RULES OF ORDER OF THE FACULTY SENATE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA-LINCOLN
(Revised April 1, 2014)
Preamble: The following Rules of Order of the Faculty Senate are designed to:
- 1. Allow for the full and free discussion of all issues appropriately brought before the Faculty Senate.
- 2. Encourage consultation between senators and the members of the Academic Assembly whom they represent.
- 3. Allow the Senate to act in a timely manner on the issues before it.
1. Basic Procedural Rules of the Faculty Senate
The rules contained in the current edition of Robert=s Rules of Order shall govern the conduct of Faculty Senate meetings except insofar as they are superseded by the Bylaws of the Board of Regents, the Bylaws of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, or the following rules of order.
2. Introduction of Motions and Timing of Their Consideration
A motion may be moved by any senator or by a committee of the Faculty Senate. Following the presentation of a report by an officer or committee, one or more motions to carry out recommendations related to the report may be introduced. Motions brought forward by a committee of the Senate require no second from the floor.
When a principal motion has been moved and seconded, the presiding officer shall clearly state the motion and open the floor for debate. The member who made the motion will generally have the right to speak first in debate. To facilitate consultation with colleagues, motions brought and debated before the Senate at a given meeting will then be placed on the agenda of the following meeting, with or without amendment, and may be voted on at that meeting.
If, however, the presiding officer determines that the nature of the motion is sufficiently urgent as to require immediate action, the presiding officer may declare, before debate begins, the motion an emergency motion thus allowing the vote to be taken at the meeting in which the motion is offered. Any member wishing to challenge the ruling of the chair must do so immediately before debate begins and, if seconded the body shall vote on whether the decision of the chair shall be sustained. A two-thirds vote sustains the decision of the chair.
Additionally, any member of the Senate may move that a motion be given emergency status. Members wishing to offer a motion as an emergency motion must ask that it be considered as such when their motion is made. If seconded the body can, with a two-thirds vote, accept the original motion as an emergency motion. Likewise, any member may move that emergency status be given to a motion just offered. In either case, the motion to assign emergency status must be made before debate begins on the original motion.
The presumption, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, shall be that elections and motions for commendation of an individual or group shall have action at the meeting in which they are made, whereas motions concerning senate policy are presumed to not require immediate action in the absence of countervailing facts.
3. Reconsideration
A motion to reconsider a vote must be made at the meeting at which the original vote was taken. The reconsideration shall occur as the next item of business at the meeting, unless a motion to postpone the reconsideration to a definite time is passed by the Senate. Should the motion to reconsider be neither voted upon nor postponed by vote at that meeting prior to adjournment, the motion to reconsider shall be deemed to have failed.
4. Rearrangement of the Agenda By the Presiding Officer
The presiding officer shall have the right to deviate from the published agenda of the Senate to facilitate the reception of reports by an administrator or committee, or to otherwise assist the Senate. Such deviation from the agenda shall be subject to appeal, which appeal shall require a simple majority of the voting members to approve.
5. Conduct of Elections of Officers and the Executive Committee
Nominations for President Elect, for Secretary, and for the Executive Committee of the Faculty Senate shall be solicited by the Committee on Committees. The Committee on Committees shall strive to obtain at least two nominations for each office. All nominations received by the Committee on Committees shall be forwarded to the President up until three weeks prior to the last regular meeting of the Senate. The nominations shall be forwarded without being ranked. Nominations from any member of the UNL Assembly may also be directly forwarded to the President up until three weeks prior to the last regular meeting of the academic year. Nominations shall be considered only with the consent of the individual nominated.
Two weeks in advance of that Senate meeting, a list of candidates (all valid nominees) for these positions shall be sent to all senators, along with biographical materials submitted by the candidates. The Senate Executive Committee may set reasonable limits on the length of this material.
At the last regular meeting of the Senate, the first order of business shall be the election for the President Elect of the Senate, followed immediately by the election of the Secretary of the Senate. Each candidate will be allowed to make a statement to the Senate if she/he so chooses. The Senate will then proceed to a vote, which will be by secret ballot unless there is only one candidate and no objection to a voice vote. On the initial ballot for these offices, a candidate must be chosen on a majority of the ballots cast to be elected. The valid ballots will be counted, and if someone is elected, the winner is announced to the Senate. If no candidate receives a majority of the ballots cast, a run-off will be held between the two candidates receiving the most votes. If the result of any ballot is a tie, additional ballots shall be held, as needed, until a candidate has been elected.
At the last regular meeting, election of the Executive Committee shall follow immediately upon announcement of the results of the elections for President Elect and Secretary. Each candidate will then be allowed to make a statement to the Senate if she/he so chooses. The Senate will then proceed to a vote, which will be by secret ballot. The valid ballots will be counted and the winners announced to the Senate. The candidates receiving the largest numbers of votes shall be elected. In the case that there are terms of different length to be filled, the candidates receiving the most votes will fill the seats with the longest terms. Additional ballots, as needed, shall resolve ties.
In the event that a special election is needed for the President Elect, Secretary, or a member of the Executive Committee, voting procedures applicable to the office will be followed. The Executive Committee will publicly solicit nominations from the current Senate membership and forward all valid nominations for a vote by the full Senate. The Executive Committee shall strive to obtain at least two nominations for all offices. The election(s) will be held at the next meeting of the Senate, if the nominations can be included with the call to the meeting.
Upon a permanent vacancy of the Presidency, the President Elect, shall assume the duties of the President (Bylaw 3.3.11C). If such a vacancy occurs prior to the regular November Senate meeting, the President Elect shall become the President of the Senate for the remainder of their term and an election for a new President Elect must be held according to the special election procedures outlined above.
6. Quorum
A quorum for the making of or action on motions of any sort other than a motion to adjourn shall consist of a majority of the voting members of the Senate. Any member noticing the apparent absence of a quorum can make a point of order to that effect. The Senate may continue to receive reports and discuss business before it so long as at least one quarter of the voting members are present.
7. Writing of Motions
On the request of any one (1) senator, a principal or subsidiary motion shall not be voted upon unless submitted in written form to the secretary, who shall read the motion to the senate before the close of debate on the motion. If the senator who initiated the motion does not submit the motion in writing within five (5) minutes, or such longer time as may be granted by the Senate, the motion shall be regarded as withdrawn.
8. Proxies
On any motion or election before the senate, votes by proxy shall not be allowed.
9. Presentation of Written Material
The author or authors must be identified in all written material presented or distributed in the Faculty Senate.
10.0 Electronic Communications
The Secretary of the Senate shall maintain a list of the e-mail addresses of all members of the Senate. Any communication required to be sent to members of the Senate may be sent by e-mail or other electronic communication.
- A. The Secretary of the Senate shall maintain an unmoderated electronic discussion list for the members of the Senate. This list shall be used by senators and the Senate Coordinator only for discussions related to their Senate duties. Any senator shall be removed from this list upon his or her request.
- B. The Secretary of the Senate shall maintain an unmoderated electronic discussion list for the members of the Senate Executive Committee. This list shall be used by members of the Executive Committee and the Senate Coordinator only for discussions related to their Executive Committee duties, and when matters of urgency arise, the Senate Executive Committee, at the request of the Senate President, shall vote on issues that need expedite reaction from said Committee.
- C. The President of the Senate, or the Senate Executive Committee by majority vote at a regularly scheduled meeting of the Committee, or by email consultation of the Senate Executive Committee, after determining that the matter is of an emergency nature and should be acted on prior to the next regularly scheduled Senate meeting, may order that a motion be presented to the Senate by e-mail or other electronic communication. The communication containing the motion shall specify the deadline for voting on the motion, which deadline shall be at least three calendar days after the e-mail is sent. Members of the Senate may vote either by e-mail or in writing, but votes must be received by the deadline to be counted. The usual rules shall apply in determining a quorum and the vote required for adoption.
- D. At the next Senate meeting following a vote by e-mail, any member of the Senate including a member who voted against the motion, may move to reconsider the email vote. Except as provided in this paragraph, the usual rules concerning reconsideration shall apply.
11. Faculty Senate Meeting Postponement or Cancellation Postponement or cancellation of a meeting can occur only if one of the following is met:
- A. Regularly scheduled classes are cancelled on the day of the meeting by the appropriate UNL authority.
- B. The President of the Senate gives notice of cancellation. Such notice shall be given 24 hours in advance of the scheduled meeting when feasible and shall include justification for the cancellation.
- C. Declaration of a campus emergency by the appropriate UNL authority.