BYLAWS Second Draft for Review by College of Engineering Constitution and Bylaws Committee 29 November 2016
ARTICLE I. NAME AND STANDING
1.1 The name of the college is the College of Engineering, which is
referred
to in this document as CoE.
1.2 The CoE is one of seven (7) colleges of San Diego State University (SDSU).
1.3 SDSU is one of twenty-three (23) universities that constitute the
California State University (CSU).
ARTICLE II. VISION AND MISSION
2.1 The vision of the CoE is:
To educate
a diverse group of college students to become engineering innovators, and
To contribute to enhancing the technical knowledge of society at large.
2.2 In line with the aforementioned vision, the CoE's mission is to provide innovative education, research, and dissemination of knowledge.
Accordingly, graduates of the CoE will strive to develop
the critical thinking and associated skills which are necessary to: Recognize human and societal needs,
Design innovative, sustainable engineering solutions,
Embrace an international perspective, and
Create
2.3 The CoE recognizes that excellence in teaching, research, and service
shall be the
overriding objective of faculty development.
2.4 The CoE recognizes the CSU's statutory dual responsibility in teaching and instructionally related research.
Thus, it encourages and actively supports its faculty to strive for balanced achievements in both areas,
as an effective way of fulfilling its mission.
ARTICLE III. ACADEMIC DEPARTMENTS
3.1 The CoE has the following four core academic departments:
Aerospace Engineering
Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering
Electrical and Computer Engineering
Mechanical Engineering.
3.2 The CoE's academic departments offer a variety of Bachelor of Science (B.S.) and Master of Science (M.S.) degrees
in their respective fields.
3.3 In addition to undergraduate and graduate degrees,
the CoE offers, in collaboration with the
University of California San Diego, a doctoral program in Engineering Science (Ph.D.), with the following specializations:
Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering
Bioengineering
Electrical and Computer Engineering
Mechanical Engineering
ARTICLE IV. ORGANIZATION
4.1 All CoE policy decisions are voted
and decided upon at officially constituted meetings of the Faculty Assembly (Articles 5.1 and 5.2).
4.2 The executive officer of the CoE
is the Dean of the college, hereafter "the Dean".
The Dean is
appointed by the president of the University.
4.3
The Dean shall provide leadership such that a sound academic
program,
4.4 The Dean shall appoint full-time or part-time Associate and Assistant Deans.
The terms and responsibilities of these appointments shall be determined by the Dean.
4.5 The Dean's responsibilities are the following: To provide leadership in all matters pertaining to the administration of the college,
including academic policy and planning,
curriculum development, program accreditation, strategic planning, personnel management, and resource allocation.
To work with the campus' Council of Deans in the general administration of the University in all matters,
including policy, planning, curriculum, personnel, and resource management.
To supervise the hiring of CoE faculty and staff and make
recommendations to the President of the University through the Vice President for Academic Affairs.
To supervise faculty and staff as appropriate to ensure the fulfillment of the college's mission.
To chair the CoE Executive Committee.
To chair the CoE Faculty Assembly.
To lead the college's endeavors
in strategic planning,
the pursuit of excellence in teaching, the securement of externally funded research, and
the maintainance of effective ties with the local, regional, state, national, and global communities.
To review and approve faculty and staff workloads.
To mentor new faculty as appropriate.
To encourage shared governance and the prevalence of a collegial atmosphere in all college affairs.
To act on all other matters of a supervisory nature which may come to his/her attention.
4.6 The Department Chair is the executive officer of an academic department.
4.7 The responsibilities of a department chair are the following: To supervise faculty and staff.
To represent the department in ExComm meetings, as well as in
other college and university meetings.
To prepare the department's teaching schedule, in close coordination with departmental and college staff.
To administer the department's financial and budgetary matters,
in close coordination with departmental and college staff.
To lead in the formulation of the department's teaching and research vision.
To lead the departmental efforts in strategic planning,
the securement of external research funding, and
the maintainance of effective ties with the community.
To lead the department's efforts in obtaining timely and effective
accreditation of all departmental programs.
To mentor new faculty.
To encourage a collegial atmosphere in all departmental affairs.
To act on all other matters of a supervisory nature which may come to his/her attention.
4.8 The Executive Committee (ExComm) assists and advises
the Dean in the formulation of policy and in the general administration of the college.
4.9 The membership of the ExComm consists of: (i) Dean
and (ii) department chairs.
4.10
The Associate and Assistant Deans
serve on the Executive Committee as ex-officio members (non-voting).
4.11 Should the Dean be unable to attend an ExComm meeting,
he/she may appoint an interim chair to preside over the meeting.
4.12 Should a department chair be unable to attend
an ExComm meeting, he/she may appoint a
member of the department to act as his/her representative,
with full voting privileges.
4.13 The meetings of the ExComm are scheduled at the Dean's discretion.
ARTICLE V. THE FACULTY ASSEMBLY
5.1 The Faculty Assembly (FA) meets to deliberate and act on issues regarding policy and the general welfare of the college.
5.2 Membership in the FA consists of all full-time tenured and probationary faculty members, each with full voting privileges.
5.3 The officers of the FA are: (i) Chairperson, (ii) Secretary, and (iii) Parliamentarian.
5.4 The chairperson of the FA is the Dean or, in his/her absence, the Dean's designee.
5.5 The FA Secretary and Parliamentarian shall be elected
in the first meeting of an academic year. For each of these positions, the term of the appointment is two (2) years.
Both positions shall be subject to
reelection.
5.6 The Policy File is the collection (or sum total) of all
policies and resolutions adopted by the FA to complement these Bylaws.
5.7 The duties of the Secretary are the following:
To keep the minutes of the FA meetings.
To keep a master file of the FA meeting minutes.
To keep current a
master file of the CoE Bylaws and Policy File.
5.8 The duties of the Parliamentarian are the following:
To chair the Bylaws Committee (BC).
To provide advice
regarding parliamentary procedure.
To assist in the interpretation of Robert's Rules of Order, to assure an orderly conduct of all
deliberations.
5.9 The FA meets at regularly scheduled intervals, during the academic year. The length of the
interval shall be determined by the Dean.
For the meeting to be officially constituted, a quorum of more than 50 percent of the membership is required.
5.10
To expedite business, the FA shall conduct its affairs with the aid of standing committees, which are permanent.
5.11
In addition to the standing committees, ad-hoc committees may be established
for a specific purpose
and with an established timeframe.
5.12 Extraordinary meetings of the FA are convened at the request of either:
The Dean;
A group of faculty, constituting more than 10% of the membership. In this case,
the request shall be addressed to the Dean, in writing; or
A standing committee of the College,
when expressly necessary to promote or advance the business of the committee.
5.13 A formal agenda shall be distributed to the Faculty at least
five (5) working days prior to every meeting. In exceptional cases, this five-day rule
may be waived by a two-thirds majority (67%) of the eligible membership.
5.14
Policy decisions adopted by the FA shall be kept in the Policy File.
Upon request by any member, the Secretary shall make the Policy File available for examination.
5.15 The Secretary is responsible for the timely and accurate preparation of the minutes, which shall accurately reflect
all important decisions adopted.
Once approved in the subsequent meeting, the Minutes constitute the
official position of the Faculty Assembly.
ARTICLE VI. STANDING COMMITTEES
6.1 The FA has the following
standing committees :
Academic Policy and Planning (AP&P)
Curriculum (CC)
Reappointment, Tenure and Promotion (RTP)
Bylaws (BC)
Scholarship and Awards Committee (S&A)
Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activities (RS&CA)
Student Learning Outcomes Assessment (SLOA).
Computer Policy Committee (CP)
6.2 The Academic Policy and Planning Committee (AP&P) makes recommendations to the Ex Comm and FA
on policy and planning issues.
6.3 The responsibilities of the AP&P Committee are:
To periodically review CoE policy and planning in order
to formulate
and prioritize its educational goals.
To facilitate communication
between the sources of university policy (the University Senate,
the SDSU Administration and the CSU Chancellor's Office) and the FA.
To assist in the coordination of college and departmental responses to actions taken by
higher levels of the University in the area of policy.
To support the work of its homologous Senate AP&P Committee.
To review proposals for new
academic programs as well as proposals for modifications to existing programs.
To provide the Senate AP&P Committee with an annual report detailing its activities and accomplishments.
6.4
The membership of the AP&P Committee shall consist of one (1) elected representative from each academic department, with
the Dean acting as ex-officio member.
6.5
Each member of the AP&P Committee shall serve a two-year term, with half of
the membership renewed
every year.
Members shall be eligible for reelection.
6.6
The chair of the AP&P shall be elected at the beginning of each academic year.
The position of chair is subject to reelection.
6.7
The Curriculum Committee (CC)
makes recommendations to the ExComm and FA on all matters regarding the CoE curriculum.
The CC shall consult with relevant academic departments across the campus,
for the purpose of assuring that their course offerings
are substantially in agreement with the curricular needs of the college.
6.8 The responsibilities of the CC are:
To review and recommend,
in accordance with procedures established by the University Senate, new courses,
changes in course title and/or content,
modifications to degree requirements, and new degree or non-degree programs.
To review and make
recommendations on all curricular matters brought to its attention,
across the college and university, by one or more academic departments.
To review and make recommendations on all curricular matters brought to its attention
by appropriate representatives of student organizations.
6.9
The membership of the CC shall consist of one (1) elected representative from each academic department.
6.10
Each member of the CC shall serve a two-year term, with half of the membership renewed every year.
Members shall be eligible for reelection.
6.11
The chair of the CC shall be elected at the beginning of each academic year.
The position of chair is eligible for reelection.
6.12 The Reappointment, Tenure and Promotion Committee (RTP) is responsible for the timely review and
recommendation on all departmental decisions regarding
reappointment, tenure, and promotion.
6.13 The RTP Committee shall operate in accordance with procedures and criteria set forth in the SDSU Senate's Policy File,
under the direction of the Office of the Vice-President of Faculty Affairs.
6.14
Membership of the RTP Committee shall consist of one (1) elected representative from each academic department.
Only tenured full professors are eligible for membership on the RT&P Committee.
6.15
Faculty members serving in an administrative rank (Deans and above) are not eligible to serve on the RTP Committee.
6.16
Membership in the RTP Committee shall be limited to faculty members holding a
full academic-year appointment.
6.17
Each member of the RTP Committee shall serve a two-year term, with half of the membership renewed
every year.
Members shall be eligible for reelection.
6.18
The chair of the RTP Committee shall be elected at the beginning of each academic year.
The position of chair is eligible for reelection.
6.19 Voting in all RTP Committee personnel decisions shall take place by secret ballot.
In this case, every eligible member may choose to exercise his/her right to vote,
including the committee chair. Abstentions and null votes are not counted.
6.20 During a given performance review, should a certain RTP Committee decision be contrary to the recommendation of a given department,
the committee shall take the following actions:
Inform the subject departmental personnel committee of its decision, in writing.
Confer with the departmental committee.
Provide a 10-day period during which the departmental committee may wish to submit a written rebuttal.
Should a rebuttal be submitted, the RTP Committee shall review its original decision,
forwarding the Committee's final recommendation to the next higher level, along with the said rebuttal.
6.21 The CoE's representative to the University RTP Committee shall be a tenured full professor.
The duration of membership shall be two academic years. The election shall take place
at the last FA meeting in each odd year. Membership is subject to reelection.
6.22 The Bylaws Committee (BC) shall provide the analysis and guidance necessary to initiate
and recommend a course of action regarding additions, modifications, or ammendments to these Bylaws.
6.23
The membership of the BC shall consist of: (i) one (1) elected representative from each academic department, and (ii) the FA Parliamentarian,
which shall act as chair.
6.24
Each departmental representative to the BC shall serve two calendar-year terms. In even-numbered years,
the representatives of the (i) Aerospace and (ii) Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering
departments shall be renewed at the beginning of the year;
in odd-numbered years, those of the (i) Electrical and Computer Engineering
and (ii) Mechanical Engineering departments shall be renewed at the beginning of the year.
All members of the BC shall be eligible for reelection.
6.25 Action on changes to these Bylaws may originate as motions passed by the FA and referred to the BC for
a recommendation. Any change to these Bylaws shall require a referral to and subsequent recommendation of the BC.
6.26 Following a request by the FA, an interpretation of these Bylaws by the BC shall be considered binding, unless subsequently reversed by action of the Faculty Assembly.
6.27 The Scholarships and Awards Committee (S&A) recommends faculty and students
for honors, awards, and other distinctions.
6.28 Annually,
the S&A Committee shall solicit nominations from the engineering student body for the Outstanding Teacher Award.
6.29 Annually,
the S&A Committee shall perform a college-wide ranking of sabbatical leave applications,
following established university procedures.
6.30 The responsibilities of the S&A Committee are:
To select students to be awarded college-wide and campus-wide scholarships.
Each committee member shall select only student nominees belonging to his/her own department.
To select students to receive such honors and awards as may be offered by the University
or by any other organization whereby students are not restricted to a particular department.
The nomination and selection process shall be determined
by the S&A Committee, unless it has been explicitly stated otherwise by the award donor.
To select faculty members to receive such honors and awards as may be offered to the faculty, and to
forward the nomination to the Dean in a timely manner.
The nomination and selection process shall be determined
by the S&A Committee, unless it has been explicitly stated otherwise by the award donor.
6.31 Members of the S&A Committee shall consist of one (1) elected representative from each academic department.
Each member of the S&A Committe shall serve a two-year term, to be renewed
at the beginning of the academic year (Fall Semester). In even-numbered years,
the representatives of the (i) Aerospace and (ii) Mechanical Engineering
departments shall be renewed; in odd-numbered years, those of the (i) Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering and
(ii) Electrical and Computer Engineering
departments shall be renewed.
Members of the S&A Committee shall be eligible for reelection.
6.32 The chair of the S&A Committee shall be elected at the beginning of each academic
year. Only the two senior members, i.e., those in their second year, shall be eligible to become committee chair.
6.33 In the deliberations for the Outstanding Teacher Award, the S&A Committee shall expand to include two students.
The first student shall be elected by the Associated Engineering Student Council (AESC) and the second by Tau Beta Pi.
6.34 The Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activities Committee (RS&CA)
shall evaluate the Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activities (RSCA) proposals
submitted by CoE faculty members.
The Committee shall rank the proposals, and where
6.35
The RS&CA Committee
shall formulate and disseminate criteria for the evaluation of proposals.
6.36
Membership in the RS&CA Committee shall
consist of: (i) one (1) elected faculty member from each department, and (ii) a graduate student in good standing,
6.37 The RS&CA Committee chair is elected in the beginning of
each academic year.
The position of committee chair is subject to reelection.
6.37 The Student Learning Outcomes Assessment Committee (SLOA)
shall provide communication and coordination at the college level to facilitate ABET accreditation processes.
6.38 The responsibilities of the SLOA Committee include:
The continuous assessment of student learning.
The continuous evaluation of program objectives.
The updating of data required for ABET self-studies.
The continuous involvement of constituencies.
6.39 In addition to its duties with undergraduate assessment, the SLOA Committe shall be responsible for
developing and overseeing student learning assessment for the CoE's graduate programs.
6.40
Membership in the SLOA Committee shall
consist of one (1) elected faculty member from each department, with the Associate Dean acting as ex-officio member. The term of office is one (1) year.
Membership in the committee is subject to reelection.
6.41 The SLOA Committee Chair shall be elected at the beginning of
each academic year.
The position of committee chair is subject to reelection.
Normally, the committee chair shall represent the CoE on the Senate's Assessment Committee.
6.43 The responsibilities of the CP Committee are:
To initiate, establish, and periodically review college computer policies, including
hardware, firmware, and software.
To make recommendations concerning policies for the operation of
college-wide computing facilities and laboratories.
To make recommendations concerning
the use of computers and computer-based instructional technologies.
To respond to faculty concerns, expressed in writing
to the committee, regarding the impact of computer policies.
6.44
The membership of the CP Committee shall consist of: (i) the department chairs, and (ii)
one (1) elected faculty representative from each department. The Associate Dean for Research and the CoE Information Technology (IT) manager
shall act as ex-officio members.
6.45
Each elected member of the CP Committee shall serve a term lasting two academic years. In even-numbered years,
the representatives of the (i) Aerospace and (ii) Mechanical Engineering
departments shall be renewed at the beginning of the year;
in odd-numbered years, those of the (i) Electrical and Computer Engineering
and (ii) Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering departments shall be renewed at the beginning of the year.
Members of the CP Committee shall be eligible for reelection.
6.46 The chair of the CP Committee shall be elected at the beginning of the academic
year. Any one of the
two second-year departmental representatives is eligible. ARTICLE VII. AD-HOC COMMITTEES
7.1 Upon the recommendation of the faculty, ad-hoc committees may be established, for a specific purpose and timeframe, as defined by the FA. 7.2 An ad-hoc committee shall be composed of at least three members, elected by the FA. 7.3 The duration of the ad-hoc committee shall be established at the time of the committee's appointment and shall normally run for one year, or to the end of the academic year, whichever comes first. 7.4 An ad-hoc committee with unfinished business may be continued for a second year, as deemed appropriate by timely decision of the FA. 7.5 An ad-hoc committee may operate for a maximum of two years. After this time, the FA shall decide if whether a new standing committee shall be established to continue the business of the expiring ad-hoc committee.
ARTICLE VIII. RECOGNITIONS, HONORS, AND AWARDS
8.1 Graduation with Honors shall be granted to those students
who have achieved a sufficiently high grade-point average in accordance with the following timelines: (i) by the beginning of the Fall Semester for
December graduates, and (ii) by the end of the Fall Semester for May and Summer Session graduates.
8.2 To be eligible for distinction, a student must have a 3.5 average in the upper division
major and a 3.0 average in his/her overall academic record.
8.3
The grade-point average shall be computed on the basis of work done at SDSU, except that
if the grade-point average for work at other institutions is lower,
those grades shall be included in the computation.
8.4 To be considered for honors and/or distinction,
all grade changes must be received in the
Registrar's Office no later than the end of the fifth week of the semester in which
the student expects to graduate. In addition, the student must file an application for graduation prior to the published deadline.
8.5 Upon recommendation of his/her department,
a student doing superior work may be graduated with distinction.
8.6
By April 15 of each year, each department shall select from the December, May or August
graduating classes the one individual to receive the Departmental Award of Outstanding Graduate in the Department.
8.7
By April 30 of each year, the FA shall select
the one individual to receive the award of Outstanding Graduate in the College of Engineering.
Only the departmental outstanding graduates are eligible to received the College award.
8.8 When warranted by these Bylaws (Article 11.4), the elections of outstanding graduates may proceed by email ballot.
ARTICLE IX. CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT
9.1 Departments with undergraduate or graduate programs may elect to: (i) modify these programs,
(ii) change the content of existing courses, or (iii) propose new courses.
Such changes shall be subject to the approval of the Curriculum Committee and the ExComm.
9.2
All proposals for new degree programs shall be forwarded by the ExComm to the CC, which shall respond with a recommendation within 30 days.
9.3 A negative recommendation by the CC and subsequent endorsement by the ExComm
may be appealed by the subject department to the FA. In this case, a decision by the latter shall be binding.
ARTICLE X. ASSIGNED TIME
10.1 Assigned Time refers to the number of units an individual faculty member
shall be released from teaching in a given semester
for the pursuit of research, teaching, or service activities.
10.2 Faculty desiring to be considered for assigned time shall submit to their respective department chairs
an Annual Report by the end of the first week of the Spring Semester. The scholarly
activities listed in the faculty member's Annual Report shall be used to evaluate
research activity.
10.3
The department chair shall recommend to the Dean
the allocation of assigned time for research.
Individual departments shall establish a committee which shall include the department chair as ex-officio member,
for the purpose of developing criteria for the equitable allocation of assigned time for research.
10.4
The criteria for the allocation of assigned time for research shall be reevaluated annually.
The Research Assigned Time plus Supervision Weighted Teaching Units (WTUs) shall not exceed six (6) units.
Special consideration shall be given in case(s) of exceptional accomplishment.
10.5
Unless buyout is provided from a research grant, or when assigned time is provided
for critical university activities, at least six (6) units of classroom instruction shall be required of all faculty.
10.6
Assigned time for research shall be based on the evaluation of activities spanning the
previous four years. Activities such as organizing departmental
seminars, teaching seminars, or coordinating other teaching activities shall be excluded from the evaluation.
10.7 Three (3) basic units of assigned time shall be awarded to faculty members who are able to show satisfactory
completion of both items (a) and (b), plus
one (1) item of either (c), (d), or (e), of the following list:
Supervision of SDSU undergraduate and graduate student research.
Under this provision, qualifying undergraduate research is subject to approval by the department chair.
Author or coauthor
of at least one (1) peer-reviewed publication (paper) in a scholarly or professional journal
per calendar year, averaged over the previous four (4) years.
Scholarly productivity at an exceptional level in the faculty member's chosen field of specialization, e.g.,
(i) author or coauthor of several peer-reviewed publications in high-impact journals; or (ii) author or coauthor of a research monograph or textbook published
by a reputable publishing company, professional society, or university press.
Either of the following: (i) submission of at least one (1) grant proposal per year,
with full indirect costs at the federally negotiated rate; or (ii) ongoing externally funded research, with full indirect costs at the federally-negotiated
rate. The faculty member must be the principal investigator (PI) or co-principal investigator (Co-PI),
responsible for project performance and administration.
Submission of at least one (1) grant proposal
per year with less than full indirect costs at the federally-negotiated rate; or (ii) performing ongoing externally funded
research with less than full indirect costs at the federally-negotiated rate. In these cases, the funding shall
include (i) full academic-year support for graduate students at teaching/graduate assistantship levels; or (ii) full-reimbursed time support for faculty for at
least one (1) course per semester (not lecturer-replacement value). The faculty member must be the principal investigator (PI) or co-principal investigator (Co-PI),
responsible for project performance and administration.
10.8 In any one semester, faculty awarded three (3) basic units of assigned time may be awarded three (3) additional units, provided they are able to show satisfactory
activity in at least three (3) items from the following list:
Two (2) peer-reviewed publications per calendar year, averaged over the previous four (4) years.
Conducting ongoing externally funded research for at least two (2) of the previous four (4) calendar years, either as the PI or co-PI, with the
faculty member's share in the grant amounting to either (i) 30% of the budget, or (ii) $50,000 per year.
Submission of two (2) or more grant proposals per calendar year averaged over the previous four (4) years.
At least one of the grants shall feature full indirect costs at the federally negotiated rate.
In addition, the grants shall include full academic-year support for graduate students at teaching/graduate assistantship levels.
Supervisory teaching units amounting to three (3.0) or more units in a given semester,
for advising graduate students in their theses (0.5 WTU awarded per student), or advising undergraduate students in their research projects (0.3 WTU awarded per student).
10.9 Assigned time for significant pedagogical or service activities
or for a combination of multiple pedagogical and service activities, in the amount of three (3) semester units may be awarded to a faculty member upon his/her request,
provided that: (i) the planned activities encompass approximately 120 hours of work
10.10 A significant pedagogical activity may be one of the following:
Developing a new course,
Making extensive changes to an existing course or courses,
Producing additional teaching material and tools,
Testing innovative teaching techniques,
Advising a large number of undergraduate students,
Advising several student chapters, and
Performing substantial service activities with the local community.
10.11
It is incumbent on the faculty member requesting service-related assigned time
to justify the time expenditure and contribution(s) to be expected.
10.12
Should significant pedagogical or service activities be required of a faculty members as
part of preparations for accreditation, the Department Chair shall document the requirements of such activities for appropriate consideration by a higher level.
10.13
The teaching load for a new tenure-track faculty
member shall be negotiated at the time of offer and, normally, shall extend through the first two years of employment.
After this period has elapsed, the faculty member shall be subject to the normal review and teaching assignment.
10.14
A decision related to assigned time may be appealed by a faculty member by means of a written communication to the department chair,
with copy to the Dean, explaining his/her request for reconsideration.
To be timely and valid, an appeal shall be made no later than four (4) weeks after the information about assigned time was communicated to the faculty.
10.15
The chair shall review the request for appeal and consult with the Dean regarding the appropriate course of action. The decision shall be communicated in writing
to the subject faculty member within two (2) weeks of the date of initiation of the appeal.
10.16
Faculty members shall be responsible for a detailed reporting of the activities for which they had been granted pedagogical or service assigned time.
A report no longer than two (2) pages in length must be submitted detailing the accomplishmens and/or status of the
activity or activities, no later than the last day of classes, for each semester for which assigned time was granted.
Such reports shall constitute the primary basis for evaluating future requests for assigned time.
ARTICLE XI. VOTING 11.1 Unless specifically stated otherwise, all FA voting shall be by simple majority, that is, more than 50% of those members present and voting, including proxies and excluding abstentions and/or null votes. The chair is eligible to vote only when his/her vote will make or break a tie. 11.2 Voting in all personnel decisions shall be by secret ballot. In this case, every member of the assembly may exercise his/her right to vote, including the chair. Abstentions and/or null votes are not counted. 11.3 Voting normally requires physical presence, unless a proxy is submitted in writing to the FA Secretary in a timely manner. If a member of the asssembly has to leave a meeting early and a certain vote is pending, he/she may submit his/her proxy to the FA Secretary, either orally or in writing, in full presence of the assembly. 11.4 In exceptional cases of demonstrated urgency, electronic or email voting may be used, provided it is announced with sufficient advance notice. Such mode of voting may proceed, provided no one in the voting membership challenges its validity, within 72 hours of the announcement, by means of a written communication to the FA Secretary or the Dean. Should this be the case, voting shall default to the normal procedure. ARTICLE XII. PARLIAMENTARY AUTHORITY 12.1 The rules contained in the current edition of Robert's Rules of Order Revised (RROR) shall govern the conduct of the deliberations in all FA and ExComm meetings. 12.2 The FA Parliamentarian shall have available a copy of the applicable RROR, for consultation upon demand. 11.3 All efforts shall be made to conform with established parliamentary procedures. An exception is warranted when a specific RROR rule is inconsistent with these Bylaws, in which case the latter shall prevail. ARTICLE XIII. IMPLEMENTATION, AMENDMENT, OR REPEAL 13.1 These Bylaws supersede all other bylaws of the CoE. They shall become effective immediately after their adoption, at a regular meeting of the FA, by approval of a three-fifths majority (60%) of the eligible membership (i.e., absolute majority). 13.2 Within one calendar year of its formal adoption, these Bylaws may be amended by a three-fifths majority (60%) of the eligible membership. 13.3 After one calendar year of its adoption has elapsed, these Bylaws may be amended or repealed, in part or in whole, at a regular meeting, by a two-thirds majority (67%) of the eligible membership. The motion to ammend or repeal shall be communicated, in writing, to the members of the FA at least two weeks prior to the meeting when the decision is to be voted upon. |
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