SUFFOLK COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE
GRANT CAMPUS
ACADEMIC ASSEMBLY CONSTITUTION
(Revised May, 1998)

Section l The name of this body shall be the Academic Assembly of Suffolk County Community College, Western Campus, hereinafter called the Assembly.

Section 2 The Assembly is representative of the Campus community. It is the agency of the faculty in the exercise of that group's academic voice and responsibilities. The Assembly shall make recommendations regarding academic policies and faculty and student welfare subject to the stipulations and actions of the Board of Trustees of the College, the County Legislature, and the State University of New York.

Section 3 The Assembly serves the following purposes:

a. To provide a forum for the campus faculty to act in its advisory and consultative capacity to the Executive Dean of the Campus and the President of the College.

b. To allow for the consideration of matters of mutual interest and concern to members of the Campus community.

Section 1 All full-time professional employees of the Western Campus shall be members of this Assembly.

Section 2 Non-voting ex officio members. The following are ex officio members of the Assembly:

President of the College

Vice President for Academic and Campus Affairs

Vice President for Management and Planning

Vice President for Student Affairs

Dean of Library Services

Section 1 President of the Assembly: The President of the College shall serve, ex officio, as President of the Assembly.

Section 2 Chairperson of the Assembly: The Chairperson of the Assembly shall be elected at the last Assembly session of the academic year for a term of one year.

Duties:

The Chairperson of the Assembly shall

a. Prepare the agenda.

b. Preside at all Assembly and Executive Committee session.

c. Serve as the official representative of the Assembly, subject to the orders and actions of the Assembly, unless otherwise ordered by the Assembly.

The Secretary of the Assembly shall be elected at the last Assembly session of each academic year for a term of one year.

Duties:

The Secretary of the Assembly shall:

a. Publish and distribute minutes of all Assembly sessions, assisted by the Office of the Executive Dean.

b. Transmit to appropriate College officials and/or governing bodies resolutions of the Assembly.

c. Preside at Assembly sessions in the absence of the Chairperson.

d. Serve as liaison between the Executive Committee and the other Committees, notifying the Executive Committee and the membership of Committee meetings and agenda at least one week in advance.

The Chairperson and Secretary of the Assembly may not serve for more than three (3) consecutive years in the same office.

Section 1 The Executive Committee shall consist of the Chairperson, the Secretary, the chairpersons of the Academic Standards, Curriculum and Computing standing committees, two at-large members, and the campus Executive Dean. The at-large members shall be elected at the last Assembly session of each academic year for a term of one year. The campus Executive Dean shall be a non-voting ex officio member. (The out-going Chair of the Assembly shall serve on this committee as an ex officio member for one year following the election of the new Chair.)

Section 2 The Executive Committee shall have general supervision of the affairs of the Assembly between its sessions, fix the hour and place of sessions, appoint advisory committees, make recommendations to the Assembly, and shall perform other such duties as are specified in this Constitution. The Executive Committee shall be subject to the orders of the Assembly, and none of its acts shall conflict with action taken by the Assembly.

The Executive Committee shall

a. Convene no later than ten (10) days prior to each Assembly meeting to formulate the agenda and to assure the distribution of the agenda, of committee or other resolutions, and of any pertinent reports at least seven (7) days prior to the Assembly meetings.

b. Be authorized to call meetings of the Assembly upon request of any three (3) of its members.

c. See that each Assembly standing committee elects a chairperson at its last meeting of the academic year to serve for the subsequent year.

d. Meet with all standing committee chairs to assist in the development of specific committee charges and to assist in preparing the proposed slate of committee assignments for presentation to the Assembly.

e. Solicit from the members their preference for committee assignments at the commencement of each academic year and submit a proposed slate of nominations to the Assembly at the next scheduled meeting.

f. Review all standing committees at the expiration of the academic year and recommend to the Assembly the abolition of any standing committees or the creation of any new standing or ad hoc committees as need arises.

Section 1 The Assembly is operative and on call at all times during the academic year but must meet no less than twice each semester.

Section 2 Regular sessions of the Assembly shall be called by the Executive Committee.

Section 3 Meetings of the Assembly may be called by a petition of one-third of the membership of the Assembly delivered to the Chairperson or upon request of any three(3) members of the Executive Committee.

Section 4 A quorum for Assembly sessions shall consist of forty percent (40%) plus one (1) of the voting members of the Assembly.

Section 5 Assembly sessions are open to the College community at large.

Section 1 Standing and ad hoc committees of the Assembly shall be created, as needed, by vote of its members. Membership, duties and tenure of committees shall be determined at the time of their creation.

Section 1 Amendments to this Constitution and By-Laws may be initiated by one of the following:

a. Two-thirds (2/3) vote of members present at an Assembly session.

b. Petition signed by at least twenty-five percent (25%) of Assembly members and presented to the Chairperson of the Assembly.

c. Recommendation of the Executive Committee.

Section 2 Amendments must be ratified by three-fourths (3/4) vote of those present and voting at an Assembly session at which a quorum is present. Copies of proposed amendments must be submitted in writing to all members of the Assembly at least ten (10) days prior to the session at which they appear on the agenda.

Section 1 All sessions of the Assembly and its committees shall be conducted according to the rules of parliamentary procedure as set forth in the latest edition of Robert's Rules of Order.

In accordance with Article VI of the Constitution, the Committees named below have been approved by the Academic Assembly.

Section 1 General Provisions:

a. Committees shall serve for a one-year tenure. At the conclusion of that tenure, the Executive Committee shall review their operation. All members may attend any committee meeting and have privileges of the floor whether or not they are assigned to the committee in question.

b. Member assignments to committees are for a one-year term.

c. The Secretary of each committee shall be chosen at the first committee meeting.

d. A quorum for conduct of business at all committee meetings shall be forty percent (40%) of the voting membership.

e. All committee minutes and reports shall be posted in the library, the counseling office, and the faculty offices, and distributed to all committee chairpersons, and to the Executive Committee of the Faculty Assembly.

f. All formal resolutions from committees to the Assembly shall be submitted to the Executive Committee no later than ten (10) days prior to the Assembly meeting at which the resolutions are to be considered.

Section 2 Standing Committees

The following are standing committees of the Assembly:

Dean of Faculty (ex officio)

Administration (2)

Faculty (departmental representatives)*

Student Affairs (1)

Students (3)

To recommend campus policies and regulations concerning academic and admissions standards, grading procedures, graduation requirements, honors, academic probation, separation and re-instatement.

Dean of Faculty (ex officio)

Campus Head Librarian (ex officio)

Administration (2)

Faculty (departmental representatives)*

Student Affairs (1)

Students (2)

Responsibilities:

To study and make recommendations concerning new courses and curriculums and those already in existence.

Administration (2 representatives to be selected from the Office of Instruction and the Business Office)

Faculty (departmental representatives)*

Representative from Sagtikos Computing Center

Coordinator of the Academic Skills Center

Student Affairs (1)

Students (2)

To assess and describe the computing needs of the Western Campus, including hardware, software, and staff, and then to report to the Academic Assembly for the committee's recommendations to the Executive Dean for meeting those needs.

Administration (1)

Faculty (8)**

Library/Academic Skills Center (1)

Physical Plant Administrator (1)

Student Affairs (2, one of whom must have expertise in serving persons with disabilities)

Students (2)

To assess and make recommendations concerning the ability of the Western Campus to serve the needs of persons with disabilities.

Administration (2)

Faculty (8)**

Library/Academic Skills Center (1)

Student Affairs (1)

Students (3)

To act as liaison with community and County institutions and organizations for the purpose of promoting public relations for the Western Campus.

(Inactive 1997-1998)

Administration (2)

Faculty(8)**

Library/Academic Skills Center (1)

Student Affairs (1)

Students (3)

To make recommendations concerning the physical development of the Western Campus.

Administrative Representative (1)

Director of Business Affairs (ex officio)

Faculty (8)**

Library/Learning Center (1)

Student Affairs (1)

Students (3)

To review candidates for scholarships and make recommendations to the President of the College; to seek out new sources of scholarship aid for students from the community.

h. Campus Life Committee

Administration (1)

Faculty (8)**

Library/Academic Skills Center (1)

Student Affairs (1)

Students (5 - 8)

To advocate, and assist in the implementation of, ways of improving student life on the Western Campus.

i. The Nature Preserve Committee

Faculty, staff, administration, students, interested members of the community (no fixed number of representatives)

This committee is charged with the determination of policies for the development and management of the nature preserve on the Brentwood campus.

* For Academic Standards, Curriculum and Computing Committees, one faculty representative shall be elected from each academic department prior to the end of the spring semester each year. Should any department fail to elect a representative, the Executive Committee shall, after contacting the department and requesting an elected representative, fill the position as equitably as possible.

**For the Committee for Serving the Needs of Persons with Disabilities and the Campus Life, Community Relations, Physical Development and Scholarship committees, eight faculty members will be selected for each committee. At the end of the spring semester each year, volunteers for these committees will be solicited by the Executive Committee who will then choose eight of these volunteers for each of the above committees; to the extent possible, all academic areas shall be represented.