Academic Senate

Bylaws are listed below.

THE CONSTITUTION OF THE ACADEMIC SENATE of
CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, CHICO
May 2005

Article I Name

The name of this organization shall be the Academic Senate of California State University, Chico.

Article II Duties and Responsibilities

Section l. The Academic Senate shall have the duties and responsibilities delegated to it by the Faculty pursuant to Article IX of the Constitution of the Faculty of California State University, Chico.

Section 2. The duties of the Academic Senate as delegated to it by the Faculty shall be

A. To formulate, recommend, review, and revise all academic, personnel, and professional policies, including fiscal policies related thereto, broadly and liberally defined.

B. To assure through well-established and well-defined channels of communication the maximum cooperation among all members of the university, in order that policy and administrative implementation shall be consonant.

C. To present through proper channels to the Trustees of The California State University and/or the Statewide Academic Senate of The California State University any appropriate recommendations relating to, but not limited to, those policy matters enumerated in Article II, Section I, of the Constitution of the Faculty of California State University, Chico. Such recommendations may ask for amendment to or the elimination of any law, code section, regulation, or policy when the Faculty deems it to be in the general welfare of this, of any, or of all the campuses of the California State University.

Article III Membership

Section l. Ex Officio Members

A. The President of the University, or his/her representative, nonvoting;
B. The Vice Presidents of the University, or their representatives, nonvoting.
C. A student selected by procedures determined by the Board of Directors of the Associated Students of California State University, Chico, voting.
D. The immediate past chair of the Academic Senate, if he/she is not otherwise a member, shall be an ex officio member for one year, voting.
E. Staff Council Chair, or his/her representative, voting.
F. President of the Associated Students, or his/her representative, voting.
G. A member selected from and by the Student Services Professional personnel for a three-year term by procedures determined by the Student Services Professional personnel of the Student Affairs and Academic Affairs Division of the University, voting.

Section 2. At-large Members
Eight members shall be elected at large, from and by the faculty. Each of CSU, Chico's representatives to the Statewide Academic Senate will occupy one of these at-large positions; the remaining at-large positions will be elected to three-year staggered terms. For these purposes, lecturers are Auxiliary Voting Members. Section

Section 3. College Members
A. Twenty-three full time faculty members shall be distributed among the Colleges (including the Library and the Instructional Media Center for this purpose) in the following manner: Divide 23 by the total number of the faculty electorate. For each College multiply this result by the full-time equivalent faculty positions. Each College shall be entitled to the number of members equal to the whole number part of this product. One additional member is allocated to the College(s) with the largest fractional part of this same product up to a total of 23 members with the exception that all College(s) shall have at least one elected member. In the event of a tie for the last membership(s), the member(s) shall be elected jointly by the College(s) involved in the tie.

B. Regular elections of members shall be held at such time during the months of February or March, as the Executive Committee shall set.

Section 4. Emeritus Members
One emeritus faculty member appointed by the Academic Senate Executive Committee upon nomination by the Faculty Emeritus Group.

Article IV Officers of the Academic Senate

Section l. The officers of the Academic Senate shall be a Chair, a Vice Chair, and a Secretary, each of whom shall be elected by and from the Senate for a term of one year. Only elected members of the Academic Senate may serve as officers. Such elections shall be conducted at the last regular meeting of the Academic Senate in the spring semester of any given academic year. During the election newly elected Senators will take the place of Senators leaving the Senate to vote for the next academic year's officers. New Senators will assume the responsibilities of office beginning the day following the last official graduation date at the end of the academic year. The newly elected Officers of the Academic Senate will take office the day following the last official graduation date at the end of the academic year.

Article V Executive Committee of the Academic Senate

Section l. Membership of the Executive Committee - The Executive Committee shall consist of the following members: The President of the University; the Vice Presidents of the University; the three officers of the Academic Senate; the Standing Committee Chairs; the Statewide Academic Senators; and the Immediate Past Chair of the Academic Senate. The Immediate Past Chair shall serve on the Executive Committee for no more than one year subsequent to being Chair of the Academic Senate, and if a vacancy in this position occurs, no replacement shall be made.

Section 2. The Chair of the Executive Committee The Chair of the Academic Senate shall be Chair of the Executive Committee.

Section 3. Powers and Duties of the Executive Committee The Executive Committee shall have such powers and duties as may be delegated to it by the Academic Senate.

Section 4. Meetings of the Executive Committee The Chair of the Academic Senate or the President of the University may call meetings of the Executive Committee of the Academic Senate.

Section 5. Quorum of the Executive Committee A quorum of the Executive Committee shall be a majority of its membership.

Article VI Committees of the Academic Senate

Section 1. Standing Committees

A. Definition There are two Standing Committees of the Senate: Educational Policies and Programs Committee and Faculty and Student Policies Committee. Standing Committees are defined as the principal sub-groups of the Senate to which shared governance is delegated.
B. Recommendations Recommendations by the Standing Committees shall be submitted to the Academic Senate and then (upon approval and/or amendment) to the President of the University.
C. Hierarchy Each Standing Committee shall be responsible for the conduct of Permanent Committees and Ad Hoc Committees assigned to it or established by it, as articulated in subsequent sections of this constitution.
D. Membership

l. The Chair of each Standing Committee shall be elected by and from the Academic Senate.

2. The Chair of each Standing Committee, in consultation with the Executive Committee of the Senate, shall appoint members to the Standing Committee. Each voting member of the Senate who is not a student will be appointed to one of the Standing Committees. Each committee may additionally include three faculty non-senators. Each committee shall also include the following ex officio committee members: - the Provost or his/her representative - the Vice President for Student Affairs or his/her representative - up to three students appointed by the Associated Students Board of Directors - one member from the Deans' Council appointed by the Provost - one staff member from a department, school, or college office selected by the Chair of the Staff Council

3. Additional Membership
a. The Chair of the Educational Policies and Programs Committee in consultation with the Executive Committee may also appoint to the Committee a representative from the Office of Advising.
b. The Faculty and Student Policies Committee shall also include the head of Student Judicial Affairs (or designee).

4. All members of standing committees shall have voting privileges. In cases where faculty personnel, policies, and procedures are considered, only faculty members of the committee can vote.

5. A quorum for a Standing Committee shall be a majority of the elected Academic Senators who are members of the committee.

Section 2. Permanent Committees

A. Definition Permanent Committees are committees, boards, councils, etc. that carry out a broad range of responsibilities. These responsibilities are based on recurring issues and actions which are regular aspects of the official life of the university.
B. Authorization Rationale, charge, membership, terms of office, manner by which the committee's chair is elected/selected, etc., shall be specified and approved by the Academic Senate. Formal authorization for permanent committees shall be by subsequent Executive Memorandum.
C. Hierarchy All permanent committees, upon their creation/authorization, shall be assigned (for oversight purposes) to either the Executive Committee or one of the Standing Committees (hereafter called supervisory groups). Each supervisory group shall be responsible for articulating the policies within which the permanent committee operates and is directly responsible for the conduct of the committee and its chair. All members of a permanent committee serve at the pleasure of its electing or appointing body.
D. Recognition The Senate office will keep a record of the permanent committees, their supervisory group, operating rules, enabling documents, and membership.

Section 3. Ad Hoc Committees
A. Definition Ad Hoc Committees (or task forces) are groups defined as being responsible for single issues or single tasks. Typically, such committees are created/authorized in spontaneous response to particular circumstances or problems, where action by other pre-existing committees seems irrelevant, inappropriate, or inefficient. An Ad Hoc Committee shall be temporary and will immediately disband upon satisfactory execution of its charge; the ordinary life term of an Ad Hoc Committee shall not exceed 12 months.
B. Authorization Ad Hoc Committees of the Senate may be created only by the Executive Committee of the Senate. This supervisory group shall be responsible for articulating the Ad Hoc Committee's rationale, charge, membership, election/selection of chair, and supervising the committee's conduct.

Article VII Initiation, Consultation and Advisement

The Academic Senate and the President of the University may each, at their discretion, seek advice and consultation or initiate proposals for the consideration of the other.

Article VIII Eligibility, Terms of Office, Elections, Recall, and Replacement

Section l. Eligibility Any full-time member of the Faculty is eligible for election to the Academic Senate Part-time faculty are eligible for the at-large positions exclusive of the Statewide Academic Senate positions.

Section 2. Terms of Office
A. A term of office shall be for three years with the term starting the day after the last commencement in the spring, with the exception of elections for the following year's officers, as specified in Article IV, Section 1, above.
B. In the case of constituencies with more than one representative, terms shall be staggered so as to distribute elections as evenly as possible within three-year periods.

Section 3. Elections
A. All elections to the Academic Senate of members-at-large shall be conducted by the Academic Senate.
B. Colleges shall conduct their own elections.
C. In the elections of members of the Academic Senate in Colleges, faculty members who are identified with more than one voting unit shall vote in only one unit. The Bylaws shall contain further stipulations concerning identification of voting members with units represented in the Academic Senate. (see Bylaws Article VII, Sections 7 and 11.)
D. The twenty-three additional members shall be distributed among the Colleges (including the Library for this purpose) in a manner to be described in Article III.3.A.

Section 4. Recall
Any elected member of the Academic Senate may be recalled by a two-thirds vote of his/her electorate. Procedure on recall shall be specified in the Bylaws.

Section 5. Replacement
A. Any elected member of the Academic Senate who is recalled or who resigns shall be replaced by his/her electorate; his/her replacement shall serve the remainder of the unexpired term.
B. If a member of the Academic Senate shall be absent for more than one semester, he/she shall be replaced by his/her electorate for the duration of his/her term.

Article IX Meetings of the Academic Senate

Section l. Meetings of the Academic Senate

A. The Chair of the Academic Senate shall call meetings of the Senate at least four times each semester.

B. Regular meetings of the Academic Senate will be specified in the Bylaws.

C. Meetings of the Academic Senate may be requested by a petition of not less than fifteen percent of it membership. Upon receipt of such a request, the Chair shall call a meeting of the Senate to take place within five instructional days.

D. Meetings of the Academic Senate may be requested by any two members of the Executive Committee; upon receipt of such a request, the Chair shall call a meeting of the Senate to take place within five instructional days.

E. All meetings called by any of the mechanisms in this Section are defined as "regular meetings."

Section 2. Summer Academic Senate

A. Delegation of Duties: The Academic Senate delegates its duties and responsibilities during the summer interim, extending from the close of one academic year to the beginning of the next academic year, to a Summer Academic Senate.

B. Membership: Academic Senate shall be composed of the following: Members of the Executive Committee, or their proxies as constituted in the Constitution of the Academic Senate Article V, Section 1.

C. Normally, the Summer Academic Senate will act only on time urgent issues. At its discretion, the Executive Committee may call a meeting of all members of the Academic Senate during the summer. A quorum of the full Senate will then define the Summer Academic Senate. If a quorum is not obtained, the Summer Academic Senate will revert to the Executive Committee.

D. Actions of the Summer Academic Senate will be brought to the full Academic Senate for ratification at the first regular meeting of the fall semester.

Article X Amendments

Section l. Proposals of Amendments Amendments to this constitution may be initiated by

A. A two-thirds vote of the Academic Senate or
B. A petition signed by at least twenty percent of the Faculty.

Section 2. Approval of Amendments

A. Amendments proposed pursuant to Article X, Section l, shall require approval by two-thirds of the members of the Regular Voting Members, as defined by the Constitution of the Faculty, voting, and by the President of the University.
B. Proposals for amendments must be available to the electorate at least ten instructional days before they are voted upon.

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BYLAWS OF THE ACADEMIC SENATE of
CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, CHICO
April 2004

Article 1
Quorum and Proxies

Section l. Quorum:

A quorum shall consist of two-thirds of the voting members of the Academic Senate present in person or by proxy.

Section 2. Proxies:

A. A member of the Senate may appoint any member of his/her constituency as his/her proxy.

B. A written proxy shall be delivered to the Secretary for the Academic Senate via e-mail or in writing at least 24 hours before the Senate meeting, if possible.

C. A proxy may be granted for a period not exceeding one academic semester.

D. The relevant electorate may formulate rules regarding the selection of the proxy.

E. No individual may carry more than one proxy.

Section 3. Voting: Any matter before the Senate may be enacted by a simple majority vote of those present and voting, provided the matter under consideration was introduced at any preceding meeting during the current academic year. Exceptions may be made as provided for by the Parliamentary Authority specified in Article III, Section 1.

Article II Impeachment and Recall

Section l. Impeachment of Officers:

An officer of the Academic Senate may be impeached by a unanimous vote of the other members of the Executive Committee or by a petition signed by one-third of the members of the Senate. Removal shall follow upon two-thirds vote of the members of the Senate present and voting, after he/she has been accorded a hearing before the Senate.

Section 2. Recall of Members:

A. Recall of a member of the Senate may be initiated by a petition signed by one-third of the members of his/her electorate. Recall shall follow upon a two-thirds vote of such electorate.

B. Recall may also be initiated when an Academic Senator does not attend in person more than fifty percent of the scheduled meetings of the Senate for an entire academic year (whether excused or not) or for two unexcused absences in any academic year.

C. Recall may also be initiated when an Academic Senator does not attend in person more than fifty percent of the scheduled meetings of their assigned standing committee of the Academic Senate for an entire academic year (whether excused or not) or for two unexcused absences in any academic year.

D. In B and C above the appropriate Chair will determine excused absences. Designed proxies during an academic leave will be recorded as "attended."

E. Recall also may be initiated by the Chair of the Academic Senate at the recommendation of the Senate Executive Committee. In such case, the Senate Chair shall request that the College Dean hold a college faculty meeting to initiate the recall. In the case of a Senator-at-Large or a Statewide Senator, recall will be initiated directly to the faculty at large.

Article III
Parliamentary Authority

Section l. Parliamentary Authority: The parliamentary authority shall be Robert's Rules of Order, Revised on all questions not covered by the Constitution and Bylaws.

Section 2. Sessions: Session is defined to include all meetings during an academic year and the preceding summer. This definition shall apply to the Academic Senate, Standing Committees, and Ad Hoc Committees with respect to prohibiting the reintroduction of measures during a session, unless the measure has been substantively revised.

Article IV
Order of Business, Agenda, and Notice of Meeting

Section l. Order of Business:

A. Establishment of the fact of a quorum by the Secretary.

B. Correction and approval of the Minutes, such minutes having been distributed to members of the Faculty within five academic days of the meeting being reported, or a summary of Senate action having been distributed to members of the Faculty within five academic days of the meeting being reported.

C. Approval or modification of the Agenda.

D. Announcements and Communications.

E. Reports
l. Standing Committee Reports
2. Ad Hoc Committee Reports
3. Special Reports

F. Old Business.

G. New Business.

H. Adjournment.

Section 2. Agenda:

A. It shall be the duty of the Executive Committee to prepare an agenda for all meetings.

B. Such agenda shall be in the hands of Senate members at least two full instructional days prior to a regularly called meeting.

C. The agenda for a given meeting may be modified by a majority vote of members of the Senate present and voting.

Section 3. Notice of Meeting:

A. The Secretary of the Senate shall notify all Senators of a meeting at least five instructional days prior to the meeting.

B. The requirements in Article IV, Section 3A, may be waived for individual meetings upon approval of two-thirds of the Executive Committee, present and voting.

Article V Elections

Section l. Authority: All campuswide elections under the auspices of the Academic Senate shall be conducted by the Executive Committee of the Academic Senate.

Section 2. Eligibility: The Senate Office shall maintain a list of eligible voters, pursuant to Article III, Sections l and 2 of the Constitution of the Faculty of California State University, Chico, and with the preparation of the ballot and voting register. Ballots shall be retained by the Senate Office for a period thirty days after the first Senate meeting subsequent to the election. Any election may be challenged and a recount demanded within such thirty-day period on petition of five percent of the eligible voters. Such recount shall be conducted by the Executive Committee of the Academic Senate. If a member of the Executive Committee is a candidate for office involved in the recount that member will not take part in the counting. Otherwise, all decisions of the Executive Committee shall be final. Should the election go unchallenged, the Secretary shall destroy the ballots and file a certification sheet together with a sample ballot in the office of the Academic Senate.

Section 3. Majority: All campuswide elections conducted under the jurisdiction of the Academic Senate shall be determined on the basis of a simple majority of the votes cast. If an insufficient number of nominees receive a majority of the votes cast, a run-off election will be held, limited to those nominees receiving the greater number of votes, equal to two times the number of positions remaining. The run-off election will be decided by a majority of the votes cast.

Section 4. Notification: The Senate Office shall notify each eligible voter in writing at least six instructional days prior to an election, stating the issue involved and/or the candidates to be voted upon. The Senate Office shall take such additional steps as it deems necessary to encourage maximum participation of the electorate in all elections.

Section 5. Polling: Polling shall be conducted in a manner approved by the Academic Senate. The length of time for Universitywide elections shall be five instructional days.

Section 6. Notification: The Senate Office shall notify each College on March l of each year as to the number of Senators each shall be entitled to elect as calculated in Article III, Section 3, of the Constitution of the Academic Senate of California State University, Chico. Such elections shall be conducted during the month of March or such dates as the Senate Office shall set.

Section 7. Realignments: Any Senator, who through administrative realignment is no longer affiliated with the area they are to represent, will be allowed to serve in the Senate until the end of the academic year in which the realignment takes place.

Section 8. At-Large Members: Refer to Article III, Section 2 of the Constitution of the Academic Senate of California State University, Chico.

Section 9. Nomination of At-Large Members: At-large members are to be nominated by a petition signed by twenty eligible voters.

Section 10. Absentee Ballots: The Secretary of the Academic Senate shall make available absentee ballots eight instructional days prior to an election. Eligible voters who intend to be absent from the campus during an election may vote by absentee ballot in the offices of the Academic Senate or request such ballot be forwarded to them. Such ballots must be received in the Academic Senate Office prior to the close of the polls. The secretary may delegate this duty. Eligible voters permanently located off campus shall be mailed ballots in sufficient time for their return prior to the close of the polls.

Section 11. Multiple Assignments: Faculty members identified with two or more units shall be designated as members of the unit in which they have their majority Faculty teaching assignment. Should the assignment be equally distributed, they may elect the unit. Such election may not be changed unless their duties are reassigned.

Section 12. Marking and Casting Ballots: As used in the Constitution and Bylaws, the terms vote, voting, and votes cast as used in any specific issue shall include only those who mark their ballot on that issue or, in voice or hand vote, who do not abstain. The term casting ballots as used in any specific issue shall include those who submit ballots for counting, whether or not they mark their ballots on that issue, or, in voice or hand vote, who take any position including abstention.

Section 13. Officer Nominations: The nominations for the positions of Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary of the Senate, and Chairs of Standing Committees shall be closed two weeks prior to the last Academic Senate meeting of the spring semester. For irregularly scheduled elections (e.g., to replace an officer who resigns during the year) the nomination period will close one week before the date of the election.

Section 14. Uncontested Elections: When all positions on a ballot are uncontested, the Secretary of the Senate may cast a unanimous ballot and no election need be held.

Section 15. Eligibility Questions: Voter eligibility questions, not addressed in these Bylaws, shall be resolved by a majority vote of the Academic Senate.

Article VI Powers of the Executive Committee The Executive Committee shall have only those powers delegated to it by the Constitution of the Senate, the Bylaws, or those specifically delegated to it from time to time by the Senate.

Article VII Replacement of Members of the Executive Committee

Section l. Long-Term Vacancies: When a vacancy develops in the Executive Committee with one semester or more of the term of office remaining, the Chair of the Senate shall make an interim appointment to fill the vacancy. The Senate shall then elect a replacement for the vacancy within 25 instructional days of the vacancy by the regular election process. The newly elected officer will take office immediately.

Section 2. Short-Term Vacancies: If a vacancy occurs in the Executive Committee with less than a semester of the term of office remaining, the Chair of the Senate shall make an interim appointment for the remainder of the unexpired term.

Article VIII Amendments

These Bylaws may be amended by a two-thirds vote of the members present and voting at a regular meeting. Proposed Bylaw changes must be introduced in a prior Senate meeting; nothing herein shall be construed to permit a suspension of the rules when amending the Bylaws.