Classified Senate Charter
| Group Name | Classified Senate |
| Type of Group | Representative Body |
| Description/Purpose/Charge | Classified Senate’s mission is to provide classified professionals with a participatory voice in supporting the college’s mission, vision, core values, and promoting a successful learning environment for students. As an integral part of the college community, Classified Senate shall actively contribute to the growth and success of the college. |
| Reporting Relationships | The Classified Senate is a representative body comprised of Classified employees at Cypress College. As part of the structure of this group, the executive leadership meets with the President of Cypress College on a monthly basis throughout primary semesters and senators attend the Guided Pathways, PAC, Accreditation, and additional committee meetings on an as needed basis to provide reports. The Classified Senate has established sub-committees in relation to event planning and classified awards. |
| Decision-Making Authority | The Classified Senate has the authority to recommend speakers/workshops to make campus presentations in relation to classified professional development. The Classified Senate has the authority to approve or reject proposals submitted for funding through the allocated budget. The Classified Senate the authority to make decisions regarding the administration of their allocated budget. The Classified Senate has the authority to make reports to other campus committees and groups. |
| Membership Composition | President Vice President Secretary Treasurer Senator #1 Senator #2 Senator #3 Senator #4 Senator #5 Senator #6 Senator #7 Senator #8 |
| Terms of Membership | All members of the Classified Senate are elected to serve one- year terms. Members may apply for reelection or apply for a different role the following academic year. |
| Membership Process | All members of the Classified Senate are elected to serve on the executive board by the Cypress College Classified Staff. The nominations occur at the end of the academic year. Cypress College employees nominate Classified staff members to serve on the executive board. Classified Staff may also nominate themselves to serve. Elections take place prior to the start of each academic year, and the Classified Senate is in place as of July 1 of the academic year. At-large representatives are selected on an as- needed basis, if additional applications for senators are received that exceed the number of senator spots available. |
| Meeting Dates/Times | The Classified Senate Executive Board meets on a monthly basis throughout primary terms of the academic year on the second Thursday of the month from 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Meetings are held through a HyFlex modality of members attending both in-person as well as through Zoom whenever possible; otherwise, meetings take place through Zoom. Additionally, Classified Senate meetings that are open to all Cypress College Classified Staff take place on a monthly basis throughout primary terms of the academic year on the fourth Thursday of the month from 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. These meetings take place through Zoom. |
| Meeting Procedures | The Classified Senate adheres to shared governance best practices as follows: Meeting agendas are issued in advance of meeting times. Meeting agendas are organized to prioritize approvals, actions pending/required, and reports. This Classified Senate follows Robert’s Rules of Order. |
| Consensus Process, Decision-Making, and Documentation | Clear agreements and public indications of understanding and support are critical to maintain forward progress for the work of the group. On occasion, and after extensive dialogue, members will be asked to indicate their agreement to pursue a specific direction or to conclude discussion of a specific topic or action. This agreement will seek to be based on “consensus” which is a general state of agreement rather than a “majority opinion.” Consensus-based decision-making processes attempt to resolve each member’s concerns before asking for agreement and closing discussion regarding a recommendation. The consensus-taking process will proceed according to the following steps: 1. Any member or the chair may ask for an indication of agreement. 2. Members will indicate their degree of support for the selected recommendation as follows: a) agreement with the recommendation, b) support for the good of the whole without necessarily completely embracing the recommendation, c) disagreement with the recommendation. A simple method for indicating degrees of support can be used such as “Thumb’s Up” to signify agreement, “Thumb’s to the Side” to indicate support for the good of the whole, and “Thumb’s Down” to indicate disagreement. 3. If there is no opposition indicated, the agreement will be recorded within the meeting record/notes and discussion will conclude. To sustain the forward progress of the work of the group it may be necessary to record participant agreement related to a specific item without full member consensus. If certain participants have persistent concerns that prevent them from agreeing to the item, then a majority opinion is recorded, and the minority opinion is also captured in the meeting record/notes. |
| Communication and Distribution of Materials | Classified Senate will provide timely and accessible documentation (i.e., agendas and minutes) of its activity and outputs that reflect key discussion points and action items. The group will distribute this documentation to the Classified Senate SharePoint. |
| Charter Established/Revised Dates | Charter established on: September 2023 Charter last reviewed on: September 2023 Charter last revised/approved on: November 13, 2023 |
| Website | https://www.cypresscollege.edu/about/cypress-college-governance/classified-senate/ |
| Current Roster | Christy Montenegro, President Kristina Oganesian, Vice President Vacant, Secretary Mohammad Chaudhry, Treasurer Angela Haugh, Senator Angela Sardan, Senator Diana Domingo, Senator Dominique Somoano, Senator Ernesto Dominguez, Senator Linda Redd, Senator Summer Justice, Senator Tayler Thomas, Senator |
| Constitution/Bylaws Reference | The Classified Senate operates under the Constitution/Bylaws approved by the 2023-24 Classified Senate. |
| Brown Act | No |