The University Senate of Michigan
Technological University
Proposal 01-15
(Voting Units: Full Senate)
“Revising the Senate’s Bylaws”
I. Introduction
The University Senate should strive to make Michigan Tech the best institution that it can be. The principal means to this end is genuine shared governance, which is the official policy of the University and the best way to ensure wiser decisions.
In this process, the Senate partners with our constituents, the administration’s Executive Team, the Board of Control, our students, and others who care about Michigan Tech’s past, present, and future.
In his April 23, 2014 Senate presentation on shared governance, University President Glenn Mroz included a slide that he had previously presented at a Senate meeting on April 21, 2010. (copy attached). The slide, adapted from the work of Harvard Professor Richard P. Chait (Governance as Leadership: Reframing the Work of Nonprofit Boards, etc.) illustrated four governance scenarios:
1. Senate engagement is high but Administration engagement is low: Senate displaces the Administration.
2. Senate engagement is low and Administration engagement is low: Senate and Administration disengage.
3. Administration engagement is high but Senate engagement is low: Administration displaces the Senate.
4. Senate engagement is high and Administration engagement is high: Senate and Administration collaborate.
President Mroz said that scenario number 4 is the most desirable:
“This really sets a tone for going forward. . . . If everybody’s got high engagement, both the administration and the Senate, you’ve got a Senate and an administration that collaborate really well together. Does that mean that everybody gets what they want all the time? No, it doesn’t. It means that they collaborate, and, hopefully, there’s some understanding why things are the way they are.
“There’s really only a couple of places to be here, because the Board will fire the administration if we are not engaged . . . so the rest of the these governing scenarios are really up to you and the new [Senate] president coming in as to what happens in the coming year.”
In order for the Senate to be successfully engaged in shared governance, Senators must have both the information and time needed to complete their work. Good governance, in any context, also required separation of powers and the rule of law.
In addition, the efficient and effective conduct of Senate business is hampered by two fundamental problems:
a. According to the Senate Constitution, “The
officers-elect of the Senate shall assume their duties on the Monday before the
first week of instruction in the fall term.”
This potentially hamstrings the new officers, making it impossible for
them to begin their work until the end of August, which could have severe
negative consequences for the Senate getting off to an effective start in the
fall.
b. As one respondent to the Senate’s 2013-2014
self-evaluation wrote: “[The Senate] has not been as effective in promoting shared
governance [in part] because the decisions get made in the summer and are
suddenly presented as a done deal. In effect, the university runs 12 months a
year, but the Senate only from around October to the end of April.”
It is with these principles and concerns in mind that the following amendments to the University Senate’s Bylaws are proposed. Related amendments to the Constitution of the University Senate should also be considered:
A. Standing committees to be drafted in the spring
B. Executive Committee and standing committees to
be restructured
C. Officers-elect to assume their duties
immediately after the last meeting of the spring semester
D. Allowing nonmembers to speak
E. Reciprocal liaisons may be appointed
II. Proposed
Amendments to the Bylaws of the University Senate
A. Standing committees to be drafted in the spring
Section I.C.8 of the Bylaws reads as follows:
“Normally, the Senate officers
and officers-elect will draft a preliminary list of committee assignments
before the first meeting of the Senate in the fall term.”
In order that the Senate might have the following year’s
Executive Committee in place at the end of the academic year, it is proposed that this section be amended
to read as follows:
“The
Senate officers will draft a preliminary list of committee assignments before
the second-from-the-last meeting of the Senate in the spring semester.”
B. Executive Committee and standing committees to
be restructured
Section I.B of the Bylaws describes the Senate’s Executive Committee as follows:
1. The Executive Committee of the Senate shall
consist of the officers of the Senate and the chairs of the standing
committees.
2. The Executive Committee shall function as a
steering committee of the Senate. Normally, the Senate officers conduct the
daily business of the Senate.
3. The Executive Committee shall maintain the
lists of constituents and representation units. It shall use the Constitution
and Bylaws as guidelines in its deliberations. Its recommendations for changes
in the lists shall be submitted to the Senate for approval.
4. The Executive Committee shall have the
authority to extend to a maximum of one calendar year the three-month period
for presidential approval or veto of proposals. This approval requires a
two-thirds majority vote of the Committee.
Section I.D of the Bylaws defines the Senate’s standing committees as follows:
1. Academic Policy Committee
a. Appointment, promotion, tenure, dismissal,
and leaves of the academic faculty (III-F-1-a-6).
b. Criteria for positions that are to be
accorded academic rank (III-F-1-a-7).
c. Academic freedom: rights and responsibilities
(III-F-1-a-8).
d. Regulations concerning the awarding of
honorary degrees (III-F-1-a-9).
2. Administrative Policy Committee
a. Selection of the University President, the
Provost, and other major university-wide administrators (III-F-4-b-7).
b. Administrative procedures and organizational
structure (III-F-4-b-8).
c. Evaluation of administrators (III-F-4-b-9).
3. Board of Control Relations Committee
a. Represent the Senate at meetings with the
Board of Control.
b. Coordinate interaction between the Senate and
the Board of Control.
4. Curricular Policy Committee
a. All curricular matters, including
establishment, dissolution, and changes in degree programs (III-F-1-a-1).
b. Requirements for certificates and academic
degrees (III-F-1-a-2).
5. Elections Committee
a. Conducting ballot initiatives (VIII-D and
Bylaws).
b. Conducting Senate elections (Bylaws).
c. Conducting University-wide elections
(Bylaws).
d. Assisting Senate Officers in identifying
nominees for Senate representatives to various University standing and ad hoc
committees.
e. Providing a slate of nominees for Senate
offices.
6. Finance Committee
a. Allocation and utilization of the
university’s fiscal resources (III-F-4-b-3).
b. Student financial aid (III-F-4-b-6).
7. Fringe Benefits Committee
a. Fringe benefits (III-F-4-b-1).
8. Institutional Planning Committee
a. Institutional priorities (III-F-4-b-2).
b. Allocation and utilization of the
university’s human and physical resources (III-F-4-b-3).
c. Admission procedures (III-F-4-b-5).
d. General admission standards (III-F-4-b-5).
9. Instructional Policy Committee
a. Regulations regarding attendance,
examinations, grading, scholastic standing, probation, and honors
(III-F-1-a-3).
b. Teaching quality and the evaluation of
teaching (III-F-1-a-4).
c. All matters pertaining to the academic
calendar (III-F-1-a-5).
10. Professional Staff Policy
Committee
a. Policy on all issues of concern only to
professional staff (III-F-3-a-1).
11. Research Policy Committee
a. Policy on all research issues and performance
other than the allocation and distribution of resources (III-F-2-a-1).
b. Policy and procedures on the allocation and
distribution of resources (III-F-2-b-1).
It is proposed that
three sets of existing committees be consolidated and two new committees be
added for the following reasons:
1. During the 2013-2014 academic year, several of the Senate’s standing committees did not meet, which suggest a possibility of consolidating committees to more equitably distribute the Senate’s workload. Therefore, it is proposed that the Academic and Instructional Policy Committees be consolidated and that the Executive Committee and the Board of Control Relations Committee be consolidated.
2. One of the Senate’s most active committees last year was the Senate Finance Committee. The work of this committee might be more equitably shared and might lead to more actionable Senate proposals if the committee were combined with the Institutional Planning Committee.
3. Last year’s Executive Committee discussed the need for two new standing committees to help reassert the Senate’s constitutional responsibilities in these areas: Information Technology and General Education and Assessment. Consolidating committees would help to make room for these new committees.
Therefore, it is
proposed that Section I.B of the Bylaws be amended to read as follows:
1. The Executive Committee of the Senate shall
consist of the officers of the Senate and the chairs of the standing
committees.
2. The Executive Committee shall function as a steering
committee of the Senate. Normally, the Senate officers conduct the daily
business of the Senate.
3. The Executive Committee shall maintain the
lists of constituents and representation units. It shall use the Constitution
and Bylaws as guidelines in its deliberations. Its recommendations for changes
in the lists shall be submitted to the Senate for approval.
4. The Executive Committee shall have the
authority to extend to a maximum of one calendar year the three-month period
for presidential approval or veto of proposals. This approval requires a
two-thirds majority vote of the Committee.
5. The Executive Committee shall represent the
Senate at meetings with the Board of Control.
6. The Executive Committee shall coordinate
interaction between the Senate and the Board of Control.
It is also proposed
that Section I.D of the Bylaws be amended to read as follows:
1. Academic and Instructional Policy Committee
a. Appointment, promotion, tenure, dismissal,
and leaves of the academic faculty (III-F-1-a-vi).
b. Criteria for positions that are to be
accorded academic rank (III-F-1-a-vii).
c. Academic freedom: rights and responsibilities
(III-F-1-a-viii).
d. Regulations concerning the awarding of
honorary degrees (III-F-1-a-ix).
e. Regulations regarding attendance,
examinations, grading, scholastic standing, probation, and honors (III-F-1-a-iii).
f. Teaching quality and the evaluation of
teaching (III-F-1-a-iv).
g. All matters pertaining to the academic
calendar (III-F-1-a-v).
2. Administrative Policy Committee
a. Selection of the University President, the
Provost, and other major university-wide administrators (III-F-4-b-vii).
b. Administrative procedures and organizational
structure (III-F-4-b-viii).
c. Evaluation of administrators (III-F-4-b-ix).
3. Curricular Policy Committee
a. All curricular matters, including
establishment, dissolution, and changes in degree programs (III-F-1-a-i).
b. Requirements for certificates and academic
degrees (III-F-1-a-ii).
4. Elections Committee
a. Conducting ballot initiatives (VIII-D and
Bylaws).
b. Conducting Senate elections (Bylaws).
c. Conducting University-wide elections
(Bylaws).
d. Assisting Senate Officers in identifying
nominees for Senate representatives to various University standing and ad hoc
committees.
e. Providing a slate of nominees for Senate
offices.
5. Finance and Institutional Planning Committee
a. Allocation and utilization of the
university’s fiscal resources (III-F-4-b-iii).
b. Student financial aid (III-F-4-b-vi).
c. Institutional priorities (III-F-4-b-ii).
d. Allocation and utilization of the
university’s human and physical resources (III-F-4-b-iii).
e. Admission procedures (III-F-4-b-v).
f. General admission standards (III-F-4-b-v).
6. Fringe Benefits Committee
a. Fringe benefits (III-F-4-b-i).
7. General Education and Assessment Committee
a. Regulations regarding attendance,
examinations, grading, scholastic standing, probation, and honors as related to
General Education and Assessment (III-F-1-a-iii).
b. Teaching quality and the evaluation of
teaching as related to General Education and Assessment (III-F-1-a-iv).
c. Academic freedom: rights and responsibilities
as related to General Education and Assessment (III-F-1-a-viii).
8. Information Technology Committee
a. Allocation and distribution of unrestricted
funds made available to the university for discretionary allocation in support
of research or scholarly work as related to information technology (III-F-2-b-i).
b. Allocation and utilization of the university’s
human, fiscal, and physical resources as related to information technology (III-F-4-b-iii).
9. Professional Staff Policy Committee
a. Policy on all issues of concern only to
professional staff (III-F-3-a-i).
10. Research Policy Committee
a. Policy on all research issues and performance
other than the allocation and distribution of resources (III-F-2-a-i).
b. Policy and procedures on the allocation and
distribution of resources (III-F-2-b-i).
C. Officers-elect to assume their duties
immediately after the last meeting of the spring semester
Section I.F.5 of the Bylaws reads as follows:
The officers-elect of the Senate
shall assume their duties on the Monday before the first week of instruction in
the fall term.
It is proposed that
this section be amended to read as follows:
The officers-elect of the Senate shall assume their duties immediately after the last meeting of the spring semester.
D. Allowing nonmembers to speak
Article
VII.A of the Constitution of the University Senate reads as follows: “The
business of the Senate shall be conducted according to Robert’s Rules of Order
when these are not in conflict with the Bylaws of the Senate.”
According
to the 11th edition of Robert’s
Rules of Order Newly Revised (RONR), “Any nonmembers allowed into the hall
during a meeting, as guests of the organization, have no rights with reference
to the proceedings” (p. 648). However,
RONR also specifies that “the rules may be suspended to allow a nonmember to
speak in debate.” The rules cannot be
suspended by the presiding officer; instead, a two-thirds majority vote of the
members is required.
Therefore, to provide more
flexibility in allowing nonmembers to speak, it is proposed that the Bylaws be
amended by the addition of Section I.N:
N. Allowing Nonmembers to Speak
Article
VII.A of the Constitution of the University Senate reads as follows: “The
business of the Senate shall be conducted according to Robert’s Rules of Order
when these are not in conflict with the Bylaws of the Senate.”
According
to the 11th edition of Robert’s
Rules of Order Newly Revised (RONR), “Any nonmembers allowed into the hall
during a meeting, as guests of the organization, have no rights with reference
to the proceedings” (p. 648). However,
RONR also specifies that “the rules my be suspended to allow a nonmember to
speak in debate.” Ordinarily, the rules
cannot be suspended by the presiding officer; instead, a two-thirds majority
vote of the members is required. This
section of the Bylaws is intended to provide more flexibility in allowing
nonmembers to speak.
1. During reports, presentations, and
discussions of new business, the presiding officer may grant a nonmember speaking
privileges simply by recognizing that nonmember.
2. Once a motion is on the floor and is being
debated by the members, the presiding officer may grant a nonmember speaking
privileges only to provide a point of information or clarification.
3. In either of the above cases, any member of the Senate has the right to challenge the presiding officer’s decision, in which case, a two-thirds majority vote will be required to allow the nonmember to speak.
E. Reciprocal liaisons may be appointed
Section II.C of the Bylaws lists other units having
official, non-voting liaison senate membership:
1. Staff Council
2. Graduate Faculty Council
3. Graduate Student Government
4. Undergraduate Student Government
5. Emeritus/Emerita Association
It is proposed that
Section II.C be amended with the addition of the following sentence:
The Executive Committee may appoint reciprocal liaisons to any or all of these units.