Constitution and Bylaws Committee
12:10 PM Solms Hall 209
October 1, 2008
Agenda
I. Call to order
II. Bylaws of the Faculty Development Committee
See appendix A
III. Bylaws of the Planning, Budget and Facilities Committee
See appendix B
IV. Bylaws of the International Programs and Activities Committee
See appendix C
V. Bylaws of the Graduate Affairs Committee
See appendix D
VI. Review Article X, Section H of the Constitution - regarding student voting rights
VII. Additional Items/Announcements
VI. Adjournment
Appendix A
Faculty Development Committee(August 26, 2008)
Charge
The Faculty Development Committee will facilitate, coordinate, and oversee activities directly related to the professional development of faculty.
Duties
The committee shall help develop, maintain, and promote the services and resources provided by the university’s Teaching and Learning Center; solicit and evaluate applications for internal Teaching and Learning Grants for faculty; sponsor and co-sponsor workshops, symposiums, and forums on teaching methods and on strategies for understanding, assessing, and facilitating student learning; and advocate for other activities and services that support the development, review, and implementation of teaching methods, assessment practices, curricular innovations, and current technologies.
Membership
The committee shall be composed of eight faculty members, with no more than three from any one college of the university. The Director of Faculty Development and a representative from theOffice ofSponsored programs shall serve as ex officio, nonvoting members.
Meetings
In addition to review sessions for internal grant applications, the committee shall meet at least once each semester. Subgroups of the committee may also meet to work on specific projects approved by the committee as a whole.
Reports
At the end of each semester, the chair of the committee will submit to the Senate a summary report of committee activities.
Appendix B
Planning, Budget, and Facilities CommitteeBylaws
Charge
The Planning, Budget, and Facilities Committee shall advise the President of the University through the Senate on the issues related to the budget and planning processes where they affect the academic programsmission of the university.
Duties
Responsibilities include recommendations concerning the strategic plan planning, budgeting (including long-range planning and the annual budget prior to its submission to the Board of Regents), as well as planning, development, and expansion of physical facilities when such endeavors affect theacademic programsmission of the university.
Meetings and Reporting
The committee shall meet at least oncefour times each termsemester of the academic year and make recommendations to the Senate. The committee will determine meeting dates and times and publish them on the committee website.
Membership
The committee shall be composed of seveneightfaculty representatives: two from Arts and Sciences,two from the College of Liberal Arts, two from the College of Science and Technology, two from the College of Health Professions, and one from Computing one from the College of Education, and one from the Library. At least one of the faculty representatives must hold graduate faculty status. There shall also be one undergraduate student member,appointed by the Student Government Association, and one graduate student member, elected by the Graduate Student Council. Ex officio, non-voting members will be one department head, one dean, the Vice President for Academic Affairs, the Vice President for Student Affairs, the Vice President for Financial Services, and the Vice President of External Affairs.
Appendix C
International Programs and Activities Committee
Charge
The International Programs and Activities Committee will clarify, review, and implement regulations and policies regarding the quality and administration of international education programs. The committee will work with the Office of International Education to advance the development of its programs and activities, and to provide recommendations regarding resource allocation for international programs.
Duties
The committee works with the faculty and student international exchange programs, study abroad programs and visiting professors and students; establishes study abroad opportunities; enhances campus global perspectives in and beyond the curriculum; improves campus and community awareness of international programs; clarifies and updates policies; evaluates adherence to these policies; and serves as a forum for discussing relevant administrative and resource issues.
Meetings and Reporting
The committee shall meet at least once each semester. The committee shall make recommendations to the Senate on regulations and policies regarding the quality and administration of international education programs. The committee shall provide advice and expertise to the Office of International Education on issues related to program development, activities, and resource allocation. The committee shall report to the Senate its actions regarding international program development, activities, and resource allocation. The student member of the committee shall report the activities of the committee to the student Senate.
Membership
The committee shall be composed of five faculty representatives; and one student representative (nominated by the President of the Student Government); the campus representatives to the European, Asian, African and Americas Councils of the University System of Georgia (provided by the Director of International Education); the campus representative to the Georgia Consortium for International Studies (provided by the Director of International Education); a member of the European Union Certificate Program; a member of the Latin American Certificate Program; three study abroad program directors (nominated by the Director of International Education); The Director of International Education shall serve as an ex officio, non-voting member. The members of the committee shall elect one voting member as Chairperson.
Appendix D
Armstrongatlanticstateuniversity
Graduate affairs Committee
bylaws
DRAFT (21 April 2008)
ARTICLE I. NAME
The name of the body constituted in these
Bylaws shall be denoted as the official representative of the Graduate Faculty of
ArmstrongAtlanticStateUniversity.
ARTICLE II. MEMBERSHIP
The Graduate Faculty shall be comprised of the President, the Vice President for Academic Affairs, the Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs, and those other university faculty members who meet the criteria for full or associate membership prescribed in accordance with these Bylaws and gain approval for such membership in accordance with these Bylaws.
ARTICLE III. OFFICERS
SECTION A. The presiding officer of the
Graduate Faculty shall be an elected member of the graduate faculty. The officer will be designated Chair of the Graduate Affairs Committee. In the absence of the elected Chair, Vice Chair of the Graduate Affairs Committee shall serve as Chair.
SECTION B. The Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs or a designee thereof shall be responsible for recording and distributing accurate records of all meetings and actions of the Graduate Affairs Committee, acting on behalf of the Graduate Faculty. Copies of the minutes of each meeting of the Graduate Affairs Committee shall be sent within five (5) working days of the meeting to each Graduate Faculty member.
ARTICLE IV. DUTIES AND JURISDICTION
The Graduate Affairs Committee, acting on behalf of the Graduate Faculty, shall exercise essentially the same duties and jurisdiction in the area of graduate studies as the university Senate, acting on behalf of the faculty, does with the university as a whole. These duties include, but are not limited to, the following: (1) develop, review, make recommendations on, and keep current policies and procedures
affecting graduate level recruitment, admission, progression through programs, retention, and graduation; (2) present the list of graduates for fall and spring commence-ments; (3) receive reports from the Graduate Student Coordinating Council; (4) establish and maintain the following subcommittees, and receive and act upon their recommendations: (a) Graduate Faculty Status Subcommittee, (b) Graduate Student Appeals Subcommittee, (c) Graduate Curriculum Subcommittee; (5) report and make recommendations to the Senate regarding graduate school programming;
(6) report and make recommendations regarding graduate student appeals through the Senate to the chief officer of the School of Graduate Studies.
ARTICLE V. MEETINGS
SECTION A. Robert’s Rules of Order shall govern the conduct of the Graduate Affairs Committee meetings, except as otherwise provided in these Bylaws.
SECTION B. Regular meetings of the Graduate Affairs Committee shall convene each term of the regular academic year, at least once per month during spring and fall semesters, as determined by the
Senate Steering Committee and the Chair of the Graduate Affairs Committee.
SECTION C. Special meetings of the Graduate Affairs Committee may be called by the Vice President for Academic Affairs, the Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs, or any member of the Graduate Affairs Committee.
SECTION D. New business intended for discussion by the Graduate Affairs Committee will ordinarily be presented at least two weeks in advance of a meeting, in writing to the Chair of the Graduate Affairs committee. Members of the Graduate Faculty shall also have the right to present proposals from the floor.
SECTION E. No business shall be conducted at any meeting of the Graduate Affairs Committee unless a quorum is present. A majority of the committee membership, as defined in Article II, shall constitute a quorum.
SECTION F. Voting at all meetings of the Graduate Affairs Committee shall be by voice, by show of hands, by rising vote, or by secret ballot, as decided by the presiding officer. Prior to any vote, however, it shall be in order for any member to move for vote in any of the aforementioned methods. Under no circumstances, however, may a member vote in absentia or by proxy.
ARTICLE VI. SUBCOMMITTEES OF THE GRADUATE AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
SECTION A. RESPONSIBILITIES AND
COMPOSITION OF SUBCOMMITTEES
SECTION A.1. Subcommittees of the Graduate Affairs Committee may be standing or ad hoc and shall make recommendations to the Graduate Affairs Committee concerning matters within the Graduate Faculty’s jurisdiction consistent with the purpose(s) of the recommending subcommittee.
SECTION A.2. The Graduate Affairs Committee is empowered by this article to act for the Graduate Faculty on reports derived from its various subcommittees and shall act for the Graduate Faculty on all other matters dealing exclusively with graduate programs. Such actions shall always be in the form of recommendations made to the President of the Senate, on behalf of the Graduate Affairs Committee. Each such action must be reported to the Graduate Faculty by the President of the Senate in a time and manner as defined in the Senate bylaws. Copies of the minutes of each meeting of the Graduate Affairs Committee will be made available by the President of the Senate in a time and manner as defined in the Senate bylaws.
SECTION A.3. The subcommittees of the Graduate Affairs Committeemay receive matters referred to them by individual Graduate Faculty members, the Graduate Faculty as a whole, the Graduate Affairs Committee membership, and/or administrative officers of the Senate or University. As provided in Section A.1., these subcommittees may also initiate recommendations. In the process of developing recommendations, subcommittee members may consult with appropriate administrative officers and may invite any member of the university faculty, administration, staff or student body
(undergraduate or graduate) to participate in
discussion of any matter in which he or she has a particular concern. Any official personnel record concerning faculty or staff, or academic record concerning students, which is used by the committee in its work, shall be held in confidence by all committee members.
SECTION A.4. The Chair of each subcommittee of the Graduate
Affairs Committee shall submit timely reports of committee activities to the Graduate Affairs Committee. The Chair, working in conjunction with the President of the Senate, shall also submit an annual report to the Graduate Faculty. Both types of reports shall give special attention to actions by administrative officers of the University, Senate, or the Senate as a whole that are contrary to any Committee / Subcommittee recommendations, to any exception to standing policies or regulations encountered or recommended, and finally to the substance of both previous and pending
business and activities. The Chair of any ad hoc subcommittee(s) shall submit reports to the Graduate Affairs Committee as appropriate or as required by the subcommittee’s charge.
SECTION A.5. Once constituted, each
subcommittee shall elect its chair from among its members holding full or associate graduate faculty status. Except as otherwise provided in these Bylaws, the Graduate Affairs Committee shall nominate candidates for membership on all subcommittees. The chair and membership of any ad hoc subcommittee shall be determined by the Chair of the Graduate Affairs Committee, in consultation with the President of the University, the Vice President of Academic Affairs, the Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs, the President of the Senate, or their designees, as appropriate, and be consistent with the committee’s purpose(s).
Guidelines for nominating members of subcommittees are as follows:
(1) Except as otherwise specified in these bylaws or the bylaws of the Senate, each subcommittee should have at least one (1) member carried over from the previous academic year, except for the initial
constituting of the committee, and at least
one new member.
(2) Except as otherwise specified in the
subcommittee descriptions given in these
Bylaws or the bylaws of the Senate , each nomination shall be for a two (2) year term of service commencing at the time of election.
(3) Except as otherwise specified or authorized in the subcommittee descriptions given in these Bylaws or the bylaws of the Senate, no person may be nominated for a term of membership on a given subcommittee that would cause his or her tenure of consecutive years of service as a member to exceed four (4) years.
(4) To the extent permitted by these Bylaws or the bylaws of the Senate, each subcommittee’s nominees should, collectively, be representative of the
membership of the Graduate Faculty.
SECTION A.6. The Chair of the Graduate Affairs Committee may appoint one graduate student member to any Graduate Affairs committee or subcommittee. Such graduate student committee member shall receive timely committee meeting notifications, agendas and minutes, to the same extent that faculty committee members receive these, and shall have the privilege of discussion at committee meetings, but such privilege shall not include the privileges of offering motions or voting.
SECTION A.7. Any other members of the
various graduate committees and subcommittees shall be selected and given voting privileges as provided by these Bylaws.
SECTION A.8. Unexpired Committee Positions
The Chair of the Graduate Affairs Committee will solicit recommendations from the Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs and/or Academic Deans to fill unexpired committee positions. The Chair will recommend all such appointments to the Graduate Affairs Committee who will vote to confirm the appointments. The Chair, in conjunction with the President of the Senate, shall recommend appointments to fill any vacancy in ex officio membership.
SECTION B. COMMITTEES OF
THE GRADUATE FACULTY
SECTION B.1. THE GRADUATE AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
SECTION B.1.a. Membership
(1) The Graduate Affairs Committee shall be composed of one graduate faculty member with full or associate Graduate Faculty Status from each freestanding graduate degree program and two at-large members with full or associate Graduate Faculty Status from disciplines not otherwise represented. The Academic Deans (or their designees), the Advisor to the Graduate Student Coordinating Council,
and a student member of the Graduate
Student Coordinating Council will serve as
ex officio members of the Graduate Affairs Committee. The Chair of the Committee will be elected as defined in the bylaws of the University Senate.
(2) Each newly constituted graduate program will appoint a representative with full or associate Graduate Faculty Status to the Graduate Affairs Committee. Should the University lose a graduate program, that program shall lose its representation on the Graduate Affairs Committee upon its formal deactivation. The number of members of the originally constituted Graduate Affairs Committee may thus be increased or decreased to reflect changes in the number of freestanding graduate programs, and still remain consistent with these Bylaws.
(3) Graduate program representatives to the
Graduate Affairs Committee shall be nominated by the chair, in consultation with the Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs and/or Academic Deans and President of the Senate.
SECTION B.1.b. Officers
The Chair of the Graduate Affairs Committee will be nominated and elected from the constituted membership of the committee by majority vote, with the exception that no currently elected University Senator may serve as the chair. The duly elected chair will serve a term of two academic years, up to a maximum of two consecutive terms (4 years). The Chair shall vote only in case of a tie on all committee matters. The Committeeshall select a Vice Chair from among the members elected to it to fulfill the duties of the committee in the chair’s absence.
SECTION B.1.c. Meetings
The Graduate Affairs Committee shall hold monthly meetings during the academic year. Special meetings, including any during the summer term, may be called by the President, the Vice President of Academic Affairs, the Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs or a majority of elected Committee. In order to transact any official business, all meetings shall require that a quorum of half the membership be present. Any member may vote in absentia in accordance with procedures developed and adopted by the Committee.
SECTIONB.1.d. Functions
(1) The Graduate Affairs Committee acts on behalf of the Graduate Faculty except as specified elsewhere in the Bylaws.
(2) The Graduate Affairs Committee shall receive and act upon recommendations from the following subcommittees:
a. Graduate Curriculum Subcommittee
b. Graduate Faculty Status Subcommittee
c. Graduate Student Appeals Subcommittee.
(3) All recommendations approved by these
subcommittees and submitted to the Graduate Affairs Committee for action come forward as duly made and seconded motions. All recommendations approved by ad hoc subcommittees and submitted to the Graduate Affairs Committee come forward as Committee meeting agenda items, and may be brought to the floor via motion and second fromCommittee members in attendance.