Rules and Procedures Council Operating Papers
I. Membership
A. The membership of the Rules and Procedures Council shall be determined by the Executive Committee of the Faculty Senate, who shall assign the members. The Council membership shall be composed of six to twelve (6 to 12) members of the Faculty Senate. The Chairperson may appoint, with the approval of the majority of the Council no more than two (2) members from each of the other constituency groups (See III, b below). These representatives shall also be voting members.
B. Terms of office shall be for one year, annual appointment being made by the Executive Committee with due regard to continuity.
II. Officers
A. The Chairperson of the Council shall be appointed by Faculty Senate Past-President, President, and President-Elect with the approval of the Faculty Senate.
B. The secretarial work of the Council shall be the responsibility of the Chairperson, to be delegated with the approval of the majority of the Council.
III. Powers and Functions
A. The powers and functions of the Council are those established by the Constitution and Bylaws of the Faculty Senate.
B. The Council shall concern itself with recommendations pertaining to structuring the Faculty Senate, specifically the reapportionment of Senate seats, seating and unseating Senators (cf. Appendix # 1), and the election of Senate Officers; the election of at large members of Graduate Council (cf. Appendix #2); examining the academic governance of the University per se including name changes and/or the restructuring of departments and schools; liaison with internal bodies , e.g. Student Senate, University Staff Senate; evaluation of the Chancellor and the Provost and Vice Chancellor (cf. Appendix # 3); recommending possible changes in the Board Statutes to the Board of Trustees; reviewing current practices and policies in the area of academic governance and formulating guidelines for the administration and governance of all academic units.
IV. Meetings
A. Calling of Meetings
1. The Chairperson of the Rules and Procedures Council shall call the meetings as needed.
B. The Conduct of Meetings
1. The Chair of the Rules and Procedures Council shall preside.
2. In the absence of the Chair of the Rules and Procedures, the Chair-Elect shall preside.
3. At least half of the Rules and Procedures Council membership shall constitute a quorum.
4. In accordance with the Illinois Open Meetings Act, the public is allowed to comment at meetings of the Rules and Procedures Council for a maximum of three minutes per person. A maximum of 20 minutes per meeting will be allotted for public comment.
5. Upon a majority vote of a quorum present, Rules and Procedures Council may vote to go into closed session. All meetings, however, must be conducted in accordance with the Illinois Open Meetings Act. Final action can be taken only in open meetings.
V. Committees
A. Standing Committees
1. Constitution and Bylaws Committee.
a. The Constitution and Bylaws Committee shall be responsible for examining the academic governance of the University, including name changes and/or restructuring of departments and schools; it shall review all suggested amendments and recommend appropriate action.
2. Evaluation and Liaison Committee.
a. The Evaluation and Liaison Committee shall concern itself with the evaluation of the Chancellor and of the Provost and Vice Chancellor by the faculty (cf. Appendix # 3), with recommending possible changes in the Board of Statutes, with reviewing current practices and policies in the area of academic governance, and with formulating and recommending guidelines for the governance of all academic units.
b. The Committee shall concern itself with acting as liaison with internal bodies (Student Senate, University Staff Senate) and external bodies (SIUC and the Board of Trustees).
3. Personnel Committee.
a. The Personnel Committee shall concern itself with eligibility for membership of the Faculty Senate (cf. Appendix # 1), reapportionment of Senate seats, the seating and unseating of Senators, and the election of Senate officers.
VI. Officers and Membership
A. The Chairperson of each Standing Committee shall be appointed from among the members of the Council by the Council Chairperson with the approval of the majority of the Council.
B. The Standing Committees shall consist of additional members as approved by the Council. Committee members need not be currently serving Senators.
VII. Ad Hoc Committees
A. The Council Chairperson shall appoint Ad Hoc committees as the need arises. Appointment of chairpersons and members must be confirmed by the Rules and Procedures Council.
VIII. Reports
A. The Rules and Procedures Council shall file an annual report to the Faculty Senate at the end of each academic year.
IX. Amendments
A. These Operating Papers may be amended by a two-thirds vote of the Council members present provided that previous notice of the text of the amendment has been circulated to all members at least one week prior to the meeting at which it is considered, and provided that the Faculty Senate approves.
Appendix #1. Process for the Election of Faculty Senators
1. The regular election shall take place yearly during the spring semester.
2. Special elections to fill a vacancy may be conducted at any time by the Rules and Procedures Council (R&P) at the request of the Faculty Senate's Executive Committee.
3. During the 1 st week in February, the Chairperson of the R&P Council shall request from the Office of Institutional Research and Studies a list of voting faculty at the beginning of the spring semester. The Personnel Committee will then apportion Faculty Senate seats among the academic units, using the Huntington-Hill Method.
4. The Chairperson of the R&P Council shall notify the Deans of the participating units of the number of seats apportioned to that unit for the following academic year, and ask them to elect and fill the appropriate number of vacancies.
5. Each academic unit shall elect its representatives in accordance with its own approved procedures, within the time period specified by the R&P Council.
6. After the completion of this process, but before the end of April, the Deans of the various units shall notify the Chairperson of the R&P Council of the names of the newly elected senators.
7. In accordance with the Faculty Senate Bylaws (I, B), faculty Senators shall be elected to three-year terms which shall begin with the new academic year.
Appendix # 2. Process for the Election of At Large Members of Graduate Council
1. The Rules and Procedures Council of the Faculty Senate shall run the nomination and election process for at-large members.
2. Self-nominations are allowed.
3. Each member of the Graduate Faculty of the University shall receive an electronic or paper ballot listing the candidates for the two members-at-large positions.
4. Each Graduate Faculty member shall cast a vote for the appropriate number (no more than two) of the candidates for the members-at-large positions.
5. The Chair of the Rules and Procedures Council shall provide the name(s) of the elected member(s) and alternate(s) to the administrative support for the Graduate Council.
Appendix #3. Process for Evaluation of the University Chancellor and the Provost and Vice Chancellor
Distribution of Instrument
1. A memorandum explaining the Senate evaluation process will be circulated to university faculty, full-time Clinical Professors, full-time Clinical Associate Professors, and full-time Clinical Assistant Professors who are eligible to vote on senate membership early in Spring Semester. They will have the option of filling out the forms either online or on paper.
2. Evaluation by paper. The paper Evaluation Forms shall be circulated to the Faculty early in February and shall be returned within two weeks. Faculty who request a paper evaluation form will not be able to change to the on-line format that same year.
3. Online evaluation. The online evaluation shall take place during the same time period as the paper evaluation and it will be conducted in the manner established by the Rules and Procedures Council.
Security of Returns
1. The Rules and Procedures Council shall take all necessary steps to insure that faculty responses remain anonymous.
2. The Rules and Procedures Council shall insure that only those qualified to vote in election of Senators take part in the evaluations.
3. Faculty shall return paper Forms directly to the Chairperson of the Rules and Procedures Council in a sealed and signed envelope. A double envelope system shall be employed. The outer envelope will be signed. The unmarked inner envelope shall contain the form.
4. Paper Forms shall not be removed from a secure place designated by the Chairperson of the Rules and Procedures Council.
5. Opening of the envelopes and tallying of the electronic results shall take place in the presence of the Chairperson of the Rules and Procedures Council.
6. Persons designated by the Rules and Procedures Council shall conduct analysis of the returns .
7. All typing of the analysis shall be done in the presence of either the Chairperson of the Rules and Procedures Council or the members charged with the conduct of the analysis.
8. Reproduction of copies for distribution to the Rules and Procedures Council shall be done in the presence of the Chairperson of the Rules and Procedures Council.
9. The Rules and Procedures Council membership shall inspect the report and shall approve copy for distribution to administrators. All copies and drafts shall remain in the care of the Chairperson.
Distribution of Reports
1. Upon approval of this form of the report, the Chairperson of the Rules and Procedures Council shall deliver a copy of the Provost and Vice Chancellor's Evaluation Report to the Provost and Vice Chancellor and shall deliver a copy of the Chancellor's Evaluation Report to the Chancellor. This shall be done before the end of March. The Chancellor and the Provost and Vice Chancellor shall be invited to respond to the Rules and Procedures Council either in writing or through discussion with the Chairperson of the Council or the full membership of the Council within ten working days after their receipt of the report.
2. The Rules and Procedures Council shall then approve the final copy of the Evaluation Reports which shall include any written responses received from the administrators.
3. Typing and reproduction of copies of the final report shall be done in the presence of the Chairperson of the Rules and Procedures Council and all copies of the report and drafts shall remain in the care of the Chairperson of the Rules and Procedures Council.
4. The Chairperson of the Rules and Procedures Council shall deliver a final copy of the Provost and Vice Chancellor's Evaluation Report to the Provost and Vice Chancellor and Chancellor and shall deliver a final copy of the Chancellor's Evaluation Report to the Chancellor and to the President.
5. Upon the completion of the process, the Chairperson of the Rules and Procedures Council shall notify the faculty and report to the Faculty Senate the results of the evaluations at the last Senate meeting of the Spring Semester. Interested faculty may choose to attend the Faculty Senate meeting, or to request the information from their senators.
6. An additional final Report shall be deposited in the University Archives for permanent retention. All other copies of the Report shall be destroyed. The Senate President-Elect, the Senate President, and the Chairperson of the Senate Rules and Procedures Council shall have access to archived reports. Others' access to archived reports will be by written permission of the Faculty Senate Executive Committee.
Analysis of Reports
1. In the fourth year, the Council shall carry out once more its evaluation procedure. However, after the final report has been distributed, as described in step C4, the Council will prepare a Summary Report of the results of the evaluation reports of the previous four academic years, receiving from the University Archivist the annual reports of the previous three Councils. Clear note of problems solved and unsolved, and the degree with which faculty concerns were addressed shall be made.
2. The Chairperson of the Rules and Procedures Council shall deliver a copy of the Provost and Vice Chancellor's Fourth Year Evaluation Report to the Provost and Vice Chancellor and shall deliver a copy of the Chancellor's Fourth Year Evaluation Report to the Chancellor. The Chancellor and the Provost and Vice Chancellor shall be given 10 working days to respond before step D3.
3. The Fourth Year Summary Report shall be distributed to the President, the Chancellor, the Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, the Chairperson of the University Planning and Budget Council (for use by the Chairperson of the Committee for Higher Administrator Performance Appraisal), and to Faculty Senators at the next Senate meeting after the completion of the process, but within the same calendar year.
4. The Rules and Procedures Council will return the annual reports to the University Archivist, along with a copy of the fourth year summary report.
Approved by the Faculty Senate on May 6, 2021 (RP#01-20/21)
Approved by the Faculty Senate on February 6, 2020 (WC#01-19/20)
Approved by the Faculty Senate on May 2, 2019
Approved by the Faculty Senate on December 5, 2013 (RP#01-13/14)
