Santa Monica College

Classified Shared Governance

Board of Trustees Policy

Classified Senate

Shared governance is the process of involving administration, faculty, staff and students in deliberations leading to recommendations to the Board of Trustees, regarding ongoing and long-range planning and policies for the college. Therefore, the Board recognizes and endorses the rights and responsibilities assigned to non-management classified staff by Assembly Bill 1725 (1988). Further, the Board recognizes the technical, professional and skilled expertise of the classified staff whose functions are critical to the successful operation of the college and to the success of the faculty and students. In order that classified staff may have formal and affective procedures for participating in the formation and implementation of district policies on professional, technical and skilled matters, a Classified Senate is hereby established at Santa Monica College.

The Board recognizes the Classified Senate as the body which represents classified staff in collegial governance not within the scope of collective bargaining.

The President of the Classified Senate or designee shall be accorded an opportunity to sit at the table with the Board of Trustees at its regularly scheduled meetings, and to address the Board regarding the Classified Senate's concerns and the concerns of the classified staff exclusive of collective bargaining issues as a regular agenda item. The Board of Trustees shall consider and respond to the views and recommendations of the Classified Senate.

Formation, Procedures, Membership

Classified staff shall be defined as permanent non-management full time and part time non academic employees.

The Board of Trustees of the Santa Monica Community College District hereby authorizes the classified staff of the college to:

1. Fix and amend by vote of the classified staff the composition, structure, and procedures of the Classified Senate.

2. Provide for the selection, in accordance with accepted democratic election procedures, of the members of the Classified Senate and to the extent possible, ensure that the composition of the Senate be representative of all segments of the permanent classified staff.

Professional Matters

Board of Trustees

The Board shall give consideration to the advice and professional judgment of the Classified Senate in the following areas:

1. Classified staff roles and involvement in accreditation process, including self study.

2. The assessment of classified staff professional development.

3. The assessment of technology needs for the classified staff as a whole.

4. District policies affecting classified employees not within the scope of collective bargaining.

(Over)

Administration

In view of the management structure of the District as it pertains to classified staff, and pursuant to AB 1725 (Title 5, Section 51023.5 subsection 4), classified staff shall be afforded opportunities to participate in the formation and development of district and college policies and procedures, and in processes which have or will have a significant affect on classified staff.

Participation

The process of shared governance shall be used for all professional, technical and skilled matters on which classified staff have expertise and shall occur through the representation on collegewide and Classified Senate committees exclusive of collective bargaining issues. This includes participation in the formulation and development of all district policies and procedures which have or will have a significant affect on classified staff.

(a) Except in unforeseeable emergency situations, the Board of Trustees shall not take action on matters affecting classified staff until it has provided classified staff an opportunity to participate in the formulation and development of recommendations regarding those matters through appropriate structures and procedures referred to herein.

(b) In developing and carrying out policies and procedures necessary to facilitate this policy, the Board of Trustees shall ensure that its actions do not dominate or interfere with the formulation or administration of any employee organization, or in any way encourage employees to join any organization in preference to another.

(c) The Superintendent/President or designee will meet with the Classified Senate President or Vice President at the beginning of each academic year or upon creation of a new college-wide committee, to discuss/review appropriate representation.

(1) To ensure that the recommendations and opinions of classified staff are given every reasonable consideration, advisory committees should be composed of representative members from each campus group ( i.e. classified, faculty, administration and students).

(2) All college-wide committee chairs will be elected by the members of the committee where possible. Non-management classified staff will be afforded a fair opportunity to fill this position.

(d) The classified staff may assume such responsibilities and perform such functions as may be requested of it by the administration or by the Board of Trustees.

Scope of Regulations

(a) Nothing in this Classified Shared Governance Policy shall be construed to impinge upon the due process rights of non-management classified staff, nor to detract from any negotiated agreements between collective bargaining representatives and the Board of Trustees.

(b) It is the intent of the Board of Trustees to respect agreements made known to the District between the Classified Senate and the exclusive bargaining representative of the classified employees as to how they will consult, collaborate, share or delegate among themselves the responsibilities that are or may be delegated to the Classified Senate pursuant to these regulations.

Reference: Title 5 Sections: 51023.5