Procedures and Policies

Department Operating Procedures and Policies

Engineering and Design

First published February 23, 2022; updated May 18, 2022; current document version under review process as of March 18, 2025 

A. Department Mission Statement

The Engineering & Design department at Western Washington University serves current students, industry, the University, and the citizens of Washington State by developing industry-ready graduates through a combination of creative problem-solving, analytical skills development, and experiential learning. The educational experience that we provide emphasizes critical thinking and an understanding of the impact of design, engineering, and manufacturing solutions in a global, economic, environmental, and societal context. We value and foster teamwork, communication, and a commitment to equity, justice, and respect for the rights and dignity of others.

B. Department Membership and Voting Rights

The voting rights and limitations for the Engineering & Design Department are:

  1. Eligibility for voting on probationary reviews, tenure, and promotion is specified in the faculty contract in sections 7.6.2.2.2 and 7.7.2.2.
  2. Only tenured (TN) and tenure-track (TT) faculty members may vote on hiring decisions for tenure-track faculty positions and proposed changes to the ENGD COPEP Addendum.
  3. Only members of the faculty as defined in the Constitution of the Faculty of Western Washington University, Article II, may vote on curricular matters.
  4. TN/TT faculty members, NTT faculty members with appointments of 0.5 FTE or higher, and staff with permanent positions of 0.5 FTE or higher may vote on all other issues.

C. Department Meetings

Department meetings may be held weekly at an established time, but do not need to be held if there is not business to warrant a meeting.  When meetings are held, an agenda should be distributed at least a day before the meeting, and minutes should be taken and stored in a place accessible to all voting members of the Department, unless the topic of the meeting was a faculty review, in which case the minutes shall be stored in a place accessible only to the Chair.  Meetings are open to all unless the topic is a faculty review, in which case the meeting is only open to tenured members of the faculty.

For items that require a vote, a quorum, defined as 50% or more of those eligible to vote on the matter, as defined in Section B, is required to hold the vote, and a simple majority is all that is required for approval of a motion.

D. Chair Responsibilities

The Department Chair’s responsibilities are: 

  • Duties as specified in the Collective Bargaining Agreement, Section 17.3,  
  • Management of assessment and accreditation efforts,
  • Management of safety programs, including maintaining compliance and training, and
  • Working with the Foundation to obtain donations for the Department. 

E. Programs and Program Directors

The Department has five programs: 

  • Electrical and Computer Engineering
  • First-Year Programs
  • Industrial Design
  • Manufacturing Engineering
  • Polymer Materials Engineering 

Each program has a Program Director.  The Program Director’s responsibilities are:

  • Run program meetings
  • Manage program assessment and accreditation processes if the program is accredited
    • Oversee annual accreditation data collection efforts
    • Prepare annual program assessment reports
    • Coordinate writing of program accreditation self-study reports
    • Maintain a relevant Industrial Advisory Committee that meets at least once per year
  • Oversee program curriculum  
    • Manage the curricular change process for the program
    • Make recommendations to the Chair for teaching assignments for program faculty members
    • Serve on the Department Curriculum Committee
    • Coordinate program curriculum with other programs and departments to meet stated course and program learning outcomes for all effected programs
  • Manage program budget and coordinate equipment replacement priorities  
  • Manage program student application review process
  • Oversee faculty advising of majors  
  • Work with the Department Program Coordinator and Pre-major Advisor to make sure that outreach and advising materials are up-to-date and accurate
  • Provide the Chair with input for Staff reviews for program staff
  • Ensure that the program is represented at events
  • Represent the position of the program faculty to the Chair, Dean, and Provost

Program Directors should be nominated by their program and agreed upon by the Chair.  If there are multiple candidates for the position, an election will be held.  Program Director terms are four years long, and a candidate may serve multiple terms.

Program Directors receive a one course release from teaching each year and two course release from teaching the year a self-study report must be prepared for accreditation.

The Executive Committee of the Department is the Department Chair and the Program Directors.

F. Department Committees

All department committee meetings are open meetings unless confidential student or personnel information is being discussed.

Program representatives are selected by programs and the staff representative to the Resources Committee is selected by the technical staff.

Committee members may appoint replacements for themselves from their program if they are unable to attend meetings.

All committee members are voting members unless specified as nonvoting.

Curriculum Committee:

Membership: Department Chair, Program Directors, Pre-major Advisor (nonvoting), representative to the CSE Curriculum Committee (nonvoting) if that person is not a Program Director

Charge:  

  • Review and approve all proposed catalog changes for the Department,  
  • Review all student exception requests for possible approval, and  
  • Help the Chair develop a schedule of classes and room assignments.
  • Facilitate accreditation efforts including course reviews and the approval of course specification sheets and changes to them for shared courses.

Resources Committee:

Membership: Department Chair, one faculty representative from each program, Administrative Services Manager, one member of the technical staff

Charge:  

  • Review the allocation of the Department operating budget and recommend changes when appropriate,
  • Review program equipment purchase priorities and prioritize equipment purchases from the equipment replacement fund,
  • Set computer and equipment replacement lab fees,  
  • Develop policies for funding purchases that support curriculum, including software,  
  • Recommend priorities for minor capital proposals,  
  • Review proposed changes for the use of space and make recommendations, and  
  • Coordinate and promote utilization of shared spaces and shared resources.

Safety Committee:

Membership: Department Chair, one faculty or staff representative from each program, Building Safety Officer, Chemical Safety Officer

Charge:  

  • Review and update Department safety plans, including the Chemical Hygiene Plan, as needed, and
  • Review hazardous chemicals before their introduction to the building and recommend for or against their introduction and any limits that should be placed upon their use or storage, including when the chemicals will be removed.

Scholarship Committee:

Membership: One faculty representative from each program, Pre-major Advisor

Charge: 

  • Review scholarship applications for scholarships awarded by the Department and select scholarship recipients. 

G. Approval and Amendment of Operating Procedures and Policies

With the exception of section B and the membership and charge of the Curriculum Committee, changes to the Operating Procedures and Policies require a vote by the majority of the members of the Department and become effective upon a simple majority vote.  For the voting restrictions outlined in Section B.1-3, only those listed as eligible to vote on a matter may vote to change voting restrictions.  Only those eligible to vote on curricular matters may vote on the membership and charge of the Curriculum Committee.