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 their representative with respect to the following:
Clause 1. Any matter involving the educational programs of the college.
Clause 2. Policy regarding appointments, status, and assignments of faculty members.
Clause 3. Criteria for the establishment and discontinuance of Divisions/Schools and departments.
Clause 4. General policy regarding student affairs and activities.
Clause 5. Issues concerning AB 1725 and the 10+1
Section 2: The Senate shall participate in the formulation of academic policies 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 the student body.
ARTICLE II: DUTIES OF FACULTY SENATE OFFICERS
Section 1: Duties of the Faculty Senate President
Clause 1. The Senate President or their designee shall preside at meetings of the Senate and Senate-sponsored faculty meetings.
Clause 2. The President or designee, when directed to do so by the Faculty Senate, shall relay to the administration the views of the faculty on any relevant matter.
Clause 3. The President shall attend the monthly meeting of the Governing Board and present the views, resolutions, and/or recommendations of the faculty to the Governing Board during their standing report.
Clause 4. The President shall attend the monthly President’s Roundtable meetings.
Clause 5. The President or designee shall attend the regularly scheduled meetings and serve as a voting member of the College Planning Council, the Institutional Effectiveness Committee, the Council for Instructional Planning, the Student and Academic Affairs Council (formerly the Instruction Council), and the Sabbatical Leave Review Board.
Clause 6. The President or designee is encouraged to attend the Budget Committee.
Clause 7. The presiding officer at meetings of the Faculty Senate shall have the right to vote upon motions brought before the Senate when their vote would change the result. Thus, they 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:
Preparing agendas.
Reviewing minutes of previous meetings and coordinating the dissemination of this information to Senators.
Compiling any background information needed for clarification of agenda items.
Contacting 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, in consultation with the Executive Committee, shall direct the overall operation of the Senate 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 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 department chair to review and approve or deny equivalencies to minimum qualifications. In some cases, a dean may fill in for the appropriate department chair provided the dean has consulted with and received approval from the appropriate department chair.
Clause 15: The President and the Vice President of Instruction shall coordinate Faculty Senate participation in the college faculty prioritization process.
Section 2: Duties of Faculty Senate Vice President
Clause 1. The Vice President shall serve as the presiding officer at the
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 an assistant to the Faculty Senate President at 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 the Faculty Senate and the Faculty Senate Executive Committee.
Clause 6. The Vice President shall closely work with the President to learn the workings of that role.
Clause 7. 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 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.
Clause 10. The Vice President is encouraged to attend monthly Governing Board meetings.
Section 3: Duties of Faculty Senate Secretary
Clause 1. The Secretary of the Senate shall be responsible for ensuring that the minutes and highlights of Faculty Senate meetings are recorded, published, and distributed.
Clause 2. The Secretary shall be responsible for Faculty Senate correspondence, and also for ensuring 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 shall coordinate the maintenance of the Senate Web Page
Clause 4. The Secretary shall conduct Faculty Senate elections for at-large vacancies, President vacancies, and changes to the Constitution or Bylaws.
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 oral reports on the state of the Treasury.
Clause 3. The Treasurer will balance the budget of the Senate 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 Senator 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 Faculty Senate President, 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 Faculty Senate Secretary, or Senator designated as election official, validate the election procedures and tallies. They shall conduct the election according to the following clauses:
Clause 1. The Secretary, or Senator designated as election official, will notify faculty members of an at-large Senate election stating (a) nominations are open, and (b) the number of seats to be filled at least two weeks prior to the election. Faculty members may nominate themselves or be nominated by faculty. Faculty members may nominate one person for each seat up for election. The following statement will be included in any nomination: "I have contacted the person or persons nominated above and have ascertained that the nominee(s) has consented to be nominated, is willing to serve if elected, and is not planning to be on leave during the term of office."
Clause 2. The Secretary, or Senator designated as 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 distributed to the faculty
Clause 3. They 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, they 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, they shall review the ballots cast. They shall then verify the returns, consulting with the Faculty Senate President to validate the vote count, and communicate the results to the faculty.
Clause 6. They 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 Secretary, or Senator designated as election official, shall notify the winning candidate(s) in writing of their election, and they shall report the election results to the Senate.
Clause 8. They shall preserve all ballots for at least one year after the election.
Section 2: Division/School Senator vacancies: If the resignation of a Division/School Senator is accepted by the Senate, the Division/School will hold an election for replacement within 14 days. For general elections of Division/School Senators, Divisions/Schools will hold their own elections, and they may request the help of the general Senate election official. Elections shall be held in the final fall semester of the Senator’s term, and the Senate President will be informed of the results prior to the end of that fall semester.
Section 3: 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 at the end of the subsequent fall semester.
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. They 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/School and at-large representative or assuming or exiting the position of a Senate officer.
Section 2: Vacancies in an unexpired term or terms for all senators shall be announced by the Senate, and provisions to fill said vacancy will be those specified in Article IV of these Bylaws. Divisions/Schools will receive an announcement separately should the position be Division/School Senator. The Senate vacancy must be filled as soon as possible following the announcement of the vacancy.
Section 3: Senate resignations must be submitted in writing to the Faculty Senate President.
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 their intention to only serve one year of their second two-year term of office. If such a declaration is made to the Senate between January 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 Bylaws. To assist in the newly elected President’s transition, the Vice President at the time will step down, and the newly elected President shall serve as Vice President for the fall semester and take over the duties of the President at the end of the fall semester.
Section 6: In cases where the President declares their intention to only serve one year of their second two-year term of office (Article V, Section 5) and the current Vice President chooses to run for President and is elected, the Vice President shall continue in their role and take over the duties of the President at the end of the fall semester.
Section 7: On the written petition of ten or more faculty members, an at-large Senator, the President, and/or the Vice President may be removed from office by a two-thirds vote of the electorate in a special recall election.
Section 8: A Division/School Senator may be removed from office on the signed petition of two-thirds of the members of their Division/School. The petition must be filed with the Faculty Senate President in order to effect removal.
Section 9: When a new Division/School is formed, the Faculty Senate shall determine the length of the first term of office for that Division/School'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 10: As determined by CCFT contract negotiations, the Faculty Senate President shall be compensated by one-half reassigned time (7.5 units) for each of the fall and spring semesters. In addition, the Faculty Senate President shall be compensated for Senate responsibilities during the summer by a three-unit special contract stipend.
Section 11: The Vice President of the Senate is appointed by the Faculty Senate 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). Once the Vice President is appointed, they are a member of the Senate and, as determined by CCFT contract negotiations, they receive 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 12: The Secretary and Treasurer of the Senate are appointed by the President and confirmed by a simple majority of the Senate. The Secretary and the Treasurer must be Senators, and they maintain the 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). As determined by CCFT contract negotiations, the Secretary and the Treasurer of the Senate will each receive one (1) unit of reassign or overload 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 Faculty Senate President shall schedule as many regular meetings of the Senate as necessary to conduct the business of the Senate.
Section 2: The Faculty Senate President may call special meetings of the Senate. They shall call a special meeting of the Senate if asked to do so by four or more Senators.
Section 3: The Faculty Senate President 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 appointed to chair a standing committee shall serve as liaison between their committee and the Faculty Senate and shall make committee reports to the Senate as directed by the Faculty Senate 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 and subject to review by the Senate.
Clause 6. When required or requested, 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 Faculty Senate President 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 their committee when their vote would change the result. Thus, they 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: Standing Committees
Academic Council:
The chairperson of the Academic Council and committee members shall act on matters that affect academic standards, grading practices, probation, readmission, and other special considerations dealing with academic problems. The committee shall include the Vice President of Instruction, two counselors, two members from each Division/School, one student, the Articulation Officer, the Admission and Records Director, and such other members as the chairperson feels necessary to conduct committee business. The chairperson of the Academic Council is appointed by the Faculty Senate President and, as determined by CCFT contract negotiations, receives one unit of release time per semester. The position can be shared between two chairpersons, with each receiving half a unit (0.5) of release time per semester.
Curriculum Committee:
The Curriculum Committee coordinates curriculum development and review. The faculty chairperson is appointed by the Faculty Senate President and, as determined by CCFT contract negotiations, receives three (3) units of release time per semester. The voting members shall include the chairperson, one faculty member from each Division/School, one Counseling representative, and one Library representative. The committee also includes one Content Reviewer, one Equity representative, one Program Content Reviewer, one Noncredit representative, the SLO Coordinator, the dean of each instructional Division/School, the Library Director, the Distance Education Reviewer, all the Curriculum and Scheduling Analysts, and the VPI. Voting members should attend each meeting or send a proxy if they are unable to attend meetings in person. If a proxy is not available for a voting member, curriculum business items can still be voted on as long as a majority of voting members are present. Majority is defined as half of the voting members, plus one.
New Course Proposals and Changes to Existing Courses:
Proposals may be submitted to the Curriculum Committee in the fall or spring semesters. Implementation occurs following approval of the Curriculum Committee, the Cabrillo College Governing Board, and the Chancellor’s Office.
Proposals are initiated by the faculty members following review by the department initiating the proposal. Before new course proposals and modifications are considered by the Curriculum Committee, they undergo extensive review, which includes the Division/School’s curriculum committee representative (a faculty member), the Articulation Officer, a Library representative, the Division/School’s Instructional Dean, Content Reviewers, the Student Learning Outcome Coordinator, a Counseling representative, the Distance Education Coordinator (if applicable), and the CEWD Dean, in coordination with curriculum analysts, and the Vice President of Instruction.
The reviewers check for:
Overall completeness and accuracy
Accurate numbering and credit status
Accurate transferability information
Hour (lecture/laboratory) and unit consistency
Potential interdepartmental conflicts
Requisite appropriateness
Lecture/laboratory and classroom activity consistency
Compliance with Title 5 requirements
Once reviewers have completed their work and necessary revisions are made, proposals are placed on the Curriculum Committee’s agenda as information items and then as action items at a second or subsequent meeting.
Formal approval by the Curriculum Committee is required to move the course forward. Once the Faculty Senate reviews and accepts the actions of the Curriculum Committee, proposals must be approved by the Cabrillo College Governing Board. New proposals and modifications requiring Chancellor’s Office approval must receive said approval before they can become available to students.
New noncredit course approvals and significant modifications of existing noncredit courses will undergo the same process and rigor of examination as that for credit courses detailed above, including additional review by the Noncredit Coordinator, and may not be offered to students until they have also been approved by the Chancellor's Office. Non-substantial changes to existing noncredit courses that have received approval from the Chancellor's Office require local approval before they are updated in the state curriculum inventory.
Curriculum records are maintained by the Instruction Office.
New Instructional Programs
To ensure the orderly and coordinated development of instructional programs that serve the needs of students and the community, the following should be considered by department faculty in coordination with Division/School deans, articulation officers, counselors, librarians, CTE representatives, and the Office of Instruction prior to the creation of proposals for curriculum review and approval:
Clear demonstration of need
Alignment with college mission, goals, and objectives
Complete cost and income analysis
Appropriate location of the program within Division/School
Staffing implications
Adequacy of college support
Facility impacts
Anticipated enrollment
Regional articulation
An evaluation will be conducted in consultation with the Division/School, department, CEWD Dean or representatives, and the Office of Instruction to assess need.
If there is a demonstrated need for the program, a written proposal will be developed to provide the necessary information required for local and Chancellor’s Office approval.
Completed proposals shall be submitted to the Curriculum Committee for review and approval. Before new program proposals are forwarded to the Curriculum Committee, they undergo extensive review, which includes the Division/School’s curriculum committee representative (a faculty member), the Articulation Officer, the Division/School’s Instructional Dean, the Program Content Reviewer, the Student Learning Outcome Coordinator, a
cCounseling representative, a Library representative, the Distance Education Coordinator (if applicable), the Noncredit Coordinator (if applicable), and the CEWD Dean, in coordination with curriculum analysts and the Vice President of Instruction. The originator will be asked to revise the proposal if the information is deemed incomplete, inappropriate, or inaccurate. Once technical review is complete, the proposal will be placed before the Curriculum Committee for review.After approval by the Curriculum Committee, if the proposal is for a Career Education program, it shall be presented for Regional Consortium review.
New program proposals approved by the Curriculum Committee are forwarded to the Faculty Senate for review and approval.
After this approval, Faculty Senate program recommendations are sent to the Governing Board for approval.
New programs that receive approval by the Governing Board and the Regional Consortium (if applicable) shall not be published in the College Catalog prior to the Chancellor's Office approval of the program. Approved revised programs may be published in the catalog during the Chancellor’s Office review process.
Faculty Senate Executive Committee
Composition: The Executive Committee shall consist of the President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer selected by the President with the 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 year at a time. 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 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 President, in consultation with the Executive Committee, shall set the Agenda for Senate meetings. Faculty may request the addition of item(s) to an agenda by contacting members of the Executive Committee with approval or recommendation from Senate members.
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.
Sustainable Culture Subcommittee
The chairperson of the Sustainable Culture Subcommittee and subcommittee members shall oversee faculty-led efforts to promote sustainability. The Sustainable Culture Subcommittee will make an annual report to the Faculty Senate.
Textbook Affordability Subcommittee
The chairperson of the Textbook Affordability Subcommittee and subcommittee members shall oversee campus efforts to promote and expand the use and adoption of more affordable required texts. The Textbook Affordability Subcommittee 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 Faculty Senate President or the Senate deems it appropriate. The general provisions for standing committees described in Article VII, Section 1, shall also apply to ad hoc committees.
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/School Senators shall periodically review the Bylaws with members of their Divisions/Schools and bring to the Senate suggestions for change.
Ratified on April 23, 2026