Article IV. – GOVERNANCE | Faculty Handbook

Section 1. THE FACULTY ASSEMBLY

The chair of the faculty shall cause to be prepared an agenda for each of the meetings of the Faculty Assembly. The agenda shall include any matter proposed by any faculty committee or university committee or by three or more members of the faculty. The agenda shall also include complete written statements of any proposals to be made. Reports ordinarily shall be in written form and not read before the assembly. The agenda shall be distributed to each member of the faculty at least three (3) days in advance of the meeting for which the agenda applies exclusive of weekends and holidays. The organization of the agenda for a regular meeting of the faculty shall be as follows:
1. Call to Order
2. Opening Prayer
3. Approval of Minutes
4. Question and Answer Period with the President
5. Unfinished business
6. New business
7. Announcements
8. Adjournment
Requests for a special meeting of the Faculty Assembly shall specify the nature of the business to be considered. Only those items of business named in the request shall be considered at the special meeting of the Faculty Assembly. The agenda for a special meeting shall include written statements of any proposals to be made. The agenda ordinarily shall be distributed to each member of the faculty at least three (3) days in advance of the special meeting for which the agenda applies exclusive of weekends and holidays.
A quorum shall exist when at least 50 voting members of the faculty are present.
The Faculty Assembly may adopt special rule(s) of order, as permitted by its governing authority, Robert’s Rules of Order, Newly Revised.

The following Special Rules of Order, while not themselves part of the Bylaws, have been adopted by the Faculty Assembly.

A motion for an informal discussion, with a specified time limit, is in order when no other motion is pending.
Questions for the president must be submitted in writing to the president. Once the president has the floor, they may choose to take additional questions from the floor at any given meeting.
Procedure for Voting by Paper Ballot
1. Any voting member of the Faculty Assembly may call for a paper ballot from the floor of the assembly or by submitting a request for a paper ballot on a specific agenda item to the chair of the faculty prior to the meeting.
2. The faculty secretary is charged with having paper ballots available for all Faculty Assembly meetings.
3. When a call for a paper ballot has been received, the chair of the faculty will direct the Assembly as to how they should mark their ballot.
4. Chairs of Faculty Standing Committees will distribute paper ballots and collect them after voting.
5. The faculty secretary and vice chair of the faculty oversee the counting of the ballots. The total number of valid votes for a motion and the total number of valid votes against a motion are recorded. Ballots that are blank or with an unclear meaning are invalid.
6. The faculty secretary provides the final count to the chair of the faculty and records the count in the minutes.
7. The chair of the faculty reports the full results to the Faculty Assembly and declares whether the motion has passed.
Special Rules of Order for Electronic Assemblies (approved by Faculty Assembly on 9/18/20).
When deemed necessary by the Chair due to restrictions on meeting in-person and except as otherwise provided in these bylaws, meetings of the faculty may be conducted through use of Internet meeting services designated by the Chair that support anonymous voting and support audio and video by those participating, identifying those seeking recognition to speak, showing (or permitting the retrieval of) the text of pending motions, and showing the results of votes. These electronic meetings of the faculty shall be subject to all rules adopted by the faculty to govern them, which may include any reasonable limitations on, and requirements for, members’ participation. Any such rules adopted by the Faculty Assembly shall supersede any conflicting rules in the parliamentary authority, but may not otherwise conflict with or alter any rule or decision of the Faculty Assembly. An anonymous vote conducted through the designated Internet meeting service shall be deemed an electronic ballot, fulfilling any requirement in the bylaws or rules that a vote be conducted by ballot.
1. Login information. The Faculty Governance Manager shall send by e-mail to every member of the Faculty Assembly, at least three (3) days in advance of the meeting, the information for registering for faculty assembly. The Internet meeting services will be Zoom webinar. Once registered, members will receive via email the URL and codes necessary to connect to the Zoom webinar, and, as an alternative and backup to the audio connection, the phone number and access code(s) the member needs to participate aurally by telephone. Members must not share their access code with anyone and must log in on only one device. The Faculty Governance Manager shall also include a copy of, or a link to, these Special Rules of Order.
2. Login time. The Faculty Governance Manager shall schedule the Zoom webinar availability to begin at least 10 minutes before the start of each meeting. Members will be placed in the waiting room until the official start time of the assembly.
3. Entering and exiting meeting. Members shall identify themselves by displaying their name in the Zoom webinar, and shall maintain Internet and audio access throughout the meeting whenever present, but shall log out upon any departure before adjournment. No recording, screen shots, or any other electronic sharing of the meeting is permitted.
4. Quorum calls. The presence of a quorum shall be established by the faculty secretary at the beginning of the meeting by the online list of participating members, unless any member demands a quorum count by audible roll call. Such a demand may be made following any vote for which the announced totals add to less than a quorum.
5. Technical requirements and malfunctions. Each member is responsible for their audio, video, and Internet connections; no action shall be invalidated on the grounds that the loss of, or poor quality of, a member’s individual connection prevented participation in the meeting.
6. Forced disconnections. The chair may cause or direct the disconnection or muting of a member’s connection if it is causing undue interference with the meeting. The chair’s decision to do so, which is subject to an undebatable appeal that can be made by any member, shall be announced during the meeting and recorded in the minutes.
7. Assignment of the floor. To seek recognition by the chair, a member shall use the digital “raise hand” feature in Zoom webinar. Upon assigning the floor to a member, the chair will recognize the subsequent speakers in order of their appearance in the Zoom “raise hand” queue.
8. Motions submitted in writing. A member intending to make a main motion, to offer an amendment, or to propose instructions to a committee, shall, before or after being recognized, post the motion in writing to the online area designated by the faculty secretary for this purpose, preceded by the member’s name and a number corresponding to how many written motions the member has so far posted during the meeting (e.g., “SMITH 3:”; “FRANCES JONES 2:”). Use of the online area designated by the faculty secretary for this purpose shall be restricted to posting the text of intended motions. A shared Google doc will be the online area utilized.
9. Display of motions. The faculty secretary shall designate an online area exclusively for the display of the immediately pending question and other relevant pending questions (such as the main motion, or the pertinent part of the main motion, when an amendment to it is immediately pending); and, to the extent feasible, the faculty secretary, or any assistants appointed by them for this purpose, shall cause such questions, or any other documents that are currently before the meeting for action or information, to be displayed therein until disposed of.
10. Voting. Votes shall be taken by the anonymous voting feature of Zoom webinar, unless a different method is approved by the faculty or required by the rules. The chair’s announcement of the voting result shall include the number of members voting on each side of the question and the number, if any, who explicitly respond to acknowledge their presence without casting a vote. Business may also be conducted by unanimous consent.
11. Video display. The chair, the faculty secretary, or their assistants shall cause a video of the chair to be displayed throughout the meeting, and shall also cause display of the video of any member presenting a motion, report, communication, or announcement. Other assembly members will not have access to audio and video until they are recognized by the chair to speak. Assembly members then have the option to enable video in addition to audio while they have the floor. Video and audio access will be switched off upon completion of their remarks.

Section 2. FACULTY OFFICERS

Chair of the Faculty
1. The chair of the faculty shall perform the following duties:
  1. To call and preside at meetings of the Faculty Assembly.
  2. To appoint a member of the Faculty Assembly to serve as parliamentarian for a term concurrent with that of the chair. The appointee shall retain voice and voting privileges in the Faculty Assembly.
  3. To call and preside at meetings, coordinate the agenda, and direct the work of the Faculty Executive Committee.
  4. To represent the faculty to the Board of Regents.
  5. To represent the faculty to the administration, including but not limited to monthly meetings with the officers of the university.
  6. To provide leadership to promote the mission of the university.
2. The chair of the faculty shall retain voting privileges in the Faculty Assembly and in the Faculty Executive Committee.
3. Term and Conditions
  1. The chair of the faculty shall serve a term of two years and shall not be eligible for a second successive term. The chair is ineligible for any other elected faculty position while serving as chair.
  2. Excepting the first chair of the faculty elected after the adoption of this amendment, chairs will succeed to the position following a term as vice chair of the faculty. In the event that the positions of chair and vice chair become vacant simultaneously, simultaneous elections shall be held to fill the positions for the unexpired terms with the chair being regarded as having succeeded to the position for purposes of serving a subsequent full term.
  3. Candidates for chair and vice chair of the faculty shall be tenured faculty members at the rank of associate professor or professor.
  4. The term of office of the chair of the faculty shall begin on July 1 and end on June 30.
  5. The chair of the faculty shall receive a teaching load reduction of two (2) courses or the equivalent per academic year and in addition to their regular faculty contract, a 12-month service agreement carrying with it a stipend to be paid over 12 months.
Vice chair of the Faculty
1. The vice chair of the faculty shall perform the following duties:
  1. To assume the duties of the chair of the faculty when the chair is unable to perform them or as designated by the chair.
  2. To serve as a voting member of the Faculty Executive Committee.
  3. To represent the faculty to the Board of Regents.
  4. Upon completion of a term as vice chair, to succeed to the position of chair of the faculty.
  5. To succeed to the position of chair of the faculty upon the vacancy of the position before the end of the term and for the remainder of that term. If the vice chair succeeds to the chair position to fulfill an unexpired term and if one year or less than one year remains in that unexpired term, the new chair may serve a subsequent consecutive full term. If more than one year remains in the unexpired term, the new chair may fulfill the term, but may not succeed to a full term.
2. Selection, Term, and Conditions
  1. The term of office of the vice chair shall be two years.
  2. The election shall be conducted by the Governance Committee at the same time as other committee and faculty position elections.
  3. The nomination of candidates must be made in writing to the Governance Committee. Nominations may be made by any member of the faculty and must be supported in writing by at least ten faculty members who have not supported the nomination of any other candidates for the position. The Governance Committee shall obtain written consents to run and to serve from nominees.
  4. If more than two candidates are nominated and if no candidate receives a majority of the votes cast for the position, a run-off election shall be held between the candidates with the two largest number of votes. The run-off election shall be concluded no later than three weeks after the conclusion of the general election, and the winner shall be the candidate with the largest number of votes cast. The faculty shall be informed of the results and vote totals in each election.
  5. Upon a vacancy in the position of vice chair, the Governance Committee shall conduct a special election to fill the vacancy, such election to take place no later than one month after the creation of the vacancy and under conditions of nomination and eligibility as normally apply to the position.
  6. If a vice chair is elected to the position to fill an unexpired term and if one year or less than one year remains in the unexpired term, the new vice chair may serve the subsequent full term without the necessity of re-election.
  7. The vice chair of the faculty shall receive a teaching load reduction of one (1) course or the equivalent per academic year and in addition to their regular faculty contract, a 12-month service agreement carrying with it a stipend to be paid over 12 months.
  8. The term of the office of the vice chair of the faculty shall begin on July 1 and end on June 30.
Faculty Secretary
1. The faculty secretary shall perform the following duties:
  1. To oversee the preparation and maintenance of a list of voting members of the faculty.
  2. To keep accurate records of all meetings of the Faculty Assembly and the Faculty Executive Committee and distribute to faculty members a copy of the minutes within one week after each meeting.
  3. To ensure that thorough documentation of the business conducted by all aspects of faculty governance is maintained, and to communicate the activities of faculty governance system to the faculty, the administration, and the Board of Regents. This shall be accomplished by working closely with all standing committees and the members of the Faculty Executive Committee. Activities shall include:
    1. The codification and custody of all faculty legislation, amendments to the Faculty Constitution and Bylaws, and Rules of Order.
    2. The solicitation of a written report from every standing committee at the end of the year. A copy of each report will be maintained in the permanent records.
    3. Informing the Board of Regents of any amendment to the Bylaws or Rules of Order which has been approved by the Faculty Assembly.
    4. Maintaining a record of the outcomes of any disputes concerning the interpretation of the Constitution, Bylaws, and faculty legislation.
    5. Ensuring that all electronic and hardcopy resources and records for faculty governance are up-to-date and that the appropriate files be transferred to the permanent file in archives when they are no longer active.
    6. To assist the Governance Committee with the oversight of the faculty election process, keeping a record of the election results, and serving jointly with the chair of the Governance Committee to certify faculty election results.
    7. To serve as a voting member of the Faculty Executive Committee.
  4. To represent the faculty to the Board of Regents.
2. Election and Term
  1. The term of office of the faculty secretary shall be two years. The secretary shall be ineligible for a second consecutive term except as provided in subsections b) and c).
  2. The faculty shall elect a faculty secretary during the regular committee elections in the spring of each year in which the term of office expires. The faculty secretary’s term of office begins on July 1 and expires on June 30. Nominations for the faculty secretary shall be made by the Governance Committee subject to established procedures.
  3. If a faculty secretary is elected to fill an unexpired term and if one year or less than one year remains in the unexpired term, the new secretary may be elected to the subsequent full term.
  4. The faculty secretary first elected after the adoption of these amendments shall serve a one-year term only, but shall be eligible to serve the subsequent full two-year term.
  5. The term of the office of the faculty secretary shall begin on July 1 and end on June 30.

Section 3. FACULTY EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

The Faculty Executive Committee shall consist of the chair, vice chair, and faculty secretary, the representative to the Board of Regents, and the chairs of the faculty standing committees.
Advisory members shall consist of the president, and the provost. Consistent with the Bylaws, Article IV, Section 4.B.7-8, advisory members shall be the same rights and privileges as any other member of the committee except the right to make motions and to vote.
The Faculty Executive Committee shall perform the following duties:
1. To coordinate the work of standing committees and to assist the chair of the faculty in preparing agendas for meetings of the Faculty Assembly.
2. To oversee the implementation of faculty legislation.
3. To review and make recommendations to the faculty regarding all proposals for the establishment of ad hoc faculty committees and other ad hoc committees involving faculty membership and which transcend division or school lines, including joint faculty-student or faculty-administration committees. Such recommendations may include conditions regarding duration and membership as the executive committee finds appropriate.
4. To consider and to refer to appropriate faculty organs such matters of faculty interest and importance as it deems proper.
5. To appoint faculty to specified positions on university standing committees.

Section 4. THE FACULTY COMMITTEE SYSTEM

Definition: Standing, Ad Hoc, and Joint Committees
1. All faculty standing committees come into being or go out of existence by vote of the faculty. Positions on faculty standing committees are elected by the faculty and typically three years in length. The term of service for committee members shall begin with the first organizational committee meeting of the academic year, continuing until the first such meeting following the election of their successor or until the position is vacated (see Section 4, Subsection B, 14). The term of service for faculty elected to serve vacated positions shall begin on the date the position is vacated, continuing until the first organizational meeting following the election of their successor. Committee members are not expected to perform committee work over the summer months, except as indicated in Article IV, Section 4, Subsection A, 6.
2. University standing committees consist of members of the faculty and members of other segments of the university; are formed at the request of the Faculty Assembly, the Faculty Executive Committee, the president, the provost, or the vice president for student life; and are authorized by the Faculty Assembly, the president, and the appropriate representative authority for non-faculty members of the proposed university committee. Changes in committee name, composition, or duties shall be approved by the Faculty Assembly and those other representative authorities included in the membership of the committee.
3. Ad hoc committees are either elected or appointed as designated by the faculty at the time of their authorization. Ad hoc committees will cease to function when their duties are fulfilled or at the end of the academic year or period of time for which they were elected or appointed, the time not to exceed a three-year period. Ad hoc university committees which include faculty membership may be created by the president or provost without formal faculty authorization provided that such committees exist for a period of time not to exceed 60 days.
4. Joint committees may be authorized by directing either standing committees or ad hoc committees to meet with counterpart committees. In such instances the faculty members of such a joint committee shall designate their own chair and are privileged to meet separately and to submit their own recommendations to the faculty or administration.
5. The faculty, recognizing that in certain areas of common concern responsibility should be shared with students or with other segments of the university community, may authorize faculty participation in university standing committees which would include student or other members as well as faculty members. Members of university standing committees elected by the faculty shall be individually responsible to the faculty.
6. Summer committee work may be necessary if it is a) specifically mandated by faculty legislation, or b) requested by the provost and allowed by the Faculty Handbook’s list of specific duties for that committee. In these instances, committee members may be eligible for appropriate compensation.
Rules
1. Members of faculty standing committees are to be elected by the faculty. Anticipated vacancies on faculty standing committees shall be filled by election according to these Bylaws, Article IV, Section 4, Subsection B, 2.
2. Members elected or appointed to faculty standing committees must be regular faculty. Full-time contingent faculty are not eligible to serve on faculty standing committees, but may serve on university standing or ad hoc committees.
3. No one shall be made an ex-officio member of a standing or ad hoc committee.
4. Certain faculty members or members of the administration or staff of the university may be designated as advisory members of a committee.
5. Certain students may be designated to serve as voting or advisory members of a faculty committee. The voting privileges of students on faculty committees will be determined by a resolution of the Faculty Assembly.
6. The president shall be an advisory member of all standing or ad hoc committees.
7. All advisory members of any committee shall have the same rights and privileges as any other member of the committee except the right to make motions and to vote.
8. All committee members, including advisory members, shall, as a matter of right, be notified of all meetings, informed of the agenda, and informed of all official action taken.
9. The committee member responsible for convening each standing committee for the first time in any school year shall be the senior member in terms of length of service on that particular committee. In the absence of any senior member the Governance Committee shall designate a convener.
10. At the first meeting of each academic year, the elected faculty members of a standing committee shall elect, from among their number, a chair and a secretary.
11. Every standing committee shall make a written report to the faculty at least once a year. The chair of the committee shall file a record of the committee’s activities in duplicate reports—one with the faculty secretary and one with the president of the university at the close of the school year.
12. No faculty member shall serve in an elected position on the same committee for a period of more than three consecutive years.
13. No faculty member shall serve in an elected position on more than one standing committee, and in the event that a faculty member is elected to a position on a second standing committee, they must promptly resign from one of them.
14. Specified faculty appointments to university standing committees will be made by the Faculty Executive Committee. No faculty member may be appointed by the Faculty Executive Committee to more than one university standing committee. No faculty member shall serve in a Faculty Executive Committee-appointed position on the same committee for a period of more than three consecutive years.
15. No faculty member may simultaneously serve in more than one elected position and one Faculty Executive Committee-appointed position.
16. At the time when a member of a faculty committee retires, resigns, is on leave, or is absent for a semester or longer for other cause, they automatically vacate a committee position.
17. No two members of any department or school shall serve simultaneously on the same committee.
The Governance Committee
1. The committee shall review the work of all standing or ad hoc committees and shall be responsible for making appropriate recommendations for the amendment of the committee system rules, the structure, and the duties of all other committees.
2. The committee shall have specific duties relative to making nominations and conducting elections on behalf of the faculty. These duties shall be:
  1. To prepare a slate of candidates for all committee positions or other positions filled by election at large from the faculty to be presented at a regularly scheduled faculty meeting in the spring. Nominations may also be made from the floor.
  2. To present nominees when called upon to do so during the school year by act of the faculty.
  3. To present nominees when vacancies occur in any committee or other elected office.
  4. To nominate two candidates for each position to be filled by election.
  5. To distribute the list of nominees at least three days before the meeting at which the floor nominations shall take place.
  6. To conduct all faculty elections, which shall be in all cases by secret ballot, and at its option to conduct any required runoff elections by secret ballot.
  7. To report as elected anyone receiving a majority of the votes cast for that position. (A majority vote is required for election. In the absence of a majority vote, a runoff ballot shall be provided containing the names of the two candidates receiving the largest number of votes for each of the positions to be filled.)
  8. Note: The Governance Committee of the Faculty is also provided for and guided by Article VII of the Faculty Constitution, which has no accompanying bylaws.

Section 5. ACADEMIC STRUCTURE AND OFFICERS OF THE UNIVERSITY

Academic Structure of the University
1. The Components of the Academic Structure of the University
  1. 1. College of Health Professions
    2. College of Liberal Studies
    3. College of Natural Sciences
    4. College of Professional Studies
  (When the terms departments, divisions, schools, colleges, interdisciplinary programs, institutes, and research centers are used, these terms are interchangeable with the faculty members assigned to, or in the case of interdisciplinary programs, affiliated with, these entities meeting in assembly.)
2. Departments
  1. The basic academic entity throughout the university is the department.
  2. The department has primary responsibility for the development of its educational program in all aspects, including personnel, curricula, instruction, and research.
  3. Each department shall determine its own requirements for major studies, subject to the policies and procedures established by the college and/or school to which it belongs and the university faculty.
3. Divisions
  Academic divisions, consisting of a group of departments within a school or college, may be organized for the purpose of advancing interdisciplinary programs, increasing efficiency and effectiveness in the use of funds and equipment, or coordinating projects of interest to such a division.
4. Schools
  Schools may be organized for the purpose of coordinating the objectives of the university with respect to defined educational programs.
  1. Each school shall organize itself and establish its own rules and regulations subject to the policies and procedures established by the university faculty.
  2. Each school without departments shall have the primary responsibility for the development of its educational program in all aspects, including personnel, curricula, instruction, and research.
  3. Each school shall have the power to determine the requirements for its degrees and awards subject to the policies and procedures established by the university faculty.
  4. Each school shall recommend to the university faculty all successful candidates for such degrees and awards as it may wish to have conferred.
  5. Each school shall review the work of its members and any constituent departments, defend and discipline them, and secure and maintain instructional and research programs in full support of its purposes.
5. Colleges
  Colleges may be organized for the purpose of coordinating the objectives of the university with respect to defined educational programs.
  1. A college shall organize itself and establish its own rules and regulations in accordance with procedures established by the university faculty.
  2. A college shall have the power to institute degree programs and determine the requirements for its degrees in accordance with the procedures established by the university faculty.
  3. A college shall recommend to the university faculty all successful candidates in its degree programs for such degrees and awards as it may wish to have conferred.
  4. A college shall review the work of all its departments and schools, defend and discipline its members, set and maintain its standards, and secure and maintain instructional and research programs in full support of its objectives.
  5. Academic units proposing to change their college affiliation shall make the request through their college dean. The deans of the impacted colleges will bring such requests to Faculty Assembly for a) one reading and b) vote.
Special Academic Programs
Special academic programs may be organized for the purpose of coordinating the objectives of the university with respect to defined educational programs. These programs include the General Education Program and Interdisciplinary Programs. Special academic programs shall be managed by an administrator appointed by the provost in consultation with faculty.
1. General Education Program
  1. The general education programs shall be administered with the advice and support of a General Education Council.
  2. The General Education Council duties include:
    1. to advocate, promote, and represent the program,
    2. to facilitate programmatic assessment and quality assurance,
    3. to assist the Educational Policies Committee in regular programmatic curriculum review and oversight, recommending changes in the program subject to the regular policies and procedures established by the university faculty, advocates, promotes, and represents the program
    4. to facilitate general program oversight and management, and
    5. to coordinate the general education program with other academic units.
2. Interdisciplinary Programs
  1. Each interdisciplinary program has primary responsibility for: (a) development and oversight of its educational program; and (b) coordination of its educational program with other academic units.
  2. Each interdisciplinary program has responsibility for personnel appointed to, or affiliated with, the interdisciplinary program to the degree stipulated in the terms and conditions of the appointment.
  3. Each interdisciplinary program charged with responsibility for an educational program of major or minor studies, or with responsibility for a constituent part of the requirements for graduation, shall determine its own requirements, subject to the policies and procedures of the university.
  4. Each interdisciplinary program shall be administered by a committee and led by a chair. The chair shall be appointed for a term of up to three years by the administrator of interdisciplinary programs upon the recommendation of the interdisciplinary program committee. After consulting with the existing committee, chairs shall appoint committee members for terms of up to three years. Each interdisciplinary program shall establish its own rules and regulations and affiliations subject to the policies and procedures of the university.
  5. Affiliation is a formal association between a faculty member and an interdisciplinary program. Each interdisciplinary program shall define the affiliation for its members. Except in those cases specified by the terms of appointment or annual contract, faculty members, in consultation with their academic administrator, may seek to affiliate with an interdisciplinary program. The affiliation is normally for a term of up to three years (renewable beyond three years). The chair of each interdisciplinary program shall identify annually those faculty who are affiliated with an interdisciplinary program.
Institutes
Institutes, research centers, and similar academic entities may be established by the university faculty with the approval of the Board of Regents.
1. Each such institute shall be attached to a sponsoring department, interdisciplinary program, division, school, college, or the Provost’s Office.
2. No such institute shall have independent existence or budgetary powers.
3. Each institute may recommend to its sponsoring body appropriate certificates and awards of merit or achievement.

Section 6. AMENDMENT TO THE BYLAWS OR RULES OF ORDER

1. 1. A proposed amendment to the Bylaws or Rules of Order will be placed on the agenda of the Faculty Assembly at the request of the president of the university, any standing committee, or at the written request of any ten members of the faculty.
  2. At the meeting of the Faculty Assembly in which the amendment is introduced, the amendment may be discussed, but no other action may be taken.
  3. At the next regular meeting of the assembly (or special meeting if called for this purpose), the amendment shall have priority over other unfinished business. Individuals proposing to amend the amendment are responsible for having a written copy of their proposal distributed with the agenda. The amendment may be amended, but a final vote on the amendment may not be taken.
  4. At the next regular meeting of the assembly (or special meeting if called for this purpose), the amendment shall have priority over other unfinished business, and it shall not be open to further amendment.