DUS Roles and Responsibilities

Director of Undergraduate Studies (DUS) is the primary administrator responsible for the organization and functioning of the undergraduate program in each department. The DUS works with faculty, undergraduate advisors, and students to administer departmental and College policies concerning undergraduate degree programs and to serve as the liaison with the College on relevant matters as described below.

1. The DUS communicates new curricular and policy initiatives from the College and the campus to the department. Additionally, the DUS collects and forwards departmental questions and concerns about College policy concerning undergraduate education to the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education.
2. The DUS takes the lead in developing new curricular proposals for majors, minors, and certificates and/or for revising standing degrees and degree requirements. This work is typically done in conjunction with the department's undergraduate curriculum committee, the Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Education/Director of the Office of Undergraduate Curriculum, Policy, and Records, and the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education. New degree programs can often take as much as a year to work their way through various College, campus, university, and state committees and commissions; the DUS should consult closely with the Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Education/Director of the Office of Undergraduate Curriculum, Policy, and Records to plan appropriately.
3. The DUS works with the faculty to develop and propose courses that meet College of Arts and Sciences Education (CASE) requirements, including courses that satisfy Breadth of Inquiry (BoI) distributions, Intensive Writing (IW), and Critical Approaches (CAPP). The DUS is responsible for making sure that all such proposals conform to published criteria for such requirements.
4. The DUS works with the faculty to develop and propose courses that meet the IUB General Education curriculum, including the timely reporting of review materials to College and campus administrators.
5. The DUS is responsible for reviewing the monthly Remonstrance List and reporting any concerns to the Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Education/Director of the Office of Undergraduate Curriculum, Policy, and Records and the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education.
6. The DUS is responsible for performing periodic review of courses in the Core Transfer Library (CTL), i.e., those courses taught on other IU campuses and schools in Indiana that fulfill specific requirements here.
7. The DUS oversees transfer credit issues for undergraduate students and evaluates course materials provided by students, the Office of Admissions, or the Office of International Admissions to determine whether credit earned at another institution is equivalent to specific courses offered by the department (and whether such credit should be distributed or undistributed). Once a course is equated to an IUB course, all future transfers of that course receive the same designation, unless otherwise specified. Where appropriate the DUS is advised to consult with faculty members in the department who have special expertise in a subject matter and/or are primarily responsible for a particular course.
8. The DUS has the authority to determine whether exceptions to an undergraduate's major, minor, or certificate are consistent with departmental curricular policies and practices. In those instances where exceptions could set precedents with large implications for the degree, the DUS might consult with the departmental curriculum committee. The DUS also has the authority to create categories of exceptions where the responsibility for requesting such exceptions can be delegated to the professional staff academic advisor(s) in the department. (All exceptions are subject to final approval by the College.)
9. The DUS monitors experiential education courses offered by the department (e.g., internships, practica, field experience, undergraduate teaching assistantships, independent research, study or readings courses, service learning courses) including making sure that departmental faculty members supervise the work done by individual students in these courses and that College policy related to these courses are followed.
10. The DUS administers the operation of departmental undergraduate Honors, helping the unit attain the College’s goal of 10% of graduates doing so with departmental Honors.
11. The DUS serves as an advisor to faculty and instructors on issues of academic misconduct in undergraduate courses, requests to change grades, and other conflicts that arise between students and faculty. The DUS does not adjudicate such matters, but needs to be prepared to direct faculty to the appropriate offices in the College (e.g., the Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Education/Director of the Office of Undergraduate Retention and Achievement for academic misconduct issues) or the campus (e.g., the Dean of Students for issues of personal misconduct and disruptive students)
12. The DUS meets regularly with the professional staff academic advisor(s) to answer curricular and other questions. These conversations allow the DUS to share faculty priorities with the advisor(s), and allow the advisor(s) to communicate information about students' experience with the curriculum/department. In this way, course sequencing issues, scheduling conflicts, etc. can be addressed by the department on an ongoing basis. The DUS is also responsible for working with professional staff academic advisors to ensure that degree maps, major guides, and other departmental promotional materials are accurate and up to date.
    
    That said, the DUS does not supervise the department's professional staff advisors who report directly to the College's Director of Advising. However, the relationship between professional staff academic advisors and the department is crucial to the success of a department's undergraduate program. Accordingly, the DUS is asked to contribute to the annual performance review of each departmental advisor. To facilitate this process the DUS is encouraged to be in close contact with the Director of Advising with issues and concerns related to the advisor's performance.
13. The DUS is responsible for representing the department in planning and attending undergraduate events such as graduation ceremonies, honors receptions, career fairs, and the College Majors Expo. The DUS is also responsible for enlisting faculty representation at these and other departmental, College, and university-wide undergraduate events.
14. The DUS is responsible for the timely delivery of copy for the Undergraduate Bulletin to the Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Education/Director of the Office of Undergraduate Curriculum, Policy, and Records. The DUS is also responsible for proofreading final copy of the Bulletin prior to publication.
15. The DUS is responsible for coordinating College undergraduate assessment efforts in their unit and submitting assessment reports annually (unless otherwise noted) to the College.
16. The DUS is expected to be in residence during the months of his/her appointment. S/he is also responsible for attending DUS meetings (typically one or two a semester) called by the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education; if the DUS cannot attend such meetings an appropriate proxy should be designated by the department.

Revised 2022-08-31