Bylaws of the Faculty Assembly

with Executive Committee Guidelines


MISSION OF THE FACULTY ASSEMBLY

The Faculty Assembly is recognized by the Board of Trustees as the vehicle by which the faculty members exercise their responsibility to advise and make recommendations to the President regarding the following: 

  • The College’s mission, educational objectives, curriculum, and standards,
  • Policies, regulations, and procedures necessary to achieve those objectives,
  • Promotion of a rich and stimulating artistic intellectual environment in which teaching and learning occur,
  • Criteria for faculty performance and review (faculty appointments, promotions, and renewals),
  • Professional development of the faculty and all matters reflecting the well-being of the faculty and their concerns, including grievances, 
  • All matters essential to the general welfare of the students. 

The Faculty Assembly receives reports from the President and other administrative personnel and is encouraged to engage in regular dialogue with those individuals.

MEMBERSHIP

Membership in the Faculty Assembly is constituted by full and part-time faculty.

MISSION OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

The Executive Committee sets the schedule for Faculty Assembly meetings, plans the agenda for each meeting, appoints the members of the appointed standing committees, and performs other duties as specified by Robert’s Rules of Order, Newly Revised.

The Executive Committee is also available for faculty members who want to address an issue on a confidential basis. The faculty may do so by approaching member(s) of the Faculty Assembly Executive Committee. The Executive Committee will act as a fact-finder in this matter, and report back to the inquiring faculty on a confidential basis. Based on the outcome of the inquiry, and if appropriate, the Executive Committee may carry the issue forward, make recommendations to bring the matter before the Faculty Assembly, or refer it to an appropriate Committee. Person(s) approaching the Executive Committee with such a request can reasonably expect their confidentiality to be maintained.

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP

The Executive Committee is a Governance Committee of the Faculty 

Assembly. The composition of the Committee shall be four full-time faculty members nominated by the Faculty Assembly. If needed, the Faculty Assembly will nominate member substitutes. 

Faculty members serving on the Faculty Executive Committee shall have no other Committee service requirements.

The Dean of Academic Affairs is an Ex-Officio member, hereafter known as “Ex-Officio.”

OFFICER ELECTION

The nomination of six (6) new full-time faculty members in January is followed by the election of four (4) new Executive Committee members at the February Faculty Assembly. To ensure a smooth transition, newly elected members of the Executive Committee will serve concurrently with existing members of the Executive Committee during the final two months of the outgoing Committee’s term of service (March and April) and will fully participate in all Executive Committee meetings and Faculty Assemblies. 

The other two (2) nominated faculty members will serve as member substitutes should they be required.

ROLES DEFINED

The four members of the Executive Committee are: Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary, and Parliamentarian. These positions are self-determined by the Committee.

The Chair shall preside at the Faculty Assembly meetings and perform other duties as assigned by the Executive Committee. The Chair is also an Ex-Officio member of the Board of Trustees of the College for Creative Studies and shall attend all full Board meetings. The Chair will report to the Assembly on the Board of Trustees meetings.

The Vice-Chair shall preside over the Faculty Assembly in the absence of the Chair. He/ she will also perform other duties as assigned by the Executive Committee.

The Secretary shall keep the minutes of the Faculty Assembly and Executive
Committee meetings, compose correspondence, and perform other duties as assigned by the Executive Committee.

The Parliamentarian shall make decisions about procedures in meetings of the
Assembly and ensure that Robert’s Rules of Order, Newly Revised are followed.

The Ex-Officio is appointed from the Academic Affairs Office.

MEETING SCHEDULE

Executive Committee meetings shall take place once a month. Meeting dates shall be coordinated to coincide with the Faculty Assembly calendar, and set for the academic year. Meeting calendars will be posted to Google, and sent via email to members by the Secretary.

STANDING COMMITTEES

ORGANIZATION

The work of the Faculty Assembly is conducted through its standing committees, which are as follows: 

Governance Committee

• Executive Committee (Elected Committee)

Academic Committees: meet Mondays/Wednesdays

• Academic Technology Committee
• Institutional Assessment Committee (Faculty and Staff Membership)
• Curriculum Committee 
• Faculty Review Committee (Elected Committee)
• Academic Performance Committee 

Support & Development Committees: meet Tuesdays/Thursdays

• Sabbatical & Faculty Development Committee (Elected Committee)
• Faculty Concerns Committee (Elected Committee)
• Health, Safety, and Sustainability Committee (Faculty and Staff Membership?)
• Library Committee 
• Speakers and Exhibitions Advisory Council
• CCS Committee on Belonging

MEMBERSHIP ON STANDING COMMITTEES

  • Each full-time faculty member shall serve on two standing Committees, one each from the Academic and Support & Development categories. The standing exception to this service load is the Executive Committee, which serves only on that one Committee. The Executive Committee may grant exceptions to this service requirement in recognizing other contributions of certain faculty members through their service on ad-hoc committees, working groups, and the like.
  • A vote of the Faculty Assembly determines membership on elected standing committees in accordance with the guidelines of each committee. 
  • Membership on appointed standing committees is determined by the Executive Committee, which will endeavor to balance the committee workload equitably among all faculty members and departments. The Executive Committee may solicit preferences from full-time faculty members due for new committee assignments and may do their best to honor those preferences while meeting appropriate staffing levels on all committees and maintaining equity across faculty service.
  • If a Committee requires a student representative, the Chair of the Committee will work with the staff liaison for Student Government to ensure students are appointed to serve on specific committees for one academic year. 
  • With the committee’s consent, the Executive Committee may invite staff members or students to selected meetings of the appointed committee when such staff members’ or students’ duties or expertise are well-suited to the responsibilities of the appointed committee in question. 
  • Adjunct faculty members may attend and participate in committee meetings of the appointed standing committees, but may not vote. 
  • Administrative officers of the College may attend appropriate meetings of the appointed standing committees on an Ex-Officio or guest basis, but may not vote.
  • • Members of the administrative staff serve as Ex-Officio members of elected and appointed standing committees. 
  • • Certain committees may include membership that consists of both full-time faculty and staff. Committees may choose to adopt this membership model if they feel their committee would benefit from a wider campus perspective and collaboration. A committee may put forth a proposal to the Faculty Assembly if they want to adopt a wider membership base; this proposal would then be voted on by the Faculty Assembly for final approval. The said committee should then work in concert with the Chair of the Staff Assembly Council to solicit staff membership.

ADVISORY COUNCILS

  • Advisory Councils rely upon faculty input to provide recommendations, advice, and expertise on issues relevant to the College. Advisory Councils serve in an advisory capacity only and are not considered a decision-making body. They provide recommendations to staff representing the relevant department or mission.
  • Advisory Councils are included as standing committees and count toward a full-time faculty member’s service load. 
  • Full-time faculty may also volunteer on Advisory Councils in addition to their service load, following a volunteer procedure outlined in the relevant Council’s guidelines.
  • Advisory Councils do not have stated meeting requirements, but are called on an as-needed basis by the leading staff member. It is recommended that Advisory Councils meet at least two times per semester.
  • Advisory Councils are led by a relevant staff member who sets the agenda and meeting times. A Secretary shall be elected in the first meeting of the fall semester, who is responsible for taking minutes at each meeting and uploading them to the Faculty Assembly Google Drive.
  • The terms and reporting requirements of Advisory Councils are the same as the standing committees as written here.

TERMS OF SERVICE

  • Each Committee has a term of three years.
  • At the end of a faculty member’s three-year term, they may elect to remain in their current committee for another three-year term if their preference is approved by the current Committee’s Chair (or Vice Chair if the faculty member is serving as Chair), and approved by the Executive Committee.
  • Faculty members may serve on a committee for a maximum of six years (two three-year terms) before being reassigned.

OTHER COMMITTEES

  • The Faculty Assembly, by recommendation of the Executive Committee or on motion from the floor may appoint ad-hoc committees to consider specific issues or accomplish specific objectives. 
  • The President, Provost, and/or the appropriate Dean may, from time to time,  appoint special committees or task forces of faculty and/or staff to consider  specific issues or accomplish specific objectives. These committees are to be constituted for a predetermined period of time, not to exceed two years.
  • After a term of two years, the Ad-Hoc Committee must be voted into the Faculty Assembly bylaws to continue.
  • Work on Ad-Hoc Committees or Working Groups may count towards a Faculty members required committee service if approved by the Faculty Executive Committee.

PROCEDURES

MEETING SCHEDULE AND ATTENDANCE

Regular meetings of the Faculty Assembly will be held according to a schedule established by the Executive Committee prior to the beginning of the current academic year. There will be a minimum of four (4) regularly scheduled meetings per semester. Additional meetings (or retreats) may be called by the Executive Committee, or by faculty referendum. Meetings are conducted according to Robert’s Rules of Order, Newly Revised.

A schedule of meetings shall be electronically posted to all faculty members at the beginning of the school year and posted on the Academic Affairs website by the Secretary and/or Ex-Officio. The Secretary shall send a meeting reminder to all faculty at least one day before each meeting with an included agenda for the upcoming Assembly. 

All faculty, full-time and adjunct, as well as staff and administrative personnel, regularly attend and present at the Faculty Assembly. The Committee also reserves the right to regularly invite staff to the Faculty Assembly.

Executive Committee members further reserve the right to regularly hold meetings of the Faculty Assembly without the presence of Administrators and Staff.

RECORDING ATTENDANCE

Attendance will be recorded at every meeting.

QUORUM REQUIREMENTS

The presence of at least half of the full-time faculty will constitute a quorum for the purpose of voting and approving issues before the Faculty Assembly.

SCHEDULING THE FIRST MEETING

The first meeting will be called by the incoming Chair, who will have been nominated by the faculty at the previous February Faculty Assembly.

DECISION PROCESS

Committee proposals, which require a vote of the Faculty Assembly, shall be presented at one meeting and voted on at the next meeting. A motion from a committee shall be placed on the agenda only after said committee has held open meetings to allow adequate discussion of the motion. Motions from committees shall be placed on the agenda and shall not be made from the floor. 

Voting rights are extended to full-time faculty and adjunct faculty teaching six (6) credit hours in the current semester or nine (9) credit hours cumulatively in two consecutive semesters. Faculty teaching fewer than the above-stated hours are encouraged to attend meetings and participate in discussions, but may not vote.

STANDING COMMITTEES

ORGANIZATION AND DUTIES

  • At the first meeting of the year, each committee will select a Chair and Vice-Chair from among its members.
  • The Chair is responsible for setting and running meetings, as well as reporting to the Faculty Assembly and Executive Committee.
  • The Vice Chair sends out meeting reminders and agendas, and records meeting minutes. Committee minutes will then be archived by the Vice-Chair in an appropriate electronic archive as identified by the Faculty Executive Committee.

MEETINGS AND REPORTINGS

  • Committees will meet regularly, at least once per semester, on the days specified within the Committee’s organizational chart, and at times agreed upon by the committee members.
  • Special meetings of a committee may be called by the Chair, Provost or appropriate Dean, at the request of committee members, or by a vote of the Faculty Assembly. 
  • Each committee will establish its own bylaws or guidelines accordingly. Outgoing Chairs will make sure that all procedures, minutes, and documents are passed down efficiently to the next Chair and recorded in the appropriate electronic archive. 
  • Each committee should be prepared to report regularly to the Faculty Assembly and may propose actions for consideration by the Faculty Assembly as prescribed by the Assembly’s by-laws and rules of conduct. 
  • Each Committee shall write an end-of-year summary of its activities, to be uploaded to the appropriate digital archive by no later than May 31.

EX-OFFICIO INVOLVEMENT/RESPONSIBILITIES

The Ex-Officio guides the implementation and documentation of the Executive
Committee and Faculty Assembly efforts. The Committee reserves the right to hold meetings without the Ex-Officio.


ARCHIVING DOCUMENTS

CONFIDENTIALIATY

In the event that a confidential issue is brought before the Executive Committee, all efforts will be made to maintain confidentiality to help resolve or aid the issue. Any and all documents pertaining to the issue will not be recorded in the Executive Committee digital archive.

RECORD/REFERENCE MATERIAL MAINTENANCE

All meeting agendas, attendance rosters, meeting minutes and documentation brought before the Faculty Assembly will be posted electronically on a shared google drive.

DIGITAL ARCHIVE

The Chair maintains a Google Drive of meeting notes and documents and passes it to the newly appointed Chair at the last committee meeting of the academic year.

REPORTING

SUMMARIES OF THE FACULTY ASSEMBLY

Minutes of the Faculty Assembly will be taken by the Secretary of the Executive Committee and posted to the appropriate digital archive. These minutes shall include a list of those attending the Assembly.

ATTENDANCE

A list of those attending Faculty Assembly will be included in the minutes as referenced above and posted digitally on the appropriate digital archive.

MINUTES

Minutes of the prior Assembly are digitally posted within two weeks of the meeting.

Committee meeting minutes, summaries, and proposals are to be uploaded to the appropriate digital archive no later than two business days prior to the intended Faculty Assembly.

ANNUAL REPORT

The Chair of each committee submits an annual report of the Committee’s activities to be entered into the Executive Committee digital archive no later than May 31.

AMENDING GUIDELINES

In order to amend these guidelines, the Faculty Assembly shall make a recommendation, in the form of a two-thirds vote in a regularly scheduled Assembly, to the President and Board of Trustees, who may approve or disapprove the recommendation. 

These guidelines are subject to approval by the Board of Trustees, the legal governing body of the College for Creative Studies. The Board reserves the right to modify them at any time, following consultation by the President with the Assembly, and will duly inform the Faculty Assembly via the President of such changes.