The Office of the Provost administers many resources for our faculty and staff. We have gathered them here for easy accessibility. Please let us know if there is something you are unable to locate.
Academic Affairs News and FAQs
The Academic Affairs Newsletter is published monthly August through May each academic year. You can find news and highlights on activities within Academic Affairs.
Students, faculty, staff and administrators of Western Carolina University (WCU) strive to achieve the highest standards of scholarship and integrity. Any violation of the Academic Integrity Policy is a serious offense because it threatens the quality of scholarship and undermines the integrity of the community.
We provide information on our current Academic Affairs Administrative Searches including candidates’, CV’s, cover letters, and public presentation schedule.
Please use the links to discover our Graduate and Undergraduate curricula.
Our Academic Procedures and Regulations (APR) are available via SharePoint, and can be accessed using your WCU network credentials.
Please use the Academic Calendar to identify specific dates and deadlines within the academic year.
Center for the Study of Free Enterprise
College of Education & Allied Professions
College of Engineering & Technology
College of Health & Human Sciences
The University seeks to employ faculty who are effective teachers, practicing scholars, and contributing members of their communities. The Collegial Review process allows faculty to substantiate and make the case for tenure/ promotion/ reappointment. First and foremost, candidates should familiarize themselves with their specific Departmental Collegial Review Document (DCRD), which delineates departmental requirements for tenure, promotion, and reappointment. You can locate guidelines, schedules, DCRDs and more on the Tenure, Promotion, and Reappointment Resources page.
We provide access to several committee lists via SharePoint. Please use your WCU network credentials to access information such as minutes and membership on the following councils: Academic Affairs Council, Associate Dean's Council, Liberal Studies Committee, and Provost Council. Please note: for external users, please email Lindsey Brown with a request for specific minutes.
The responsibility for curriculum development and revision rests with the faculty. Primary responsibility resides in the department and college in which the curriculum is housed and delivered. Four university wide groups have responsibility for reviewing proposed changes in the curriculum. These are the Liberal Studies Committee, the Graduate Council, the Professional Education Council, and the University Curriculum Committee. Please use our Curriculum Resources page for further information.
The Faculty Activity Database (FAD) is the program we use for recording faculty activities in order to simplify the evaluation and promotion/tenure processes, to streamline the collection of data on faculty scholarship, service and engagement, and to populate the faculty web profile pages.
The Faculty Activity Database (FAD) is integrated with the university’s website platform, Omni Update. Select faculty information provided in the FAD will automatically populate a templated faculty profile webpage. Faculty biography, research and teaching interests, and contact information are easily searchable within the profiles. All full-time faculty will have a university profile webpage powered by the information provided in the FAD.
Please visit our internal resource page for more information.
The Faculty Handbook provides ready access to information about the operation of the University and answers to the most frequently asked questions about operating procedures and policies.
The handbook may be reviewed and revised at any time to reflect changes in institutional policy, state and federal law or operational procedures.
FACULTY HANDBOOK 2023-24
Last Updated July 2023
The AA-21 process is used to document faculty credentials when requesting to interview or hire new faculty. Use this resource for instructions and the AA-21 form.
Academic Affairs administers the following grants, awards and funds: Chancellor’s Travel Fund, Professional Devleopment Grant, Excellence in Teaching Liberal Studies Award, Hunter Scholar Award, Intentional Learning Plan Grants, Program of Excellence Award, Provost’s Scholarship Development Award, Scholarly Development Assignment Program, Southern Conference Faculty Member of the Year Award, University Scholar Award, and Visiting Scholar Program. More information can be found in our SharePoint Library.
The following support and recognition items are housed within Coulter Faculty Commons: Board of Governor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching, Chancellor’s Award for Engaged Teaching, Chancellor’s Distinguished Teaching Award, and the Innovation Scholar Award. More information can be found on their Site.
Western Carolina University has adopted an Equal Employment Opportunity Policy Statement that provides, without exception, that WCU will provide equal employment opportunities for all persons regardless of sex or other characteristics unlawfully used to discriminate among workers. The Gender Equity Study, CUPA, and related salary market data are available on SharePoint.
The Department Head distribution list is updated annually or as needed.
See below for a selection of resources available to faculty and staff:
Dr. Candy Noltensmeyer, Associate Professor of Communications, and Dr. Siham Lekchiri, Associate Professor and Director of the MS program in Human Resources, will serve as independent and neutral resources for problem resolution. They can also provide informal assistance to help resolve workplace issues or discuss faculty concerns without committing to pursuit of a formal resolution. If you would like to discuss an issue with one of these fellows, you can reach out to them directly.
Candy Noltensmeyer
(828) 227-2281
Siham Lekchiri
slekchiri@wcu.edu
(828) 227-2493
The University Policies are maintained by the Office of the Chancellor and are subject to revision periodically by appropriate authorities.