|
Standing Rules
Standing rules are informal, yet detailed, guidelines that describe the procedures of the council. Their purpose is to provide guidance regarding the procedures, expectations, and standards of the council. These guidelines are meant to be flexible and reflect the will of the council; therefore, they may be revised at any council meeting by a majority vote.
A. Committees
1. Unless otherwise stated in the constitution, standing committees should be composed of five members to allow for a quorum.
2. The election committee should be composed of seven members with a representative of each EEOC category.
3. Standing committees should establish a standard time to meet monthly.
4. Written committee reports or outlines should be distributed at the council meeting and should be submitted to the chair of the council five working days in advance of the meeting.
5. To promote the continuity of information, outgoing committees should meet with incoming committees to pass materials and to review the history and procedures of the committee before the September meeting.
B. Council Meetings
1. The maximum time for meetings, including the guest speaker, is 1 1/2 hours, except for special events, such as the December meeting and the parliamentary procedures meeting. Time for guest speakers should be 30 minutes, including questions from members.
2. The university parliamentarian, or other authority on parliamentary procedure, should be invited to give a presentation at the July meeting each year. An abbreviated guide to parliamentary procedures should be distributed to each member. Members leaving the council should return these materials at the end of their tenure to the council parliamentarian.
3. In spirit of unification between the Hattiesburg and Gulf Coast campuses, the council will meet two times yearly on the Gulf Coast, with one of those meetings at the Gulf Coast Research Lab. There will be one meeting in the fall and one in the spring.
4. In order for action items to be considered at council meetings, they should be submitted by the 15th day of the month prior to the next council meeting, unless otherwise deemed by the chair.
5. All action items submitted to council should be signed by the constituent in order to give a response of action taken by the council. In order for the confidentiality of the constituent to be protected, the council member submitting the agenda item may keep the constituent anonymous to the full council.
C. Presidential Responsibility
1. The outgoing president of Staff Council shall at the last official meeting of the year, present to all outgoing members of Staff Council a certificate of thanks for serving on Staff Council.
2. The outgoing president of Staff Council shall, at the last official meeting of the year, present to all outgoing committee members and chairs a certificate recognizing their service on these committees.
D. Member Elections
1. Election ballots shall be maintained by the President of the Council for a period of three years following elections in order to refer to in the event of a vacancy.
2. Election Committee shall prepare a summary of member elections to be maintain with election ballots.
3. The Staff Council is composed of one (1) member for every 44 staff members as established in 1989. One Staff Council member for every 44 staff will allow the number of representatives to continue to increase as the number of staff increases on all campuses. This will provide continued representation of a smaller number of staff members; yet will also allow the Staff Council body to grow as necessary.
E. Vacancies
1. The President of the Council should make a good faith effort in making a
recommendation and/or appointment to fill the unexpired term of a Council
member by referring to the most recent ballot of an EEOC category.
F. Staff Council Award
1. The time frame for the Staff Council Award shall be as follows: The call for
Nominations shall be made in March. During the April Staff Council meeting, the Executive Committee shall collect nominations from the membership. Each nominee’s form shall be distributed with the May agenda. The Executive Committee shall prepare ballots and a vote shall be taken at the May meeting by secret ballot. Executive Committee shall count votes and winner will be announced and recognized at the June meeting.
2. The Executive Committee members shall not be eligible for nomination.
G. Outsourced Employees
1. The President of Staff Council or appropriate appointee will make a good faith
effort in contacting the CEO or business representative of each of those areas that are outsourced by the University. The purpose of Staff Council shall be discussed and the CEO will be invited to send a representative to attend Staff Council monthly meetings.
2. The selected representative should be identified by the CEO and the President of Staff Council notified so that proper meeting notices can be sent.
3. Any current Staff Council member who is outsourced shall remain on Council
until their term expires if agreeable with the outsourced unit’s CEO. If an outsourced unit’s CEO does not allow their employee to complete their elected term on Staff Council, then that position will be declared vacant and will not be filed.
4. An outsourced representative shall serve as a member-at-large and provide
Assistance to committees as needed and determined by the Staff Council President.
5. Employees of outsourced units who were employees of the University prior to
July 2004, who serves on the Council, shall retain the same privileges accorded to University employees serving on the Council.
7/28/05