BYLAWS OF THE VICTOR VALLEY COLLEGE ACADEMIC SENATE

Bylaws of the Victor Valley College Academic Senate Fall 2026

ARTICLE I: ORGANIZATION OF THE ACADEMIC SENATE REPRESENTATIVE COUNCIL

Section 1: Purpose

It shall be the purpose of the Academic Senate Representative Council (Representative Council) to serve as the official voice of the Academic Senate.

Section 2: Membership

The Representative Council shall be composed of the President, Immediate Past President, Vice President, Secretary, Educational Policies Officer of the Academic Senate, FT Faculty Area Representatives, and PT Faculty Representatives. The Academic Senate Executive Board (ASEB) shall serve as the officers of the Representative Council, and do not make motions or vote on council meeting action items. The Full-Time Faculty Areas shall be established by the ASEB dependent upon the number of faculty in each area.

Section 3: Meeting Frequency

The Representative Council shall meet as often as business requires, but not less than once each month during the fall and spring semesters.

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 recommendations to the Superintendent President of the College or the Board of Trustees as authorized by a majority vote of the Representative Council.

Section 5: Committees

The Representative Council shall be empowered to establish committees needed to conduct business of the Academic Senate. The Representative Council approves committee charges which are created by committees to define their purpose and purview.

ARTICLE II: DUTIES OF THE REPRESENTATIVE COUNCIL MEMBERS

Section 1: President

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 Representative Council and ASEB; 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, agendas and adherence to the Brown Act.

Additional duties of the President may include, but are not limited to:

Reports monthly at the VVC Board of Trustees meeting as necessary

Attends the New Faculty Orientations (Fall and Spring semesters)

Arranges and attends regular consultation meetings with the college Superintendent/President, the Vice President of Instruction and other administrators

Oversees faculty governance structures, facilitating communication and collaboration among faculty members and ensuring that their voices are heard in decision-making processes

Facilitates senate meetings using Brown Act and Robert’s Rules of Order

Assists with and approves all accreditation-related documents and works with appropriate participatory governance committees on all accreditation-related work

Establishes and maintains open lines of communication with faculty bargaining units

Establishes and maintains yearly goal setting for the Academic Senate to demonstrate continuous evolution and improvement

Serves as Chair of The Faculty Hiring Prioritization Process adopted by the VVC Academic Senate

Participates in the final interview for full-time faculty hires

Participates in or assigns a designee to the following committees: Strategic Enrollment Management Committee; Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee; Student Equity and Achievement Committee; Accreditation Steering/Writing Committee

Co-Chairs College Council

(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: Vice President

Serves as assistant to the President

Assumes the duties of the President in the absence of the President

Serves as coordinator of committee activities at the direction of the President

Generates “ALL-CALLS” for faculty participation in committees

Organizes faculty responses and advocates for equitable committee assignments

Keeps an accurate roster of all committees; and shall

Chairs the Elections Committee

Develops knowledge of Brown Act and Robert’s Rules of Order in preparation for facilitating senate meetings.

Section 3: Secretary

Manages the minutes of the proceedings of each meeting, regular or special, of the Senate and the ASEB Executive Board

Is responsible for the distribution of minutes for all meetings to the members

Maintains documents

Assists with financial expenditures

Updates the senate’s web site

Carries on the correspondence pertaining to the affairs of the Academic Senate as directed by the President.

Section 4: Educational Policies Officer

Serves 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,

Legislative issues and actions impacting community colleges.

Provides reports to senate to ensure faculty are knowledgeable and responsive to systemwide issues

Serves as the ASCCC Legislative and Advocacy Liaison

Assumes the responsibilities of editing the VVC Faculty Forum

Section 5: Past President

Serves as a resource person for the Academic Senate and ASEB

Serves as Parliamentarian at Senate meetings

Attends meetings that the President and/or Vice President cannot attend

Chairs Academic Senate Task Forces or other groups as directed by the President

Section 6: Area Representative

Attends all senate meetings

Regularly updates constituency regarding information items, action items, and reports from the Representative Council meetings

Acquires feedback from constituents regarding upcoming votes of the Senate through surveys, polls, meetings and formal or informal discussions

To the best of their ability, votes in accordance with constituent majority

ARTICLE III: NOMINATIONS AND ELECTIONS

Section 1: Process and Timelines

Elections Committee

Academic Senate elections shall be conducted by the Elections Committee chaired by the Vice President. The Elections Committee shall consist of a total of three members, including two members of the Executive Board, or two designees nominated by the current Vice President and approved by the Executive Board.

Voting Eligibility

Full-time faculty are eligible to vote for Area Representatives and Executive Officers. Part-time faculty are eligible to vote for Part-time Faculty Representatives. 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.

Timeline

February: Form election committee.

March - April: Solicit nominations from faculty on the offices of Vice-President, Secretary, Educational Policies Officer 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.

The Ballot

Ballots will be prepared under the direction of the Academic Senate Vice President/Elections Committee Chair.

The voting process will be managed through a secure and confidential system that ensures one vote per person.

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.

The Vice President/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 timeline.

Section 2: Campaigning/Endorsements

ASEB is prohibited from endorsing and/or campaigning for or against any nominee or group of nominees on the ballot. ASEB (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 IV: RECALL ELECTIONS

Section 1: Petition For Recall

The recall of any person in an Academic Senate elected position may be initiated by a petition signed by 49% of the full-time faculty Senate membership. A statement of the reasons for the proposed recall petition shall be part of the recall petition.

Section 2: Right of Rebuttal

Each person named in the recall petition shall have the right to make a rebuttal statement, which shall be distributed to their constituency at least seven days before the recall election.

Section 3: Recall Process

Recall elections shall follow regular election procedures (e.g., election of officers.)

Section 4: Passing a Recall

A two-thirds majority vote of the full-time faculty shall be necessary to pass the recall.

Section 5: Vacancy Due to Recall

Any vacancy, in any office, created by recall, shall be filled according to the procedures provided in these Bylaws for election of officers.

ARTICLE V: TERMS AND VACANCIES

Section 1: Representative Council Terms

Officers and representatives shall be elected for a period of two years, commencing on July 1 and ending on June 30 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: Conditions of Vacancy

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, Educational Policies Officer or Vice President, shall be filled by holding a special election. A pro tem officer may be appointed by ASEB to serve until the election is held.

Section 3: Vacancy of President

In the event of a vacancy occurring in the office of the President, the Vice President shall assume the office.

Section 4: Vacancy of Vice President

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: Vacancy of Past President

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: Replacement Election Process

All replacement elections shall be held according to the election procedures provided in these Bylaws. 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: Failure to Elect

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: Removal and Replacement

If a representative misses two consecutive meetings without cause or more than two meetings per term, the President may remove the representative from their position. The president may hold a special election or appoint a replacement for the remainder of their term.

ARTICLE VI: MEETINGS

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. Procedures for running and holding meetings should encourage inclusiveness, active participation, and constructive dialogue.

ARTICLE VII: ACADEMIC SENATE STANDING COMMITTEES

Section 1: Committee Responsibilities Within the Senate

Committees have the duty to recommend operational, policy and/or procedural changes through the Academic Senate

When a committee’s recommendations may affect other committees, the item will be shared with the impacted committee for input before submission to ASEB

Disagreements between Senate committees will be reviewed by ASEB and collegial collaboration will be used to determine committee responsibilities for operational, policy or procedural changes

Committee recommendations are submitted to ASEB for review prior to being agendized for Representative Council action. ASEB may request changes to committee recommendations

Section 2: Eligibility

Membership in Academic Senate committees is open to all faculty and committee size is determined by the ASEB and the Committee chair. Committee size should be adequate to ensure broad participation of faculty representing all academic divisions. 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.

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

Section 3: Appointments

The President, in consultation with 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.

Section 4: Committee Member Responsibilities

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.

Work collaboratively with other members of the committee as well as other committees to ensure broad consideration of campus needs

Make every effort to attend all meetings and notify chair of absences

Represent the interests of all faculty

Share committee work equitably

Expeditiously carry out committee duties as determined by the committee

Practice responsible freedom of speech in relation to the charge of the committee

Maintain professional courtesy

Elect a committee chair

Section 5: Removals from Academic Senate Standing Committees

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.

Section 6: Committee Chair Responsibilities

Facilitate the development of the committee’s charge, and ensure the charge is submitted to the ASEB to review alignment with campus goals, plans and initiatives, and to agendize for approval by the Representative Council.

Facilitate updates to committee handbooks to show protocols, directions and operations.

In accordance with the Brown Act, post meeting agendas on the district-adopted web portal (or equivalent), and in a physical location visible to the public.

In accordance with the Brown Act, post meeting minutes on the district-adopted web portal (or equivalent) within 72 hours of their approval.

Determine time and date of regular meetings in consultation with committee members. (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.

Facilitate election for the chair of the committee.

Attend campus training on Brown Act and Robert’s Rules of Order.

Section 7: List of Academic Senate Standing Committees

Committees include, but are not limited to:

Affordable Educational Materials Committee

Curriculum Committee

Distance Education Committee

Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, Anti-Racism (IDEAA) Committee

Equivalence/Eminence Committee

Faculty Hiring Procedures Committee

Fair Employee Relations Representatives Committee

Graduation Requirements Committee

Honors Program Committee

Legislative Analysis Committee

Non-credit Committee

Petitions Committee

Instructional Program Review Committee

Student Learning Outcomes and Assessment Committee

Teaching Abroad Committee

ARTICLE VIII: PARTICIPATORY GOVERNANCE COMMITTEES

Section 1: Appointments

All faculty are eligible to serve on Participatory Governance Committees and ALL-CALLs will be issued in response to representation requests. Participatory governance committee appointments are made by the ASEB and any appointments that do not go through the ASEB are invalid. Faculty representation on Participatory Governance Committees is determined by the VVC Decision Making Handbook. Committee Chairs request faculty representation through the Academic Senate Vice President.

Section 2: Committee Member Responsibilities

All faculty appointed by the ASEB to 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 shall be submitted to ASEB in a timely manner.

Understand the committee charge and actively participate in its work.

Communicate on a regular basis with the committee chair and members.

Make every effort to attend all meetings.

In the event of a necessary absence, notify the committee chair and work with an alternate or proxy to attend and potentially vote in your absence. Follow up after the meeting with the alternate.

Keep informed of and represent the interests of the Academic Senate relative to the committee’s charge and purview.

Keep the ASEB and Representative Council apprised of information, actions, and changes relevant to the 10+1. This can be written or verbal reports at Representative Council meetings and may also warrant updates to the ASEB by e-mail or by attending an ASEB meeting.

Maintain professional courtesy.

Section 3: Removals from Participatory Governance Committees