Mission Statement

The mission of the Staff Advisory Council (SAC or Council) is to facilitate active and direct communication between staff employees and the President and to provide a forum for input and discussion of issues important to the staff and the University.

Goals

  • Participate in the shared governance of the university
  • Serve as an advocate for staff and provide input in university initiatives and decisions
  • Review and make recommendations on appropriate issues, policies and procedures
  • Promote a positive and collaborative campus environment by strengthening communication between staff, faculty, students and administration
  • Contribute to the university’s culture of community and recognition
  • Actively engage in inclusive excellence at Elon and remember, “All members of the Elon community have a shared responsibility to act deliberately toward equitable outcomes. Inclusive Excellence is Elon’s framing of diversity, equity, inclusion, and other constructs that support belonging and well-being, resulting in the creation of a community where people strive to dismantle oppression and where individuals flourish”.

Constituency

The Staff Advisory Council represents all non-faculty employees of Elon University. Collectively, the university describes this group as staff.

Staff Classifications

The Staff Advisory Council consists of elected representatives from the following staff classifications:

  • Administrative Staff (Those without faculty rank)
    Any staff member who receives compensation through an annual letter of agreement or “contract.”
  • Office/Support Personnel
    Any staff member who receives compensation through an hourly “time sheet” and reports to an area other than Facilities Management.
  • Facilities Management
    Any staff member who receives compensation through an hourly “time sheet” and reports to the Facilities Management.
  • Part-time Staff
    Any staff member who is classified as part-time.
  • Law School Staff
    Any staff member who is primarily located at Elon Law in Greensboro, NC

Representative Seats

The Staff Advisory Council consists of seventeen representative seats and 2 non-voting members of Senior Staff. Each of the staff classifications control a predetermined number of representative seats as described below.

  • Administrative Staff  (6 seats)
  • Office/Support Personnel (5 seats)
  • Facilities Management (4 seats)
  • Greensboro Campus- Elon Law (1 seat)
  • Part Time Staff (1 seat)

The President will annually appoint the two non-voting members from the Senior Staff.

Leadership of Council

A chair, vice chair, secretary, communications officer and involvement officer shall comprise the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee will lead the Staff Advisory Council. The Executive Committee chair shall report directly to the university President or their designee.

Eligibility

Members of the staff are eligible to serve on the Staff Advisory Council provided they are scheduled to work at least twenty hours per week and have two (or more) years of service to the university.

Elections

Council Nomination

The Staff Advisory Council’s involvement chair will accept nominations in February. Only staff may nominate representatives. Staff constituents may nominate across classifications; however, no one may submit more than two nominations per classification.

Council Election

The involvement chair will hold elections in March. The involvement chair will verify eligibility, classification, and acceptance by the nominee, then submit all nominees in each classification to the SAC. The SAC will establish, by vote, a slate of candidates to be presented to the staff constituency for election. There shall be no more than three candidates per open seat.

The involvement chair shall conduct the general election of council members from the slate of candidates. All staff shall have one vote per open seat in their classification, and the candidate(s) with the majority of votes shall prevail. The involvement chair will verify the eligibility and number of the votes cast. The method of general elections will consist of such a combination of electronic and manual voting to ensure that all staff has the opportunity to cast their vote.

Council Orientation

Representatives-elect will join the sitting Staff Advisory Council for at least one full session meeting prior to the start of their elected term on June 1st.

Executive Committee Nomination

The involvement chair will accept nominations for the Executive Committee positions (chair, vice chair, secretary, communications chair and involvement chair) in late May/ early June. Members of the Staff Advisory Council will nominate fellow council representatives for election to the Executive Committee. Each representative may present one nomination for each executive committee position.

Executive Committee Election

Election to open seats on the Executive Committee will occur in late May/early June. All representatives on the Staff Advisory Council shall use a secret ballot to vote candidates into open seats on the Executive Committee.

Service Terms

Council

Staff Advisory Council representatives shall serve three-year terms with a maximum of two consecutive terms. Terms begin on June 1st and end on May 31st.

Executive Committee

Executive Committee members shall serve a one-year term with no limit on maximum terms for eligible candidates. Terms begin on June 1st and end on May 31st.

As Affected by Changes in Staff Classification

If a Staff Advisory Council member assumes a new role at the university, and this new role changes their staff classification, that council member may serve for the rest of the fiscal year. If at the end of that fiscal year, the member’s elected term does not expire, they must step down from the council. Council will then appoint a new representative from the appropriate staff classification through the process defined in “Unexpected Vacancies”.

Selection and Terms of Subcommittee Members

In June of each year, the Chair will select a committee of three people from the Staff Advisory Council to act as a “Selection Subcommittee” to seek interest from staff members regarding possible representation on University committees. This Selection Subcommittee will present 2-3 nominations for each committee to the SAC for discussion.  The Chair will then present up to two recommendations for each committee to the President for their consideration.  The subcommittee candidates are not required to be members of SAC.
Long Range Planning Committee and Budget Committee: The chosen member for each committee will serve a one-year term and may serve no more than five consecutive terms.

Executive Committee Officers

Duties of the Chair

  • Preside at all meetings of the SAC
  • Attend a meeting with the President (or President’s designee) a minimum of once per quarter or more frequently as necessary
  • On the advice of the SAC, submit to the President candidates for one appointment to the Long Range Planning Committee
  • On the advice of the SAC, submit to the President candidates for one appointment to the Budget Planning Committee
  • Attend the Senior Staff planning retreats
  • Maintain regular communications with the Chair of the Academic Council
  • Request special meetings with the President when necessary
  • Call meetings of the Executive Committee as needed
  • Appoint other committees as needed or requested by the President
  • Determine the agenda for all SAC meetings
  • Promote communication within the SAC and Elon community.

Duties of the Vice Chair

  • Assist the Chair in performing their leadership responsibilities as appropriate
  • Preside over meetings in the Chair’s absence
  • Oversee functions or activities sponsored by the SAC
  • Review and maintain SAC guidelines annually.

Duties of the Secretary

  • Preside over meetings in the absence of the Chair and Vice Chair.
  • Record the official minutes of each SAC meeting and submit to SAC for review and approval, then communicate them to all staff members in a timely manner.
  • Record and archive all minutes, attendance, votes, and resolutions approved by the SAC
  • Ensure all official communication channels (e.g., web site, listserv, etc.) are updated frequently.

Duties of Elections Officer

  • Solicit nominations for open council seats.
  • Verify the nominees are willing to accept the responsibilities of council member if elected, and verify their eligibility and classification category.
  • Submit qualified nominees to the SAC, by classification.
  • Conduct the elections of SAC members and qualify all votes.
  • Conduct the general council vote for the executive committee positions.

Duties of Communications Chair

Unexpected Vacancies

Council

Whenever a representative is unable to fulfill their duties, the Executive Committee will select a replacement from the appropriate staff classification to be approved through a majority vote of the council. The replacement will serve out the vacant seat’s remaining term.

Executive Committee

Whenever an Executive Committee member is unable to fulfill their duties, the Staff Advisory Council will select and approve a replacement from the council through majority vote of the council. The replacement will serve out the vacant seat’s remaining term. The chair’s seat is an exception. If a sitting chair is unable to fulfill their duties, the chair-elect shall assume those duties. This interim service shall be in addition to and not in replacement of the chair-elect’s normal succession to chair.

Communication & Meetings

In order to facilitate timely, helpful and relevant communications between the Staff Advisory Council, university staff and administration, the staff advisory council will meet once per month, excluding December, and hold a minimum of one open staff forum per year. Items requiring attention must be submitted to the Chair and placed on the agenda prior to the meeting.

A Staff Advisory Council web page shall be established and updated by the SAC Secretary a minimum of once per month. All monthly meeting agendas and meeting minutes shall be communicated to all faculty and staff via email and web postings.

Quorum

A majority of members shall constitute a quorum.  A quorum must be present to hold a regular meeting. When a vote is required, a simple majority of members present shall decide the vote, except for changes to the guidelines.

Time Allotment

The university will allow Staff Advisory Council representatives time to perform their Council duties. Additionally, the university recognizes all Staff Advisory Council duties as paid time.

Action

Amendment of Guidelines

The SAC guidelines shall be reviewed annually by the Vice Chair and suggested amendments brought to the council for review.

Proposed amendments to these guidelines shall be distributed in writing to all members at least one week before the first official reading. The proposed amendment shall be read at a regularly scheduled meeting preceding a vote to amend the guidelines. To pass the amendment into the SAC guidelines at least two-thirds of the SAC’s voting membership shall approve the amendment.

Notes: The guidelines shall be reviewed and considered for establishment as official by-laws beginning in the third year of the council.

Establishing a Slate of Candidates for Election to Council

The SAC shall establish a slate of candidates from nominees obtained through the “Elections” process defined in the SAC Guidelines. Current council member(s) who receive a nomination, are eligible to serve another term and wish to be included on the slate of candidates exclude themselves from further participation in the process of establishing that particular slate of candidates.

All nominees are of equal eligibility regardless of the number of nominations received. The SAC shall consider upcoming council demographics, and seek balance by including nominee(s) to represent currently under-represented groups of staff, and ensure that no single staff group is overrepresented. The SAC shall also seek fresh perspectives by including nominee(s) who are new to Elon University and work to leverage veteran staff talents by including nominee(s) who possess unique traits and/or abilities.

Settling Tied Elections

In the event of a tied election result, the elections officer shall present the contention(s) to the council and call for a vote. Each council member shall submit a confidential vote to the Elections officer selecting one candidate in each tied result. Should this process produce another tie, the candidate(s) with the longest service to the university is the winner.
Approved: August 15, 2012

Amended and voted/approved: May 2020