Organizational bilaws & statutes

Appendix ID : Columbus State University Faculty Organization Bylaws and Statutes

(10/90)
These Bylaws are expressly subject to the Bylaws and Policies of the Board of Regents and in the event of any conflict or variance between these documents, the Bylaws and Policies of the Board of Regents shall govern.

I. Name - The organization hereinafter defined shall be the faculty of Columbus State University.

II. Membership - The faculty will consist of the Corps of Instruction and the Administrative Officers as defined in the Policies of the Board of Regents.

III. Responsibilities of the Faculty

The faculty shall exercise responsibility within limits established by the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia to promote the best interests of Columbus State University. Within these limits it shall generally concern itself with the consideration, formulation, review, and recommendation of policies and procedures designed to foster the proper growth and development of Columbus State University as an institution of higher education. Included is concern with policies relating to the academic program, faculty welfare, and student welfare.
The faculty normally shall exercise its advisory and legislative responsibilities through its representative, the Faculty Senate.
The faculty shall have the power to review all actions of the Faculty Senate as provided in Article VII, Section A, Paragraph 3.

IV. Organization of the Faculty

A. Officers

The president of the University shall be the ex officio chair of the faculty.
The vice president for academic affairs of the university shall be vice chair of the faculty.
The secretary of the faculty shall be appointed annually by the chair from among the membership

B. Duties of the Officers of the Faculty

1. Chair

The chair shall preside at meetings of the faculty.
The chair shall cause meetings of the faculty to be called when such meetings are necessary and/or desirable; or when an appeal of action of the Faculty Senate is requested as provided in Article VII, A, 3.
Upon petition of 10 percent of the members of the faculty or 10 members of the faculty, whichever number is larger, the chair shall call a meeting within 10 working days.

2. Vice Chair

In the absence of the chair, the vice chair (or his/her designee, typically the executive officer) shall perform the functions of the chair.

3. Secretary

The secretary shall circulate copies of the official minutes of all faculty meetings to members of the faculty.
The secretary shall notify all members of the faculty of a call of a faculty meeting, giving reasonable notice.

V. Meetings of the Faculty

A. The faculty shall convene upon call of the chair. The chair shall cause to be circulated among the faculty an agenda of business to be conducted at least five days before the date of the meeting, except for meetings called on an emergency basis. The faculty shall meet at least twice a year and a copy of the minutes of every meeting of the faculty shall be sent within three days after the meeting to the chancellor.

B. The majority of the members of the faculty shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.

C. The most recent edition of Robert's Rules of Order shall govern the conduct of meetings of the faculty except when the faculty shall adopt rules otherwise, and the chair may appoint a parliamentarian to assist the presiding officer in questions of parliamentary procedure.

VI. Committees of the Faculty

A. In addition to standing committees, the faculty may create other committees through the Senate Committee on Committees as outlined in VI, C. and VII, E, 2, (b).

B. University-wide ad hoc committees may be appointed by the president or the vice presidents. These committees shall normally include at least one member from each of the colleges. Members of the Library faculty and Center for Regional and Continuing Education shall be included on such committees when appropriate.

C. The Faculty Senate Committee on Committees shall recommend to the Senate the formulation or dissolution of Faculty Standing Committees and the membership and chair of said committees. After the committee's recommendation has been approved or amended by the Senate, the president as chair of the Senate will forward recommendations to the vice president for academic affairs who appoints Faculty Standing Committees. These committee appointments begin fall quarter and are for one year. A list of these committees and their composition can be found in the Faculty Handbook.

D. All standing committees are advisory in nature to the administration. They may be assigned policy-making duties by the vice presidents subject to the approval of the president. Recommendations and reports are made to the appropriate administrator(s); to the Faculty Senate Committee on Committees; and, as relevance requires, to the faculty. Any faculty member may attend the meetings of standing committees in a non-voting capacity.

VII. The Faculty Senate

A. Nature and Function of the Senate

1. The Faculty Senate shall be the delegate assembly of the faculty through which the faculty normally shall exercise its responsibilities.

2. The Faculty Senate shall serve as a means of communication among the faculty. The chair of the faculty (president of Columbus State University) shall be the official medium of communication between the faculty and the Board of Regents through the chancellor.

3. Any action of the Faculty Senate must be reviewed at a general meeting of the faculty when a petition for such review and for the call of a general meeting of the faculty for this purpose has been presented to the chair of the faculty.

The petition must bear the signature of 10 percent of the members of the faculty.
Petition for such review must be submitted to the chair of the faculty within 30 days following notice to the faculty of the Senate action that is the object of the petition to review.
The Senate action, which is the object of the petition, shall be presented to the faculty at a called meeting. Upon motion and vote, the faculty may sustain or veto the action of the Senate.

4. The chair of the faculty has the power to veto any recommendation deemed not in the best interest of the university. Recommendations which are vetoed shall be returned with reason for the veto to the Faculty Senate. In the event of a veto, the Faculty Senate may, by an affirmative vote of two-thirds of its total membership, pass a resolution requesting that the chair of the faculty reconsider the veto.

5. Duties of the Faculty Senate

The Faculty Senate shall consider policies with respect to the general welfare of the university.
The Faculty Senate shall recommend academic policy, including policies concerning admissions, retentions, student dismissals, curriculum, instruction, and criteria for granting degrees.
The Faculty Senate shall review existing policies, and consider new policies and study matters relating to faculty and student affairs.
The Faculty Senate shall advise in policies concerning the recruitment, selection, retention, tenure, and promotion of faculty members.
The Faculty Senate shall advise in policies concerning the selection of staff personnel.
The Faculty Senate shall establish rules and procedures for standing committees.
The Faculty Senate, through its Committee on Elections, shall be responsible for conducting the election of Senate members.

B. Membership of the Senate
(07/00)
1. The membership of the Senate shall consist of elected faculty members and ex officio members. The ex officio members of the Senate shall be the president, vice president for academic affairs, vice president for business and finance, and the vice president for student affairs.

2. Elected Members

a. Eligibility-All full-time members of the Faculty are eligible for membership.

b. Election Units- The library and each college shall be entitled to the number of senators that corresponds to the number of full-time faculty members, using the following table:

Senators	Full-time Faculty Members
1	1-7
2	8-22
3	23-37
4	38-52
5	53-67
6	68-82
7	83-97
8	98-112
9	113-127
10	128-142

Subject to this apportionment, the faculty of each Election Unit may designate departmental or other Unit Constituencies for Senate representation.

For purposes of providing for uniform rotation of Senate members, the term of any additional Senator to which an election unit shall become entitled will be specified by the Committee on Elections for the initial election to that seat.

c. An individual member of the faculty will be eligible to represent, and participate in the election of Senate members, in that election unit in which he/she holds academic rank, regardless of where he/she is assigned for his/her normal work load.

If a Senator is transferred from one election unit to another during his or her term of office, that Senator=s term shall end as of the date of the transfer.

d. Election units shall elect senators in the following way:

Each election unit shall elect senators by democratic procedures specified by the Committee on Elections of the Faculty Senate.
The election shall take place in the spring semester and shall be supervised by the Committee on Elections. In particular, the committee will determine the number of senators for each election unit.
The term of office shall begin with the first Senate meeting in the new fiscal year (beginning July 1st).

3. Members elected by the Faculty shall serve for a term of three years and shall not be eligible for re-election until one year has elapsed since the expiration of a previous term as a member of the Senate. A member who was elected to complete another Senator's unexpired term shall be eligible for re-election at the time his or her current term expires, without waiting until one year has elapsed.

4. When a vacancy occurs in the elected membership of the Senate, the election unit from which the vacancy occurred shall elect a member from that election unit to serve until the regular election.

5. The Committee on Elections shall promulgate such procedures and design such forms and ballots as are necessary for the implementation of this Article; shall receive and count ballots for the election of Senate members; and shall certify to the chair of the faculty the election of Senate members.

C. Organization of the Senate

1. The Chair of the Senate

The chair of the Senate shall be the president of the university. In the temporary absence of the president, the vice president for academic affairs or his designee (typically the executive officer) shall perform the functions of the chair.
The chair of the Senate shall preside at meetings of the Senate.
The chair, with the assistance of the Executive Committee, shall prepare the agenda for Senate meetings.
The chair of the Senate shall serve as chair of the Senate Executive Committee.

2. Executive Officer of the Senate

The Executive Officer of the Senate shall be elected from the elected membership annually by the Senate.
It shall be the duty of the executive officer of the Senate to collect agenda items, coordinate with the chair the calling of executive committee and Senate meetings, and perform other duties as assigned by Senate and university policy.

3. Secretary of the Senate

The secretary shall be elected by members of the Senate annually.
It shall be the duty of the secretary to cause all deliberations and actions of the Senate to be recorded in the official records of the Senate; distribute copies of the record of each meeting to all members of the faculty within two weeks following a meeting of the Senate; annually update the Library's collection of Senate minutes; distribute the agenda; note policy changes of the Senate and update the Senate policy document.

D. Meetings of the Faculty Senate

1. The Faculty Senate shall typically convene the first Monday of each month of the year and at other times on call of the chair of the Senate, reasonable notice being given to members of the Senate. Reasonable notice is interpreted here to mean at least three (3) school days. When circumstances so warrant in the opinion of the senate chair, emergency meetings may be called without this advance notice.

2. Meetings of the Senate shall be open, but persons other than Senate members may participate in the deliberations of the Senate only upon consent of the Senate.

3. A majority of the elected membership of the Senate shall constitute a quorum.

4. The most recent edition of Robert's Rules of Order shall govern conduct of the meetings of the Senate, except when the Senate shall adopt rules otherwise, and the presiding officer may appoint a parliamentarian to assist in questions of parliamentary procedure.

5. Voting on all matters by the Senate, except election of officers shall be via voce, by standing vote, by a show of hands, or roll call.

E. Committees of the Senate

The Senate shall have the following committees:

1. Executive Committee

The Executive Committee shall consist of the chair of the Senate, the executive officer, the secretary, two (2) members elected by the Senate from among its membership, and the vice president for academic affairs.
The Executive Committee shall be responsible for maintaining communication among the faculty.
The Executive Committee shall receive requests from members of the faculty relating to items for consideration of the Senate and shall bring these to the attention of the chair for placement on the agenda.

2. Committee on Committees

The Committee on Committees shall consist of three members elected by the Senate from its membership. This committee shall elect its own chair.
The Faculty Senate Committee on Committees shall recommend to the Senate the formulation or dissolution of faculty standing committees and the membership and chair of said committees. After the committee's recommendation has been approved or amended by the Senate, the president as chair of the Senate will forward recommendations to the vice president for academic affairs who appoints faculty standing committees. These committee appointments begin fall semester and are for one year. A list of these committees and their composition can be found in the Faculty Handbook.
During spring semester, the chairs of the standing committees shall file an annual report with the Committee on Committees describing their committee's activities for the year.

3. Committee on Elections

The Committee on Elections shall consist of three members of the Senate elected by the Senate from among its elected membership. This committee shall elect its own chair.
The Committee on Elections shall supervise all nominations and elections for Senate membership as provided in these bylaws.

4. The Faculty Senate may establish such other committees as are deemed necessary.

VIII. Amendment

A. The Faculty Senate shall serve to initiate and/or review proposals to amend the university statutes.

B. The Senate may propose amendments, or report its recommendations concerning proposals for amendments, at any regular meeting of the faculty or any special meeting called for the purpose of amending. The Senate shall submit all such proposals and recommendations in writing to the faculty at least seven working days prior to the faculty meeting.

C. Proposed amendments must be adopted by a two-thirds majority of faculty members present, provided a majority of those eligible to vote shall be present at the time of the vote.

IX. Schedule

The Bylaws shall become effective after adoption by a two-thirds majority of faculty members present, provided a majority of those eligible to vote are present at the time of the vote, and approval of the Board of Regents.




Office of Academic Affairs Richards Hall, 3rd Floor Ph: 706-568-2061 Fax: 706-569-3168	Text-only version Questions/Comments?	Columbus State University 4225 University Avenue Columbus, Georgia 31907 706-507-8800