A campus of The California State University

Office of the Academic Senate • One Washington Square • San Jose, California 95192-0024 •408-924-2440  Fax: 408-924-2451

S05-4

At its meeting of April 4, 2005, the Academic Senate passed the following Policy Recommendation presented by Senator Thames for the Instruction and Student Affairs Committee.

POLICY RECOMMENDATION

Academic Qualifications for Student Office Holders

Whereas:   SJSU supports its student leaders, as well as the position that student office holders have an obligation to demonstrate academic involvement, achievement and progress when seeking and holding offices on campus; and

Whereas:   the Chancellor’s Office of the CSU in a memorandum entitled Minimum Academic Qualifications for Student Office Holders, dated August 29, 1997 established minimum qualification standards for student office holders and those seeking office as candidates in elections; and

Whereas:   the Student Affairs Division through the office of its Vice President has followed the Chancellor’s Office policy for many years, and in accordance with that policy has provided additional interpretation; and

Whereas:   the policy recommendation has been developed in consultation with the Vice President for Student Affairs and the Associated Students Board of Directors; therefore be it

Resolved:   that the attached document on academic qualifications for student office holders be recommended as university policy.

Vote:   18-0-0

Present (final vote by email): Willey, Southerland, Moran, Hansen, Bjerkek, Kelly, Nguyen, Gonzales, Campsey, Dresser, Pour, Thames, Brada-Williams, McClory, Propas, Peck, Thompson, Greathouse, Evans (non-voting)

Absent:  Rahman

Financial Impact: None

SAN JOSE STATE UNIVERSITY

ACADEMIC QUALIFICATIONS FOR STUDENT OFFICE HOLDERS

1.0 Authority

1.1 The Chancellor’s Office of California State University (CSU) in a memorandum entitled Minimum Academic Qualifications for Student Office Holders, dated August 29, 1997 established minimum qualification standards for student office holders and those seeking office as candidates in elections.  These standards state that student office holders have an obligation to demonstrate academic involvement, achievement and progress as set forth in the memorandums.  The CSU memorandums delegate to the campus president the authority to define specific terms in the policy and to establish additional requirements for student office holders. This Academic Senate policy provides these definitions and requirements, as well as additional information for interpretation of the policy at San José State University (SJSU).

1.2 These requirements are minimum qualifications.  Each agency overseeing the election or appointment process for the positions described in this policy may establish additional requirements.

1.3 Failure to meet any requirement will result in the student being immediately ineligible to continue to hold office or (in the case of candidates) ineligible to assume office.

2.0   General Requirements

2.1 The following general requirements apply to the major student government offices as defined in Section 4.1, the minor representative offices as defined in Section 5.1.1 and appointees to systemwide committees in Section 6.0.

2.1.1 Must be matriculated at SJSU

2.1.2 Must be in good standing with SJSU

2.1.3 Must not be on probation of any kind, e.g. academic, administrative, judicial, etc.

2.1.4 Must maintain a cumulative on-campus (SJSU) grade point average (GPA) of at least 2.0

2.1.5 Must obtain a GPA of at least 2.0 each semester while in office and the semester running for office.

2.2 Failure to obtain the required GPA by the end of the semester makes the student immediately ineligible to continue to hold office or (in the case of candidates) ineligible to assume office.

3.0   Verification of Eligibility

3.1 Responsibility for the verification of the eligibility of students as defined in this policy is delegated to the Vice President for Student Affairs or designee, who shall also be responsible for interpreting this policy. Under extraordinary circumstances, the University President may make an exception to the requirements delineated in this policy.

3.2 It is the responsibility of each agency overseeing the election or appointment process for the positions described in this policy to ensure that the names of candidates, nominees and incumbents are delivered to the Vice President for Student Affairs or designee for verification in a timely fashion. Election to or appointment to the positions in this policy is not valid until the verification process has been completed. The University does not recognize the votes cast by nor the signature authority of individuals whose eligibility has not been verified or who have been declared ineligible to hold office.

3.3 Students who have been declared ineligible to hold office but who continue to participate as office holders shall be subject to referral to the University Judicial Affairs Officer for disciplinary action.

4.0  Major Student Government Offices

4.1 Major student government offices at SJSU include:

4.1.1 Associated Students executive offices (President, Vice-President, and Controller)

4.1.2 Members of the Associated Students Board of Directors (including campus representative(s) to the California State Student Association (CSSA)

4.1.3 Members of the Student Union Board of Directors

4.1.4 Members of the Spartan Shops Board of Directors

4.1.5 Members of the University Foundation Board of Directors

4.1.6 Any other student position which may be created or designated by the President as a major student government office

4.2 Candidate Requirements

In addition to the general requirements, candidates for Major Student Government Offices must meet the following:

4.2.1 Unit Load

4.2.1.1 Undergraduate students must maintain and complete at least six (6) units while running for office.

4.2.1.2 Graduate and credential students must maintain and complete at least three (3) units while running for office.

4.2.1.3 Students who are elected to office but fail to complete the required number of units by the end of the semester are ineligible to assume that office.

4.2.2 Maximum Allowable Units

4.2.2.1 Undergraduate students are allowed to earn a maximum of 150 CSU eligible semester units or 125 percent of the units required for a specific baccalaureate degree objective, whichever is greater. A double major does not exempt the student from this requirement.

4.2.2.2 Graduate and credential students are allowed to earn a maximum of 50 semester units or 167 percent of the units required for the graduate or credential objective, whichever is greater.

4.2.2.3 Students who do not currently exceed the maximum allowable units but who would do so in meeting the candidate unit load requirement are ineligible to run for office.

4.2.3 Residency

4.2.3.1 Undergraduate candidates for office must have been enrolled at SJSU and have completed at least one of the two semesters (fall or spring) immediately prior to the semester of the election, earning a minimum of 6 (six) semester units during that semester.

4.2.3.2 Graduate and credential candidates for office must earn 6 (six) semester units per term of continuous attendance as a new graduate or credential student to be eligible. 

4.2.3.3 Graduate and credential students who received a bachelor’s degree or credential within the past three years from SJSU must have earned a total minimum of 12 semester units during their last year as an undergraduate to be eligible.

4.3 Incumbent Requirements

In addition to the general requirements, incumbents for Major Student Government Offices must meet the following:

4.3.1 Unit Load

4.3.1.1 Undergraduate students must be enrolled for and complete at least six (6) units of credit at SJSU each fall and spring semester while holding office.

4.3.1.2 Graduate and credential students must be enrolled for and complete at least three (3) units of credit at SJSU each fall and spring semester while holding office. 

4.3.1.3 Failure to complete the required number of semester units by the end of the semester makes the student immediately ineligible to continue to hold office. This requirement does not apply to the summer and winter terms, nor may units earned during summer and winter terms be used to meet this requirement.

4.3.1.4 Students must meet unit enrollment requirements prior to the last day to add classes.  Failure to do so, makes the student immediately ineligible to continue to hold office.

4.3.2 Maximum Allowable Units

4.3.2.1 Undergraduate students are allowed to earn a maximum of 150 CSU eligible semester units or 125 percent of the units required for a specific baccalaureate degree objective, whichever is greater. A double major does not exempt the student from this requirement.

4.3.2.2 Graduate and credential students are allowed to earn a maximum of 50 semester units or 167 percent of the units required for the graduate or credential objective, whichever is greater.

4.3.2.3 Students must meet unit enrollment requirements prior to the last add day of the semester. 

4.4 Students nominated to fill vacancies or unexpired terms of major student government offices must meet the same requirements for candidacy and incumbency that would have been in effect if they had taken part in the normal election or appointment process for that office.

5.0 MINOR REPRESENTATIVE OFFICES

5.1 Minor representative offices include all student positions on the following boards and committees (except for those positions already defined above as major student government offices):

5.1.1 Policy committees, operating committees, special agencies and other committees of the Academic Senate

5.1.2 Campus Fee Advisory Committee

5.1.3. Instructionally Related Activities Fee Committee

5.1.4 University search committees

5.1.5 Standing committees or ad hoc committees of the Associated Students

5.1.6. Any other student position which may be created or designated by the President as a minor student representative office

5.2 Candidate Requirements

In addition to the general requirements, candidates for Minor Representative Offices must meet the following:

5.2.1 Candidates for minor representative offices that are normally filled by an election process must meet the same candidate unit load, residency, and maximum allowable units requirements as candidates for major student government offices.

5.2.2 For positions normally filled by an appointment process, undergraduate student nominees must be currently enrolled for at least six (6) units of credit, and graduate and credential student nominees must be currently enrolled for at least (3) three units of credit.

5.2.3 If an appointment is made during the summer or winter term, fulfillment of this requirement is demonstrated by completion of the required number of units during the immediately prior semester (e.g., spring semester for a summer term appointment and fall semester for a winter term appointment).

5.3 Incumbent Requirements

In addition to the general requirements, incumbents for Minor Representatives Offices must meet the following:

5.3.1 Undergraduate students must be enrolled for and complete at least six (6) units of credit at SJSU each fall and spring semester while holding a minor representative office.

                        5.3.2 Graduate and credential students must be enrolled for and complete at least three (3) units of credit at SJSU each fall and spring semester while holding a minor representative office

                        5.3.3 Failure to complete the required number of semester units by the end of the semester makes the student immediately ineligible to continue to hold office. This requirement does not apply to the summer and winter terms, nor may units earned during summer and winter terms be used to meet this requirement.

5.3.4 Students must meet unit enrollment requirements prior to the last day to add classes. Failure to do so, makes the student immediately ineligible to continue to hold office.

5.3.5 Undergraduate students are allowed to earn a maximum of 150 semester units or 125 percent of the units required for a specific baccalaureate degree objective, whichever is greater. A double major does not exempt the student from this requirement. 

5.3.6 Graduate and credential students are allowed to earn a maximum of 50 semester units or 167 percent of the units required for the graduate or credential objective, whichever is greater. Students holding over that number of units (SJSU and non-SJSU) will no longer be eligible for minor representative office.

5.4 Students nominated to fill vacancies or unexpired terms of minor representative offices must meet the same requirements for candidacy and incumbency that would have been in effect if they had taken part in the normal election or appointment process for that office.

6.0 SYSTEMWIDE COMMITTEE APPOINTEES

Systemwide committee appointees include all students who serve on regular or ad hoc systemwide committees.

6.1 Candidate Requirements

In addition to the general requirements, nominees for Systemwide Committees must meet the following:

6.1.1 Unit Load

6.1.1.1Undergraduate students must be currently enrolled for at least six (6) units of credit at SJSU

6.1.1.2 Graduate and credential students must be currently enrolled for at least three (3) units of credit at SJSU

6.1.1.3 If an appointment is made during the summer or winter term, fulfillment of this requirement is demonstrated by completion of the required number of units during the immediately prior semester (e.g., spring semester for summer term and fall semester for winter term).

6.1.2 Maximum Allowable Units

6.1.2.1 Undergraduate students are allowed to earn a maximum of 150 semester units or 125 percent of the units required for a specific baccalaureate degree objective, whichever is greater. A double major does not exempt the student from this requirement. 

6.1.2.2 Graduate and credential students are allowed to earn a maximum of 50 semester units or 167 percent of the units required for the graduate or credential objective, whichever is greater. Students holding over that number of units (SJSU and non-SJSU) will no longer be eligible to participate on systemwide committees.

6.1.3 Residency

6.1.3.1 Undergraduate nominees for systemwide committee appointments must have been enrolled at SJSU and have completed one semester prior to the semester of appointment, earning a minimum of six (6) semester units during that semester. 

6.1.3.2 Graduate and credential nominees must have six (6) semester units of continuous attendance as a new graduate or credential student to be eligible. 

6.1.3.3 Graduate and credential students who received a bachelor’s degree or credential within the past three years from SJSU must have earned a minimum of 12 semester units during their last year as an undergraduate to be eligible.

6.2 Incumbent Requirements

6.2.1 Undergraduate students must be enrolled for and complete at least six (6) units of credit at SJSU each semester while serving on a systemwide committee

6.2.2 Graduate and credential students must be enrolled for and complete at least three (3) units of credit at SJSU each semester while serving on a systemwide committee

6.2.3 Failure to complete the required number of semester units by the end of the semester makes the student immediately ineligible to continue to participate on a systemwide committee. This requirement does not apply to the summer and winter terms nor may units earned during summer and winter terms be used to meet this requirement.

6.2.4 Students must meet unit enrollment requirements prior to the last day to add classes. Failure to do so, makes the student immediately ineligible to continue serving on a systemwide committee.

6.2.5 Undergraduate students are allowed to earn a maximum of 150 semester units or 125 percent of the units required for a specific baccalaureate degree objective, whichever is greater. A double major does not exempt the student from this requirement. 

6.2.6 Graduate and credential students are allowed to earn a maximum of 50 semester units or 167 percent of the units required for the graduate or credential objective, whichever is greater. Students holding over that number of units (SJSU and non-SJSU) will no longer be eligible to participate on systemwide committees.

ACTION BY UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT:  Approved by Interim President Don Kassing

on April 21, 2005