Procedures of the Cañada College Academic Senate

This document describes the practices and procedures of the Academic Senate of Cañada College. It is the intent that all procedures of the Senate are conducted in accordance with the Senate’s Bylaws and in compliance with California’s Open Meetings Act. Changes to these procedures require a majority vote of the Academic Senate.

 

Draft Document - the procedures described below are based on current practices but have not been officially approved as precedent

 

ASCCC Meetings/Conferences/Training

The Academic Senate will advertise ASCCC events and professional development opportunities to college faculty. The Academic Senate uses its funds collected from dues, up to the amount allocated for such purposes in its annual budget, to cover the costs of attending ASCCC events. Typically, funding is prioritized for Plenary and Curriculum meetings.  When the Senate's budget for meeting/conference attendance is exhausted, faculty are encouraged to apply for Faculty Professional Development funds. Funding by the Academic Senate is approved through either consent or regular action item on agenda.

 

Awards and Grants from the Senate

A working group of the Senate will advertise ASCCC awards, local awards/grant opportunities to faculty and make recommendations to the Senate regarding approval of applications and nominees. These include, but are not limited to, the ASCCC’s Hayward, Exemplary Program, and Diversity awards; local Supplemental Travel, Speaker Honoraria, Outstanding faculty and staff awards. A record of winners of these awards is maintained on the Senate website.

 

Establishing the Executive Committee

The Academic Senate will, at the final meeting of the academic year, appoint its members to serve as the Executive Committee during the Summer break. The AS shall authorize the Executive Committee, in accordance with the Academic Senate bylaws, to act on behalf of the Senate during this time. Members of the EC are selected based upon their being reasonably available during the summer. The intent of establishing the EC is to allow the Senate to have discussion and take action on issues that cannot reasonably be postponed until the commencement of the academic year.

 

Faculty Appointments to Committees

The Senate Secretary maintains records of all faculty appointments to committees. At the end/start of each semester the Vice President or President requests a listing from the Division Deans of the faculty appointments to peer evaluation committees (tenured and tenure-track). These appointments are submitted to the Senate for consideration and approval (usually by consent agenda).

At the end of April, the Senate Secretary solicits a report from the chairs of the college’s standing committees to identify which faculty seats will become vacant in the next academic year. A call for volunteers to serve is sent to the faculty. At the start of the academic year, the Senate Secretary requests proposed faculty appointments from the committee chairs. These appointments are submitted to the Senate for consideration and approval (usually by consent agenda). The Senate Vice President maintains the current list of faculty appointments and posts it online on the Senate website.

 

Faculty Coordinators for College-wide Initiatives

The Academic Senate facilitates the selection of, and ultimately recommends, faculty to serve as coordinators for college-wide initiatives such as Equity, Honors, Online Instruction, Assessment. These coordinator roles are viewed by the Senate as professional development and leadership-building opportunities. Every coordinator role becomes open to all members of the faculty on a regular basis. Applicants are reviewed by a committee of at least three faculty. It is recommended that, when possible, a replacement coordinator be selected and given one semester of overlap with the exiting coordinator for mentorship and transition. Records of these appointments are maintained on the Senate website.

 

Reassigned Time 

Academic Senate in collaboration with the Instructional Planning Council, the Office of Instruction, and the Business Office maintain a record of current and past reassigned time faculty positions. For the 2022-23 academic year, Academic Senate directly allocated the following Reassigned Time: 0.4 FTE for President, 0.6 FTE for Curriculum Chair, 0.4 FTE for Vice President, 0.2 FTE for Secretary, 0.2 FTE for Treasurer, 0.2 FTE for Past President, and 0.02 FTE for Adjunct Representative. The Senate President can modify the distribution of Academic Senate reassigned time depending on local needs for the academic year.    

 

Faculty Roster

The Senate will maintain a list of all full-time faculty, their discipline and tenure status. The date of retirements and other vacancies shall be recorded so that a record of replacement or reallocation to other discipline can be established.

 

Financial Records

The advice of the College Business Office is that the Senate Treasurer maintain Senate financial records for a period of three years (five years if federal funds are involved); after this time they can be destroyed.

 

Meeting Procedures

Meetings of the Academic Senate strive to follow Roberts Rules of Order.

 

Posting of Senate Agendas, Minutes and Materials

The Senate President, or designee, posts the agenda, minutes, and all materials presented at senate meetings on the Senate website. Agendas are emailed campus-wide, posted online and, in accordance with the Brown Act, physically displayed in a publicly-accessible location, 72 hours in advance of regular meetings. Whenever possible, relevant materials are posted online prior to the meeting so that members of the Senate, faculty and public are able to review in advance and be better able to participate.

A draft of meeting minutes is posted online prior to the meeting in which they will be adopted via the consent agenda.

 

Resolutions and Digest of Senate Actions

Copies of formal resolutions of the Senate are maintained on the Senate website as an adjunct to what is recorded in meeting minutes.

At the end of each academic year, the Senate will compile a list of its major actions accompanied by the date on which the action was approved.  

 

Senate Projects/Ongoing Discussion

The Senate may engage in topics that require discussion and action spanning multiple meetings over the course of a semester or academic year(s). These projects/ongoing discussions may also involve significant involvement of other governance bodies. In such cases it is critical that the public be able to track developments over time.  The Senate documents these projects/ongoing discussions through creating dedicated web pages that collate all relevant information in chronological sequence.

 

Solicitation of Faculty Dues

At the start of each semester, the Senate Treasurer requests from the college administration a list of all new faculty (full and part-time). The Treasurer invites them to make voluntary contributions to the Senate as dues.