Establishment and Dissolution of Departments and Academic Programs

(This policy supersedes Policy Statements 95-19, 88-01, and 80-12 revised.) This policy statement was recommended by the Academic Senate on April 24, 2025, and approved by the CSULB President on April 29, 2025.

1. Purpose Statement

This policy provides the process for:

• 1.1 establishment, consultation, and any appeal relative to the formation of a new department, academic program, or school,
• 1.2 transfer of a department, academic program, or school from one college to another or within a college,
• 1.3 dissolution of an existing department, academic program, or school, or
• 1.4 merger of two or more existing departments, academic programs, or schools.

2. Definitions

• 2.1 Department. Except in extraordinary instances, for which special justification shall be required, an academic department shall meet the following criteria:
  • A. A minimum of six tenured or tenure-track faculty, three of whom must be tenured. Faculty members with joint appointments qualify as department members in both departments (see section 3).
  • B. A minimum of one major in a discipline recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
     
• 2.1.1. An academic library department is defined as a minimum of six tenured or tenure-track faculty librarians, three of whom must be tenured.
   
• 2.2 Academic Program. Except in extraordinary instances, for which special justification shall be required, an academic program shall meet the following criteria:
  • A. A minimum of one tenured or tenure-track faculty member. Faculty members with joint appointments qualify as program members in both programs (see section 3).
  • B. A minimum of one major, minor, or certificate in a discipline recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
     
• 2.2.1. The term “Academic Program” in this policy refers to an academic administrative unit. It is different from what “Academic Program” is defined in PS 11-05 Discontinuance of Academic Programs.
   
• 2.3 School. Within this document, a school shall be considered equivalent to a department, or it can include more than one department and/or academic program. The title for the individual who administers a "School" shall be "Director."
   
  • A. Criteria for the designation of a unit as a school, college or department should be specified and could include such issues as:
    • Size of the program(s) (e.g., undergraduate programs with more than 500 majors, graduate programs with more than 250 majors); and
    • Whether the school Includes multiple departments, or programs.
       
  • B. Additional criteria for designating a unit as a school may include:
    • Professional accreditation or licensing/certification requirements for graduates;
    • Established practice for the naming of the discipline in higher education;
    • Enhanced potential for procuring grants or contracts; and
    • Type of program (offers a terminal degree, etc.)
       
• 2.4 Throughout this document the words Council, Dean, and College shall be understood to be plural whenever more than one college is involved.

3. Application

The status of any department, school, or program in existence on the effective date of this policy shall not be changed solely because it no longer meets the definitions and criteria in section 2 of this policy.

4. Initiation

The actions specified in section 1 may be initiated by faculty who are or would be members of new, merged, transferred, or dissolved department, school, or program; by the College Council with jurisdiction over such department, school, or program; or by the College Dean with such jurisdiction.

5. Preparation of Proposal and Study

Those initiating an action specified in section 1 shall prepare a proposal supported by a comprehensive study that shall include at least the following elements in detail:

• 5.1 justification for the proposed action;
• 5.2. identification of affected parties and parties who have already been consulted;
• 5.3 fiscal impact of the proposed action, including but not limited to: staff positions, classroom and office allocation, and resources for chairs, program directors, and directors of schools;
• 5.4 impact on personnel and faculty entitlements;
• 5.5 changes to existing curriculum and proposed or existing accreditation; and
• 5.6 where appropriate, the conformance of the proposed action with the definitions and criteria in section 2 of this policy.

Any actions not specified in a particular proposal cannot be negotiated without starting the procedure again. Only one proposal for the same action may be considered at a time. Initiator(s) of the proposal can withdraw the proposal at any time in the process by submitting written notice of the withdrawal to the affected Dean and College Council.

6. Initial Distribution and Review

• 6.1 Initial distribution of the proposal and study
  • The complete proposal shall be initially distributed to the following bodies simultaneously:
    • faculty and staff of the affected departments, academic programs, or school, including department chair, program director, or director of school;
    • College Council of the affected college;
    • Dean, Associate Dean(s), and ASM of the affected college; and
    • the Executive Committee of the Academic Senate.
       
• 6.2 Initial review of the proposal and study
  • After the initial distribution, all bodies must consult among themselves and with the other bodies. In other words, there might be meetings of the faculty of a department/school/program, between faculty and the College Council, between the faculty and the Dean, between the College Council and the Dean, etc. No body may consult only among themselves. This consultation process shall take no more than 22 academic days. A record of the deliberations shall be kept. Any of the above groups can return the proposal to the initiator for revision within 22 academic days if the proposal does not include the items specified in section 5. Requests from faculty and staff for revision must be supported by at least four individuals. Subsequently revised proposals shall be redistributed to the same bodies simultaneously.
  • After the 22-day review period or after one cycle of revision, if needed, the initiator(s) then send the proposal to the affected department or program for a vote.

7. Voting

• 7.1 Voting in the department, school, or academic program
  • A. Tenured and probationary faculty members in the department, academic program, or school referred to in section 4, including individuals who are on authorized leave status, are eligible to vote. Participants in the Faculty Early Retirement and Pre-Retirement Programs are also eligible to vote, regardless of time base and semester of employment. Faculty members of the department or program referred to in section 4 who have a Management Personnel Plan (MPP) assignment and teach at least six (6) weighted teaching units (WTUs) within the department or program each semester during that academic year are eligible to vote. Lecturer faculty with three-year contracts and a time-base of at least 7.5 WTUs in the department or program referred in section 4 in the semester that the vote is held are eligible to vote.
     
  • If faculty in more than one department, school, or program are subject to the action referred to in section 1, the faculty subject to such action shall vote separately in each of the departments, schools, or programs. A final vote or votes must be taken within 22 academic days from the date the initiator(s) send the reviewed or revised proposal to the faculty members. A written notice from the department chair, school director, or program director to the initiator(s) will automatically extend the voting period once only for an additional 10 academic days.
     
  • B. The initiator(s) of the action referred to in section 4, if not member(s) of an affected department, school, or program, may be invited by the faculty to participate in the deliberations outlined in section 6.2.
     
  • C. The faculty vote count, a written rationale to recommend or reject based on the record of the earlier deliberations, and a minority report, if needed, shall be forwarded to the College Council(s).
• 7.2 Voting in the College Council(s)
  • A. The College Council(s) referred to in section 4 shall meet to consider the proposed action and vote to recommend or reject the proposed action. If faculty in more than one college are subject to the action referred to in section 1, each College Council subject to such action shall vote separately. A final vote or votes must be taken within 22 academic days from the date the College Council(s) receives the report(s) as specified in 7.1.C. A written notice from the College Council to the initiator(s) and the involved department, school, or program will automatically extend the voting period once only for an additional 10 academic days.
  • B. The initiator(s) of the action referred to in section 4 may be invited to participate in the discussions of the College Council.
  • C. The College Council vote count, a written rationale to recommend or reject based on the record of their deliberations, and a minority report, if needed, shall be forwarded to the College Dean.

8. Actions

• 8.1 Final Decision
  • Section 8 describes steps and procedures required in the process of establishment and dissolution of departments and academic programs. Final decisions at the end of this process rest with the Provost.
     
• 8.2 Consensus
  • If the department or academic program and the College Council make the same recommendation and the Dean agrees with them, the proposal and accompanying documents shall be forwarded to the Provost or designee, who will review them and then forward them to the Academic Senate Executive Committee. The Academic Senate Executive Committee will then forward the proposal and documents to the Curriculum and Educational Policies Council, Faculty Personnel Policies Council, and the University Resources Council for simultaneous review within 22 instructional days. The Academic Senate shall review all recommendations from all levels and vote to recommend or reject the proposal. The Academic Senate shall forward all documents to the Provost for review. If the Provost concurs with the proposed decision, the Provost will transmit that approval to the Dean, and the Dean shall implement the proposal.
     
• 8.3 Disagreement
  • If the Dean disagrees with the recommendations from the department, school, or academic program and/or College Council, they shall consult in person with the disagreeing parties in the next 22 academic days (following 7.2.C). If disagreement persists after this consultation, the recommendations of all parties shall be forwarded to the Curriculum and Educational Policies Council, Faculty Personnel Policies Council, and the University Resources Council via the Academic Senate Executive Committee for simultaneous review within 22 academic days. The Academic Senate shall review all recommendations and vote to recommend or reject the proposal. The Academic Senate shall forward all documents to the Provost for review.
• 8.4 Provost Review
  • If there is disagreement as described in Section 8.3, the Provost shall review the proposed action. The Provost’s decision to enact or reject the proposal and the Provost’s rationale shall then be transmitted to the Academic Senate along with the decisions of all other parties. If the Provost accepts the proposal despite the disagreement, the Provost will then transmit that approval to the Dean, and the Dean shall implement the proposal.

9. Implementation

• 9.1 The Provost (or designee) shall delay implementation of the decision until all elements of this policy have been followed.
• 9.2 Implementation of the final decision must be made effective at the beginning of the subsequent academic year.

EFFECTIVE: Fall 2025