SUN-38-07-00002-P Policies of the Board of Trustees of the State University of New York
9/19/07 N.Y. St. Reg. SUN-38-07-00002-P
NEW YORK STATE REGISTER
VOLUME XXIX, ISSUE 38
September 19, 2007
RULE MAKING ACTIVITIES
STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK
PROPOSED RULE MAKING
NO HEARING(S) SCHEDULED
I.D No. SUN-38-07-00002-P
Policies of the Board of Trustees of the State University of New York
PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF THE State Administrative Procedure Act, NOTICE is hereby given of the following proposed rule:
Proposed action:
Amendment of Part 341 of Title 8 NYCRR.
Statutory authority:
Education Law, section 355(2)(b) and (h)
Subject:
Proposed amendments to the policies of the board of trustees of the State University of New York governing the articles of organization of the student assembly of the State University of New York.
Purpose:
To make changes to the requirements for eligibility for office in the student assembly in order to increase effectiveness of the university-wide student governance organization.
Text of proposed rule:
Title B. Membership in Assembly, Section 341.7, Eligibility is amended to read as follows:
* * *
§ 341.7 Eligibility.
[A] Any representative from a member institution or organized student group or an alternate for a representative selected in accordance with § 341.5(d) above must be a student enrolled for credit who is included in a campus FTE base and meets the campus' requirements to stand for election and continues to be eligible to serve on the campus student government organization.
* * *
Title C. Officers is amended to read as follows:
§ 341.9 Officers.
The officers of the student assembly shall be the president, vice president, secretary and treasurer.
§ 341.10 Duties.
The duties of the officers shall be as follows:
(a) President. The president of the student assembly shall preside at all meetings of the student assembly and shall exercise such other powers and duties as may be vested in the president by this Part and the bylaws of the student assembly. The president shall be an official member of all student assembly committees, be responsible for a transition of officers between the time of election and June 1st, and serve as the student member of the State University of New York Board of Trustees.
(b) Vice president. The vice president shall perform such duties as prescribed by the president or the student assembly. In the absence of the president, the vice president shall perform all duties vested in the president by this Part and the bylaws of the student assembly, except serving as a member of the State University of New York Board of Trustees. In the event the president resigns or is no longer eligible to serve, the vice president shall become the president for the remainder of the term. The primary role of the vice president is to support the activities of the various committees of the student assembly.
(c) Treasurer. The treasurer shall perform such duties as prescribed by the president or the student assembly. The treasurer is the chief fiscal officer of the student assembly.
(d) Secretary. The secretary shall perform such duties as prescribed by the president or the student assembly. The secretary is the chief communications officer of the student assembly.
§ 341.11 Election of officers.
Officers shall be elected by the members of the student assembly at its annual business meeting. To stand for election [and serve] as an officer, an individual must be eligible to serve as a representative from the institution, must have at least a 2.5 cumulative GPA, must be enrolled at a State University of New York campus and be nominated by a representative.
Sections 341.12 through 341.22 are renumbered sections 341.13 through 341.23, and new section 341.12 to read as follows:
§ 341.12 Eligibility to serve.
In order to continue to serve as an officer, an individual must maintain eligibility to stand for election, in accordance with section 341.7, must maintain a 2.25 cumulative GPA or higher, and must be enrolled at a State University of New York campus. For the purposes of this section, eligibility to continue in service shall be determined at the end of each semester. Once eligibility is lost, it cannot be regained by transfer to a new institution.
* * *
TITLE D, Organization, Section 341.[17] 18, Executive Committee is amended to read as follows:
§ 341.[17] 18 Executive committee.
(a) There shall be an executive committee of the student assembly to conduct necessary business between meetings of the student assembly and other matters as prescribed by this Part or the bylaws. The executive committee shall include the officers of the student assembly and the designated number of representatives from the following: two representatives from the university centers (under-graduate division); three representatives from the university colleges; one representative from the health science centers; two representatives from the colleges of technology, agriculture and technology, and Specialized/Statutory colleges; one representative from the university centers (graduate division); six representatives from the community colleges and one nonvoting student representative from each standing committee. In order to serve as a member of the executive committee, an individual must be a student at a State University of New York campus and must maintain a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or higher.
* * *
Title E — BYLAWS OF THE STUDENT ASSEMBLY should appear before § 341.15.
Title F — AMENDMENTS should appear before § 341.23.
Text of proposed rule and any required statements and analyses may be obtained from:
Marti Anne Ellermann, Senior Counsel, State University of New York, University Plaza, S-315, Albany, NY 12246, (518) 443-5400, e-mail: Marti.ellermann@suny.edu
Data, views or arguments may be submitted to:
Same as above.
Public comment will be received until:
45 days after publication of this notice.
Regulatory Impact Statement
1. Statutory Authority: Education Law, Section 355(2)(b). Education Law, Section 355(2)(b) empowers the State University Board of Trustees to make regulations for the governance of the State University.
2. Legislative Objectives: The State University Trustees have created a number of University-wide organizations which participate in the government of the University. The Student Assembly is the structure created by the Trustees within which students participate in University-wide governance. The proposed regulations, therefore, implement the statutory authority by making improvements in the student governance organization.
3. Needs and Benefits: The State University Board of Trustees has broad statutory rule making authority covering the administration, coordination and government of the State University [Education Law, Section 355(2)(b)]. Implementing this authority, the State University Trustees have promulgated Part 341 of Title 8 of the Official Compilation of Codes, Rules and Regulations as part of the “Policies of the Board of Trustees of the State University of New York”. In Part 341, the State University Trustees created a mechanism through which State University students may participate in University-wide governance by providing information and views to the Chancellor and the Trustees, along with the University Faculty Senate (Part 331) and the Campus Councils (Part 332). The Student Assembly has identified an area of needed improvement in the governance process, specifically setting forth requirements relating to eligibility to serve as an officer of the organization. The proposed regulation will improve the effectiveness of the Student Assembly by ensuring that higher standards apply to individuals seeking election to office within the organization and for retaining an elected position. This is particularly important since the president of the Student Assembly serves as a Trustee of The State University of New York. The previous eligibility criteria were lacking in clarity and did not specifically address the academic standards (e.g., GPA) that officers needed to maintain to remain in office. This led to turnover in Student Assembly leadership. The proposed rule will provide greater clarification and accountability.
4. Costs: No costs are associated with the proposed revision.
5. Local Government Mandates: None.
6. Paperwork: No additional paperwork is required.
7. Duplication: This regulation is not redundant with other State requirements.
8. Alternatives: This regulation implements specific statutory responsibilities of the State University Trustees. Other alternatives were considered including making no changes in eligibility requirements, but the Student Assembly voted to approve the proposal under consideration here as the most beneficial.
9. Federal Standards: None.
10. Compliance Schedule: The amendments will be effective immediately upon final adoption.
Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
No regulatory flexibility analysis is submitted with this notice because the proposed rule does not impose any requirements on small businesses and local governments. This proposed rule making will not impose any adverse economic impact on small businesses and local governments or impose any reporting, recordkeeping or other compliance requirements on small businesses and local governments.
Rural Area Flexibility Analysis
No rural area flexibility analysis is submitted with this notice because the proposed rule does not impose any requirements on rural areas. The rule will not impose any adverse economic impact on rural areas or impose any reporting, recordkeeping, professional services or other compliance requirements on rural areas.
Job Impact Statement
No job impact statement is submitted with this notice because the proposed rule does not impose any adverse economic impact on existing jobs, employment opportunities, or self-employment. This regulation governs the structure of the University-wide student governance body for The State University of New York and will not have any adverse impact on the number of jobs or employment.
