April 29, 2008
(most answered are from the ECU Faculty Manual and the ECU
What is the Faculty Senate?
The
Faculty Senate is the legislative, advisory, and primary faculty governance
body representing the general faculty of
What is the mission of the Faculty Senate?
The
primary mission of Faculty Senate and its standing Academic Committees is to
provide a mechanism for the essential joint effort of faculty and
administration in the governance of
What are the duties of the Faculty Senate?
The
legislative powers of the general faculty are delegated to the Faculty Senate
and the Faculty Senate has the powers of the general faculty to formulate, in
cooperation with the university administration, the policies of
The
Faculty Senate has oversight of the ECU
Faculty Manual.
The
Faculty Senate sets up committees that are necessary for the performance of its
duties.
The
Faculty Senate ratifies, amends, or remands all matters of academic policy or
faculty welfare which have been recommended by any standing or special
committee of the university. It may also initiates policies in such matters.
All acts
or decisions of the Faculty Senate are considered approved unless vetoed within
thirty days of the action by the Chancellor of
How are faculty senators chosen and how long is their term
in office?
Each
academic unit holds elections in February of each year with members-elect to
take office on the day following the last regular meeting of the Faculty Senate
in the spring semester.
Each
senator shall serve a two-year term.
Senators may be elected to succeed themselves twice. After a lapse of one year following the
expiration of this third term, they will again be eligible for election.
If an elected
senator fails to attend more than three consecutive meetings of the Faculty
Senate her/his seat will be declared vacated by the Chair of the Faculty.
What is the role of the Senate alternate?
Elected
alternates attend Faculty Senate meetings when the elected Senator is unable to
attend. While attending in the place of
the elected Senator, the alternate has all of the privileges and
responsibilities of the elected Senator.
How do senators address the Senate?
The
generic term “professor” is usually used as a title for all senators. For administrators with titles, it is
appropriate to use the administrator’s official title.
How are speaking rights granted?
Visitors
(non Senators) may be granted speaking privileges by the Seante
Agenda Committee or the Chair of the Faculty, if it is deemed necessary and
appropriate for the efficient conduct of the Senate’s business. Speaking privileges must be requested in
advance. The decision to grant or not grant
speaking privileges is at the discretion of the Agenda Committee and Chair of
the Faculty All
speaking privilege approvals will be announced to the Senators prior to the
meeting.
Who can ask questions during the question period in Senate
meetings?
Any
Senator may ask questions during the question period. Only other Senators, persons who have given
reports to the Senate, or individuals who have been
granted speaking privileges may respond to questions.
To whom can questions be addressed?
Questions
may be addressed to anyone who has given a report to the Senate, to the Faculty
Officers, or to ex-officio members (including administrators) in attendance.
What are the duties of all the Faculty Senate Officers? How
are they elected, and for how long?
The Chair of the Faculty presides at all meetings, is
empowered to call special meetings of the Senate, is an ex-officio member of
all academic committees and various administrative committees, and appoints
persons to fill unexpired terms of committees.
Further, before
the first regular meeting of the Faculty Senate, the Chair appoints the Parliamentarian
of the Faculty. The Chair of the Faculty
also supervises the Faculty Senate office personnel and, with their assistance,
plans the General Faculty Convocation; is responsible for conveying greetings
of the Faculty at commencement exercises and representing the Faculty at
university functions and Board of Trustee meetings; serves as a Delegate to the
Faculty Assembly.
The Vice Chair of the Faculty performs all of the duties of
the Chair in the absence or incapacity of the Chair; serves, when requested by the
Chair of the Faculty, as the Chair's representative on faculty committees; and succeeds
to the office of Chair of the Faculty if that office is vacated during the term
of the incumbent.
The Secretary of the Faculty, with assistance of the office personnel, keeps accurate minutes of
all regular and special meetings; ensures distribution of the minutes to all
members of the general faculty; keeps an accurate list of membership of the
Faculty Senate and an accurate record of attendance; informs the Chair of the
Faculty when a seat becomes vacant; serves, at the request of the Chair of the
Faculty, as the Chair's representative on faculty committees; and performs such
other appropriate duties as directed by the Faculty Senate.
The Parliamentarian of the Faculty advises the Chair of the
Faculty and the faculty on the parliamentary matters according to the latest
edition of Robert's Rules of Order, Newly
Revised and the Faculty Constitution and
its By-Laws.
How is voting conducted?
Voting on
general matters coming before the Faculty Senate (e.g., committee reports and
resolutions) is generally conducted either by voice vote or a show of hands, at
the discretion of the Chair of the Faculty.
If requested by any of the members present, voting may also be done view
secret ballot. Voting for elected office
is usually done by secret ballot.
Ex-officio members are not eligible to vote in elections for committee
membership of faculty office.
Where do the senators sit? How is the seating order
determined?
Senators
sit in assigned seats. The order of
seating is alphabetical, by unit, with all ex-officio members siting in one row.
Only elected and ex-officio members (including alternates, if
representing their electoral units)
may answer the roll call, vote, or occupy seats assigned to senators
What should a senator do if he/she arrives late for a Senate
meeting?
If a
Senator arrives late for a meeting, s/he should proceed
quietly to his/her assigned seat. During
the break, the Senator should make sure that the Secretary of the Faculty has
notes his/her arrival.
Who sets the Faculty Senate Agenda?
The Faculty Senate establishes its own agenda. The details of the agenda, including the
order of items on the agenda, are overseen by the Agenda Committee, as
prescribed by the Appendix A of the ECU Faculty Manual. Any matters of academic policy brought to the
Agenda Committee by any senator, any standing or special committee, of by the
action of the general faculty will be placed on the agenda no later than the
second regular meeting of the Faculty Senate after receipt of the
recommendation.
The Agenda Committee
meets two weeks before each regularly scheduled faculty meeting. At that time, it considers all
recommendations and reports from
academic committees, including all standing and ad hoc committees of the
Faculty Senate, and all other items
that have been brought to it by any senator, any standing or special committee,
of by the action of the general faculty.
On the basis of this information, as well as input from the
Faculty Officers, the Agenda Committee draws up the agenda, on each regular and
special meeting of the Faculty Senate.
The committee has the responsibility of providing each member of the
faculty a copy of the agenda for each meeting of the Faculty Senate one week
before the date of the meeting.
What is the impact if a senator does not show for meetings?
If an elected
senator fails to attend more than three consecutive meetings of the Faculty
Senate her/his seat will be declared vacated by the Chair of the Faculty and
the Senator’s unit will be informed and asked to elect another representative
to fill the vacated seat.
How does a senator make a motion?
1.
The Senator raises his/her hand
and waits to be recognized by the Chair of the Faculty.
2.
The Chair of the Faculty
recognizes the Senator. The Chair usually
recognized the Senator by name. After receiving formal recognition from the
chair, a member is then said to “have the floor.”
3.
Once recognized, the Senator
rises, states her/his name and academic unit.
4.
The Senator makes the motion. Always address the Chair and introduce a
motion in the form, “I move that…”
followed by a statement of the motion.
Please note that motion sheets are provided at the Senator’s
tables. Any Senator making a motion must
be ready to provide a written copy of the motion to the Chair and the Secretary
at the time the motion is stated.
5.
Another member seconds the motion.
Without recognition from the presiding official, another member may say, “I second the motion.” If the motion is not seconded, it “dies for lack of a second.”
6.
The Chair states the motion to
the assembly. The Chair repeats or “states the motion” to the assembly. Once it has been formally stated to the
assembly, it may be referred to as “the question.”
What are the responsibilities of Faculty Senators to their
units and to the university?
Because the legislative powers of the general faculty are
delegated to the Faculty Senate and Senators are the elected representatives of
their academic units to this legislative body, Senators are responsible for
communicating with the faculty in their units about all actions, pending and
completed, of the Faculty Senate. Best
practices for Senator-unit communications include reviewing the Faculty Senate
agenda with the unit prior to each Senate meeting, informing unit colleagues of
all pending or completed Senate actions, sharing announcements with the unit
faculty, and serving as a liaison between the unit faculty and the faculty
Senate.
How does the
Each
member of the faculty receives a copy of the agenda for each meeting of the
Faculty Senate at least one week before the date of the meeting. In addition, the Faculty Senate sends e-mail
messages to the general faculty to keep them informed of all important Faculty
Senate and Faculty Senate committee events and announcement. The Chair of the
Faculty communicates with the faculty at annual at the Faculty Convocation,
which is both the annual welcome-back ceremony at the beginning of the academic
year and the annual business meeting of the general faculty.
Who determines the schedule of meetings for the Faculty
Senate and its committees?
The meeting schedule is set by the Faculty Constitution and
By-Laws (Appendix A of the ECU Faculty
Manual). Appendix A requires that
four regular meetings of the Faculty Senate be held each fall and spring
semester according to a schedule prepared by the Agenda Committee and approved by the Senate in the Fall
Semester of the preceding year, that the organizational meeting of the Faculty
Senate will be held on a Tuesday following the last regular meeting of the
spring semester but before the beginning of the examination period; and that, upon
written petition of fifteen members of the Faculty Senate, the Chair of the
Faculty shall call a special session of the Faculty Senate within four
days. In exceptional situations the
Chair of the Faculty is empowered to call a special session of the Faculty
Senate with 24 hour notice.
What is the role of the
All University Academic Committees are Standing Committees
of the Faculty Senate. The committees initiate
and review policies on all matters of academic and faculty welfare and present
those policies to the Faculty Senate for ratification, amendment, or remand.
They meet on a standard schedule, set and revised by the Committee on
Committees.
In addition to the Academic Standing Committees, the Faculty
Senate has five standing appellate committees that deal with discharge,
imposition of serious sanction, employment status, instructional relationship,
implementation of governance procedures, sexual, racial, or ethnic harassment
or discrimination or conflict of interest, non-reappointment and non-conferral
of permanent tenure.
Information about these committees (as well as some of the
university’s administrative committees) is available on the
What is the relationship between the
The
Faculty Senate and the various standing Committees on which the faculty serve are the primary conduit for the
essential joint effort of faculty and administration in the government of
What are the primary governance responsibilities of the
faculty (of ECU and all universities)?
The 1966 Joint Statement on the
Government of Colleges and Universities, a statement jointly formulated by the
American Council on Education (ACE), the Association of Governing Boards of Universities
and Colleges (AGB), and the American Association of University Professors
(AAUP), promotes shared university governance and indicates that a joint effort
must be made when dealing with such issues as long-range planning, use of
physical resources, budgeting, and the selection of key administrators. Further, it defines the role of governing
boards, upper administration, faculty, and students in the governance of the
university and provides strong rationale for the need for authoritative faculty
voice in all matters relating to academics.
As stated in 1998 by past Chair
of the Faculty Don Sexauer, "shared
governance in an academic setting is a fragile balancing act that takes place between the
administration of the university and its faculty. It is the attempt by
the administration and the faculty to solve problems and implement policies in a manner that benefits all the constituencies of the
university." The ECU Faculty Senate
is the centerpiece of this collaborative balancing act. And, the elected ECU Faculty Senators serve
as the voice of ECU’s general faculty.