Bylaws of Florida State University Panama City

Table of Contents

  1. Name and Mission of the Organization
  2. Purpose of the Bylaws
  3. Definitions
  4. Implementation and Amendment of the Bylaws
  5. Business of the Organization
  6. Faculty Committees
  7. Duties of the Dean and Associate Deans
  8. Substantive Change Policy

1. Name and Mission of the Organization

Florida State University Panama City Campus (FSU-PC) is the name of this organization.

Florida State University Panama City Campus affirms and strives to fulfill the mission of Florida State University and the various Colleges and Departments the campus serves. These bylaws formulate a method of organization and operating procedures that enable the effective operation of the campus in furtherance of these missions.
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The primary focus of this campus is to provide educational activities and supportive services to the population of the surrounding geographic area as well as the global community. The highest goal of this institution is to provide an exceptional educational experience for every student.

2. Purpose of the Bylaws

These bylaws are created to assist in the effective and efficient shared governance of the Florida State University Panama City Campus. These bylaws are subject to and adhere to the higher authority of regulations and policies adopted by Florida State University, the FSU Constitution, the FSU Board of Trustees-United Faculty of Florida (BOT-UFF) Collective Bargaining Agreement, and the FSU Faculty handbook, and annual Promotion and Tenure letter. All resident programs are to operate in conjunction and in compliance with these campus bylaws.
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3. Definitions

Faculty: The faculty referred to in this document, is defined as fulltime in unit faculty that are permanently assigned to the Florida State University Panama City Campus. The faculty is composed of persons representing a diversity of interests that contribute to the knowledge of the student population, and who are qualified as educators by their scholarly or creative work and their effectiveness in teaching students.

Voting Faculty: Faculty meeting the above criteria shall be deemed voting faculty members. Faculty who are not permanently assigned to FSU-PC or hold a courtesy appointment (visiting, adjunct, or otherwise) are not part of the voting faculty.

However, faculty may decide to vote to allow a fulltime visiting or a part-time faculty member to have voting membership.

Voting Quorum: A quorum is defined as two-thirds of the voting faculty membership.

Faculty Meeting: A meeting of faculty in which a quorum of the voting faculty is required to be present at a faculty meeting in order to conduct business at that meeting.

Faculty Facilitators: At the first faculty meeting of the fall semester, or at another time established by the faculty, the faculty will elect, by a simple majority vote (i.e. half plus one of the voting members in attendance), two voting members as facilitators. These facilitators will serve interchangeably as presiding chair at faculty meetings and as a faculty representative to the Dean’s Office (e.g., attend Dean’s Staff meetings or serve in some other capacity as decided by the Dean) for a one-year term. Facilitators will assemble agendas for faculty meetings and preside over faculty meetings. The facilitator will be responsible to request agenda items from the faculty and deans. As a general guideline, the faculty facilitator shall send out the agenda to faculty at least one day prior to the meeting date, and request copies of previous meeting agendas to be provided for disposition at the meeting.

Parliamentarian: One voting faculty shall be elected parliamentarian at the first meeting of the fall semester of each academic year. The parliamentarian shall advise the presiding facilitator/chair on procedural issues (using the most recent edition of Robert’s Rules of Order), preside over and conduct elections, obtain a current list of voting members, and generally facilitate the orderly transaction of business at meetings.
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4. Implementation and Amendment of the Bylaws

Posting: A faculty facilitator shall ensure that a current copy of the bylaws are posted on the campus website and provided to the Office of Faculty Development and Advancement.

Adherence: All faculty associated with the FSU-PC campus are professionally and ethically obligated to adhere to the spirit, policies, and procedures set forth in these bylaws.

Amendment: Bylaws may be amended at any regularly scheduled faculty meeting. Changes to the bylaws require two-thirds vote of all voting members, provided that:

  1. A written notice of intent is given at the previous regularly scheduled faculty meeting, or
  2. A written notice is submitted to all voting faculty no less than 14 days prior to the regularly scheduled meeting at which the proposed changes require a vote.

A written petition for an amendment may be submitted by any voting faculty member to a faculty facilitator to place on a faculty meeting agenda.
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5. Business of the Organization

The business of the FSU-PC Voting Faculty shall include, but shall not be limited to, the following:

  1. Participate in shared governance of the PC campus according to these campus bylaws;
  2. Approve amendments to campus bylaws;
  3. Receive and discuss reports from representatives on the Campus Committees and to take appropriate actions;
  4. Receive and discuss reports from the Dean, Associate Deans and other appointed campus leadership;
  5. Participate in discussions and make recommendations regarding campus reorganization, realignment of programs, and other changes in the purpose and functioning of the campus; and
  6. Assure all approved amendments to bylaws or modifications of campus policies are in compliance with all current FSU Policies/Regulations and the BOT-UFF Bargaining Agreement.   
  7. Provide representation in the Faculty Senate by electing a representative for any seats that are available and allocated to our campus.

Faculty Meetings: Faculty meetings may be called by the Dean, a faculty facilitator, or by Faculty with a written request of five voting faculty members. Faculty meetings require an agenda and a forty-eight hour notice. Faculty meetings will be held monthly on the second Tuesday of each month unless otherwise cancelled and rescheduled by the voting faculty in a previous faculty meeting via majority vote, or by the faculty facilitator (in the case of no agenda items from the faculty or deans) with at least 3 days of notice. In the event of an emergency (e.g., pending hurricane) or unforeseen situation the Dean and faculty facilitator can decide to cancel or reschedule a meeting. In the event that the parliamentarian and/or faculty facilitators will be absent from a faculty meeting, they will appoint substitutes to assume their roles at the meeting. Faculty will be marked in attendance if joining the meeting electronically (i.e., by phone or internet, as set up in the meeting room).

Order of Business: The first order of business at each faculty meeting shall be the disposition of the minutes of the preceding meeting.

Recording Secretary: The Dean or a representative from campus administration will designate someone from the staff to serve as the Recording Secretary at all faculty meetings.

Meeting Conduct: Faculty meetings shall be conducted in the spirit of Robert’s Rules of Order. When deemed necessary and appropriate by the presiding facilitator/chair of the meeting or by the parliamentarian, or at the request of at least two members of the attending faculty, strict adherence to the newest edition of Roberts Rules of Order may be enforced.

Voting: Voting may take place in faculty meetings during which a quorum of the voting faculty is present (i.e., two-thirds of the voting faculty membership must be in attendance). A simple majority vote of the voting members present (i.e., half plus one of the voting members in attendance) will be sufficient to pass any motion, elect members to committees, or to elect a faculty senate representative (for any seat(s) that are available and allocated to our campus). However, two-thirds majority of the entire voting membership is required for approval of a change in the bylaws or for any items that significantly impact the campus or faculty members (e.g., significant program changes, changes in campus policy, changes to Faculty evaluation and promotion policies, and votes of no confidence of members of the University). Items that significantly impact the campus or faculty members must have been placed on the meeting’s agenda with at least 30 days of notice before a vote can be entertained. Voting faculty attending the meeting electronically (i.e., by phone or internet) will vote by a show of hands or by the voice; however, for secret votes, a mail or fax ballot or a secure internet balloting system may be used.

Academic Matters: Faculty may be part of their respective home department or college’s curriculum committees to develop and review academic curricula or develop courses as needed. Candidates for academic degrees offered at FSU Panama City will be approved by the department or college in which the degree is housed. Faculty may also participate in meetings or on committees within their respective departments or colleges to assist with academic matters relevant to their programs.

Organization and Operation: When there are active hiring searches for an administrator on campus, Faculty will be involved in the process. Faculty involvement may include participating in candidate interviews, attending meetings or forums, and providing feedback to the search committee. Search committees for administrators will also include faculty committee members and will be conducted consistent with university policies. When there is a reorganization in a college, Faculty may participate by attending meetings, serving on committees, or providing feedback through their home departments in their respective colleges.

Faculty Development: FSU Panama City administration is responsible for implementation of university and bargaining agreement policies and criteria regarding annual evaluation and promotion. In addition to university-based criteria, campus-specific criteria for annual evaluation and promotion are developed and maintained by the faculty of the FSU Panama City campus. The campus evaluation and promotion criteria are available to faculty via the FSU Panama City Evaluation Policy and Promotion Policy documents. The FSU Panama City Promotion and Merit Committee will be responsible for assessing and modifying the campus evaluation and promotion documents to ensure documents are up-to-date and most relevant for faculty at FSU PC and that they are compliant with any changes to university or bargaining agreement policies.  All modifications to campus evaluation or promotion criteria will be subject to faculty feedback and will be voted upon by the Faculty.
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6. Faculty Committees

Committee Membership: For the betterment of the FSU-PC campus, faculty may serve on various campus committees to help fulfill the missions of FSU and FSU-PC and to provide assistance as needed to campus administration. Faculty can serve on committees 1) by volunteering to serve on the committee, 2) by appointment from voting faculty or campus administration, or 3) by nomination and election by voting faculty in a faculty meeting (self-nomination is permitted unless otherwise specified). The selection of replacements and additions to any campus committee may be done within a committee meeting by simple majority vote of faculty committee members or during a faculty meeting with a majority vote of the voting faculty present.

Committee Meeting Guidelines: Each committee shall have a chairperson that is either voted or appointed. The chair of the committee shall be responsible for 1) scheduling committee meetings, 2) arranging for attendance and minutes to be taken at each meeting, and 3) providing reports about the committee business to the Dean’s office and faculty at faculty meetings as needed.

Ad Hoc Committees: Committees may be developed and/or appointed by the campus administration and/or the facilitators on an ad hoc basis (e.g. faculty search committees when new faculty are being recruited and selected). The charge and the lifetime of the committee should be defined before the committee is constituted. The appointing authority or the faculty may request that members of an ad hoc committee be elected by either open or secret ballot. When possible, ad hoc committees should have representation of faculty from varied disciplines.

Faculty Promotion and Merit Committee: Per the FSU-PC Faculty Evaluation Policy (see the most recently ratified Faculty Evaluation Policy and Promotion Policy documents) a committee of five voting faculty members from different disciplines (with at least one member from the College of Applied Studies) will serve as peer reviewers of the annual evaluation binders (referred to as Evidence of Performance Reports in the BOT-UFF agreement). The committee will review all faculty assigned to FSU-PC for the purpose of assisting campus administration with merit and promotion decisions. The committee members for the Promotion and Merit Committee will be chosen by a simple majority vote of voting faculty present and they will serve in accordance with the FSU-PC Faculty Evaluation Policy, the current BOT-UFF Bargaining Agreement, and all other related FSU Policies and state regulations.

Promotion and Merit Committee members’ terms of service will begin and end immediately following the first annual faculty meeting of the fall semester. All members will serve a two-year term. Chairmanship of the Promotion and Merit Committee shall be decided by the committee during their first meeting. No member of the Promotion and Merit Committee will evaluate their own binder for merit or promotion. Replacements to this committee may be made at the discretion of the members of the Promotion and Merit Committee and with a majority vote of committee members.
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7. Duties of the Dean and Associate Deans

The Dean and Associate Deans shall serve in a leadership position facilitating decisions made through Faculty governance, supporting Faculty development, coordinating the activities of the campus, presenting faculty ideas to college and university-level administration, and adhering to the FSU-PC campus bylaws. Additional duties include (but are not limited to):

  1. Working with program coordinators for coordination of the FSU-PC resident programs and holding coordinator meetings as needed;
  2. Assuring fairness in assignments as specified in faculty assignment of responsibilities (AORs) and assuring compliance with FSU policies regarding AORs;
  3. Allocating resources (e.g., assistantships, adjunct appointments, capital outlay, expense funds) in a transparent manner across majors, programs, and faculty;
  4. Acting as liaison officers and representatives (or shall ask the faculty to serve as representative) to officers and bodies outside the campus;
  5. Assigning the maintenance of the FSU-PC campus bylaws and all FSU Policies, including the BOT-UFF Collective Bargaining Agreement;
  6. Enforcing all FSU policies and FSU-PC bylaws therein;
  7. Providing oversight of faculty performance and completing faculty evaluations in accordance to all FSU employment policies;
  8. Assisting with recruiting and hiring new faculty and participating in the promotion process of faculty in accordance with the current FSU Faculty Handbook, FSU-PC Faculty Evaluation Policy, BOT-UFF Collective Bargaining Agreement, and all FSU Policies and Procedures;
  9. Provide reports to faculty during faculty meetings; and
  10. Develop FSU-PC campus committees and/or solicit committee volunteers during faculty meetings, and oversee and provide assistance as needed to various campus committees.
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8. Substantive Change Policy

Faculty and staff members are expected to be familiar with and follow the Florida State University Substantive Change Policy as found on the university website SACSCOC ACCREDITATION.
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Approved on April 18, 2019