Section 2. The President has general direction, management, and control of the University, subject to the authority of the Board of Regents of Higher Education. The faculty possess those prerogatives concerning the prescription of the curriculum, the granting of degrees, and other related matters which it exercises subject to the reserved powers of the Board of Regents of Higher Education and the President. The faculty holds the further prerogative of thorough and timely before-the-fact consultation with the administration in the development of policy, the administration of the University, and the selection of academic administrators. It is the purpose of these articles to provide the means by which the faculty may exercise its prerogatives and further the welfare of The University of Montana-Missoula in consultation and cooperation with the President.

Section 3. The faculty shall meet as often as necessary to hear and consider reports from its representatives, or for other purposes.

Section 4. Meetings of the faculty (including those already provided for above) may be called by the President, by majority vote of the Executive Committee of the Faculty Senate ( ECOS ), by majority vote of the Senate, by ECOS (upon receipt of a petition and accompanying agenda) signed by 40 or more faculty, or by the Chair of the Senate. Such call, and the agenda of the meeting, shall be published prior to the date of the meeting. The Senate Chair, or his or her designee, shall chair the meetings of the faculty called under this provision.

Section 5. A quorum shall consist of a simple majority of the faculty. If requested by one member of the faculty, voting at a meeting of the faculty must be by secret ballot.

II. The Order of Business in meetings of the Faculty Senate shall normally be as listed, but may be changed at the discretion of the chair.

Call to Order
Approval of Minutes
Communications
Reports of Committees
Unfinished Business
New Business
Good and Welfare/Question and Answer

III. The Registrar of The University of Montana-Missoula or his or her designee is hereby designated as ex-officio Recorder of the Faculty Senate.

IV. Attendance

1. More than 2 unexcused absences in a given academic term will result in disqualification from the Senate. In this event, a replacement will be appointed by ECOS in accordance with Bylaw 7.F.
2. The attendance of Senators at Faculty Senate meetings is a matter of public record.

V. Committee Membership and Function:

A. Executive Committee of the Senate (amended 2/12/04)
(1) ECOS shall consist of seven members. These members shall be elected for two-year staggered terms. In the event that an ECOS member having one year's service on the committee remaining to his or her term should fail to be reelected to the Senate, the vacancy will be filled for a one-year term from the voting group of said member, using the methods of election outlined in Bylaw VII. For the election of ECOS members, the twelve voting groups will coalesce into two caucus groups, one from the College of Arts and Sciences and one from the Professional Schools. Following the election of the Chair-elect at the annual reorganization of the Senate (Article II, Section 4), the College and Professional Schools shall caucus to elect the appropriate number of members: ECOS should be represented by a total of four members from the College and three from the Schools. The Chair-elect shall serve as Chair in the Chair's absence, and shall join the Chair, when possible, in meetings where the Chair represents the Senate. If the Chair becomes unable to serve by reason of resignation from office, leave of absence, or any other cause, the Chair-elect assumes the duties and title of Chair for the rest of this term as well as the term for which she/he had been elected, and a new Chair-elect is to be elected. Special elections will be held when necessary.
(2) The Senate as a whole confirms the final selection of members of ECOS; and, although it may reject a nominee proposed by a voting group, it may not select any member of ECOS except upon nomination by the member's voting group.
(3) The Executive Committee shall make appointments to all faculty committees and make all nominations to university committees.

Subcommittees of ECOS shall be:
An orderly way to promote coordination and accessibility is to utilize a subcommittee structure. It is assumed that any committee has the authority to appoint subcommittees and that the members of such need not be members of the parent committee. Terms of appointment are at the discretion of the parent committee.

B. Academic Standards and Curriculum Review Committee

Membership:
(1) This committee shall consist of 12 faculty members nominated by ECOS and appointed by the President for staggered three-year terms, five students appointed by ASUM for one-year terms, the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs or his or her designee (ex-officio and nonvoting), and the Registrar or his or her designee (ex-officio and nonvoting) who shall serve as recorder. The Chair will be elected by the members of the committee.

(2) The committee shall create a standing subcommittee, the Graduation Appeals Committee, which has power to grant exceptions to the faculty rules for graduation, admission, retention, and readmission. The subcommittee shall consist of three faculty members and one student. The current chair and vice chair of the ASCRC and one student will serve as voting members. The immediate past chair of the ASCRC will serve as a non-voting member. The Registrar, or a deputy appointed by him or her with the concurrence of the subcommittee, shall serve as non-voting Recorder. The committee may create other standing subcommittees. (amended 11/10/05)

(3) The committee shall create a standing subcommittee, the General Education Committee. It will provide ongoing evaluation of the general education requirements and evaluate proposed changes to those requirements. The subcommittee shall consist of 12 voting members, including ten faculty members and two students. The faculty shall reflect the diversity of academic experiences at the University of Montana , with five faculty members from the College of Arts and Sciences, with at least one member each in the Humanities, Natural and Physical Sciences, and Social and Behavioral Sciences. Five faculty members will be from the professional schools with one faculty member from the School of Fine Arts , and one faculty member from the College of Technology . The remaining three faculty members shall consist of faculty chosen from the Colleges of Forestry and Conservation, and Health Professions and Biomedical Sciences, the schools of Business Administration, Education , and Journalism, and the Library. At least one faculty member must also be a member of ASCRC to serve as liaison between the committees. Preference shall be given to at least one faculty member who is knowledgeable about Indian Education for All. The committee may also have ex officio , nonvoting members representing the Registrar's and Provost's offices. Faculty members will be nominated by ECOS and appointed by the President for staggered three-year terms. Student members will be appointed by ASUM for one-year terms. The Chair shall be selected by the committee. The committee will meet as often as needed, but at least once a month.

Chair (selected by the committee)

Faculty(10 - three year terms)
Faculty ASCRC member (at least 1)

College of Arts and Science (total of 5*)
Humanities (at least 1)
Natural & Physical Science (at least 1)
Social & Behavioral Sciences (at least 1)

*Preference shall be given to a faculty member knowledgeable about Indian Education for All.

Professional Schools (total of 5)
School of Fine Arts (1)
College of Technology (1)
(3 chosen from remaining schools)
College of Forestry and Conservation
College of Health Professions & Biomedical Sci
School of Business
School of Education
School of Journalism
Mansfield Library

Students(2)
Appointed by ASUM for one year

Ex Officio, non voting members
Associate Registrar
Associate Provost (amended 11/10/05)

Functions:
(1) ASCRC shall make a continuing study of the academic standards and curriculum of the University, review and recommend action to the Senate for all proposed alterations of the academic program, and make recommendations to the Senate regarding academic standards. ASCRC shall be responsible for the content of those portions of the University's catalog consistent with its duties.

(2) Petitions for exceptions to the rules governing admission, graduation, retention, and readmission shall be reviewed and acted upon by the subcommittee. The subcommittee shall develop general policies for such review and action and publicize those policies for the faculty and staff from time to time.

(3) The primary responsibility of the General Education Committee will be ongoing evaluation and assessment of the appropriateness and effectiveness of the general education requirements and criteria. The subcommittee shall act as an advocate for general education, propose revisions to the requirements and criteria, review proposals, and ensure that all general education requirements are feasible within campus constraints, Board of Regents policies and legislative actions. The subcommittee shall report directly to ASCRC .

   C. Graduate Council
Membership:
The committee shall consist of 12 faculty members (to be appointed by the President for staggered three-year terms from nominees submitted by ECOS), the Dean of the Graduate School (or his or her designee), and two graduate students (appointed by the President of ASUM). Faculty shall be representative of the Senate voting groups.
Each faculty member nominated to this committee must have an appointment in a department or school with a graduate program and be active in that program.
Functions:
(1) Promote, review, and evaluate graduate programs to ensure vitality, currency, and quality;
(2) Review and make recommendations on all requests for new programs, for deletions of programs, and for curriculum additions or changes by departments and schools;
(3) Consider suggested changes in Graduate School regulations as published in the graduate catalog;
(4) Consider issues raised by graduate students relating to regulations of specific graduate programs or their welfare;
(5) Initiate and supervise interdisciplinary graduate programs in response to national, regional, or state needs, or to the desires and needs of sufficient numbers of graduate students.
(6) Decide on substantive matters relating to graduate programs, curricula, general Graduate School regulations, etc., and forward decisions to the Faculty Senate and to the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs for final approval.  

1. Faculty Senate standing committees shall establish a regular meeting time and place in conjunction with the Senate Office to facilitate administrative support. 
2. The Chair-elect assumes the role of chair at the last meeting of the year and a new chair-elect is elected.
3. The committee chair will turn the meeting over to the Chair-elect in matters pertaining to their departmental interest.
4. The chair is encouraged to consult with ECOS and inform the Faculty Senate on matters of academic interest.
5. Each committee shall file in the Faculty Senate Office a statement of operating procedures and guidelines adopted by the committee.   It is the responsibility of the committee chair, or designee to see that statements are filed and changes are noted whenever they are approved by the committee. At the first meeting of each academic year, the committee should examine its statement of procedures and guidelines.
6. The Senate Office will make committee procedures available on the Senate website.
7. Faculty Senate Committees will provide the Faculty Senate with a review of its activities during the year and the chair of the committee will orally summarize these activities at the last senate meeting of the year.

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G. Committees to Which ECOS Makes Appointments.
(1) The composition and function of these committees are determined in part by the collective bargaining agreement. The contract terminology "appointed by the Faculty Senate" shall mean "appointed by ECOS.
(2) All faculty terms are staggered three-year terms.
(3) No faculty member appointed by the Senate may serve both on the Appeals Committee and the Standards Committee.
(4) No faculty member appointed by the Senate may be re-appointed until one academic year has passed.
(5) Only tenured faculty members belonging to the bargaining unit who are not department chairs may be appointed.
(6) The committees shall deliver annual reports to the Faculty Senate and file written annual reports with the Chair of ECOS and the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs. These reports shall contain the results of each committee's work and a review of the overall process.
The Standards Committee shall consist of faculty members from the bargaining unit (selected as above by the Faculty Senate) and five students (nominated by ASUM for one-year terms and confirmed by the Faculty Senate). Four faculty shall be from the school's voting groups and two each shall be from the humanities, sciences, and social and behavioral sciences voting groups.

VI. The Senate shall take no action or decision except upon affirmative vote of a majority of those present, assuming a quorum to be present.

VII. General responsibility for the conduct of the selection of members of the Faculty Senate is hereby delegated to ECOS subject to the following provisions:

A. Procedures: (amended 5/3/01, 11/18/04, 11/8/07, 4/9/09)
(1) Faculty members eligible to vote in the spring elections provided for in subsection D hereof, are those who: (i) hold the rank of Professor, Associate Professor, Assistant Professor, Instructor, any of these ranks qualified as "Visiting," the titles Lecturer or Distinguished Lecturer; (ii) are employed at .5 AY FTE or greater; (iii) will meet conditions (i) and (ii) for the year following the election.  The Faculty Senate Administrative Associate will confirm eligibility with the appropriate University authorities as necessary. The eligibility list shall be approved by the Executive Committee of the Senate.
(2) A faculty member eligible to vote is a potential candidate for serving in the Senate if (i) his or her voting group has a vacancy, and (ii) his or her election to the senate would not be in conflict to Article II, Section 3 (3). No later than three weeks prior to the election, ECOS shall invite each potential candidate via email to run for the Faculty Senate.  Potential candidates may add and remove their names from the list of candidates for a period of three weeks beginning with the initial invitation. At the end of both the first and the second week of this period, the Faculty Senate administrative associate will send to each potential candidate by email the following information relevant to his or her voting group: (i) the number of vacancies, and, sorted by department, (ii) the names of Senators whose terms are not expiring, and (iii) the names of all faculty members who have become candidates.  Similar messages will be sent to all faculty members who are eligible to vote but are not potential candidates, to help them recruit candidates for serving in the Senate. After the conclusion of this three-week period, the administrative associate will prepare the final list of candidates.  If the final list of candidates contains fewer candidates than vacancies, ECOS shall attempt to fill by appointment any vacancies remaining after the election, in accordance with subsection E hereof.
(3) All ballots shall bear the seal of the Faculty Senate.
(4) The election ballot shall allow voting for the number of Senate vacancies.
B. The election to fill vacant seats on the Faculty Senate shall be conducted during the seventh week of the Spring Semester within the appropriate voting groups. The election ballot shall list the name and department or school of all eligible faculty members who have declared candidacy, subject to the following provisions:
(1) The election ballot shall not include the names of Senators ineligible for election or reelection nor shall it list them separately on the ballot as information to the voters.
(2) The election ballot shall inform the voters whether it is the case that a department or school may not elect one of its members (it will have its maximum of three senators in the next academic year), and no faculty in such departments or schools shall be listed on the ballot. The faculty of such departments or schools shall have the opportunity to vote. Faculty within a given voting group shall vote for faculty within that voting group.
(3) Write-in candidates and write-in voting are prohibited.
C. The candidates receiving the highest number of votes shall be confirmed elected by the Executive Committee of the Senate.
D. Each voting faculty member may vote following the instructions provided on the ballot. Voting shall be handled via the campus Intranet on a secure web site administered by the Faculty Senate Office unless, at the discretion of the Executive Committee of the Senate, a need exists to use a paper ballot. The Executive Committee of the Senate may authorize the Senate Administrative Associate to receive ballots and appoint an Elections Committee as needed. Only ECOS or the Elections Committee shall count ballots. In order to ensure full publicity to the entire faculty with respect to elections, the counting of ballots shall be open to any of the faculty, and the number of votes cast for each candidate shall be made available promptly to any member of the faculty upon request.
E. If a vacancy occurs after a final election, ECOS will fill the vacancy after giving due consideration to the vacator's runners-up. Such selected faculty members will fill the vacancies until the next regular election.  In the case where there are no runners-up in the voting group, or the runner-up is unwilling or ineligible to serve, ECOS shall fill the vacancy by appointment. 
F. A senate seat becomes vacant through resignation, termination from the University, or death.  Senators who are unable to attend meetings will ordinarily be replaced by the runner-up.  A senator may be considered temporarily absent for up to one year upon advanced notification to the Senate Office. In this case the runner-up will be appointed to serve until the senator returns to serve the rest of the unexpired term.  The replacement senator shall serve for a maximum of one year, or until the elected senator can resume duties.  Failure to inform the Office in advanced will be considered a resignation according to IV.

VIII. These Bylaws may be amended or repealed at any meeting of the Senate by a majority vote of those present, provided that notice of proposed amendments and repeals shall have been given at the immediately preceding meeting and provided further that notice shall be given and recommendation made by ECOS, as provided in the next paragraph of this Bylaw. It shall be the duty of ECOS to send written notice of proposed amendments and repeals to each member of the Senate promptly after the meeting at which they are proposed and to report at the next meeting of the Senate its recommendation. Where such means would be adequate in its judgment, ECOS may provide the texts of amendments and repeals by electronic distribution (e-mail), or by posting on the Senate Web site.
Amendments and repeals shall become effective immediately following their passage.

IX. Emergency procedure. Temporary suspension of a Bylaw, or of adopted rules of procedure at any meetings, shall require a two-thirds vote of the Senate, in accordance with Robert's Rules of Order.

X. During the regular academic year, the Senate shall meet on the second Thursday in each month at 3:10 p.m., except that ECOS may change the regular meeting time in the event of a legal holiday or to facilitate the handling of the usual end of semester granting of degrees. If a change in this schedule is necessary, the Chair shall so inform each member of the Senate in writing, or by e-mail, at least one week prior to the date of any meeting to be canceled or the date of any meeting rescheduled, whichever is earlier.

XI. It is the responsibility of ECOS to consult with the President regarding needs, plans, problems, and programs of the University. After such consultation, the President shall be invited by ECOS to the Senate. At the September meeting, the Executive Committee shall submit to the Senate a report outlining a program for consideration. This program shall be publicized to the entire faculty, and should identify principal areas with which the Senate shall deal in the ensuing year.

XII. When an amendment to the Articles of Faculty Organization is proposed, ECOS shall notify the faculty of the impending ballot during the first two weeks of the semester succeeding the semester in which the amendment is proposed and direct the Elections Committee to conduct balloting during the sixth week of the same semester.