Bylaws

Updating Bylaws

The Staff Senate is currently reviewing and updating the current Bylaws to meet our new goals and standards. Check back here for updates as they are made and approved.

Name
Purpose
Mission
Organization and Structure
Membership
Representation
Structure
1. Meetings
2. Absences
3. Voting
Elections
Duties
1. Duties of Elected Members
2. Duties of Officers
Committees and Committee Structure
Amending the Bylaws

PDF of Bylaws Approved 11/13/2023

Name
1. The name of this organization is the Kennesaw State University Staff Senate, herein referred to as Staff Senate.
Purpose
1. The purpose of the KSU Staff Senate is to advance the mission of the university as a whole and to promote and foster the welfare of employees through the combined creativity of staff representation for all departments and colleges.
2. The KSU Staff Senate shall serve as an advisory board in nature and a group of representatives for all staff at Kennesaw State University, all campuses inclusive.
3. Represent staff on matters brought before the University Council Governance Body.
4. Facilitate and promote communication among staff.
5. Strive to improve the general welfare of staff.
6. Provide opportunities to increase campus-wide staff involvement in shared governance.
7. Maintain active membership and participation with University System of Georgia Staff Council. (replaced by Purpose)
Mission
1. Staff Senate is a representational organization for staff, and serves as an advising, recommending, and consulting body that addresses policies, issues, and concerns of KSU staff members. Staff Senate provides equitable and accountable representation in transparent involvement.
Organization and Structure
1. Officers shall include President, President-Elect, Secretary, Treasurer, and Immediate Past President.
2. A Parliamentarian will be appointed at the discretion of the current President.
3. The fiscal year (July 1 – June 30) will be the business year of the KSU Staff Senate.
4. Staff Senate shall meet once per month.
5. Additional meetings may be scheduled by the Executive Committee or by vote of a simple majority of members.
6. Meetings will be conducted according to the Robert’s Rules of Order Manuel.
Membership
1. The Staff Senate members are elected from the full-time, permanent employees excluding deans, vice-presidents/members of the President has expanded Cabinet and employees holding the ranks of Executive Administrator and faculty.
2. Upon recommendation of the Staff Senate, the University President may appoint two non-voting advisory members.
3. Staff Senate Members are elected for three-year terms (see Section VII A.7).
4. Staff Senate Members must allow for a one-year absence from Staff Senate before running for another term.
5. The membership shall have representation from both the Kennesaw and Marietta campuses.
Representation
1. A Staff Senate Member represents one staff member per college or department.
2. Staff Senate Members are nominated and elected from the following Colleges and Departments of Kennesaw State University as of March 21, 2019.
  1. University Colleges as of March 21, 2019:
    1. Coles College of Business
    2. College of Architecture and Construction Management
    3. College of Computer Science & Software Engineering
    4. College of Continuing & Professional Education
    5. Bagwell College of Education
    6. Southern Polytechnic College of Engineering and Engineering Technology
    7. College of Humanities and Social Sciences
    8. College of Science and Math
    9. College of the Arts
    10. Honors College
    11. University College
    12. WellStar College of Health & Human Services
  2. University Departments as of March 21, 2019:
    1. Academic Affairs
    2. Athletics
    3. Campus Services
    4. Chief Business Officer
    5. Chief Information Officer
    6. Enrollment Services
    7. Facilities
    8. Finance & Accounting
    9. Human Resources
    10. Legal Affairs
    11. Library
    12. President’s Division
    13. Office of Research
    14. Strategic Communications and Marketing
    15. Division of Student Affairs
    16. Development & Relations University Advancement
    17. University Information Technology Services
  3. Should any of the above colleges or divisions change, the representative will maintain their seat until the end of their term. If any new college or division is established, a representative will be selected at the next formal election.
Structure
1. Meetings
  1. Staff Senate shall meet once per month.
  2. Staff Senate meetings are to scheduled avoid conflict with the President’s Cabinet meetings.
  3. The calendar of meetings is established each July, by the newly elected Executive Committee, and posted on the Staff Senate website.
  4. Special Staff Senate meetings may be called using the following methods:
    1. KSU President.
    2. Staff Senate President.
    3. Staff Senate President-Elect in the absence of the Staff Senate President.
    4. Staff Senate Secretary in the absence of the Staff Senate President and President-Elect.
    5. Majority vote on Executive Committee
    6. Petition signed by at least one-third of the Staff Senate Members, addressed to the Staff Senate President.
  5. The agenda contains pertinent information on items to be discussed by the Staff Senate and should be distributed prior to a meeting at the discretion of the President.
    1. Agenda items may be added at the meeting by a majority vote of Staff Senate Members present.
2. Absences
  1. In the event that a Staff Senate Member cannot attend a meeting, the Staff Senate Member may appoint a Proxy from within the appropriate College or Department.
  2. Staff Senate Members must notify the Executive Committee, in writing, the name of the Proxy.
  3. A Staff Senate Member may have no more than three unexcused absences or proxies in a fiscal year.
  4. After three absences in twelve months, the Staff Senate Member may be removed from Staff Senate.
  5. A Member in violation of attendance policy may appear before the Executive Committee to present justification for the violation.
  6. The Member may be removed by a 2/3 vote of the Executive Committee.
3. Voting
  1. Passage of all main motions of the Staff Senate, unless otherwise indicated in Robert’s Rules of Order (e.g., “Suspend the rules” required by 2/3), is by simple majority of the Staff Senate Members present at the meeting – quorum being established.
  2. Only Staff Senate Members or their designated alternate may vote.
  3. The most recently published procedures in this section automatically supersede any prior governance procedures.
  4. Unless otherwise indicated above, the Staff Senate operates using Robert’s Rules of Order.
Elections
1. Election Procedure
  1. Nominations for Staff Senators shall be accepted university wide by full time/permanent staff members. Candidates can self-nominate.
  2. Terms of office for senators shall be staffed three-year terms.
2. Member Elections
  1. The permanent, classified staff members of the University elect the Staff Senate Members annually in May.
  2. All eligible, full-time, permanent staff members, in good standing, may be considered for Staff Senate nomination.
  3. Permanent, classified members may nominate a staff member from their respective College or Department.
  4. The Nominations and Elections Committee as outlined in the section describing the duties of the Nominations and Elections Committee conduct the election process.
3. Officer Elections
  1. The President-Elect, Secretary, and Treasurer are elected annually by the standing elected body of the Staff Senate in May and begin their term July
  2. The election process is conducted by the Nominations and elections Committee.
    1. Staff Senate Members nominate eligible Staff Senate Members for an officer position during the meeting or via email prior to the regular May meeting.
    2. Nominations will be made to the Nominations and Elections Committee.
    3. Nominated Staff Senate Members must accept the nomination to be added to the ballot and may only accept a nominations for one officer position.
    4. The Nominations and Elections Committee distributes ballots during the regular May meeting.
    5. The Nominations and Elections Committee tallies the votes and reports the results during the May meeting.
  3. President-Elect
    1. Elected by and from the Staff Senate.
    2. Serves a one-year term of office, immediately followed by a one-year term as Staff Senate President.
    3. Candidates for the office of the President-Elect must have served on the Staff Senate for at least one year.
    4. Candidates for the office of President-Elect must have at least one year remaining on their elected terms as a Staff Senate Member.
  4. Secretary
    1. Elected by and from the Staff Senate.
    2. Serves a one-year term of office.
    3. Candidates for the office of Secretary must have served on the Staff Senate for at least one year.
  5. Treasurer
    1. Elected by and from the Staff Senate.
    2. Serves a one-year term of office.
    3. Candidates for the office of Treasurer must have served on the Staff Senate for at least one year.
4. Vacancies
  1. Member Vacancies
    1. When a vacancy occurs, an eligible replacement from the appropriate College of Department is nominated by a sitting Staff Senate Member.
    2. The nominated individual is confirmed by 2/3 vote the Staff Senate who are present at the meeting, a quorum established, to serve until the next general election.
    3. Serving on Staff Senate to fill a vacancy does not prohibit the individual serving as the replacement from running for a subsequent three-year term.
  2. Officer Vacancies
    1. When a vacancy occurs in the office of the President, the President-Elect shall assume the position of the President.
    2. If the President-Elect is unable to assume the duties of the President, an election from the membership shall fill the position for the remainder of the current term.
    3. The Executive Committee appoints other officer vacancies.
Duties
1. Duties of Elected Members
  1. All elected Staff Senate Members are required to attend all regularly scheduled meetings, called general meetings, and appropriate committee meetings.
  2. Staff Senate Members make every effort to participate in all Staff Senate projects.
  3. Each Staff Senate Member must serve as a member of at least one Staff Senate committee, but may also be appointed to a committee by the Staff Senate President.
2. Duties of Officers
  1. President
    1. Schedules and conducts all Staff Senate meetings.
    2. Notifies all Staff Senate Members of Staff Senate Meetings.
    3. Serves as head of the Staff Senate’s Executive Committee.
    4. Maintains the latest version of Robert’s Rules of Order, which are used to conduct the meetings.
    5. Distributes objections/recommendations concerning amendments to the Bylaws to all Staff Senate Members prior to the Staff Senate vote.
    6. Approves any proposal, recommendation, or other official Staff Senate correspondence (e.g. campus-wide emails, fliers, letters, etc.) that are representative of the Staff Senate.
    7. Serve as an adjunct (non-voting) member on all Staff Senate sub-committees.
    8. Serves as the primary representative to the shared University wide governance bodies.
    9. Ensures the concerns and issues of all staff members are considered.
    10. Appoints a Staff Senate liaison for each of the representative bodies of the KSU Governance.
    11. Serves a term not to exceed one year.
    12. Prepared the President-Elect to take on the duties of Staff Senate President the following years.
    13. Attends the University System of Georgia Staff Council meetings.
    14. Appoints an alternate to attend the University System of Georgia Staff Council meetings.
    15. Becomes past President for one year immediately following the term as Staff Senate President.
  2. President-Elect
    1. Assist the President and performs the duties of the Staff Senate President in the Staff Senate President’s absence.
    2. Serves as a member of the Staff Senate’s Executive Committee.
    3. Serves as an adjunct (non-voting) member of all Staff Senate sub-committees.
    4. Serves as the chair of the Nominating and Elections Committee.
    5. Ensures the concerns and issues of all staff members are considered.
    6. Serves as the secondary representative to the shared University governance body.
    7. Attends the University System of Georgia Staff Council meetings.
  3. Secretary
    1. Take meeting minutes, attendance, maintains records, and distributes information within the Staff Senate.
    2. Assists the Staff Senate President and performs the duties of the Staff Senate President in the absence of the Staff Senate President and President-Elect.
    3. Notifies Staff Senate Members in writing if the Staff Senate Member has missed an excessive number of meetings.
    4. Communicates any proposed amendments to the Staff Senate Bylaws at least fifteen (15) days prior to the Staff Senate vote.
    5. Maintains the Resolution Book for the Executive Committee.
    6. Serves as a member of the Staff Senate’s Executive Committee.
  4. Treasurer
    1. Maintains records and distributes information within the Staff Senate as it pertains to Staff Senate finances.
    2. Implements the audit of the financial records of the Staff Senate and provide audited records to the new Treasurer.
    3. Calls a budget meeting each year to review the previous year’s budget and to establish a new budget to present to the Staff Senate for discussion and approval.
    4. Takes meeting minutes, attendance, maintains records, and distributes information within the Staff Senate in the absence of the Secretary.
      Serves as a member of the Staff Senate’s Executive Committee.
    5. Serves as Chair of the Finance and Budget Committee, which includes fundraising opportunities.
  5. Immediate Past President
    1. Acts in an advisory capacity to the Staff Senate and the Executive Committee with no voting privileges.
Committees and Committee Structure
1. Executive Committee
  1. Membership
    1. The executive committee consists of Staff Senate President, President-Elect, Secretary, Treasurer, and all Standing Committee Chairs.
    2. The Staff Senate President serves as Chair of the Executive Committee.
  2. Duties
    1. Meets monthly through the year.
    2. The Chair may call additional meetings as necessary.
    3. Prepares and distributes the agenda for each full Staff Senate meeting and decides, by majority vote, whether agenda items merit consideration by the full Staff Senate. The committee may also add agenda items, not on the announced agenda, prior to the meeting.
    4. Considers, and refers to the appropriate Staff Senate standing committee, any issue that affects the general welfare of the University, or that concerns all staff members.
    5. May make decisions on behalf of the entire Staff Senate in cases requiring urgent action.
    6. Informs the full Staff Senate of all such actions taken.
    7. Appoints representatives to University committees.
    8. Meets with the President of the University, of the President’s representative, at least once per year.
    9. Recommends appointment of special committees as it deems necessary.
    10. Develops and conducts an annual, open-forum meeting for all University staff members.
2. Bylaws Committee
  1. Membership
    1. The committee Chair is responsible for recruiting and selecting members of the committee form currently elected Staff Senate members.
  2. Duties
    1. Reviews the current Bylaws of the organization.
    2. Drafts amendments.
    3. Reviews and submits recommendations for proposed amendments to the
    4. Bylaws as directed by the Executive Committee. .
3. Nominations and Elections Committee
  1. Membership
    1. The Executive Committee shall appoint the Nominating Committee in the month of April. The current President-Elect shall be the chair of the Nominating Committee.
  2. Duties
    1. Electing Officers
      1. Prepares a list of officer candidates from Staff Senate members in good standing and distributes the list to the Staff Senate Members.
      2. Collects the nominations from Staff Senate Members and presents nominations at the regular May meeting.
      3. Collects and tallies votes at the regular May meeting.
    2. Electing Members
      1. Ensures fair and equitable representation across applicable Colleges and Departments.
      2. The committee Chair requests a report from Human Resources of all full-time classified staff members by Colleges and Departments.
      3. The committee Chair prepares the Call for Nominations (an email that includes the directions to nominate from the appropriate attached Colleges and Departments report).
      4. The committee prepares the ballot of eligible nominees.
        Elections shall be by email or with the assistance of the UITS Department.
      5. The committee provides the results to the Staff Senate President, who communicates the results to the University President, campus and newly elected Staff Senate Members.
4. Budget and Finance Committee
  1. Membership
    1. The Staff Senate Treasurer serves as the Chair of the committee.
    2. The committee Chair is responsible for recruiting and selecting members of the committee from currently elected Staff Senate Members.
  2. Duties
    1. Develop a yearly budget for the Staff Senate to be approved.
5. Policies and Procedures Committee
  1. Duties
    1. Review, research and inform Staff Senate on issues pending executive or legislative action that may affect all staff members.
    2. Address issues relative to collective staff concerns, which may result in resolutions (outside of grievance issues, which are addressed by university policy).
    3. Provide an annual review of all University policies and procedures affecting staff including, but not limited to, benefits, parking, safety, staff development and training.
    4. Research issues and recommends actions concerning the health, welfare, and benefits of all staff members.
6. Communications Committee
  1. Duties
    1. Coordinate and provide information to staff members concerning Staff Senate initiatives using available communications methods.
    2. Maintain Staff Senate web page and social media sites.
    3. Collaborate with Human Resources to provide information to new staff members.
    4. Develop and maintain the Staff Senate promotional items.
    5. Maintain and coordinate Digital Signage material.
    6. Coordinate approval for the use of the Kennesaw State University logo on materials.
7. Staff Development and Recognition Committee
  1. Duties
    1. Select a Staff Member of the Month Award recipient from the nominees submitted for the current month.
    2. If no nominees are received for the current month, select a winner from the list of candidates received in the prior month(s).
    3. The committee Chair provide a list of winners from the year to the appropriate department for consideration of Employee of the Year award.
    4. Research and communicate educations and professional development opportunities to all staff members.
8. Special Committees
  1. The Staff Senate President may appoint ad hoc committees as needed.
  2. Ad hoc committees may become Standing Committees by amendment to the Bylaws.
Amending the Bylaws
1. Any Staff Senate Member may propose an amendment to the Staff Senate Bylaws by submitting the proposed changes to the Executive Committee in writing.
2. The Executive Committee refers the proposal to the appointed Bylaws Committee for evaluation.
3. The appointed Bylaws Committee returns the proposal to the Executive Committee with its recommendation at least two days prior to the next regular Staff Senate meeting.
4. The proposed amendment is presented at the next regular Staff Senate meeting for a first reading.
5. The proposed amendment is presented for a second reading at the next regular Staff Senate meeting after the first reading.
6. If there are no proposed changes to the proposed amendment, the Staff Senate votes on the proposed amendment.
7. If there are changes to the proposed amendment, additional readings are required.
8. An amendment is passed with a 2/3 vote of the Staff Senate Members present at the meeting – a quorum being established.