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| ARTICLE I. NAME AND PURPOSE |
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| SECTION 1. |
The name of this organization shall be the Academic Senate of Long Beach City College.
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| SECTION 2. |
The academic senate shall serve as the official body representing
the faculty of Long Beach City College to make recommendations
to the administration and the governing board with respect
to academic and professional matters. The academic senate
shall engage in joint agreements with the district and participate
in the design and implementation of shared governance of
the college in accordance with the Education Code, Title 5, and any college
policies related to the role of the academic senate in shared governance.
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| SECTION 3. |
The academic senate shall receive and consider matters referred to it by the governing board, the administration, senate committees, and the electorate.
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| ARTICLE II. ELECTORATE |
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| SECTION 1. |
Full-time academic employees of the college shall be defined as those academic employees who are designated either as probationary or tenured faculty in the official records of the college.
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| SECTION 2. |
Full-time academic employees who are assigned in an administrative position less than 50% shall be voting members of the electorate. Full-time academic employees who are assigned in an administrative position 50% or more shall not be considered voting members of the electorate.
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| SECTION 3. |
The term “campus” is defined for the purposes of this constitution to mean the principal locations of instruction in the college, namely the Liberal Arts Campus (LAC) and the Pacific Coast Campus (PCC).
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| SECTION 4. |
A full-time academic employee shall be considered a member of the electorate on the campus on which assignment is full-time or on which the greatest percentage of assignment has been made. If a full-time academic employee is assigned for an equal amount of time on both campuses, the employee shall be considered a member of the electorate of the Pacific Coast Campus. A full-time academic employee assigned to an extension campus shall be considered a member of the electorate of the Pacific Coast Campus.
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| SECTION 5. |
The official records of the college immediately prior to an election shall be the basis for establishing qualifications for membership in the electorate in accordance with the provisions of this article.
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| ARTICLE
III. MEMBERSHIP AND ATTENDANCE |
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| SECTION 1. |
The academic senate shall be composed of thirty-six elected full-time faculty members of the electorate. Twelve members are to be elected each year in the spring semester. There shall be two associate senators elected from and by the part-time academic employees in accordance with Article IV. In addition, the chair of the Committee on Curriculum and Instruction shall serve on the academic senate as a voting member for the duration of the chair’s term of office on the committee. Also, the immediate past president shall be an ex-officio member of the academic senate, but without a vote, unless also serving as an elected member. Finally, the Faculty Professional Development Coordinator shall either be an elected senator, or will stand for a special election designed specifically to give the faculty at Long Beach City College the opportunity to approve his or her appointment to this position.
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| SECTION 2. |
The elected members of the academic senate from each campus shall be chosen by a democratic process through secret ballot by a plurality of the electorate who vote on the campus which they represent.
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| SECTION 3. |
The number of members on the academic senate from each campus shall be in proportion to the number of members of the electorate on each campus.
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| SECTION 4. |
The elected members of the academic senate shall be members of the electorate and may stand for election as senator during the second semester of the second year of full-time employment with the college and thereafter.
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| SECTION 5. |
A full-time academic employee with a partial assignment in the classroom and a partial assignment in an administrative capacity shall not be eligible for election as a senator.
If assignment to an administrative capacity occurs during a senator’s term of office, the senator shall resign and be replaced by the first alternate from the most recent election’s list of alternates.
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| SECTION 6. |
The term of office for members of the academic senate shall be for three years beginning on the first day of the fall semester each year. Newly elected members of the senate shall be invited to attend the final senate meeting of the spring semester. They shall have no vote until their terms begin but shall be entitled to vote for those senate officers who are elected at the last spring meeting of the academic year.
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| SECTION 7. |
Whenever an elected member of the senate has been absent (excused or non-excused) from three consecutive regular meetings of the senate or has been absent from six meetings during the academic year, the academic senate shall request that the academic senate secretary/treasurer conduct an investigation of the circumstances. The academic senate may declare the position vacant by a two-thirds vote of the members present and voting. A member of the senate who takes a leave of absence from the college for a semester or longer or whose position has been declared vacant by the senate shall be replaced by the first alternate from the most recent election’s list of alternates. The alternate will serve the remainder of the member’s term. If no alternate is available to serve, an election for an alternate will occur. Alternates will be chosen or elected from the appropriate campus.
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| ARTICLE IV. ASSOCIATE MEMBERS |
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| SECTION 1. |
Part-time academic employees shall be defined as those academic, non-administrative persons who are not full-time academic employees of the college but who have an hourly assignment to teach one or more classes or to serve as part-time counselors, librarians, campus nurses, or learning center academic employees.
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| SECTION 2. |
The part-time faculty shall elect, by a democratic process, through secret ballot, a total of two representatives at large to the academic senate to serve as associate senators. These representatives and all persons voting in such elections shall be part-time academic employees of the college.
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| SECTION 3. |
Associate senators shall be full voting members of the academic senate. Terms of associate senators shall be three years and shall begin at the start of the spring semester following election in the fall.
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| SECTION 4. |
The first alternate from the most recent election may serve in the absence of an associate senator. If an associate senator is no longer able to serve, the first alternate from the most recent election will complete that person’s term.
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| ARTICLE V. OFFICERS AND EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE |
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| SECTION 1. |
The members of the academic senate shall choose from among their own members an executive committee which shall include a president, an assistant president, a secretary/treasurer, two LAC representatives, one PCC representative, and one legislative liaison to communicate to the academic senate regarding actions of the State Academic Senate for California Community Colleges, California State Legislature and of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges. The executive committee shall also include the president elect and the chair of the Committee of Curriculum and Instruction as voting members, and the Faculty Professional Development Coordinator and the past president of the senate as non-voting members.
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| SECTION 2. |
New and continuing members of the senate shall elect the officers of the executive committee during the last senate meeting of the spring semester. The term of each officer shall vary according to the duties performed by that office. The past president, the chair of Committee of Curriculum and Instruction, and the Faculty Professional Development Coordinator shall be ex-officio members of the executive committee. All other officers, except the president and president elect, shall serve a term of one year beginning in the fall and continuing until the next election date. Officers, including the president, may serve for no more than three consecutive terms in any one office. The president elect becomes the president on the first day of the spring semester and continues until the last day of the same semester unless reelected. Once reelected, the president serves for a full academic year. When the president has indicated that he or she is completing his or her last full academic year as president, the spring election will include the position of president elect. The president elect will be a member of the executive committee during the following fall semester and assume the position of the president on the first day of the following spring semester.
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| SECTION 3. |
The assistant president or designee from the senate shall conduct the election of officers and representatives of the senate in accordance with the senate bylaws.
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| SECTION 4. |
The assistant president shall temporarily fulfill the responsibilities of the president if the president is unavailable to serve.
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| SECTION 5. |
In the event that the outgoing president is unable to serve between the end of the spring semester and the beginning of the fall semester, the term of the incoming president shall commence at the end of the spring semester.
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| SECTION 6. |
In the event that an officer or representative of the academic senate shall resign or become unable or ineligible to serve, the senate shall elect a successor to serve the unexpired portion of the term as soon as possible after the vacancy becomes known.
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| ARTICLE VI. MEETINGS |
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| SECTION 1. |
The academic senate shall hold at least sixteen senate meetings during the school year on a schedule established annually and distributed to all members of the electorate before the first senate meeting of the school year. All meetings of the academic senate shall be conducted in accordance with the requirements of the Ralph M. Brown Act (Brown Act) which is found in California Government Code Sections 54950-54963.
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| SECTION 2. |
An agenda containing the date, time, place, and items of business of all regular meetings shall be sent through campus electronic mail to the full-time faculty, president and board of directors of the hourly instructors’ bargaining unit, administration, and Board of Trustees seventy-two hours in advance. The agenda shall be posted at each campus library. Special meetings require at least two days notice.
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| SECTION 3. |
Special meetings of the academic senate may be called by the president of the senate or by petition of one-third of the elected members of the senate. In the absence of a quorum at any special meeting, if one-third of the elected members are present, the members present may constitute themselves as an interim committee of the senate for the purpose of making recommendations, but any such recommendations shall be subject to ratification by the senate at the next regular meeting.
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| SECTION 4. |
The academic senate may be called into closed session in accordance with the requirements of the Brown Act. Only elected senators, associate senators and the immediate past president shall be present at a closed session.
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| SECTION 5. |
All meetings shall be open to members of the full-time and hourly faculty, the campus community and the public.
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| SECTION 6. |
Meetings of the electorate may be called by a vote of two-thirds of the members of the academic senate or by a petition signed by a majority of the electorate.
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| SECTION 7. |
A majority of the elected members of the academic senate shall constitute a quorum. In order for the senate to conduct business, a quorum must be present.
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| SECTION 8. |
In matters of procedure not otherwise provided for, Robert's Rules of Order, latest edition, shall be the official guide. A member of the senate shall serve as a parliamentarian appointed by the senate president and confirmed by the senate. The term of the parliamentarian shall coincide with the term of the academic senate president.
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| ARTICLE VII. ITEMS OF BUSINESS |
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| SECTION 1. |
Members of the college shall submit to the president of the senate all items of business which they wish to be considered at any meeting.
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| SECTION 2. |
All items of business to be brought to a vote shall be published on an agenda issued with the call for the meeting, except that items of business may be placed on the agenda at any meeting by a two-thirds vote of the members of the senate present. When possible, written handouts on items of business will be distributed before or during the meeting.
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| SECTION 3. |
The members of the electorate may submit in writing concerns and recommendations to the academic senate through any member of the senate or directly to the president of the senate. For this purpose, the president of the senate shall survey all members of the electorate once a year about concerns and recommendations of general interest to the electorate.
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| SECTION 4. |
The recommendations of senate ad hoc committees shall be presented to the academic senate for action and forwarding through proper channels.
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| SECTION 5. |
TThe academic senate shall consider action items using the written resolution and motion process. Resolutions shall be presented to the senate in writing for first and second reading. Only in exceptional circumstances shall the senate act on a resolution at first reading. At second reading, all resolutions will be attached to the senate meeting agenda and distributed per Article VI, Section 2.
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| SECTION 6. |
Any item of business which has been passed by the academic senate shall be by a vote of a simple majority of senators present.
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| SECTION 7. |
Any recommendation which the academic senate has considered and has failed to pass shall be referred to the electorate upon the petition of ten percent of the electorate.
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| SECTION 8. |
Any recommendation referred to the electorate by the academic senate and approved by a majority of those voting shall be forwarded in writing by the academic senate to the administration and/or the governing board as the recommendation of the electorate. The manner in which the recommendation was forwarded shall be reported at the next regular meeting of the senate and shall be reflected in the minutes of that meeting.
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| SECTION 9. |
The findings, views, and recommendations of the academic senate shall be presented in writing to the governing board through regularly established administrative channels. However, the senate, after consultation with the administration, may present such findings, views, and recommendations directly to the governing board in accordance with Title 5, the Education Code, and established college policies and procedures.
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| SECTION 10. |
As soon as possible after ratification by the senate, minutes of the academic senate meetings shall be distributed to senators, full-time faculty, administrators, Board members, president of the hourly instructors’ bargaining unit, and president of the Associated Study Body. The minutes shall be posted on the academic senate website and posted in the library on both campuses for a minimum of two weeks for the hourly instructor electorate to read.
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| ARTICLE VIII. BYLAWS CHANGES |
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| SECTION 1. |
The academic senate is empowered to adopt bylaws and standing rules not inconsistent with this constitution by a vote of two-thirds of the elected members.
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| ARTICLE IX. AMENDMENTS |
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| SECTION 1. |
Amendments to this Constitution may be proposed by a vote of two-thirds of the elected members of the academic senate or by a petition signed by ten percent of the electorate.
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| SECTION 2. |
Amendments to this Constitution shall become effective when ratified by two-thirds of the members of the electorate voting on the amendments.
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| SECTION 3. |
Proposed amendments shall be distributed to all members of the electorate at least ten working days prior to the date set for voting on them.
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| Draft approved by the Academic Senate on March 9, 2007. Constitution ratified by faculty on April 20, 2007. |
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