Bylaws of the Cabrillo College Faculty
Senate
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:1725
Section 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:
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Prepare agendas
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Review Minutes of previous meetings and coordinate
the typing and dissemination of this information to Senators.
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Compile any background information needed
for clarification of agenda items.
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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:
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AB 1725 and Title 5 legislation and updates,
- Other current legislation,
- Statewide Senate position papers, resolutions, and current
information,
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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
attend the State Senate summer leadership conference and the fall
and spring sessions.
Clause 7. The Vice President shall
closely work with the President to learn the workings of that
office.
Clause 8. The Vice President shall
serve as a member of the Executive Committee, College Planning
Council, and other governance committees at the direction of the
Senate President and the Faculty Senate.
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 as election official who 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 two weeks, 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 place one ballot in the mail box of each faculty
member, and he/she shall place a ballot box on the mailroom table.
He/she shall then destroy all ballots prepared but not distributed. Alternate methods of submitting ballots that the Senate deems appropriate are allowed, such as e-mail.
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, he/she shall open
the ballot box. He/she shall then verify the returns, and
post the results on the mailroom wall.
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 wil 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: 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 6: 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 7: 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 8:. 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 9: The Vice President of the Senate is appointed by the president and confirmed by a simple majority of the 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 5 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 10: The Secretary and Treasurer of the Senate are appointed by the president and confirmed by a simple majority of the 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). 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 chairpeople
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 Operation
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All procedures of the Curriculum Committee shall
be in accordance with Robert's Rules of Order.
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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.
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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.
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All courses presented to the Curriculum Committee
will be accompanied by an outline, time allocation, bibliography,
and an evaluation of the course by division.
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All new programs must initially be approved
by the Curriculum Committee.
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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:
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Occupational needs within the community.
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Capital and instruction costs.
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Availability of faculty.
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Courses within the catalog that are supportive
or duplicative of the courses presented.
Student interest.
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Relationship to curricular patterns.
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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: 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 5: 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 6: 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 7: Faculty Welfare and Information.
The Chairperson shall (1) coordinate the social and philanthropic
ventures of the certificated staff, including the making of recommendations
for disbursements of funds for scholarships and such other campus-oriented
activities as the Faculty Senate designates, and (2) oversee
the publication of a monthly faculty journal, to include both
private concern to teachers and contributions from the college
staff on issues of concern to Cabrillo College.
Section 8: Instruction Committee.
This committee shall study and recommend action to the Faculty
Senate on such instructional matters as the college calendar (including
Intercession an 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 9: College Learning Resources Committee.
This Chairperson will be appointed by the Faculty Senate President.
The membership will include one (1) representative from each division,
plus one (1) representative each from the Counseling and Library
areas. The College Librarian will be an ex-officio member.
The duties of the committee are to deal with acquisitions and
other policies for the Library, the Individualized Learning Center,
and the audio-visual area, and to improve communications
among the faculty, students, administration and learning resources
staff.
Section 10: 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.
Ten percent of the annual Faculty Senate Budget shall be appropriated
for the expenses of the Committee. Expenditures shall be
incurred according to guidelines established by the Senate.
Section 11: Executive Committee.
Composition
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.
Qualifications
Members of the Executive Committee shall be members of the Senate.
Terms of Office
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 Committee
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.
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.
Clause 3. The Executive Committee shall set the Agenda for Senate
meetings
Clause 4. The Executive Committee shall recommend to the Senate
President appointments for Governance and other committees.
Clause 5. The Executive Committee shall define the main objectives
of the Senate each year and propose recommendations to the Senate.
Clause 6. The Executive Committee shall form ad hoc committees
with the approval of the Senate.
Clause 7. The Executive Committee shall monitor Senate appointed
faculty serving on committees.
Clause 8. The Executive Committee shall schedule and attend meetings
with college administrators as required.
Clause 9. The Executive Committee shall act as advisor to the
Senate President.
ARTICLE VIII: 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 updated 4/18/08
