Faculty Senate Constitution

Preamble

We, the faculty of Coconino Community College, in order to contribute to quality of academics, opportunities for student success, shared governance, communication, and understanding amongst the college community do hereby authorize a Faculty Senate to advocate for academic leadership and faculty voice, and to promote fairness and equity in the decision making process.

Article One: Title

The name of this organization shall be the Coconino Community College Faculty Senate, hereafter referred to as the Senate.

Article Two: Purpose

The purposes of the Senate shall be to enhance organization, communication, and shared governance of the decisions affecting instruction and faculty, to coordinate activities and communication among Academic Affairs sponsored committees, and to promote faculty representation within college-wide groups and committees.

Through collaboration of a single faculty group with other college-wide departments, the Senate, acting as a unified voice of faculty, may meet with and make recommendations to the appropriate college-wide groups, following the policies and procedures of the college. In this manner, the voice of all faculty contributes to the decision making process that affects them, the student body, and ultimately the success of the college as a whole.

Article Three: Privileges and Responsibilities

• Senate shall concern itself with any systemic academic or professional matters which faculty deems important to student success, teaching, and learning
• Senate recommendations and any dissenting opinions on recommendations will be made available electronically to college employees.
• Senate will enhance communication with committees serving Academic Affairs. The following Academic Affairs Committees will report to the Senate: Curriculum, eLearning, and Teaching and Learning Development. The Senate shall request an update from these committees on a regular basis.
• Senate will collaborate with Academic Deans and college committee chairpersons to keep track of committee memberships and work in conjunction with Academic Deans to coordinate filling faculty openings on committees.
• One part-time faculty shall be assigned by the Senate as a representative to the Compensation Committee.
• Senate will promote lines of communication with college-wide groups, committees, administrators, and staff by providing pertinent information and updates, and by recommending faculty members to be a part of leadership groups as needed.
• Other college committees or groups are invited to present or provide updates to the Faculty Senate when relevant to academic procedures, operations, and/or opportunities for student success.
• Senate will hold a Faculty Forum, for the purpose of gathering information, discussing and sharing out items relating to faculty, at least once a semester, preferably at a different campus each semester.

Article Four: Eligibility for Senate Membership

Faculty who have been employed as faculty by the college for four semesters are eligible for election to the Senate. In addition, part-time faculty must be currently teaching at least six load hours per Academic year

Article Five: Composition

The Senate will be composed of ten Senators, consisting of one full-time Senator from each of the following areas: Arts, Humanities, and Languages, Career and Technical Education, English and Communication, Mathematics and Accounting, Nursing and Allied Health, Physical and Biological Sciences, and Social and Behavioral Sciences, and three part-time faculty, with a goal of a minimum of one from each division. In the event that there are insufficient faculty nominations to fill all seats, the unfilled seat(s) shall remain vacant. There shall be three designated officers, a President, Vice-President, and Secretary.

Article Six: Elections

Section 1: Voting Eligibility

All faculty members are eligible to vote for their respective full-time faculty Senate Representatives or part-time faculty Senate Representatives.

Section 2: Nominations

Nominations for part-time Senators will be accepted by the Vice President during the spring semester up until Spring Break. For full-time Senators, the Vice President will send out a request to the represented areas for the full-time Senator designations during the spring semester.

Section 3: Election

Senators will be elected using a college-supported secure electronic surveying program.

Article Seven: Compensation for Service

Part-time faculty members serving on the Senate will receive compensation for their service in an amount set by the College and sponsored by the Provost.

Article Eight: Officers

Section 1: Election of Officers

The officers will be chosen by the Faculty Senate after the new Senators have been elected and prior to the end of the spring semester.

Section 2: Terms of Office

• The term of Office for Senators is two years for full-time faculty and one year for part-time faculty.
• The terms of Office for the President, Vice President, and Secretary of the Senate shall be two years as long as the Senate member remains eligible to serve.
• All Officers and Senators shall be limited to three consecutive terms. A term that results from a midterm election shall not be counted in determining if a Senator has served three consecutive terms.
• The Past-President shall be available to the Senate for procedural consultation for one year as needed.

Section 3: Responsibilities of Officers

The President shall be the principal elected officer for the Senate and, in general, supervise all business affairs of the Senate, be the official spokesperson for the Senate, and be responsible for submitting Senate recommendations to the appropriate college-wide groups and/or individuals. The President may be on additional committees as directed by the Provost. Additionally, the Past-President shall serve during the first year of the new Senate President’s term as an advisor.

The Vice-President shall assist the President, substitute for the President when required, and coordinate activities and communications from Academic Affairs sponsored committees. The Vice-President shall be responsible for maintaining the Senate intranet site, gathering agenda items, and posting recommendations and dissenting opinions.

The Secretary shall be responsible for taking and posting meeting minutes and voting records, and providing records and communications to other college-wide groups as needed.

The officers shall meet at least ten days prior to the Senate meeting to prioritize all agenda items and construct the agenda. The proposed agenda will be sent to the Provost for input and/or discussion prior to dissemination of the agenda. The finalized agenda will be sent to all CCC employees one week prior to the Senate meeting.

Section 4: Vacancies

Vacancies shall be declared by the President of the Senate in consultation with the Senate. The Senate may leave a vacancy unfilled until the next election. In the alternative, the Senate may hold a special midterm election to elect a qualified faculty member to serve until the expiration of the unfulfilled term. The President shall declare vacancies when a Senator has been absent three consecutive times or four total times during the academic year, a Senator resigns, a Senator is unable to complete all or part of an elected term for any reason, or if a Senator fails to fulfill Senate assigned responsibilities as per Article 3. Election to Faculty Senate is not a promise of continued employment with the College, and a Senator’s seat shall be declared vacant if the employment relationship ends for any reason during the Senator’s term. The Senate may choose to leave a vacancy unfilled until the next election.

Section 5: Removal of Members

A member of the Senate may be removed from office through the initiation of a recall petition by any member of faculty under contract. Within two weeks of the receipt of a recall petition signed by one third or more of the associated voting body as per Article 6.1, the Senate will hold a recall election. On verification that a majority of votes cast by the associated voting body are in support of the recall, the Senate member will be removed from office.

Article Nine: Meetings and Procedures

 Section 1: Meetings

• The Senate shall use established college wide meeting procedures.
• The Senate shall meet at least once monthly during the academic year and convene during the summer as needed.
• Faculty members or other interested parties are encouraged to attend Senate meetings but are not entitled to vote or propose motions. Such faculty or other interested parties may, upon request and with approval of the Senate, be given an opportunity to speak on matters under consideration.

Section 2: Quorum

A majority of the elected Senate shall be considered a quorum.

Section 3: Voting

• All elected Senators are empowered to vote; there shall be no proxy voting.
• A voting record shall be kept for every matter requiring a vote in the Senate.
• The Senate voting record shall be available electronically.

Article Ten: Guidelines for Coordination of Academic Committees

• The chair or designated faculty representative of each Academic committee listed in Article 3.3 is required to attend at least one Senate meeting per semester to provide updates and enhance communication.
• The Senate will electronically post updates sent from Academic committees to enhance communication among the committees serving Academic Affairs.
• Academic Committee chairs shall maintain a record of committee membership, provide that information to the Senate Secretary, and notify the Senate when vacancies arise.

Article Eleven: Procedure for Bringing Issues to the Senate

Agenda items, when in compliance with college policy and procedures, are to be sent to the Vice President, via an electronic submittal form at least two weeks prior to the Senate meeting. The Vice President will organize and distribute the items for the officers to prioritize and create the Senate agenda. Action or discussion agenda items may be requested from any current employee or student.

Article Twelve: Recommendation Procedure Detail

Any Senate written recommendation on academic or professional matters within the responsibilities of the Senate will require a majority vote of the Senate to be taken forward to the appropriate committee, council, group or administrator, other than the College President, as deemed by the Senate, as per Article 2. Recommendations may only be made to the District Governing Board through the intermediary of the College President. Recommendations may only be made upon matters directly related to actions by the Board such as Policies or budgetary decisions that affect faculty or teaching and learning; such recommendations must be reviewed by all faculty before being forwarded to the District Governing Board through the Office of the College President.

The Senate requests that the receiving committee, council, group, or administrator provide a written response of approval, modification, or rejection, including rationale, or an explanation of the need for additional time within twenty (20) days after receipt of the Senate recommendation. If the respondent requests that the recommendation be considered by other bodies before proceeding further, then the Senate requests this information in writing. If a written response is not received within the twenty (20) days, the Senate may vote to forward the item to the next administrative level.

It is then in the purview of the Senate to follow the course of action from the responding committee, council, group, or administrator; or, with a majority vote of the Senate, send the recommendation to the Provost for action.

After receiving written response within twenty (20) days from the Provost regarding a forwarded Senate item, or if no response is given within twenty (20) days, the Senate, with a majority vote, may elect to send a recommendation to the College President for additional action.

Upon review of the College President’s written response to the Senate recommendation, or if no response is given within twenty (20) days, the Senate, with more than a two-thirds vote, may elect to take the item to the District Governing Board. This Senate decision must be approved by a majority vote of the voting faculty after a 2 week period of disclosure and discussion of the pending item with the faculty at large. If approved, the Senate President will request that the item be placed on the District Governing Board agenda as per Policy 31 and Procedure 31-01. The decision to recommend an item be taken to the District Governing Board shall be the result of thorough deliberation, and the item will be considered of vital significance to the functionality of the college.

Article Thirteen: Limitations to Faculty Senate Authority

Senate is a recommending and research body and does not have the authority to act on behalf of an individual student, instructor, or employee.

The Senate recognizes that its recommendations do not constitute policy.

A majority vote of voting faculty is required to present items to the District Governing Board per Article 12 and in adherence to Policy 31 and Procedure 31-01.

Senate members may be recalled as per Article 8.5.

Article Fourteen: Amendments

This constitution may be amended by a two-thirds vote of the voting faculty, provided that the proposed amendment shall have been presented in writing to each faculty member at least two weeks prior to the voting. All proposed amendments will be submitted to the Provost and the College President, prior to voting. Any editorial changes to the constitution may be made by a majority vote of the Senate

Article Fifteen: Ratification

This constitution shall become effective by a majority of the voting full-time and part-time faculty taken electronically and anonymously.