BYLAWS OF THE ACADEMIC SENATE

 

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ARTICLE I: DUTIES OF THE ACADEMIC SENATE OFFICERS

Section 1: The President shall preside at all meetings of the Senate and the Executive Board (ASEB) and promote the interests and purposes of the Academic Senate. The President, with the advice and in consultation with the ASEB, and with input from the committee chair, shall fairly and equitably appoint members to Senate and college-wide committees. The President shall be an ex-officio member of all committees and shall be held responsible for the progress and work of the Academic Senate. The President, or his/her designee, shall serve as the delegate to the Academic Senate of the California Community Colleges (ASCCC). The President shall develop the agenda for the general meetings of the Senate and the Executive Board; be the official spokesperson for the Senate; call meetings of the Executive Board, which shall meet at least twice a month; and review the minutes, notice of meetings, and agendas and adherence to the Brown Act.
Additional duties of the President may include, but are not limited to:
• Report monthly at the VVC Board of Trustees meeting as necessary
• Attend the Part-time Faculty Orientation (Fall and Spring semesters)
• Sign Equivalency documents approved by the Academic Senate Equivalency Committee
• Arrange and attend regular consultation meetings with the college Superintendent/President, the Vice President of Instruction and other administrators
• Hold regular Senate Office Hours (or equivalent) to meet with faculty on academic and professional matters
• Assist with and approve all accreditation-related documents and work with appropriate participatory governance committees on all accreditation-related work
• Establish and maintain open lines of communication with faculty bargaining units
• Establish and maintain yearly goal setting for the Academic Senate to demonstrate continuous evolution and improvement
• Lead discussion and evaluation of potential full-time faculty hires, based on the Program Review and Faculty Hiring Prioritization Process adopted by the VVC Academic Senate
• Participate in the final interview for full-time faculty hires
• Be the contact person for the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Scholarship
• Participate in or assign a designee to the following committees: Strategic Enrollment Management Committee; Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee; Student Equity and Achievement Committee; Accreditation Steering/Writing Committee
(Note: The Academic Senate President may appoint a designee for certain duties on a temporary [due to absence] or continuous basis as needed. Any time a designee is used, the Academic Senate President will notify appropriate personnel.)

Section 2: The Vice President shall serve as assistant to the President; shall assume the duties of the President in the absence of the President; shall serve as coordinator of committee activities at the direction of the President; keep an accurate roster of all committees; and shall Chair the Elections Committee. Additional duties of the Vice President may include holding regular Senate Office Hours (or equivalent) to meet with faculty on academic and professional matters.

Section 3: The Secretary shall manage the minutes of the proceedings of each meeting, regular or special, of the Senate and the Executive Board, and be responsible for the distribution of minutes for all meetings to the members. The Secretary maintains documents, assists with financial expenditures, and updates the senate’s web site. The Secretary shall carry on the correspondence pertaining to the affairs of the Academic Senate as directed by the President.

Section 4: Senate Liaison Officer shall serve as a resource for maintaining awareness about current statewide initiatives of the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges, California Community College system, Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges, and legislative issues and actions impacting community colleges. This officer shall monitor and report out on these issues to senate to ensure faculty are knowledgeable and responsive to systemwide issues. This position shall assume the responsibilities of editing the Faculty Forum.

Section 5: The Past President shall serve as a resource person for the Academic Senate, Executive Board, and serve as Parliamentarian at Senate meetings. The Academic Senate Past President shall also, if requested by the President, attend
meetings that the President and/or Vice President cannot attend. The Past President can also chair Academic Senate Task Forces or other groups as directed by the President as needed in the absence of the President or Vice President.

Section 6: In the event that an Executive Board office is vacant, the Senate President shall assume the duties and/or assign the duties to a designee or conduct a special election.

ARTICLE II: MEETINGS

Academic Senate shall meet as often as business requires but not less than once each semester. Robert’s Rules of Order (RRO) will be the procedural model for Academic Senate meetings, except when public meeting requirements demand additional actions or information not contained in RRO.

ARTICLE III: ORGANIZATION OF THE ACADEMIC SENATE

Section 1: Purpose.
It shall be the purpose of the Academic Senate Representative Council to serve as the official voice of the Academic Senate.

Section 2: Membership.
The Academic Senate Representative Council shall be composed of the President, Immediate Past-President, Vice-President, Secretary and Senate Liaison Officer of the Academic Senate, and representatives from each area. The ASEB officers of the Academic Senate shall serve as the officers of the Representative Council. The Faculty Areas shall be established by the ASEB dependent upon the number of faculty in each area, including at-large representatives.

Section 3: Meetings.
The Academic Senate Representative Council shall meet as often as business requires, but not less than once each month. Area Representatives missing more than two Academic Senate meetings without designating a proxy, or four meetings during an academic year (August through June) can be replaced by special election or appointment, as determined by the Academic Senate President, with the advice and consent of the ASEB. In the conduct of official business a quorum shall consist of one more than half of the area representatives.

Section 4: Empowerment.
The power of the Academic Senate is derived from AB 1725 and Title 5 of the California Code of Regulations and implemented through its recommendations. Recommendations to the Superintendent President of the College or the Board of Trustees must be authorized by a majority vote of the Representative Council.

Section 7: Committees.
The Representative Council shall be empowered to establish such committees as are needed to conduct business of the Academic Senate. The Representative Council defines the power and duties of committees.

Section 8: Proxy voting.
Area representatives can use a proxy vote for Academic Senate monthly meetings where they cannot be present to vote. Any full-time or part-time faculty member can serve as a proxy for an Area Representative; Area Representatives should make every effort to designate as a proxy a faculty member from their area. An Area Representative is entitled to two proxy votes per academic year without being counted as absent; if an Area Representative misses more than four Academic Senate monthly meetings per academic year, the provision for replacement of that Area Representative will be conducted according to Section 3 above.

ARTICLE IV: NOMINATIONS AND ELECTIONS

Section 1: Process and Timelines
Academic Senate elections shall be conducted by the Elections Committee. The Executive Board Vice-President serves as the chair of the Elections Committee. The Elections Committee shall consist of a total of 3 members. Two members of the Executive Board, or two designees nominated by the current Vice-President and approved by the Executive Board.

Full-time faculty are eligible to vote for Senate Area and At-Large Representatives and Executive Officers. Part-time Faculty Representatives (3) will be elected by Adjunct part-time faculty only. If no full-time faculty are available for Area Representative positions, after the election is concluded, the Academic Senate President, with the advice and consent of the ASEB, can appoint a part-time faculty member whose teaching assignment is primarily in an Area (for example, Science building). Should no faculty (full-time or part-time) be available for an Area, it is the responsibility of the At-Large Representatives to inform that Area of Academic Senate business.

March - April: Solicit nominations from faculty on the offices of Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer and Senate representatives.
April - May: Open nominations and a last call are to be taken from the floor at the Senate meeting.
Late April-Early May: Election takes place and the results are to be presented to the membership within five (5) business days of the election concluding, so those elected can adjust their fall academic schedules to accommodate duties associated with elected office.

Ballot Process:
1. Ballots will be prepared under the direction of the Academic Senate Vice-President. The placement of names may be determined by using the state random alphabet for the current year, or by having names chosen by an agreed upon random drawing.
2. The Election Committee Chair shall submit the final report to the President or designee who shall inform all candidates of the results. The President shall announce the results as prescribed by the timelines.

Process for Electronic Ballots
1. The electronic voting process will be managed through a secure and confidential online program to ensure one vote per person.

Section 2: Campaigning/Endorsements
The Executive Board is prohibited from endorsing and/or campaigning for or against any nominee or group of nominees on the ballot. The Executive Board (as a group) is to remain impartial. However, as individual faculty members, Executive Officers may campaign for or endorse nominees, with the provision that any campaign or endorsement be clearly stated as coming from an individual faculty member.

ARTICLE V: RECALL ELECTIONS

Section 1: The recall of any person in an Academic Senate elected position may be initiated by a petition signed by one-third (1/3) of the active Senate membership. A statement of the reasons for the proposed recall petition shall be part of the recall petition.

Section 2: Each person named in the recall petition shall have the right to make a rebuttal statement, which shall be distributed to his/her constituency at least 7 days before the recall election.

Section 3: Recall elections shall be by secret ballot, and regular election procedures (e.g., election of officers) shall be followed including voting times.

Section 4: A two-thirds (2/3) majority vote of the Senate membership shall be necessary to affect the recall.

Section 5: Any vacancy, in any office, created by recall shall be filled according to the procedures provided in Article IV for election of officers.

ARTICLE VI: TERMS AND VACANCIES

Section 1: Officers and representatives shall be elected for a period of two years, commencing on August 1 and ending on July 31 two years later with the exception of the Vice-President, who will automatically ascend to the Presidency and then to the position of Past-President. Members should be reminded to take this into account when voting for the office of Vice-President.

Section 2: A vacancy shall be deemed to exist in the case of death, resignation, or inability to serve in any of the offices of the Senate. Any vacancy in the office of Secretary, Academic Senate Liaison or Vice-President, shall be filled by holding a special election.

Section 3: In the event of a vacancy occurring in the office of the President, the Vice-President shall assume the office.

Section 4: If the Vice-President leaves office with one year or less remaining on his or her two-year term, the newly elected Vice-President will fulfill the remainder of the aforementioned officer’s term plus one year before ascending to the presidency. If and when this should occur, the incumbent President's term will be extended to correspond with the Vice-President's term.

Section 5: The replacement for the Past-President must be drawn from the ranks of Past-Presidents and filled by special election. In the event that there are no Past-Presidents available, the position may be filled from the ranks of past Executive Officers by special election.

Section 6: All replacement elections shall be held according to the procedures provided in Article IV, sections 1 and 2. A meeting to solicit nominations shall be held within two weeks but not sooner than five school days following the notification of the vacancy.

Section 7: In the event that an executive board office is vacant as a result of no one running for that position, the Senate President shall assume the duties and/or assign the duties to a designee or conduct a special election.

Section 8: A quorum of Senate Area Representatives is required for voting purposes. If a representative misses two consecutive meetings without cause, the President may hold a special election or appoint a replacement for the remainder of the term.

ARTICLE VII: APPOINTMENTS, REMOVALS, AND COMMITTEES

Section 1: Appointments
In accordance with Title 5 (5 CCR § 53203): “the appointment of faculty members to
serve on college or district committees, task forces, or other groups dealing with
academic and professional matters, shall be made, after consultation with the chief
executive officer or his or her designee, by the academic senate.” The President, in consultation and with the advice of the ASEB, and with input from the committee chair, shall appoint members to Academic Senate standing committees, ad-hoc committees, participatory governance committees and task forces. Each fall semester, the Academic Senate Vice President will send out a list of all Academic Senate and Participatory Governance Committees to both full-time and part-time faculty (with the exception of Curriculum), with an ‘all call’ for volunteers. All new Committees will be approved by the ASEB. Faculty who have demonstrated non-participation on a given committee will be reported by the committee chair to the Vice President.
The Vice President shall coordinate committee membership, including presenting recommendations for new membership to support all faculty in accordance with the VVCFA Contract, Article 12(A).

All faculty appointed by the ASEB to Academic Senate and Participatory Governance Committees are representing the Academic Senate, and should consult with the ASEB on a regular basis for issues and actions that affect faculty in academic and professional matters. Any committee recommendation or proposal that affects faculty in academic and professional matters, including but not limited to fiscal expenditures and revenues, and student and faculty requirements, shall first be submitted to ASEB for consideration.

Membership in Academic Senate committees is open to all faculty and committee size is determined by the ASEB and the Committee chair. No faculty on Academic Senate or Participatory Governance committees can unilaterally, or via administration appoint faculty to serve on any committee. Any appointments to committees that do not go through the ASEB are invalid and any faculty who serve without ASEB approval do not represent the Academic Senate, and should be removed as soon as possible.

Membership in the Curriculum Committee is determined by academic area representation.

Section 2: Removals
ASEB may remove a committee member from a committee due to excessive absences and/or non-participation, with notice to the faculty member. To ensure that committees carry out their assigned charge, the ASEB will conduct an all-call to replace members whose lack of participation is affecting the charge of the committee. For additional information, please consult Section 5, ‘Committee Member Responsibilities’.

Section 3: Academic Senate Standing Committees
Committees include, but are not limited to:
• Academic Senate Allocations Committee
• Basic Skills Committee
• Catalog Committee
• Curriculum Committee
• Distance Education Committee
• Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee
• Equivalency Committee
• Faculty Hiring Procedures Committee
• Fair Employee Relations Representatives Committee
• Graduation Requirements Committee
• Honors Program Committee
• Legislative Analysis Committee
• Petitions Committee
• Instructional Program Review Committee
• Student Learning Outcomes and Assessment Committee
• Teaching Abroad Committee

Section 4: Committee Chair Responsibilities
• Facilitate the development of the committee’s charge, and ensure the charge is submitted to the ASEB
• Coordinate and post meeting agendas on the district-adopted web portal (or equivalent) and via e-mail to committee members for accreditation evidence for the college to meet accreditation standards and Brown Act compliance
• Post meeting minutes on the district-adopted web portal (or equivalent)
• Determine time and date of regular meetings (Senate committees should meet at least twice per semester; can meet as much as committee determines)
• Engage in active communication with committee members
• Respect committee members’ responsible freedom of speech on topics related to the committee’s charge
• Represent the interest of the Academic Senate and report on a regular basis at the monthly Senate meetings (can be a written report or designee from committee)
• Maintain professional courtesy
• Address diversity, equity and inclusion in committee work

Section 5: Committee Member Responsibilities
• Communicate on a regular basis with committee chair and members
• Make every effort to attend all meetings
• Represent the interests of the Academic Senate
• Inform committee chair of nonattendance at meetings in a timely manner
• Carry out committee duties as determined the by committee
• Practice responsible freedom of speech in relation to the charge of the committee
• Maintain professional courtesy

Section 6: What Constitutes ‘College Service’
• Serving on an Academic Senate or Participatory Governance Committee
• Serving on a task force of the Academic Senate or Participatory Governance equivalent
• Serving on a hiring committee (faculty, management, classified, administration) or tenure evaluation committee
• Serving as an Academic Senate Area Representative, At-Large Representative
• Serving as the Department Chair Representative to College Council
• Serving in a college service capacity such as Puente Program, Bridge, etc., as long as this service is not part of the faculty job description of primary duties
• Mentoring new full-time faculty (one year counted as service for an academic year, as per Senate Hiring Procedures document)

ARTICLE VIII: AMENDMENTS

These Bylaws may be amended in the same manner as the Constitution in that a simple
majority vote by full-time faculty membership shall be required.
Upon ratification in Spring 2022, these Bylaws will take effect Fall 2022.

Revision Dates:  06/2009; 05/2012; 12/2014; 6/2022