Bylaws of the Faculty Senate

Bylaws of the Faculty Senate

Southern Polytechnic State University

(Revised February 16, 2006)

Article I

Preamble

As empowered by the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia and defined by the Policies of the Board of Regents and by the Statutes and Policies and Procedures of Southern Polytechnic State University (particularly P&P 203.01), the Faculty Senate of Southern Polytechnic State University has approved the following regulations for its governance and designates them to be the Bylaws of the Faculty Senate of Southern Polytechnic State University. For the remainder of this document, the terms "University," "Senate," and "Faculty" shall be understood to apply to Southern Polytechnic State University, its Faculty Senate, and its Faculty.

These Bylaws seek to encompass basic principles, to delineate rights and responsibilities of the Senate’s members both individually and collectively, and to provide a means for focused communication among the Faculty and Administration so that through cooperative action the mission of the University can best be served.

Statement of Purpose of the Faculty Senate

To provide the means to share responsibility among members of the Faculty and Administration for the University's direction and policy-making;
To represent the Faculty in all matters relating to academic policy, opportunities, responsibilities and other matters affecting the general welfare of the Faculty and other stakeholders;
To provide a representative forum for the deliberate consideration of proposals, recommendations, suggestions, and institutional positions, and to make appropriate recommendations to the Faculty;
To serve as an advisory council to the President of the University.

Article II

Rights and Responsibilities

A. Rights

The Senate will have the following rights:

To determine the times, duration, and agendas for its meetings;
To hold special meetings when requested by one-third of its voting members;
To appoint subcommittees and working groups as required to do its work;
To make bylaws, rules, and procedures for its own governance;
To retain all rights specifically delineated for it in the Statutes of the University.

B. Responsibilities

Responsibilities include the following:

To schedule and conduct at least three meetings per semester during the academic year, and to send the President a copy of draft minutes within three days of each meeting;
To provide Faculty nominations to the appropriate campus-wide standing committees each Spring Semester;
To advise the Administration regarding plans affecting the overall allocation of resources in pursuit of the needs of students and the quality of their instruction;
To monitor the development of policies affecting the welfare of all members of the University community;
To hear students' petitions that have been properly appealed from the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee or the Graduate Programs Committee;
To maintain an up-to-date file of all Statutes, policies, and procedures; to review all related or supporting institutional documents, such as Administrative manuals, rules, and regulations, and to make the necessary recommendations to bring them in accord with the Statutes;
To discuss, consider, and evaluate recommendations, institutional positions, or other matters that shall be properly brought before it.

Article III

Membership

A. Membership

1. Departmental representatives

Members shall be elected by and from each academic department and the Library. Departments with fifteen or more permanent faculty positions shall have two representatives.

2. Ex-officio members

The President, the Chief Administrative Officer for Academic Affairs, the Chief Administrative Officer for Student Services and Enrollment, the Deans of the schools/colleges, and the SGA President are ex-officio non-voting members, but shall retain all other privileges of membership.

B. Election of Senators

1. Terms

Terms shall be of two years for each elected member, beginning August 16.

2. Departmental Elections (P&P 203.01)

Members shall be elected before the end of the Spring Semester. The Senate shall be so structured that roughly half of the members' terms expire each year. If a department has two representatives, they shall serve staggered terms. Elections in case of vacancies shall be for the remainder of the replaced Senator's term

Article IV

Officers

A. Officers

1. Moderator of the Faculty Senate

The responsibility for presiding over the Senate rests with the President of Southern Polytechnic State University in accordance with the policy of the Board of Regents. However, this duty may and normally will be delegated to the currently elected Moderator of the faculty, who is a tenured faculty member of an academic department. He or she may not hold an administrative position. The Senate Moderator shall be elected by the faculty at the final meeting of each academic year. The Moderator shall serve for the following academic year.

The Moderator of the Faculty’s responsibilities are:

To preside over meetings-regularly scheduled or called;
To prepare and distribute an agenda for all regular meetings. The agenda is to be distributed to all Senators a minimum of five working days before the meeting. Items will be placed on the agenda in the order of their being received by the Moderator. Items not received within seven working days of the meeting will not be placed on the agenda but may be considered as new business at the appropriate meeting.
To report to the Senate on all meetings the Moderator has attended as a representative of the Senate;
To advise the President, Vice Presidents, and the Deans of the various schools about matters of interest to the Faculty;
To communicate recommendations of the Senate to the President.

2. Vice Moderator

The Vice Moderator shall be a tenured faculty member of an academic department. The Vice Moderator shall be elected by the Senate during the first meeting of the academic year and shall serve for the remainder of that academic year.

The Vice Moderator's responsibilities are:

To preside over meetings when the Moderator is not available-regularly scheduled or called;
To assist the Moderator in the performance of his/her duties whenever requested;
To report to the Senate on all meetings the Vice Moderator has attended as a representative of the Senate.

3. Secretary of the Faculty

The Secretary of the Faculty must be a tenured faculty member of SPSU and may hold no administrative position. He or she shall be elected by the faculty during the first faculty meeting of the academic year, and shall serve for that academic year. The Secretary to the Faculty shall be elected each year in the fall semesster by a majority of those voting in a General Faculty Meeting.

The Secretary's responsibilities are:

To record and publish the official minutes of all General Faculty Meetings and to distribute both interim minutes and final minutes (i.e. minutes approved by the general faculty, normally at the next meeting) according to established requirements.
To maintain the minutes of the Senate and to be responsible for their appropriate distribution, including archival copies to the Library and the Records Office.
To disseminate the minutes on a timely basis via email to all of the current senators and posting to the Faculty Senate webpage at http://www.spsu.edu/registrar/FacultySenatelevelone.html.
To record attendance at meetings.

4. Parliamentarian

The Parliamentarian shall be a Senate member. The Parliamentarian shall be elected by the Senate during the first meeting of the academic year and shall serve for the remainder of that academic year.

The Parliamentarian's responsibilities are:

To resolve any procedural questions during meetings;
To maintain an up-to-date file of Statutes, relevant P&P’s, and Senate Bylaws.

B. Terms of Office

Officers will serve for one year.

C. Vacancies/Removal of Officers

Upon a petition of five Senate members from academic departments, a recall election of any officer can be called, and a majority vote of the quorum attending that called Senate meeting can remove that officer. If an officer is removed, the Senate will then elect another Senator to complete the term of the officer who has been removed.

Article V

Meetings

A. Regular Meeting Schedule

The Senate will hold at least three regularly scheduled meetings during each Fall and Spring Semester. These meetings will take place at a time and place determined and made known to all Senators by the Moderator.

B. Special Meetings

Special meetings may be called by the Moderator on notice of at least one week. The Moderator will make the date, time, and place known to all Senators.

C. Conduct of Meetings

1. Order of Business

Senate meetings will follow the agenda presented by the Moderator. Non-agenda items may be considered as new business upon completion of agenda items.

2. Quorum

A quorum will be constituted when at least 50 percent of the voting members are present. A Senator or department may send a substitute from that department's faculty if the regular Senator is unable to attend. The substitute Senator will have full voting power until the return of the regular Senator. A Senator or substitute must be physically present in order to vote.

3. Voting Rules and Procedures

Voting will be done in accordance with Roberts’ Rules of Order. Votes will be decided by a simple majority of voting members.

4. Minutes

Within three days after a Senate meeting, the Secretary will present the Moderator and the President with a draft of the minutes. The Moderator may suggest changes before approving the minutes. Once the minutes are approved by the Moderator, the Secretary will distribute them to each Senator within five days of the Senate meeting the minutes are for. If no Senator offers an objection to the minutes, apart from grammar and spelling, within eight days of the meeting, then the distributed minutes are considered approved by the Senate. If any Senator does offer an objection to the minutes within eight days of the meeting, apart from grammar and spelling, then consideration and approval of the minutes will be delayed until the beginning of the next meeting of the Faculty Senate. After the Senate has approved the minutes, the Secretary will, when possible, distribute them to all full-time faculty and the Administration in time to make the agenda for the next general faculty meeting. The Secretary will also see to it that copies of all Senate minutes and relevant attachments are sent to the Library and to the Records Office so as to be included in the Senate archives.

Article VI

Subcommittees

A. Standing Subcommittees

1. Number

The Senate shall include one standing subcommittee, the Documents Review Subcommittee.

2. Membership

Not later than the first meeting of the academic year, the Moderator shall appoint a chair for the standing subcommittee and, in consultation with the chair, appoint additional members. The chair and Moderator will attempt to appoint roughly equal numbers of first- and second-year Senators to the subcommittee so as to assure continuity. Membership on the subcommittee will normally be for two years, but one-year appointments may be made at the discretion of the Moderator. The chair will normally be a second-year Senator who has already served a year on the subcommittee, but exceptions to this may be made by the Moderator.

3. Duties

The Documents Review subcommittee will review drafts of Policies and Procedures for presentation to the Senate and prepare other documents as requested by the Moderator.

The chair of the standing subcommittee shall submit any action items generated by the subcommittee to the full Senate in writing for discussion and approval.

B. Ad Hoc Subcommittees

Ad hoc committees may be created for any purpose as determined by the Senate. The creation of an ad hoc subcommittee will be by majority vote, and the chair and members will be appointed by the Moderator. An ad hoc subcommittee will be dissolved by a majority vote of the Senate.

Article VII

Interpretation and Amendment of Bylaws

Proposed additions and revisions to the Bylaws shall be placed on the meeting agenda. A copy of the proposed additions and revisions shall be distributed to members of the Senate at least one week in advance of the meeting in which the proposed additions or revisions are to be discussed.

Additions and revisions to the Bylaws shall be adopted by a majority of the voting Senators.

In those instances in which the meaning or applicability of the Bylaws is in question, the meaning or applicability of the Bylaws shall be decided by a majority of the voting Senate members present.