Academic Senate Bylaws

The organization shall be known as the Academic Senate of San Joaquin Delta Community College (hereinafter referred to as the Senate). 

The electorate for full-time faculty shall be composed of those certificated employees who teach full-time and other full-time certificated employees who do not perform any administrative supervisory duties for the college, including partial retirees. Full-time faculty and partial retirees shall be defined as per SJDCTA Contract.

The electorate for Part-time Associate Professor faculty shall be composed of those certificated employees who meet the definition of “adjunct” as specified in district policy, SJDCTA Contract and who do not perform any administrative supervisory duties for the college. 

Section 1.  The officers of the Academic Senate shall be a President, a First Vice President, a Second Vice President, and a Vice President of Part-time Associate Professor Faculty, a Vice President of Curriculum, and a Vice President of Social Justice and Equity, defined as members of the Executive Board in Article VII. The officers of the Academic Senate shall be selected from the tenured or tenure-track full-time faculty as defined in Article III, excepting for the Vice President- Part-time Associate Professor Faculty who shall be selected from among the Part-time Associate Professor faculty as defined in Article III. These officers shall perform the duties as prescribed by these bylaws and by the parliamentary authority adopted by the Senate. Release time for each officer shall be negotiated through the SJDCTA and be written in the SJDCTA contract. 

Clause 1. No Officer serving as an Executive Board member for the Academic Senate may hold an Executive Board Officer position in the SJDCTA concurrently.  

Clause 2. Officers are expected to attend all regularly scheduled meetings of the Academic Senate and Executive Board. 

Clause 3. An Officer may lose their seat in the Academic Senate or Executive Board if they are absent for three consecutive meetings or a total of five meetings over a two-year period. In the event that an Officer loses their seat, the Executive Board will appoint an interim Officer to serve for the remainder of the semester, at the end of which a special election will be held. The new Officer will complete the unexpired term of the Officer they are replacing.

Clause 4. Should an Officer be unable to attend Senate or Executive Board meetings because of a conflicting situation, the Officer may request in writing to the Executive Board that it appoint an interim Officer to serve the duration of the special situation. It shall be up to the Executive Board to accept or reject the request and to fill or leave vacant the Officer seat in question. Such requests must be made prior to reaching the maximum absences permitted by a Senate member or Officer under these bylaws.

Clause 5. Should an Officer be unable to complete their term for any reason, the Executive Board will appoint an interim Officer to serve for the remainder of the semester, at the end of which a special election will be held. The new Officer will complete the unexpired term of the Officer they are replacing.

Section 2. The President of the Senate shall:

Clause 1. Preside at all meetings of the Senate, using the accepted parliamentary authority. 

Clause 2. Represent the faculty at official college functions in person or by appointed representative. 

Clause 3. Represent the faculty at meetings of the college governing board in person or by appointed representative. 

Clause 4. Be ex-officio, non-voting member of all Senate committees.

Clause 5. Direct the overall operation of the Senate and approve time cards of non-Classified office staff.

Clause 6. Represent the Senate as the official voting delegate, in person or by proxy, at all meetings of the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges. 

Clause 7. Represent the Senate at meetings of the President's Council and Cabinet and other such administrative or district-wide meetings relating to the operation of the Senate in person or by appointed representative.

Clause 8. Meet on a regular basis with the President and the Vice Presidents of the College to discuss academic and professional concerns.

Clause 9. Carry out all directives of the Senate and serve as the Chairperson of the Executive Board.

Clause 10. Serve as, or appoint, the official delegate from the faculty to the Community College League of California (CCLC).

Clause 11. Be responsible, in consultation with the Flex Coordinator, for final notification to faculty of failure to meet flex responsibilities.

Clause 12. Be replaced by the First Vice President for the remainder of the term of office in the event that the office of the President becomes vacant. In the event that the First Vice President cannot take over the role of President, the Second Vice President will take on the role for the remainder of the term of office. If neither the First nor Second Vice President can take on the role, Senate will hold a special election for an Interim President of the Academic Senate to serve for the remainder of the term of office.

Section 3. The First Vice President shall:

Clause 1. Act in the place of the President in the event of their absence.

Clause 2. Succeed and fulfill the office of President for the remainder of the unexpired term in the event that the President is unable to complete their term.

Clause 3. Act as Chairperson of the Faculty Professional Growth Committee and recommend to the floor of the Senate action on such items as approved by that committee.

Clause 4. In the event that the Academic Senate Administrative Assistant is not in attendance, be responsible for maintaining attendance records of the Senate.

Clause 5. Assist the President in representing the Senate at meetings of the President’s Council and Cabinet and other such administrative meetings relating to the operation of the Senate.

Clause 6. Perform such functions and duties as directed by the President or the Executive Board.

Clause 7.  Will conduct and coordinate all regular and special elections, except for elections that include the position of First Vice President.  The Second Vice President will oversee the elections when the First Vice President is included on the ballot. 
 

Section 4. The Second Vice President shall:

Clause 1. Act in place of the President when the First Vice President is not available.

Clause 2. Act as Senate representative for the Policies and Procedures Committee, the Entitlement Process and Program Review.

Clause 3. When the Senate calls for a subcommittee or workgroup, then the second vice president will be responsible for appointments and ensuring that the Chair establishes a meeting calendar.

Clause 4. Perform such functions and duties as directed by the President or the Executive Board.

Section 5. Vice President of Part-time Associate Professor Faculty shall:

Clause 1. Represent the interests of Part-time Associate Professor faculty to the Senate Executive Board.

Clause 2. Communicate regularly with Part-time Associate Professor faculty to determine their needs and to discuss items before the Senate.

Clause 4. Perform such functions and duties as directed by the President or the Executive Board.

Section 6. The Vice President of Curriculum shall: 

Clause 1. Act as Chairperson of the Curriculum Committee and recommend to the floor of the Senate for such actions such items as approved by that committee.

Clause 2. Provide guidance on goals and objectives to the curriculum sub-committees and workgroups.

Clause 3. Perform such functions and duties as directed by the President or the Executive Board.

Section 7. The Vice President of Social Justice and Equity shall:

Clause 1. Represent the interests of inclusion, diversity, equity, antiracism, accessibility (IDEAA), and social justice, and the intersectionality of these principles. 

Clause 2. Organize, advocate, advise, educate, develop policies and programs, and participate in professional development in order to advance the goals, objectives, and guiding principles of the ASCCC’s IDEAA Framework, SJDC’s equity work, and social justice. 

Clause 3. Develop yearly IDEAA and social justice goals and evaluate progress on those goals on an annual basis.

Clause 4. Coordinate communication to the Senate and campus community around IDEAA and social justice efforts, goals, reports, and news.

Clause 5. Serve as a liaison to the ASCCC’s Equity and Diversity Action Committee, an ex officio member of the Curriculum Committee, and a member of the Student Success and Equity Committee.

Section 1. Election of members of the Senate shall take place during the spring semester of each year.

Clause 1. Upon the expiration of a regular Senate term, the First Vice President of the Senate shall conduct an election in the academic unit for the purpose of filling the vacant seat. Election shall be by majority vote.

Clause 2. A new Senate representative will not be seated until a valid election has been held and the ballots from the election are certified by the Executive Board.

Clause 3. At the direction of the Executive Board, special elections shall be conducted by the First Vice President of the Senate.

Clause 4. In a semester when tenured or tenure-track full time faculty senator seats are up for re-election and a pending reorganization that affects senate representation is in progress, a special election may be held after the reorganization is complete. The current tenured or tenure-track full-time senators will remain in office until the special election is completed. 

Clause 5. The election results shall be reported individually to the candidates and to the faculty at large, by the Vice President who conducted the election, within ten working days.

Section 2. The President, First Vice President, Second Vice President, and Vice President of Curriculum, and Vice President of Social Justice and Equity shall be elected by a majority vote of the ballots cast by all of the faculty, as defined in Article III, to serve a two-year term. The Vice President - Part-time Associate Professor Faculty shall be elected by a majority vote of the ballots cast by the Part-time Associate Professor faculty, as defined in Article III, to serve a two-year term. A run-off election of the top two candidates will be held if no candidate receives a majority of the vote.

The election of the First Vice President, Vice President of Curriculum, and Vice President of Part-time Associate Professor Faculty shall happen on odd years and the President, and Second Vice President, and Vice President of Social Justice and Equity positions shall happen on even years.

Section 1. A parliamentarian shall be appointed by the President at the beginning of each college year.

Section 2. The Senate shall meet as scheduled in the official college calendar. Notice of all Senate Meetings will be posted in accordance with the Brown Act.

Section 3. A simple majority of the Senate shall be considered a quorum.

Section 4. Items may be placed on the agenda of the Senate by any Senator or by faculty members through their Senators. All other agenda items must be approved by the President of the Senate.

Section 5. Senate meetings are open to all members of the electorate, and to non-members, but only members of the Senate possess a vote. Visitors may speak either at the time designated as comments from the public or on an action item at the time of discussion of the item. The speaker shall be limited to five minutes per item unless extended by the chair.

Section 6. All minutes and agendas will be posted on the Academic Senate Website and to the public display which is available to the college community. 

Section 7. Special meetings of the Senate may be called at the discretion of the President or when requested in writing by five members of the Senate with appropriate notification per the Brown Act.

Section 8. In all matters of internal functioning not covered by these Bylaws, the Senate shall be governed by Robert's Rules of Order, latest revised edition.

Section 9. The Senate shall route requests for necessary clerical, budgetary, and other requirements to the Board of Trustees through regular channels.

Section 10. The Senate shall present its views and recommendations to the Administration and Board of Trustees on matters concerning, but not restricted to, the following:

Clause 1. Matters involving the educational program of the college, including program review, the regular day, evening, and all sessions, curricula, institutional framework and processes related to Student Learning Outcomes and Assessments, and matriculation standards, changes in courses of study, requirements for degrees and diplomas, and all 10 +1 areas of Academic Senate primacy as referenced in AB 1725.

Clause 2. Policy regarding appointments, status, and selection of teaching faculty members and administrative staff.

Clause 3. Policy for the establishment and discontinuance of TrACs, programs, departments, and administrative positions.

Clause 4. General policy regarding student affairs and activities. 

These Bylaws can be amended at any regular meeting of the Senate by a two-thirds vote, provided that the amendment has been submitted in writing at the previous regular meeting.

Ratified April 23, 1979

Amended January 11, 1989 (*For details of all previous ratifications, contact the Academic Senate Office, Locke 109, EXT. 5486.)

Amended November 8, 1989 (Addition of electorate to include part-time faculty to Article III; Article IV, Section 1, addition of Clause 7, addition of Section 4; Article VI, addition of Section 6).

Amended April 4. 1990 (Article IV, Section 1, Clause 2, to change representative from Instructional Areas to Divisions.)

Amended November 7, 1990 (To create position on Executive Board for Part-Time Faculty Senate Representative, Article V, Section 1, Section 5, Clauses 1-5; Article VI, Sections 2 and 3; to reflect name change throughout By-Laws from California Association of Community Colleges (CACC) to Community College League of California (CCLC).

Amended October 16, 1991 Article IV Representation to clarify Senatorial Representation by Division. Changed Clause 2 to add Disabled Student Services. Changed second paragraph and added new third paragraph. Also changed Article VI Election Procedure to reflect Election shall be by majority of ballots cast, rather than a majority of faculty. Clause 1. and Section 3.

Amended March 25, 1992 Article VI, Section 3 to change the election procedure for Senate Officers to a majority of the ballots cast, rather than a majority of the faculty.

Amended May 5,1993 Article IV, Section 3.3: When a special election is held the new Senator will complete the unexpired term of the Senator he or she is replacing. Section 4: A part-time faculty member must teach 3 to 8 units within a school year to maintain eligibility for the Senate. Article VIII, Section 2: All Senate agendas will be posted 72 hours prior to the meeting (in compliance with the Brown Act). Section 5: Comments from the public will be limited to 5-minutes unless extended by the Chair (in compliance with the Brown Act). Section 7: Special meetings will have appropriate notification. (in compliance with the Brown Act). Article IV, Clause 2: Adds the Athletics Division for Senate representation. Adds the statement that a Senate seat may be shared if the majority of the faculty within the division approve. The election for the shared Senate seat shall occur with the next vacancy. Article V, Section 6: The Secretary of the Senate or designee will Chair the Faculty Professional Growth Committee.

Amended September 15, 1993 Section 1, Clause 2. Changed Division name to Family, Consumer, and Health Sciences and deletion of Health Sciences, Public Safety and Special Programs as Divisions.

Amended September 15, 1993 Article IX, Section 2. added Faculty Professional Growth. Section 5 changed Curriculum membership... five faculty members: two from vocational education; two from general education; and one counselor (with no more than one faculty member from any one division) appointed by the Senate President, the Assistant Superintendent/Vice President and the Dean of Student Services. Added new Section 7. The Senate Committee on Faculty Professional Growth shall consist of the Secretary of the Academic Senate, or designee, who shall be the permanent chairperson of the committee, five faculty members: three faculty members shall be appointed by the San Joaquin Delta College Teachers Association; two faculty members shall be appointed by the Academic Senate. This committee will be charged with the responsibility of reviewing individual faculty professional growth requests, authorizing expenditures of Staff Development funds per AB 1725, and recommending faculty Sabbatical proposals for approval by the Senate. The old Section 7 becomes Section 8.

Amended February 2, 1994 Article VII, Section 1, added '"The immediate past president shall only serve for the first year immediately following her/his presidency. Article IX, Section 1, added "nominated by the President of the Academic Senate, ratified by the Senate", deleted "appointed, elected, or nominated by the Senate", added "Committee members shall be limited to two consecutive appointed terms on any one committee" Section 8. added "All Senate appointments to Senate Committees and the Internal Governance Advisory Committees of the college shall be for a two-year term. Members of the committees shall be eligible for re-appointment".

Amended May 18, 1994 Article IV, Section 1. Clause 7, changed two representatives of the part-time faculty to five, three from General Education and two from Technical /Vocational Education. Article V, Section 4, Clause 2, added "the Committee on Entitlements and Program Review and": 2. 1, added "the" and "s" to committee; 2.2, added "s" to committee; 2.4, added "s" to committee. Article IX, Section 2, added "Faculty Entitlement and Program Review". Article IX, Section 8. The Senate Committee on Entitlements and Program Review shall be comprised of one member from each Division of the College. Elections shall be held, under the supervision of the Division Senators in May 1994. Initially, half of the members of the committee will be elected for a term of three years, half of the members for a term of two years. The determination of terms will be by the drawing of lots at the initial meeting of the committee. At the conclusion of the three-year terms, all members of the committee will be elected for two-year terms. This committee will be chaired by the Second Vice President of the Academic Senate. That officer should be provided with appropriate release time of at least 3 units for this committee responsibility. This committee will be charged with the responsibility of reviewing and making recommendation to Academic Senate concerning faculty entitlements and programs. The old Section 8 becomes Section 9.

Amended February 15, 2006 Article III, changed services for the college that are administrative or supervisory in nature to "who do not perform any administrative"; changed part-time to "adjunct"; changed teach a minimum of 3 hours/units up to "a maximum of 8 hours/units per semester "and other part-time certificated employees to "meet the definition of “adjunct” as specified in district policy"; changed services for the college that are administrative or supervisory in nature to" who do not perform any administrative services for the college"; removed statement of definition of part-time employees. Article IV, Section 1, Clause 2, corrected Division names; Clause 7, changed part-time to "adjunct"; Clause 7, Section 3.3 was deleted; Clause 7, Section 4, changed part-time to "adjunct", added "an adjunct load" after no longer teaching, added "The Executive Board will appoint an adjunct faculty member to complete the unexpired term of the Senator he or she is replacing."; Added Section 6. Article V, Section 1, changed all occurrences of part-time to" adjunct"; Clause 10, deleted At least one-half of the faculty members named to these committees should come from the current membership of the Senate. Added "These appointed faculty shall submit regular reports to the Senate."; Section 3, added Clause 5. Section 5, changed part-time to "adjunct"; Clause 2, changed part-time to "adjunct"; Clause 3, changed part-time to "adjunct"; Clause 5, changed part-time to "adjunct". Section 6, deleted Clause 4. Article VI, Clause 3, Section 2, changed part-time to "adjunct"; Section 6, changed all occurrences of part-time to "adjunct". Article VIII, Section 6, changed from the "Senate Summary" and other information shall be distributed to the Board of Trustees and college staff to "All minutes and agendas will be posted on the Academic Senate Website which is available to the college community.” Article IX, Section 8, replaced all text with "The Senate Committee on Entitlements is the elected senators of the Senate. They are responsible for making recommendations on entitlements."; added "will be" after The Program Review Committee.

Amended December 6, 2006 Article IV, Section 1, added a new Clause 5. “The President of the Associate Student Body Government or designee, ex-officio non-voting.”; renumbered “Clause 5” to “Clause 6”; renumbered “Clause 6” to “Clause 7”; renumbered “Clause 7” to “Clause 8”. Article V, Section 2, changed “40%” to “50%”; added: “Clause 13. Responsible of final notification to faculty of failure to meet flex responsibilities.” Section 6, changed “15%” to “30%”; added: “Clause 7. Plan, coordinate, and implement, and monitor individual flex plans and campus wide flex activities.” added: “Clause 8. Participate in the reporting of state required flex reports.”

Amended October 7, 2009, Article III, changed “administrative services” to “administrative supervisory duties”; Article IV, Section 1, Clause 2, changed “Division” to “defined academic unit per Bylaws”; changed “Communication Skills” to “English Language Arts”; changed “Counseling, Guidance” to “Guidance and Counseling”; changed “Disabled Student Services” to “Disability Support Programs & Services”; changed “Family, Consumer, and Health Sciences” to “Family and Consumer Sciences”; added “Health Sciences”; changed “Library Services” to “Library Sciences”; remove “and”; added, “Academic Support (Articulation Officer, Student Success Coordinator, Professional Development Instructor, Assessment Center Coordinator); added “; and Satellite Centers (South Campus at Mountain House).”; changed each occurrence of “a Division” to “an academic unit”; changed “0-15” to “1-15”; Clause 8, changed “Vocational” to “Career Technical”; Article V, Section 1, added “, defined as the Executive Board in Article VII”; added “Clause 1. The Executive Board shall hold regular post-senate meetings with the President and the Vice Presidents of the college to discuss academic and professional concerns.” added “Clause 2. All members of the Executive Board shall write goals and objectives and an End of Year Report for each academic year.”; Section 2, Clause 8, changed “Vice President” to “Vice Presidents”; changed “matters of mutual concern.” to “academic and professional concerns.”; Section 4, changed “15%” to “20%”; Clause 2, changed “Policy Review Committee and the Committee on Entitlements Process” to “Policy Review Committee, the Entitlement Process”; renumbered “Section 7” to “Section 8”; added “Section 7. Outgoing officers shall develop and/or regularly update their procedural manuals and provide face-to-face orientation and training for incoming officers.”; Article IX, Section 1, added “Except for the Curriculum Committee which shall be limited to three terms.”; Section 2, added “Distance Education, and”; changed “Faculty Entitlement and Program Review, and Policy Review Committees” to “committees”; Section 5, changed “vocational” to “career technical”; added “the Chair of the Distance Education Committee and the Student Learning Outcomes Coordinator”; changed “and one Dean designated by the Assistant Superintendent/Vice President for Instructional Services” to “the Dean of General Education and Transfer and the Dean of Workforce an Economic Development”; added “The Academic Senate Staff Assistant and a student appointed by the Associated Student Body Government shall be ex-officio members of this committee. The Assistant Superintendent/Vice President for Instruction shall be an ex-officio member. The Dean of General Education and Transfer and the Dean of Workforce and Economic Development shall be voting members.”; Section 6, changed “Senate Standing Policy Review Committee,” to “Distance Education Committee, as an advisory committee to the Curriculum Committee,”; changed “shall consist of the Second Vice President of the Senate as its chairperson and three faculty members appointed by the Senate President.” to “shall consist of a chairperson, and faculty members appointed by the Senate President, the Professional Development Center Coordinator and the Online Instructional Support Technician.”; added “The Academic Senate Staff Assistant shall be an ex-officio member of this committee.”; changed “responsibility of reviewing policy” to “responsibility of reviewing distance education policy”; removed Section 8; renumbered “Section 9” to “Section 8”.

Amended March 3, 2010 Article VI, Section 1, Clause 4 added “Clause 4. In a semester when full-time senator seats are up for re-election and a pending division reorganization that affects senate representation is in progress, a special election may be held after the reorganization is complete. The current full-time senators will remain in office until the special election is completed.”

Amended September 1, 2010 Article IV, Section 1, Clause 1 add after officers “shall be faculty members.” Section 1, Clause 2, changed divisions to read “Applied Science, Business and Technology; Library, Learning Resources and Language Arts; Counseling and Special Services; Arts and Communication; Health Sciences; Physical Education, Recreation & Athletics; Agriculture, Science & Mathematics; Humanities, Social Science, & Education;”; added above the number of seats per full-time faculty “One seat in the Library, Learning Resources, Language Arts divisions shall be designated as a librarian. If no librarian wishes to serve, the seat shall become at large within the division.”; Clause 3, deleted “The Academic Senate Representative-at-Large to the Community College League of California (CCLC).”; Clause 4 will become Clause 3, Clause 5 will become Clause 4, Clause 6 will become Clause 5, Clause 7, added Any “SJDC faculty member” elected “as an” officer of the Statewide Academic Senate “, ex-officio non-voting.” Clause 7 will become Clause 6, and Clause 8 will become Clause 7.; Article VI, Section 1, added after shall “take place at the beginning of March”, delete “begin during the month of April”; Clause 4, Section 2, replace “February” with “December” and in the second paragraph replace “March” with “February”; Section 3, add at the end of the paragraph “A run-off election of the top two candidates will be held if no candidate receives a majority vote.”; Of Article VI eliminate Section 4, and Section 4, Clause 1 and 2; Change Article VI Section 5 to 4 and Section 6 to 5. Article VII, Section 1 deleted after The Officers of the Senate “and any elected officer of the Statewide Academic Senate” added before Curriculum Chair “the Immediate Past” added after Curriculum Chair “providing they are full-time faculty members,” and after Senate Parliamentarian, add “and any San Joaquin Delta College faculty member elected as an officer of the Statewide Academic Senate,”; Article VIII, Section 10, Clause 1 add after program of the college, “including the program review,” delete before curricula “including” add after curricula, “institutional framework and processes related to Student Learning Outcomes and Assessments,” add after for degrees and diplomas “, and all 10+1 areas of Academic Senate primacy as referenced in AB 1725.”; Article IX, added new Section 1 “All college-wide faculty committee appointments shall be made by the Academic Senate President. In addition, the Academic Senate President shall appoint the Student Learning Outcomes Coordinator who shall be ratified by the Academic Senate.”; The old Section 1 becomes Section 2, remove the period after committee and change the capital “E” on Except to a small letter; The old Section 2 becomes Section 3, add after Faculty Professional Growth “and General Education” and capitalize committees; The old Section 3 becomes Section 4; The old Section 4 becomes Section 5; The old Section 5 becomes Section 6, after division) delete “appointed by the Senate President”, after Distance Education Committee delete “, and” after Coordinator , add “(all appointed by the Senate President)”; The old Section 6 becomes Section 7, add after The Distance Education Committee, as “a standing” delete “an advisory” add after committee “advisory” after faculty members add “all”; The old Section 7 becomes section 8; Insert a new Section 9, “The General Education Committee, as a standing committee advisory to the Curriculum Committee, shall consist of a chairperson, and faculty members all appointed by the Senate President, including the articulation officer. The Academic Senate Staff Assistant shall be an ex-officio member of this committee.” New paragraph, “This committee will be charged with the responsibility of reviewing courses proposed for General Education and reviewing any Title 5 revisions related to general education and making recommendations to the Curriculum Committee on any of these issues.”; The old Section 8 becomes Section 10.

Amended October 6, 2010 Article IV, Representation, Section 1, Clause 2 the following was deleted: Library Services, Academic Support (Articulation Officer), Student Success Coordinator, Professional Development Instructor; Assessment Center Coordinator; and Satellite Centers (South Campus at Mountain House) due to the reorganization of units. Article IX, Committees, Section 5 the following line was added, “Member and one Evaluator shall be ex-officio members of this committee.”

Amended December 6, 2011 Article IV, Representation, Section 1, Clause 2 the following was changed from “Library, Leaning Resources and Languages Arts” to “Languages, Library, and Learning Resources” due to division name change on lines 30-31 & 45-46. Deleted “Academic Support (Articulation Officer, Student Success Coordinator, Professional Development Instructor, Assessment Center Coordinator); and Satellite Centers (South Campus at Mountain House). Article VII, Executive Board, Section 3, the following section was added “Section 3. Academic Senate officer may make agreements with the Administration of San Joaquin Delta College on behalf of the Academic Senate only when authorized by the Academic Senate, under terms and conditions specified by the Academic Senate. Under circumstances deemed by the Academic Senate President to be sufficiently compelling, tentative agreements with the Administration of San Joaquin Delta College District may be made without initial authorization, subject to report to and ratification by the Academic Senate at a regular or special meeting.” Article IX, Committees, Section 3, the word “and” was deleted. Section 4, the following line was added “The Student Learning Outcome and Assessment Coordinator, the General Education Chair, and the Distance Education Chair shall write goals and objectives and an End of Year report for each academic year, for presentation t other Academic Senate.” Section 6, the word “preferable” was added and the “Articulation Officer” was added as a standing member of the Curriculum committee. “and the Dean of Workforce and Economic Development” was deleted due to the vacancy of the position. The following line was added “, and the Articulation Officer,” and the following was deleted, “and the Dean of Workforce and Economic Development from lines 320-322. Section 7, The addition of a “.” And a case change to the word “the”. The deletion of the word “an” and the word change from “member” to “members” from lines 327 and 329. The deletion of “of reviewing distance” “education” and the following line was added “to develop, recommend, review distance education” and “best practices, standards and training”.

Amended October 3, 2012 Article III, Electorate, The following was changed from “adjunct” to “Adjunct Associate Professor” change on line 21; Article IV, Representation, Clause 2, the following was Deleted “Physical Education, Recreation & Athletics” from line 33 and added to line 34 due to the merging of divisions; Article IV, Representation, Clause 7 The following was changed from “adjunct” to “Adjunct Associate Professor” change on line 62; Article IV, Representation, Clause 7, Section 4 The following was changed from “adjunct” to “Adjunct Associate Professor” change on lines 76, 78, and 80; Article V, Officers, Section 1. The following was changed from “adjunct” to “Adjunct Associate Professor” change on lines 98, 101, 102; Article V, Officers, Section 1., Section 2. Adding “ed” to reassign on line 111. Article V, Officers, Section 1., Section 2., Clause 13. Adding “Be” and changing capital “R” to lower case “r” line 138. Article V, Officers, Section 1., Section 3. Change 30% to 40% and add “ed” to reassign.” line 140. Article V, Officers, Section 5. The following was changed from “adjunct” to “Adjunct Associate Professor” change on line 165; Article V, Officers, Section 5, Clause 1 The following was changed from “adjunct” to “Adjunct Associate Professor” change on line 166; Article V, Officers, Section 5, Clause 2 The following was changed from “adjunct” to “Adjunct Associate Professor” change on line 168. . Article V, Officers, Section 5, Clause 5 The following was changed from “adjunct” to “Adjunct Associate Professor” change on line 175; Article V, Officers, Section 5, Clause 2 The following was changed from “adjunct” to “Adjunct Associate Professor” change on line 168; Article V, Officers, Section 5, Clause 7 Deleted “and” and “faculty” was add on line 191 and “participate in planning” was added to line 192; Article VI, Election Procedures, Section 1, the word “of” was added to line 206; Article VI, Election Procedures, Clause 4, the following language was added “Nomination materials shall include a brief biographical sketch of each candidate for the Academic Senate seat representing the faculty.” to lines 218-219; Article VI, Election Procedures, Section 2, The following was changed from “adjunct” to “Adjunct Associate Professor” change on lines 224 & 226; Article VI, Election Procedures, Section 3 The following was changed from “adjunct” to “Adjunct Associate Professor” change on lines 232 & 233. Article VI, Election Procedures, Section 5 The following was changed from “adjunct” to “Adjunct Associate Professor” change on line 238. Deletion of lines 241-243; Article VII, Executive Board, Section 3 The following was added “An” to line 260; Article VIII, Operations, Section 6 The following was added “and to the public display case” to line 285; Article VIII, Operations, Section 6 Clause 1 The deletion “summer” and replaced with “all” on line 297; Article IX, Committees, Section 6 The deletion of “Assistant Super intent” on line 336 & 341. The deletion of “General Education and Transfer” and replaced with “Student Learning and Assessment” on lines 337 & 342; Article IX, Committees, Section 7 Deletion of the word “and” on line 349 and the changing of the letter lower case letter “t” to a “T” on line 349. The addition of the word “review,” to line 351 and the addition of the word “and” to line 352; Article IX, Committees, Section 8 the deletion of the comma and replacement of semi-colon to lines 357, 361 & 362. Changing the capital “S” to lower case “s” to line 363; Article IX, Committees, Section 9 The deletion of “General Education and Transfer” and replaced with “Student Learning and Assessment” on line 367.

Amended June 25, 2015 Article IX, Committees, deletion of Section 8 “No member of the Faculty Professional Growth Committee shall have sabbatical business (proposal or report) before the Committee.” Renumbered Section 9 to Section 8 and added “If a full-time faculty member engages in committee work beyond the contractual 25 hours per week, the faculty member may use those hours to fulfill the Flex obligation” at the end of the paragraph after the sentence “This committee will be charged with the responsibility of reviewing individual faculty professional growth requests, flex contracts; and other faculty professional growth opportunities as appropriate, authorizing expenditures of Staff Development funds per AB 1725; and recommending faculty Sabbatical proposals for approval by the Senate.” Renumbered Section 10 to Section 9.

Amended May 1, 2019 Article IV, Representation, Section 1, Clause 2, deletion of “Agriculture” from Agriculture, Science & Mathematics. Renamed Humanities, Social Science, & Education/Physical Education, Recreation & Athletics “Humanities, Social Science, Education, Kinesiology, & Athletics.” Clause 4, renamed “Associated Student Body Government”, “Associated Students of Delta College.” Clause 7, deletion of “three from General Education and two from Technical/Career Technical Education” and added “from any discipline in the District and diversity of the discipline should be considered.” Addition of “Section 7. Should a senate seat remain vacant for 60 days, the Executive Board may appoint an interim Senator to serve the duration of that semester. A special election should be held at the end of the semester to fill that vacant seat.” Article V, Officers, Section 1, Clause 1, replaced “shall” with “may.” Clause 13, added “in consultation with the Flex Coordinator”. Section 3, replaced “40%” with “50%.” Section 4, Clause 2, replaced “Chairperson” with “Senate representative” and replaced “Policy Review Committee” with “Policies and Procedures Committee.” Addition of “Clause 3. When the Senate calls for a subcommittee or workgroup, then the second vice president will be responsible for:” Update numbering as follows: 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, and 2.4 to 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, and 3.4 respectively. Update numbering of Clause 3 and Clause 4 to Clause 4 and Clause 5 respectively. Section 6, Clause 2, addition of “when the Academic Senate Administrative Assistant is not in attendance.” Clause 3, addition of “when any seat becomes vacant when the Administrative Assistant is not in attendance.” Clause 4, addition of “when the Academic Senate Administrative Assistant is not in attendance.” Deletion of Clause 7 and Clause 8. Article VI, Election Procedures, Section 1, deletion of “at the beginning of March”, addition of “During the spring semester.” Section 2, added “a. 1st Vice President and Vice President of Adjunct elections happen on odd years and the President and Secretary positions happen on even years.” Article IX, Committees, Section 6, deletion of “Vice President for Instructional Services”. Addition of “Assistant Superintendent/Vice President of Instruction and Planning.” Deletion of “Academic Senate Staff Assistant” and added “Curriculum Support Coordinator.” Replaced “Associated Student Body Government” with “Associated Students of Delta College.” Section 8, addition of “including the Flex Coordinator.” Deletion of “If a full-time faculty member engages in committee work beyond the contractual 25 hours per week, the faculty member may use those hours to fulfill the Flex obligation.” Addition under Article VIII, Operations: “Section 11. The resolutions and letters committee will act as a standing committee of the Academic Senate (AS). The committee shall be comprised of three current members of AS. A member must have at least one-year experience on academic senate to serve on the committee. The committee will meet on an as-needed basis. If, for any reason, the standing committee is unable to meet then the AS Executive Board will act as the resolutions standing-committee. The committee will work with interested parties on drafting a resolution and/or letter. The committee will use the same criteria, for effective resolution writing, as the ASCCC. The AS Executive Board will proofread the resolution before Senate votes on the resolution as an action item. The resolution will then be added to the following Academic Senate Meeting for either a first read or as an action item.”

Amended June 2020 Article IX Committees, Section 11 for establishing the Ethnic Studies and Equity-Minded Honors (ESEMH) Subcommittee.

Amended December 4, 2020 Article V; Section1, remove “a secretary”. Insert “Vice President of Curriculum,” before “defined as the Executive Board.” Add “Release time for each officer shall be negotiated through the faculty union and be written in the faculty union contract.” Article V; Section 2; Clause 4 added “voting”. Clause 6 replaced “State Academic Senate” with “Academic Senate for California Community Colleges.” Clause 6, added “or District-wide.” Removed Clauses 10 and 11. Renumbered Clauses 12 and 13 to 10 and 11 respectively. Added Clause 12. Be replaced by the First Vice President for the remainder of the term of office in the event the office of President becomes vacant. In the event that the First Vice President cannot take over the role of President, the Second Vice President will take on the role for the remainder of the term of office. If Vice Presidents cannot take on the role, Senate will hold a special election for an Interim President of the Academic Senate. Article V; Section 3, removed “will be given 50% reassigned time and”. Clause 3, change text to “Act as Chairperson of Faculty Professional Growth Committee and recommend to the floor of the Senate for action on such items as approved by that committee.” Additions: “Clause 4. Be responsible for maintaining attendance records of the Senate and notifying the Senate when any seat becomes vacant when the Academic Senate Administrative Assistant is not in attendance. Clause 5. Assist the President in representing the Senate at meetings of the President’s Council and Cabinet and other such administrative meetings relating to the operation of the Senate. Clause 6. Perform such functions and duties as directed by the President or the Executive Board. Clause 7. Be replaced by Executive Board appointment and ratified by two-thirds of the Senate in the event the office of Vice President of the Senate becomes vacant.” Article V; Section 4, inserted new clause “Appointed the faculty members who are to serve on the Internal Governance Advisory Committees of the college. These appointed faculty shall submit regular reports to the Senate” before Clause 4. Numbered new clause “Clause 4” and renumbered original Clause 4 as Clause 5. Article V; Section 6, removed Section 6, Clause 1, Clause 2, Clause 3, Clause 4, Clause 5, and Clause 6. Added “Section 6. The Vice President of Curriculum will serve as a voting member on the Executive Board and shall: Clause 1. Act as Chairperson of the Curriculum Committee and recommend to the floor of the Senate for such actions such items as approved by that committee. Clause 2. Proved guidance on goals and objectives to the curriculum sub-committees and workgroups. Clause 3. Perform such functions and duties as directed by the President or the Executive Board. Clause 4. Be replaced by appointment by the Executive Board and ratified by two-thirds of the Senate in the event the office of Vice President of Curriculum of the Senate becomes vacant.” Article V; Section 8, added “and Senators”. Clause 1 replaced “five” with 2/3, removed “or 10% of the full-time faculty” and “will be taken by secret ballot at the next scheduled meeting of the Senate.” Added “will happen among all faculty within 45 days after the petition is submitted. For a recall to happen 51% of the faculty must approve.” Clause 2 added “or Senator.” Article VI; Section 3, replaced “Secretary” with “Vice President of Curriculum”. Section 3; a, replaced text with “The elections of the First Vice President, Vice President of Curriculum, and Vice President of Adjunct shall happen on odd years and the President and Second Vice President positions shall happen on even years.” Added Article VIII; Section 12 “The bylaws committee will act as a standing committee of the Academic Senate (AS). The committee shall be comprised of at least two current members of Academic Senate general body and one member of the Executive Board. A member must have at least one-year experience on academic senate to serve on the committee. The committee will meet on an as-needed basis. If, for any reason, the standing committee is unable to meet then the AS Executive Board will act as the bylaws standing-committee. The committee will work with interested parties on drafting a bylaw change. The AS Executive Board will proofread the bylaws change before Senate discusses the change as a first read.”

Amended February 3, 2021 Updated language throughout document: full-time faculty to “tenured or tenure-track full-time faculty”, Adjunct to “Part-time”, Bargaining Unit to “SJDCTA”, and secretary to “First Vice President”. Amended Article III as follows: removed “those certificated employees having contracts of fifty percent or more” and replaced with “including partial retirees. Full-time faculty and partial retirees shall be defined as” per SJCTA Contract. Added “SJDCTA Contract” after “as specified in district policy. Article IV, Section 1, Clause 1, added “and senators” after appointed officers, added after “members”, “who do not perform any administrative supervisory duties for the college. Clause 2, added “; and Library Services” to the end of first paragraph. Changed “Fall” to “Spring” in first and second paragraphs. Removed Clause 5 text and renumbered Clauses 6, 7 to 5, 6 accordingly. Clause 5 (new) replaced “statewide” with “Academic Senate for California Community Colleges (ASCCC)”. Clause 6 removed “from any discipline in the district and diversity of the discipline should be considered”. All text starting from Section 3 and ending with Section 7 removed and replaced with the following: “Section 3. Attendance Policy, Clause 1. Senators are expected to attend all regularly scheduled meetings of the Academic Senate. Clause 2. In the event that a Senator is unable to attend a meeting of the Academic Senate, they may designate a proxy member to attend in their place. A designated proxy member must be a faculty member who does not perform any administrative supervisory duties for the college and must represent the same constituency as the absent Senator. A proxy may not be used for more than two meetings in one semester, not to exceed five meetings total during a Senator's two-year term. A Senator shall be deemed present represented by a valid proxy. Clause 3. A senator may lose their seat in the Academic Senate if they are absent for three consecutive meetings or a total of five meetings over a two-year period for which they have not designated a proxy. In the event that a Senator loses their seat, the Executive Board will appoint an interim Senator to represent the vacant seat’s constituency to serve for the remainder of the semester, at the end of which a special election will be held. The new Senator will complete the unexpired term of the Senator they are replacing. Clause 4. The Senate seat of a Part-time Associate Professor Faculty member shall be declared vacant at the time when the elected representative is no longer teaching Part-time Associate Professor Faculty member load within a school year. The Executive Board will appoint Part-time Associate Professor Faculty member to complete the unexpired term of the Senator they are replacing. Clause 5. Should a Senator be unable to attend Senate meetings because of a conflicting situation, the member may request in writing to the Executive Board that it appoint an interim Senator from the same academic unit to serve the duration of the special situation. It shall be up to the Executive Board to accept or reject the request and to fill or leave vacant the senatorial seat in question. Such requests must be made prior to reaching the maximum absences permitted by a Senate member under these bylaws. Clause 6. Should a Senator be unable to complete their term for any reason, the Executive Board will appoint an interim Senator to represent the vacant seat’s constituency to serve for the remainder of the semester, at the end of which a special election will be held. The new Senator will complete the unexpired term of the Senator they are replacing.”

Amended on April 21, 2021 Article IV, Clause 2. The following was removed: “One seat in the Communications and Languages Transfer and Career Pathway (TrAC) shall be designated as a librarian. If no librarian wishes to serve, the seat shall become at large within the TrAC.” Article V, Section 1 added “as members of” to “The officers of the Academic Senate shall be a President, a First Vice President, a Second Vice President, a Vice President of Part-time Associate Professor Faculty, and a Vice President of Curriculum, defined as members of the Executive Board in Article VII” Remove “faculty union” from “be written in the SJDCTA faculty union contract” at the end of the first paragraph. Replaced Clause 1 with “No Officer serving as an Executive Board member for the Academic Senate may hold an Executive Board Officer position in the SJDCTA concurrently.” Replaced Clause 2 with “Officers are expected to attend all regularly scheduled meetings of the Academic Senate and Executive Board. Added “Clause 3. An Officer may lose their seat in the Academic Senate or Executive Board if they are absent for three consecutive meetings or a total of five meetings over a two-year period. In the event that an Officer loses their seat, the Executive Board will appoint an interim Officer to serve for the remainder of the semester, at the end of which a special election will be held. The new Officer will complete the unexpired term of the Officer they are replacing. Clause 4. Should an Officer be unable to attend Senate or Executive Board meetings because of a conflicting situation, the Officer may request in writing to the Executive Board that it appoint an interim Officer to serve the duration of the special situation. It shall be up to the Executive Board to accept or reject the request and to fill or leave vacant the Officer seat in question. Such requests must be made prior to reaching the maximum absences permitted by a Senate member or Officer under these bylaws. Clause 5. Should an Officer be unable to complete their term for any reason, the Executive Board will appoint an interim Officer to serve for the remainder of the semester, at the end of which a special election will be held. The new Officer will complete the unexpired term of the Officer they are replacing.” Added “in person or by appointed representative” to the end of Section 2, Clause 3. Clause 4 changed “voting” to “non-voting” and removed “except the nominating committee.” Clause 5 removed “manage the budget” and “and authorize the expenditure of Senate funds” – add “of non-classified”. Clause 7 added “in person or by appointed representative.” Clause 10 added “or appoint”. Clause 12 added “neither the First nor Second” and “to serve for the remainder of the term of office”. Section 3, Clause 1 added “their absence” and remove “of that officer”. Clause 2 added “President is unable to complete their term” and removed “office becomes vacant”. Clause 4 removed” and notifying the Senate when any seat becomes vacant when”. Replaced Clause 7 with “Will conduct and coordinate all regular and special elections, except for elections that include the position of first VP.  The second VP will oversee the elections when the first VP is included on the ballot.”  Section 4, Clause 3 added “appointments and ensuring that the Chair establishes a meeting calendar.” Removed 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, Clause 4 and Clause 6. Clause 5 renumbered “Clause 4” Section 5 remove “will serve as a voting member on the Executive Board and”. Section 6 removed Clause 4. Remove Section 7. Removed Section 8 and Clauses 1-3. New Article added: Article VI Recall of Senate Officers and Senators, Section 1. Officers and Senators may be removed from office by a 2/3 vote of the Academic Senate. Section 2. Should an Officer or Senator be removed from their position, the Executive Board will appoint an interim Officer or Senator to serve for the remainder of the semester, as per these bylaws, at the end of which a special election will be held. The new Officer or Senator will complete the unexpired term of the Officer or Senator they are replacing. Election Procedures renumbered Article VI to VII. Article VII, Section 1, Clause 1 replaced “instructional area” with “academic unit”. Clause 4 remove “TrAC” and “**Nomination materials shall include a brief biographical sketch of each candidate for the Academic Senate seat representing the faculty”. Removed Section 2 and renumbered Section 3 “Section 2”. Section 2 replaced “the full-time” with “all of the”. Remove Section 4 and Section 5. Article VIII Executive Board, added “Section 4. The Executive Board may hold regular post-senate meetings with the President and the Vice Presidents of the college to discuss academic and professional concerns” and “Section 5. All members of the Executive Board shall write goals and objectives and an End of Year Report for each academic year.” Removed from Article IX Operations Section 11 and Section 12. Article X Committees, Section 1 add “in consultation with the Executive Board” and removed “In addition, the Academic Senate President shall appoint the Student Learning Outcomes Coordinator who shall be ratified by the Academic Senate.” Section 2 removed “All standing or special committees and committee persons nominated by the President of the Academic Senate and ratified by the Senate shall be responsible to the Senate” and add “two-year”. Section 3 added “standing, special, and ad hoc committees, including” and “Ethnic Studies/Equity Minded Honors”. Changed “Academic Senate President” to “Academic Senate Second Vice President” and removed “subject to the approval of a majority vote of the Senate”. Section 4 removed “Standing, special, and ad hoc committees shall be appointed by the President of the Senate or the Executive Board as required to carry on the work of the Senate. The Student Learning Outcome and Assessment Coordinator, the General Education Chair, and the Distance Education Chair” and add “All committee Chairs”. Removed Section 5 and renumbered the following sections accordingly. Section 5 removed “all appointed by the Senate President” and added “non-voting” before “ex-officio”, removed “The Dean of Student Learning and Assessment, and the Articulation Officer shall be voting members.” Section 6 added “the Dean of Regional & Distance Education”, removed “faculty members, and added “one faculty member from each TrAC, in addition to one counselor, one librarian, and a faculty member specializing in Assistive Technology/Accessibility”. Changed “Senate President” to “Second Vice President” and replaced “Professional Development Center Coordinator, the Online Instructional Support Technician” with “Dean Regional & Distance Education, the Professional Development & Education”. Added “The Chairperson shall be a member of the Curriculum Committee and of the Technical Review team, and shall advise the Curriculum Committee as to compliance of new and revised course proposals with Distance Education standards.” Removed “review”. Added Section 7 “Section 7. The Open Educational Resources (OER) Committee members include the ASCCC OER Initiative Liaison, the Delta College OER Librarian, and at least 3 additional faculty from three different TrACs, the Assistive Technology instructor, and the Distance Education Chair. Ex-officio non-voting members include the Dean of Regional & Distance Education Classification, and the Assistant Dean of Outreach, Equity & Student Services. The committee is responsible for promoting OER adoption throughout the District, providing guidance to faculty seeking to adopt OER resources, and ensuring opportunities for grant funding are promoted and supported. The Committee is also charged with ensuring District compliance with SB 1359 by tracking current OER usage at the District and reporting data to the Dean of Student Learning and Assessment each semester. Recommendations from this committee will be presented to the various stakeholder groups and Academic Senate.” Section 8 changed in the first sentence “Academic Senate President” to “First Vice President”. Section 9 changed “faculty member in from each general education area” to “faculty member actively teaching in each general education area”. Removed “All faculty appointments shall be made by the Academic Senate President”. Added Section two sections “Section 10. The Resolutions and Letters Committee will act as a standing committee of the Academic Senate (AS). The committee shall be comprised of three current members of Academic Senate. A member must have at least one-year experience on Academic Senate to serve on the committee. The committee will meet on an as-needed basis. If, for any reason, the standing committee is unable to meet then the AS Executive Board will act as the resolutions standing-committee.  The committee will work with interested parties on drafting a resolution and/or letter. The committee will use the same criteria, for effective resolution writing, as the ASCCC. The AS Executive Board will proofread the resolution before Senate votes on the resolution as an action item. The resolution will then be added to the following Academic Senate Meeting as an action item. Section 11. The bylaws committee will act as a standing committee of the Academic Senate (AS). The committee shall be comprised of at least two current members of Academic Senate general body and one member of the Executive Board. A member must have at least one-year experience on academic senate to serve on the committee. The committee will meet on an as-needed basis. If, for any reason, the standing committee is unable to meet then the AS Executive Board will act as the bylaws standing-committee. The committee will work with interested parties on drafting a bylaw change. The AS Executive Board will proofread the bylaws change before Senate discusses the change as a first read” before Section 10. Original Section 10 renumbered Section 12. Added “Section 13 Attendance and use of proxies at committee meetings shall be governed by Article IV, Section 3.” Attendance and use of proxies at committee meetings shall be governed by Article IV, Section 3.”

Amended on October 6, 2021. Article X, Section 5 – added “and the Dean of CTE and Workforce Development” to the Curriculum Committee membership. Article X, Section 6 – added “the OER Coordinator” to the Distance Education Committee’s membership. Article X, Section 9 – added “the Faculty Researched” to the General Education Committee’s membership.

Amended on March 2, 2022. Article X, Section 3 – removed “Ethnic Studies and Equity-Minded Honors”. Article X, Section 12 – the Ethnic Studies and Equity-Minded Honors Subcommittee sections was removed and following section - Section 13 Attendance - was renumbered and assigned Section 12.

Amended May 3, 2023. Article X, Section 8, added “the Academic Senate President” to the Faculty Professional Growth membership.
Article X, Section 8, added “one of the appointed faculty members as described in the committee membership be a faculty member with a primary load assignment in the Professional Development Center (PDC)” to the Faculty Professional Growth membership.