Proposed
Amendments to University Senate Code
(New
text in bold font)
Rationale for Changes:
·
Charter of
Governance Bodies: The Task Force on the
Faculty Handbook recommended that the original charter granted by the Board of
Regents in March 1969 to the KU University Senate be moved from the old Handbook
for Faculty and Other Unclassified Staff to the current University Senate Code.
·
Article I:
SenEx recommends that the membership of the University Senate be increased from
57 to 64 voting members by adding one new member from the Student Senate and three
new members each from the Unclassified Senate and the University Support Staff
Senate.
·
New
Article 19.3: The new text clarifies that the current rule requiring 20%
student representation on policy-making committees applies to University
Governance bodies as well.
UNIVERSITY
SENATE CODE
Charter of the Governance Bodies
The structure of faculty, staff, and
student participation in University government is based on the following
charter, granted March 20, 1969, by the Board of Regents:
WHEREAS, for many years there has been in operation a validly created
Senate of the University of Kansas composed of the faculties and staff of the
University and a validly created All Student Council composed of
representatives of the student body of the University; and
WHEREAS, it now seems desirable that the faculties, staff, and students
of the University form a coordinated governmental structure;
NOW, THEREFORE, the Board of Regents of the State of Kansas hereby (1)
approves the UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS SENATE CODE duly adopted by the appropriate
constituencies of the University and recommended to it by the Chancellor; (2)
charters the various governmental bodies provided for in said Code as it may be
amended from time to time with the approval of the Chancellor; and (3) decrees
that this charter supersedes the Charter of the Senate of the University of
Kansas of March 21, 1968.
. . .
ARTICLE I. UNIVERSITY
SENATE: STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONS
Section 1. Membership
The University Senate shall consist of twelve thirteen
student members elected from the Student Senate, three six members of the University Support
Staff elected from the University Support Staff Senate, three six members of the Unclassified Staff elected from the
Unclassified Senate, and thirty‑nine faculty members elected to the Faculty Senate. The Chancellor and the Provost shall be
ex-officio, non-voting members. The presidents of the student, faculty, unclassified
senate, and university support staff senates shall also be ex-officio,
non-voting members of the University Senate if they are not among the elected
members of the University Senate.
Section 2. Officers …
Section
3. Faculty Members …
Section 4. Student Members on University Senate: Nomination, Election, Term of Office and Vacancies.
There
are twelve thirteen student
members on the University Senate. At
its regular joint meeting of the newly elected and outgoing Student Senates,
outgoing Student Senate shall nominate and elect from among its members the
three Special Representatives (Holdover Senators) to the University
Senate. The method of election shall
be in the descending order of most votes received.
At
the Joint Student Senate meeting, the incoming undergraduate student
members of the Student Senate shall nominate and elect seven undergraduate
student members of the University
Senate, and the graduate student members shall nominate and elect two
graduate student members of the University
Senate. The graduate student
membership bloc of the Student Senate is composed of all those Student Senators
pursuing post-baccalaureate degrees at the time they declare their candidacy
for the Student Senate. The method of
both elections shall be in descending order of most votes received. The thirteenth student member of the
University Senate shall be the Student Body Vice President, serving as an
ex-officio, voting member.
. . .
Per
Article XIX of this Code, the number of students serving as voting members on
the University Senate, University Senate Executive Committee, and University
Senate standing committees shall be no less than 20 percent of the number of
faculty members who serve in each body.
Section
5. Unclassified Members
on University Senate: Nomination, Election, Term of Office and Vacancies
At the transition meeting of the
unclassified senate in May, the new Unclassified Senate will elect four voting
representatives from and by its members.
The past president and the president-elect are voting members of the University
Senate. The president serves as an
ex-officio, non-voting member. Members of the Unclassified Senate holding the
positions of President-elect and Past President shall serve as voting members
of the University Senate; the President shall serve as an ex-officio,
non-voting member. The third voting
member shall be elected by and from the Unclassified Senate and shall serve a
one-year term. They shall assume their University Senate
responsibilities immediately upon election
and shall serve until their successors have been elected. Vacancies in
the Unclassified Senate membership on the University Senate shall be filled by appointments made by the president of
the Unclassified Senate with the consent of a majority of the Unclassified
Senate Executive Council.
Section 6. University Support Staff Members on University Senate: Nomination, Election, Term of Office and Vacancies
At the first full University
Support Staff Senate meeting in May April, members of the
University Support Staff Senate shall elect three six representatives
to the University Senate to serve 1 year terms. One representative elected
at-large from the Senate members by the Senate will serve on
both the University Senate and its Executive Committee (SenEx). The remaining 5 representatives will
be elected from each of the 5 EEO categories by the members of each EEO
category. If an EEO category has no
serving members at the time of the election, or no member is able to serve, the
position will be selected by the Senate following the established procedures
for at-large Senate seats. These
representatives must also be members of
will also serve on the University Support Staff Senate Executive
Committee (USSSenEx). They take office on the day after the
University Commencement exercises at the transition meeting of the
University Senate.
___________________________________________________________________________________
ARTICLE XIX. STUDENT REPRESENTATION ON COMMITTEES
19.1 In this Article, the terms "faculty" or "faculties," shall be interpreted to mean both faculty members and those students who have been recognized as legitimate members of academic decision-making bodies of the College and the various schools, departments and programs.
19.2 The College and each school, department and program shall make provisions for the inclusion of a number of students as voting members on all policy‑making committees and at all full College, school, program or departmental meetings. The number of students on each such committee shall be no less than 20 percent of the number of faculty members who hold the rank of instructor or above and who serve on the committee. The number of students included in full College, school, program or departmental meetings shall be no less than 20 percent of the number of faculty members who hold the rank of instructor or above and who constitute the body.
19.2.1 To be eligible for membership…
19.2.2 The appropriate student constituency…
19.2.3 In this regulation, the term "policy‑making" includes…
19.2.4 The determination of what committees are "policy‑making committees" …
19.3 The
University Senate, the University Senate Executive Committee (“SenEx”), and the
University Senate standing committees include students as voting members. The
number of student members in these entities shall be no less than 20 percent of
the number of faculty members in each body.
PROPOSED
AMENDMENTS TO UNIVERSITY SENATE RULES AND REGULATONS
(Changes in bold and strikeout fonts)
Rationale for change: The amendment
updates the policy to reflect the use of computers for distributing course
syllabi.
ARTICLE II. ACADEMIC WORK AND ITS EVALUATION
Section 1. Recorded Evaluation of Student Performance.
2.1.1 The evaluation of student performance shall be based upon examinations, written papers, class participation and such other requirements as the instructor in each course may determine.
2.1.2 Information about the basis for evaluating
students' performance and about the requirements that students must fulfill
should be made available to students, preferably in writing, in print or electronic format within the
first two weeks of class. Students who
are not in class when such information is provided are responsible for knowing
it. Students are also responsible for
subsequent announcements about course content and grading policies. This information should not be considered a
contract; the information may be revised as the course progresses, provided
students are given timely notice of such revisions.
. . .