Bylaws

Article I - Officers and their Duties

Section 1: Chair

It shall be the duty of the Chair to preside at all meetings and to carry out the policies and procedures of the Graduate Council as defined in the Constitution and Bylaws. The Chair of the Graduate Council shall advise the Provost who will chair the Graduate Planning Committee of the Graduate Council. Further, the Chair is empowered to represent the Graduate Council by attending and participating in meetings and all other such bodies whose duties, responsibilities, and/or statutory authority may give rise to issues of concern to the members of the Graduate Council.

The Chairperson shall have the responsibility of ensuring that Graduate Council decisions corroborate and support the overarching policies and procedures at MSU Denver. In the Director’s absence, the Director’s designee will serve as Chair.

Section 2: Secretary

All resolutions and proceedings of the meetings of the Graduate Council and the Graduate Planning Committee shall be recorded by the Secretary or a designated recorder who will be a staff member in the Office of Graduate Studies. The Secretary shall keep a roster of the members of the Graduate Council and members of the Committees of the Graduate Council.?

Article II - Conduct of Graduate Council Meetings

Section 1: Regular Meetings

The Graduate Council meets once a month, with limited meetings during academic breaks. The time and place of the meetings are determined each semester to best fit the schedule of Council members and may meet, if deemed necessary, during the summer if quorum is available.

Section 2: Executive Session

The Graduate Council reserves the right to hold one executive session per academic year. The executive session is a closed session to all but the members of the Graduate Council. Other stakeholders may be invited to attend at the discretion of the Chair of the Graduate Council.

Section 3: Special Session

At the discretion of the Chair of the Graduate Council and with a majority vote from the Graduate council, the Graduate Council may agree to hold a Special Session. A Special Session will only be held for issues that requires immediate attention.

Section 4: Quorum

Half of the voting members of the Graduate Council shall constitute a quorum and a quorum is required for all Council votes and with authorization to transact any business duly presented at any meeting of the Graduate Council. When deemed necessary by the Chair of the Graduate Council, votes may be conducted by email.

Section 5: Notice of Meetings

The Chair of the Council will create the agenda for the council meetings, with input from Council members, and send it electronically as well as post it on the website two (2) business days prior to the meeting.

Actions of the Graduate Council are part of a public record and as such, the minutes of each meeting, after approval by the Graduate Council and redaction of sensitive issues, are publically available on the Graduate Council webpage. All meetings of the Graduate Council are open to all university faculty and staff, with the exception of the Executive Session. While Graduate Council meetings are open to all members of the MSU Denver community, only council members have the right to speak and vote. If other community members wish to address the Graduate Council, they must obtain written permission from the Chair.

Article III - Graduate Planning Committee

Section 1: Duties

The Graduate Planning Committee shall consider new program proposals and make recommendations as to which proposals meet the:

• Mission of the University
• Mission of the graduate programs of the institution
• Necessary economic criteria

Section 2: Membership

The Provost of the University shall preside over the Graduate Planning Committee meetings. The voting members of the Graduate Planning Committee shall consist of the Provost, the Vice President of Administration, Finance, & Facilities, the Chief Information Officer & Associate Vice President for Information Technology, Associate Vice President for Curriculum & Policy Development, the Faculty Senate President, the Associate Vice President – Online Programs, and the Associate Vice President – Graduate Studies.

Section 3: Meetings

The Graduate Planning Committee shall meet at the call of the Chair of the Graduate Council, the Chair of the Graduate Planning Committee, or upon a request by a voting member of the committee.

Article IV - Membership Appointment and Procedure

The Deans will select their Faculty Representative at their sole discretion. There shall be no more than five Deans representatives at any time. If necessary, the Deans representatives shall be rotated in. This rotation will be set by the vote of the Graduate Council, not to impede any other governing rules of the Council. Each Deans representative shall serve a three-year term, beginning August 1st and ending July 31st with the option to renew membership for one consecutive time, unless a rotation has been established at which time an individual member may only serve one term. Members who serve two consecutive terms are required to rotate off the Council for one three-year term and may then rejoin the Graduate Council for up to two consecutive three-year terms. Terms for the appointed Deans Faculty Representative shall be staggered. Faculty representative may sit on the Gradate Council in other roles during the time they are ineligible from serving as a Faculty Representative.

The Chair Representative will be appointed by the Chair of the Graduate Council. Only Departmental Chairs, whom have a Board of Trustee approved graduate program are eligible to serve in this role. The Chair representative shall serve a two-year term, beginning August 1st and ending July 31st. The Chair must be rotated off at the end of the two-year term. No Chair will be allowed to sit on the Graduate Council in this role until all Department Chairs who have graduate programs have been given the opportunity to sit on Graduate Council. The Chair of the Graduate Council, will notify the Council of Chairs of his/her selection. Chairs may sit on the Graduate Council in other roles during the time they are ineligible from sitting at the Program Chair Representative.

The Rotating Graduate Program Representatives shall serve a two-year term beginning August 1st and ending July 31st with the option to renew membership for one consecutive time. Members who serve two consecutive terms are required to rotate off the Council for one two-year term and may then rejoin the Graduate Council for up to two consecutive two-year terms. Rotating Graduate Program Representatives will serve rotating terms and will be elected by the Graduate Council during the April meeting prior the beginning of the term. Terms for the elected graduate program staff shall be staggered. Rotating Graduate Program Representative may sit on the Gradate Council in other roles during the time they are ineligible from serving as the Rotating Graduate Program Representative. Rotating Graduate Program Representatives must be from an HLC approved graduate program.

The Faculty Senate Representative shall be appointed by the Faculty Senate President and may serve an undefined term. The Faculty Representative must be appointed faculty member of the faculty senate from an existing graduate program.

The Graduate Student Association representative will serve on the Graduate Council indefinitely. The representative will change following the election cycle determined by the Graduate Student Association.

All other Graduate Council members will serve terms deemed appointed by the head of the individual division, there are no set term limits for these positions. These members may be replaced on the Graduate Council at the sole discretion of the head of the division.

If at any time a member is unable to fulfill the term obligation of their position, the Chair of the Graduate Council can appoint an eligible member to fulfill the position until the original term expires. Once the appointed position expires, the person is eligible for a full term through either appointment or election of the position based on the governing rules above.

If at any time a member is unable to attend a Graduate Council meeting, they may send the Office of Graduate Studies the name of a proxy. The proxy/designee name must be sent to the Office of Graduate Studies at least 72 hours prior to the meeting.

Elections for the rotating graduate programs representatives will be held every April for the following year. Each council member is able to nominate an individual to be considered for this role. In order to submit a nomination, the Council member must submit a 500 word (maximum) essay that describes the nominee’s current role in relation to graduate programs and what skills or qualities she/he would bring to the Council.