Academic Senate Constitution & By-Laws

PREAMBLE

We, the faculty of College of the Canyons, do hereby establish this Constitution to represent the faculty in academic and professional matters and to enable the collegial process of shared governance.

ARTICLE I – NAME

The official name of the organization shall be the College of the Canyons Academic Senate.

ARTICLE II – PURPOSE

In accordance with Title 5, the purpose of the Academic Senate, as the representative body of the Faculty, shall be to recommend, promote and participate in the formation and implementation of policies on academic and professional matters and to support faculty, students, administration, and the Board of Trustees in that endeavor.

ARTICLE III – DEFINITIONS

For the purposes of this Constitution, the term “tenured” faculty refers to regular employee and the term “tenure track” faculty refers to probationary and, or contract employee as defined by Education Code Section 87661(d) and 87661(b), respectively. The term “adjunct faculty” refers to “part-time, temporary faculty” employee as defined by California Education Code Section 87482.5.

ARTICLE IV –MEMBERSHIP

Section 1 – The voting members of the Academic Senate hereinafter identified as Senators who, unless otherwise specified, shall be tenured and tenure track faculty members are:

Elected Officers:
- President
- The President of the Academic Senate may vote only when their vote will change the outcome.
- Vice President
- Communications Officer
Elected Senators:
- 3 Adjunct-Faculty Senators, one of whom will be designated as the Lead Adjunct Senator
- 1 Senator from each School/Division. For Schools with two or more Divisions, Senate Representation will take place on the Division level.
- 1 At-Large Senator per every 40 tenured/tenure track faculty members
Ex Officio members, appointed by the Academic Senate President, who are not already voting members of the Senate will have a vote as long as they hold these positions:
- Faculty Chair of the Curriculum Committee (Ex Officio).
- Faculty Chair, Policy Review Committee (Ex Officio)
- Faculty Chair, Program Viability Committee (Ex Officio).

Section 2 – The Non-voting members of the Academic Senate shall be:

Parliamentarian
Chief Instructional Officer (CIO)
Vice President of Student Services
The COC Faculty Association President, or designee
The COC Adjunct Association President, or designee
The Student Senator appointed by the Associated Student Government (ASG)

Section 3 – Individuals that satisfy two or more of the positions/titles listed in Article IV (Section 1) shall be, nonetheless, held to only one vote on matters before the Senate. This prohibition does not restrict the right to hold a proxy vote.

ARTICLE V – ELECTIONS

Section 1 - All elected positions as outlined in Article IV, Section 1A & 1B shall serve two-year terms that commence July 1 and end June 30.
Section 2 – Terms & Electors

The President, Vice President, Communications Officer and School/Division Senators shall each serve a two-year term of office that commences on July 1 of even years upon election by a plurality of the tenured/tenure track faculty at College of the Canyons.
At-Large Senators shall each serve a two-year term of office that commences on July 1 of odd years upon election by a plurality of the tenured/tenure track faculty in the respective School or Division at College of the Canyons.
Adjunct Senators shall each serve a two-year term of office that commences on July 1 of even years upon election by a plurality of the adjunct faculty maintaining employment at College of the Canyons as defined by the American Federation of Teachers Collective Bargaining Agreement.
Curriculum Committee, Policy Review & Program Viability Chairs are two-year presidential appointments and are voting members of the Senate. The term for these positions commences on July 1st of even years.
In any non-contested elections where there is only one candidate for a position, a formal ballot will not be needed unless requested by an eligible voting member for that respective election.

Section 3 - Administration of Elections

All elections shall be administered by the Academic Senate Elections Committee.
Elections shall be conducted as outlined in the Bylaws and Election Committee Procedures.
All elections results must be certified by a two-third majority of a quorum of the Academic Senate to be deemed official. Elections results may be listed on the Consent Calendar of an Academic Senate meeting agenda.

Section 4 – Vacancies

Senate vacancies in office shall exist as so declared by a two-third majority of the Academic Senate upon acknowledgement of resignation, sabbatical leave of absence, non-performance or other incapacity. Vacancies for all elected Senators and Officers shall be filled for the remainder of the term in the manner prescribed by a plurality vote of a quorum of the Academic Senate.

Section 5 – Non-Performance
Any member of the Academic Senate may be removed due to non-performance, defined as missing more than 50 percent of the meetings during any one semester without assigning a proxy, and therefore, is in violation of their assigned duties outlined in Article II of the Academic Senate Bylaws. Removal will be confirmed by a 2/3 vote of the Senate.

Section 6 – Recall
Recall of any elected or appointed Senator may be initiated by a) a petition of 40% of their voting constituency, or b) 2/3 vote of the Senate, and shall be conducted in accordance with the Senate Bylaws.

Petition should be submitted to the Academic Senate President and Elections Committee for authentication. If the person named in the petition is the serving Academic Senate President or serves on the Elections Committee, they will recuse themselves.
Upon establishment of the authenticity of the petition, the Academic Senate will authorize the Elections Committee to conduct a recall election. The Elections Committee will present the results of the recall election to the Academic Senate for approval. A 2/3 of the votes cast by the respective voting constituency is required to recall an elected member from office.

ARTICLE VI – CURRICULUM COMMITTEE

Section 1 –Curriculum is the heart of the educational mission of the college; as such, the Curriculum Committee shall be considered the Academic Senate’s primary sub-committee.
Section 2 – The Faculty Curriculum Committee chair will be appointed by the President and subject to confirmation by a majority of the Senate.
Section 3 – The Faculty Chair of the Curriculum Committee shall serve a two year term, and may serve multiple terms, subject to reconfirmation by a majority vote of the Academic Senate every two years during the spring semester of even years.
Section 4 - The Chief Instructional Officer (CIO), typically serves as Administrative Co-Chair of the Curriculum Committee. If the CIO cannot serve in this capacity, they shall appoint a designee in consultation with the Academic Senate President.
In the event a designee has been appointed, every two years during the Spring Semester the Chief Instructional Officer will confer with the Senate as to the status and performance of the Administrative Co-Chair.
Section 5 – The composition of the Curriculum Committee shall be defined in the Bylaws of the Academic Senate.
Section 6 – Vacancies shall be filled in accordance with the Academic Senate Bylaws.
Section 7 - All Curriculum Committee elections shall be administered by the Academic Senate Elections Committee as outlined in the Academic Senate Bylaws. All elections results must be certified by a two-third majority of a quorum of the Academic Senate to be deemed official. Elections results may be listed on the Consent Calendar of an Academic Senate meeting agenda.
ARTICLE VII – COMMITTEES and APPOINTMENTS
Section 1 – The President shall be empowered to form any Standing or ad hoc committees of the Senate.
A. Any committee of the Academic Senate may be dissolved upon the approval of a 2/3 vote of a quorum of the Academic Senate.
Section 2 – The President shall be empowered to appoint faculty members to all Senate, and/or District committees, except when those faculty members are to be appointed per their Collective Bargaining Agreement. In these cases, the Academic Senate President shall request consultation with the respective bargaining unit prior to any faculty appointments being contractually delegated exclusively to the authority of the union.
The President of the Academic Senate may initiate removal of any faculty committee member Chair for sustained neglect of the duties as outlined in the Bylaws. Removal of a committee Chair must be ratified by a 2/3 vote of a quorum of the Academic Senate.
Section 3 – Per the Academic Senate standing procedure for appointments and committees, the President may create faculty “liaisons” to serve identified needs for successful implementation and administration of campus and Academic Senate programs and initiatives. Such liaisons must be approved by a 2/3 vote of a quorum of the Academic Senate. The President shall be empowered to appoint faculty members to serve as liaisons.
Section 4 – The operating procedures and, or, bylaws of all standing sub-committees of the Academic Senate, shall be approved by a majority of the Academic Senate.
Section 5 – The President will inform and update the Senate, each semester, of any Senate committees that are formed, as well as the appointment of any faculty members to Senate, District and/or College Committees. Those committees and appointments are valid unless a majority of the Senators present rejects the formation of the committees or the appointments that have been made.

ARTICLE VIII – MEETINGS

Section 1 – The Academic Senate shall adopt and distribute a schedule of meetings for each academic term. The President or a majority of the Senators may call special meetings.

Section 2 - All meetings shall be open to any interested persons and shall meet the provisions of the Open Meeting Act for the State of California (also known as the Ralph M. Brown Act).

Section 3 – Quorum

The minimum number of Senators, which must be present at a meeting in order to transact business legally, shall be 50% of the voting members of the Senate Senators or their representatives.
A vote by proxy shall not be considered in meeting quorum requirements if the trustee of the proxy is already a voting member of the Academic Senate

Section 4 - Voting
Voting members of the Senate shall not be permitted to hold more than one proxy vote.

Abstentions shall not be counted as "No" votes unless the total votes necessary to prevail requires a majority of a quorum of the Academic Senate.

Section 5 – Any Senator unable to attend a meeting may select an alternate upon notification to the President in writing in advance of the meeting.

1. In the absence of the President, the Vice President shall preside.
2. In the absence of both the President and the Vice President, the President shall designate an alternate from the voting members of the Senate to act as Presiding Officer for that meeting.
3. A School/Division Senator who anticipates their nonattendance at a Senate meeting, may select an alternate from their respective School/Division.
4. Alternate Senators serving in place of voting members of the Senate will maintain voting privileges.
5. Each senator is limited to one proxy vote.

Section 6 – The Academic Senate may record its meetings for the purpose of maintaining accurate minutes and transcripts of Senate business. A Standing Rule or Procedure shall be established to govern the practice of audio recordings.

ARTICLE IX – SUPPLEMENTAL POWERS

The Academic Senate may establish Bylaws, Standing Rules, Standing Procedures, and any other authority it deems necessary to put into effect the provisions of this Constitution or any other legally vested rights so much as they do not conflict with, nor are interpreted to supersede any provision of this Constitution.

ARTICLE X – RESOLUTIONS

The Academic Senate may adopt resolutions and accordingly shall develop procedures for their implementation, as necessary.

ARTICLE XII – AMENDMENTS

This Constitution may be amended by a two-thirds vote of a quorum of the Senate and ratified by a majority of voting tenured/tenure track faculty.

ARTICLE XIII – ENACTMENT CLAUSE

Section 1 – This Constitution shall be effective upon approval by a voting -majority of the College of the Canyons tenured/tenure track faculty.
Section 2 – Amendments to the Constitution shall be effective upon confirmation of election results by the Academic Senate.
Section 3 – Unless otherwise specified, all actions previously taken by the Academic Affairs Committee of the College of the Canyons Faculty Association shall constitute the policies and practices of the Academic Senate.

Adopted Fall, 1988
Revised, Fall 2000
Proposal submitted, Fall 2004
Amended Proposal, Approved by the Senate - March 10, 2011 Ratified by Faculty, May 12, 2011
Amended Proposal, Approved by the Senate May 8, 2014 Ratified by the Faculty, May 22, 2014
Amendments submitted, Spring 2018
Amendments, Approved by the Senate April 26, 2018
Ratified by the Faculty, May 24, 2018
Amendments submitted, March 23, 2020
Amendments, Approved by the Senate May 7, 2020
Ratified by the Faculty, May 20, 2020
Amendments, Approved by the Senate May 12, 2022