University of Washington Policy Directory

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*Formerly part of the University Handbook
Presidential Orders


Executive Order


No. VI*


Campuses, Colleges, Schools, and Departments: Definitions


For purposes of the Presidential Orders and the Faculty Code and Governance:

1. The word "campus" refers only to those listed in the Executive Order No. IX, Section 1.
2. The words "college" and "school" refer only to those listed in the Executive Order No. IX, Section 2.
3. The word "department" refers to any separately organized unit within a college or school which has been established by the Board of Regents or by the President, to any department-level interdisciplinary unit which has been established by the dean of a college or school, and to any department-level interdisciplinary unit involving two or more schools or colleges which has been established by the Provost.
4. An academic program is an area of specialization which has one or more of the following characteristics: has program as part of its title; grants a degree or a credential; has a sequence of courses with a common prefix; has been identified as a program by a distinct faculty action. Ordinarily, an academic program shall be smaller than an administrative unit such as a department and larger than the activities of a single faculty member.

May 31, 1956; October 1, 1982; January 30, 2004.

* This executive order was originally unnumbered in the University Handbook.

For related information, see:

  • Executive Order No. VII, "The Graduate School: Definitions"
  • Executive Order No. VIII, "Presiding Officers of Colleges, Schools, and Departments"
  • Executive Order No. IX, "Campuses, Colleges, and Schools"
  • Faculty Code, Chapter 23, "Colleges, Schools, and Departments"