Committee On Bylaws

Committee Guide Addendum

1. Introduction

The job of the Committee is to consider and recommend to the Academic Senate new bylaws and amendments to the Bylaws of the Academic Senate. The Committee also considers and recommends to the Academic Senate new bylaws and amendments to the existing Bylaws of the Board of Trustees. It considers and informs the Academic Senate of changes in the Bylaws by the Board of Trustees and advises the Academic Senate regarding the application of the Bylaws. Upon the request of the Executive Committee of the Faculty, consider and recommend to the faculty new bylaws and amendments to the Bylaws of the Faculty. Anyone can raise an issue and bring it to the Committee for consideration; the Committee on Bylaws is both proactive and reactive.

2. Committee Composition

The Committee is composed of six members of the instructional staff and one student. The student representative is appointed by the Student Government and in some years has been the President of the Student Government. The Chair of the Committee on Bylaws should notify the Student Government of the Committee’s meetings and solicit student participation. If a student representative is appointed, he or she must be afforded full rights as a member.

The faculty members are elected in the spring to three-year terms by the Academic Senate through its Committee on Committees. The Committee on Committees has adopted the policy that no member of a standing committee serves more than three consecutive terms. The President of the College and the Chairperson of the Academic Senate’s Steering Committee, or their designees, are ex-officio members of the Committee on Bylaws who do not vote. In addition, the Committee has others attend its meetings as invited guests. Others who express an interest in attending the meetings of the Committee may also be sent notices of its meetings.

Any member of the instructional staff may be present and request permission to speak at a meeting of any Academic Senate committee.

3. General Operation

The Committee on Bylaws meets when there are agenda items to consider. Meetings are called by the Chair and notification sent to all members, designees and liaisons. Every effort is made to achieve a quorum so that issues can be resolved or moved forward by vote.

The Committee serves as an intermediary party between individual departments and the administration. It may arrive at recommendations to the Academic Senate that are impartial and in the best interests of the College as a whole. Although the faculty members are appointed into particular academic departments, they do NOT represent those departments at the Committee meetings. This should be made clear by the Chair to both the Committee members and their respective department chairpersons. Committee members should not be relied upon as sources of information from or conduits for communications to their departments.

The Committee must prepare an agenda, take minutes of the meetings, and prepare an annual report. [Refer to the GUIDE FOR ALL STANDING COMMITTEE OF THE ACADEMIC SENATE on the QCC website at https://www.qcc.cuny.edu/governance/academicsenate/gcg.html. Meetings should follow Robert’s Rules of Order.

Documents generated by and received by the Committee should be forwarded to others on a timely basis. E-mail should be used wherever possible.

4. Communications with College Committees Related to the Standing Committee

There are standing committees of the Academic Senate that have committees of the College not formed by the Academic Senate acting in areas related to their charge. Such committees are expected to send a communication to those College committees requesting information such as the following:

current membership of the College Committee
current charges assigned to the Committee
date of the last meeting of the Committee
any information the Committee cares to share with the standing committee of the Academic Senate that may be helpful to the work of the standing committee

The standing committees that have such cognate committees will be informed of such in the Activities form and in the Guide for Committee Members.

Article III. POWERS OF THE ACADEMIC SENATE

Section 1. Through its Steering and Standing Committees, the Academic Senate shall have the power to request and receive information appropriate to or necessary for the performance of its duties, from the President and members of the administration, from students and student organizations and from such other sources as may be appropriate

Section 3. Committees’ Jurisdiction The primary function of an Academic Senate committee shall be: to study the subjects referred to it by these bylaws or by the specific action of the Senate; to formulate appropriate policies thereon; and to propose such policies to the Senate for action. Every Academic Senate committee shall maintain a continuing review of college policy in its area.

To assist committees to maintain a continuing review they are empowered to receive information related to their charge.

5. New Member Preparation

What new members should do to prepare to work on the Committee:

Read this Guide Addendum and familiarize themselves with current documents available at the Queensborough Community College website under “Governance.”

Bylaws of the Academic Senate

https://www.qcc.cuny.edu/governance/academicsenate/asBylaws.html

Bylaws of the Faculty

https://www.qcc.cuny.edu/governance/faculty/bylaws.html

Bylaws of the Board of Trustees

https://policy.cuny.edu/bylaws/

Bylaws Committee

https://www.qcc.cuny.edu/governance/academicSenate/bylaws/index.html

Speak with the current Committee

6. Committee Chair Preparation

The Committee Chair should:

become familiar with the Guide for all Standing Committees of the Academic Senate (a copy can be obtained from the Academic Senate area of the Queensborough Community College website https://www.qcc.cuny.edu/governance/academicsenate/gcg.html or from the Steering Committee);

speak with the prior Chair of this

7. Ordinary Matters

The Committee should seek input from the College community concerning the matters related to its charge. This can be done in a variety of ways including e-mail, memoranda and newsletters.

The Committee should seek input from the parties who are involved with or related to matters under its consideration. It may be prudent to invite such parties to attend Committee meetings on matters of possible controversy or where faculty, departments, and the administration may not be in agreement.

8. Meetings of Committees, Subcommittees and Special Committees

The public has the right to attend any meeting of committees and sub committees and special committees. Any time a quorum of any such committee gathers to discuss business, the meeting must be held in public, subject to the right to convene an executive session under certain limited circumstances. In addition, there must be prior notice of the meeting; the business of the meeting must be recorded in written minutes; and a record must be maintained of the final vote of each member of the committee on all matters on which a vote is formally taken. Non-members must conform to the usual requirements of parliamentary procedure; the Parliamentarian will interpret and enforce the rules which include that no non- member of the body may speak without the permission of the body.

9. Procedures

First, an issue comes to the attention of the Committee – this can happen in a wide variety of ways. Second, there is a listening and interviewing phase. It is important for the Chair or a member of the Committee to gain a sense of what kind of change, revision or amendment to the Bylaws is desired, and why. Through a process of listening and asking questions, a draft is created. This draft of a motion to amend or change the Bylaws is a working document. During scheduled meetings of the full committee, the draft will be discussed. Suggestions will be made and the draft may go through multiple revisions. At some point, there will be a vote to accept and recommend the draft. At this point, the document is ready to be referred to the Academic Steering Committee via a monthly report. The Academic Steering Committee may choose to place the item on the agenda of an upcoming Academic Senate meeting.

10. Recommendations and Policy Proposals to the Academic Senate

Either form of report (monthly or annual) to the Steering Committee of the Academic Senate might contain recommendations that would be made to various units of the college, including other Senate bodies. It is expected that the committees will be sending these recommendations directly to the units involved as well as the Academic Senate.

Recommendations made to units of the College are to be followed up by the Committees who make them and responses reported in subsequent reports to the Academic Senate. If there is no response or no adequate response, as determined by the Bylaws Committee members, the Committee may report this to the Academic Senate after consultation with the Steering Committee. The current disposition of each recommendation should be noted in both a monthly report and in a summary of all items in the annual report.

From time to time the Committee may determine that it is necessary to have the Academic Senate consider a Policy for the College. In this case the Committee frames a proposal and sends it to the Steering Committee. Actions for the Academic Senate to approve, including polices of the College, are to be so designated in reports sent to the Senate. Such actions, recommendations and policies approved by a vote of the Senate are to be followed up by the committees of origination and the Steering Committee. If there is no response or no adequate response, as determined by the Steering Committee, the Committee may report this to the Academic Senate for a further discussion of the matter and a determination by the Academic Senate as to the appropriate course of action to be taken on the matter. Of course, at any time, any member of the Senate may request a report on the status of previous Senate resolutions and policies.

Through the process of making and reporting on recommendations, the role of the Academic Senate in Governance is effectuated.

11. Chair’s Presentations to the Academic Senate

As the Committee sends its reports and recommendations to the Academic Senate, Chair of this Committee should be prepared to present the matter to the Steering Committee and answer questions concerning such reports and recommendations.

If the Steering Committee submits a matter to the Academic Senate, Chair of this Committee should arrange with the Steering Committee the manner in which the Committee Chairperson would participate in the presentation to the Academic Senate. The Committee Chairperson might make the principal presentation or simply respond to questions. If the Chair is in dissent from the matter forwarded from the Committee to the Academic Senate, then the Chair might ask to present a dissent, as is the right of any member of the minority faction of the Committee. The Committee Chair should be present to answer questions from the Academic Senate concerning the matters placed before the Academic Senate by the Committee. The Committee Chair might invite other members of the Committee or the College faculty or staff to be present at the Academic Senate meeting to respond to specific matters. If they are not members of the Academic Senate, either the Committee Chair requests permission for the nonmembers to speak, knowing that they want to do so, at the start of the Committee presentation or when nonmembers raise their hands to respond to or question the report, they need to have permission to speak.

It is best for the Chair to prepare the way for the Academic Senate to act on whatever measures are being sent to it.

The Chair should contact the principal parties and apprise them of the matter. If there is opposition to the measure expected, the Chair should discuss this with the Steering Committee and those affected.