Faculty Senate

Constitution

Amended: April, 1998

Preamble

To facilitate communication, understanding, and cooperation among the officers of Boise State University, and to ensure the orderly development of educational programs and policies committed to our trust, we, the President and Faculty of Boise State University, do hereby subscribe to this Constitution establishing principles of organization, authority, and responsibility of the Boise State University Faculty.

Article I: Name
1. The Official Boise State University Faculty as defined by Article II shall be referred to throughout this document as THE FACULTY.
Article II: Membership
1. The Official Faculty of the University shall comprise four categories of members hereinafter referred to as Academic Faculty, Applied Technology Faculty, Administrative Faculty and President of the University.
  1. Section 1:
    1. The Academic Faculty of the University shall include all persons with full-time appointments as Professor, Associate Professor, Assistant Professor, Instructor, to do teaching, research, and counseling, and Departmental chairpersons and professional librarians other than the University Librarian
  2. Section 2:
    1. The Applied Technology Faculty of the University shall include all persons with appointments as Interim-Instructor, Standard Instructor, Advanced Instructor, and Senior Instructor, to do teaching.
  3. Section 3:
    1. The Administrative Faculty of the University shall include administrative vice-presidents; executive heads of colleges/schools, divisions, supportive services, and the Library; and all such permanent administrative officials so designed by the President of the University as provided in Section 4 of this Article.
  4. Section 4:
    1. The President of the University.
  5. Section 5:
    1. Contracts or letters of appointment shall contain an entry identifying Official Faculty, and a list of Official Faculty shall be kept on record in the Administrative Offices.
Article III: Powers and Authority
1. Section 1: General
  1. a. THE FACULTY shall provide recommendations on matters of educational policy within the limits prescribed by federal and state law and the regulations of the Idaho State Board of Education. Educational policy pertains to such matters as curricula, methods of instruction, facilities and materials for instruction, standards for admission and retention of students, and criteria for the granting of degrees. It also includes those aspects of student life that relate directly to the educational process including the establishment of regulations concerning financial aid, academic performance, extracurricular activities, and freedom of action and expression.
  2. b. THE FACULTY shall recommend policies and procedures governing faculty appointment, tenure, and promotion.
  3. c. THE FACULTY shall normally function through its representative body, The Faculty Senate (see Article V). However THE FACULTY shall also have the rights of initiative and referendum, as specified in Article VI: Section 1, in Article IV: Section 2e, and in Article V: Section 3d.
2. Section 2: Colleges/Schools, Division, Departments
  1. Within the limits of policies approved by the Idaho State Board of Education, the policies and practices with the college/school, division, or department shall be determined by THE FACULTY of the specific college/school, division, or department, and shall normally be implemented by the interested deans or chairpersons.
Article IV: Organization of THE FACULTY
1. Section 1: Officers
  1. a. Presiding Officer
    1. The President of the University or his or her designee shall preside at the meetings of THE FACULTY.
  2. b. Secretary to THE FACULTY
    1. The Secretary to The Faculty Senate (Article V, Section 3, a.2) shall be the Secretary to THE FACULTY. The Secretary shall record minutes and circulate copies to all members within one week following each meeting.
  3. c. Treasurer of THE FACULTY
    1. The Treasurer of The Faculty Senate (Article V, Section 3, a.3) shall be the Treasurer of THE FACULTY. Funds for specific projects or emergencies as approved by THE FACULTY shall be collected by the Treasurer. The Treasure shall establish a Faculty Account and disburse Faculty Account Funds upon approval of The Faculty Senate, and shall keep an accurate record of THE FACULTY Account according to approved business practice, which account may be audited by an ad hoc committee of the Senate whenever necessary.
2. Section 2: Meetings
  1. a. Schedule
    1. Meetings of THE FACULTY may be called by the President of the University. He or she must call a meeting at the written petition of ten percent of THE FACULTY or on a majority vote of the Senate.
  2. b. Notice
    1. Written notice of each meeting shall be circulated to all faculty members at least three days prior to the date of the meeting. The agenda for each meeting shall be attached to the notice.
  3. c. Forum
    1. Twenty-five percent of THE FACULTY in person shall constitute a quorum. No proxy shall be recognized. The Administrative Offices shall provide on September 1 an indication of the number of full-time personnel as described in Article II.
  4. d. Procedure
    1. Each member of THE FACULTY shall have a free and equal voice in all deliberations and each shall be entitled to one vote. Any member of THE FACULTY may submit agenda items to the presiding officer of THE FACULTY. Such items must be received at least five days prior to a scheduled meeting. In the absence of special regulations to the contrary, the most recent edition of Robert's Rules of Order as designated by the President of the Faculty Senate shall govern the procedure of all meetings of THE FACULTY.
  5. e. Faculty Review of Senate or Presidential Action
    1. (1) THE FACULTY may contest an action taken by The Faculty Senate or a failure to act on an initiative petition (Article V, Section 3d). Overriding of the Senate shall require a two-thirds vote of the total membership of THE FACULTY. A majority of those present and voting at a meeting may call for a written ballot of the entire faculty. According to the provisions of Article IV, Section 1b, such ballot shall be attached to a copy of the minutes of the meeting sent to each member of THE FACULTY. Ballots must be returned to the Secretary of The Faculty Senate and the vote counted and announced within that period specified in the By-Laws of this Constitution.
    2. (2) Using this same procedure, THE FACULTY may contest a Presidential action. If the contesting action is successful, the President shall communicate it to the Idaho State Board of Education.
Article V: The Faculty Senate
1. Section 1: Membership
  1. a. Composition
    1. (1) Academic Voting Members
      1. Each college/school or division shall be entitled to at least two representatives to The Faculty Senate who shall be elected by the Academic or Applied Technology Faculty in the college/school or division represented.
    2. (2) Senate representation shall be determined on the ratio of one Senator per 25 Official Faculty in the college/school represented with the exception of the Graduate College which shall have no more than two Senators.
    3. (3) Nonvoting Members
      1. (a) The President of the University or his or her designee, the President of ASB or his or her designee, the Dean of each college/school and the University Librarian.
      2. (b) Two adjunct faculty members appointed from a list of self-nominees by the President of the Faculty Senate. Candidates would need to teach at least half-time for one academic year.
  2. b. Selection Senators shall be elected by each college/school or division of the University.
  3. c. Term of Office Elected members normally shall serve for two years. Initially, provision shall be made for rotating terms of office so that one half of the elected chairs shall be vacated each year. Recall of any elected members of the Senate shall be considered only at a meeting of THE FACULTY called for such a purpose at least one week in advance of the meeting date. Approval shall require an affirmative vote of two-thirds of the Academic and Applied Technology Faculty who are present at that meeting.
  4. d. Responsibility All members of the Senate are uninstructed representatives. Having sought the counsel and advice of their colleagues, Senate members shall be free to exercise their own judgment on matters of decision and vote.
  5. e. New Colleges/Schools and Divisions Newly created colleges/schools and divisions of the University shall be represented as provided in Article V, Section la (1) and (2). Implementation shall be by By-Laws of the Boise University Faculty.
2. Section 2: Authority and Functions of the Senate
  1. a. Authority
    1. The Senate shall have the authority and responsibility to act for and in behalf of THE FACULTY. Actions of the Senate shall be effective without approval of THE FACULTY, except that such actions shall be subject to challenge, by THE FACULTY (as specified in Article IV, Section 2, Paragraph e) or by the President of the University.
  2. b. Functions
    1. Within the framework established by the Idaho State Board of Education, the Senate shall, as the representative body of THE FACULTY:
      1. (1) Recommend requirements for admission and for degrees.
      2. (2) Act upon all new courses and curricula, changes in established curricula, and curricular policies involving relationships between colleges/schools or divisions.
      3. (3) Recommend criteria for academic rank, tenure, and professional welfare.
      4. (4) Provide for the review and mediation of disputes involving professional ethics and grievances.
      5. (5) Maintain such committees and councils as are necessary for the implementation of Article III, Section 1, of this Constitution.
      6. (6) Receive and consider reports from committees and councils and take appropriate action thereon.
      7. (7) Inform THE FACULTY of its actions.
3. Section 3: Organization of the Senate
  1. a. Officers
    1. (1) The Senate shall elect annually from among its academic members a President and Vice President..
    2. (2) A Secretary to the Senate shall be selected by the Senate. The Secretary shall not be a member of the Senate.
    3. (3) A Treasurer to the Senate shall be selected by the Senate. The Treasurer shall not be a member of the Senate
  2. b. Meetings
    1. (1) Regular and special meetings of the Senate shall be held throughout the academic year at times specified in the By-Laws
    2. (2) Regular and special meetings of the Senate are open to all members of THE FACULTY. Visitors at meetings may enter into the discussion by permission of the Senate.
  3. c. Rules
    1. The Senate is empowered to make rules governing its own organization and procedure subject to the conditions of this Constitution and the following:
      1. (1) A simple majority of Senate members shall constitute a quorum.
      2. (2) All actions of the Senate shall be by simple majority of members present and voting, unless otherwise specified by the By-Laws.
      3. (3) A digest of the Senate meeting minutes shall be distributed to THE FACULTY without delay.
  4. d. Agenda
    1. At least three days prior to any Senate meeting, the President shall have an agenda published and distributed to THE FACULTY. Any Senator may submit items for the agenda. Any item submitted by at least ten percent of THE FACULTY through petition must be placed on the agenda of the next regular Senate meeting. Items not on the agenda of a given meeting may not be brought to formal vote at that meeting without unanimous consent of those present.
Article VI: Amendment
1. Section 1: Of the Constitution
  1. Amendments may be proposed by either:
    1. (a) two-thirds of the Senate present and voting, or
    2. (b) 20 percent of THE FACULTY through initiative petition presented to the President of the Senate.
  2. The proposed amendment to the Constitution shall be placed on the Agenda on the next regular meeting of the Senate for open discussion. Following that discussion, a written copy of the proposed amendment, including explanation and justification, shall be distributed to each faculty member after which it will be submitted to a special meeting of THE FACULTY. An amendment thus submitted shall become part of the Constitution when approved by secret ballot by a two-thirds majority of THE FACULTY voting.
2. Section 2: Of the By-Laws
  1. The By-Laws may be amended by a two-thirds vote of the Senate, present and voting.