CoB Policy & Procedures

Faculty & Staff Travel Procedures
Faculty Candidate Travel Procedures
Faculty Integrity Policy
C&I Procedures for Academic Programs
Curriculum & Instruction

Faculty & Staff Travel Procedures

SECTION SUBJECT SPECIFIC TOPIC

I.

Annual Travel Plan Procedures
     

II.

Procedures required PRIOR to taking
an approved trip 		• Travel Authorization/Approval Form
     

III.

Documentation Required PRIOR to
taking an approved trip		 • Travel Authorization/Cost Estimate
• More than Three JMU Employees
Written Approval & Prepayments
(i.e. registration fees)
• International Travel
     

IV.

Preparation of Travel Authorization Form

• Reason For Travel
• Exception Justification for Reimbursement over 150%
• Foreign Destinations
• Prepaid Amounts
• Required Signatures

     

V.

Procedures Upon Written Travel Authorization & Approval

• Airline Reservations
• Rental Cars
• Personal Automobile/Mileage
• State Vehicle
• Lodging/Cost Comparison
• Travel Package

     

VI.

Procedures to Follow While Traveling

• Rental Cars
• Personal Automobile/Mileage
• Public Transportation
(rental car, airline, taxi, bus, shuttle, rail)
• Lodging
(Cost comparison, documentation when sharing a room and justification)
• Meals/Per Diem
• Business Telephone Calls, Telegrams & Facsimiles
• Tolls, Taxis & Parking Fees
• Internet Access Charges

     

VII.

• Return from Travel: Travel Reimbursement • Travel Credits, Reduced Rates or Free Services
• Expenses not Reimbursable
     

VIII.

Travel Expense Reimbursement Voucher

• Submittal of Reimbursement Request
• Grant Funded Travel

     

IX.

Travel Expense Voucher Required Documentation

• Travel Expense Reimbursement Voucher Form

     

X.

Reimbursable Expenses

• Per Diem on Departure & Return Days
• Meals Provided in Conjunction with Travel Event(s)Incidental Expenses

     

XI.

Business & Overtime Meals

• Business & Overtime Meals
• Recruitment Meals & Expenses

     

XII.

Campus Visitors, Consultants and Speakers (Honorariums)
Travel Reimbursement Voucher Checklist

• Reimbursement for Travel and/or Honorarium Fees
• Documentation Checklist


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Faculty Candidate Travel Procedures

To Faculty Candidates

All of us in the College of Business are pleased that you have accepted the invitation to visit campus, meet students and talk with a number of faculty already employed here.

James Madison University will reimburse travel expenses incurred



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Faculty Integrity Policy

The faculty of the JMU College of Business subscribe to the highest level of ethics in teaching, scholarly research, and service. We are guided by the following tenets in addition to those responsibilities enumerated in Section III.A of the JMU Faculty Handbook.

Teaching and Student Relationships

In our role as teachers, we accept the following responsibilities:

  • to meet our classes as scheduled unless illness or university-related business requires us to miss class;
  • to schedule exams so that students will know in advance when they will be given and to administer the exams ourselves unless prevented by illness or university-related business;
  • to allocate sufficient time to prepare for class;
  • to communicate as clearly as possible to our students;
  • to grade in a timely manner, returning papers, exams, and other assignments within a period of time that would seem reasonable to most colleagues;
  • to administer final examinations at the times scheduled by the university;
  • to avoid posting grades in a way that allows students to be identified;
  • to be willing to explain to a student how his/her grade was derived;
  • to demonstrate appropriate respect toward students;
  • to demonstrate sensitivity by avoiding racial, sexual, religious, ethnic, and disability discrimination;
  • to treat students with impartiality, objectivity, and fairness in class, outside of class, and in the grading process; and
  • to design tests and test conditions that minimize the possibility of academic misconduct.

Scholarly Research

In our role as scholars, we accept the following responsibilities:

  • to engage in careful design, data gathering, data analysis, objective interpretation of results, and retention of data;
  • to follow university guidelines when using human subjects in our research;
  • to share authorship and credit in appropriate proportion to the various co-authors' contributions;
  • to acknowledge ideas, concepts, advice, and assistance from others, for to do otherwise is considered plagiarism;
  • to list as co-authors only those individuals who make significant contributions to the finished product;
  • to list a student as the lead author of any manuscript that is presented or published as an outgrowth of a student paper unless highly significant changes are made in the manuscript by the faculty member; and
  • to expect no credit for promotion, tenure, or salary increases for:
  • presenting a paper in which over half of the presentation is duplicative of a previous presentation;
  • publishing a manuscript in which over half of the manuscript is duplicative of a previously published manuscript; and
  • publishing an article in the journal of an organization in which the author or a co-author is an officer, unless a double-blind referee process is used or the submission was invited without the influence of the author or a co-author based upon his/her standing in the organization.

Service

In our role as members of the academic profession, we accept the following responsibilities:

  • to realize that our primary professional obligation is to fulfill the duties of our positions within the university;
  • to participate actively in committees on which we are members; and
  • to limit outside consulting to activities that do not interfere with university assignments and responsibilities.

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Curriculum & Instruction Procedures for Academic Programs

Program of Accounting

The following sequence describes the overall curriculum processes leading to the submission of course and/or program changes to the CoB C&I Committee:

  1. The Director of the Accounting Program has responsibility for the curriculum.
  2. The Director appoints faculty to program committees each year with various charges (e.g., to construct a strategic review of the overall curriculum, to review elective courses, to review MSA Program offerings, etc.). Individual faculty members are free to volunteer for specific committee work.
  3. Sub-committees bring recommendations back to the faculty as a whole (only graduate faculty vote on MSA issues, although all faculty members engage in discussion).
  4. The Chair of the Program C&I Committee is responsible for drafting documents for submission to the CoB C&I Committee.
  5. The Representative appointed by the Director represents the Accounting Program on the CoB C&I Committee.

Bachelor of Business Administration Core Curriculum

The B.B.A. Core shares ownership of the core curriculum with the CoB undergraduate degree programs, but it does not own any of the faculty who deliver the content because all faculty members are housed in the major degree programs. Paperwork for course changes is prepared by the degree program directors and their program C&I chairs. The B.B.A. Core Director's role is one of initiating and pursuing discussions and action regarding the content and structure of the core curriculum.

More specifically, the B.B.A. Core Director works with faculty members delivering core content and their program directors to initiate and sustain ongoing dialogue about the efficacy of current practices in content and delivery with an eye to:

  • extending continuity: ensuring that COB 300 deliverables require students to apply ideas and exercise skills acquired and developed in the 100- and 200-level prerequisites so that those tools are in place for their major course work after COB 300.
  • assessment competence: measuring the efficacy of content and delivery of that content, and measuring student achievement of learning objectives and, thus, readiness for downstream course work.

Program of Computer Information Systems and Operations Management

Members of the CIS/OM C&I Committee are selected in the following manner: At the first department meeting, the Program Director asks each faculty member to e-mail him with the committees that person would like to serve on for that year. The Program Head then selects members for the committee, making sure that there is a representative from each of the different areas in the program.

Course proposals are generated from the faculty in consultation with the Program Director. At the current time, the C&I committee members discuss each proposal, and, if there is enough support, the proposal is sent to the CoB C&I Committee. The CIS/OM C&I Committee is currently developing a formal procedure that will be presented to the program members for discussion and then a vote to accept or modify.

Program of Economics

Curriculum change in the Economics Program is overseen by a five-member committee of tenure-track and tenured faculty. The Economics C&I Committee is appointed by the Program Director.

Proposals for change originate in four ways:

  1. An individual faculty member or group of faculty may make a course proposal and recommend it for C&I approval. This most often occurs after the course has been taught several times on a trial basis and is being considered for listing in the catalog.
  2. The faculty or the Program Director may request that the C&I Committee look at a particular part of the curriculum in response to a particular problem or opportunity for improvement. The result may be a new course proposal, a proposal for change in the program as listed in the catalog, or a change in course description(s).
  3. Assessment results may indicate a need for curricular change, which is then studied by the C&I Committee. The assessment results may come from tests and interviews on Assessment Day, or from job-market contacts (often JMU alumni returning to recruit).
  4. At less frequent intervals, Academic Program Review may indicate a need for curricular change, which is then studied by the C&I Committee.

Approved proposals from the C&I Committee are discussed in a meeting of the entire program faculty, with a majority vote needed to send proposals on to the CoB C&I Committee. In practice, if there is a bare majority, proposals may be modified and reworked to gain greater support before they are sent to the CoB C&I Committee.

Program of Finance and Business Law

Steps in Curriculum Change

Undergraduate assessment provides needed information

  1. Each year, the Finance and Business Law Program provides an assessment exam to graduating seniors on the core subjects in finance as part of the Finance Capstone Course-FIN 488.
  2. The program assessment committee prepares the exam each year, administers the exam and then offers feedback to those faculty teaching courses that cover material on the exam.
  3. Discussions are held among the faculty to see what, if any, adjustments in courses and/or teaching methods are needed.
  4. An exit interview of graduating seniors is done every year and this provides further student feedback on the Finance and Business Law curriculum.

Alumni provide needed information

  1. Alumni are routinely asked in questionnaires, on recruiting trips to JMU and at other gatherings to offer feedback on courses that they took and instruction they received while at JMU.
  2. Alumni are asked to make recommendations concerning modifications in the curriculum.

Faculty study

  1. Faculty, from classroom experience, research and/or reading of professional literature, track trends in the Finance and Business Law arenas and make suggested modifications to the curriculum.

Proposed changes in the curriculum are presented, by those faculty members who have drafted them, to a program meeting for approval. The Program C&I representative then presents the proposed changes to the CoB C&I Committee.

Program of Hospitality and Tourism Management

The Hospitality and Tourism Program meets almost weekly to discuss a variety of issues, one of which is curriculum development and possible change. The impetus for change can come from a number of sources:

  1. The HTM Program meets twice yearly with an HTM Advisory Board consisting of hospitality industry representatives, about half of whom are JMU graduates. Included in this meeting are HTM faculty and two or three high-performing HTM students. The half-day meetings cover a variety of topics, one of which is curriculum.
  2. HTM instructors participate in the Council of Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Educators (CHRIE) annual conference to share and learn what other hospitality educators are teaching in their schools.
  3. The HTM faculty meet with visiting speakers and recruiters from the hospitality industry to find out what is going on in the industry and to learn how JMU HTM graduates and interns are performing.
  4. The HTM Program Director, who is the former President and Chairman of CHRIE, spends time talking with top hospitality program administrators, learning what they are doing in their programs.
  5. HTM alumni are surveyed to gather their input on critical curriculum issues for HTM students.
  6. HTM faculty interact with current HTM students to assess their opinion of the curriculum content, especially after they have completed a supervisory internship experience.
  7. AACSB-International accreditation certainly plays a role in curriculum development, as does related curriculum required to graduate with a B.B.A. in the CoB.

C&I representation is determined by the Program Director, and is based on availability, interest and ability to represent the HTM Program.

Program of International Business

The International Business Program has ten faculty members. Given the size of the program, all faculty in the program are members of the C&I Committee. Proposals for program changes/modifications result from recommendations made by the latest Academic Program Review, and from the need to keep the program up-to-date and responsive to environmental changes. This includes new constraints from programs teaching those courses that make up the International Business Program. After discussion, the Program C&I Committee normally reaches consensus on proposed changes.

Program of Management

  1. Selection of program representative

    2. The Management Program member on the CoB C&I Committee is appointed by the Director of the Management Program. There is no set limit on the length of the appointment.

  2. Generation and evaluation of course/program proposals

    3. Initial discussion of course and/or program changes takes place during regularly scheduled Management Program meetings, and involves all full-time management faculty. After a general discussion to air thoughts, opinions and concerns, smaller sub-committees are formed to further delineate the specifics of a given proposal. The sub-committees are typically made up of faculty volunteers whose areas of expertise are most relevant to the proposal topic. Sub-committees are then responsible for reporting to the larger group regarding work-in-progress and for presenting a final draft of the proposal for approval by the management faculty and Program Director. The Program C&I representative is then responsible for guiding the proposal through the submission process, and for explanation and substantiation of the proposal during the CoB C&I Committee session.

Program of Marketing

Selection of C&I Committee members

  1. Since the Marketing Program offers four different concentrations, there is a C&I committee for each concentration. Faculty who teach required and elective concentration courses are automatically members of the appropriate committee. Typically, there are 4-5 faculty members on each concentration committee.
  2. One member of each concentration committee serves on the Program C&I Committee. The Program Director and committee members use consensus review to select the representative.
  3. The Program C&I Committee consists of these four concentration representatives plus the Program Director. The CoB C&I Committee representative is selected, again by consensus, from amongst these five individuals.

Generation of course/program proposals

Each concentration committee is responsible for making suggestions for curriculum changes pertinent to that concentration, including existing course changes and new course proposals. Suggestions for program concentration changes are also generated. Information used to justify proposed course and program changes comes from curriculum activities at other academic institutions, suggestions from industry practitioners, and ideas generated in-house that support each concentration's positioning within the major.

Evaluation of proposals

Course/program proposals from each concentration committee are brought to the Program C&I Committee. Duplications in C&I proposals within the concentrations are identified and either eliminated or justified. Explanations are developed and then the committee brings proposals to all faculty members for review. All faculty vote or use consensus to decide whether to support a course/program proposal. After this faculty review, proposals are written for submission to the CoB C&I Committee.

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Curriculum & Instruction

COLLEGE OF BUSINESS

UNDERGRADUATE CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTION COMMITTEE
OPERATING PROCEDURES

These procedures apply to the CoB C&I Committee upon receipt of a proposed curriculum change after approval by the appropriate academic program. This document is not intended to cover procedures within an academic program; how an individual program manages its curriculum change process is left to the discretion of the program. Each program's procedures are described in the next section.

1. Curriculum Proposals

A. After a curriculum proposal has been approved by the appropriate academic program, the program head forwards copies of the proposal to the chair of the CoB C&I Committee, who will distribute them to the committee members for their review.

B. When the proposal is approved by the CoB C&I Committee, the program director will secure the necessary signatures and give the proposal and the signature sheet to Linda Daggy for posting on the university C&I web site.

C. If the proposal is not approved by the CoB C&I Committee, the chair will return the proposal to the program director with directions for the action to be taken.

2. Organization of the CoB C&I Committee

A. The purpose of the CoB C&I Committee is to take action (i.e., approve, disapprove, recommend modifications, etc.) on additions, revisions, and deletions to undergraduate courses and programs in the College of Business that have been proposed and approved by the appropriate academic program(s).

B. The CoB C&I Committee is currently composed of thirteen members: one elected faculty member from each academic program (Accounting, BBA Core, Computer Information Systems and Operations Management, Economics, Finance and Business Law, Hospitality and Tourism Management, International Business, Management, and Marketing); one member designated by the Faculty Senate; two students appointed by the Student Government Association; and the committee chair, appointed by the Dean of the CoB. Committee members are charged with the responsibility of representing their program areas rather than their personal views.

C. With the exception of the committee chair, each member is a voting member of the committee. The committee chair votes only in those instances when there is a tie vote. When a committee member cannot attend a meeting, his/her proxy will be accepted. A proxy will be accepted by the committee chair prior to a meeting if it is in writing or is sent via e-mail.

3. Responsibilities of the Committee Chairperson

A. The chair calls meetings of the committee. Meetings are scheduled on an as-needed basis to discuss curriculum proposals submitted or other related issues brought to the committee for discussion and recommendation.

B. The chair distributes curriculum change proposals to committee members. Proposals received from an academic program are distributed to committee members for review before each meeting. Every effort will be made to allow at least two weeks for committee members to review proposals prior to meeting.

C. The chair takes appropriate action subsequent to committee meetings. Proposals that have been approved by the committee are to be handled in one of two ways: approved course proposals are posted on the university C&I web site (https://secureweb.jmu.edu/curric//COB/) while approved program proposals are submitted to the Committee on Academic Programs. Proposals not approved by the committee are to be returned to the program director or designated representative with directions for action to be taken.

D. The chair posts proposals on the university C&I web site for review by the faculty of other colleges. If the proposal goes unchallenged for fifteen working days, the chair forwards the proposal to the CoB Dean for approval and then to the Office of the Vice President of Academic Affairs. If the proposal is challenged by another college, the chair will contact the C&I chair of the affected college to schedule a meeting between the interested parties. If that meeting is inconclusive, the chairs will refer the challenge to the Committee on Academic Programs.

E. The chair monitors the university C&I web site. The chair is responsible for reviewing posted proposals of other colleges. When appropriate, the chair will consult the CoB C&I Committee in resolving any challenged proposals.

F. The chair prepares an agenda for each meeting.

G. The chair presides at each meeting of the committee.

H. The chair prepares and distributes minutes of each meeting to each committee member, the CoB Dean, each college C&I chair, the Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs, and the University Registrar.

I. The chair takes other action as directed by the committee.

4. Voting on Proposals

A. Brief Form
(Can be accessed at https://secureweb.jmu.edu/curric//templates.htm)

1. Proposals for minor changes may be voted on using e-mail if the committee members feel there is no need for discussion before voting. The term "minor changes" refers to those revisions that are necessary to keep the course catalog current but do not make a substantive change in the nature or content of the course. Such changes would include a number change that does not change course level (e.g., changing MKTG 380 to MKTG 381), a change in a prerequisite that is caused by another department's changing its prefix or a course number, or minor editorial changes in the catalog description.

2. The committee chair sends a copy of the brief form proposal to the committee members via e-mail, requesting each member to review and to vote. If the short form proposal is approved, the committee chair forwards it to the CoB Dean for signature and then to the Office of the VPAA. Short form proposals do not have to be posted on the university C&I web site. If the proposal is not approved, the chair will return it to the academic program director or designated representative with directions on actions to be taken.

3. Any committee member may request that a short form proposal be deferred to a committee meeting, if he/she feels face-to-face discussion is necessary. The proposal would be discussed and voted on at the next scheduled meeting.

B. Long Form
(Can be accessed at https://secureweb.jmu.edu/curric//templates.htm)

1. Any change in a course or program that results in a substantive change in the course or program must be submitted to the CoB C&I Committee for approval. Examples include a new course or program, change in prerequisites for a course, a number change that changes course level, and addition/deletion of course(s) from a program.

2. The committee chair reads through the proposal, requesting clarification or changes, if needed, prior to sending to the committee members.

3. The committee chair sends a copy of the proposal to the committee at least two weeks before the committee is to meet. The committee chair also invites a representative of the academic program who is knowledgeable about the proposal to attend the meeting.

4. At the committee meeting, the representative of the academic program submitting the proposal answers questions and addresses any concerns expressed. He/she also provides additional information not contained in the proposal that could have a bearing on the decision of the committee.

5. The chair will call for a vote at such time as the members of the committee deem they have sufficient information to make an informed decision. If the proposal is approved, the chair will post it on the university C&I web site for the required period for review by other colleges. If the committee does not approve the proposal, the chair will return it to the academic program director or designated representative with directions on actions to be taken.

6. If there is no challenge to the proposal from another college, the proposal is submitted to the CoB Dean for signature and is then forwarded to the Office of the VPAA for adoption.

7. If there is a challenge to the proposal from another college, the chair will contact the C&I chair of the affected college to schedule a meeting of the interested parties. If the discussion is inconclusive, the chairs will refer the challenge to the Committee on Academic Programs.

5. Multidisciplinary Proposals
(Forms may be accessed at https://secureweb.jmu.edu/curric//templates.htm)

A. All academic program and course change proposals are normally initiated by the academic program responsible for the particular program and related courses. Frequently, however, such changes will involve more than one program. Any academic program in the CoB may enter into arrangements to offer programs jointly with academic programs within the CoB or outside of the CoB.

B. Program and course proposals originating within a given academic program (or programs for joint proposals) are developed and acted upon (i.e., approved/disapproved) according to policies and procedures established by the respective programs. Such proposals are normally considered by (1) the academic program C&I committee, (2) the program faculty, and (3) the CoB C&I Committee, in that order. In cases of joint proposals from two or more CoB programs, the proposal would be considered and acted upon as above in each program participating in the joint proposal.

C. For joint proposals involving academic units outside the CoB, the above procedures would apply only to the participating CoB programs. Non-CoB participating programs would follow their own established policies and procedures, generally paralleling those above for the CoB. Such joint proposals would be forwarded simultaneously by the respective college bodies to the Committee on Academic Programs.

D. Proposals that are "college-wide" in scope are normally acted on officially by the CoB Leadership Council, after review and recommendation by an appropriate group of faculty responsible for teaching the proposed courses, and are then forwarded to the CoB C&I Committee.

Note on Graduate Course/Program Changes: All CoB proposals having to do with graduate programs or courses are reviewed formally by the MBA Policy Committee and the CoB Leadership Council (in the case of MBA proposals) or by the Accounting C&I Committee and the CoB Leadership Council (in the case of MSA proposals) and are then submitted to the Graduate Council in accordance with established procedures.

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