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Standing Committees

The standing committees of the School of Nursing include the Curriculum, Admissions, Evaluation, Policy, Appeals committees and the Judicial Board.

1. Rules for Standing Committees

    1. Elections: A term of office is two years, with half of the voting membership changing each year. Nominations for open terms are submitted at the last SONC meeting in the Spring term of the academic year. Elections are held by faculty ballot, results are announced as soon as they are available.
    2. Appointments:Appointments are made by the Dean following the annual elections. A term of office is two years. Appointments are made on a rotating basis.
    3. The Dean proposes a charge to the committees at the first meeting of an academic year. The charge recommends the important products to be completed by the committee.
    4. Chair: Each committee will elect a chair from its members. Committee chairs are responsible for calling and conducting meetings, creating the agenda, ensuring minutes be taken, and creating the annual report.
    5. Minutes: Minutes are taken and placed in permanent file in the program office.
    6. Annual Reports: Annual reports of the standing committees are to SONC and maintained in the program file.
    7. The Dean and/or her designee serves as ex officio on all committees of the School of Nursing.
B-1 Curriculum Committee


1. Purpose and Function

    1. Oversee the implementation and evaluation of the curriculum.
    2. Identify need for curricular changes and develop proposals for same.
    3. Review required courses to insure their congruence with the stated philosophy, purpose and conceptual framework of the program.
    4. Review new course proposals and make recommendations to the SONC. Review special curriculum project grants for compatibility with the program's goals.
    5. Propose curriculum policies as needed to the SONC.

2. Membership

There are eight voting members: seven faculty members (four are elected and three are appointed), one nursing student. The Chair and Co-Chair are selected annually at the first meeting by the committee. The Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Program Innovation, the Program Directors of the Prelicensure and Graduate Programs serve as ex officio members.

3. Decision-Making

Committee decision-making is by majority vote. Curriculum decisions are guided by the following process. At the beginning of each academic year, the SONC faculty shall:
  • identify curricular issues regarding implementation, evaluation and changes in the program 
  • generate short-term goals for the academic year from the identified curricular issues 
  • establish long-range curricular goals as appropriate; set priorities for short- and long-term goals 
  • identify where decision-making will occur (i.e. curriculum committee or program committee) 
Based on the goals, the curriculum committee shall:
  • create a plan and time for goal implementation; 
  • distribute the time frame to the nursing faculty; 
  • provide opportunities for faculty input into the development of position papers; 
  • generate "position papers" for selected curricular issues.
To monitor this process, the following steps shall be taken:
    1. The curriculum committee will report to the faculty regularly
    2. At mid-academic year, the faculty will review the progress made toward meeting curriculum submitted goals
    3. An evaluation meeting of the faculty will be held at the end of the spring term to assess the achievement of the curriculum goals and recommend goals for the following year
    4. The curriculum committee will compile and distribute a list of curriculum decisions made over the year

B-2. Admissions Committee


1. Purpose and Function:
    1. Implement the application and selection procedure as voted in accordance with Institute and School of Nursing policies.
    2. Set application deadlines.
    3. Review prospective applicants in accordance with the standardized criteria, following the established procedure.
    4. Submit a list of final candidates for admission for the approval of the Dean.
2. Membership

There are five voting members: Five faculty members (three are elected and two are appointed). The Chair is selected by the committee annually at the first meeting. The Assistant Dean for Student Support and Clinical Facilitation, the Program Directors of the Prelicensure and Graduate Programs serves as ex officio members.

3. Decision-Making
    1. Decision-making is by majority vote. The committee reports to the SONC throughout the year.
B-3. Policy Committee

1. Purpose and Function:
    1. To review Institute and School of Nursing policies for consistency with policies in the student and faculty handbooks.
    2. To review and make recommendations to the SONC on policy issues brought to the committee.
2. Membership
    1. There are five voting members: two faculty members elected for a 2-year term; two members appointed by the Dean; one student representative appointed by the student body of the School of Nursing. The Chair is elected by the committee annually at the first meeting. The Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Program Innovation and the Assistant Dean for Student Support and Clinical Facilitation serve as ex officio members. 
3. Decision-Making
    1. Decision-making is by majority vote. The committee reports to the SONC throughout the year.
B-4 Appeals Committee

1. Purpose and Function:
    1. Acting as an agent of the School of Nursing committee, the appeals committee will review each student case submitted to them and will make a final decision to support or overrule the faculty recommendation.
    2. Any student dismissed from the program may appeal that decision first via the appeals committee, which will review and decide the case.
    3. If the appeals committee’s decision is not in the student’s favor, the student may follow the process for Student Grievance Procedure as outlined in the Institute Online Catalog.
2. Membership:

Eight faculty will be elected for a two-year term, four from the Baccalaureate/Generalist Level and four from the Doctor of Nursing Practice/Advanced Practice Level. The chair is selected by the committee annually at the first meeting. The chair will randomly select three committee members to serve as the appeals panel for each appeals committee review. Panel members will appoint a faculty chair for that panel. The Assistant Dean for Student Support and Clinical Facilitation serves as an ex officio member.

3. Decision Making:
    1. All discussion and delineation is confidential.
    2. Decision-making is by simple majority vote. The appeal’s panel will communicate its decisions in writing to the Dean. The Dean will communicate the decision in writing to the student, advisor, involved faculty, and Registrar.
    3. In the case of dismissal, the decision is final and can only be reversed by the Institute grievance procedure, as outlined in the Online IHP Catalog: http://mghihp.smartcatalogiq.com/en/2015-2016/Catalog/Student-Handbook/Student-Rights-and-Responsibilities/Student-Grievance-Procedure.
    4. Students are considered dismissed from the program upon receiving notification to that effect from the Dean, unless an exception is made. Students who are dismissed can no longer attend classes. All current faculty will be notified. 
    5. Any student dismissed from the program, without prior review of the appeals committee, may appeal that dismissal first via the appeals committee, which will review and decide the case.
    6. If the appeals committee’s decision is not in the student’s favor, the student may follow the process for Student Grievance Procedure as outlined in the Institute Online Catalog.
B-5 Evaluation Committee

1. Purpose and Function:

To oversee formative and summative processes across programs in the SON; to evaluate data sources to help ensure a quality improvement process based on defined outcome measures; to make recommendations for change to appropriate faculty groups
    1. Develop a plan for evaluation of the School of Nursing.
      1. Identify appropriate evaluation measures for the three degree programs.
      2. Analyze and critique current data sources. Identify gaps in existing data sources and make recommendations or take actions to fill or bridge them.
      3. Make recommendations for changes in the evaluation plan.
    2. Develop a process for evaluation of the School of Nursing. 
      1. Identify responsible parties for data elements and reporting lines.
      2. Identify time frame for data generation and reporting.
      3. Identify reporting and communication lines within the evaluation plan.
    3. Implement evaluation plan of the School of Nursing.
      1. Analyze performance measures
      2. Set and review benchmarks
      3. Report to the faculty of the School of Nursing
2. Membership
    1. There are six voting members with staggered 2-year terms. 
    2. Four members are voted by the faculty, one appointed by the Dean of the School of Nursing (SON) and one student representative appointed by the student body of the SON. The Chair is elected by the committee annually at the first meeting. The Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Program Innovation, the Program Directors of the Prelicensure and Graduate Programs serve as ex officio members. 
3. Decision-making
    1. Decision-making is by majority vote. The Committee reports to the SON throughout the year. 
B-6 Judicial Board

  1. Purpose and Function: To respond to faculty, staff, or student notifications of a violation of the SON Honor Code, IHP Academic Integrity Policy (Student Handbook) or Code of Professional Behaviors (School of Nursing Policy Manual). Faculty retain authority in their courses, the board responds when: (1) faculty refer to board for further involvement; (2) a potential violation occurs outside of course jurisdiction; and/or (3) patterns of behavior occur over the student’s course of study.
    1. Promote academic integrity, professional conduct, and student honesty 
    2. Define the continuum of academic dishonesty and plagiarism
    3. Review and communicate the Honor Code for the School of Nursing 
    4. Conduct individual hearings to address issues as defined above
    5. Develop a range of sanctions 
    6. Develop training modules based on best practice 
    7. Identify, recruit, and train student and faculty members 
2. Membership
    1. Nine (9) faculty and six (6) students comprise the Judicial Board
    2. Eight (8) faculty members are elected and one (1) is appointed by the Dean of the School of Nursing (SON) for at least a 2 year term
    3. Students are recruited based on faculty references of character not academic status 
    4. The Chair is elected by the committee annually at the first meeting 
    5. A hearing panel consists of three (3) faculty and two (2) students without conflict of interest
    6. The Academic Support Counselor, a non-voting member, acts as an advisor to assist the process for both committee and student to assure proper practice and function
    7. The Assistant Dean for Student Support and Clinical Facilitation serves as an ex officio member.
3. Decision-Making
    1. Decision-making is by consensus
    2. Decisions will be made based on the preponderance of evidence
    3. Outcomes may be a range of sanctions with the student continuing in the program, or with a recommendation to the Assistant Dean for Student Support and Clinical Facilitation for dismissal from the program
    4. Judicial Board Chair reports the outcome of individual hearings to the Assistant Dean for Student Support and Clinical Facilitation The board’s decision will be communicated to the student by the Assistant Dean.
    5. The student may appeal a decision for dismissal to the School of Nursing Appeals Committee. 
[Policy updated June 2015]