DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES

The charge for the Executive Committee of the Academic Senate is contained in Appendix II of the Academic Senate Bylaws, which is below.

Appendix II

The membership of the Executive Committee consists of the President and the Provost of the University, six faculty members, and four students. The Chairperson, Vice Chairperson/Student Body President, and Secretary of the Academic Senate are automatically members of the Executive Committee. The remaining seven members are elected annually by and from the membership of the Academic Senate.

The Executive Committee expedites the business of university governance by:

1. Establishing the place, time, and agenda for all meetings of the Academic Senate;
2. Recommending faculty, student, and administrative members for all university committees which are subject to review and confirmation by the Academic Senate;
3. Recommending items for consideration to appropriate University committees;
4. Reviewing Vice Presidential Commentary Surveys and forwarding the raw data to the President; and
5. Performing any other duties assigned to it by the Academic Senate.

The faculty members of the Academic Senate Executive Committee will establish the place, time, and agenda for all meetings of the Faculty Caucus.

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE FUNCTION

The Academic Senate Bylaws describes the procedures of the Academic Senate Executive Committee in several sections of the document.  These sections are listed below.

Article V, sect. 1C.  The Information Stage

An internal committee, an external committee, or the Executive Committee may submit an item to the Executive Committee for consideration for inclusion on the Senate agenda, Faculty Caucus agenda, or Senate Consent agenda.

The Executive Committee determines if an item may move from the Review & Circulation Stage to the Information Stage.  It does so by approving its placement on a Senate agenda, or Faculty Caucus agenda as an Information Item.  It may also choose to place an item on the Academic Senate Consent agenda (see Article V, sect. 1.F).

When an internal committee submits an item, Executive Committee may choose to:

1. place the item on the Senate or Faculty Caucus agenda;
2. place the item on the Senate Consent agenda;
3. send it back to the internal committee, in some cases with recommendation to return to an external committee;
4. assign it to another committee (internal or external);
5. send it to an ex-officio member for further investigation.

Normally, an external committee will submit an item to the internal committee to which it reports and not directly to the Executive Committee.  The internal committee will then submit the proposed item or a revised proposed item to the Executive Committee for consideration for placement on a Senate or Caucus agenda as an information item. The Executive Committee will consider placement on a Senate or Caucus agenda, and either confirm, return to one of the originating committees for further review, or assign per I.B.1 for additional review.

The Executive Committee may propose that an item assigned to the committee of the whole be moved from the Review & Circulation Stage to the Information Stage.

Article V, sect. 1D 

An item can move from the Information Stage to the Action Stage through:

1. The Executive Committee determining that an Information Item is ready. It does so by approving its placement on a Senate or Caucus agenda as an Action Item.

Article V, sect. 1

F. Consent Agenda

The Academic Senate may approve the following items via the consent agenda:

1. Curriculum proposals that have been approved by the University Curriculum Committee.
2. Minutes from the Executive Committee, Academic Senate, and Faculty Caucus.
3. Filed Senate items that have completed the Review & Circulation Stage

Curriculum proposals and minutes from the Executive Committee, Academic Senate, and Faculty Caucus are automatically placed on the consent agenda.  An internal committee may request that the Executive Committee place an item on the consent agenda if it deems that the changes requested are largely editorial. The Executive Committee may also consider an item for placement on the consent agenda independent of a request to do so from another internal committee. 

The Executive Committee makes the final decision regarding whether items shall be placed on the Senate consent agenda. 

At time of placement on the Academic Senate web page, an executive summary of curriculum proposals and filed Senate items shall be included.

A senator may request that an item be removed from the consent agenda. Items removed from the consent agenda are given a filing number, if needed, and forwarded to the Executive Committee.  The Executive Committee decides if the item should be routed to an internal committee, sent back to an internal committee for further review, or placed on either the Senate or Faculty Caucus agenda.   The Executive Committee may also decide to place the item back onto the consent agenda; but, if the senator who had requested that the item be removed from the consent agenda does not agree, the item may not go back on the consent agenda.

After ten (10) days when classes are in session during the Fall and Spring semester (excluding weekends, holidays, breaks and final evaluation periods), curriculum proposals and minutes of the body are deemed approved.  After twenty (20) days when classes are in session during the Fall and Spring semester (excluding weekends, holidays, breaks and final evaluation periods), Senate items on the consent agenda are deemed approved by the Academic Senate.

Article V, sect. 3 

Section 3 – Senate Items and Records 

1. Agendas

   1. The Executive Committee shall set the place, time, and agenda of the Academic Senate. The faculty members of the Academic Senate Executive Committee shall set the place, time, and agenda for all meetings of the Faculty Caucus.

   2. Agendas and materials will be distributed to members of the Senate on the Friday prior to the meeting, or within 48 hours.

   3. Permission to amend an officially published agenda shall be by 2/3 vote of the members of the body or at the discretion of the Chair.

2. Issues Pending List

1. 1. Members of internal committees of the Academic Senate shall receive a list of issues pending senate action that have been assigned to their committee by the Executive Committee. Items on this list have been filed for Senate action according to the procedures described above.  The Executive Committee and members of the standing internal committees may add items to the Issues Pending list. 
   2. Items may not be removed from the Issues Pending list without approval of the Executive Committee.

 

Article V, sect. 7

C. Internal Standing Committees – Legislative Jurisdiction

The Executive Committee shall determine the legislative areas of each Internal Standing Committee unless disapproved by the Senate. Each committee shall study reports and recommendations assigned to it prior to sending them to the full Senate, may amend such reports and recommendations, and may originate reports and recommendations. In its reports to the Senate, each committee may (a) recommend passage, (b) recommend against passage, (3) make no recommendation.