Procedures for Votes of Confidence
On rare occasions, in the course of university business, the faculty may wish to express or record its opinion regarding their administration. These votes are generally described as votes of confidence. A vote of confidence is a statement of the sense of the faculty and not a personnel recommendation. The vote is not binding but is reported to the President and to the appropriate vice president; or to the Chancellor when the administrator is the President of the university. This policy is limited to votes of confidence regarding administrators as defined in Title 5. 1
Procedure
A. Five or more full-time faculty members may call for a vote of confidence in an administrator by initiating a petition by signature which is then placed in the Office of the Academic Senate. The petition to conduct a vote of confidence shall contain a statement of reasons for calling for the vote.
B. The Academic Senate Office will notify the chair of the Nominating Elections Committee, the administrator involved, and the chair of the faculty assembly in the college/school, or the chair of the Academic Senate for administrators with university responsibilities that the petition is available for signature. A copy of the petition shall be attached to the notification.
The chair of the faculty assembly in the college/school or the chair of the Academic Senate, as appropriate, shall distribute a copy of the petition (without signatures) and these procedures to the appropriate faculty constituency as defined in Section G below. The petition will be available for signature in the Academic Senate Office for ten (10) instructional days from the date of the notification by the Academic Senate Office.
C. In order for a vote of confidence to occur, the petition must be signed by thirty percent (30%) of the full-time faculty members of the college/school. In cases of academic administrators who do not have responsibilities for a college/school, the petition must be signed by thirty percent (30%) of the full-time members of the Academic Assembly.
D. Each petitioner shall sign a separate copy of the petition so that each person submitting a petition has no knowledge of those who sign before or after them. The petitions will be made available in the Academic Senate Office. Only full-time faculty members from the college/school or Academic Assembly, as appropriate, are eligible to sign a petition. The list of full-time faculty eligible to sign the petition or to vote will be established from the list of full-time faculty certified by the Office of Academic Personnel Services to the Academic Senate during the proceeding October.
See Management Personnel Plan, California Code of Regulations, Title 5 Section 42720 - 42728
E. After the conclusion of the ten instructional days, the chair of the nominating elections committee will determine if each signature on the petition is an eligible full-time faculty member from the appropriate unit. After the signatures are verified, and there is at least thirty percent (30%) of the full-time faculty requesting a vote, the chair of the nominating elections committee will draw up a ballot and announce the date of the vote. 2 The voting shall commence within ten (10) instructional days of the verification of signatures.
F. The vote will be by secret ballot, following the normal procedures for a senate written ballot.
G. Full-time faculty members in the college/school or Academic Assembly, as appropriate, and in active employment status at the time of the voting are eligible to vote. Participants in the Faculty Early Retirement Program and other tenured faculty members in a reduced time base program in active employment status at the time of the vote are eligible to vote.
H. Within ten (10) instructional days after the completion of the balloting, the results will be tabulated by the Nominating Elections Committee with at least three (3) members of the committee present. 3
I. The report of the vote shall include
1. the number of faculty who were eligible to vote;
2. the total number of faculty who voted;
3. the total number of faculty who voted confidence in the administrator;
4. the total number of faculty who voted no confidence in the administrator.
J. In the case of a vote with respect to an administrator with university wide responsibilities, the chair of the Nominating Elections Committee shall provide a written report to the Executive Committee of the Academic Senate and the affected administrator with a copy to the President and the appropriate vice president. The Executive Committee of the Academic Senate shall forward the results to the Academic Assembly.
K. In the case of a vote with respect to an administrator with college/school responsibilities, the chair of the Nominating Elections Committee shall provide a written report to the faculty executive committee in the college/school, and the affected administrator with a copy to the President and the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs. The executive committee in the college/school shall forward the results to the Faculty Assembly within the college/school.
L. In the case of a vote of confidence with respect to the President, the chair of the Nominating Elections Committee shall provide a written report to Executive Committee of the Academic Senate, the Chancellor of the California State University, the Trustees of the California State University and the President. The Executive Committee of the Academic Senate shall forward the results to the academic assembly.
M. A vote of confidence may be taken with respect to an administrator no more than once every eighteen months.
N. The direct supervisor shall review the results of the vote.
See Appendix A for the sample ballot.
In the event that the vote is being held on a dean or associate dean, the member of the Nominating Elections Committee from that college/school shall not be present.
O. Regardless of the outcome of the vote, the direct supervisor 4 shall meet in executive session with the college/school executive committee or the Executive Committee of the Academic Senate, as appropriate, to discuss the reasons for the vote and the results of the vote. The direct supervisor may request additional information from the appropriate committee.
P. Regardless of the outcome of the vote, the direct supervisor shall discuss the vote as well as any additional information received from the appropriate committee with the affected administrator. The direct supervisor shall inform the appropriate faculty after the discussion with the affected administrator that this meeting has occurred.
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Recommended by the Academic Senate May 2003
Approved by the President May 20, 2003
APPENDIX A
SAMPLE BALLOT
VOTE OF CONFIDENCE
PURSUANT TO THE ATTACHED PETITION SIGNED BY AT LEAST THIRTY PERCENT OF THE COLLEGE/SCHOOL (OR ACADEMIC ASSEMBLY), A VOTE OF CONFIDENCE HAS BEEN REQUESTED ON
______________________________________
NAME
_______________________________________
TITLE
I HAVE
_____ CONFIDENCE IN THIS PERSON AS AN ADMINISTRATOR
_____ NO CONFIDENCE IN THIS PERSON AS AN ADMINISTRATOR
(A COPY OF THE PETITION REQUESTING THIS VOTE IS ON THE REVERSE SIDE)
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