Rules and Regulations of CDM
Amended version of 11 December 2009
(Status as at 14.6.2010)
The EPFL Direction,
based on art. 3 par. 1 item a of the Ordonnance du Conseil des EPF sur les écoles polytechniques fédérales de Zurich et de Lausanne1
,
hereby adopts the following: Art. 1 Subject
1. These Rules and Regulations define the structure and organisation of the College of Management of
Technology (CDM) and determine the competences and tasks of its bodies.
2. They also define the Committees, Group Conferences and General Assembly. Art. 2 Structure, Members and Tasks
1. The definition, organisation and composition of the College are stipulated under Section 3 of the Ordinance on the Organisation of the EPFL2
.
2. The College is responsible for providing high-level education and research in subject areas related to the management of technology and financial engineering.
3. It integrates the management, science and technology dimensions.
4. The College’s bodies exercise their competences in compliance with the laws and general policy of the EPFL.
Art. 3 Bodies
1. The College bodies are the: a) College Executive,
b) College Direction, b) College Council.
Art. 4 Composition of College
1. The College is made up of Sections, Institutes, Units, Chairs and General Services. 2. A Section comprises teaching staff, the students attached to the Section, and the Section’s administration.
Doctoral education and continuing education are governed by the separate regulations specific to each programme.
3. A Unit is a scientific infrastructure dedicated to teaching and research. In the case of a Unit financed by third parties, the term Chair will be used.
4. An Institute comprises Units/Chairs and has its own staff directly attached to it and its own budget.
5. General services fulfills a support function and manages all administrative and technical matters for the
College.
Art. 5 College : organisation
1. The College is organised into Units/Chairs grouped into Institutes.
2. The Unit/Chair comprises the professor, Head of Unit and staff financed by third-party funds, and staff financed by the salary budget in the case of a Unit/Chair with an independent budget.
3. The name of the Unit/Chair may denote the sphere of activity or simply the name of the professor responsible.
1
RS 414.110.37
2
4. Each Unit/Chair belongs to an Institute. The latter comprises all staff members financed by the salary
budget, with the exception of professors, Heads of Units, who are directly attached to the Unit/Chair and Units/Chairs which have an independent budget.
5. Each Institute may have its own budget. Art. 6 College Executive: composition
1. The College Executive consists of a) the College Director,
b) the Administrator, c) the HR manager.
Art. 7 College Direction: composition
1. The College Direction consists of3
a) the Director, b) the Administrator, c) Directors of Institutes.
Other members of the College (Section Directors, Doctoral Programme Directors, members of General Services, etc.) may be invited to participate in College Direction meetings in an advisory capacity. The Direction Committee organises its meetings on a bimonthly basis.
Art. 8 College Director: competences
1. The Director is responsible for the College. He is the spokesman to the EPFL Direction for all matters concerning the College and its management.
2. He represents the College in the outside world.
3. He chairs the College Executive and Direction, College Council and College General Assembly.
4. He proposes to the EPFL Direction the appointment of Section Directors for a renewable four-year term.
5. He proposes to the EPFL Direction the appointment of Doctoral Programme Directors.
6. He proposes, at the request of the EPFL Direction, the composition of nomination committees. He chairs the nomination committees. This chairmanship may be delegated.
7. He allocates competences to the members of the Direction.
8. He is responsible for all internal matters concerning the College that do not fall within the competence of another body.
9. He appoints his Deputy from among the members of the College Direction.
Art. 9 College Executive: competences
1. The College Executive is the operational body of the CDM.
2. The members of the College Executive prepare the dossiers discussed by the College Direction. 3. The members of the College Executive ensure the implementation and follow-up of decisions made by the College Direction.
Art. 10 College Direction: competences
1. The College Direction makes its decisions on a collegial basis.
2. It is responsible for the College’s strategic vision.
3. It meets as required, convened by the College Director.
4. Its competences lie particularly in the following domains:
a) Education
1. Approval of the study plans submitted by Section Directors.
2. Approval of the Règlements d’application du contrôle des études submitted by Section Directors. 3. Allocation of teaching duties on the proposal of Section Directors.
4. Approval of the list and teaching staff of doctoral programmes on the proposal of Doctoral Programme Directors.
5. Evaluation of the participation of Heads of Units in teaching activities.
6. Submission of proposals to the EPFL Direction concerning the creation or abolition of Sections, doctoral
and continuing education programmes within the College. b) Research
1. Definition and review of research policy based on opinions submitted by the Research Committee. 2. Support of research carried out by the Institutes and Units/Chairs of the College.
3. Promotion of interdisciplinary initiatives.
4. Evaluation of the performance of the Institutes and each Head of Unit.
5. Ensuring of research outreach in collaboration with the Research, Documentation, and IT and
Communication Committees. c) Human Resources
1. Drawing up of proposals for professorial appointments for the EPFL Direction, for submission to the
ETH Board.
2. Drawing up of proposals for the appointment of adjunct professors for the EPFL Direction, for submission to the ETH Board, and of Senior Scientists for the EPFL Direction.
3. Drawing up of proposals for the appointment of visiting professors and academic guests for the EPFL
Direction.
4. Drawing up of proposals for the conferring of honorary doctorates for the EPFL Direction.
5. Drawing up of proposals for the appointment of lecturers for the EPFL Direction.
6. Assumption of all competences defined in the document Règlement de compétences en matière de
gestion des ressources humaines.
7. Submission of its opinion to the EPFL Academic Promotion Committee, based on the opinion previously given by the College’s Academic Promotion Committee.4
8. Making of decisions concerning the affiliation of persons to College Chairs and Programmes after
consultation with the persons concerned.
9. Maintaining of an environment ensuring College members’ health and safety. d) Planning
Elaboration of College planning for submission to the EPFL Direction. e) Finance
1. Assumption of responsibility for all budgetary management and control. 2. Assumption of responsibility for the control of third-party funding.
3. Drawing up of the College’s budget for submission to the EPFL Direction.
4. Allocation of operating budgets and special financial resources to Section Directors, Institute Directors and those responsible for Units/Chairs with an independent budget.
5. Encouragement of Heads of Units to seek external financing allowing the College to develop its sphere of activity.
f) Structures
1. Submission of proposals to the EPFL Direction for the creation or abolition of Units/Chairs within the College.
2. Submission of proposals to the EPFL Direction for the creation or abolition of Institutes within the College.
g) Premises
1. Establishment of College requirements concerning premises and submission of the appropriate request to the EPFL Direction.
2. Allocation of premises and infrastructure to Directors of Sections, Institutes and Units/Chairs with an independent budget.
h) Communication
4Directives concernant les professeurs assistants tenure-track of 30 October 2000, Règlement de
1. Assumption of responsibility for the College’s communication and promotion. 2. Validation of the College’s annual report.
Art. 11 Doctoral Programme Director: competences
Doctoral Programme Directors are appointed by the VPAA on the proposal of the CDM Direction. The tasks associated with their function are described in the Directives concerning doctoral studies at EPFL of 21.11.05, amended 1.9.08.
Art. 12 Section Directors: competences
1. Each Section Director is responsible for the teaching of his Section.
2. He allocates financial resources within the Section, within the framework of the budget placed at his disposal by the College Direction.
3. He submits the proposed allocation of teaching duties for his Section to the College Direction.
4. He submits his Section’s study plan and Règlements d’application du contrôle des études to the EPFL Direction, after their approval by the College Direction.
Art. 13 Institute Directors
1. The Institute Director is the spokesman to the College Director for all matters concerning the Institute or Centre for which he is responsible.
2. He chairs the Institute’s Direction Committee, which consists of those responsible for the Units/Chairs of the Institute.
3. He defines the guiding principles and strategies of the Institute in collaboration with the Institute’s Direction Committee.
4. He manages the human resources directly allocated to the Institute.
5. He prepares the budget and ensures the control within the Institute of the amount allocated by the
College Direction or the Vice-Presidency for Academic Affairs.
6. He assists the School Direction with the preparation of the promotion dossiers of tenure track assistant professors, associate professors and senior scientists concerning his Institute or Centre.
Art. 14 Heads of Units/Chairs
1. The Head of Unit/Chair is the spokesman to the Institute Director for all matters concerning his Unit/Chair.
2. He coordinates and organises the activities of his Unit/Chair.
3. Each Head of Unit/Chair is a member of the Direction Committee of the Institute in charge, under the responsibility of the Institute Director, of preparing and controlling the budget of the Institute and of each Unit/Chair and of preparing and monitoring the dossiers concerning human resources of the Institute and each Unit/Chair.
4. He is responsible for managing the operating budget and its third-party funds. Art. 15 Administrator
1. The administrator manages the General Services.
2. He is responsible for the central administration of the Sections.
3. He manages the budget and staff of the General Services and central administration of the Sections.
4. He prepares the meetings of the College Executive and College Direction.
5. He combines the budgets of the Institutes, Sections and General Services to prepare the College
budget.
6. He monitors and controls the financial status of the Institutes and of each Unit/Chair.
7. He is the College spokesman to the EPFL Financial Service and Human Resources.
8. He is the chosen spokesman for CDM staff in discussions with the College Direction.
Art. 16 General Services
1. General Services is responsible for the management of the finances, human resources, information technology, communication, technical infrastructure, secretariat and administrative matters of the Sections and the College.
3. The College’s General Services, with the exception of human resources, reports to the College
Administrator.
Art. 17 Human Resources Manager
1. The College Human Resources Manager reports to the Head of the EPFL Human Resources
Department. For functional purposes, he is attached to the College Director. He is a permanent member of the College Executive and attends College Direction meetings dealing with human resource matters in an advisory capacity.
2. The Human Resources Manager assists and advises the College Direction in all matters relating to
human resource management and planning, such as : development and implementation of HR procedures, profile validation, recruitment, hiring, advice and assistance to employees, termination of employment, analysis of requirements and their financial consequences (planning), etc.
3. The decision-making and signatory powers of the College Director and Human Resources Manager are
defined in the document Règlement de compétences en matière de gestion des ressources humaines.
4. The Human Resources Manager is the prime contact person for College staff for all employment-related matters, especially advice and assistance.
Art. 18 College Council
In accordance with the Ordonnance sur les Conseils de Faculté of 25 March 2005, art. 1, the latter applies, by analogy, to the College Council. The designations « School» and « Dean» are replaced by « College » and « Director ».
1. The College Council is made up of three elected members per group (12 persons), the College Director5
, and the secretary.
2. It meets at least four times per year or at the request of three of its members. Art. 19 Group Conferences
1. Each group belonging to the College, as defined in the Loi sur les EPF, forms a Group Conference.
2. Each Group Conference elects its representatives when such provision is made by the present Rules and Regulations.
3. Each Group Conference discusses matters relating to its group and gives its opinion to the College Council during consultations.
4. Each Group Conference is free to organise its own activities. Art. 20 Professors’ Conference
1. The Professors’ Conference comprises all professors responsible for a Unit/Chair (full, associate and tenure-track assistant professors) and the College Direction.
2. As a general rule, assistant professors, adjunct professors and senior scientists attend the meetings.
Any exceptions relate to privacy protection.
3. The members appoint their Chairman.
4. It discusses matters pertaining to the direction of Units/Chairs.
5. It meets as convened by its Chairman or at the request of five of its members, but at least once per
semester.
Art. 21 College General Assembly
1. The College General Assembly is made up of all College members.
2. The General Assembly is an instrument of information, reflection and dialogue.
3. The General Assembly meets at least once a year, convened by the College Director or at the request of one tenth of its members.
Art. 22 List of Committees
1. The CDM comprises the following permanent Committees : a) Teaching Committee,
b) Doctoral Programme Committee, c) Research Committee,
d) Academic Promotion Committee, e) Documentation Committee, f) IT and Communication Committee.
2. The College Direction and College Council may create ad hoc committees if necessary. Art. 23 Teaching Committee: composition and appointment procedure
1. Each College Programme has its Teaching Committee.
2. The Teaching Committee is made up of members of the corresponding Section, i.e.: a) Section Director, who acts as chairman,
b) Deputy Section Director, c) teaching staff,
d) assistants, scientific staff and PhD candidates, e) students.
3. With the exception of the Section Director, Teaching Committee members are appointed by the College Direction after approval of the proposal made by the College Council.
The term of office is two years, for students one year. These terms of office are renewable. Art. 24 Teaching Committee: competences, convening and decisions
1. The Teaching Committee proposes, in accordance with the directives of the Vice-Presidency for Academic Affairs, the study plans and Règlements de contrôle des études for its Section.
2. It assesses the implementation of study plans and study evaluation and proposes improvements or
adjustments to the College Direction and the VPAA.
3. It coordinates teaching activities within the College.
4. It deals with routine matters relating to studies within its Section.
5. It gives the College Direction its opinion on all teaching matters. 6. It advises the Section Director.
7. It meets at least once each semester, convened by its chairman or at the request of three of its members.
8. It makes its decisions by a simple majority of members present.
Art. 25 Doctoral Programme Committee
1. Each doctoral programme is directed by a committee chaired by the Doctoral Programme Director and composed of at least two EPFL professors and PhD student representatives.
2. The missions and functions of this committee are described in the Ordinance RS 414.133.2, the Directives concerning doctoral studies at EPFL of 21 November 2005 (amended 1st
September 2008) and the internal instructions of the Doctoral School (27 April 2009).
3. It meets at least once per semester, as convened by its chairman or at the request of three of its
members.
Art. 26 Research Committee: composition and appointment procedure
1. The Research Committee is made up of:
a) delegates from each Unit/Chair who are authorised to supervise theses, one of whom acts as chairman.
b) scientific staff members or assistants.
2. The chairman and Research Committee members are appointed by the College Direction. The proposal
must have been approved by the College Council. The renewable term of office is two years. Art. 27 Research Committee: competences, convening and decisions
1. The Research Committee draws up proposals relating to the College’s research policy for submission to
the College Direction.
2. It gives the College Direction its opinion on all matters relating to research.
3. It approves internal funding requests (projects and equipment) for submission to the College Direction.
4. It encourages the coordination and outreach of the research activities of the Institutes, Units/Chairs, particularly as far as transdisciplinary research is concerned.
6. The Research Committee meets at least once each semester, convened by its chairman or at the
request of three of its members.
7. It makes its decisions by a simply majority of members present. Art. 28 Academic Promotion Committee
1. The Academic Promotion Committee is made up of between three and five full professors.
2. Committee members are appointed by the College Direction after consultation with Directors of Sections, Institutes and Units/Chairs.
3. The Academic Promotion Committee evaluates professors’ professional progress. 4. It gives the College Direction its opinion concerning academic promotion proposals.
5. The Academic Promotion Committee meets at least once each semester, convened by its chairman or at the request of two of its members.
6. It makes its decisions by a simple majority of members present.
Art. 29 Documentation Committee
1. The Documentation Committee is made up of:
a) a chairman appointed by the College Direction, after approval of the proposal by the College Council, for a renewable two-year term.
b) 2 delegates per Institute. c) the Deputy Section Director.
2. It draws up proposals concerning policy for the acquisition and management of documentation for
submission to the College Direction.
3. It ensures the promotion and distribution of publications and study reports amongst the bodies and users concerned.
4. It coordinates the activities of the different College Units/Chairs as far as the management of
documentation is concerned, and with the EPFL Central Library.
6. It meets at least once each semester, convened by its chairman or at the request of two of its members.
7. It makes its decisions by a simple majority of members present.
8. It ensures the promotion and distribution of publications and study reports amongst the bodies and
users concerned, and to the Infoscience institutional archive.
9. It coordinates the activities of the different College Units/Chairs as far as the management of documentation is concerned, and with the EPFL Scientific Information and Libraries Service. Art. 30 IT and Communication Committee
1. The IT and Communication Committee is made up of:
a) a chairman appointed by the College Direction, after approval of the proposal by the College Council, for a renewable term of two years.
b) a person responsible for College computer services appointed by the College Direction. c) a person responsible for College communication appointed by the College Direction. d) 2 delegates per Institute.
e) the Deputy Section Director.
2. The IT and Communication Committee proposes to the College Direction strategic and operational solutions for the optimal use of information and communication technologies in education and research, in compliance with EPFL policy in this domain.
3. It supports the College Direction with regard to operational and strategic communication.
4. It validates the College’s communication plans proposed by the head of communications before their presentation to the Direction Committee.
5. It coordinates the allocation of tasks among the services of the College, Institutes and Units/Chairs, in compliance with the policy of the EPFL Direction informatique stratégique and Central Services in this domain.
6. It organises the drawing up of the College’s IT budget and submits its prior approval to the College Direction concerning off-budget requests for the acquisition of IT resources.
7. It draws up an annual report concerning the use of College IT resources.
8. It meets at least once each semester, convened by its chairman or at the request of two of its members.
Art. 31 Coming into Force
The present Rules and Regulations come into force on July 1, 2010
On behalf of the EPFL Direction
P. Aebischer S. Killias
