Ohio Administrative Code
Title 3361:30 - Personnel
Chapter 3361:30-5 - Human Resources Organization
Section 3361:30-5-02 - University staff senate: bylaws
Universal Citation: OH Admin Code 3361:30-5-02
Current through all regulations passed and filed through March 18, 2024
(A) Authority:
(1) Authority. The university of Cincinnati
("university") is a state school created under Ohio law. Pursuant to Chapter
3361. of the Revised Code and rule 3361:30-5-02 of the Administrative Code, the
staff of the university ("staff") may adopt bylaws ("bylaws") that are approved
by the board of trustees ("board"), to govern the conduct of its
affairs.
(2) Relationship to
collective bargaining agreement. The bylaws are intended to address matters of
staff governance that are not addressed under a collective bargaining
agreement. In the event that any provision of the bylaws conflicts with a
collective bargaining agreement, the collective bargaining agreement shall
govern.
(3) Amendment. Any bylaw
may be amended or repealed by the staff at any regular or special meeting by a
vote of the majority of the members present. The proposed change must be
submitted to the chairperson of the staff ("chairperson"), and the chairperson
must give written notice of the proposal to the staff at least two weeks prior
to the meeting at which adoption is proposed. Any amendment or repeal shall
become effective immediately upon approval by the university's board and the
inclusion into rule 3361:30-5-02 of the Administrative Code.
(B) The university staff bylaws.
(1) Name: The name of this organization is
the university of Cincinnati staff senate ("staff senate").
(2) Purpose:
(a) The purpose of the staff senate is to
provide a regular, open forum to facilitate communication among staff and
university administration, faculty and students.
(b) Staff senate will primarily consider
matters brought to its attention by staff members, university administration,
and other members of the university community which supports the strategic
direction and vision of the university.
(c) As appropriate, staff senate may
participate in the selection of university senior administrative officers and
administrators by serving on search committees, interviewing candidates, and
submitting evaluations and recommendations.
(d) Staff senate will act in compliance with
and support the commitment of the university with regard to non-discrimination,
equal opportunity and affirmative action in accordance with federal, state and
local laws and regulations.
(3) Membership and representation:
(a) University employees eligible to become
members of the staff senate include employees, who are not charged principally with
teaching, including both exempt and nonexempt employees, both part-time and
full-time employees; excluding temporary employees, student workers or other
university employees who are eligible members of the university of Cincinnati
faculty senate (hereinafter "staff").
(b) Staff senate endeavors to have a duly
representative and diverse membership reflecting its many constituent groups
and campuses with equitable representation among the various colleges,
divisions and departments.
(c)
Staff senate will, annually, accept nominations for up to twelve staff who will
serve as "at-large members" for two year terms, or in the case of resignation,
for the remainder of the existing term.
(d) Representatives will be elected to staff
senate per the stated qualifications through a regular or special election
process (hereinafter "senators").
(e) Senators will be responsible to regularly
attend general staff senate meetings, as well as special or called
meetings.
(f) To become a senator,
employees must have prior approval from their direct
manager/supervisor.
(4)
Nomination and term of office of senators:
(a)
Senators will serve staggered two year terms beginning at the
start of the new fiscal year in July. A maximum
of two consecutive terms (four years) may be served. A one year interval is
necessary before being eligible to serve again.
(b) Elections will be held annually to elect
one-half of the representatives and any vacant positions. Each year the
membership and elections committee will notify those voting, call for
nominations, prepare ballots, and handle the election.
(i) Members appointed to fill vacant seats
will serve until the next election.
(ii) When a new member is elected to fill the
vacant seat, the new member will complete the original term of the
seat.
(iii) Members changing from
one area to another may continue to serve until the end of the fiscal year. If
they wish to continue to serve as members, they must run for re-election within
their new area.
(5) Staff senate officers:
(a) The officers of the staff senate
include a chair, chair-elect, vice chair, treasurer, secretary and
past-chair, and make up the senate cabinet.
(b) The chair will:
(i) Be responsible for setting the strategic
direction of the staff senate consistent with the strategic direction of the
university in partnership with the senate cabinet in accordance with these
bylaws, the university code of conduct, and committee policy.
(ii) Serve as an official staff senate
representative to university administration, the board of trustees, and other
university entities, and refer matters submitted for the staff senate's
attention to the appropriate governance committee(s).
(iii) Preside at staff senate and cabinet
meetings.
(iv) Hold office for a
term of two years. The term will commence on the first day of the first month
of the new academic year. The chair may not be re-elected for a consecutive
term.
(c) The vice chair
will:
(i) Assist the chair and perform the
duties of the chair in their absence.
(ii) Chair the memberships and elections
committee and oversee all voting procedures in the staff senate.
(iii) Hold office for a term of two years.
The term will commence on the first day of the first month of the new academic
year. The vice chair may not be re-elected for a consecutive term.
(d) The treasurer will:
(i) Prepare the annual budget and submit it
to the senate cabinet for approval.
(ii) Chair the budget and human resources
committee, prepare reimbursements for vendors and staff senate members, and
prepare documents as necessary for university budget processes.
(iii) Hold office for two years. The term
will commence on the first day of the first month of the new academic year. The
treasurer may not be re-elected for a consecutive term.
(e) The secretary will:
(i) Record and publish the official minutes
and oversee the minutes of general staff senate meetings for approval and
maintain records of such minutes and other staff senate documents and
records.
(ii) Distribute all
minutes not more than two weeks after cabinet and staff senate
meetings.
(iii) Hold office for
one
year. The term will commence on the first day of the first month of the
new academic year. The Secretary may not be re-elected for a consecutive
term.
(f)
The chair-elect will:
(i)
Serve as chair of
staff senate upon expiration of the current senate chair's
term.
(ii)
Assist the chair of staff senate by taking additional
duties as assigned by the chair.
(iii)
Hold office for
one year prior to assuming the role of chair, being elected within one year
into the current staff senate chair's term.
(g) Immediately upon
expiration of service, the chair will serve as
past-chair for one year. The past-chair's principal role
will be
advisory to the chair and cabinet. The past-chair will not be counted as part
of the assembled quorum but accorded full privilege of deliberation. The past
chair will be entitled to vote only in the event of a tie vote.
(h) The staff senate may also have other
officers, and/or assistant officers as may be deemed necessary and/or
appropriate by the staff senate from time to time.
(i)
All officers may
be assigned additional projects and committees by the chair as necessary to
address various issues presented to the staff senate.
(j) All officers will serve as members of the
senate cabinet.
(6)
Election of officers:
(a)
A senator must serve on the
staff senate for one full year to be eligible to hold an officer
position.
(b) The election of
officers will take place at the general staff senate meeting scheduled
annually. The term for office for all newly elected officers will begin at the
start of the fiscal year.
(c)
Immediately following their term, officers may be nominated and elected as a
representative for their area.
(d)
In the event of a vacancy occurring in the chair's term of service, the vice
chair will assume the duties of the chair and will hold office for the
unexpired term of the chair.
(e) An
elected and/or appointed officer may be removed by a majority vote of those
members present and voting.
(7) Staff senate committees:
(a) There are six standing
committees in order to conduct staff senate business more efficiently
between staff senate
meetings.
(i) Committee meetings are open to
all staff; however, only official committee members may vote on committee
matters.
(ii) A quorum, being a
requirement to conduct committee business, is defined as a majority of members
of the committee.
(iii) Following
the confirmation of senators to standing committees, a committee chair and
co-chair will be elected by a majority vote of the committee members present
and voting.
(iv)
Committee chairs will serve as members of the senate
cabinet.
(b) Each
of the standing committees below has been established by the staff senate and
constitutes a standing committee.
(i)
Membership and elections committee will execute the staff senate election
process as outlined by the governance committee, provide the staff senate with
nominees for open positions on standing committees and develop the new member
orientation and training program.
(ii) Budget and human resource committee will
support the strategic direction of the university with an emphasis on the staff
experience, and in doing so may consider all financial, planning, human
resource, and economic welfare matters affecting the university to ensure a
supportive environment that will provide personal and professional growth
opportunities for university staff in collaboration with the offices for
finance and human resources.
(iii)
Information technology committee will consider and represent staff views on all
significant information technology initiatives, issues, and policies that
impact the university; create and maintain the staff senate website and
electronic voting systems; offer technology consultation and training for
staff; and consider all information technology matters brought to its attention
by the staff senate or the university administration in collaboration with the
university of Cincinnati office of information technology.
(iv) Communication and recognition committee
will organize and coordinate outreach and community engagement activities,
staff recognition functions, public and special events; performs
responsibilities related to communications of the staff senate, including the
distribution of publicity and information relating to the staff senate; and
considers all outreach and communication matters brought to its attention by
the staff senate or the university administration.
(v) Governance committee will annually review
the bylaws and propose amendments; determine membership, nomination, and
election procedures for senators with final approval by the senate cabinet;
annually review the number of staff senate representatives and reapportion the
area representation as needed based on information received from university of
Cincinnati human resources; monitor governance policies and practices to ensure
effective staff involvement in university decision making; and consider all
governance matters brought to its attention by the staff senate or the
university administration.
(vi)
Diversity, equity, and inclusion committee shall
consider and voice staff views on issues relating to representation, fairness,
campus climate, and inclusive practices that impact the university; coordinate
collaboration among existing identity and employee resource groups; promote an
understanding of existing university policies and processes and encourages
engagement with training opportunities to foster an environment of high
performance, integrity, and trust while empowering staff to be innovative and
inclusive leaders. The committee will work in collaboration with the office of
equity, inclusion and community impact and office of human
resources.
(c) Ad
hoc committees may be appointed for purposes in such manner as the staff,
senate, or university rules may direct.
(8) Meetings:
(a) The staff senate will hold a minimum of
five meetings during the academic year. Staff senate meetings are open to the
public except when items are considered in executive sessions.
(b) Staff senate may request to go into
executive session in accordance with the Ohio open meetings code (Section
121.22
of the Revised Code), only after a majority of a quorum of the members present,
by a roll call vote, to hold an executive session and only at a regular or
special meeting. These meetings are not open to the public and not reflected in
meeting minutes. Special meetings may be called by the chair and/or committee
chairs with the appropriate body, as necessary.
(c) Voting occurs as follows:
(i) A quorum, being a requirement to conduct
staff senate business, is defined as a majority of members of the staff
senate.
(ii) For the purposes of
voting, a majority is defined as more than half of all voting members in
attendance at a staff senate meeting.
(iii) Voting during each meeting of the staff
senate will be by method prescribed by the chair or committee chair as the time
of the vote.
(9) Budget:
(a) Control of the staff senate budget and
operating expenses will be vested in the budget and human resource committee
and approved by senate cabinet.
(b)
The treasurer will present an annual operations budget report at the first
senate cabinet meeting of the academic year that outlines:
(i) Expected budget
(ii) Expected expenditures
(iii) Special projects
(iv) Other items of financial concern
(c) The staff senate
will submit a proposal for a budget annually to university
leadership.
(10)
Internal governance:
(a)
The governance
committee has the authority to create rules of procedure, only applicable to
the staff senate, for the purpose of implementing the staff senate bylaws in
accordance with this rule. Rules of procedure may not function as an employment
policy or other university policy, may not create policy for the general
university community, and must be in accordance with applicable university
rules and policies. Rules of procedure must be approved by majority vote of the
staff senate.
(b)
Nothing in the staff senate's rules of procedure shall
contradict other university rules or the staff senate bylaws as approved by the
university's board of trustees, or university policies, including but not
limited to, employment and financial policies.
(11) Amendments or revisions to the bylaws:
(a) Bylaws will be reviewed annually by the
governance committee to determine if amendments or revisions are
needed.
(b) Technical changes are
to be understood to include renumbering articles and sections, updating
administrative titles, and making other nonsubstantive revisions that improve
accuracy and clarity. It is the prerogative of the senate cabinet to make
technical changes by majority vote.
Any bylaw may be amended or repealed by the staff senate at any regular or special meeting by a vote of the majority of the members present.
The proposed change must be submitted to the chairperson, and the chairperson must give written notice of the proposal to the staff senate at least two weeks prior to the meeting at which adoption is proposed. Any amendment or repeal shall become effective immediately upon approval by the university's board of trustees ("board") and the inclusion into rule 3361:30-5-02 of the Administrative Code.
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