January, 2003

Constitution of the Faculty Senate

of Scottsdale Community College

PREAMBLE

We hold that the governing of Scottsdale Community College is the joint responsibility of the governing board, the administration, and the faculty of the college. In order to promote the full participation of the faculty in the determination of educational policy and the execution of that policy, the adoption of this constitution establishing a faculty senate is hereby ordained.

PURPOSES

The primary functions of the Senate shall be to facilitate communication among faculty, to serve as the executive representative of the faculty of the college to the local college or district administrations and to the governing board with respect to academic and professional matters, to select representatives to serve on administrative councils and on coordinating committees of the faculties of the colleges of the district, and to participate in the formation and implementation of education policies for the local college and district.

ARTICLE I DEFINITION OF FACULTY

Section 1. “Faculty” as used in this constitution means residential, board-approved members of teaching departments engaged primarily in teaching and/or research, librarians, counselors, certificated audio/visual personnel, and other certificated personnel covered under Article 1, Section B of the RFP.

ARTICLE II ELIGIBILITY

Section 1. All faculty members upon paying annual dues shall be eligible to vote in the election of Senators and, after one semester on campus, to be elected to the Senate.

ARTICLE III COMPOSITION

Section 1. Divisions shall be allowed Senate representatives on the following basis: 0-10 faculty in division equals one representative; 11-20 faculty in division equals two representatives; 21-30 faculty in division equals three representatives. Four Senators will be elected at-large, and two additional at-large positions will be allocated, one to the past president and one to the current president.

ARTICLE IV NOMINATIONS AND ELECTIONS

Section 1. Each faculty member shall receive a form published and distributed by the President for the stated purpose of self-nomination. Completing and returning the form with signature to the President within five (5) days of distribution shall be a formal request for said faculty member’s name to be placed on the ballot as a nominee.

Section 2. The election of division and at-large Senators shall be held prior to April 20, and the Senators shall serve from the time of their election.

Section 3. The nominees receiving the highest number of votes for the existing vacancies will be elected.

Section 4. Each division may select one alternate representative to serve whenever an elected Senator cannot attend meetings.

ARTICLE V TERM OF OFFICE SENATE

Section 1. Members of the Senate shall serve terms of two years. The terms shall be arranged so that one-half of the membership is elected annually. Term of one or two year office for the Senators originally elected shall be determined by random selection during the first meeting.

ARTICLE VI VACANCIES

Section 1. Vacancies shall be declared by the Senate President upon direction of the Senate. New members shall be elected by the faculty of that division or by all faculty for at-large Senators to fill unexpired terms.

ARTICLE VII REMOVAL OF SENATORS

Section 1. In the event that a division requests the removal of their Senator, or 1/5 of the faculty requests the removal of a Senator-at-large, the Senate will be responsible for recommending a fair and equitable resolution.

Section 2. If the resolution is not acceptable to parties, divisions can remove their Senator by a 2/3 vote of the faculty in that division, and at-large Senators can be removed by a 2/3 vote of the entire faculty.

ARTICLE VIII OFFICERS

Section 1. The officers of the Senate shall include, but shall not be restricted to, a President, a President-Elect, a Secretary, and a Treasurer. These shall be elected from among the Senators by a simple majority ballot of the Senate present in voting.

ARTICLE IX OFFICERS-ELECTION

Section 1. Members of the Senate shall elect officers for the following academic year at the first meeting which follows the election of Senators.

ARTICLE X TERMS OF OFFICE-OFFICERS

Section 1. The term of office for all officers shall be one year and shall begin immediately upon election.

ARTICLE XI OFFICERS –DUTIES

Section 1. President. The President shall preside at all meetings of the Senate and all meetings of the Executive Committee and Council meetings, appoint members to serve on all special Committees subject to the approval of a majority of the Senate, be a member, ex-officio, of all committees except the Nominating Committee, have the right to call special meetings of the Executive Committee and of the Senate, and be the official spokesman for the Senate. The President may call a general faculty meeting at his or her discretion or as asked by a majority of the Senate.

Section 2. President-Elect. The President-Elect shall perform such duties as may be assigned by the President or Executive Committee, preside in the absence of the President, and be responsible for a written report to the faculty at large concerning the actions and activities of the Senate following each meeting of the Senate. The President-Elect shall assume the duties and office of the President when the term of the current President expires.

Section 3. Secretary. The Secretary shall keep the minutes of the meetings of the Senate, be responsible for the correspondence files, and be in charge of communications between the Senate and any other person or organization.

Section 4. Treasurer. The Treasurer shall be responsible for the collection of assessments, the keeping of all financial records, the making of periodic financial reports, and the submitting of the district association dues.

ARTICLE XII EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Section 1. The Executive Committee shall be composed of the officers of the Senate. It shall act as a steering committee for the Senate by preparing the priority agenda for the Senate meetings and recommending actions to the Senate.

ARTICLE XIII MEETINGS

Section 1. The Senate shall meet at least once monthly during the academic year or more often at the call of the President or by request of the Executive Committee.

Section 2. Senate meetings shall be open to faculty members only. However, the President or Senate

Members may invite non-faculty members in for official business with the approval of a majority of the Senate.

Section 3. Faculty members may participate at any time as non-voting members.

ARTICLE XV QUORUM

Section 1. A simple majority of the elected Senate shall be considered a quorum.

ARTICLE XVI VOTING

Section 1. The President of the Senate can vote only to break or create a tie when the vote is by ballot. The past –president can vote as any other member.

ARTICLE XVII PROCEDURES

Section 1. In all matters of internal functioning not otherwise covered by the Constitution, the Senate shall be governed by Robert’s Rules of Order.

ARTICLE XVIII EXECUTIVE SESSIONS

Section 1. By unanimous vote of the Senators present, the Senate may resolve itself into an executive session where only Senators may be present.

Section 2. In executive session, no record shall be kept of debate, except that which is ordered by the Senate, and no Senator shall reveal the nature of the executive proceedings to any person without the permission of the Senate.

Section 3. No recommendations either to the administration or to the trustees of the District shall be enacted during executive sessions.

ARTICLE XIX COMMITTEES

Section 1. There shall be no standing committees of the Senate other than the Executive Committee.

Section 2. Special Committees may be established by majority approval of the Senate.

Section 2. a. Special Committees shall serve at the pleasure of the Senate.

ARTICLE XX AGENDA

Section 1. The administrative head of the college, any member of the Senate, or ten percent of the members of the faculty may place an item on the agenda of the Senate by signed written notice to the President of the Senate. The President-Elect shall provide faculty with an agenda one week in advance, when possible, of all meetings except the executive sessions.

ARTICLE XXI PRIVILEGES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Section 1. The Faculty Senate shall of its own determination concern itself with any academic and professional matters which it deems important to the welfare of the college or to the enlightened self-interest of the faculty.

Section 2. The Senate shall be the agency of the faculty in exercising its primary responsibility for such matters as curriculum, subject matter and methods of instruction, faculty status (including appointments, evaluations, and dismissals) and those aspects of student life which relate to the educational process.

Section 2. a. The Senate, on behalf of the faculty, shall actively participate directly or through its representatives or district association committees in the determination of policies and procedures governing salary increases, fringe benefits, sabbaticals, and general conditions of employment.

Section 3. The Senate shall not be required to accept, represent, sponsor or defend any action or grievance, or negotiate on behalf of any members of the faculty who shall not have paid their assessed membership prior to November 15 of each year.

ARTICLE XXII REFERENDUM

Section 1. The Senate or ten percent of the faculty may request the administrative head of the college to call a general faculty meeting for consideration of matters of general faculty interest.

Section 2. The Senate may request the advice of the general faculty through written ballots or other communication.

Section 2. a. Any matter considered by the Senate must be referred to the general faculty for a secret ballot on petition of ten percent of the total faculty or on demand of one-third of the Senate members.

ARTICLE XXIII RECOMMEDATIONS

Section 1. Recommendations of the Senate shall be forwarded through regularly established administrative channels or through district faculty representatives.