BYLAWS OF THE ACADEMIC SENATE OF THE LOS ANGELES CITY COLLEGE FACULTY ASSOCIATION
In order to carry out the provisions of the Constitution of the Los Angeles City College Faculty Association, and pursuant to the provisions o Article III, Section 3, Clause 5 of the Constitution of the Los Angeles City College Faculty Association, we the members of the Academic Senate of the Los Angeles City College Faculty, do hereby adopt the following Bylaws.
Section 1 The Academic Senate shall function through the standing committees hereafter enumerated, and through such ad hoc committees as may be required.
Clause 1 Unless otherwise provided in the Constitution of the Los Angeles City College Faculty Association or in these Bylaws, the President of the Academic Senate shall appoint, from the membership of the Los Angeles City College Faculty Association, persons to serve on the standing committees, each appointment being for a two-year term.
Clause 2 Unless otherwise provided in the Constitution of the Los Angeles City College Faculty Association or in these Bylaws, the President of the Academic Senate shall appoint the standing committee chair, and said chair shall serve at the pleasure of the President of the Academic Senate.
Clause 3 In the event a member of a standing committee resigns, the President of the Academic Senate shall appoint a replacement to serve for the duration of the unexpired term.
Clause 4 The President of the Academic Senate shall refer to the appropriate standing committee the requests for study and action that have been received from the Academic Senate, the President of Los Angeles City College, the Executive Council of the Associated Students or the Los Angeles City College Faculty.
Clause 5 Each standing committee, within its proper area, shall consider, study, and make recommendations concerning matters referred to it by the Academic Senate.
Clause 6 No committee shall have the power to take any action other than that of making recommendations to the Academic Senate, except when it is specifically given such authority by the Academic Senate or these Bylaws.
Clause 7 When authorized by the Academic Senate, a standing committee shall study, consider, and recommend policies and actions within those areas of the administration of academic and professional matters that are the responsibility of the Academic Senate.
Clause 8 A standing committee, when so directed by the Academic Senate, shall execute and administer policies and programs assigned to it. It may establish subcommittees as needed.
Clause 9 The President of the Academic Senate shall appoint an ad hoc committee to consider any matter that does not fall within the area of one of the standing committees. The membership of an ad hoc committee, with the approval of the Academic Senate, may include students, classified employees, and/or members of the Administration. Voting privileges shall be determined at the time of authorization. Each ad hoc committee shall submit its report in writing to the Academic Senate, and it shall be dissolved upon the completion of its specific assignment.
Section 2 The Executive Committee. The membership of the Executive Committee shall consist of the elected officers of the Los Angeles City College Faculty Association, the secretary, the parliamentarian for the Academic Senate, the chair of the Department Chairs Caucus, chair of the Educational Planning Committee, and the immediate past president of the Los Angeles City College Faculty Association.
Clause 1 The Executive Committee shall be responsible for carrying out the resolutions, policies, and activities that are authorized by the Academic Senate. The execution and the administration of said resolutions, policies and activities shall be carried out in compliance with the provisions of the Constitution of the Los Angeles City College Faculty Association and these Bylaws, and existing applicable law.
Clause 2 The Executive Committee shall have general supervision of the affairs of the Academic Senate between its business meetings and during the time that the college is not in session, shall make recommendations to the Academic Senate, and shall perform such other duties as are specified in these bylaws. The Executive Committee shall be subject to the orders of the Academic Senate, and none of its acts shall conflict with action taken by the Academic Senate. Any action taken under this clause shall be by an affirmative vote of a majority of the membership of the Executive Committee present and voting, and said action shall be submitted for approval by the Academic Senate at its next scheduled meeting.
Section 3 The Curriculum Committee. The voting membership of the Curricula Committee shall consist of at least 24 faculty members, no more than one per instructional department.
Clause 1 The Vice President of the Academic Senate shall serve as Curriculum Committee chair, unless special provision is made by the Academic Senate for an alternative or vice-chair.
Clause 2 Administrators, staff, and student representatives may serve as ex officio members of the Curriculum Committee.
Clause 3 The Curriculum Committee shall oversee and make recommendations to the Academic Senate on all aspects of the College curriculum, including approval of new courses, programs, degrees, and certificates, approval of course changes and Title V Updates, designation of advanced classes, catalogue revision, and review of courses for inclusion in General Education requirements.
Clause 4 The Curriculum Committee shall maintain a standing Technical Review Subcommittee of at least three members that will meet on a regularly scheduled basis to aid departments in the curriculum preparation process.
Section 4 The Academic Rank Committee. This committee shall consist of four members of the Los Angeles City College Faculty Association. The term of office of the Academic Rank Committee members shall be two (2) years with two (2) new members elected annually.
Clause 1 The Academic Rank Committee shall consider applications and recommend advancement in rank for faculty members in accordance with existing District policy.
Clause 2 The President of the Academic Senate shall serve ex officio and shall be the chair of the committee, or may appoint one of the committee members as chair.
Section 5 The Academic Senate Budget, Finance, and Membership Committee. The membership of this committee shall consist of three (3) faculty members. The Treasurer of the Los Angeles City College Faculty Association shall shall serve as chair of the committee and as a member of the College’s Professional Growth Committee.
Clause 1 The Academic Senate Budget, Finance and Membership Committee shall be responsible for inviting members of the faculty to submit dues to the Los Angeles City College Faculty Association.
Clause 2 This committee shall prepare an annual budget based upon the requests submitted by the officers and the committee chairs, and it shall make recommendations regarding the dues and special assessments necessary for carrying out the work of the Los Angeles City College Faculty Association and the Academic Senate.
Clause 3 This committee shall recommend procedures for collecting dues and assessments from the faculty and recommend accounting procedures for the same.
Clause 4 This committee shall establish guidelines for regular disbursements from Faculty Association accounts and shall review and make recommendations to the Senate on all special requests for Senate funding.
Section 6 The Fellowship Committee. The membership of the Fellowship Committee shall consist of three (3) faculty members.
Clause 1 This committee shall have charge of the activities designed to sponsor and develop fellowship among the members of the faculty and their families.
Clause 2 This committee shall have charge of the activities designed to honor retiring faculty and staff.
Clause 3 This committee shall have charge of functions designed to extend to the faculty and to members of their families faculty felicitations and/or condolences.
Section 7 The Professional Ethics and Academic Freedom Committee. The membership of this committee shall consist of four (4) faculty members.
Clause 1 This committee shall be responsible for establishing, reviewing, and publicizing policies and guidelines regulating the ethical conduct of faculty and issues of academic freedom.
Clause 2 Consistent with these polices and guidelines, this committee shall consider, study, and make recommendations to the Academic Senate concerning complaints by members of the faculty or the Administration regarding the professional conduct of individual faculty members or concerning infringements of academic freedom.
Section 8 The Faculty Professional Development Committee. The membership of this committee shall consist of six (6) faculty members, four (4) elected at large during regular Senate spring elections by members of the Los Angeles City College Faculty Association for a two-year term, one representative of the Department Chairs Caucus appointed by the Senate President, and one AFT representative appointed by the AFT Chapter President.
Clause 1 The coordinator of the College’s Staff and Organizational Development Committee shall serve as chair of the Faculty Professional Development Committee, if said individual is a fulltime Los Angeles City College faculty member on special assignment. If the coordinator of the College’s Staff and Professional Development Committee is not a reassigned fulltime faculty member, the members of the Faculty Professional Development Committee shall elect a chair from their own ranks.
Clause 2 Members of this committee will also serve as faculty representatives to the College’s Staff and Organizational Development Committee.
Clause 3 As members of the College’s Staff and Professional Development Committee, the Faculty Professional Development Committee shall make recommendations on and assist in organizing the “opening day” ceremonies each Fall Semester, the Snyder Lecture Series, and all other aspects of faculty professional development (flex) activities.
Clause 4 The Faculty Professional Development Committee shall also assume responsibility for organizing special faculty development activities as requested by the Academic Senate, in conjunction with the College’s Staff and Organizational Development Committee when appropriate.
Section 9 The Department Chairs Caucus. The membership of this committee shall consist of all elected department chairs.
Clause 1 The chair shall be elected by members of the Caucus during regular Academic Senate elections each spring and shall serve for a term of two years. The chair shall also serve as a member of the Academic Senate Executive Committee during that time.
Clause 2 The Caucus shall consider and make recommendations to the Academic Senate on all matters of departmental concern.
Section 10 The Elections Committee. The membership of this committee shall consist of three (3) faculty members.
Clause 1 This committee shall conduct all elections, referenda, and polls of the Academic Senate and the Los Angeles City College Faculty Association.
Clause 2 At the stated meeting of the Academic Senate in March of election years, the committee shall open nominations for all elected offices of the Los Angeles City College Faculty Association and for all elected positions on Academic Senate committees. The committee will conduct elections for all positions and report election results to the Academic Senate at the stated meeting in April of election years.
Section 11 The Constitution and Bylaws Committee. The membership of this committee shall consist of four (4) members. The Parliamentarian of the Academic Senate will serve as chair of the committee.
Clause 1 This committee will ensure that the Constitution and Bylaws are followed.
Clause 2 The Constitution and Bylaws Committee shall prepare revisions upon request and recommend revisions to the Academic Senate on its own initiative.
Section 12 The Educational Planning Committee. The membership of this committee shall consist of ten (10) faculty members appointed by the Academic Senate (including the chair of the Chairs Caucus and the Curriculum Committee chair and at least one representative from each Inter-departmental Work Group (IDWG), two (2) AFT Faculty Guild representatives, the Vice President of Academic Services, two (2) additional administrative representatives, one (1) representative of the AFT Staff Guild, one (1) representative of the ASBG, the Staff and Professional Development Committee Coordinator, and the College Dean of Research.
Clause 1 The Educational Master Planning Committee chair shall be a faculty member appointed by the Academic Senate.
Clause 2 The committee shall make recommendations to the Academic Senate on all aspects of the College’s educational programs related to strategic planning and decision making, including the formulation of the College’s Strategic, Educational, Facilities, and Information Technology Master Plans, revision of the College’s Vision, Mission, and Philosophy statements, design and implementation of Program Review for academic departments, program viability review, and all strategic aspects of the College budget planning process that impact educational programs.
Clause 3 The committee shall appoint ad-hoc subcommittees as required to fulfill its charge.
Parliamentary Authority
All questions of parliamentary procedure and parliamentary law shall be resolved by the most current edition of Robert's Rules of Order, Newly Revised, except as otherwise provided for in the Constitution of the Los Angeles City College Faculty Association or in these Bylaws.
ARTICLE III
Officers and Their Duties
The officers of the Faculty Association and the Academic Senate shall perform those duties incident to the title of their respective offices, in accordance with the parliamentary authority, stated in Article II above. The Academic Senate President, Vice President, and Treasurer shall be elected to serve two-year terms.
Section 1 President. In addition to the duties set forth in Article IV, Section 1, of the Constitution of the Los Angeles City College Faculty Association, the President of the Academic Senate:
(a) Shall have the power to call meetings of the Executive Committee and other standing committees of the Academic Senate;
(b) Shall be an ex officio member of each standing committee of the Los Angeles City College Academic Senate except the Elections Committee;
(c) Shall appoint the chair of standing committees unless otherwise provided in the Los Angeles City College Faculty Association Constitution or Bylaws;
(d) Shall serve on the Los Angeles Community Colleges' District Academic Senate Executive Board and on other District Academic Senate Committees as directed by the Los Angeles City College Academic Senate;
(e) Shall represent the Academic Senate on Shared Governance bodies as designated by the Academic Senate.
Section 2 Vice President. In addition to the duties set forth in Article IV, Section 2, of the Constitution of the Los Angeles City College Faculty Association, the Vice President of the Academic Senate:
(a) Shall serve as chair of the Academic Senate Curriculum Committee.
(b) Shall serve on the Executive Committee of the Academic Senate and perform such other duties as may be required by the Academic Senate or its President
Section 3 Secretary. In addition to the duties set forth in Article IV, Section 3, of the Constitution of the Los Angeles City College Faculty Association, the Secretary of the Academic Senate:
(a) Shall maintain two up-to-date copies of the Constitution of the Los Angeles City College Faculty Association and two up-to-date copies of the Bylaws of the Academic Senate in the College Library, one of each to be put on reserve and one of each to circulate;
(b) Shall serve on the Executive Committee of the Academic Senate and perform such other duties as may be required by the Academic Senate or its President.
Section 4 Treasurer. In addition to the duties set forth in Article IV, Section 4, of the Constitution of the Los Angeles City College Faculty Association, the Treasurer of the Academic Senate:
(a) Shall serve as chair of the Academic Senate Budget, Finance, and Membership Committee and as a member of the College’s Professional Growth Committee.
(b) Shall keep an accurate record of the receipts and expenditures of all Los Angeles City College Faculty Association accounts;
(c) Shall pay, by check, expenditures authorized by the Academic Senate;
(d) Shall submit a monthly financial report to the Academic Senate;
(e) Shall assure that all checks and withdrawal slips are countersigned by two of three officers - President, Vice-President, and Treasurer;
(f) Shall advise the officers and members of the Los Angeles City College Academic Senate and Faculty Association on budget and financial matters;
(g) Shall serve on the Academic Senate’s Executive Committee and perform such other duties as may be required by the Academic Senate or its President.
Section 5 Parliamentarian. In addition to the duties set forth in Article IV, Section 5, of the Constitution of the Los Angeles City College Faculty Association, the Parliamentarian:
(a) Shall serve as chair of the Academic Senate’s Constitution and Bylaws Committee.
(b) Shall serve on the Academic Senate’s Executive Committee and perform such other duties as may be required by the Academic Senate President.
ARTICLE IV
Section 1 A regularly scheduled meeting of the Academic Senate shall be held on the first and third Thursday of each calendar month during which the College is in regular session, unless otherwise called by the Academic Senate or its Executive Committee. If the first or third Thursday is a holiday, then the scheduled meetings for that month shall be held at a time decided upon by the Academic Senate. Regularly scheduled meetings of the Academic Senate may be cancelled by the Executive Committee with 72 hours advanced notification due to insufficient business.
Section 2 The quorum necessary to conduct business at any meeting of the Academic Senate shall consist of any fraction over one third of the authorized membership of the Academic Senate.
Section 3 In the event a member of the Academic Senate who is a departmental Senator or alternate is unable to attend a meeting of the Academic Senate, a member of the same instructional department, who is not a member of the Academic Senate, may be designated as proxy. This written proxy will be delivered to the Academic Senate secretary prior to the attended meeting, signed by the non-attending Academic Senator or the Department Chair.
Section 4 All committee reports shall be submitted in writing to the Academic Senate, and the Secretary shall bind them together with the minutes of the meeting in the permanent minutes' book.
Institutional Membership
Section 1 The Academic Senate may accept or withdraw from institutional membership in any local or state organization, whose primary purpose is to promote the welfare of the Community Colleges and their faculties. This shall be accomplished by a two-thirds majority of the votes cast by the membership of the Los Angeles City College Faculty Association, voting by secret ballot.
Section 2 The Los Angeles City College Faculty Association shall send representatives to the District Academic Senate pursuant to the provisions of the Constitution and Bylaws of the District Academic Senate.
Clause 1 District Academic Senators shall be elected by the membership of the Los Angeles City College Faculty Association, voting by secret ballot, and said District Senators shall be members-at-large of the Academic Senate of the Los Angeles City College Faculty Association.
ARTICLE VI
Elections
Section 1 The election of the officers of the Los Angeles City College Academic Senate and the committee members who are elected by the membership of the Faculty Association shall be held in May with the results announced at the first meeting after elections close. Officers must be elected by a majority vote. If no candidate receives a majority, a runoff election will be held with only the names of the two candidates who received the highest number of votes in the first round on the ballot and all other names removed. A majority vote is not required for elected committee members.
Section 2 Departments shall elect their Departmental Senators before the end of the first week of each Fall Semester.
ARTICLE VII
Amendments
These Bylaws may be amended by an affirmative vote of two-thirds (2/3) of the members in attendance at the first regularly scheduled meeting, with a quorum present, following the meeting of the Academic Senate at which the amendment or amendments were read, provided the proposed amendment or amendments appear on the printed agenda for said stated meeting.
Bylaws originally ratified on April 4, 1985.
Last Amended on April 3, 2003.