Mississippi Virtual Community College Exceptions and Issues Committee By-Laws

Article I:  The purpose of the Exceptions and Issues Committee 

A.     The Exceptions and Issues Committee exists under the direction of the Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges (MACJC) to serve the distance education needs and interests of the Mississippi Virtual Community College consortium and its individual member colleges.

 B.     The Committee shall exist as a standing committee.

 Article II: Duties and Responsibilities 

A.     Hear exceptions cases to established MSVCC policies and operational procedures. 

1.      Participating college presidents and the Mississippi State Board for Community and Junior Colleges’ (SBCJC) Director of Distance Education may submit documented exceptions.  All submissions should be routed to the committee via the SBCJC office of Distance Education.  Submissions must be made in writing a minimum of 10 days prior to a meeting to be considered. 

2.      Exceptions are defined as those events that make a college unable to comply with a policy statement.  An example would be the refusal to host a course for reasons such as repeated poor instructor evaluations, instructor credentials, etc. 

B.     Hear issues cases involving MSVCC policies, procedures, communication and other relations. 

1.      Issues are defined as those events for which a college is able to comply with policy, or is in compliance, but desires to make an argument for a policy change.  Issues are further defined as events occurring between individual colleges that demonstrate a lack of resolution without outside arbitration. 

2.      Documented issues are to be submitted in the manner illustrated in Article II, section A.1 for documented exceptions. 

 Article III:  Membership 

A.     Membership shall be composed of no more than seven members, including one representative from each of the following areas, college president, chief academic officer, distance learning coordinator, student services official, SBJC staff member, financial officer, and instructor.  

B.     To obtain membership, nominations must be made by the chair of the represented professional group organization, including the college president position, which will be nominated by the chair of the MACJC.  Nomination for the SBCJC staff member will be made by the SBCJC Executive Director.  Nominations will be presented to and confirmed by the MACJC.  Voting rights are granted to any member upon confirmation by the MACJC.  

C.     Membership rotation shall be at the rate of 2 members per 2 year period beginning at the conclusion of year 2 of committee operation.  Rotation will begin with and follow the order of positions indicated in section A of Article III.  Colleges having outgoing members shall not nominate incoming members. 

Article IV:  Voting 

A.     A majority vote of members present is required for passage of any item.  Four committee members must be present to constitute a quorum for a meeting. 

Article V:  Administration 

Committee Administration shall consist of a Chair, Vice-Chair and Secretary/ Coordinator.  The committee Chair shall be selected by the membership as indicated in Section A of Article V.  The SBCJC office of Distance Education shall provide the Secretary/Coordinator.  The Secretary/Coordinator may or may not be a committee member. 

A.     Chair, Vice-Chair Term Dynamics 

1)      Terms of office shall be for one year.

2)      Officers may serve a total of 2 consecutive terms.

3)      Nominations of officers shall be taken from the floor.

4)      Elections of officers shall be by majority vote.

5)      Officers shall assume office at the next called meeting.

6)      In the event of vacancy, the remainder of the term shall be filled by a vote of the membership at the meeting immediately following the announcement of vacancy. 

B.     Chair Responsibilities 

1)      Officiate all committee meetings.

2)      Serve as the official committee spokesperson.

3)      Reserve the right to create subcommittees as needed.

4)      Reserve the right to postpone action or request additional information on any exception or issue.

5)      Shall report to the MACJC, and the SBCJC as needed.  Such reporting shall be for the purpose of notifying the MACJC and the SBCJC of the committee decisions, and making recommendations on procedures, policy changes, or other related events. 

C.     Vice-Chair Responsibilities 

The vice-chair shall fulfill all responsibilities of the chair in the event of the absence of the chair or other warranting circumstances. 

D.     Secretary/Coordinator Responsibilities 

1)      Handle all committee secretarial work.

2)      Accept exceptions and issues cases.

3)      Coordinate committee activities.

4)      Coordinate meeting arrangements.

5)      Coordinate meeting agendas.

6)      Supply meeting minutes and other documentation to the committee, MACJC, SBCJC, and MSVCC colleges as needed. 

Article VI:  Meetings 

Two regularly scheduled meetings per year will be held, one each in the fall and spring semesters.  A college president, SBCJC Director of Distance Education, or any committee member may request a special meeting.  Such special meetings will be held at the discretion of the committee chair.  Additionally, special meetings may be called by two or more committee members through the chair regardless of the chair’s discretion.  Meeting dates will be posted on the website of the Mississippi Virtual Community College. 

Article VII:  Decisions and Appeals 

A.     All decisions of the Exceptions and Issues Committee are final and will be communicated by the chair to the parties directly involved.  Exceptions and issues decisions will be made or continued at the regularly scheduled meeting immediately following the submission of an exception or issue.  Submission must be made a minimum of 10 days prior to a meeting to be considered. 

B.     Exceptions and Issues committee decisions maybe appealed to the MACJC.  Appeals must be submitted in writing to the MACJC chair a minimum of 10 days prior to the MACJC meeting at which appeal will be made.  An appeal shall be heard, and a decision rendered by the MACJC within 60 days after an appeal has been made. 

Article VIII:  Ratification and Amendments 

A.     Any modifications to these By-Laws must be made by the Exceptions and Issues Committee and approved for recommendation to the MACJC and SBCJC by a majority of all committee members. 

B.     Requests to amend these By-Laws shall be made in writing to the committee Secretary/Coordinator and may be made by any involved party. 

C.     Upon committee approval, amendments or modifications shall then be submitted to the MACJC via the chair of the MACJC, and to the SBCJC. 

D.     Effective dates for these By-Laws and any subsequent amendments or modifications indicated in Article VIII Section A shall be immediately upon approval by the MACJC and the SBCJC.