Nicholls

State

University

CONSTITUTION

Unclassified Staff Association 

Preamble

We, the members of the Unclassified Staff Advisory Council, do hereby on this day of July nineteenth, two thousand and five, establish the Constitution and Bylaws of the aforementioned Association in order to effectively, fairly, and humbly represent all Unclassified Staff employees of

Nicholls

State

University, by

actively participating in the shared governance of the University.  The Association strives to unite University Staff through collaborative efforts with administration and faculty in order to enhance the working environment and services as we foster and support the mission and goals of

Nicholls

State

University.

Article I – Name

The name of this organization shall be the Nicholls State University Unclassified Staff Association, hereafter referred to as “the Association.”  The official name of the governing body of the Association shall be the Nicholls State University Unclassified Staff Advisory Council, hereafter referred to as “the Council.”

Article II – Purpose

As the governing body of the Association, the purpose of the Council is to actively represent all Unclassified Employees below the level of Assistant Vice President who are not recognized by the faculty governance document through the following objectives:

a)     advocate for Unclassified Staff in all matters relevant to their employment;

b)     provide opportunity for Unclassified Staff to express their views and opinions on any matter they deem of interest;

c)      make solicited or unsolicited recommendations to the University President and/or Vice President(s) and/or President’s Cabinet on matters affecting Unclassified Staff;

d)     request and receive information in the form of reports or otherwise from the administration;

e)     annually conduct Unclassified Staff Opinion Survey;

f)        review the Administrative Section of the Employee Handbook every odd-numbered year.

Article III – Status

The Council shall report directly to the University President in accordance with the shared governance philosophy of the University Administration.

Article IV – Amendments

Amendments to this constitution may be initiated by a majority vote of the Council or by a petition signed by at least twenty percent of the membership of the Association.  All amendments shall be presented to the members of the Association in the form of a referendum, and shall be ratified by a two-thirds internet or mail ballot vote of the Association. 

BYLAWS Article I – Council Membership

A.        Representation  The Council membership shall be comprised of elected representatives as follows:

a)         Academic Affairs                              2 members

b)         Business Affairs                                2 members

c)         Institutional Advancement/               2 members

            President’s Office                            

e)         Student Affairs                                   2 members

B.        Eligibility  Eligible individuals include any member of the Association who has been employed full time regardless of classification for a minimum of 24 consecutive months at Nicholls State University.

C.                Elections  Elections shall be held before May 1^st each year.  The Council Vice President shall notify Unclassified Staff of the available positions by print, email, and/or web announcement by March 15^th of each year.  Interested individuals must complete a USAC Election Intent Form and return it through campus mail or electronically to the Council Vice President by April 1^st of each year.  In the event that no qualified Unclassified Staff submits election forms by the deadline for one or all of the positions available, the following courses of action will be attempted:

1.      Extend eligibility to Unclassified Staff members, from the division lacking a nominee, who have been employed less than two years as well as Council members from that division who are completing their term with the election.  Candidates will have five working days to submit an Election Intent Form.

2.      If qualified nominees are still lacking, Council members representing the division from which no nominations have been received will recommend an Unclassified Employee from that division.  The person recommended will be informed of their nomination and asked to complete an Election Intent Form. 

3.      If qualified nominees are still lacking, the division that is lacking a nominee will forfeit that position for one year.

Once Election Intent Forms have been collected the Council Vice President will forward the forms to Human Resources for verification of eligibility.  Human Resources will document such eligibility or lack thereof on the Election Intent Form and return them to the Council Vice President.

The Vice President will make ballots available on the Council web site and identify a closing date for voting that shall fall before May 1^st.  Each Unclassified Staff member who chooses to vote will do so through internet vote.  Each Association member shall have one opportunity to vote for the candidates running within their division.  Election results will be kept on file a minimum of two years.  The Council President will notify Association members of the election results.

D.                Vacant Positions  In the event that a Council Member should leave the University, resign from their Council position, or is otherwise unable to fulfill his/her duties, a special election shall be held if the person who is vacating the position has a minimum of six (6) months left in his/her term.  Otherwise, the position will remain vacant until the next regular election.  The Vice President will solicit nominees by sending an email to all Association members in the division in which the resigning member is employed.  Thereafter, the same procedures shall be implemented as in an annual election within thirty days.  The newly elected member shall complete the term of the exiting member.  However, this time served shall not count against his/her term limit, should he/she decide to seek election again.

E.        Term  A term shall be defined as a two-year period beginning and ending May 1^st.

F.         Term Limits  Membership is limited to two consecutive terms.  After a one-term absence an individual may seek election again.

Article II – Officers 

A.                Primary Duties

1.      President  The President shall: schedule and create an agenda for all meetings; facilitate all meetings; meet with the University President as necessary; submit written reports, responses, and recommendations to the University President as necessary;  provide email updates as appropriate to all Unclassified Staff; represent The Council on Faculty Senate and any other committees seeking Unclassified Staff representation; submit approved minutes to University President.

2.      Vice President  The Vice President shall: fulfill the President’s obligations in his/her absence; assist with the President’s duties as requested by the President; announce elections, make ballots available to all Unclassified Staff, clear Election forms through Human Resources, and collect results to report to the Council; upon formation of subcommittees, coordinate said subcommittees.

3.      Recording Secretary   The Recording Secretary shall: record minutes of all the Council meetings; submit minutes for posting on the Council web page and to Ellender Memorial Library Archives; conduct the annual Unclassified Staff Opinion Survey.

B.                 Election of Officers  After May 1^st and before May 31^st of each year members of the Council shall elect officers in a special meeting.  This meeting shall be facilitated by outgoing President.  At this meeting individuals may verbally nominate themselves or any member may verbally nominate another member for any of the three offices.  Each member shall cast one vote for each office by secret written ballot.  The votes will be counted at that same meeting by a member whose name does not appear on the ballot and results will be announced immediately. 

C.                Term of Office  Each officer shall be elected for a one-year term.  He/she shall be eligible for a limit of two consecutive terms in the same office.  After the two consecutive terms, the individual may run for a different office.  Following an absence of one year from a particular office, that individual may run again for that same office.

Article III – Meetings

A.                 Frequency of Meetings  A minimum of two (2) meetings shall be held during each of the Fall and Spring semesters and one (1) during the Summer session. 

B.                 Officer Election Meeting  In addition to the meetings described in III.A., a special meeting will be held between May 1^st and May 31^st of each year for the purpose of electing officers.

C.                Agenda  Meeting agendas will be written by the Council President and distributed no later than 5 working days before a meeting.  Council or Association members may submit to the President items to appear on the agenda no later than 10 working days before a scheduled meeting.

D.                Meeting Schedules  Regularly scheduled meetings, not to include emergency meetings, will be posted on the Council web site and advertised via email no later than 15 working days before the meeting. 

E.                 Meeting Format  All meetings will be open to the public.  However, if an attendee would like an item to be addressed it must be placed on the agenda as per III.C.  An executive session may be called at any time during the meeting by majority vote of Council members.

F.                 Emergency Meetings   In addition to regularly scheduled meetings, emergency meetings may be called by the Council President in response to a special request or need from the University President, or an Association or Council member.

G.                Minutes   Minutes as recorded by the Recording Secretary shall be sent by email to all Council members and meeting guests within five working days after a meeting.  Council members then have five working days to send any corrections by email to the Recording Secretary. Within an additional five working days, the Recording Secretary shall complete the corrections and have the minutes posted on the Council web page.

H.                 Meeting Procedures  The President may call votes as necessary during meetings.  Any member may request at any time that the President call for a vote on a particular item.  A quorum, constituted by a presence of a majority of Council members, must be present for a vote to take place.  The majority of the quorum will decide the outcome.

            1.  Voting by Proxy   When a pre-planned vote has been scheduled for a particular meeting and a council member cannot attend, he/she may cast an absentee vote in writing or via e-mail to any council member or to the president prior to the meeting.  If it is submitted by e-mail, the recipient must print it out and the hard copy must be brought to the meeting at which the vote will take place.  The printed copy in either form should the be entered into the official record.

Article IV – Special Issues

A.                 Email Voting   The Council President may call for an email vote if expedience is necessary and a meeting is not feasible. In this case, the issue on which the Council is voting will be fully explained in an email sent from the President to all Council members.  Each member will have 24 hours to respond and cast a vote by email.  This response and email vote should be sent to all members of the Council.  A majority of members must respond for the vote to be valid.  Results of the vote will be disseminated to all Council members within 24 hours of receiving the final vote or of the initial 24 hours, whichever comes first.  Results of the vote will be noted in the minutes of the following meeting.

B.                 Information submitted by Employees.  Should an Association member submit concerns, questions, or recommendations to any  Council member, that member will immediately send by email that information to all  Council members.  The President will respond to that Staff member by email within 24 hours and state that the Council appreciates the input and will address the issue at the next meeting.  If the President is not available, the Vice President will respond.  If the Vice President is not available, the Recording Secretary will respond. 

Article V – Amendment of Bylaws

Bylaws shall be amended by the following procedure:  Amendments must be submitted in writing by a Council member at a meeting.  It will be voted on at the following meeting. A simple majority of the Council members present, provided there is a quorum, must approve the amendment for it to be adopted.  Between the meeting in which it is proposed and the meeting in which it is voted on, an email will be sent to all Association members informing them of the proposed amendment and inviting them to submit their input to the Council.

 

Appendix A  Amendments to Bylaws Spring, 2006

As per Article V of the Bylaws, as of Spring, 2006 the Council representation from the University President’s office will be combined with representation from Institutional Advancement.  Two members from this combination shall serve on the Council.  Therefore, the Council will hereafter consist of a total of eight (8) members.

Fall, 2006

As per Article V of the Bylaws, as of Fall, 2006, the following changes were made:

1. The association members will vote only for candidates running in their division.
2. Vacant positions will only be filled by election if the departing council member has a minimum of six months left in his/her term.
3. The responsibility of conducting the opinion survey has been moved under the duties of the Recording Secretary.
4. All email voting responses should be sent to the entire Council; not just the President.

Spring, 2007

Spring, 2007

As per Article V of the Bylaws, as of Spring, 2007, the following changes were made:

1. Eligible individuals may have been employed in any classification as long as it was a minimum of 24 consecutive months at Nicholls.
2. Voting by proxy for preplanned votes is now an option.