The information contained in this handbook is provided to assist you as chair of a committee of the San Diego Division of the Academic Senate. The Bylaw, and other pertinent information, for your particular committee follows this general information concerning committees. description of the Academic Senate and its committees appears as Appendix A.
According to the Bylaws of the San Diego Division, the Academic Senate Office shall, as far as possible, provide clerical, stenographic, and other assistance required by standing and special committees, and it shall assist in the preparation of reports of committees, questionnaires, and other material required in the work of the Division and its committees. You may contact the Academic Senate Office staff to arrange meetings of your committees, to prepare and distribute agendas, and to provide other assistance that may be required. [See Bylaw 140, below, concerning committee minutes.]
According to Bylaw 25 (B)(1), the Chair of the Division "is responsible for the flow of information between separate agencies of the Division and between those agencies and the Division at large. To this end, the Chair may attend the meetings and participate in the deliberations of any faculty or any special or standing committee of the Division or any subcommittee appointed by one of those agencies, but without power to vote unless he or she is a member of such faculty, committee, or subcommittee. Faculty, committee and subcommittee chairs shall keep the Chair and the Office informed as to the times and places of such meetings and the probable agendas. The Chair shall present in person or in writing any matters which he or she believes should be brought before a particular committee, and shall call to its attention materials in the Office that may be useful to it." Therefore, if written agendas and minutes are distributed, please add both the Chair of the Division and the Academic Senate Office to your distribution list. Also, please send copies of all committee correspondence to the Chair of the Division, c/o the Academic Senate Office, 0002.
A quorum consists of a majority of the members of the committee, unless the Bylaw for a particular committee specifies otherwise. A committee may take no action unless a quorum is present. Ex officio committee members have the same rights and privileges as other committee members; they are counted toward a quorum and have the right to vote. Representatives and consultants to committees do not have the same rights and privileges as the committee members; they may participate in discussions, but they may not be counted toward a quorum nor do they have the right to vote.
Occasionally questions arise about the attendance and/or participation of students, staff, members of the public, or members of the press at meetings of Senate committees. It is the opinion of the Regents' General Counsel that State legislation, which mandates that meetings of public agencies be open to the public, does not apply to the Academic Senate or its committees. On the basis of this opinion, it seems clear that the Academic Senate has the authority to establish rules about who may attend such meetings and who may be excluded.
San Diego Division Bylaw 65 defines who may attend meetings of the Division. The Executive and Policy Committee adopted the following policy:
The only individuals who may attend Academic Senate committee meetings on a regular basis are the regular committee members, the ex officio committee members, the student and other representatives (designated by the committee's Bylaw), and a member of the Academic Senate staff. Individuals with expertise on particular agenda items may be invited by the committee chair to participate in the discussion of those agenda items. Individuals who wish to bring an issue to a committee should do so by submitting a memo for the committee's consideration. Individuals who wish to attend particular committee meetings to speak on a specific agenda item should make such requests through the Academic Senate Office.
A committee may establish subcommittees that are responsible to and report to the committee; these subcommittees must consist only of members of the committee, unless the committee's Bylaw empowers it to appoint subcommittees. If a committee wishes to establish a subcommittee that consists of members of the Division who are not members of that particular committee, it must request that the Committee on Committees appoint the subcommittee.
The Senate has custody of files containing the records of committee deliberations, including agendas and minutes. According to San Diego Division Bylaw 15 (B)(7):
It [the Senate Office] shall keep all records of the Office specifically listed above [minutes and reports of standing committees, current membership of the Division, committee service of each Division member, and current membership of all standing and special committees of the Division] open for inspection by any member of the Division, excepting only records concerned with the appointments, privilege and tenure, promotions and salaries of and research grants to particular individual employees or possible prospective employees of the University. Inspection of these latter records shall be at the discretion of the committee which has placed them in the Office.
The Academic Senate Office has the responsibility of maintaining the permanent files of the San Diego Division of the Academic Senate. To assist in this task, chairs of committees are requested to forward all Senate material which should be placed on file to the Academic Senate Office at the end of their terms as chairs.
If your committee wishes to present a report to the Division, it is important that agenda deadlines for Representative Assembly meetings be observed. A copy of the schedule of meetings for the Representative Assembly and agenda deadlines appears as Appendix B to this handbook. The Committee on Rules and Jurisdiction must have time to review any legislation that it has not already screened. Also, the Academic Senate Office must prepare the notice of meeting (agenda), including all committee reports, and send it to Imprints (graphics) Services by the Monday following the agenda deadline. Draft copies of reports are quite acceptable. If the report is to be oral, simply telephone the appropriate Senate Office staff member by the date of the deadline, and the oral report will be listed on the notice of meeting.
The following Bylaws of the San Diego Division of the Academic Senate describe the duties and responsibilities of the committees of the Division. Bylaws 125-168 are of a general nature and pertain to all committees of the Division. The Bylaw describing your particular committee follows.
The Representative Assembly or the Division has sole authority to establish standing and special committees of the Division. Standing committees shall be established, modified, or abolished only by amendments of these Bylaws. Special committees shall be established by an enabling act passed by a simple majority of the voting members of the Division present at a meeting of the Division or by a simple majority of the voting members of the Representative Assembly present at a meeting of the Representative Assembly.
The area of competence of a standing committee of the Division shall be as set forth in these Bylaws. The area of competence of a special committee shall be as set forth in its enabling act. No special committee shall be established to perform any duty assigned by these Bylaws to a standing committee. Unless the contrary is specifically stated in these Bylaws or in the enabling act which established it, no committee of the Division as such shall have any duties or powers other than to advise anyone who seeks advice within its area of competence, and to report to the Office and to the Division at any Divisional meeting. As often as it desires, but no less than once per year, each committee shall report to the Representative Assembly any action it has taken or any advice it has given to anyone, except as noted in Bylaw 135 and in Bylaw 15(B)(7).
A Divisional committee shall normally report to the Representative Assembly or the Division, but shall have the right to report concurrently to the Assembly of the Senate. When a committee makes recommendations and renders advice to the Chancellor or other administrative officers, it shall report its recommendations to the Representative Assembly or the Division where such report is consistent with the original charge to the committee except advice concerning individual persons that is normally treated as confidential. If a committee desires advice concerning its action, or approval of it, the committee may consult the Division, the Representative Assembly, or the Senate Council.
Each standing committee shall present an annual report to the Division including a summary of its work during each academic year. These reports may be presented at either the last regular Representative Assembly or Division meeting of the reported academic year or the first regular Division meeting of the next academic year.
Each committee shall have the power to decide the contents of its own minutes. Each committee shall arrange to produce the reports of its proceedings as described in Bylaw 130. To this end a committee may request a member of the Office staff to attend its meetings, keep minutes, and write brief digests of its proceedings. If the Chair of the Division determines that the Office is too busy to provide such assistance, the chair of the committee shall appoint a member of the committee to keep minutes and write the brief digests.
The vice chair of any committee shall perform the duties of the chair whenever the latter is unable to do so.
Any committee of the Division may ask any member of the Division for information, aid, or advice. Any member of the Division may, at his or her initiative, submit written information or advice to any committee of the Division, and may request to appear before the committee.
Unless another method of appointment or election is specified in these Bylaws, the Committee on Committees of the Division shall appoint the members, chair, and vice chair of each standing or special committee of the Division from among the ordinary members of the Division. No individual may be the chair of two standing committees simultaneously. The Committee on Committees shall report its appointments to standing committees to the Representative Assembly or the Division in May of each calendar year.
Unless another term of service is specified in these Bylaws, the terms of service of the members and chairs of standing committees appointed by the Committee on Committees shall begin on September 1 immediately following their appointment and shall terminate on August 31 one year later. Any special committee shall cease to exist on August 31 immediately following its establishment, unless (1) a definite term of existence is specified in its enabling act or (2) the term of existence is continued by appropriate action of the Representative Assembly or the Division.
Representatives to Divisional committees who are not members of the Division shall not be given access to information concerning individual persons, which is normally treated as confidential.
Student representatives to committees shall be currently registered students in good standing. They shall be appointed by the appropriate graduate and undergraduate student governing bodies, and certified by a committee composed of the Chair and the Vice Chair of the Division and the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs.
The Academic Senate is one of three branches in the system of shared governance in the University of California: the Board of Regents, which sets broad policy; the Administration, which directs the organization of the University and its finances; and the Academic Senate, which directs the educational function and provides faculty advice to both the Regents and the Administration. According to the Standing Orders of the Regents, the Academic Senate exercises direct control over the authorization and supervision of all courses and curricula, determination of admission and graduation requirements, and approval of all manuscripts published by the University of California Press. The Senate exercises its advisory role in the areas of faculty appointment and promotion, budget priority and policy, library policy, research policy, academic freedom, faculty privilege and tenure, faculty welfare, faculty and student affirmative action, campus planning, and computer policy. The Senate takes part in searches for deans, chancellors, and presidents and is called upon to recommend faculty for service on administrative committees. These overlapping functions are managed through close consultation between the Senate, the Regents (two members of the systemwide Academic Senate sit regularly with the Board of Regents -without vote), and the systemwide and campus Administrations. All faculty in the professorial, in-residence, clinical (X), and lecturer with security of employment academic series are members of the Academic Senate (in accordance with Regents Standing Order 105.1) and are encouraged to participate in its functions. The President of the University, the Vice Presidents, the Chancellors, and the Vice Chancellors are also members of the Academic Senate and regularly attend its meetings.
On each campus, the divisional Academic Senate operates as a legislative body that meets periodically through the year, and as a system of appointed committees run by and for the faculty. The San Diego Division of the Academic Senate functions primarily through these committees, as well as through elected officers. The governance instrument of the Academic Senate is the Manual of the Academic Senate, University of California (Systemwide); the Manual of the San Diego Division of the Academic Senate contains specific Bylaws and Regulations pertaining to the Senate on the UCSD campus.
The legislative body of the San Diego Division is the Representative Assembly, which consists of 89 members (ex officio members and representatives of departments and colleges). The Representative Assembly meets six to eight times throughout the year and acts on committee recommendations on various matters. The full Division holds a town meeting once or twice per year.
The Academic Senate's strength as a system of faculty governance derives in large part because committed faculty members take the time necessary to participate in Academic Senate assignments and activities that this form of governance requires. Faculty members are appointed to committees by the Committee on Committees. Each year the Committee on Committees sends a questionnaire to all faculty members concerning committee preference, and relies on this as one important piece of information for use in making committee assignments. A description of each of the committees of the San Diego Division of the Academic Senate follows:
The Committee on Academic Freedom considers any issues related to academic freedom, particularly as it affects faculty.The Academic Senate Office provides functional support for the Academic Senate and its committees.