TO: File

FROM: Hisham Ahmed, Chair

Academic Senate

DATE: August 25, 2015

RE: Senate Action S-15/16-1

Senate Rules of Procedure

At the August 25, 2015 meeting of the Academic Senate, the Senate approved the 2015-16 Senate Rules of Procedure by a unanimous vote. The Faculty Handbook states that the Senate will approve its Rules of Procedure at the first meeting each year.

This action was assigned Senate Action # S-15/16-1.

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Attachment


RULES OF PROCEDURE OF THE ACADEMIC SENATE AT SAINT MARY’S COLLEGE

Revised 8-25-15

INTRODUCTION

The Saint Mary’s College Faculty Handbook contains the following information concerning the Academic Senate and its procedures:

All general and special general meetings of the Academic Senate are governed by Robert’s Rules of Order, Revised, as modified in the Rules of Procedure of the Academic Senate at Saint Mary’s College. Each member of the Senate shall be provided with a current copy of the Rules of Procedure; additional copies will be available to the faculty through the Faculty Governance Coordinator. (Faculty Handbook, 1.6.1.2.14)

These Rules may not be modified without the approval of the Academic Senate.

The material that follows is provided to facilitate the business of the Academic Senate and insure that its proceedings are conducted according to sound and accepted principles of order. In assembling this material, the Senate was sensitive to the distinction between facilitation and haste, noting that the former becomes useless if the latter prevents the kind of deliberation and discussion that is needed for careful and representative decision-making.

These Rules draw material regarding the roles and responsibilities of the Academic Senate from the Faculty Handbook. Although the material cited here is from the 2014-2015 edition of the Faculty Handbook, it is intended that the most current version of the Faculty Handbook be used. Each Senate is encouraged to reconsider these Rules in the case that the Faculty Handbook coverage of the Academic Senate changes. In the unintended case that these Rules and the Faculty Handbook conflict, the Faculty Handbook supersedes these Rules.

CONTENTS

Section I explains the functional roles of the Senate and its administrative officers: the chair, vice chair, parliamentarian, and faculty governance coordinator.

Section II describes and distinguishes those motions that are commonly made in the conduct of Senate business: principal, subsidiary, privileged, and incidental. It also reviews the guidelines for voting on these motions and other matters.

Section III discusses the responsibilities of Senate, and provides information on regularly-scheduled Senate meetings as well as those specially convened.

Section IV discusses general matters of business procedure and principles that may facilitate the business of the Senate. This section also includes a recommended format for reports to the Senate.

Appendix A provides a table of commonly used motions.

SECTION I: FUNCTIONAL ROLES

The ACADEMIC SENATE has the following role, as given by the Faculty Handbook:

The Academic Senate is the principal instrument through which the faculty of the College exercises its responsibilities in the governance of the academic life of the College community. The Academic Senate is a faculty body with the specific responsibilities of identifying issues of legitimate faculty concern, especially matters directly and indirectly related to the academic life of the College, and to initiate appropriate actions to address them. (FH 1.6.1.2.1)

The Senate receives, reviews, responds to and/or refers recommendations and reports from the various academic faculty committees and councils. The Senate advises the Provost on academic matters. The Academic Senate provides, in its general meetings, a forum at which members of the faculty may express their opinions on matters of concern and, in so doing, help the Senate exercise its judgment in an informed manner.

THE ACADEMIC SENATE CHAIRPERSON (FH 1.6.1.2.3) presides over the general, special general, and executive meetings of the Academic Senate. He/she sets the calendar for all meetings and coordinates the agenda for general meetings in conjunction with the past chair and vice chair. The chairperson assumes office after serving one year as vice chairperson.

The chairperson appoints the parliamentarian for a one-year term and works closely with him or her to insure Senate business is conducted according to sound and accepted principles of order. Likewise, the chairperson works with the faculty governance coordinator to insure a careful record of proceedings and their posting.

The chairperson (or in some cases, his/her designee) also serves as a member of the following committees:

College Committee on Inclusive Excellence (FH 1.7.2.2), Institutional Effectiveness Committee (FH 1.7.2.4), Provost’s Academic Council of Deans (FH 1.7.3.1), Academic Planning and Budget Committee, Academic Administrators Evaluation Committee (FH 1.7.4.4), Budget Committee (FH 1.7.6.1), Campus Facilities Planning Committee (FH 1.7.6.3), Faculty Handbook Review Committee (FH 1.7.9.2), and faculty representative to the Board of Trustees (FH 1.7.9.3)

THE ACADEMIC SENATE VICE CHAIRPERSON (FH 1.6.1.2.3) is elected by the faculty at-large for a three-year term, the second year of which he/she serves as chairperson, and the third year of which he/she serves as past chairperson. The vice chairperson substitutes for the chairperson should he or she become ill or need to be absent. The vice chairperson is a voting member of the Academic Senate on all matters, and also meets with the chair and past chair to set the agenda for general Senate meetings.

The vice chairperson also serves as chair of the Committee on Committees (FH 1.7.4.3) and as liaison to the Admissions and Academic Regulations Committee (FH 1.7.4.8). He/she also attends meetings of the Budget Committee (FH 1.7.6.1) and the Academic Planning and Budget Committee.

THE ACADEMIC SENATE PAST CHAIRPERSON (FH 1.6.1.2.3) is a voting member of the Academic Senate on all matters, and also meets with the chair and vice chair to set the agenda for general Senate meetings.

THE PARLIAMENTARIAN (FH 1.6.1.2.5) is appointed from the faculty by the chairperson for a one-year term. He/she is present at all general and special meetings of the Senate, but does not have a vote. As the central resource person for advice on rules of procedure, the parliamentarian reports to the chairperson and works closely with him or her to expedite business during general meetings.

THE FACULTY GOVERNANCE COORDINATOR (FH 1.6.1.2.6) reports to the chairperson, takes minutes of all meetings of the Academic Senate (general and special), and prepares them for posting. The faculty governance coordinator also prepares the agenda (set by the chairperson, vice chairperson, and past chairperson), memos, and other materials and distributes them to senators, committee chairs, administrators, faculty members, and others. The faculty governance coordinator maintains all pertinent records and correspondence of the Senate, including a current file of all faculty members (school, full- or part-time status, eligibility for election), maintains a list of Senate actions, and serves as an ex-officio, non-voting member of the Committee on Committees as the faculty elections coordinator.


SECTION II: MOTIONS & VOTING

MOTIONS are tools to introduce and handle business in a meeting; motions are proposals for the Senate to take an action. All motions must be made by a senator; most require a second senator to bring the motion into consideration; most are open to debate, and all but a few require a vote to determine whether the Senate will adopt or reject the action.

A PRINCIPAL OR MAIN MOTION is a proposition for the Senate to take a certain action or express a specific opinion. Two examples of typical motions are: to place an item on the agenda of a general meeting, and to propose to follow the recommendation given in a report. Main motions must be introduced by a senator and require a second in order for the Senate to consider (that is, to open a discussion) of the motion. After sufficient discussion, with the possibility of amendment, main motions are put to a vote to determine whether the Senate will adopt or reject the proposition.

A SUBSIDIARY MOTION assists the Senate in treating a main motion while it is on the floor. Subsidiary motions may, for example, “amend” the proposal’s wording, “commit” or “refer” the proposal to a committee for further review, “postpone” the decision to a defined time, or brings the proposal to an immediate vote (“previous question”). Subsidiary motions are ranked. That is, some motions have precedence over others and those of higher rank must be decided first. A table of commonly used subsidiary motions and their ranking is provided in the Appendix.

A PRIVILEGED MOTION does not relate to the main motion but has to do with special matters of immediate or overriding importance, e.g., “adjournment,” “recess,” or “personal privilege.” They may be raised while a main motion is on the floor, and they take precedence over all other motions. A table of commonly used privileged motions is given in the Appendix.

AN INCIDENTAL MOTION relates to procedure, e.g., to request a “point of order,” to “appeal” the decision of the chairperson, to “object to the consideration of the question,” to request a “point of information,” or to demand the verification of the vote (“division”). Although not directly related to the main motion, they may be raised while a main motion is on the floor, and are usually decided as they arise. A table of commonly used incidental motions is given in the Appendix.

VOTING

The voting members of the Academic Senate are the Senate members. Advisory polls of the faculty may be taken by voice or show of hands of those assembled at general meetings or by written poll of the entire faculty. The type of voting employed (e.g. voice, hand, roll call) depends on the situation.

SIMPLE MAJORITY. Most motions are passed by a simple majority of the votes cast by those present. The majority vote is the larger number of the yes or no votes cast, regardless of the number of abstentions. The type of voting employed (voice, hand, or roll call) is at the discretion of the chairperson.

TWO-THIRDS MAJORITY. Motions needing a two-thirds majority of the votes cast by those present include: (1) amend an adopted agenda; (2) suspend the agenda; (3) move the previous question; and (4) limit or extend limits of debate. In general, motions that limit the rights of members of the Senate or motions that seek to change something that has already been decided require a two-thirds majority. The voting requirements for commonly used motions are given in the Appendix. Voice votes are not allowed for motions requiring a two-thirds majority.

VOTING PROCEDURES. The ascending order of voting procedures is voice, show of hands, roll call, and secret ballot. A Senator may request a roll call vote. A Senator may also move to have a secret ballot; this requires a second, is not debatable and is passed by a majority vote.


SECTION III: RESPONSIBILITIES AND MEETINGS

DUTIES: The Academic Senate has the following five duties:

To receive, review, and respond to and/or refer recommendations and reports from Senate committees, the President, the Provost, the Vice Provost of Academic Affairs, and the Deans of the Schools.

To set the agendas for general and special general meetings.

To conduct faculty elections.

At the request of the President, to review cases of alleged unprofessional conduct on

the part of a faculty member, except in cases of sexual harassment or sexual

misconduct (Section 2.9.3.1).

To initiate Senate committees for the purpose of investigating specific problems and issues related to the academic life of the College or concerns of the faculty.

EXECUTIVE MEETINGS

OVERVIEW: The executive meetings of the Senate are designed to set the agenda for the general meeting and for the consent agenda. Items placed on the consent agenda are items requiring no further discussion, items considered non-controversial, and items other committees have thoroughly reviewed and the Senate can make no further contribution.

The chairperson shall convene a meeting of faculty officers (chairperson, the past chairperson and the current vice-chairperson) approximately one week prior to each General Meeting to prepare the agenda for the General Meeting. The time and location of these meetings (Executive Meetings) shall be posted on the Faculty Governance webpage. Senators are invited to be present but are not required to attend these meetings.

Quorum - A minimum of two of the three named parties must be present to prepare the agenda.

CONSENT AGENDA

A two-thirds majority vote of faculty officers is required to place an item on the consent agenda for general meetings, with the exception of the Undergraduate Educational Policies Committee, Graduate and Professional Studies Educational Policies Committee, and the Admissions and Academic Regulations Committee items for the consent agenda, as explained below. All Academic Senate actions on a designated “consent agenda” item are taken at a general meeting of the Senate and are directed to the appropriate College officials for further action, if needed.

All items from the Undergraduate Educational Policies Committee (UEPC), Graduate and Professional Studies Educational Policies Committee (GPSEPC), and Admissions and Academic Regulations Committee (AARC) come to the Academic Senate and go on a consent agenda for automatic consent agenda approval, without vote or discussion unless:

- the vote to approve by the UEPC , GPSEPC, or AARC is less than two-thirds;

- the item involves a perceived alteration of or conflict with the College’s Mission;

- the item would have potentially significant campus-wide consequences;

- the item has significant resource or cost consequences that have not been identified and addressed by the UEPC, GPSEPC, or AARC.

Items will remain on the consent agenda unless removed by the Senate at a General Meeting. Any item may be removed from the consent agenda by a motion supported by four Senators. The Academic Senate will then reconsider that item for further action. The consent agenda is prepared and managed by the faculty officers of the Academic Senate.

GENERAL MEETINGS

OVERVIEW: General meetings are the typical forum for general faculty comment and discussion of matters before the Senate. The discussion usually begins with the introduction of a motion by a Senator. After sufficient discussion, including possible amendments, motions are voted upon by the Senators. All action items that have not been placed on the consent agenda are placed on the agenda of the general meeting and are voted on by the Senate at a general meeting.

SCHEDULE AND ATTENDANCE: General meetings are scheduled by the chairperson. The meeting time for general meetings is 1:00-2:30 p.m. on Wednesdays. General meetings are open to all faculty members. Staff may attend without special invitation. Students may attend at the discretion of the chairperson, subject to appeal by a motion from the floor.