By-Laws for the University of Iowa
Continuing Education
Staff Advisory Council (CESAC)

I. SCOPE and MISSION

   The University of Iowa Continuing Education Staff Advisory Council (CESAC) will provide non-bargaining staff within the Division of Continuing Education an officially sanctioned open dialogue with the Dean of Continuing Education. The Dean will inform the Council of current Division initiatives that may impact staff composition and duties, and the Council will offer the Dean formal recommendations regarding staff composition, compensation, duties, workload, and participation in implementing Division proposals and projects.

   1. Provide a forum through which Division staff can address concerns and serve as liaison to the Dean to advocate changes that improve the Division’s work environment.

   2. Develop broader understanding among staff of the Division’s strategic planning goals and the initiatives designed to achieve them.

   3. Facilitate broader staff participation in Division planning and decision making.

   4. Offer input on Division policies and decisions regarding budget, salary, recognition, and compensation.

   5. Advocate for increased professional development opportunities, including funded travel to conferences, courses, and seminars.

   6. Increase awareness of Division staff concerns by regularly publishing Council activities on a Division-wide intranet site.

   A. Council Composition. CESAC will consist of six Division of Continuing Education non-bargaining staff members. There will be two at-large members, plus one member each from four groups: Center for Credit Programs; Technology Services, Instructional Development; University Labor Center; and a group consisting of the Baird Debate Forum, the Center for Conferences, and Writing Programs.

   B. Member Eligibility and Selection. Any non-bargaining Division employee—P&S or Merit Supervisory—is eligible to serve on the Council with the exception of the Dean, Associate Deans, and Assistant Dean. Accordingly, every such employee will appear on the election ballot unless they withdraw their name from consideration by placing that request in writing to the Division’s Human Resources director. Voting for each of the four group seats is restricted to employees belonging to that group—i.e., only Labor Center employees can vote for the Labor Center representative. Voting for the two at-large seats is open to any non-bargaining Division employee.

   Elections will be conducted during the first two weeks of October each year, and will be administered by the Division’s Human Resources director, who is responsible for verifying eligibility for council membership and voting, and for preparing, distributing, collecting, and tallying the election ballots. Based on staggered 2-year terms, approximately half of council position will be elected each year.

C. Officer Selection and Duties. The six-member Council will have two officers:

     1. The Chair will preside over all Council meetings and execute the agenda.

     2. The Secretary will write the agenda, record Council proceedings, prepare the official minutes, and prepare a written summary suitable for posting to a Division-wide intranet site.

   Election of officers takes place each year during the Council’s November meeting. Four members must be present for the officer election to occur. Failing this quorum, the officer election will be conducted at the next Council meeting when the four member quorum is present.

   Any Council member may withdraw their name from consideration for an officer position. Candidates must be nominated and seconded, and draw a simple majority of voters. If this majority cannot be reached, or if all potential nominees withdraw their names from consideration, the election will proceed through a random selection. Each candidate will write their name on an equally sized and shaped sheet of paper, and the outgoing Chair will draw names from a box.

   D. Term of Service. Membership on the Council will run for two years. An officer’s term of service runs one year. Re-election is permitted. Terms begin on November 1st of each year. Initially, four members will serve 2-year terms and three members will serve 1-year terms. Thereafter, all terms of service will be two years.

   E. Filling Vacancies. If a Council seat becomes vacant due to resignation or termination, the seat may be filled by conducting a special vote among all candidates eligible for that seat (i.e., only a Credit Programs employee can fill a vacancy from the reserved Credit Programs seat) or appointed by the council, at the council’s discretion. If all eligible candidates withdraw their names from consideration, the seat will be temporarily designated an at-large seat and voted upon accordingly.

   A. Frequency. Meetings will be regularly scheduled at least once every two months. If Council business dictates more frequent meetings, the Secretary will schedule them as necessary.

   B. Quorum. For Council business to proceed, a quorum of four of the six members must be present. If a quorum is not present, attending members may discuss Council business as planned, but may not conduct formal votes.

   C. Agenda. The Secretary prepares the meeting agenda. Any council member may request that an item be placed on the agenda. To ensure that the item will appear, Council members should forward their item to the Secretary at least three business days before the next Council meeting.

   D. Accessibility. Non-bargaining Division employees who wish to attend a Council meeting may do so at the invitation of any Council member. They may also use an online form on the Council’s Division-wide intranet site to make this request. Guests may participate in Council meetings but may not vote. The Council reserves the right to go into a members-only “closed session” upon a simple majority vote.

   E. Meeting Governance. All Council meetings will be conducted under Roberts Rules of Order.

   F. Recommendations. All formal recommendations that the Council votes to approve will be presented to the Dean directly at a Council meeting that he or she is obligated to attend. The Dean must agree to meet within one month’s time of the Council’s request to appear, and the Council must agree to conduct its meeting at an alternate time if the Dean’s schedule does not permit otherwise.

   G. Reporting. The secretary will prepare a report on all Council recommendations for posting to a Division-wide intranet site.

   H. By-Law Amendments. All Council by-laws are subject to amendment. All amendment resolutions require a majority vote to pass. Upon passing, the Secretary must post a copy of the updated by-laws to a Division-wide intranet site before the next Council meeting.

Amended by the Continuing Education Staff Advisory Council on Wednesday, November 4th, 200 9

Scott Drake, Chair

Maureen McCormick, Secretary

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