Faculty (division)

At universities a faculty is a group of related sciences or a department with several scientific fields as teaching and administrative unit of a university, art school or college. It includes teachers and learners and the associated non-academic staff. It is headed by a dean, who is responsible for faculty development. This signed on behalf of the faculty at the Habilitation instrument of " teaching certificate " and promotions that about doctoral degrees.

The Faculty ( at some universities, the faculty, see below ) is responsible for the organization of research, teaching and study of their science area. To some extent it is legally sovereign corporation (identified by the doctoral degrees, private label management, private (often legally still existing, in fact no longer applied ) right gown and other things).

" Faculties " and " departments"

Traditionally, outsourced most European universities since the Middle Ages in four faculties: a general education ( propaedeutic ) Faculty of Arts, from which later developed into the Faculty of Arts, and three related to a specific career field faculties of theology, law and medicine. In the course of the formation and differentiation of new scientific disciplines developed in the 19th and especially the 20th century in many places other faculties, either by spin-off of emerging natural and social sciences, or by the addition of new subjects that were previously not taught at universities (z. example, economics or engineering sciences).

Since 1969, the reorganization of higher education have been replaced by higher education legislation in the countries the conventional faculties especially in newly established universities by smaller departments with a narrower range of subjects in the former Federal Republic in the course. The scheme was also input into the first Higher Education Act of 1976. Also in the GDR were almost the same faculties as part of the III. High school reform replaced by smaller "sections". Only later was it allows colleges again to call their faculties as faculties or even merge several departments to departments so that it now also faculties and departments are in some major universities, of which the latter represent an intermediate level between faculty and institutes or seminars.

Faculty

The Faculty - according to the particular structure of the university and faculty - is composed ( in many states by one vote ), representatives of the students, the mid-level faculty and technical staff of elected members of the group of high school teachers.

The faculty elects the dean and possibly other members of the collective body Deanery ( Associate Dean, Associate Dean, Dean of Students, etc.).

Task of the Faculty Council is - depending on the university law of the land and basic order of a university - the decision or advice on the use of resources of the Faculty (money and material resources, personnel, rooms, etc. ) and on fundamental issues of research and teaching faculty. This includes, inter alia, the establishment or adjustment and closure of courses and study and examination regulations. In addition, the Faculty Council may be involved in the granting of academic degrees and titles ( Doctor, Doctor habilitatus, lecturer, honorary doctorate ).

The meetings of the Faculty Council (also faculty ) leads usually the Dean. He is elected from among the professors on time (eg, two to four years) by the Faculty Council or - as in the case of a full-time dean - called externally ( on time).

The faculty was since the introduction of the so-called Group University in the late 1960s for a long time the most important decision-making body at the departmental level. However, with the increasing introduction of management structures in universities, the powers shift rapidly - similar to the Academic Senate - in favor of the Deanery and the university management.

Subunits

Faculties sat in principle composed of chairs. In combined faculties such as Social Sciences and Economics, the chairs of the respective specialist science are referred to as subject or the subject. Especially in full faculties, ie faculties, which cover all areas of research of a specialized science, a breakdown in institutions or seminars will be held. An institute / seminar often includes a teaching area (eg English, Microeconomics ) and is headed by an Executive Director. This is selected from the group of Professor and Chair of the Institute professors without / seminar. The term Department is less clear-cut; it can describe both smaller seminars and group of chairs in the size of a subject or faculty.

Unlike institutes affiliated institutes have no right to award academic degrees, but they also bear the name of institute and emerge more frequently in faculty surveys.

Facilities of a faculty

A faculty operates shared facilities generally. These can be: the faculty library, laboratories, workshops etc.

At a faculty often includes the Examination Office and the Audit Committee of the Faculty, which organizes and administers the examinations ( undergraduate, bachelor, graduate, master). At some universities, there are also Central Examination Offices organizing the tests either for the entire university or for several faculties. For state tests own audit offices are usually established.

Facilities also include the promotion of a faculty committee, which is responsible for the promotions.

Furthermore, all employees of a faculty student advisors are required. In general, the individual faculties appoint special advisers as study consultants who advise both students as well as prospective students to the courses of study.

With the introduction of tuition fees in some states, also known as tuition fees commissions were used, which reflect the distribution of members of the Faculty Council (professors, students and Mittelbau ) on a smaller scale, and whose members are elected on time by the Faculty. They are directly responsible to the faculty and advise him of the reports submitted by the seminaries and institutes of the faculty proposals for the use of the assigned tuition fees. The institutes or seminars must for every incoming proposal against the tuition Commission take a position and this advocate or reject the final decision then falls, the Faculty Council.

Cooperation

Inner -university collaboration: Study faculties

At times close together several faculties to perform a common interdisciplinary degree program. An example of this is the study Faculty of Forest Science & Resource Management at the Technical University of Munich in Weihenstephan ( Freising ).

About Regional Cooperation: faculties and departmental days

For inter-regional exchange of experience and perception of common interests to politicians and the public have become the most faculties and departments to faculty or departmental conferences, such as the Philosophical Faculty Association, together.