Meetings

The Senate meets four or five times per semester (typically once a month), with special meetings scheduled as necessary. The materials for Senate meetings are made available to the public via the Senate website one week prior to each scheduled meeting. The Senate Chair presides over each meeting. All Senate meetings are open to the public, but only Senators may actively participate and vote at the meetings. The majority of Senate meetings will be held virtually via Zoom, with the exception of the two meetings where President Pines will deliver his State of the Campus Address.

Senate Structure

The Senate currently consists of 239 seats. A summary of the structure is available here. Each of the campus groups are given a specific number of Senate seats based on the number of people in that group on campus. Information about each of the groups is below.

Plan Reviews

The University of Maryland Plan of Organization for Shared Governance states that each College or School, department or other academic unit, and the Library (all referred to as "College" throughout these webpages) shall have a Plan of Organization that will govern its operations. These Plans must embody the principles of shared governance and reflect University policy.

College Plans of Organization

The University of Maryland Plan of Organization for Shared Governance is the University's main governing document, which details our principles of shared governance. The Plan outlines a system of governance in which faculty, staff, students, and administrators work together on issues that affect the campus community at all levels. The Plan clearly states that such principles of shared governance should be instituted at each level of governance at the University, including by each College or School within the University.

College Governance

Our University of Maryland Plan of Organization for Shared Governance states that the principles of shared governance should be instituted at each level of governance at the University, including by each College or School within the University. The resources on the following webpages have been collected for College and Unit Plan review processes.

Resolutions

Much of the Senate's work results in recommendations to the President for revisions to University policy or procedures. In some cases, an issue may arise that is not related to University policy or procedure, but is important to the Senate and its members. In these cases, the Senate can develop and approve resolutions in order to take a public stance on the issue and state its values or concerns to the University. Recent Senate resolutions can be found below.

Proposals

Proposals are the starting point for the policy review process of the University Senate. Proposals focus specifically on matters of University-wide policy and outlines the creation of policy or specific revisions or modifications to an existing piece of University policy. Please note that the University Senate’s purview only extends to University-wide policy and does not extend to operational matters or policies at the Unit or Departmental levels.

Any member of the University of Maryland campus can submit a proposal for policy review.

Bylaws

The Bylaws of the University Senate provide more detailed information on how the University Senate operates. Information on Senate election procedures, the agendas and procedures for Senate meetings, the purview of the Senate Executive Committee, and detailed committee jurisdictions can be found in the Bylaws. The Bylaws may not contradict the principles of the Plan, but may provide more information on how those principles are applied. The Bylaws can be revised as needed by a two-thirds vote of the elected members of the University Senate.

Senate Plan of Organization

The University of Maryland Plan of Organization for Shared Governance is the University Senate’s main governing document, which spells out our principles of shared governance. The Plan outlines a system of governance in which faculty, staff, students, and administrators work together on issues that affect the campus community at all levels. The Plan of Organization clearly states that such principles of shared governance should be instituted at each level of governance at the University, including by each College or School within the University.

Governing Documents

Plan of Organization & Senate Bylaws

The University of Maryland Plan of Organization for Shared Governance is the University's main governing document, which spells out our principles of shared governance. The Plan outlines a system of governance in which faculty, staff, students, and administrators work together on issues that affect the campus community at all levels.