CHAPTER 1 - THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN SYSTEM AND THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-STEVENS POINT
SECTION 4 - UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-STEVENS POINT: GOVERNANCE ORGANIZATIONS
(To see who has authority to approve changes to this section, please see the Approval of Changes page).
COMMON COUNCIL
The Common Council is the primary governance body on the campus.
FACULTY DEFINED FOR GOVERNANCE.
Under the provisions of the Constitution of the Common Council and for all governance purposes outlined in that constitution, “faculty” is defined as the chancellor, all persons holding faculty appointments, and all persons holding academic staff appointments.
A copy of the Constitution of the Common Council is in Chapter 9.3 of this Handbook.
MEMBERSHIP.
Eligibility.
All persons holding faculty appointments and all persons holding academic staff appointments are eligible for membership in the Senate.
Election.
Size.
The Senate consists of no fewer than 35 and no more than 45 elected senators, chairpersons of standing committees, one dean, and the chancellor or the chancellor’s designee (the chancellor or a designee are ex officio members). The distribution of senators is determined by the number of full-time equivalent faculty and academic staff in the college or other equivalent area.
Constituencies.
Senators are from each college, the University Library, and from among those not assigned to a college (Finance and Administration and Student Development/University Relations). Senators serve as representatives of the entire university, not the constituency from which they are elected.
Voting, Election, and Term.
The annual election is in April, by mail ballot; voting is at large. Write-in votes will not be counted for Senate elections or for elections of its standing committees. Senators are elected for two-year terms but committee chairpersons are elected for one-year terms; all may be re-elected for an additional term.
STRUCTURE.
Committees.
The primary work of the Council is conducted through its standing committees, which seek broad input and give detailed consideration to the issues before them. All committees report to the Council; no action of a committee is final until it has been reported to the Council. Some matters brought by committees require a vote of the Council, others only the report. However, any member of the Council may request and require a vote on any matter brought before the Council by a standing committee.
Committee Membership.
Membership on these committees is not restricted to members of the Senate.
Executive Committee.
The officers of the Senate and the chairpersons of the standing committees serve as the Executive Committee of the Senate. Among its other responsibilities, the Executive Committee acts on behalf of the Senate when the Senate is not in session (primarily during the summer).
AUTHORITY.
The faculty and academic staff derive their authority from 36.09 (4) and (4m) of the statutes:
(4) Faculty.
The faculty of each institution, subject to the responsibilities and powers of the board, the president and the chancellor of such institution, shall be vested with responsibility for the immediate governance of such institution and shall actively participate in institutional policy development. As such, the faculty shall have the primary responsibility for academic and educational activities and faculty personnel matters. The faculty of each institution shall have the right to determine their own faculty organizational structure and to select representatives to participate in institutional governance.
(4m) Academic staff.
The academic staff members of each institution, subject to the responsibilities and powers of the board, the president and the chancellor and faculty of the institution, shall be active participants in the immediate governance of and policy development for the institution. The academic staff members have the primary responsibility for the formulation and review, and shall be represented in the development, of all policies and procedures concerning academic staff members, including academic staff personnel matters. The academic staff members of each institution shall have the right to organize themselves in a manner they determine and to select representatives to participate in institutional governance.
INTERACTION WITH UW SYSTEM.
Faculty Representatives.
The Common Council interacts with the Board and UW System administration primarily through the chairperson of the Senate, who serves as UWSP’s member of the Faculty Representatives. The faculty representatives meet monthly; meetings are chaired by the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs.
Communications.
The faculty representative receives many documents from System administration, including system reports, budget information, the packet of information which Regents receive prior to their meeting, and press clippings related to the UW System. Board and board committee minutes are now on the network.
Network.
The representatives sometimes discuss issues through an electronic mailing list which includes all representatives but not System administration.
Board Meetings.
The chairperson of the Senate also attends the monthly meetings of the Board as an observer and to report on the actions of the Board to the Senate. Occasionally, a representative will address a Board committee or the full Board or will meet with regents privately to discuss issues of concern.
INSTITUTIONAL POLICIES PERTAINING TO COMMON COUNCIL.
Administrative Committees.
The Executive Committee of the Common Council or the chairperson of the Senate shall appoint all faculty and academic staff members of administrative committees. Administrators responsible for administrative committees to which faculty or academic staff are to be appointed may notify the chairperson either to request appointees or to make nominations and request appointees from among the nominees.
Released Time.
Chairperson of the Senate.
A half-time (.50 FTE) position is assigned to the chancellor’s office to provide released time from teaching responsibilities for the chairperson of the Senate.
Replacement.
The chairperson’s department or unit is authorized to hire a .50 FTE replacement for the chairperson when the department or unit deems it necessary.
Other Officers.
Requests for Load Relief.
The Senate or individual officers may request that departments or units in which faculty serve grant load relief of .25 FTE for chairpersons of these committees:
• Academic Affairs;
• Academic Staff Council;
• Curriculum;
• Faculty Affairs;
• Graduate Council;
• International Affairs;
• University Affairs;
• University Personnel Development;
• University Planning.
Action.
Departments and units from which load relief is requested for individuals in the enumerated positions shall arrange for load relief whenever possible.
SCH Production.
Load relief granted by departments or units to individuals for Senate office is carried as official released time. For classroom teaching personnel, the FTE allocated to released time is not required to generate SCH.
STUDENT GOVERNMENT ASSOCIATION
PURPOSE.
The Student Government Association works with faculty and administration to achieve the best possible university environment. SGA serves as the messenger’s voice for student concerns, ideas, and interests in all facets of university life.
A copy of the SGA constitution can be found here.
MEMBERSHIP, OFFICERS, AND STUDENT SENATE.
Eligibility.
Every student of the university is considered a member of the Student Government Association.
Elected Officers.
The Student Government Association is led by an elected president and vice president.
Student Senate.
Decision Body.
As the voting body of SGA, the Student Senate debates issues, passes resolutions, approves budget allocations, and confirms appointees.
Size.
The Student Senate consists of between 16 and 30 elected senators. The distribution of senators is determined by the number of students in each of the colleges. Each college is represented by a minimum of four senators.
Voting, Election, and Term.
The annual election is in the spring, with ballot boxes at various sites across campus. The president and vice president are elected at large, while senators are elected by each college. Elected officers and senators serve a one-year term.
Segregated Fees.
The Student Senate votes on the disbursement of all segregated fees. The Finance Committee holds hearings, prepares a segregated fee budget, and reports its recommendations to the Student Senate for approval or amendment and approval.
Executive Board.
The president appoints 12 students who, along with the president and vice president, hold paid positions and serve as the executive board of SGA. The members of the executive board are the:
• president;
• vice president;
• executive director;
• secretary;
• budget director;
• budget assistant;
• budget controller;
• communications director;
• academic issues director;
• legislative issues director;
• student life issues director; and
• SOURCE director (training resource and organizational disciplinary body).
AUTHORITY.
Students derive their authority from 36.09 (5) of the statutes:
(5) Students.
The students of each institution or campus, subject to the responsibilities and powers of the board, the president and the chancellor and the faculty shall be active participants in the immediate governance of and policy development for such institutions. As such, students shall have primary responsibility for the formulation and review of policies concerning student life, services and interests. Students in consultation with the chancellor and subject to the final confirmation of the board shall have the responsibility for the disposition of those student fees which constitute substantial support for campus student activities. The students of each institution or campus shall have the right to organize themselves in a manner they determine and to select their representatives to participate in institutional governance.