CONSTITUTION
OF
COLLEGE OF THE SISKIYOUS ACADEMIC SENATE
The
organization shall be known as the College of the Siskiyous Academic
Senate.
ARTICLE II - PURPOSES
The purposes of the
College of the Siskiyous Academic Senate (hereafter to be known as the Senate)
shall be to facilitate participation of the electorate in the formulation and
implementation of district policies on academic and professional matters
including but not limited to the following:
A.
Policies
on Academic Matters.
(1)
curriculum, including establishing prerequisites and placing courses within
disciplines;
(2)
degree and certificate requirements;
(3)
grading policies;
(4)
educational program development;
(5) standards or policies regarding student
preparation and success;
(6)
district and college governance structures, as related to faculty
roles;
(7)
faculty roles and involvement in accreditation processes, including self-study
and annual reports;
(8)
policies for faculty professional development activities;
(9)
processes for program review;
(10)
processes for institutional planning and budget development;
and
(11)
other academic and professional matters as are mutually agreed upon between the
governing board and the Academic Senate.
Items 1-11 are from Ed Code Title 5 Article 2. Section
53200
(12) philosophy of education and instruction
(13)
facilities and services related to instruction
(14)
student relations
(15)
faculty responsibilities for participation in committee matters and other
professional matters.
(16)
administration – selection and
evaluation
(17)
setting the academic calendar
B. Professional personnel policies.
The Academic Senate will consult with the bargaining unit on the following
issues:
(1) academic freedom
(2) ethical standards
(3) faculty evaluation, retention, tenure
(4) policies that have produced grievances
(5) sabbatical leave policies
(6) leaves and absences.
ARTICLE III - ORGANIZATION
Section
1 - Electorate
The electorate of the Senate shall be composed of all contract faculty,
including counselors, librarians and the Director of Library Services, who
directly serve registered College of the Siskiyous students.
Section
2 - Senate of the Whole
The executive and legislative power of the Senate shall be vested in the
Senate of the Whole, which is to be composed of all members of the
Electorate.
Section
3 - Composition of the Executive Committee
An Executive Committee shall consist of these officers: President, Vice
President, Secretary, immediate Past-President, and two At-large
representatives.
Section
4 - Autonomy
The Senate shall be distinct from any other faculty
organization.
Section
5 - Representation
The Senate shall seek full representation on all college committees and
councils deemed important for its purposes by the Executive Committee. Appointments of members to these
committees and councils shall be made by the Senate President in consultation
with the Executive Committee and must be ratified by the
Senate.
Section
6 - Committees
The Executive Committee, representing the Senate, shall have the power to
form committees and to provide for their membership.
Section
7 - Recognition
The Senate shall be an official body representing the academic and
professional interests of the faculty of the College. Individual faculty members or
representatives of other faculty organizations retain all faculty rights and
prerequisites including the right to address the Board of
Trustees.
ARTICLE IV - DUTIES OF EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
MEMBERS
Section
1 - The President of the Senate shall:
A.
Preside at meetings of the Senate and of the Executive
Committee.
B.
Have the power of appointment and removal of committee
members,
subject to the consent of the Senate.
C.
Be an ex-officio member of all Senate committees.
D.
Serve as a Senate representative on the College administrative
cabinet.
E.
Attend all Board of Trustees meetings or designate a
representative.
F.
Publish agendas for all Executive Committee and Senate
meetings.
G.
Be responsible for the progress and work of the
Senate.
H.
Attend area and statewide Academic Senate meetings as required by the
Senate.
I.
Initiate policies and plans for the Senate.
J.
Be the official spokesperson for the Senate.
K.
Be familiar with the governance documents of the Senate and the District,
including but not limited to: Board policies, Title V,
AB1725.
L.
Deliver to the campus community a year-end state-of-the-college
report.
M.
Perform
additional duties as may be required by the Senate.
Section
2 - The Vice President shall:
A.
Act as President in the absence of the President.
B.
Be ex-officio member of all Senate committees.
C.
Serve as a Senate representative to the Instruction
Council.
D.
Be the assistant to the President in the performance of those
duties.
E.
Be familiar with the governance documents of the Senate and the District,
including but not limited to: Board policies, Title V,
AB1725.
F.
Become President of the Senate in the event of a vacancy in the office of
President, until such time as a special election produces a new
president.
G.
Serve as
chair of the Sabbatical Committee
H.
Perform additional duties as may be required by the
office.
Section
3 - The Secretary shall:
A.
Be responsible for preparation, publication and distribution of minutes,
including vote tallies, in all Senate and Executive Committee
meetings.
B.
Maintain and file all Senate records for deposit in the
Archives.
C.
Distribute copies of minutes to all Senate members as well as to other
individuals and groups designated by the Senate.
D.
Validate
petitions submitted to the Senate.
E.
Maintain
the Senate web page.
F.
Maintain
the roster of Senate members.
G.
Perform additional duties as may be required by the
Senate.
Section
4 – The Immediate Past President shall:
A.
Serve as
a member of the Executive Committee
B.
Serve as
member of campus committees as directed by the Executive
Committee
Section
5 – The At-large Representatives shall:
A
Serve as a member of the Executive Committee
B.
Serve as
member of campus committees as directed by the Executive
Committee
Section
6 – Multiple representation
In the event that an officer of the Senate is already representing another entity on a committee, the Executive Committee shall appoint another Senate member to be the Senate representative.
Section
7 Compensation of officers
It is expected the president will receive at least twenty percent
reassigned time or a partial contract in the amount of at least twenty percent
of his or her contract.
ARTICLE V - COMMITTEES AND DUTIES
All Standing and Special Committees of the College of the Siskiyous Academic Senate in effect on the date of the adoption of this Constitution shall be deemed to be the same Standing and Special Committees of the Senate until dissolved or superseded in pursuance of this Constitution.
ARTICLE VI - DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY
The
Senate is expressly prohibited from legislating or delegating away, directly or
indirectly, to any other Siskiyou Joint Community College District organization,
any of the Senate's authority, expressed or implied, granted to it by majority
vote of the full-time academic personnel of College of the Siskiyous in the
general election held in 1969.
ARTICLE VII - ADOPTION AND AMENDMENTS
Section
1 - Adoption
This Constitution, if adopted under the provisions of Article X and Bylaw
V of the existing Constitution and Chapter XVIII of Robert's Rules of Order,
Newly Revised, latest edition shall supersede that Constitution effective
June 1.
Section
2 - Amendments to the Constitution
A. Any member of the Senate may introduce to the Executive Committee a
petition signed by one-third of the voting membership requesting an amendment to
these articles.
B. Within ten academic calendar days of the receipt of a valid petition
to amend the articles, the Executive Committee shall distribute copies of the
proposed amendment to all members.
C. The President shall call a special meeting of the Senate to be held
within ten academic calendar days of the distribution of the proposed amendment
for the purpose of discussion.
D. The election committee shall hold a special election within twenty
academic calendar days following the special meeting.
E. A two-thirds vote shall be required for an amendment to
pass.
F. The amendment shall take effect immediately upon its adoption, unless
otherwise directed within the text of the amendment or
revision.
G. If a general revision is required, it shall be effected through the
substitution of an entirely new constitution entitled "revision.", and
shall be subject to the same procedures as described above for an
amendment.
BYLAWS
OF
COLLEGE OF THE SISKIYOUS ACADEMIC SENATE
BYLAW I - QUORUMS
Section
1 - Executive Committee
A quorum shall consist of a simple majority of the Executive
committee.
Section
2 - Senate of the Whole
A quorum shall consist of at least 33 percent of the
Electorate.
BYLAW II - TERMS OF OFFICE AND
ELECTION PROCEDURES
Section
1 -
Elective Offices and Terms of Office
A. The
Executive Committee shall be composed of: President, Vice President, Secretary,
immediate Past-President, and two At-large representatives
B. The
Immediate Past President shall be the person who has most recently been the
President, and shall serve until a new Immediate Past President is available to
fill the position. In the event the
immediate past president does not serve as an Executive Committee member, the
seat will be filled by an additional at-large
representative.
C. All other
positions shall be elected for terms of one year. There shall be no term limits on any of
the elected positions. All members
of the Senate are eligible for the Executive Committee.
D. Terms of
office commence on June 1 of each year.
Section
2 - Nominations and Election Procedures
A.
The
deadline for nominations is to be 5:00 pm, the third Tuesday in
April.
B. Elections shall
take place on the first Tuesday and Wednesday in May
C. Any member of the Senate may place her
or his name on the ballot as a candidate for any of the above
offices.
D. The name of any member of the Senate may
be placed in nomination by any other member of the Electorate, with the consent
of the nominee.
E. An election committee consisting of
three members of the Senate, appointed by the President, shall administer
all elections
and
shall promptly announce election results to the
membership.
E. Of the candidates for the at-large
positions, members shall vote for two (or, if appropriate, three)
candidates.
1.
The
election committee shall receive nominations within the time frames established
above and shall verify the eligibility of candidates.
2. The election
committee shall issue a ballot to each member of the Senate as per the most
current roster of membership provided by the Secretary.
3. The election committee shall
receive ballots until 5 p.m. on the last day of the election. The election committee may make such
provisions for collection of ballots as are consistent with customary practices
of secret balloting.
4. Immediately
following the closing of the election, the election committee shall count the
ballots and certify the results of the election. This procedure shall be open to
inspection by any and all members of the Senate. The voting record shall be available for
inspection for one week subsequent to the election.
a)
The election committee may declare a ballot illegal if it contains
indication of tampering, is not an official ballot, or has marked votes for more
candidates than there are vacancies.
b)
Winning candidates are determined by plurality.
c)
The chairman of the election committee shall prepare a teller's report
which shall state the number of ballots received, the number of illegal ballots,
and the names of the successful candidates.
d)
The teller's report shall be submitted to the President of the Senate,
who shall announce the results of the election.
e)
In the event of a tie vote, within one week the election committee shall
conduct a run-off election among those individuals tied.
Section
3 - Special Elections
A.
General provisions
1.
Special elections are called by the President of the Senate under
conditions as outlined below for each type of election.
2.
Special elections are administered by the election committee according to
Bylaw II, Section 2, B-D. If an
election committee is not in place, the President shall immediately appoint one.
B.
Types of special elections
1.
Vacancies on the Executive Committee: A special election to fill a vacancy
caused by resignation, impeachment, or death of an Executive Committee member
shall be ordered by the President within five academic calendar days of such
vacancy. Successful candidates
shall complete the term of the office.
2.
Impeachment: Any member of the Senate may submit a petition signed by
one-third of the voting membership requesting impeachment of an Officer of the
Executive Committee. Upon
receipt of a valid petition, the President (or Vice President if the President
is the impeached party) shall call a special election for impeachment to be held
within fifteen academic calendar days.
If the impeachment is subsequently approved by at least two-thirds of the
membership, a special election to fill the vacancy shall then be held.
3.
Initiative or Referendum:
Any member of the Senate may submit a petition signed by one-third of the
voting membership requesting an initiative or referendum measure. Upon receipt
of a valid petition, the President shall call a special election to be held
within thirty academic calendar days.
BYLAW III
Meetings
Section
1 - Meetings of the Academic Senate
A. The President shall schedule regular
monthly meetings of the Senate during the academic year.
B. The President may call an emergency
meeting, but must give two academic calendar days notice to the
membership.
C. The president may be directed by the
membership to call an emergency meeting upon the submission of a valid petition
signed by one/third of the membership.
Such a meeting shall be held within five academic calendar days upon
receipt of the petition.
D. The time and place of regular meetings
shall be established by the Senate at the beginning of the academic year.
Section
2 - Meetings of the Executive Committee
A. The Executive Committee shall meet the
week preceding and the week succeeding the regular meeting of the
whole.
B. All members of the Senate shall be
notified of the time and place of Executive Committee meetings and shall have
the right to attend.
Section
3 - Closed Session
A.
The
President may declare a closed session of any meeting, subject to Brown Act
restrictions.
BYLAW IV
Parliamentary Authority
Robert's
Rules of Order, Newly Revised, latest
edition, shall be the parliamentary authority for the
Senate.
BYLAW V
Amendment of Bylaws
A. Any member of the Senate may introduce to the Executive Committee a
petition signed by one-third of the voting membership requesting an amendment to
these bylaws.
B. Within ten academic calendar days of the receipt of a valid petition
to amend the bylaws, the Executive Committee shall distribute copies of the
proposed amendment to all members.
C. The President shall call a special meeting of the Senate to be held
within ten academic calendar days of the distribution of the proposed amendment
for the purpose of discussion.
D. The election committee shall hold a special election within twenty
academic calendar days following the special meeting.
E. A two-thirds vote shall be required for the amendment to
pass.
F. The amendment shall take effect immediately upon its adoption, unless
otherwise directed within the text of the amendment or
revision.
G. If a general revision is required, it shall be effected through the
substitution of an entirely new constitution entitled "revision", and
shall be subject to the same procedures as described above for an
amendment.
BYLAW VI
Implementation of This Revised Constitution
A.
These bylaws constitute a general revision of the existing Constitution
of the Academic Senate of College of the Siskiyous.
B.
These bylaws, if adopted under the provisions of Article X and Bylaw V of
the existing Constitution, shall supersede both that Constitution and the
Constitutions of the Academic Senate of the College of the Siskiyous, adopted
April 15, 1971, amended January 24, 1974, and August 15, 1991. The effective date of this new
constitution shall be June 1, 2002.
C. Upon
adoption of this new constitution, the president shall direct the elections
commission to conduct the next election in accordance with the new Executive
Committee composition. The new
Executive Committee shall take office on June 1 and the new constitution shall
take effect on that same date. With the exception of election procedures, the
current constitution will stay in effect until that time.
PASSED
BY 2/3 VOTE OF THE ACADEMIC SENATE
March 21, 2002