Faculty Structures Policy

Each Faculty of Dublin City University (DCU) shall have a designated name, approved by University Executive. A change to the name of a Faculty may be proposed at a Faculty general meeting. If endorsed at such a meeting, the Executive Dean shall put the proposal forward to the University Executive.

Each Faculty shall be structured into a number of constituent units. This structure will necessarily evolve to meet changing needs and priorities. Determining the most appropriate structure of the Faculty shall ultimately be the responsibility of the Executive Dean, in consultation with the President. The Executive Dean shall normally consult within the Faculty before making substantive changes to the structure.

The constituent units of the Faculty shall generally be as follows:

• Faculty Office
• Academic units (termed “Schools” or “Groups”)

The structures defined herein are intended to allow each Faculty at DCU to facilitate the delivery of the University’s mission and strategy.

The President retains the primary management responsibility for the running of the University, and the University Executive is charged with developing the University's strategy and the distribution of resources. The University Executive will not generally discuss or decide on matters most appropriately dealt with at a devolved level, including operational and personnel matters, except in so far as matters of principle with University-wide implications are concerned.

Each Faculty is responsible for:

• The strategic management and coordination of teaching, research and engagement activities in the Academic Units under its jurisdiction,
• Providing the framework for Academic Units to work in partnership, in order to build an internationally competitive Faculty.
• The management of its own resources, including: budgeting, finance and staffing, facilities and management of its space envelope.

Each Faculty should develop a Faculty Mission which provides overall direction and purpose for that Faculty’s teaching, research and engagement activities. Each Faculty shall prepare and maintain a Faculty Strategic Plan to guide the ongoing realisation of its Mission. Faculty Strategic planning should be synchronised and aligned with the overall University strategic management process.

Membership of the Faculty comprises members of staff (academic, technical, administrative and secretarial) within the Faculty who:

• hold permanent posts;

  or

• hold current temporary fixed term posts approved by the Executive Dean, where the contract duration is of one year or more and/or whose continuous service to date within the Faculty is of a duration of one year or more.

5.1) Executive Dean

The Faculty shall have an Executive Dean, who shall be the Chief Executive Officer for the Faculty. The President appoints the Executive Dean, normally on the recommendation of a selection panel that has interviewed shortlisted candidates, and for a five-year term.

The Executive Dean is an ex officio member of the University Executive and Senior Management Group and participates in strategic University decision-making. In these roles, the Executive Dean is expected to appropriately represent the specific mission and circumstances of the Faculty, while also participating fully in the shared strategic advancement of the University as a whole.

The Executive Dean may not simultaneously be a Head of Unit.

The Executive Dean is the Accounting Officer for the Faculty, reporting to the Deputy President in relation to the management of all budgets and resources within the Faculty and its constituent units.

The Executive Dean is the principal decision maker in the Faculty, presiding over decision-making on resourcing in the Faculty, with support from the Faculty Management Board. All Heads of Unit within the Faculty will report to the Executive Dean.

5.2) Deputy Dean

Where deemed appropriate, a Deputy Dean may be appointed by the Executive Dean. The primary role of the Deputy Dean is to support the Executive Dean in the management of the Faculty. The Deputy Dean reports to the Executive Dean and has designated management roles and responsibilities.

The process for appointment of Deputy Dean is as follows: A call for expressions of interest from all permanent members of academic staff, or those holding a contract the duration of which extends beyond the term of appointment, following which interviews of short-listed candidates are held. The interview panel is chaired by the Executive Dean and normally includes another senior staff member, an Executive Dean from another faculty and a staff member from the Human Resources Department. The Deputy Dean is normally appointed for a 3-year term, renewable for a further 3 years. The Deputy Dean may not concurrently be an Associate Dean or Head of Unit.

5.3) Associate Deans

The Faculty shall have a minimum of two Associate Deans: an Associate Dean for Research (ADR) and an Associate Dean for Teaching & Learning (ADTL). Associate Deans are appointed by the Executive Dean following a call for expressions of interest from all academic staff members of the Faculty (holding a contract the duration of which extends beyond the term of appointment), following which interviews of shortlisted candidates are held. The interview panel is chaired by the Executive Dean of Faculty and normally also includes a member of staff of the Human Resources Department and two other senior members of the Faculty. Appointment to the post of Associate Dean is for a three-year term, renewable for one further term. Associate Deans may not concurrently be Heads of Unit.

The Associate Deans for Research and Teaching and Learning provide assistance to the Executive Dean in a variety of areas including, but not confined to, the following:

• chairing the respective Faculty teaching and learning, and research committees
• formulating with the Executive Dean and the Faculty Board Faculty strategy in teaching/research
• acting as a point of contact with the Vice President Academic Affairs (VPAA) and Vice President for Research and Innovation (VPR)
• representing the Faculty on appropriate University committees, and actively communicating relevant information both into such University committees and back from such committees to the Faculty community
• providing advice on cross-Faculty initiatives
• representing the Executive Dean where appropriate

Faculties may designate additional Associate Deans in line with strategic priorities.

5.4) Heads of Academic Units (School/Group)

Each constituent Academic Unit of the Faculty shall have a Head who is responsible for the direct management of all staff, resources and activities of that Unit. Heads provide a leadership role, ensuring that strategic developments are enacted through the practices of Unit staff in the context of Faculty, University and the wider community needs and contributions. Heads of Academic Unit will be appointed in accordance with detailed criteria, terms and processes as approved by University Executive.¹

5.5) Faculty Manager

Reporting to the Executive Dean, the Faculty Manager is appointed following an open, external competition. The post holder is the Head of the Faculty Office, and has responsibility for the coordination of all aspects of Faculty administration, which functions on an integrated basis. The duties attaching to the post are principally determined by the Executive Dean, drawing on advice from discussions with the Heads of each Academic Unit and the Faculty Management Board as appropriate.

The Executive Dean is supported in the management of the Faculty by the Faculty Management Board (FMB).

The membership of the Faculty Management Board shall comprise at a minimum:

• Executive Dean (Chair)
• Deputy Dean (where appropriate)
• Associate Deans
• Heads of Academic Unit
• Faculty Manager

The Executive Dean may designate additional members in line with Faculty-specific requirements, and informed by any applicable policies or decisions of University Executive.

The Faculty Management Board may in turn be assisted in the discharge of its duties by a smaller Faculty Executive Board (FEB) that advises the Dean on decisions in relation to operational aspects of Faculty management.

The Faculty Management Board is assisted in the management of teaching activities and related policy development by the Faculty Teaching and Learning Committee (FTLC). The FTLC has responsibility for overseeing academic management structures and teaching and learning policy developments in the Faculty.

The Faculty Management Board is assisted in the management of research activities and development by the Faculty Research Committee (FRC). The FRC has responsibility for drawing up and overseeing research strategy and research management structures in the Faculty.

In addition to those listed above, the Faculty Management Board may establish such additional committees or fixed term working groups as it sees fit, in order to discharge its responsibilities.

7.1) Finance/Budgets

As a member of the Executive and the chief accounting officer for the Faculty, the Executive Dean plays a key role in agreeing how the budget is devolved to the Faculty. In such Executive-level deliberations the Executive Dean is expected to strike an appropriate balance between the needs of the students and staff of the Faculty and the needs of the University as a corporate entity.

After the Faculty has received its budget allocation, the allocation and management of this budget within the Faculty is the responsibility of the Executive Dean, supported by the Faculty Management Board. In discharging their responsibilities in this area, the Executive Dean and the Faculty Management Board should have access to required specialist support from the Finance Office of the University.

7.2) Human Resources

The Executive Dean, working with the Faculty Management Board, is responsible for allocating the Faculty budget in terms of staffing and related human resource matters in the most efficient and effective way, in line with fulfilling the education, research and other responsibilities of the Faculty. Subject to alignment with protocols or compliance with rules laid down by the University Executive, the Executive Dean, supported by the Faculty Management Board, determines the staffing allocations of the Faculty on a rolling basis. The Executive Dean, supported by the Faculty Management Board and subject to applicable University policies and procedures, also determines whether any vacancies that arise are filled, and where within the Faculty any new appointments arising out of such vacancies should be allocated. Any changes to the permanent staffing complement must be sanctioned by the University Executive, on foot of a request from the Executive Dean.

To assist the Executive Dean and Faculty Management Board to discharge their Human Resource responsibilities, a member of the Human Resource Department should be nominated to work closely with the Faculty and be available to offer advice on a range of issues, including staffing and management development, on a regular basis. In addition, the Director of Human Resources should work closely with the Executive Dean and the Faculty Management Board in relation to HR issues of strategic or developmental significance.

7.3) Physical Resources

The space that lies within the Faculty's space envelope is determined on an ongoing basis by the University Executive, on the advice of the University Space Planning and Management Committee (USPMC). The Executive Dean (with advice from the Faculty Management Board as appropriate and cognisant of allocations from internal and external funding sources) is responsible for the allocation of space within the Faculty space envelope at any point in time.

Substantial changes to the space envelope of any Faculty shall be approved by the University Executive following detailed consultation with the Executive Dean and other relevant members of the University Senior Management Group as appropriate and in accordance with policies and procedures determined by the University Executive.

7.4) Faculty General Meetings

There shall be a General Meeting of the Faculty at a minimum on an annual basis, at which the Executive Dean should present the Faculty Annual Report, prior to submission to the President and the University Executive.

Special General Meetings of the Faculty may also be called by the Executive Dean, as required, with a minimum notice period of five working days.