and how to do it. University policies and procedures are presented in a standard format, maintained centrally, and revised as needed. Overall, the policies and procedures support sound and effective academic and business practices that are compatible with values and strategic priorities of the university. All UofM policies are published online. [8]
3.4.1
