Faculty and Unclassified Staff Handbook
Chapter 2 -- Academic Affairs
Faculty Senate Bylaws
Article I. Name
The name of this organization shall be the Faculty Senate of Fort Hays State University (FS-FHSU).
Article II. Object
Section 1: The Faculty Senate represents the Faculty of Fort Hays State University in participating in the shared governance of the University.
Section 2: It is advisory to the President of the University and, as such, provides for representative participation of the faculty as interested partners in decision-making and the effective management of the vital affairs affecting Fort Hays State University.
Section 3: It cooperates with the Student Senate in promoting conditions for effective learning and fair treatment of the students; the Faculty Senate may review actions of the Student Senate at the request of the President of the University or any member of the Faculty Senate.
Section 4: It cooperates with the FHSU Alumni and Classified Senate to achieve common goals and objectives.
Section 5: It cooperates with the surrounding geographic community, the community of interest, groups, and stakeholders to promote the collective interests of Fort Hays State University.
Article III. Representation
Section 1: To determine representation on the Faculty Senate, Faculty shall be defined according to the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA), including all other ranks listed in the MOA. The appropriate unit for the Faculty of Fort Hays State University (with reference to the Unit Determination Order in case #75-UDC-1-1999, dated April 12, 1999, as amended on January 21, 2009) shall consist of the following classifications:
INCLUDE: All full-time Fort Hays State University faculty members who hold academic rank as Instructor, Lecturer, Senior Lecturer, Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, or Professor. Also included are employees who hold the rank of Program Specialist, Librarian, or Research Scientist.
EXCLUDE: All employees who have appointments as President, Provost, Vice Provost, Vice President, Associate Vice President, Assistant Vice President, Dean, Associate Dean, Assistant Dean, Department Chair, Curator, Academic Director, Dean of the Library, Assistant Dean of the Library, and Head Reference Librarian and other employees with assigned unit supervisory duties. Also exclude Visiting Faculty, persons who are confidential employees, and members of the classified service of the State of Kansas.
Section 2: All members of the Faculty, shall have the right to vote for representatives to the Faculty Senate in their respective departments/units. Each department/unit head ensures a diverse representation of faculty from various programs/disciplines/units.
Section 3: Number, Eligibility, and Election of Representatives.
a. Representation is determined by the following ratio: One representative for every ten members of a department/units (rounded up) who are qualified as teaching faculty or a fraction thereof for part-time faculty (as defined by MOA). The department chair shall communicate the identified number and the calculation to the Senate president.
b. To serve as an elected representative of a department/unit on the Faculty Senate, only full-time faculty not in the Department/Unit Chair position will be eligible.
c. Method of election.
Each department/unit shall determine its own methods for electing representatives. This process is recommended to follow a parliamentary procedure that includes all faculty members in their respective departments/units.
(1) Faculty representatives shall be elected and communicated to the faculty senate president and vice-president before March 31 for the term of office to begin the following academic year.
(2) If a department/unit becomes entitled to an additional representative after the April election, it shall elect its additional representative before June 1.
(3) Faculty members not attached to a department/unit and those holding joint appointments may choose the department/unit in which they wish to vote, provided that no faculty member may vote in more than one department/unit.
Section 4: Terms of Representatives.
a. Except as modified in this subsection and subsection d. below, the terms of senators shall be three years. Terms of elected Senators from a given department/unit shall be adjusted so that the term of no more than one Senator from any given department/unit will expire at the end of any academic year. It is recommended but not mandated that departments/units set a maximum limit of two consecutive terms of service in the Senate.
b. The terms of senators shall begin and end with the academic year.
c. Filling a Vacancy.
(1) In the event a vacancy occurs before the completion of a term, a successor shall be elected for the unexpired portion of the term. (See Section 3, c.)
(2) In the event a Senator goes on leave of absence, that member's place shall be filled temporarily by an alternate, and he/she shall resume his/her place in the Senate upon return to the University.
(3) A department/unit may provide an official alternate either by authorizing the departmental/unit chair to appoint an alternate or by electing an alternate. The duly elected or appointed alternate shall have voting privileges.
d. If a person is serving as Vice President of the Faculty Senate in the third year of a term in the Senate, such person, if not re-elected, shall be granted a one-year extension as senator-at-large in order to fulfill the duties of the President of the Senate.
Section 5: Any senator may place a new item on the agenda of the Senate or may present a proposal for referral to a committee under the new business agenda.
Article IV. Officers
Section 1: Election and Tenure of Officers.
a. Officers of the Faculty Senate shall be a president, a vice president, and a secretary. A vice president and secretary shall be elected by the Senate as a whole at the April meeting, and will succeed to their respective offices at the beginning of the next academic year following their election.
b. It is recommended that the president and vice president come from different fields or areas of expertise to ensure a diverse representation.
c. In the absence of the Faculty Senate's President, the faculty senate's vice president shall preside.
d. The method of election shall be by nominations from the floor and written ballots to be counted at the meeting.
e. The term of office for the President of the Faculty Senate and secretary shall be one year.
f. The Vice President of the Faculty Senate shall be the President-Elect of the Faculty Senate and will succeed to the presidency on June 1
Section 2: Certification of Officers.
a. Elected officers shall certify their willingness to perform their duties.
Section 3: Duties of Officers.
a. The President of the Faculty Senate shall:
(1) preside over all meetings.
(2) prepare and circulate the agenda of each regular meeting to the Senators no later than one week prior to the meeting.
(3) prepare an annual report, which shall be presented at the Spring Convocation.
(4) create any administrative arrangements and agencies necessary to conduct Senate business and activities (e.g., select ad hoc committees, liaisons, special appointments).
(5) attend meetings as an ex-officio member as designated by the University President or Provost. Such committees may include, but are not limited to, the Inauguration Committee, Council for Institutional Effectiveness, President's Roundtable, President's Cabinet, Budget Committee, Workday, Strategic Planning, and FHSU Foundation Campus Campaign.
(6) attend and represent the FHSU faculty at Board of Regents meetings and Council of Faculty Senate Presidents meetings.
b. The Vice President of the Faculty Senate shall:
(1) perform the functions of the President of the Faculty Senate in the event the President of the Faculty Senate is unable to do so.
(2) receive and deposit in the University Archives the minutes of the meetings of both the Faculty Senate and its standing committees. (per FHSU FS Standing Rule #7)
(3) organize and preside over the executive committee meetings in the absence of the president and/or as advised by the president.
(4) receive mentoring and shadow the president.
c. The Secretary of the Faculty Senate shall:
(1) keep the minutes.
(2) remind, prepare, and circulate the minutes to the faculty no later than one week before the next regularly scheduled Senate meeting and preserve it for future reference in a designated place.
(3) engage in correspondence and communication of information as needed.
(4) perform the functions of the President or Vice-President of the Faculty Senate in the event the President and Vice President of the Faculty Senate are unable to do so.
Section 4: Committee on Committees.
The Executive Committee shall appoint the members of the standing committees, except the Executive Committee, for the following academic year.
Section 5: Filling a Vacancy.
a. Vacancies in the offices of the Vice President of the Faculty Senate and Secretary of the Faculty Senate shall be filled by an election at a Senate Meeting where nominations are taken from the floor and written ballots are used to count the votes. The President of the Faculty Senate may appoint a Senator to fill the vacant position(s) until the election process is completed.
b. If the President of the Faculty Senate is unable to perform the duties of the presidency due to illness, absence from FHSU, or other conflicts and the inability to perform exceeds 60 days, then the Faculty Senate Executive Committee may, for the good of the Senate, take certain actions.
The Executive Committee may authorize the Vice President of the Faculty Senate to assume the position of the presidency for that remaining year. The Committee may also request that the absent President of the Faculty Senate become the Senate President the following year. If the vacating Senate President is not able or willing to serve in that capacity the following year, then the Executive Committee will request an election for a new Vice President of the Faculty Senate as prescribed in ARTICLE IV-Officers, Section 1 c.
[as amended by Faculty, November 1998; resolution 9899-21]
Section 6: Administrative Support.
The University Administration shall provide one-quarter reassigned time for the President of the Faculty Senate, with an additional one-quarter reassigned time to be provided by the department/unit from which the President of the Faculty Senate is elected. In addition, the Provost's office shall provide administrative support to the Faculty Senate.
Article V. Meetings
Section 1: Regular Meetings.
a. Regular meetings of the Faculty Senate shall be held from August through May with a minimum of 9 meetings.
b. Monthly meeting times shall alternate between Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 3:30 p.m.
Section 2: Special Meetings.
a. The President of the Faculty Senate shall call special meetings upon the written request of twenty percent of the senators or ten percent of the faculty or upon the request of the Executive Committee or President of the University.
b. Special meetings shall consider only the issue for which they are called.
c. If a special meeting is called to meet a short deadline for a Senate decision imposed by the Board of Regents or the university administration, then a written and/or email notice of the meeting must be sent to all Senators at least one week prior to the special meeting date and adequate efforts are made to make it inclusive. If a quorum of the Senators is not obtained at the special meeting, then the Executive Committee may act on behalf of the Senate with the advice and guidance of the Senators present at the meeting.
Section 3: Quorum and Majority.
a. A quorum for the conduct of business shall be a majority of the members.
b. Decisions in all matters except Standing Rules shall be made by the simple majority of those voting.
Section 4: Order of Business.
The usual order of business for regular meetings shall be the following.
a. Sign attendance sheet/mark attendance
b. Minutes of the previous meeting
c. Announcements
d. Reports of standing committees
e. Reports of special committees
f. Unfinished business
g. New business
h. Adjournment
Section 5: Open Meetings.
a. Meetings of the Faculty Senate will be open in accordance with statutes of the State of Kansas.
b. Non-members will be seated in a separate section and may address the Faculty Senate upon recognition by the President of the Faculty Senate and with an affirmative vote by the Senate.
c. Upon request, the President of the University shall be recognized by the President of the Faculty Senate.
d. The presiding officer may cause anyone who disrupts the proceedings to be ejected following Robert's Rules of Order.
e. The presiding officer may limit the time and number of questions to provide others equal time for discussions. The presiding officer’s decision can be overridden by a simple majority vote
Section 6: General Faculty Meeting.
a. The General Faculty Meetings for fall and spring are held concurrently with the Fall and Spring Convocations called by the President of the University.
b. The President of the University shall call a general meeting of all faculty before the start of the fall semester (Fall Convocation), where the President of the Faculty Senate shall report on any summer activities of the executive committee or Faculty Senate and the upcoming academic year activities of the Faculty Senate.
c. The President of the University shall call a general meeting of all faculty before the end of the spring semester (Spring Convocation) for the purpose of reviewing the annual report of the President of the Faculty Senate.
Section 7: Parliamentary Procedure.
a. Robert's Rules of Order, newly revised, shall govern the meetings of the Faculty Senate in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are consistent with these Bylaws or the Standing Rules.
b. A parliamentary consultant shall be appointed by the Executive Committee of the Senate.
Section 8: Standing Rules.
The Faculty Senate may, upon two-thirds vote of the Senate, adopt, amend or repeal Standing Rules governing its operations.
b. A record of the Standing Rules and Bylaws will be kept and made available.
Article VI. Committees
Section 1: Powers and Functions of Committees.
a. Standing committees (e.g., Executive, Academic Affairs, University Affairs, Students Affairs, Strategic Planning and Improvement, Partnerships, and Technology) shall be responsible for recommending policies and actions on items referred to them and for formulating recommendations in the area of their responsibilities for the consideration of the Faculty Senate.
b. Standing committees of the Faculty Senate may establish subcommittees as needed; subcommittees may consult with other members of the faculty, members of the administration, or students.
c. Each standing committee, special committee, and subcommittee shall elect its own chair and secretary and communicate it to the Senate president.
d. Each committee shall submit written reports of its recommendations to the Executive Committee, which shall put them on the agenda.
e. A majority of committee members shall constitute a quorum for meetings.
f. The number, nature, role, and scope of standing committees should be discussed by the Faculty Senate every three years to cater to Fort Hays State University's evolving needs and to ensure its effective functioning
Section 2: Standing Committees.
a. The Executive Committee.
(1) The Executive Committee shall consist of the President of the Faculty Senate, Vice President of the Faculty Senate, immediate past President of the Faculty Senate (if available for consultation), Secretary of the Faculty Senate, and the chairs of the standing committees.
(2) The Executive Committee shall
(a) receive proposals/items/agendas.
(b) provide for negotiation with the President of the University in the event a Senate recommendation is not approved.
(c) provide liaison between the Senate and other components of the University.
b. The Academic Affairs Committee.
(1) The Academic Affairs Committee shall consist of at least nine members.
(2) The Academic Affairs committee shall be concerned with approving new and revised curriculum, courses, and general education standards. Such review may consider minimizing course overlaps, ensuring best pedagogical practices, and aligning with KBOR’s systemwide transfer.
c. The Strategic Planning and Improvement Committee.
(1) The Strategic Planning and Improvement Committee shall consist of at least five (5) members.
(2) The Strategic Planning and Improvement Committee shall concern itself with the Bylaws and Standing Rules of the Faculty Senate, and review them for amendments at least every three years.
(3) The Strategic Planning and Improvement Committee may provide input to the University's President and Vice Presidents regarding strategic goal, planning, and improvement efforts.
d. The University Affairs Committee.
(1) The University Affairs Committee shall consist of at least seven members.
(2) The University Affairs Committee shall be concerned with policies regarding appointments, promotions, tenure, buildings, budgets, professional ethics, and maintaining formalized contact with classified staff.
(3) This committee shall provide the due process called for by the AAUP Statement on Academic Freedom and Tenure in the event such should become necessary.
(4) In all cases wherein a faculty member must have a hearing, the University Affairs Committee shall nominate a panel of at least five members of the faculty who have tenure; this nomination shall be subject to approval by the Senate.
e. The Student Affairs Committee.
(1) The Student Affairs Committee shall consist of at least five members.
(2) The Student Affairs Committee shall concern itself with relations between the faculty and the student government, leadership of the Division of Student Affairs, and policies regarding student services and student rights after due consultation with the administrative staff concerned with student affairs.
(3) The Student Affairs Committee may lay before the Faculty Senate any proposal that the Student Senate wishes the Faculty Senate to consider in consultation with FS president and vice-president or executive committee.
(4) After appropriate consultation with representatives from the Student Senate and administrative staff concerned with student affairs, the Student Affairs Committee shall recommend to the executive committee regulations of the University and the means of enforcement and appeal.
f. The Partnerships and Technology Committee.
(1) The Partnerships and Technology Committee shall consist of at least five (5) members.
(2) It shall concern itself with the development and maintenance of all University strategic partnerships, domestic and international. The committee will also provide input to all appropriate university administrations regarding the technology needs of the faculty, not limited to on-campus classrooms, faculty computers, and educational technology for in-person and online class delivery.
Section 3: Appointment Power of the President of the University.
Nothing in these Bylaws shall be taken to limit the power of the President of the University to appoint committees to assist or advise him/her in any matter.
Section 4: Committee Appointment Procedure.
a. After the spring election of new senators for the following academic year, the President of the Faculty Senate shall request of the newly elected members and all continuing senators that they submit to the President of the Faculty Senate their requests for appointments to committees for the following academic year.
b. Each Senator, except the FS officers, shall serve on one standing committee and may serve as a representative of the Senate on no more than one other campus committee.
c. The President of the Faculty Senate shall announce the committee assignments at the first senate meeting of the new academic year.
d. The President of the Faculty Senate, at the first senate meeting of the academic year, shall ask the committees to meet to select their chair and secretary and then notify the President of the Faculty Senate of the senators in these positions.
Article VII. Initiative, Referendum and Recall
Section 1: Initiative.
a. Any petition signed by eight members of the faculty shall be sufficient to lay a proposal before the Faculty Senate.
b. The President of the University shall also have the power to lay a proposal before the Senate.
Section 2: Referendum.
Any petition signed by twenty‑five percent of the faculty shall be sufficient to cause the President of the Faculty Senate to conduct a referendum on any action of the Senate as specified by the petition.
Section 3: Recall.
Any petition signed by one‑third of the members of any department/unit shall be sufficient to cause a vote on the recall of any of its representatives and the election of a replacement, such vote, and election to be held by a method in conformity with Article III of these Bylaws.
Article VIII. Amendment and Ratification
Section 1: Amendment.
a. An amendment to these Bylaws may be proposed to the full Faculty Senate for consideration by a simple majority vote of the senators. The President of the Faculty Senate shall determine the manner of voting.
b. A proposed amendment in bylaws shall be ratified by a majority vote of the entire Senate membership, provided that the amendment has been circulated to the faculty via paper or electronic means at least seven days prior to a ballot.
Section 2: Ratification.
These Bylaws shall be ratified by a majority of the faculty by written or electronic ballot within seven days, and according to the specified date and time deadline.
Revised by Faculty Senate (11-2006, 04-26-13, 2-28-14, 11-09-19, 05-07-24).