Representative Bodies

POLICY STATEMENT

Delta State University provides various venues for shared governance from faculty and staff through established organizations listed below.

DEFINITIONS

None   

PROCEDURES and RESPONSIBILITIES

Faculty Senate

The Faculty Senate, in its role in shared governance, serves and acts as a voice for the faculty.  It is a representative body elected by the faculty from those eligible for senatorship.  Each division/department with eligible faculty is represented by at least one senator.  The Faculty Senate shall be empowered to make recommendations to the President and Academic Council on policies affecting the University and to advise on such matters as the President shall lay before it. It shall also keep the General Faculty fully informed of its recommendations. The President of the Faculty Senate, or a representative, shall represent the Faculty as a voting member of the Academic Council.  The President and other members of the Senate as directed by the Senate shall be among the representatives of the Faculty at meetings of any administrative council or other such body established, or to be established, by the President to act as advisor in administering the affairs of the University. In its role, the Senate recommends membership to a variety of academic committees, manages enrollment or sign-up by faculty members for university committees, and serves to encourage the activities of such committees. 

Administrative Staff Council

The Administrative Staff Council shall serve as a liaison between the administration and the staff of Delta State University to provide a formal process for staff to discuss issues involving University policies and procedures and to forward ideas, recommendations, and opinions to the President. Composed of non-academic employees of Delta State University, membership in the Council includes department heads/directors and at-large members elected from secretarial/clerical, paraprofessional, and support personnel. The Council works closely with other Mississippi public universities on projects of common interest. Staff Council is dedicated to excellence in service and the continued growth and development of Delta State University.

Committees

Committees are appointed to study policies and organizations related to university functioning and to make recommendations to the Administration. Faculty and staff members may be selected to serve on one or more standing or special committees. Student representatives are also appointed to serve on some committees. Faculty members are given the opportunity to designate their first, second, and third choices regarding committees on which they prefer to serve. At the beginning of each school year, a special memorandum is distributed listing committee assignments. Returning faculty members are usually placed on a committee of their choosing. Selection of committee membership is defined in the Faculty Senate and Staff Council By-Laws. Ad hoc committees are appointed based on need. Below is a summary statement of the duties and responsibilities for the various standing committees and ad hoc or special committees

1. The designated chair of each committee is responsible for:
   1. Organization of the committee
   2. Designation of time and place of committee meetings outside regularly scheduled class periods
   3. Filing of a copy of the minutes of each meeting in the Office of the Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs (within one week after meeting). Members present and absent will be noted in the minutes. 
       
2. The President of the University is ex officio member of all committees and may be represented by the Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs or another designated representative.
    
3. Recommendations from a committee shall be communicated in writing by the chair to the Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs for academic matters and to the President of the University for all other Matters.
    
4. The process of an appeal of a committee decision shall be completed through the channels as established in the individual policies established for the particular committee’s purview (example: Faculty Grievance Policy). For all other academic committee decisions, not articulated in specific policy, the appeal will be completed through Office of the Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs to the President. Appeals of all other committee decisions shall be made directly to the President.
    
5. Student committee members are entitled to voting privileges.

Below is a statement of the responsibility of departmental committees:

The designated chair of each committee is responsible for:

a. Organization of the committee

b. Designation of time and place of committee meetings outside regularly scheduled class periods

c. Filing a copy of the minutes of the meeting in the Department Office (or other designated location, within one week of the meeting.

d. Preparing documents for further action as dictated by the recommendations of the committee (examples: course request forms, curriculum request forms)

All committees are required to keep minutes of meetings, records of decisions, and copies of pertinent documents. Departmental committees will retain records in their units, with the location designated in the departmental unit’s Annual Report; Faculty Senate and Staff Council committees will retain their records as provided for in their bylaws and/or constitution; Cabinet and Academic Council will retain records in the President’s Office and the Office of Academic Affairs, respectively; all other committees appointed or organized by the University Administration for purposes related to the functioning of the University or to make recommendations to Administration (university, special, or ad hoc committees) will submit, within one week of meeting, complete minutes, including all documents, to the Office of Academic Affairs where they will be retained for no less than three years.

The Responsible Office and/or the Policy Owner:  Office of Academic Affairs 

RELATED DOCUMENTS 

• Faculty Senate Constitution

• Faculty Senate By-laws

• Staff Council By-laws

• DSU Policy Manual

   

STATUS

Active

DATE(S)

• Staff Council By-Laws
  
• Staff Council Committees
• Faculty Senate By-Laws
• Faculty Senate Committees
• Academic Council Meeting Minutes: 10/01/2002

Policy Effective Date:

10/01/2002 (Approved Academic Council)
06/12/2012 (AC)