ARTICLE
I. THE TWIN CITIES CAMPUS ASSEMBLY
1. Organization
The
Twin Cities Campus Assembly (hereafter called the Assembly) may determine its
own organization, create committees whose membership need not be limited to
members of the Assembly, and adopt procedural rules for the conduct of its
business. The Faculty Assembly, Minnesota Student Association, and the Graduate
and Professional Student Assembly shall determine their own
organization.
The president of the University of Minnesota shall chair
the Assembly.
A vice chair shall be elected by the Assembly at its last
meeting of the spring semester of the academic year from among its members for a
term of one year. The vice chair shall serve as chair in the absence of the
president and shall serve as a member of the Assembly Steering Committee. Term
of office shall be July 1 to June 30, and the person holding the office is
eligible for re-election.
In the event that neither the president nor the Assembly vice chair is available to serve as chair of an Assembly meeting, the vice chair of the Faculty Steering Committee shall preside.
A clerk and a parliamentarian of the Assembly
(non-members of the Assembly) shall be appointed by the president and confirmed
by the Assembly and whose terms of office shall run from the start of the first
meeting of the Assembly in one year to the start of the first meeting of the
Assembly the following year. The clerk and the parliamentarian may be
reappointed.
The Assembly Steering Committee shall serve as the executive
committee of the Twin Cities Campus Assembly.
2.
Meetings
Meetings of the Assembly shall be held at the call of the
president or of the Assembly Steering Committee during the academic year to
consider campus-wide policies and issues. The Twin Cities Campus Assembly,
Faculty Assembly, Minnesota Student Association, or Graduate and Professional
Student Assembly may be convened for special session upon the call of the
president or chair. Upon written request of ten members of the Assembly in
question as submitted to the president or the chair, the president or the chair
shall convene the Assembly. Members of the Assembly shall be given notice of
the special session by the clerk of the appropriate Assembly at the earliest
possible date and not less than two days before the meeting. Only subjects
specifically listed on the proposed agenda for any special session may be
considered at that meeting.
3. Agenda
The Assembly Steering
Committee shall plan the agenda for any meeting of the Assembly. The agenda
shall be prepared finally and distributed by the clerk of the Assembly. The
agenda consists of items submitted for Twin Cities Campus Assembly consideration
by any Assembly or by any committee of the Assembly. At the discretion of the
Assembly Steering Committee, the clerk of the Assembly may be instructed to
include additional items on the agenda for any meeting of that body. Items for
the docket must be delivered to the clerk no later than two weeks prior to the
date of each meeting. All items should be double spaced to facilitate
printing.
4. Amendments to the Rules
Amendments to the
Rules shall be made by a majority vote of the members of the Assembly present
and voting at any meeting of the Twin Cities Campus Assembly for matters
pertaining to that Assembly, or by majority vote of the members of any Assembly
present and voting at any meeting of any Assembly for matters pertaining to that
Assembly. However, the rules cannot be amended to contravene either the
Constitution or the Bylaws. If such a situation presents itself, a
constitutional or bylaws amendment motion must be
undertaken.
ARTICLE II. STANDING RULES OF THE
ASSEMBLY[**]
1.
Seating
The meeting room shall provide a clear and definite area
reserved for members of the Assembly, and no non-member (except authorized
alternate) shall have access to this area without explicit permission from the
chair. Members of the Assembly and authorized alternates shall be identified in
order to permit their seating to ensure accurate voting.
2.
Quorum
A majority of the membership shall constitute a
quorum.
3. Recognition and Participation
- In
deliberations, priority of recognition shall be given to members of the Assembly
over non-members; speakers who have not spoken over those who have; alternation
of pro and con on a specific issue.
- Any member of the Assembly, upon
recognition from the chair, may yield time in debate to a
non-member.
- In the event that a member of the Assembly has yielded time
to a non-member, both shall be considered to have spoken.
- Speakers
shall be limited to three minutes each time they are recognized.
- The
member of a committee presenting an item on the docket who is not a member of
the Assembly shall be extended all privileges associated with participation.
These include making motions in areas related to the committee report. Such a
person shall not be extended the privilege of voting.
- Members of
committees of the Assembly who are not members of the Assembly shall have the
privilege of speaking on reports of their committee before the
Assembly.
- The usual rules of germaneness and decorum shall apply to
both members and non-members.
4. Agenda and
Procedures
- The time limits specified on the agenda are the maximum
times for debate or discussion. A motion to extend the limit of debate may be
proposed on any agenda item.
- No amendment of a motion appearing in the
printed docket shall be in order unless it has been submitted in writing to the
clerk of the Assembly and to the chair of the committee presenting the motion at
least 48 hours prior to the meeting at which it is presented.
- An item
of new business presented at a meeting of the Assembly by an individual member
shall be referred to the Assembly Steering Committee for consideration and
presentation at the next meeting of the Assembly; but such an item of business
may be considered and voted on at the meeting at which it is introduced by a
two-thirds majority vote of the members of the Assembly present and voting on a
motion for immediate consideration (not debatable). An item on the agenda for
information may be sent back to the committee reporting it, for presentation as
an item for action at a later meeting, by a simple majority vote of the members
of the Assembly present and voting; it may be considered for action at the
meeting at which it is reported for information by a two-thirds majority vote of
the members of the Assembly present and voting on a proposal for immediate
consideration as an item for action.
- The motion to table shall be
debatable.
- At each Assembly meeting, Questions to the President shall
be an item on the agenda.
- In the case of a tie vote, the president
shall be entitled to vote.
ARTICLE III. RULES FOR COMMITTEES OF
THE ASSEMBLY
1. Committee Structure of the Assembly
The
committees of the Assembly shall be (1) Assembly committees and (2)
Subcommittees of Assembly committees. The Assembly may also create Special
committees as described in the Constitution and Bylaws.
2. Ex Officio
members of Assembly Committees
Ex officio members shall be appointed
from each of the offices listed below and are non-voting positions unless
otherwise noted.
- Advisory Committee on Athletics--Director of
intercollegiate athletics; Director of Academic Counseling; Director of
Compliance
- Educational Policy--Office of the Executive
Vice President and Provost (two representatives, including the Vice Provost for
Undergraduate Education); Dean of the Graduate School
- Faculty
Academic Oversight Committee for Intercollegiate Athletics--Director of
Academic Counseling; Director of
Compliance
- Steering--Vice Chair, Twin Cities Campus
Assembly (voting); Chair, Assembly Educational Policy
Committee
- Student Behavior--Office of the Executive Vice
President and Provost
3. Terms of Membership, Chairing of
Committees, and Removal of Members for Absences
Non-student appointments to committees of the Assembly shall be made for terms of three years, with appointments so adjusted that the terms of approximately one third of the members expire each year. Faculty/academic administrative or professional who hold a University position carrying as any part of its title president, vice president, chancellor, provost, executive director, counsel, non-faculty attorney, or chief of staff at a collegiate or central administrative level may not serve as a voting member of an Assembly committee, nor may anyone who is a dean, except ex officio, except in cases where a decanal position is specifically provided for as part of the membership of a committee. Individuals with less than one-third-time appointments as assistant or associate deans may serve as voting members of Senate committees.1
Student appointments to committees of the Assembly shall be made for
terms of one year. Student members of committees must be registered for at
least six credits for each semester in the academic year. University College
students must be registered for at least one course in each major term in the
academic year. Graduate students who have completed course work and are not
required to maintain continuous registration during interim periods of study in
preparation for written and oral examinations must be certified by the
individual department director of graduate studies.
No non-student member is eligible to serve more than two consecutive full
three-year terms on any one committee. No student member is eligible to serve
more than four consecutive one-year terms on any one committee. No committee
member is eligible to serve on more than two committees of the Assembly at a
time. These rotation procedures and limitations do not apply to ex officio
representatives.
Except where specified, the chair of each committee of
the Assembly is appointed from the committee membership by whoever appoints the
members of the committee. Chair appointments are for one-year terms, but chairs
may be reappointed. An individual may chair only one committee of the Assembly
at a time. Terms of committee service begin July 1 and terminate June
30.
A member of a committee of the Assembly shall be said to have been
absent if the member does not attend a meeting for which notification was given.
A non-student member of a committee of the Assembly shall forfeit membership if
absent for three consecutive meetings of the committee unless excused by
majority vote of the committee. A student member of a committee of the Assembly
shall forfeit membership if absent for two meetings of the committee unless
excused by majority vote of the committee. Summer meetings of a committee do
not count in tallying consecutive absences from meetings. A member whose
membership has been forfeited may appeal to the appropriate appointing authority
for reinstatement.
4. Leave Policy
If a committee member
plans to be on leave from the University or is, for any reason, absent from the
University for more than one year, a new committee member shall be appointed to
complete the term remaining. Members on leave for one year or less during the
first two years of a three-year term shall be replaced by temporary appointment.
Members absent in the final year of a term will be replaced for the term
remaining. Replacement procedures will follow appointment
procedures.
5. Committee Support and Service
Staff support
shall be funded by the Senate through funds administered by the Senate Budget
Subcommittee. Staff support and services are interpreted as employee assistance
in research, data collection, record-keeping, and all aspects of secretarial
services. A staff support person shall not be considered as an ex officio
member.
6. Support of University Governance
Department
chairs, deans, and faculties should recognize a faculty/academic professional
member's participation in faculty governance as an important and integral part
of the individual's work load and supply necessary assistance and support for
these activities.
Similarly, faculty and administration should recognize
student participation in University governance as an important and integral part
of the participant's total University experience.
7. Procedures for
Committees of the Assembly
- Parliamentary authority for committees
of the Assembly shall be Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised, provided
these Rules are not in conflict with the Assembly Constitution or
Bylaws.
- A quorum shall be a majority of the members.
- Ex
officio representation is representation because of, or by virtue of, a
specified office. Ex officio members of committees of the Assembly are
appointed by the administrative office which they represent. An ex officio
member is accorded rights of full participation except voting privileges unless
otherwise indicated.
- Committee members may participate and vote in
committee meetings through an electronic connection.
- The chair or a
committee member who voted on the prevailing side, was absent, abstained, or did
not vote may move, by electronic communication, that an action taken by the
committee be reconsidered. The motion to reconsider, including a proposed
disposition, must be made to or by the chair within two business days after the
meeting was adjourned. Committee members must vote, by electronic
communication, within two business days from the time the motion to reconsider
was distributed. The number of votes cast on the motion must meet or exceed the
requirement for a quorum; if that number is achieved, a two-thirds majority of
those voting is needed for approval of the motion to reconsider.
[In
March 1994 the Twin Cities Campus Assembly parliamentarian ruled that alternates
or proxy voting are not permitted at meetings of Assembly
committees.]
[**] Standing Rules of the
Assembly may be suspended by simple majority vote. Rules of Order (Robert's
Rules Newly Revised) may be suspended by a two-thirds majority
vote.
Twin Cities Campus Assembly Constitution
Twin Cities Campus Assembly Bylaws
