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Bylaws

Article I - Election to Membership

Section 1. The college to which the faculty member is assigned for voting and representation purposes is the one specified in the faculty member's employment contract. If for any reason the assignment is uncertain, the Executive Committee shall ascertain from the faculty member the department or college to which the faculty member wishes to be assigned for voting purposes.

For the purposes of voting and representation, librarians are considered members of the College of Arts and Sciences; coaches and members of the Counseling Center who are eligible to vote according to Article II of the Constitution are considered members of the College of Education and Human Services. Faculty members in the Illinois Institute of Rural Affairs who are eligible to vote according to Article II of the Constitution are considered to be members of the College of Business and Technology.

Section 2. The regular term of office of a Senator shall be three years. No Senator may serve consecutively more than one regular term of three years. One year must elapse before a Senator is eligible for re-election.

Section 3. A faculty member filling a one- or two-year term may be renominated and re-elected. For the purpose of balancing the number of Senators to be elected in any one year, the Senate may revise the term of office prior to the election.

Section 4. Membership by election to fill a vacancy shall extend to the end of the semester to which the vacating Senator is absent.

Section 5. Election to fill a vacancy shall not disqualify a member for election at the next regular election period.

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Article II - Conducting of Nominations

Section 1. The Executive Committee shall notify the faculty of the vacancies that occur in the membership of the Faculty Senate. This shall be done at least thirty calendar days prior to the date of the election.

Section 2. Nominations for members to fill vacancies shall be made by petition. At least fifteen members or twenty percent of the eligible college faculty, whichever is less, must sign the petition of a college representative and at least fifteen eligible University faculty members must sign the petition for a University representative. An eligible faculty member may sign more than one petition for that faculty member's college representatives and at-large representatives.

Section 3. At least fifteen calendar days before election, the sponsors of college and at-large representatives will present to the Executive Committee the petitions for nominations.

Section 4. The faculty member sponsoring a petition for nomination of a member must secure the written consent of the nominee.

Section 5. The Executive Committee shall validate the petition to determine the eligibility of the nominee and the qualifications of the petitioners.

Section 6. A nominee may withdraw by notifying the Executive Committee in writing no later than three days after the deadline for filing petitions.

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Article III - Election of Members and Officers of the Faculty Senate

Section 1. Election of Members

a. The Executive Committee shall begin election proceedings no later than ten calendar days after the official start of the spring semester.

b. In the election, a simple plurality of the faculty voting will be required.

c. In case of a tie vote, a run-off election shall be held within ten calendar days of the announcement of the tie vote.

d. The faculty shall be informed of the results and the tabulation of the vote.

e. In case of dual college appointments, the Executive Committee shall ascertain from the faculty member the college in which that faculty member wishes to be considered.

f. In case a duly elected candidate is unable to assume office, the Executive Committee shall hold an election within thirty calendar days.

Section 2. Election of Officers

a. Election of officers shall be by secret ballot of the newly elected members and continuing members of the Senate.

b. The next year's Senate, comprised of the newly elected members plus the continuing members from the existing Senate, shall be convened during the spring semester only for the purpose of electing officers at the first regularly scheduled meeting of the existing Senate in April. Senators who have temporarily vacated their seats during the spring semester may either be present to vote for Senate officers or provide their official replacement with a written proxy for this election only.

c. A majority of the votes cast shall be required for the election of an officer.

d. Officers shall take office at the first regularly scheduled Senate meeting of the next academic year.

e. The chairperson of the Senate and its Councils and Committees shall appoint a Parliamentarian, who shall serve as an informal advisor to the chairperson on matters of parliamentary procedure.

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Article IV - Agenda

Section 1. The agenda shall be prepared by the Executive Committee and submitted to the faculty at least five days prior to the meeting. Faculty members may submit, in writing, requests for Senate consideration of any appropriate subject. Such requests will be evaluated by the Executive Committee, and:

a. placed on the Senate agenda or; b. referred to an appropriate committee or; c. referred to the administration.

The person submitting an item for consideration shall be notified of the disposition of the item within ten days after the meeting of the Executive Committee at which time the item was considered.

The Executive Committee shall append to each publication of Senate minutes a statement of all items that have been submitted to it for placement on the agenda and shall indicate the disposition of each item.

Section 2. The order of the agenda may be changed while the Senate is in session by a majority vote of those Senators present and voting.

Section 3. An item may be added to the agenda while the Senate is in session by a two-thirds vote of those Senators present and voting.

Section 4. Motions and/or resolutions relevant to an agenda item may be proposed from the floor by any Senator.

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Article V - Amendments

Amendments to the bylaws may be presented in writing by any member of the Senate or not less than ten eligible faculty members. The Senate shall act on the proposed amendment at the next regular meeting following the one at which the amendment was presented. Amendments to the bylaws shall be effective upon approval by at least two-thirds of the total membership of the Senate.

Article VI - Committees and Councils

Section 1. The Faculty Senate may create such standing and special committees and councils as it deems necessary to the exercise of its powers and responsibilities. The Faculty Senate shall determine the powers, duties, and organization of each such committee and council. No provision of this section shall be construed to preclude administrative officers from creating administrative committees and councils, from assigning to them such duties and powers as they desire, and from appointing members of the faculty to serve on them.

Section 2. Ex-officio members of committees and councils do not have voting rights. Committees and councils shall elect their own chairperson unless it is otherwise stipulated in the bylaws or by action of the Senate

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A. Committee on Committees

1. The Senate shall elect four of its members, one from each college, to serve for one year as a Committee on Committees member. The Senate shall also elect on of the four members of the Committee on Committees as the Chair of the Committee on Committees. This Committee shall nominate members for all Senate committees and councils and shall nominate members for other committees upon the request of the President of the University.

2. The Committee on Committees shall make its recommendations to the Senate by the first regular meeting in April.

3. The Senate shall act upon the recommendations of the Committee on Committees by the last regularly scheduled meeting in April.

B. Committee on Provost and Presidential Performance

1. Membership:

a. The Committee shall consist of five Senate members elected by the Faculty Senate. At least one member shall be elected from among the current membership of the Faculty Senate Executive Committee.

b. The Committee shall be constituted annually at one of the first Senate meetings of the year and shall conduct the surveys annually, except that there will be no committee composed or survey distributed in the first year of a given person's appointment to the position of Provost or President.

2. Duties:

a. To create a survey instrument (or modify one previously used) for the Provost and Presidential positions. Each survey will include items that will allow faculty members to indicate their opinions of the performance of the Provost and President.

Each new or modified survey must be approved by the Faculty Senate prior to implementation.

b. To distribute the Provost and Presidential surveys to all WIU faculty who are eligible to serve on the Faculty Senate.

c. To oversee the collection and data analysis of each survey.

d. To prepare a summary report to include tabulation of responses to each question on the survey and an executive summary highlighting points of interest.

e. To distribute a draft of the summary report and the executive summary to the Faculty Senate by the first Senate meeting in April of each year. The summary report and the executive summary must be approved by the Faculty Senate prior to distribution.

f. To distribute a summary report and the executive summary of the Provost survey to the Provost, President, the Board of Trustees members, and to the members of the Faculty Senate.

g. To distribute a summary report and the executive summary of the Presidential survey to the President, the Board of Trustees members, and to the members of the Faculty Senate.

h. To make data available to Faculty Senate members upon request and approval of the Faculty Senate. (Section B. added 10-15-02)

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C. Council on Admission, Graduation, and Academic Standards

1. Membership:

The Council shall consist of seventeen members, including two undergraduate students selected by the Student Government Associations. The Senate shall appoint ten members. Each college of the University shall have at least two members. The two at-large members must be from different colleges. The Provost and Academic Vice President, the Registrar, the Assistant/Associate Vice President for Student Judicial Affairs, the Director of Admissions, or their designees, and an advisor elected from the Council of Academic Advisors shall be ex-officio members.

2. Duties:

a. To review and evaluate policies, procedures, and requirements concerning admission, retention, academic standards and graduation for departments, colleges and the University.

b. To make recommendations to the Senate regarding policies concerned with admission, retention, academic standards and graduation, and to establish procedures for the implementation of these policies.

c. To recommend policy to the Senate and establish procedures for dealing with proficiency examinations and other special examinations, substitution of courses and changes in course of study, credit granted by transfer, honors courses, and other matters involved in the academic progress of students.

d. To maintain liaison with agencies of student government that are concerned with academic matters, and to consider the recommendations of such agencies.

e. To maintain liaison with the Council on Curricular Programs and Instruction when issues arise concerning both curricular matters and matters of admission, graduation and academic standards.

f. To maintain liaison with the Graduate Council when issues arise concerning policy of common concern.

g. To interpret University policies, procedures and requirements regarding admission, retention, graduation and academic standards, and to consider appeals regarding these policies, procedures and requirements.

h. To perform such other duties as designated by the Faculty Senate. (Last amended 4-10-07)

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D. Council on Campus Planning and Usage

1. Membership:

The Council shall consist of eight members, including one undergraduate student selected by the Student Government Associations. The Senate shall appoint six members. Each college of the University shall have at least one member. The Director of Physical Plant shall be an ex-officio member.

2. Duties:

a. To provide faculty input and interaction on the academic relevance and impact of proposed modifications to campus facilities and physical resources. The Chair of the Faculty Senate and the Chair of the Council on Campus Planning and Usage shall serve on the University Capital Budget committee, which will provide a forum for input and interaction.

b. To make recommendations through the Faculty Senate to the Provost, President, and other administrators on new space needs or modifications required to support academic programs of the University.

c. To provide input to the Faculty Senate, the Provost, and the President on campus planning and usage. (Last amended 4-6-04)

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E. Council on Curricular Programs and Instruction

1. Membership:

The Council shall consist of thirteen members, including one undergraduate student selected by the Student Government Associations. The Senate shall appoint ten faculty members. Each college of the University shall have at least two members. The Provost and Academic Vice President (or the Provost's designee) shall be an ex-officio member. A representative from the Registrar's Office shall also be an ex-officio member.

2. Duties:

a. To recommend to the Faculty Senate the approval or disapproval of all new academic programs and courses as well as changes in existing courses which affect catalog copy.

b. To develop such policies and procedures as are needed to implement a. of this section. To maintain liaison with CAGAS when issues arise concerning both curricular matters and admission, graduation and academic standards matters.

c. To recommend to the Senate which specific curricular matters may be approved at department or college level without requiring Senate approval.

d. To serve as an agency for arbitration in cases of conflicting interests and responsibilities involving curricular matters which may arise between departments and colleges.

e. To perform such other duties related to curriculum as designated by the Faculty Senate.

f. To maintain liaisons with CGE when issues arise concerning General Education. (Last amended 4-6-04)

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F. Council on General Education

1. Membership:

The Council shall consist of sixteen members, including one undergraduate student selected by the Student Government Associations. The Faculty Senate shall appoint twelve members. There shall be two representatives per category from disciplines offering courses in categories I-IV. For the two members representing category I, one member must teach courses on college writing and one representative must teach public speaking. For the two members representing category IV, one member must teach courses in the Fine Arts and one representative must teach courses in the Humanities.

Categories V and VI shall each have one representative selected from the disciplines offered in those categories. There shall be two at-large representatives from disciplines not offering courses in categories I-IV and VI. All colleges shall have at least one member and no college may have more than six members. The Dean's Council representative, the Provost's representative, and the Council of Academic Advisers representative shall serve as ex-officio members.

2. Duties:

a. To establish Faculty Liaison Committees for each area of the General Education Curriculum, make requests of them and receive their reports.

b. To periodically review and evaluate the philosophy and goals of General Education.

c. To review the General Education Curriculum, and ongoing assessments of that curriculum by other agencies, in order to insure that the curriculum reflects the University's philosophy and goals of General Education.

d. To determine on the basis of assessment results the level of adequacy of students' achievement of the goals of General Education, as well as effectiveness of any changes made in the curriculum of General Education.

e. To review and plan baccalaureate skills assessment, and to make appropriate recommendations to the Faculty Senate.

f. To develop procedures designed to lead to the improvement of student learning and the instructional process in the General Education Curriculum and forward those to the Faculty Senate for approval.

g. To receive and review departments' plans and reports on assessment of General Education.

h. To consider and make recommendations about the means of delivery for General Education courses to enhance student learning.

i. To respond to departmental requests regarding General Education courses and make appropriate recommendations regarding such courses to the Faculty Senate.

j. On request, to deliberate about the articulation of WIU General Education requirements with those of community colleges and other colleges and universities.

k. On request, to deliberate about the impact of any changes in General Education on certification and accreditation programs as well as respond to the needs of those programs.

l. To maintain liaison with CCPI, CAGAS, the Advising Center, and other agencies in order to consider matters of interest in the area of General Education to any or all concerned.

m. To develop and offer programs, in conjunction with other University agencies when appropriate, to foster awareness and understanding of General Education.

n. To make recommendations to the Faculty Senate regarding any or all of the duties described above.

o. To perform such other duties as designated by the Senate. (Last amended 9-18-07)

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G. Council on Intercollegiate Athletics

1. Membership:

This Council shall consist of eight members (seven voting) including two undergraduate students (one male and one female), one appointed by the Student Government Associations and one appointed by the Student-Athlete Advisory Board, and the faculty representative to the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The Senate shall appoint one faculty member from each college. The Director of Athletics (or appointee) will serve as an ex-officio member.

2. Duties:

a. To review all current intercollegiate athletic programs; to recommend policies and procedures for maximizing effective athletic programs as they relate to federal, NCAA, and conference guidelines and to University missions and resources; and, to designate ways in which athletics can contribute effectively to the University and its constituencies.

b. To formulate and submit to the Senate for approval University policies and procedures regarding athletics and to determine whether all policies and procedures conform to the regulations of the athletic conferences and accrediting agencies with which the university holds affiliation and academic credentialing. Such policies and procedures shall include but are not limited to the athletic mission statement, rules for eligibility, approval of scheduling, athletic academic counseling, student-athletes' grades, graduation rate reports, sportsmanship and NCAA rules violations. Exceptions to scheduling must be referred to CAGAS for approval. These policies and procedures may be changed by a majority vote of the Council with the approval of the Senate and the President. (Last amended 2-10-98)

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G. Council for International Education

1. Membership:

The Council for International Education shall consist of thirteen members (eleven voting) including nine faculty members (two from each college and one from the Library) appointed by the Faculty Senate, two students (one study abroad student and one international student), and two ex-officio members from the Center for International Studies. Preference will be given to faculty with international education or experience.

2. Duties:

a. To recommend initial approval of all International courses and curricula.

b. To recommend approval of all significant changes in the International component requirements for individual courses and curricula.

c. To conduct period reviews of all International courses to assure compliance with the principles and practices of the International graduation requirement.

d. To maintain a list of all current instructors of International courses.

e. To monitor course enrollment in International courses.

f. To work with and through the Center for International Studies to promote International course, curricula, and academic activities on campus.

g. To perform such other duties as designated by the Faculty Senate. (Section 'G' added 4-6-04)

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J. Writing Instruction in the Disciplines Committee

1. Membership:

The Committee shall consist of eleven members (eight voting) including one undergraduate student (non-voting) selected by the Student Government Associations, eight faculty members (two from each college) appointed by the Faculty Senate, and two ex-officio members. The voting members must be (or have been) instructors in WID courses. The Director of the Writing Center and the Director of Writing Programs shall serve as the two ex-officio members.

2. Duties:

a. To recommend to the Faculty Senate the approval and disapproval of all new WID courses.

b. To recommend to the Faculty Senate the approval and disapproval of all significant changes in the WID requirements for individual majors.

c. To conduct periodic reviews of all WID courses to assure compliance with the principles and practices of the Writing Instruction in the Disciplines graduation requirement.

d. To maintain a list of all current instructors of WID courses.

e. To monitor course enrollment in WID courses.

f. To secure periodic feedback from students, faculty, alumni, and employers concerning the implementation and effects of the Writing Instruction in the Disciplines graduate requirement.

g. To sponsor one or more faculty development activities each year to improve Writing Instruction in the Disciplines courses.

h. To perform such other duties as designated by the Faculty Senate.

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Article VII - Rules Governing Committees and Councils of the Senate

A. Membership:

1. Members of the faculty with academic rank are eligible to serve on all committees and councils.

2. Unless otherwise specified, the term of appointment shall be three years and shall follow a staggered plan. No faculty member may serve consecutively more than one regular term of three years on a standing committee or council. One year must elapse before a faculty member who has served a regular term on a standing committee or council is eligible for re-appointment.

3. Faculty members shall not serve concurrently on more than one standing committee or council of the Senate. Members of the Senate may not serve on standing councils of the Senate during their term in office as Senators.

4. Vacancies in committees and councils to which the Senate has made appointments shall be filled by the Senate.

5. When a member of a committee or council establishes a record of absenteeism, the chairperson of that committee or council should contact the member to determine the reason for the absences. If the individual chooses not to resign but persists in absenteeism, the chairperson of the committee or council shall inform the chairperson of the Faculty Senate who shall have the official authority to dismiss with thanks the committee member and authorize the Committee on Committees to nominate to the Faculty Senate a replacement.

B. Reporting:

1. Each committee and council shall develop and submit to the Senate for approval written policy and procedure statements. It shall recommend policy and procedural changes to the Senate and the President when such changes seem desirable.

2. Each committee and council shall keep written minutes of all meetings.

3. Each committee and council shall submit an annual report to the Senate prior to the first regular Senate meeting in September of each year.

4. Proposals and/or recommendations submitted to the Senate and referred by the Senate to a committee or council shall be reported in that committee or council's official minutes. The committee or council of the Senate shall indicate its approval, rejection, or lack of action on a proposal or recommendation within thirty days after the referral and return the proposal or recommendation to the Senate for final consideration. A proposal, which is not returned within thirty days and for which there is no communication from the committee or council to the originator, shall be regarded as having committee or council approval and shall be taken up by the Senate for final consideration.

5. Each council or committee of the Faculty Senate must report each of its recommendations to the Senate for final consideration. Each such recommendation will become an agenda item for the next regular Senate meeting. If no Senator objects to a recommendation, that recommendation will be treated as having received Senate approval. If one or more Senators move further consideration of one or several recommendations, the recommendation(s) will be taken up at a subsequent meeting. The requirement to delay the recommendation(s) of a council or committee until a subsequent meeting because of the objection of one or more Senators may be suspended by a two-thirds vote of the Senators present and voting. The recommendation(s) may then be amended, approved, or rejected at the meeting in progress.

C. Jurisdiction: Questions or jurisdiction of committees and councils shall be resolved by the Senate.

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Bylaws

Ratified: Faculty, 5/69 Accepted: Board of Governors, 9/69

Amended:

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