[Adapted from “A decade of Planning and Achievement in the Face of Challenge,” the self-study accreditation report submitted to the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, April 2003.]

The University of North Dakota is a member of the North Dakota University System. UND is organized with a traditional shared governance framework, and the institution has a long history of faculty governance. The State Board of Higher Education and the constitution and laws of the state of North Dakota authorize delegation of policy determination and decision-making related to many aspects of academic and student life. This delegation is detailed in the UND constitution, which was last updated in 2002 and ratified by the SBHE in 2003, and in the SBHE policy on the authority and responsibilities of the President. These powers are vested in the University Council, which in turn delegates principal legislative powers to the University Senate.

The Student Senate was established to provide a voice for students to express concerns in matters of interest to them; to provide a representative voice for students in the decision-making process; to coordinate and regulate the activities of the student organizations; and to serve as a liaison between the students and the faculty and administration. Fourteen student senators, including the President and Vice President of Student Government, serve as voting members on the University Senate.

The Staff Senate was established to foster a spirit of unity, pride, and cooperation in classified staff as participants in advising UND administration. The Staff Senate functions to serve as a link for meaningful information exchange between staff and administration, to recommend action on issues that receive support of the senators, and to advise the President with regard to working conditions and employment practices.

Graduate education is overseen by an elected graduate faculty, with day-to-day decision- making delegated to a 16-member Graduate Committee which includes the Dean and Assistant Dean of the Graduate School as ex officio members and a student member appointed by the student body president in consultation with the graduate student senator. The Graduate Committee is chaired by an elected member.

The administration of UND is organized in a traditional hierarchy. The SBHE delegates all powers to the President, with the provision that the President consults broadly on all matters of import. There are five Vice Presidencies: Academic Affairs and Provost; Student and Outreach Services; Finance and Operations; Research; and Health Affairs (who serves as the dean of the School of Medicine and Health Sciences). The President and vice presidents, together with the Senior Associate to the President, Budget Director, Director of University Relations, and Chief Executive Officer of the independent Alumni Association and Foundation, meet regularly as a President’s Cabinet.

There are nine degree-granting schools or colleges headed by deans: the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Business and Public Administration, the College of Education and Human Development, the Graduate School, the John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences, the School of Law, the College of Nursing, the School of Engineering and Mines, and the School of Medicine and Health Sciences. These deans, along with the Dean of Students and the Dean of Outreach Education, meet regularly as a Council of Deans, chaired by the Provost to discuss and make recommendations on matters of academic interest. All academic deans report to the Provost except the dean of medicine and health sciences who, as a vice president reports directly to the President. Departments are administered by chairs who are appointed by the President following recommendations by the dean and the Provost. Departments establish their own internal policies and procedures in keeping with the policies of the supervisory administrative units.

In recent years, the University has supplemented its long-standing traditional governance structure with a presidential committee structure to support planning and administration. Newly formed entities have been directed to consider specific issues such as diversity or to guide UND’s compliance with federal mandates in such areas as use of human subjects in research. These include a University Planning and Budget Committee, the Research Council, the University Information Technology Council, the Enrollment Management Task Force, the Council on Campus Climate, the American Indian Programming Council, and the Council on Public Relations and Marketing Communication.