Council of Alabama University Chief Academic Officers

Article I
Name

Section 1. The name of the organization shall be the Council of University Chief Academic Officers.

Article II 
Purposes

Section 1. The purposes of this Council shall be:

1. To serve in advisory capacity on academic policies and issues to the Alabama Commission on Higher Education and the Council of Presidents.
2. To recommend approaches that would improve the quality of higher education in the State of Alabama through facilitation of cooperation among all institutions of higher education in the state.
3. To recommend to the Council of Presidents and the Alabama Commission on Higher Education policies, studies, and research related to academic programs and practices.
4. To review and comment on all academic long-range plans for higher education in Alabama.

Article III 
Membership

Section 1.

1. Membership in the Council shall consist of the chief academic officer(s) from each of the State senior institutions and, in case of university systems, the system’s chief academic officer.
2. Members of the Council shall be identified by the presidents or chancellors of the universities or university systems in the State and a record of those selections shall be kept by the Alabama Commission on Higher Education.

Article IV 
Officers and Duties

Section 1. The officers of this council shall be a Chair, a Vice Chair, a Secretary, and a Treasurer. They shall be elected for two-year terms at a Council meeting where a quorum is present. Any officer may serve successive terms.

Section 2. The duties of the officers of the Council of University Academic Officers include:

1. The Chair of the Council shall call all meetings and provide an agenda to each member at least five days before the scheduled meeting.
2. The Chair of the Council shall appoint all committees and task forces and provide a written charge to these bodies that will be distributed to the entire Council.
3. The Vice Chair will assume the duties of Chair when the Chair is unavailable and will perform other duties related to the Council as requested by the Chair.
4. The Secretary will perform the customary duties of the office and other duties as assigned by the Chair.
5. The Treasurer will perform the customary duties of the office and other duties as assigned by the Chair.
6. The Officers of the Council shall assure that all reports and recommendations emanating from the Council or its committees are fully discussed at a Council meeting and that all such reports and recommendations are duly forwarded to the Council of Presidents and the Alabama Commission on Higher Education for their review and possible action.

Section 3. Council officers shall be elected biennially. A Nominating Committee shall be appointed by the Council Chair at least one month prior to the Annual Meeting.

Article V 
The Executive Committee

Section 1.

1. The Executive Committee shall exercise the full power of the Council between regular meetings of the Council and shall report its actions to the Council at the next regular meeting. However, if the Executive Committee is considering a recommendation for changes in statewide policy on academic programs, the members of the Council shall be polled and recommendations shall be forwarded to the Council of Presidents for consideration by that body.
2.  Members of the Executive Committee. The Chair shall serve as Chair of the Executive Committee, and the Vice Chair and Secretary shall also be members. Two additional members shall be chosen from the general membership.

Article VI 
Meetings

Section 1. The Council shall meet at least once each year in the spring or summer at a place and time to be designated by the Chair.

Section 2. Reports of officers and standing committees shall be submitted at the annual meeting. Officers shall be elected every two years at the annual meeting.

Section 3. Other meetings of the Council may be called by the Chair or the Executive Committee or by a petition signed by one-fourth of the members.

Article VII 
Voting Privileges

Each institutional member(s), as identified in Article III, shall have one vote on the Council. Only the members of the Council can make a motion, and there will not be any secret ballots. Votes are conducted under Robert’s Rules of Order, and the wording of the motion, as well as the voter, must be reported to the Council of Presidents.

Article VIII 
Amending the Constitution

The constitution of this Council may be amended by two-thirds of those present at an official meeting, provided that notice of the proposed amendment or amendments has been given at least thirty days in advance.

BY-LAWS

Article I 
Quorum

Section 1. A majority of the members on the roll of the Council shall constitute a quorum.

Section 2. A quorum must be present at any official meeting at which business is transacted or a vote taken committing the Council to any proposal or action. Meetings without a quorum may be held, however, for informational purposes or to engage in discussion on matters of interest to the Council.

Article II 
Parliamentary Authority

Robert’s Rules of Order shall be the Council’s final authority on all questions of procedure and parliamentary law not covered by the constitution and by-laws.

Article III 
Amending the By-Laws

These by-laws may be amended by a majority vote at any meeting, a quorum being present, provided notice of the proposed amendment has been given at least thirty days in advance.

Established 8/6/98; Revised 6/26/13