Home Page

Ex Officio Board Member Guidelines

PROCEDURES MEMORANDUM

TO: College Staff and Students

FROM: Board of Governors

SUBJECT: Ex Officio Members of the Board of Governors; Eligibility and Procedure

DATE: November 6, 2003

PURPOSE: Establish procedures for the nomination and election process to be used when filing vacancies for the office of "Student Ex Officio Member of the Board of Governors" and "Faculty Ex Officio Member of the Board of Governors" in accordance with Board of Governors Policies 11202, 11203, 11204, and 11205.

I. Eligibility and Terms of Office.

A. The Student Ex Officio Member of the Board of Governors is elected annually for a one-year term of office from among the students and by the students of the College. To be eligible and to file as a candidate for election, a student must currently be enrolled in at least six (6) credit hours of credit classes at the College, must be in good standing, must have a minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.0, and must declare an intention of remaining so enrolled during the term of office, which is one year running from December through November. (The term of office of the first electee to this position will end on November 30, 2001.) Employees of the College, other than those individuals who work in a work-study part-time capacity, are not eligible to run for this office. Eligibility of candidates filing for election to this position will be determined by the College Office of Enrollment Management, and such determinations will be deemed final and not subject to review or appeal. Once elected, the student must be enrolled and continue to be enrolled for at least six (6) credit hours each quarter, excluding summer quarter, in order to remain eligible to continue serving.

B. The Faculty Ex Officio Member of the Board of Governors is elected for a two-year term each even-numbered year from among and by the full-time faculty members of the College. To be eligible and to file as a candidate for election, a faculty member must be a full-time faculty member of the College and must declare the intention of remaining eligible and of serving a two-year term of office. Terms of office expire November 30 of each even-numbered year. (The term of office of the first electee to this position will end on November 30, 2002.) Counselors and other employees of the College who are not full-time faculty members are not eligible to run for this position. Eligibility of candidates filing for election to this position will be determined by the Director of Human Resources, and such determinations will be deemed final and not subject to review or appeal. Once elected, the faculty member must remain actively employed as a full-time faculty member at Metropolitan Community College, not on sabbatical, in order to remain eligible to continue serving.

II. Procedures For Declaring Candidacy

A. Candidacy registration forms are available on the College’s web site: www.mccneb.edu. All candidacy registration forms must be completed in full and received by the Human Resources Office, Fort Omaha Campus, Building 30, by the registration deadline. Late registrations will not be accepted. There will be no exceptions made. Electronic transmittals are not acceptable and will not be accepted because of the signature requirement.

B. Students and faculty must declare their candidacies and file complete candidacy registration forms not later than three (3) full calendar weeks prior to election day. This will allow candidates an approximate two-week period during which to campaign prior to election day, following verification of eligibility.

C. Faculty and Student ex-officio board members must be willing to commit their time in order to attend monthly Board of Governors meetings, which are normally held the fourth Tuesday of each month beginning at 6:30 p.m. The meeting location typically rotates among the three main campuses. In addition, Board of Governors members attend a retreat in January, and there may be special meetings called in addition to the monthly meeting.

III. Campaign and Election Timeline

A. The Chair of the Board of Governors begins the process by signing a letter to be sent to enrolled students’ homes and full-time faculty members’ homes announcing the upcoming election. The Executive Dean of Campus and Student Services will provide procedures, to be included with the notification letter, on how candidates may register their candidacies and an explanation of the procedure to be used to cast a ballot. The Human Resources Office will be responsible for posting and announcing the timeline for the election in a timely manner.

B. Following verification of eligibility, the candidates will have an approximately two-week period during which to campaign prior to election day. Campaigning begins once the eligible candidates are announced on the College’s web site. Announcing the eligible candidates will be the responsibility of the Human Resources Office.

C. The election will be held electronically via the College’s web site. For each vacant position, the candidate who receives the greatest number of votes shall be declared the winner. The candidate receiving the second greatest number of votes will be the first alternate. The candidate receiving the third greatest number of votes will be considered the second alternate (and so on).

D. Candidates finally declared elected will begin their appointments with the first board meeting following the start of winter quarter, normally in December.

E. In odd-numbered years, only a Student Ex Officio Member will be elected. In even-numbered years, both a Student Ex Officio Member and a Faculty Ex Officio Member will be elected.

IV. Campaign Rules

A. Candidates may openly campaign on all College campuses. Candidates may NOT campaign in a classroom while class is in session nor shall instructors permit candidates to campaign while class is in session. A table/chairs and space in the commons area may be reserved through Student Services at each campus.

B. No mass e-mails or individual electronic mailings of campaign literature may be sent to the student body or faculty. The College e-mail system may not be used in any way to campaign for election. The Director of Human Resources is authorized to disqualify any candidate who violates this rule, participates in a violation of this rule, or solicits or encourages any violation of this rule.

C. All costs related to the election campaign are the responsibility of the candidates. The College will pay only for the initial official mailing to full-time faculty and enrolled students announcing the upcoming election, the procedures on how to register candidacy, and the explanation of the procedure to be used to cast a ballot (See Section III.A.).

D. The eligible registered candidates with biographies will be posted on the College’s web site, and paper copies with the same information will be displayed at each campus location. In addition, election information will be printed in an issue of the Inside Story.

E. On election day, campaigning will be and is prohibited within 100 feet of any polling area. For electronic ballot elections, there will be no campaigning allowed in any computer room on any campus or Center. Campaign posters in these areas will be taken down on election day.

F. College “posting policies” must be observed on all campuses.

G. No write-in candidates are allowed.

H. Candidates are expected to engage in a positive campaign. A candidate should not make any false or misleading statement regarding himself or herself or any other candidate.

I. No candidate or person affiliated with a candidate’s campaign may remove any other candidate’s campaign material. If a candidate or person affiliated with a candidate’s campaign is apprehended or observed violating this rule, the Director of Human Resources is authorized to disqualify the candidate.

J. All campaign materials must be removed by no later than 10:00 p.m. on the day after the election. (In the event of a tie vote necessitating a run off-off election, run-off candidates need not have their campaign materials removed until 10 p.m. on the day following the run-off election.)

K. The Director of Human Resources is authorized to disqualify any candidate who fails to comply with the rules and procedures set forth in this Procedures Memorandum.

V. Election Day Voting Procedure

A. Prior to the established election day, students and faculty will receive instructions on how, where, and when to cast a ballot. Each person will receive a code number to be used in conjunction with the voter’s College identification number to cast the ballot. Code numbers will be issued only once and will not be re-issued. Any person misplacing his or her code number will be ineligible to cast a ballot.

B. To be eligible to vote for the Student Ex Officio Member of the Board of Governors, the individual must currently be enrolled in credit classes at Metropolitan Community College and not be employed by the College, other than in a work-study part-time capacity. To be eligible to vote for the Faculty Ex Officio Member of the Board of Governors, the individual must currently be employed as a full-time faculty member of the College.

C. The internet poll will be open from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. on election day. Casting of ballots may be done at www.mccneb.edu.

D. Votes will be counted automatically, and the count will be certified by the Director of Human Resources or his or her designee.

E. The winners will be announced on the web site by noon on the first College business day after the election. The winners will also appear in the Inside Story. Winners will not be officially declared, however, until any election complaints and disputes have been resolved and any necessary run-off elections have been held. The Director of Human Resources will officially declare the election winners after any election complaints and disputes have been resolved and any necessary run-off elections have been held.

VI. Voting Disputes and Complaints; Election Disputes Committee

A. Any dispute must be raised by a complaint filed no later than twenty-four (24) hours after the polls have closed on the day of the election. Complaints must be in writing and filed in the Office of the Executive Dean of Campus and Student Services for the student election and in the Office of the Dean of Educational Services for the faculty election. Both offices are currently located on the Fort Omaha Campus, in Building 30. Complaints will be reviewed by the Election Disputes Committee.

B. The Election Disputes Committee will be comprised of one faculty member designated by the Dean of Educational Services, one student designated by the Executive Dean of Campus and Student Services, the Chair or Acting Chair of the Board of Governors Personnel Committee or his or her designee, and one administrator designated by the College President. The Election Disputes Committee will render a decision as soon as is practicable after the closing of the polls, and within ninety-six (96) hours after the deadline for filing complaints if feasible. The decision of the Election Disputes Committee shall be final. Any three (3) members of the Election Disputes Committee shall be a quorum to resolve any dispute. The Committee may consider the dispute by means of electronic or telecommunications and need not physically meet to consider the dispute.

VII. Run-Off Elections

A. In the event of a tie vote, candidates will be allowed to campaign for an approximately one (1) week period prior to a special run-off election, which will be conducted in general accordance with the above rules, but with such variations or adjustments as the Director of Human Resources may consider appropriate under the circumstances.

VIII. Loss of Eligibility and Succession

A. If, after entering on the term of office, an elected ex officio member becomes ineligible to continue serving in such office, he or she shall be replaced for the remaining balance of the term of office by the first alternate. If the first alternate is at such time or subsequently becomes ineligible for the office, he or she shall be replaced for the remaining balance of the term of office by the second alternate (and so on).