Charter of the Senate of the Academic Council


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Charter of the Senate of the Academic Council


As approved by the Academic Council on 4/11/68, and ratified by the Board of Trustees on 5/16/68; including
amendments approved by the Senate on 12/17/70, 3/18/71, 5/23/74, 5/4/78, 11/10/83 and 10/27/88, concurred in by the Academic Council 1/8 and 4/2/71 and 9/27/74, ratified by the Board of Trustees on 1/12 and 4/13/71, and 10/8/74; and modified by referendum on 6/5/78, 2/17/84, 11/22/88 and 2/4/94.

Article I

SECTION A. There is established a Senate of the Academic Council which, subject to the provisions for review and referendum set forth in Article V, shall have the same functions as the Academic Council.

Article II: Composition of the Senate

SECTION A. Elected Members

The Senate shall consist of elected representatives of the Academic Council (hereinafter referred to as Representatives) and ex officio members. Each Representative shall have one vote.

SECTION B. Ex Officio Members

The President of the University, the Provost, the Deans of the seven Schools, the Academic Secretary, and other key academic administrators as deemed appropriate by the Senate1 shall be ex officio members of the Senate without vote.

SECTION C. Principles of Apportionment2

The following principles shall control the apportionment of Representatives in the Senate:

  1. In the allocation of representation each School shall constitute a major constituency. The Senate may create from time to time other major constituencies as conditions warrant.

  2. After deciding upon an appropriate total number of Representatives, the Senate shall provide that approximately one-half the total be allocated to major constituencies on the basis of degrees granted and course enrollments in those constituencies, and that approximately one-half be allocated to these major constituencies based on the number of members of the Academic Council from each constituency. In no event, however, shall any School receive fewer than two Representatives; nor shall any other major constituency receive less than one Representative.

  3. For each major constituency that is allotted two or more Representatives, the distribution of the allotted Representatives shall be decided by the constituency subject to the following limitations:

    1. Each major constituency entitled to more than one seat shall elect approximately one-half of its Representatives each year.

    2. The number and composition of electoral units within which the allotted Representatives are to be elected shall be decided upon pursuant to a decision taken at a meeting open to all Academic Council members who are identified with that constituency for electoral purposes.3

    3. If necessary, in order to avoid multiple voting, members of the Academic Council who hold appointments in two or more electoral units shall certify the unit with which they wish to participate for electoral purposes.

  4. Every tenth year the Senate or the Steering Committee shall consider reapportioning the representation of the Academic Council in accordance with the principles set forth in the foregoing provisions of this section. At five year intervals between ten year periods, the Steering Committee will recommend to the Senate that the reapportionment continue, unless it sees some major reason for change. At ten-year periods the Steering Committee or Senate may choose to appoint a reapportionment committee.

  5. At the time of any periodic reapportionment, any major constituency may alter the number and composition of its electoral units pursuant to a decision taken at a meeting open to all Academic Council members who are identified with that constituency for electoral purposes.

  6. Within these five-year periods, the Senate may:

    1. Add Representatives if any major academic entity is created;

    2. Permit any major constituency to change the number and composition of its electoral units if organizational changes within the constituency warrant.

SECTION D. Election of Representatives and Alternates

  1. Votes shall be cast in annual elections to the Senate by preferential ballot within each unit and shall be counted according to the Hare System of Proportional Representation. This election shall be held in March or April in combination with the annual election of members of the Advisory Board.

  2. For each electoral unit, the ballot shall list as candidates the persons entitled to vote in that unit, except for ex officio members of the Senate, who shall be ineligible for elected membership.

  3. In each election, Alternates shall be designated in order on the basis of the balloting. The number of Alternates shall exceed the number of seats to be filled from the unit.

  4. If any Representative is unable or unwilling to serve for one academic quarter of the elected term, or longer, the First Alternate shall be designated to serve for the remainder of the unexpired term. In case the First Alternate is or becomes unavailable for service, the Second Alternate shall be so designated, etc.2

  5. Representatives shall serve two-year terms, beginning September 1. After serving two consecutive terms or portions thereof, a Representative shall be ineligible for re-election for a period of two years.

  6. Each electoral unit which is entitled to more than one Representative shall elect approximately one-half of its Representatives each year.

Article III: Organization and Rules

SECTION A. Rules

The Senate shall promulgate its own rules for the conduct of its business and the execution of functions committed to it, except that:

  1. Regular Meetings

    2. The Senate shall hold regular meetings at least monthly during the Academic Calendar Year. Regular meetings are not to be held during the months of July and August.

  2. Special Meetings

    3. Special meetings may be called at any time during the year pursuant to a procedure promulgated by the Senate.

  3. Quorum

    4. A majority of the Representatives shall constitute a quorum at all meetings of the Senate, whether regular or special. A majority of those present and voting shall be required to carry any action.

  4. Privileges

    Meetings of the Senate shall be open to all members of the Academic Council, but normally only members of the Senate shall have the privileges of the floor.

  5. Notification of Senate Actions

    6. All decisions of each Senate meeting and the votes by which the decisions were taken shall be reported in writing to every member of the Academic Council within seven days after the meeting.

SECTION B. Chair

The Senate shall elect a Chair from its Representatives, to serve a term of one year. The Chair shall be eligible for re-election to a second term subject to continued membership as an elected member. The Chair shall preside over the Senate and chair the Steering Committee and serve as voting ex officio member on the Planning and Policy Board.4 In the absence of the Chair the duties shall be performed by another member of the Steering Committee.

SECTION C. Academic Secretary

The Academic Secretary to the University shall serve ex officio as Secretary of the Senate, of the Steering Committee, of the Committee on Committees, and of the Planning and Policy Board, keeping minutes of the meetings, issuing calls for meetings, and performing other duties in keeping with the position of Secretary.

SECTION D. The Steering Committee

The Senate shall elect from its Representatives four members in addition to a chair to serve on a Steering Committee. In addition, the President of the University or designee, normally the Provost, and the Academic Secretary shall serve as ex officio members of the Steering Committee without vote. The responsibilities of the Steering Committee shall include;

  1. agenda for meetings of the Senate, and

  2. communications with individuals and bodies external to the Senate, and

  3. the appointment of a Committee on Committees.

SECTION E. Election of Chair and Steering Committee

Each year in Spring Quarter the newly elected and continuing members of the Senate shall, by written ballot, elect the Chair and other members of the Steering Committee for the following year. The incumbent Committee on Committees shall present from the newly elected and continuing members of the Senate two nominations for the Chair of the Senate and at least eight nominations for the remaining four positions on the Steering Committee. Write-in candidates shall be in order. The Chair shall be voted upon first. A majority of the Representatives voting shall be required to elect. If no candidate for the Chair receives a majority vote, a runoff election shall be conducted before the end of the academic year. A Steering Committee that does not sufficiently represent the major constituencies may co-opt one or more additional members from among the elected alternates or other members of Senate5. The new Chair and Steering Committee shall take office September 1.

SECTION F. Committee on Committees

The Committee on Committees shall consist of seven members of the Senate appointed by the Steering Committee for one-year terms. In its capacity as a Committee-Elect, the new Steering Committee shall, promptly after its election, appoint the Committee on Committees, which, as a Committee-Elect, may appoint or nominate members of Committees for the next academic year if those appointments have not yet been completed by the previous outgoing Committee on Committees6. It shall take office September 1.

The functions of the Committee on Committees shall be these:

  1. To recommend to the Senate the creation and dissolution of standing and ad hoc committees of the Academic Council; and

  2. To recommend to the Senate the charge to each of these committees; and

  3. To appoint members from the Academic Council to each committee, and to designate the Chair of each; and

  4. To nominate candidates in the election of the Chair and Steering Committee, as provided in Article III, SECTION E; and

  5. To appoint members from among the entire Academic Council to the Planning and Policy Board of the Senate; and

  6. To recommend to the President and the Provost members from the Academic Council to serve on University Committees and on other ad hoc committees and bodies.

SECTION G.  Planning and Policy Board of the Senate4

The Planning and Policy Board comprises nine voting members. Seven members from among the entire Academic Council membership; are appointed by the Committee on Committees of the Senate to serve three-year terms. The current and most recent chair of the Senate also serve as members, rotating after two years. The Vice Provost for Institutional Planning and the Academic Secretary serve as ex officio members. Among the PPB's charged duties are to articulate the academic vision and mission for the University; to examine long-term trends and their implications for the University; to formulate academic policy issues for consideration by the faculty; and to function as an informal advisory group for the President and Provost, whenever they may so desire.

Article IV: Committees of the Academic Council

SECTION A. Committee Structure

The committee structure shall comprise the Senate Committees (the Steering Committee, the Committee on Committees, the Planning and Policy Board of the Senate), and such standing and ad hoc committees of the Academic Council as the Senate shall from time to time create.

SECTION B. Standing and Ad Hoc Committees

Membership of standing and ad hoc committees of the Academic Council shall conform to the following:

  1. The Chair shall be a member of the Academic Council; insofar as possible at least one member of each committee shall be a member of the Senate; and the remaining members shall be drawn from the faculty, the University staff, and/or the student body as appropriate to the committee's charge.

  2. Any committee may add to its membership additional persons from the faculty, the University staff, and/or the student body, as appropriate to the committee's charge, as non-voting members, not to exceed in number one-third of the original membership.

  3. The charge to and composition of each committee shall be publicized. The minutes of standing and ad hoc committees shall be available for inspection by any interested member of the Academic Council, within appropriate standards of confidentiality.

Article V: The Academic Council and its Relation to the Senate

SECTION A. Meetings of the Academic Council

The Academic Council shall hold one regularly scheduled meeting annually, at which time the Council shall receive a report from the President of the University and a report of Senate discussions and decisions. Special meetings of the Council may be held at the call of the President or by action of the Council. In addition, special meetings of the Council shall be called by the Academic Secretary in accordance with the provisions of Section B of this Article.

SECTION B. Council Review of Senate Decisions

  1. Petitions for Review

    2. Any decision of the Senate shall be made an agendum for an Academic Council meeting if requested by a petition signed by at least:

    1. one-third of the Senate Representatives; or

    2. fifty members of the Academic Council; or

    3. two-thirds of the Academic Council members in any major constituency certifying that they or their constituency will be seriously and adversely affected by the decision.

    The petition must be presented to the Academic Secretary within three weeks after the decision in question is taken.

  2. Scheduling of Reviews

    3. Upon receipt of a valid petition, the Academic Secretary shall set the petition for consideration by a meeting of the Council. In deciding whether to call a special meeting or to place the petition on the agenda of the next regular Council meeting, the Academic Secretary shall consider, in addition to the calendar, the importance of a rapid Council review as perceived by the petition's proponents and the Senate Steering Committee. If the next regular meeting of the Council is scheduled more than four weeks after the date on which the petition is presented to the Academic Secretary, a special meeting shall be called on demand of the proponents of the petition.

  3. Notice of Special Meetings

    4. Written notice of convocation of any special meeting of the Academic Council shall be dispatched to all Council members not less than one week prior to the meeting.

  4. Scope of Review

    5. Subject to the provision for automatic review of decisions taken at Council meetings, as prescribed in Section D, Paragraph 4 of this Article, the Council may take any action it deems appropriate on the Senate's decision(s) specified in the notice of convocation. If no action is taken, the decision in question stands.

SECTION C. Procedure

  1. Quorum

    2. If fewer than twenty percent of the members of the Academic Council are present, the meeting shall not take any official action, and any petition on the agenda for that meeting shall expire.

  2. Agenda

    3. Agenda of the Academic Council may include the following:

    1. Reviews of any Senate decisions pursuant to Section B of this Article;

    2. Matters referred by an earlier meeting of the Council;

    3. Reports from the President and the Senate;

    4. Matters listed for discussion at the request of the Senate or a member of the Council; and

    5. New business introduced from the floor.

    Decisions made at an Academic Council meeting shall be limited to items a and b above. Items c, d, and e may be discussed but no decisions on them, other than referral to the Senate, shall be made.

  3. Presiding Officer

    4. The President of the University, or a representative of the President, shall preside over all meetings of the Council.

SECTION D. Referenda

  1. On Petition of Representatives

    2. On petition of at least one-third of the Senate Representatives, a mail referendum shall be submitted to all members of the Academic Council asking whether they approve or disapprove the Senate decision specified in the referendum. Such petitions must be presented to the Academic Secretary no later than three weeks after the decision in question is taken. Members of the Senate have the option of presenting written arguments of reasonable length which shall be delivered with the referendum to the Academic Council members. The Senate decision shall stand unless disapproved by a majority of those voting.

  2. On Petition of Representatives with Concurrent Petition for Council Meeting

    3. If, on a given Senate action, petitions for both a mail referendum and an Academic Council meeting are presented, a meeting of the Academic Council shall be convoked to adopt a ballot for the mail referendum on the question under review; the meeting shall not otherwise determine the question; and the mail referendum shall be held. Members of the Senate shall have the option of presenting written arguments of reasonable length, either on their own behalf or on behalf of individual constituents in the

  3. By Vote of the Academic Council

    4. An Academic Council meeting may by majority vote order a mail referendum on any question which, under Section C, Paragraph 2 of this Article, is properly before the meeting for decision.

  4. For Decision on Validation of Action at Meeting of the Academic Council

    5. For every decision taken at an Academic Council meeting that would set aside or modify a Senate decision pursuant to Section B of this Article, a mail referendum shall be submitted to all members of the Academic Council asking whether they approve or disapprove the Council decision. If in that referendum a majority of those voting approves the Council decision, that action shall stand as the official decision of the Council; if not, the previous action of the Senate shall stand as the official decision of the Council.


Article VI

SECTION A. Amendments

This document may be amended by either:

  1. action of the Senate concurred in by a referendum of the Academic Council, or

  2. petition of ten percent of the Academic Council concurred in by a referendum of the Academic Council, subject in either case to ratification by the President and the Board of Trustees.

 

 

Footnotes

  1. Academic administrators who are currently ex officio members of the Senate: The President, the Provost, Dean of the School of Medicine, Dean of the School of Humanities & Sciences, Dean of the School of Law, Dean of the School of Engineering, Dean of the School of Earth Sciences, Dean of the School of Education, Dean of the Graduate School of Business, the Academic Secretary, the Registrar, the Vice Provost and Dean of Research and Graduate Policy, the Vice Provost and Dean of Institutional Planning, University Librarian and Director of Academic Information Resources, and the Vice Provost for Student Affairs. (list as of 11/1/98)

  2. Senate Action on recommendation of the Senate Committee on Reapportionment, 1/7/93.

  3. When a school has an elected policy-making body, that School may allocate its Senate seats on a basis other than provided in Section C-2 by a decision of that policy body, subject to confirmation by mail ballot of the Faculty of the School.

  4. Senate Action on recommendation of the ad hoc Committee on the Structure and Functions of Standing Committees of the Academic Council (STANCOM), 4/2/92, and renewed on 4/4/96.

  5. Steering Committee Action, 5/14/92: responding to earlier change in the election of Steering Committee members.

  6. Change was made by CoC in 1993 to the time frame of appointments; earlier nomination of committee members is to accommodate appointments before summer break.