ARTICLE I: POWERS AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Section 1: The Senate shall have the power to review and recommend to the President of the College or to his/her representative with respect to the following:
Clause 1. Any matter involving the educational program of the college.
Clause 2. Policy regarding appointments, status, and assignments of teaching faculty members and other certificated personnel.
Clause 3. Criteria for the establishment and discontinuance of divisions and departments.
Clause 4. General policy regarding student affairs and activities.
*Clause 5. re:1725Section 2: The Senate shall participate in the formulation of certificated personnel policy where appropriate including, but not limited to, policies concerning calendar, evaluation, and tenure.
Section 3: The Senate may act or may vote to act as a consulting body to the administration of the college in matters affecting the welfare of the faculty and student body of the college.
ARTICLE II: DUTIES OF FACULTY SENATE OFFICERS
Section 1: Duties of the Faculty Senate President
Clause 1. The President of the Faculty Senate shall preside at all meetings of the faculty and Senate and Senate-sponsored faculty meetings.
Clause 2. The President or designee shall relay to the administration the views of the faculty on any relevant matter when directed to do so by the Faculty Senate.
Clause 3. The President or designee, when directed to do so by the Faculty Senate, shall present the views and/or recommendations of the faculty to the Governing Board subject to the following conditions:(a) The Senate shall consult with the administration before requesting an appearance before the Governing Board.
(b) The Governing Board shall grant its permission before receiving an oral presentation. (Section 131.6, Title V, California Administrative Code)
Clause 4. The President or designee shall represent the faculty at all regularly scheduled meetings of the College Planning Council.
Clause 5. The President or designee shall attend the monthly meeting of the Governing Board.
Clause 6. The President or designee shall attend the regularly scheduled meetings of the Instruction Council.
Clause 7. The presiding officer at meetings of the faculty and/or Senate shall have the right to vote upon motions brought before either of these bodies when his/her vote would change the result. Thus, he/she may vote either to make or to break a tie vote, or to make or to prevent a two-thirds vote on questions requiring a two-thirds vote for passage.
Clause 8. The Faculty Senate President shall organize Faculty Senate and Executive Committee meetings including:Prepare agendas.
Review Minutes of previous meetings and coordinate the typing and dissemination of this information to Senators.
Compile any background information needed for clarification of agenda items.
Contact any resource speakers who need to attend Senate meetings for informational purposes.
Clause 9. The President shall nominate all Faculty Senate appointments, with approval by the Faculty Senate, to college governance committees.
Clause 10. The President or designee shall represent the Faculty Senate at the state and regional meetings of the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges.
Clause 11. The President shall direct the overall operation of the Senate and Senate office, and authorize the expenditure of Senate funds.
Clause 12. The President shall review minutes of other governance committees and articulate Senate positions and concerns where appropriate.
Clause 13. The President shall read and keep abreast of, and be conversant about the myriad of information of concern to the Senate, including:AB 1725 and Title 5 legislation and updates, Other current legislation,
Statewide Senate position papers, resolutions, and current information,
Materials from the California State Chancellor's Office,
State standards, matriculation, curriculum, staff development, etc.
Clause 14 The President shall participate with the Vice President of Instruction and the appropriate division chairperson or department chairperson to review and approve or deny equivalencies to minimum qualifications.
Clause 15 The President shall coordinate with the Vice President of Instruction Faculty Senate participation in the college staffing priority process.Section 2: Duties of Faculty Senate Vice-President
Clause 1. The Vice-President shall serve as the presiding officer at the faculty and Senate meetings in the absence of the President and shall assist the President in the performance of his/her duties and responsibilities.
Clause 2. The Vice President shall succeed and fulfill the office of President for the remainder of the unexpired term in the event that office becomes vacant.
Clause 3. The Vice President shall act as parliamentarian at all meetings of the Senate.
Clause 4. The Vice President shall maintain an up to date listing of current Senate subcommittees and faculty representatives on all college governance committees.
Clause 5. The Vice President shall sit as a member of and regularly attend meetings of faculty Senate and Senate Executive Committee.
Clause 6. The Vice President shall closely work with the President to learn the workings of that office.
Clause 7. The Vice President shall serve as a member of the Executive Committee, College Planning Council, the Council of Instructional Planning, and other governance committees at the direction of the Senate President and the Faculty Senate.
Clause 8. The Vice President shall oversee the Faculty Senate's role in putting on the annual end-of-year (retirement) celebration.
Clause 9. The Vice President shall aid in drafting position papers, resolutions, and letters.Section 3: Duties of Faculty Senate Secretary
Clause 1. The Secretary of the Senate shall be responsible for insuring that the minutes of all faculty and Faculty Senate meetings are recorded, published and distributed.
Clause 2. The Secretary shall be responsible for Faculty Senate correspondence, and also for insuring that all amendments to the Constitution and Bylaws are promptly and properly recorded and that an up-to-date copy of the Constitution and Bylaws is available to the Senate.
Clause 3. The Secretary will be responsible for maintaining the mailroom Faculty Senate Bulletin Board and the Senate Web Page.Section 4: Duties of Faculty Senate Treasurer
Clause 1. The Treasurer shall be responsible for the collection of Faculty Senate dues and the disbursements of Faculty Senate monies.
Clause 2. The Treasurer will periodically review expenditures of the Senate and provide the Faculty Senate with regular written reports on the on the state of the Treasury.
Clause 3. The Treasurer will balance the budget of the Senate and bank account(s).
Clause 4. The Treasurer will maintain all post financial reports and information.
ARTICLE III: MEMBERSHIP
Section 1: Membership is as described in the Faculty Senate Constitution.
ARTICLE IV: ELECTION PROCEDURES
Section 1: At-large vacancies: If the resignation of an at-large Senator is accepted by the Senate within 105 Teaching days of the expiration date of that Senator's term of office, the President of the Senate, with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint a faculty member to serve as at-large Senator for the balance of the term. Otherwise, when an at-large seat is to be filled, the President of the Senate shall designate a Senator to serve as election official and a second Senator to serve as an assistant election official to validate the election procedures and tallies. The election official shall conduct the election according to the following clauses:
Clause 1. The Senator designated as election official will distribute a note of an at-large Senate election to all faculty members stating (a) nominations are open, and (b) the number of seats to be filled. It will have a space where the Faculty members may nominate themselves. Faculty members may nominate one person for each seat up for election. The following statement will be on the nomination form: "I have contacted the person or persons nominated above and have ascertained that the nominee(s) has consented to be nominated, are willing to serve if elected, and are not planning to be on leave during the term of office." This form must be signed by the nominator.
Clause 2. The election official will set a limit of one week, giving a date and the time 4:00 p.m. At the end of this period an alphabetical list of the nominees will be posted in the Faculty mail room and distributed to the faculty. Attached to this list will be another nomination form which will indicate that the nominations will be open for one more week, again designating the date and the time of 4:00 p.m. at the end of which nominations will be closed. The election official will then prepare a ballot containing all the nominees listed alphabetically.
Clause 3. He/she shall place on the ballot instructions for voters to vote for not more than the number of seats to be filled.
Clause 4. Before 9 a.m. on the day voting is to begin, he/she shall distribute a ballot via email to each faculty member.
Clause 5. At the exact time of the closing of the polls, which shall be no sooner than 4:00 p.m. of the second teaching day following the day voting begins and no more than 4:00 p.m. one week after the day voting begins, he/she shall print the ballots cast. He/she shall then verify the returns, consulting with the assistant election official to validate the vote count, and announce the results via email.
Clause 6. He/she shall declare as void ballots on which the number of names voted for is more than the number allowed.
Clause 7. Candidate(s) are elected by plurality. The election official shall notify the winning candidate(s) in writing of their election, and he/she shall report the election results to the Senate.
Clause 8. He/she shall preserve all ballots for at least one year after the election.Section 2: The same nominating and balloting procedures described in Article IV, Section I of these Bylaws used for the election of at-large Senators will be used for the election of the President. The process will take place during spring semester, and the President will take office on January 2 of the subsequent year.
Clause 1. Section 1, Clauses 7 and 8 of this Article will apply to the election of the Senate President.
ARTICLE V: OFFICER APPOINTMENTS, TERMS OF OFFICE, AND COMPENSATION
Section 1: No senator may serve more than two consecutive two-year terms. He/she may again become eligible for election after an interval of one year or if the senator changes office. A change in office would be a change between division and at-large representative or assuming or exiting the position of a Senate officer.
Section 2: Vacancies in an unexpired term or terms shall be announced by the Senate and provisions to fill said vacancy will be those specified in Article IV of these Bylaws. The Senate vacancy must be filled within 20 teaching days following the announcement of vacancy.
Section 3: Senate resignations must be submitted in writing and become final only when accepted by a majority vote of the Senate.
Section 4: If the Senate Presidency is vacated in mid-term, the Vice President of the Senate shall immediately take the post of President and serve out the remainder of the vacated term. A president cannot serve in more than five (5) consecutive years. There is no life-long limit, just consecutive terms of office.
Section 5: Notwithstanding the provisions of Article V, Section 4 above, the Senate President may declare to the Senate his/her intention to only serve one year of his/her second two-year term of office. If such a declaration is made to the Senate between Jan. 2 and April 15 of the first year of this second term, then a college-wide election of the next President shall take place during that spring semester, according to the provisions outlined in Article IV of these by-laws. The newly elected President shall serve as Vice President for the fall semester and take over the duties of the President on Jan. 2.
Section 6: On the written petition of ten or more faculty members, an at-large Senator may be removed from office by a two-thirds vote of the electorate in a special recall election.
Section 7: A division Senator may be removed from office on the signed petition of two-thirds of the members of his division. The petition must be filed with the President of the Senate in order to effect removal.
Section 8: When a new division is formed, the Faculty Senate shall determine the length of the first term of office for that division's senator. This term shall be for no less than one and one half years and no more than two and one half years. The second term and all terms thereafter shall be for two years.
Section 9: The Faculty Senate President shall be compensated by one-half reassigned time (7.5 units) during fall and spring semester. In addition, the Faculty Senate President shall be compensated for Senate responsibilities during the summer by a three unit special contract stipend.
Section 10: The Vice President of the Senate is appointed by the president and confirmed by a simple majority of the Senate. Except in emergencies, the President of the Senate shall solicit nominations from the Faculty Senate for an impending appointment of the Vice President at least one month before such an appointment is considered by the Faculty Senate. The Vice President must be a Cabrillo College faculty member but not necessarily a current Senator. The Vice President's appointment is not to exceed one year. Also, an appointment shall end at the conclusion of any semester in which a presidential election takes place (note: election, not the beginning of the president's term - this allows a president-elect to be appointed VP prior to taking office if the Senate chooses to do so). The Vice President is a member of the Senate and receives three (3) units of reassign time for each of the fall and spring semesters. A new appointment will be made as soon as possible upon vacancy of the office.
Section 11: The Secretary and Treasurer of the Senate are appointed by the president and confirmed by a simple majority of the Senate. Except in emergencies, the President of the Senate shall solicit nominations from the Faculty Senate for an impending appointment of the Secretary and Treasurer at least one month before such an appointment is considered by the Faculty Senate. They must be Senators, and they maintain office of Senator while serving as a Senate officer. Appointments are not to exceed one year, and the appointment shall end at the end of the calendar year (end of fall semester). The Secretary and the Treasurer of the Senate will each receive one (1) unit of reassign time for each of the fall and spring semesters. A new appointment will be made as soon as possible upon vacancy of either office.
ARTICLE VI: MEETINGS
Section 1: At the start of each semester, the President of the Senate shall schedule as many regular meetings of the Senate as necessary to conduct the business of the Senate.
Section 2: The President of the Senate may call special meetings of the Senate. He/she shall call a special meeting of the Senate if asked to do so by four or more Senators.
Section 3: The President of the Senate shall call a special meeting of the faculty on petition of 10 percent or more of the electorate (Article VI, Section 3, Faculty Senate Constitution).
ARTICLE VII: STANDING COMMITTEES
Section 1: General Provisions for Standing Committees
Clause 1. Any member of the Faculty of Cabrillo College shall be eligible for appointment to membership on the standing committees of the Faculty Senate.
Clause 2. All standing committee chairpersons are appointed by the Faculty Senate President with the approval of the majority of the Senate present and voting to serve for a term of one (1) year or to finish out an unexpired term. The Faculty Senator appointed to chair a standing committee shall
serve as liaison between his/her committee and the Faculty Senate and shall make committee reports to the Senate as directed by the President.
Clause 3. Standing committees may appoint sub-committees to study particular areas of policy formulation and to collect data. The chairperson of each subcommittee must be a regularly appointed member of the standing committee.
Clause 4. Subcommittees may include resource persons from outside the certificated staff.
Clause 5. The inclusion of regularly enrolled students on standing committees and subcommittees shall be at the discretion of the Faculty Senate with the advice of the chairs of the committees involved. The rights and responsibilities of students appointed to Senate committees shall be at the discretion of the committee chairperson subject to review by the Senate.
Clause 6. All committee reports shall be submitted to the Senate for ratification, amendment or rejection, followed by appropriate action.
Clause 7. Committee chairpersons shall annually appoint the members of their respective committees, unless memberships are specifically provided by these Bylaws.
Clause 8. The President of the Faculty Senate shall be an ex-officio member of all Senate Committees.
Clause 9. The Chairperson of a Senate Committee shall have the right to vote upon motions brought before his/her committee when his/her vote would change the result. Thus, he/she may vote either to make or break a tie vote or to make or prevent a two-thirds vote on questions requiring a two-thirds vote for passage.Section 2: Academic Council. The chairperson of the Academic Council and committee members shall act on matters which affect academic standards, grading practices, probation, readmission and other special considerations dealing with academic problems. The committee shall include the Administrative Dean of Student Services, two counselors or advisors, one member from each division, three regularly enrolled students, and such other members as the chairperson feels necessary to conduct committee business.
Section 3: Curriculum Committee.
Procedures of Operation1. All procedures of the Curriculum Committee shall be in accordance with Robert's Rules of Order.
2. All course descriptions, deletions, inactivations, curriculum catalog changes, and renumbering will be presented to the Curriculum Committee for approval. Courses brought out of the inactive file and replaced on active status require only that the division notify the Curriculum committee and the Vice-President-Instruction.
3. All new courses, curriculum, and unit changes will be initiated on a provisional status by the divisions and submitted to the Vice-President-Instruction for verification of the subject matter and presentation to the Board of Trustees for approval. At the end of one year, all changes will be presented to the Curriculum Committee for approval at which time the Committee may approve or deny the changes or extend provisional status for one year. At the end of this one year extension of provisional status, the course must either be approved or disapproved by the Curriculum Committee unless extenuating circumstances justify further extension of the provisional status by the Curriculum Committee.
4. All courses presented to the Curriculum Committee will be accompanied by an outline, time allocation, bibliography, and an evaluation of the course by division.
5. All new programs must initially be approved by the Curriculum Committee.
6. All proposed courses initially approved by the divisions shall be submitted by the Vice-President-Instruction to the President of the College for presentation to the Board of Trustees, and the Board of Governors of the Community Colleges.
Standards of Evaluation
The following standards will serve as guidelines for evaluating courses presented to the Curriculum Committee:1. Occupational needs within the community.
2. Capital and instruction costs.
3. Availability of faculty.
4. Courses within the catalog that are supportive or duplicative of the courses presented.
5. Student interest.
6. Relationship to curricular patterns.
7. Functional needs of the course.
Methods of Implementation: The Vice-President-Instruction will meet or confer with divisions regarding the details of including the proposed courses in the catalog. A summary of all proposals will be prepared for Board Action and distributed to members of the Curriculum Committee and the Faculty Senate and included in the catalog. All items will be returned to the Curriculum Committee for final approval at the end of the provisionary period. The chairperson of the Curriculum Committee will be appointed by the President of the Faculty Senate but need not be a senator. The committee shall include as members, the Division Chairpersons, the Two (2) Instructional Deans, the Vice-President-Instruction, the College Librarian, one representative from each of the college divisions, and two regularly enrolled students.Section 4: Executive Committee.
Composition1. The Executive Committee shall consist of the President, Vice-President and three (3) Senators selected by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate.
Qualifications1. Members of the Executive Committee shall be members of the Senate.
Terms of Office1. The Senate members of the committee shall serve for a term of one year and may be reappointed for one consecutive year. The term of office shall begin on August 20 and end on May 25. If a Senator resigns from the committee before May 25, the President shall appoint, with the advice and consent of the Senate, a Senator to serve on the committee for the balance of the term.
Powers and Duties of the Faculty Senate Executive Committee1. Clause 1. The Executive Committee shall have general supervision of the affairs of the Senate between its business meetings, make recommendations to the Senate, and shall perform other duties as specified in these Bylaws.
2. Clause 2. The Executive Committee shall be subject to the orders of the Senate, and none of its acts shall conflict with the actions taken by the Senate.
3. Clause 3. The Executive Committee shall set the Agenda for Senate meetings
4. Clause 4. The Executive Committee shall recommend to the Senate President appointments for Governance and other committees.
5. Clause 5. The Executive Committee shall define the main objectives of the Senate each year and propose recommendations to the Senate.
6. Clause 6.The Executive Committee shall form ad hoc committees with the approval of the Senate.
7. Clause 7. The Executive Committee shall monitor Senate appointed faculty serving on committees.
8. Clause 8. The Executive Committee shall schedule and attend meetings with college administrators as required.
9. Clause 9. The Executive Committee shall act as advisor to the Senate President.Section 5: Outcomes Assessment Review Committee
The chairperson of the Outcomes Assessment Review Committee (the college's SLO coordinator) and committee members shall oversee campus teaching and learning assessment activities and discuss their results. The OARC has three main tasks: 1) to facilitate and archive assessment results; 2) to review reports; and 3) to facilitate a campus dialogue process, if needed.
The OARC will make an annual report to the Faculty Senate.
ARTICLE VIII: AD HOC COMMITTEES
Section 1: General Provisions for Ad Hoc Committees. The committees described in this article (VIII) may be formed when the President of the Faculty Senate or the Senate deem it appropriate. The general provisions for standing committees described in Article VII, Section 1, shall also apply to ad hoc committees.
Section 2: Finance Committee The chairperson of the Finance Committee shall be appointed by the President of the Faculty Senate, but need not be a senator. The committee shall be composed of one (1) representative from each division, plus one (1) representative each from the Counseling and Library staffs. The Vice-President-Business will be a non-voting member of the committee. The main responsibility of the committee is to prepare for the Faculty Senate each spring a salary and benefits proposal for the next fiscal year. Specific procedures for this task are found in the Procedures Manual of the Finance Committee Chairperson. In addition, the Finance Committee shall recommend to the Senate on any other matters affecting the faculty in salary and benefits. Once a year, the chairperson shall report to the Faculty Senate Cabrillo's status with respect to the Fifty Percent (50%) Law.
Section 3: Community Education. The Chairperson and members of this committee shall study and act on matters concerned with faculty-student-community relations in general, art exhibits, lectures, speakers, and the recreational program. Membership of this committee shall include the Director of Community Education and such other members as the chairperson feels necessary to conduct business.
Section 4: Professional Rights and Responsibilities. The Chairperson and members of this committee shall study and act on faculty concerns or grievances related to academic freedom, ethical standards, formulation of district policies and procedures that affect faculty welfare, professional growth, sabbatical leaves, teaching lads, teacher recruitment, and teacher evaluation. The size of this committee is at the discretion of the chairperson but must include at least one representative from each division.
Section 5: Instruction Committee. This committee shall study and recommend action to the Faculty Senate on such instructional matters as the college calendar (including Intercession and Summer Session arrangements), and part-time instruction; and shall participate in coordination of curriculum with local school districts. The Chairperson shall act as the President's representative at regularly scheduled meetings of the division chairpersons with the Vice-President-Instruction and at meetings of the Instruction Council. The Committee shall include one member from each division and such other members as the chairperson deems necessary to conduct committee business.
Section 6: Committee on External Relations. This committee shall study and make recommendations relative to the effects of existing and proposed legislation. It shall devise methods to foster interrelations with statewide and regional organizations and other community colleges and to coordinate legislative advocacy before the legislature and administrative agencies. The committee shall develop measures to improve community relations in the use of radio, TV and the press. The committee shall assist and coordinate specific legislative interests of Divisions and the general interests of the College. The committee shall comprise a Chair and one member from each Division and Faculty unit comprising the Senate membership.
ARTICLE IX: ADOPTION AND AMENDMENT
Section 1: These Bylaws shall be adopted when approved by a majority of the votes cast by the electorate.
Section 2: These Bylaws may be amended by a two-thirds vote of the Faculty Senate. Proposed amendments shall be distributed to the faculty for informational purposes at least seven days prior to Senate action.
Section 3: Division Senators shall periodically review the Bylaws with members of their divisions and bring to the Senate suggestions for change.
This page was last revised 05/1/13.