SAA Council Bylaws

Indiana University, Bloomington

Approved by the Provisional SAA Council, November 15, 2022

*All articles, sections, and subsections below apply only to the College Student Academic Appointee Council for the 2022-2023 academic year. The intention of this document is to help future Council participants establish permanent rules and procedures as an advisory body within the College of Arts and Sciences.

ARTICLE I — PURPOSE

It shall be the primary purpose(s) of the College Student Academic Appointee Council (referred to hereafter as “the Council”) to:

1. Represent, discuss, and address issues of concern to College graduate students in their roles as instructors of record, discussion leaders, graders, and other Student Academic Appointee (referred to hereafter as “SAA”) roles;
2. Develop proposals for College policies and guidelines based on information gathered from College and Campus leaders and from College graduate students and faculty;
3. Initiate dialogue with Indiana University Bloomington administration and prepare responses to Campus policies that reflect the concerns of College graduate students in SAA positions;
4. Serve as an advisory body to the Executive Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences;
5. Share all meeting reports, proposals, and recommendations with the College of Arts and Sciences graduate students and faculty in a timely manner.

ARTICLE II — COUNCIL COMPOSITION

The Council shall consist of at least seven (7) graduate students and no more than seven (7) faculty.

1. “Graduate student” is defined as any student currently pursuing a graduate degree in the College of Arts and Sciences at Indiana University.
2. “Faculty member” is defined as any faculty whose primary appointment is within the College of Arts and Sciences at Indiana University.
   
   1. One (1) faculty position shall be filled by the Associate Dean of Graduate Education.
   2. The Associate Dean of Graduate Education will appoint the remaining six (6) faculty positions. A good-faith effort shall be made by the AD of Graduate Education to appoint faculty that represent a variety of academic positions.
   3. Faculty terms shall be set, beginning in Fall 2023, by the Associate Dean. Current Faculty members will have the option of remaining on the Council through Spring 2023, and will assist in the future composition of faculty representation.
3. All three divisions of the core College should be represented by at least one graduate student and one faculty.

ARTICLE III — OFFICER POSITIONS

The Council shall have two co-chairs: the current Associate Dean for Graduate Education, and one graduate student. If graduate students on the Council decline to fill the graduate student co-chair position, the AD for Graduate Education will serve as sole chair.

1. See however Article IV, Section 3 (A)(a) for provisional transfer of representation.

ARTICLE IV — GRADUATE STUDENT REPRESENTATION on the COUNCIL

Section 1: Eligibility

Any graduate student pursuing a graduate degree in the College of Arts and Sciences is eligible to participate in the Council without regard to arbitrary consideration of age, color, disability, ethnicity, sex, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information, marital status, national origin, race, religion, sexual orientation, veteran status, or position regarding labor organizing.

Section 2: Majority Representation

1. Graduate students will represent a majority (at least 50%) of the Council positions.
2. The Council will not meet formally or provide recommendations to the Executive Dean without a good-faith effort to have a majority (at least 50%) of graduate students present.

Section 3: Provisional Transfer of Graduate Student Representation, Fall 2022

1. Current (i.e. 2022) graduate students on the Council will:
   1. Select a co-chair by November 15 to serve alongside the Associate Dean of Graduate Education and who will remain on the Council.
   2. Select at least one (1) additional current graduate student participant to remain on the Council.
2. Graduate students not remaining on the Council (i.e. not selected in (a) or (b) of Section 3(A) above) will:
   1. Select a graduate student within the College of Arts and Sciences to serve as their replacement, OR
   2. Yield selection of their replacement to the graduate student co-chair. 
3. The reconstituted Council will convene in January 2023.

Section 4: Permanent Transfer of Graduate Student Representation and next cohort

1. The reconstituted Council cohort will as one of its first tasks create election procedures and/or modify the “Provisional Transfer of Graduate Student Representation” to represent the goals of the Council and its graduate student constituents more fully and accurately.
   1. That Council cohort will define graduate student term lengths and limits.
2. The next Council cohort will work to create rules and procedures for faculty participation in the Council, including term lengths and limits.