1. Upon receipt of such written notice, the representative has five (5) business days to accept or challenge the decision in writing to the VPGS.
iii. The agenda for the next scheduled meeting will include both the VPGS’s motion to remove the representative, supported by evidence, and the representative’s written indication of acceptance or challenge.
1. If the representative challenges the VPGS’s motion, the EC’s final order of business at that meeting will be to vote to approve or deny the VPGS’s motion.
a. The representative may present evidence and information during the discussion phase of the agenda item.
b. The representative will recuse themselves during the vote.
2. The VPGS will personally inform the representative of the decision after the meeting, followed by a written notification to the representative and the dean of the affected school or college.
c. Removed representatives will be replaced according to the normal appointment or election process in their home school or college. Replacement representatives will fulfill the remainder of the original term.
a. The EC will meet regularly during the academic year and may be called upon to conduct occasional business during semester breaks.
b. Meetings typically occur every three weeks, though the EC may meet more or less frequently as the business of the Graduate Faculty requires.
c. During or prior to the final meeting for an academic year, the EC will set the dates of its meetings for the following year.
E. Administrative Support
a. The VPGS will designate appropriate staff support for the EC.
b. Staff providing support are expected to attend all meetings in full.
c. A staff member will take minutes and post them on the Graduate Studies website, according to established business practices and timelines.
d. The VPGS will ensure that a meeting agenda is distributed to the representatives at least five (5) business days prior to the EC meeting date. EC members may raise new business during meetings.
Article 3: Conduct of Business
a. Only representative members have voting rights.
b. In the event of a tie, the VPGS will cast the deciding vote.
c. Representative members must be in synchronous attendance to vote, though attendance may be in-person or remote as appropriate. Remote attendance should be by videoconference whenever possible.
d. If a representative is unable to attend a meeting, they may send a proxy or visitor to participate in discussions and to represent the perspective of the school or college, but this person does not have voting rights. The absent representative may also send opinions to be read to the group and included in the minutes, but may not vote ahead of time or via proxy.
e. Eight (8) of the thirteen (13) voting members shall constitute a quorum required to conduct official business on behalf of the Graduate Faculty. If this requirement is not met, the meeting will not be able to go forward and all business will be moved to the agenda of the next regularly scheduled meeting.
i. In the event that a matter must be decided between regularly-scheduled meetings, a minimum of five (5) concurring votes is required to approve a motion.
B. Appointment of Committees
a. The EC may delegate to a committee issues of importance to graduate education at KU.
b. Establishment of Committees:
i. The committee may be convened as a standing committee or an ad hoc committee, as the EC deems most appropriate.
ii. Such a committee may be appointed either on the EC’s own initiative or upon the recommendation of the VPGS.
iii. The EC may recommend the appointment of such a committee by the VPGS.
c. Powers of Committees:
i. Each committee may host discussions of matters relevant to the issue(s) delegated to their management or evaluation.
ii. Each committee may request specific functions to be carried out by the Office of Graduate Studies’ staff support.
d. Any established committees will provide a report or briefing to the full EC at least once every semester during which the committee conducts business.
e. Committee Recommendations:
i. Committees are expected to develop recommendations for resolving the issue(s) delegated to the committee.
ii. The committee chair provides a written recommendation for Graduate Studies staff to include in an upcoming meeting agenda.
iii. The committee’s recommendation moves forward to the full EC as a motion, subject to the voting procedure outlined above.
f. The membership of the EC’s committees shall be announced on the Graduate Studies website.
C. Graduate Education Policy Development Procedure
a. Graduate Studies staff partners with key stakeholders, campus experts, and the Policy Officce to develop initial proposals for new policy and policy changes.
b. The EC conducts a First Reading of the policy proposal, providing feedback for additional revision.
c. Following the First Reading, the EC determines whether the policy is ready for a campus-wide comment period.
d. Graduate Studies staff makes recommended revisions and coordinates with the Policy Office for legal review and to circulate the proposal for a standard two-week comment period. Stakeholders are identified in all interested academic and non-academic units across campus, as appropriate.
e. The EC conducts a Second Reading of the policy proposal, which incorporates any feedback, questions, or concerns that arose during the comment period, if appropriate.
f. Following the Second Reading, the EC may vote to pursue further revisions or to endorse the policy for approval.
g. Graduate Studies staff coordinates with the Policy Office to submit the final draft proposal for review and final approval before publishing it in the Policy Library.
h. Proposals to retire policies are placed on the agenda for EC review and may be circulated for a two-week campus comment period, at the discretion of the EC.
i. Office of Graduate Studies retains the prerogative to make technical edits without review to policies.
Article 4: Changes to the Bylaws
A formal and comprehensive review of the Graduate Faculty Bylaws must be undertaken at least every five (5) years as part of the regular duties of the EC.
Any member of the Graduate Faculty (thereby including members of the EC) can request a formal and comprehensive review of the bylaws.
a. Request timing:
i. The Graduate Faculty member must submit such a request to the VPGS no later than September 1 of the academic year during which the review will take place.
ii. The VPGS will ensure that the request is included in the posted agenda of the second meeting of the academic year.
b. Request procedure:
i. A request to review the EC bylaws must include a rationale for the proposed review.
1. The rationale will be made available with the posted agenda.
ii. Any such request will come forward to the EC as a motion and shall not require a second.
iii. The EC will vote on the motion to review the bylaws after appropriate discussion at the second EC meeting of the academic year.
iv. A review will be triggered by a two-thirds majority vote.
v. Changes to the bylaws follow the same process as changes to policy elaborated above.