Policy 2-004: Organization of the University

1. Academic Organization
2. Administrative Organization
3. Faculty Ranks
4. University Faculties and Councils

‌Purpose and Scope‌‌

1. ‌Purpose. [reserved]

2. ‌Scope. [reserved]

‌Definitions‌‌

1. ‌“Academic Unit,” “Faculty-appointing Unit,” and “Single-department College” are defined in Policy 6-001.

2. ‌“Course-offering Unit” is defined in Policy 6-100.

‌Policy‌‌

1. ‌Academic Organization‌‌

   1. ‌Academic Units of Instruction with Full Faculty-Appointing Authority

      ‌The academic department is the standard Academic Unit of instruction with full faculty-appointing authority in the university. Schools and free-standing divisions are also recognized as Academic Units of instruction with full faculty-appointing authority (see Policy 6-001); these units are governed by policies on departments unless otherwise specified. The designation free-standing division, department, or school is influenced by the mission of the unit, the relationship of the unit to the parent college, and disciplinary traditions across the country. For purposes of administration, free-standing divisions, departments, and schools are assigned to a college.

      1. ‌Free-standing Division

         1. ‌A free-standing division is generally the smallest Academic Unit of instruction with full faculty-appointing authority in terms of FTE of tenure-line faculty. Such divisions may offer undergraduate and graduate degrees. Faculty are appointed to a division, and tenure-line faculty may earn tenure in the division. The degree of budget autonomy for a division is decided by the college to which the division belongs.

         2. ‌The administrative head of a free-standing division is usually called a division chair. This person's administrative level is equivalent to that of a department chair. The division chair reports to the dean of the college to which the division belongs.

      2. ‌Academic Department

         1. ‌A department is the most common Academic Unit of instruction with full faculty-appointing authority. A department generally offers both undergraduate and graduate degrees. Faculty are appointed to a department, and tenure-line faculty may earn tenure in the department.

         2. ‌The administrative head of a department is called a department chair; the department chair reports to the dean of the college to which the department belongs.

      3. ‌School

         1. ‌A school is generally a large Academic Unit of instruction with full faculty-appointing authority and should incorporate multiple areas of specialization that are reflected in the degrees offered. A school often includes interdisciplinary cooperative efforts. A school generally offers both undergraduate and graduate degrees. Faculty are appointed to a school, and tenure-line faculty may earn tenure in the school.

         2. ‌The administrative head of a school is usually called a director, and this person's administrative level is equivalent to that of a department chair. The director reports to the dean of the college to which the school belongs.

   2. ‌Colleges

      1. ‌A college is usually an administrative organization of related free-standing divisions, departments, and schools. Colleges with no formal internal academic subdivisions are called single-department colleges (see Policy 6-001).

      2. ‌The administrative head of a college is called a dean. Each dean reports to either the executive vice president for academic affairs or the executive vice president for health sciences.

         1. ‌In some instances, as authorized by the cognizant executive vice president, the title of "dean" is used for an administrative position that is not the head of an academic college (e.g., Dean of the Graduate School, Dean of Students, Dean of Undergraduate Studies, Dean of University Connected Learning).

      3. ‌For historical reasons, the university, has designated some schools that function as colleges rather than as departments, as described above.

      4. ‌For historical and other reasons as authorized by the cognizant executive vice president, the name "college" is used in some instances to refer to a unit of the university that is not an academic college and does not have the full authority of an academic college. Currently the "Honors College,” an interdisciplinary teaching program, is such a unit.

   3. ‌University Libraries

      1. ‌The university libraries consist of the J. Willard Marriott Library and its branches, reporting to the executive vice president for academic affairs, the Eccles Health Science Library reporting to the executive vice president for health sciences; and the James E. Faust Law Library in the S.J. Quinney College of Law reporting to the dean of the college of law, and ultimately to the executive vice president for academic affairs.

   4. ‌Proposals to create, modify, or discontinue Academic Units are governed by Rule R6-001A and university procedures.

2. ‌Administrative Organization‌‌

   1. ‌Administrative offices shall be organized as necessary to represent the several Academic Units or combinations of these, the general university administration, and other services, agencies, and functions of the university.

   2. ‌The university includes numerous administrative units with the names "department," "division," or "program" that have neither course-offering nor faculty-appointing authority.

3. ‌Faculty Ranks‌‌

   1. ‌The following faculty ranks are hereby established: professor (including distinguished professor and university professor), associate professor, assistant professor, instructor, librarian (including distinguished librarian), associate librarian, and assistant librarian.

   2. ‌Career-line, Adjunct, and Visiting ranks may be designated by adding the prefatory or subsequent word "research," "clinical," "lecturer," "adjunct," or visiting" to the respective academic ranks established above.

4. ‌University Faculties and Councils‌‌

   1. ‌The following faculties are hereby established in the University of Utah: the university faculty, the school and college faculties, and the faculty-appointing unit faculties.

   2. ‌The following councils are hereby established in the University of Utah: the Academic Senate, the Graduate Council, the Undergraduate Council, the Council of Academic Deans, and the school and college councils, as described in University Regulations.

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      ‌Sections IV- VII are for user information and are not subject to the approval of the Academic Senate or the Board of Trustees. The Institutional Policy Committee, the Policy Owner, or the Policy Officer may update these sections at any time.

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‌Policies/ Rules, Procedures, Guidelines, Forms and other Related Resources‌‌

1. ‌Policies/ Rules. [ reserved ]

2. ‌Procedures, Guidelines, and Forms. [ reserved ]

3. ‌Other Related Resources. [ reserved ]

‌References‌‌

1. ‌Policy 6-001: Academic Units and Academic Governance – Roles of Faculties, Committees, and Councils

‌Contacts‌‌

‌The designated contact officials for this regulation are:

1. ‌Policy Owner(s) (primary contact person for questions and advice): Associate Vice President for Faculty (Academic Affairs) and Associate Vice President for Faculty (Health Sciences)

2. ‌Policy Officer(s): Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Executive Vice President for Health Sciences

   ‌See Rule 1-001 for information about the roles and authority of policy owners and policy officers.

‌History‌‌

‌Revision History.

1. ‌Current version. Revision 9.

   1. ‌Approved by the Board of Trustees on January 13, 2026, with effective date of January 13, 2026.

   2. ‌Legislative History

   3. ‌Editorial Revisions

2. ‌Previous versions.

   1. ‌Revision 8. Effective Date. July 27, 2004 to January 12, 2026

3. ‌Renumbering

   1. ‌Renumbered from Policy and Procedures Manual 7-6.