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Bylaws

College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences

 

Bylaws of the Faculty of the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences

 

Article I Name

The name of this organization shall be The Faculty of the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, hereinafter referred to as CLASS.

Article II Purpose

The Faculty of CLASS shall legislate upon and form policies pertaining to the educational methods, aims, and activities of CLASS consistent with the collective bargaining agreement and the Bylaws of the Faculty Senate.

Article III Membership

The membership shall be constituted as follows: the President of the University, ex officio; the Vice President for Academic Affairs, ex officio; the Dean, Associate Deans, and Assistant Deans of the College; all tenured, tenure-track, emeriti, and term faculty assigned to the College. Emeriti and term members may attend faculty meetings and serve on faculty committees but may not vote in faculty meetings or elections. Faculty members with dual appointments in this college and another may only serve on faculty committees and vote in elections in the college in which they have a 51% or greater appointment. In cases involving doubt as to the proper college or colleges to which a faculty member is assigned, assignment will be made by the Vice President for Academic Affairs after obtaining the recommendation of the Deans concerned.

 Article IV Officers

Section 1
a. The Dean of CLASS shall be the chief administrative officer of this organization.

b. The Dean shall preside at all meetings. For those meetings which he/she does not attend, he/she shall appoint a temporary chairperson, or if he/she fails to do so the member present with the longest service as department chairperson shall preside. The Dean shall notify the Secretary of the University Faculty Senate as to the organization plan and bylaws adopted by the College Faculty and any subsequent changes made in them.

Section 2
a.  A secretary shall be elected by mail ballot. The term of office shall be from July 1 to June 30 in any given year.

b. The Secretary shall notify the members of the meetings, and shall keep accurate minutes of all meetings.

c. The Secretary shall receive abstracts of all administrative actions taken by standing committees of the College.

d. The Secretary shall provide the Secretary of the Faculty Senate of the Cleveland State University with two true copies of the minutes of all meetings of the Faculty of CLASS.

Article V Meetings

Section 1
There shall be a regular meeting of the Faculty of CLASS at least twice during each of the Fall and Spring semesters. The meeting shall be called by the Dean, or in his/her absence, by the Steering Committee.

Section 2
Special meetings shall be called by the Dean (or in his/her absence by the Steering Committee) upon the written request of five or more members of CLASS Faculty.

Section 3
All meetings shall be called and the agenda announced by written notice to all members of CLASS Faculty not less than forty eight hours prior to the time set for the meeting.

Section 4
At the end of each meeting there shall be a period during which any member may make suggestions and proposals from the floor but no action can be taken on a substantive matter during this period.

Section 5
Twenty five per cent of the members of this organization shall constitute a quorum for a regular meeting.

 

 

Article VI Departmental and School Bylaws

Section 1
Each department or school of the College shall adopt written bylaws for its governance. These bylaws shall cover in separate articles at least the following information:

1. The membership of the unit's faculty.
2. The titles and duties of the officers of the unit.
3. Provisions for meetings of the unit's faculty.
4. The names and responsibilities of the standing committees of the unit and the manner of selection of their members and chairpersons.
5. Requirements for amendment.

Section 2
The bylaws of each unit shall be subject to the approval of the Faculty Affairs Committee of the College. The Faculty Affairs Committee shall review new and amended bylaws for practicability and for conformity with the collective bargaining agreement, University Personnel Policies, and the Bylaws of the Faculty of the College. In each of its reviews the Faculty Affairs Committee shall consult with the Dean of the College.

Section 3
Departmental or school bylaws which are formally in place at the time of the implementation of these College bylaws shall continue in effect.

 

Article VII Committees

Section 1
The chairperson of each standing committee shall be elected by the committee at its first meeting after election. The committee member whose last name is first alphabetically shall serve as convening chairperson.

Section 2
Each elected committee member shall serve a two year term beginning on July 1 and ending on June 30, and the terms shall be staggered so that half of the members of each committee are chosen each year. The Nominating Committee shall ensure that each standing committee shall have at least one member with the academic rank of instructor or assistant professor and at least one member from each of the three divisions of the College: Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences, and in those instances specified below, one from interdisciplinary programs as well. No member of the Faculty may serve on more than one standing committee at a time, except that the chairperson of each standing committee shall be a member of the Steering Committee, as provided for in Article VII, Section 3, subsection 5.The Dean of the College shall be given advanced notice and a tentative agenda of each meeting of the standing and ad hoc committees. Should a vacancy occur in any elected faculty position, the Nominating Committee shall fill it by appointing the person who both received the highest number of votes next to those elected in the most recent CLASS general election and, if necessary, maintains the committee's required representation of academic divisions and faculty rank. If that person cannot serve, the Committee will choose from other candidates in descending order of votes received. If no such candidate exists, the Nominating Committee shall submit to the Faculty at its next regular or special meeting the names of at least two faculty members as nominees.

Section 3 Divisions of the College
The disciplinary divisions of the college are presently constituted as follows:

·        Arts: Art, Music

·        Humanities: English, History, Modern Languages, Philosophy, Religious Studies

·        Social Sciences: Anthropology, Communication, Economics, Political Science, Social Work, Sociology

·        Interdisciplinary Studies: membership in Interdisciplinary Studies shall be based on having taught at least one course offered as part of an Interdisciplinary program during a two year period at the time of election.

Section 4 Standing Committees

1. The Committee on Academic Standards shall be a standing committee and shall consist of seven faculty members. It shall formulate and recommend to the Faculty for adoption rules governing standards for admission and graduation; for student load; rules for probation and dismissal; and other rules and standards for the performance of academic work. It shall consider all petitions regarding exceptions to College rules and those petitions for exceptions to University rules which have been delegated to the Committee for its consideration by the Faculty Senate. No academic requirements of CLASS or those University requirements delegated by the Faculty Senate to the jurisdiction of CLASS shall be waived or alleviated except by the approval of a petition addressed to this Committee. A summary report shall be presented to the Faculty annually. The Nominating Committee shall arrange elections so that four members are elected in even numbered years and three members are elected in odd numbered years.

2. The Committee on Curriculum and Instruction shall be a standing committee and shall consist of five faculty members, including at least one each from the main disciplinary divisions and one from interdisciplinary programs. It shall study the educational philosophy, policy and programs of the College and make recommendations concerning them to the College Faculty. Specifically, the Committee shall make recommendations to the College Faculty concerning:

a. The establishment, implementation, modification, and abolition of curricula, degrees, licenses, certifications, departments and schools.

b. Changes in the College subject matter requirements for graduation.

c. Departmental and school proposals which affect a course or curriculum outside the department making the proposal.

d. Departmental and school proposals which set up a new curriculum.

e. Departmental and school proposals which require changes in degrees awarded by the University.

f. The Committee on Curriculum and Instruction shall also review all new or revised undergraduate and graduate courses and programs proposed by departments and schools within CLASS. It shall make recommendations about these proposals to the College Faculty and/or to the University Curriculum Committee and/or to the College of Graduate Studies as appropriate.

 3. The Nominating Committee shall be a standing committee and shall consist of three faculty members. This committee shall, at a regular Spring semester meeting of this Faculty, submit to the Faculty at least one nomination for Secretary of the College Faculty, a slate of candidates consisting of at least twice the number to be elected to membership of each standing committee including the Nominating Committee, a slate of candidates consisting of twice the number to be elected as representatives from CLASS to the Faculty Senate. Additional nominations may be made by the Faculty at this time. The Nominating Committee shall conduct and count all ballots pertaining to the election of the Secretary, members of standing and ad hoc committees, and representatives to the Faculty Senate. Each tie vote for a position on a standing committee necessitates a run off election, to be held via paper ballot at the next regular CLASS faculty meeting. Tie votes for non-standing committees will be decided by a coin toss.

4. The Steering Committee shall be a standing committee and shall consist of the Dean (as Chairperson), the Secretary, the Chairpersons of the standing committees, and two faculty members elected at large. All matters for faculty consideration shall be submitted in writing to the Steering Committee, which will assign business to the appropriate standing committees as necessary. The Steering Committee shall establish an agenda for each general College Faculty meeting.

5. The Committee on Budget and Planning shall be a standing committee and shall consist of fivefaculty members, including at least one each from the main disciplinary divisions and one from inter disciplinary programs. The functions of the committee are to study the allocation of funds within the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, and to make recommendations to the Dean on space, facilities, and budget development and planning within the College. It shall report to the College Faculty at least once a year.

6 . The Faculty Affairs Committee shall be a standing committee and shall consist of five faculty members. The Committee shall study personnel policies and actions related to the College Faculty, and make recommendations to the appropriate body or the Dean. Illustrative of such areas are promotion, salary, leaves, teaching loads, academic freedom, discrimination, and related matters. A faculty member of CLASS who has a grievance not covered by the collective bargaining agreement which he/she has not been able to resolve with departmental and/or college academic authorities may request to be heard by the College Faculty Affairs Committee. The Faculty Affairs Committee shall consider proposals for amendment of these Bylaws and report their recommendations to the College Faculty.

7. The Committee on Faculty Professional Leaves shall be a standing committee and shall consist of four faculty members, the majority of whom shall be tenured, at least one from each disciplinary division of the College. The Committee shall make recommendations on faculty proposals for professional leave forwarded to it with a positive recommendation from the academic units of the College. It shall recommend either approval or disapproval to the Dean of CLASS, who shall forward the Committee's recommendations to the University committee charged with acting on proposed leaves under this program. It shall base its recommendations upon its judgments as to (1) the extent to which the proposed activities will contribute to the development of the faculty member's capabilities in teaching, research, or public service; (2) the expected benefits to the programs of the academic units of the College; and (3) the ability of the academic unit in question, or the College, to cover the absence adequately. If the number of proposals that may be recommended by the College is limited, the Committee shall prioritize the proposals with positive recommendations being determined in the following order: First, faculty members who have never had a professional leave; second, faculty members with the longest time since their last professional leave; third, faculty members with the longest continuous full time service in the University. Eligible faculty members who are asked to defer professional leave will be accorded first priority in the following year. The eligibility for future professional leave of those deferred shall be calculated from the point at which they would have returned from leave in their original proposal. The committee shall make a timely report on its actions to the faculty of the College each year.

 

Section 5 Peer Review Committee

The College Peer Review Committee shall review the dossiers of all candidates for promotion and/or tenure and all faculty members undergoing review in accordance with the principles and procedures established in the University Personnel Policies and the Collective Bargaining Agreement and make recommendations to the Dean. The Committee shall consist of seven members, one from the Arts, two from the Humanities, two from the Social Sciences, and two at-large. Nominations shall be made by the Nominating Committee. Only tenured members of the College bargaining unit as defined by the CSU AAUP contract may serve as members of the Peer Review Committee, and a majority of the members shall hold the rank of Professor. No person may serve concurrently on both the College Faculty Affairs Committee and the College Peer Review Committee. A department may have no more than one representative on this committee, and there must be one representative from each of the disciplinary divisions on the committee (the remainder are at large seats).

Section 6 Cabinet

The Cabinet of the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences shall consist of the Dean (as Chairperson); the Associate Deans; the Chairpersons of the departments of the College; the Director, or Chairperson of any academic unit or interdisciplinary program which may be established by the Faculty of the College. The Cabinet shall be an advisory body to the Dean, addressing itself to the full range of management and policy issues affecting the administration of the College.

Section 7

Other ad-hoc committees or sub-committees may be created by the Dean or may be created in consultation with the Dean by the majority vote of the CLASS Faculty at a regular meeting. A standing committee shall be created by the CLASS Faculty on the recommendation of the College FAC and the Dean.

Article VIII Robert's Rules of Order

The rules contained in Robert's Rules of Order, Revised shall govern the Faculty in all cases to which they are applicable, and in which they are not inconsistent with the Bylaws or special rules of this Faculty or the Bylaws of the Cleveland State University Faculty Senate.

Article IX Amendment

A proposed amendment to these bylaws shall be submitted in writing at a faculty meeting. At a subsequent faculty meeting, not sooner than one week after the submission of the proposed amendment, the Faculty shall determine by majority vote whether to submit the amendment to secret mail ballot. A vote of two thirds of those casting mail ballots is required to amend.

 

Article X Mail Ballot Voting

Section 1
Whenever the Dean or one third of the members present at a legal meeting deem an original main motion before the organization to be a major issue, the Dean or the organization may require the vote on that motion to be by secret mail ballot.

Section 2
Voting for election of the Secretary, members of standing committees and the Peer Review Committee, and representatives to the Faculty Senate shall be by secret mail ballot.

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