Academic Senate
Our Office

Kendall Hall, Room 101
530-898-6201
academicsenate@csuchico.edu

Mailing Address
Academic Senate
400 W. First St.
Chico, CA 95929-0020

Executive Memoranda

Academic Senate Bylaws

  • 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:
      1. A member of the Senate may appoint any member of his/her constituency as his/her proxy.
      2. 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.
      3. A proxy may be granted for a period not exceeding one academic semester.
      4. The relevant electorate may formulate rules regarding the selection of the proxy.
      5. 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. In cases where Faculty Personnel Policies and Procedures (FPPP) Documents are considered, only faculty representatives of the Academic Senate can vote. 
  • 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:
      1. 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.
      2. 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.
      3. 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.
      4. In B and C above the appropriate Chair will determine excused absences. Designated proxies during an academic leave will be recorded as "attended."
      5. 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:
      1. Establishment of the fact of a quorum by the Secretary.
      2. 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.
      3. Approval or modification of the Agenda.
      4. Announcements and Communications.
      5. Reports
      6. Standing Committee Reports
      7. Ad Hoc Committee Reports
      8. Special Reports
      9. Old Business
      10. New Business
      11. Adjournment
    • Section 2.
      Agenda:
      1. It shall be the duty of the Executive Committee to prepare an agenda for all meetings.
      2. Such agenda shall be in the hands of Senate members at least two full instructional days prior to a regularly called meeting.
      3. 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:
      1. The Secretary of the Senate shall notify all Senators of a meeting at least five instructional days prior to the meeting.
      2. 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:
      Shall include all faculty as defined by the CBA.
    • Section 3.
      Majority:
      All campuswide elections conducted under the jurisdiction of the Academic Senate shall be determined on the basis of a majority relative to the number of ballots cast.  If an insufficient number of nominees receive a majority, 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 ballots cast.
    • Section 4.
      Voter Notification:
      The Senate Office shall notify each eligible voter at least six instructional days prior to the conclusion of the election, stating the issue involved and/or the candidates to be voted on.  Voting shall encompass five full instructional days. The Senate Office shall take such additional steps as it deems necessary to encourage maximum participation of the electorate in all elections. For contested elections, nominations and personal statements shall be made available electronically.
    • Section 5.
      Polling:
      Polling shall be conducted in a manner approved by the Academic Senate. The length of time for University-wide elections shall be five instructional days. The voting records should be retained for 30 days.
    • Section 6.
      College Notification:
      The Senate Office shall notify each College prior to March 1st 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 using the same process as for candidates for senate officer positions.
    • Section 10.
      Absentee Ballots:
      Electronic or proxy voting will serve in place of absentee ballots.
    • 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 and Elections:
      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. For contested elections, nominations and personal statements shall be made available electronically or read aloud prior to the election.
    • Section 14.
      Uncontested Elections:
      When positions on a ballot are uncontested, the Secretary of the Senate may cast a unanimous ballot and no election need be held.
    • Section 15.
      Challenging Elections:
      Any election may be challenged and a review demanded within such thirty-day period on petition of five percent of the eligible voters.  A review of the electronic ballot report 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 review, that member will not take part in the process.  Otherwise, all decisions of the Executive Committee shall be final. 
  • 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.

Academic Senate Approved - May 10, 2018