Academic Senate

Legislative Rulings are issued by the Divisional Committee on Rules and Jurisdiction pursuant to Bylaw 100 and hold the status of legislation unless superseded by actions of the Legislative Assembly or UC Regents. 

6.21A (Alternative Dispute Resolution Process for Appendix V Actions)

6.21A PDF

The Committee on Rules and Jurisdiction (CR&J) renders the following Legislative Ruling regarding Divisional Bylaw Appendix V, Section IV.

CR&J unanimously found that no Appendix V action may be considered consensual by the Legislative Assembly without the following consecutive steps:

1. Formal invitation for comments sent to all relevant parties (at a minimum this should include Senate faculty, non-Senate faculty, other affiliated faculty, enrolled students, and staff), with comments included in the proposal at least two weeks before the faculty vote in Step 2.
2. Concurrence of the Senate faculty entitled to vote on substantial departmental questions in the program/unit by at least a 2/3 majority of votes cast in each participating program/unit.
3. Letter of Endorsement of the reporting dean.
4. Executive Board appointment of an appropriate Designated Committee.
5. Concurrence of the Council on Planning and Budget by a 2/3 majority of votes cast.
6. Concurrence of the Designated Committee that the proposal both constitutes a consensual agreement (by a 2/3 majority of votes cast) and is approved (by a majority).
7. Review and certification by the Committee on Rules and Jurisdiction.

Votes which enable consensual resolution (in place of full Appendix V procedures) limit further discussion and therefore require supermajorities.

6.21B (Service on Senate Governance Committees)

6.21B PDF

The Committee on Rules and Jurisdiction (CR&J) renders the following Legislative Ruling regarding Divisional Bylaw 45.

CR&J unanimously found that the faculty administrator titles enumerated in APM-241 and APM-246, and substantially similar titles including “Special Advisor” and “Faculty Equity Advisor,” constitute administrative officers and are therefore excluded from service on Governance Committees under Bylaw 45. This is necessary to avoid conflicts of interest posed by reporting to both the faculty and the administration.

CR&J also unanimously found that Bylaw 45 provisions enable either the Executive Board or the Legislative Assembly to grant an exception after considered evaluation of whether specific appointments pose a conflict of interest for specific service. In the event that both the Executive Board and Legislative Assembly discuss and vote on an exception, the Legislative Assembly’s decision stands and the issue cannot be reintroduced at Executive Board.

5.22 (Role of Student Representatives)

5.22 PDF

The Committee on Rules and Jurisdiction (CR&J) renders the following Legislative Ruling regarding the status and rights of student representatives to Senate committees appointed under Divisional Bylaw 45.E.4 and 5.

CR&J rules that student representatives to Senate committees appointed under Divisional Bylaw 45.E.4 and 5 serve in an advisory capacity to those committees. In light of Bylaw 45.E.1 (“Each member of a Divisional committee must be a member of the Academic Senate”), the student representatives to those committees are not committee members. Their presence is invited by the committees, which have discretion not to invite student representatives to meetings or parts of meetings in which the topics to be considered are, in the judgment of the committee, inappropriate for the participation of student representatives (Bylaw 45.E.6).

In addition, CR&J finds that:

• Student representatives have the right of the floor to give their opinion on any matter to the discussion of which they have been invited. They may not make or second motions to the committee.
• Student representatives have the right to cast an advisory vote on committee decisions regarding advice or recommendations to other Senate agencies in the discussion of which they have participated. These advisory votes are recorded separately and reported (Bylaw 45.E.7) whenever the committee’s advice or recommendations are reported to other Senate agencies and entities. These votes do not figure in the determination of whether any motion or resolution is considered to have been passed by the committee. Student representatives may not have an advisory vote on committee decisions which take final action on some matter or which involve advice or recommendations to non-Senate agencies and entities, e.g., administrative officers.
• The presence of student representatives is not counted toward ascertaining the presence of the quorum needed for the committee to conduct its business in any meeting; neither their absence nor the failure of the relevant student government agencies to appoint representatives to a committee affects the conduct of any meeting of the committee.