1. Nuts and Bolts Vesna Marcina, Orange Coast College Brook Oliver, Sierra College Michael Wangler, Cuyamaca College

2. The Learning Curve “You don’t know what you don’t know.” A former local senate president

3. Empowering Local Senates http://asccc.org/sites/def ault/files/Handbook.pdf

4. College processes and structures District policies and regulations Starting point at your college

5. 10 + 1 “Rely primarily” “Mutually agree” When and where does the academic senate have purview?

6. Training your senators!

7. Time Management MultitaskingWorkloadPrioritiesDelegateFun!

8. Simplify repetitive tasks Agendas Standard format Calendar meetings for the year

9. Your signature Senate president’s signature required on many documents Should the document go to the senate first? Avoid the last minute “emergency” signature

10. Managing Relationships Faculty and administration Different faculty groups Faculty and classified staff Faculty and students Local and district senates Faculty and the board of trustees

11. Communication Call, visit in person Face-to-face E-mail, newsletter, website Social events

12. Broadening faculty perspective Break down those silos! Union or senate issue? What’s happening at your college, your district, and at the state level?

13. Getting faculty involved Solicit faculty input Announce committee opportunities Provide incentives for participation Take faculty to ASCCC plenaries and institutes

14. Creating a Toolbox Local senates have created handbooks

15. The Brown Act The Key Commitment to openness and transparency Commitment to public access to information

16. What does it cover? The Brown Act applies to meetings of all legislative bodies (GC 54952), including the Board of Trustees and any subcommittee or task force created by the Board with a majority of Board members serving on the group.

17. It also covers Any subcommittee or task force created by the Board which has defined, ongoing charge (either decision-making or advisory) OR has a regular meeting schedule set by the Board, regardless of Board membership. Whenever a majority of members gather to discuss business with their charge.

18. But, A majority of the Board members can meet at the following as long as they do not discuss any business within their charge among themselves: Conference attendance Open meeting of some other group to address local issues Social gatherings

19. Does the Brown Act apply to local academic senates? Most definitely!

20. How does it apply to local senates (& local boards)? Agendas Include time and place Post agenda 72 hours before meeting Special meetings require 24-hour notice and are limited to agenda items Senates do not call emergency meetings Allow for public comments before or during discussion of agenda items Include all action items on the agenda, with a brief description

21. Agendas Use resolution format for action items Need a first reading at a meeting before action is taken at a second meeting

22. Senate meetings All meetings are open Closed sessions are for litigation (e.g., senate is or will be sued), personnel matters (e.g., evaluation of a senate employee), or negotiating with a bargaining agent (which senate does not do). All votes are open; no secret ballots

23. Senate meetings Action can only be taken on items on the agenda Exception: Action may be taken on non-agenda item IF need for immediate action is found after the agenda is posted a vote of 2/3 of members present if more than 2/3 of the total membership are present, or a unanimous vote if less than 2/3 of the total membership is present

24. Senate meetings Members may respond to public comments but cannot take action All items distributed before or during meetings must be available to the public at the meeting (reasonable fees may be charged for duplication)

25. Precautions Be careful what you distribute at meetings – they become public documents Set time limits for discussion, especially public comments Use public comments section of the agenda for items not on the agenda Keep discussion within the scope of the agenda item Bring extra copies of documents If others bring items to distribute, offer to send copies later to those requesting them in writing

26. Robert’s Rules of Order http://www.robertsrules.com Local senates can adopt and incorporate those elements that help facilitate debate and the flow of meetings Important tool regarding motions and taking action Consider having a parliamentarian Check your local senate constitution and by-laws for established processes

27. Importance to debates Understanding motions How to close debate How to limit or extend debate How to refer to committee How to modify wording of a motion How to suspend rules How to divide motion How to table – and how to move from the table

28. Rewards and Challenges

29. Thank you!