During its meeting on September 17, 2025, the UConn Board of Trustees passed recommendations to update the University of Connecticut By-Laws, Article IX governing the University Senate that had been put forward by the University Senate on April 15, 2025.

Important changes approved:

• Changes to Senate Membership Constituencies, such as:
  • One additional seat added to the Deans Constituency to be reserved for the Regional Campus Deans
  • Faculty, Staff  and Student Representation updated to change in accordance with faculty and staff populations (1 seat for every 25 faculty members; 1 seat for every 125 staff members; 1 seat for every 2500 undergraduate or graduate students)
  • New constituency added for Staff titled “Support Services” to ensure representation of units not previously included in Senate staff constituency seats
• Changes to SEC Representation & Chair Elections:
  • Total number of CLAS faculty representatives reduced from four to three
  • Requirement added to guarantee representation from a faculty member primarily based on a Regional Campus
  • New “Vice Chair” and “Past Chair” roles added to the SEC, bot h to ensure that the Chair is fully trained when taking the role, and to ensure there is consistency of information as leadership transitions take place. The role of Vice Chair of Past C hair is also designed to stand in for the Moderator as needed
• Election protocols updated so that vacancies may be filled more efficiently both for the constituencies and SEC
• Recusal rules added for Committee of Three

Presented at a Special Meeting on March 31, 2025 and passed as amended on April 7, 2025, two motions to update by-laws governing the University Senate were passed:

• Recommendation to the UConn Board of Trustees to update the University By-Laws, Article IX, “The University Senate”
• Resolution to Change the By-Laws, Rules & Regulations of the University Senate, Article I

Combined, these two resolutions propose changes to the governance of the University Senate for clarity, simplicity, modernization, and flexibility. The Senate By-Laws will be updated on the Policy website to reflect these changes at the start of the AY 2025-2026, and the Recommendation to the UConn Board of Trustees to update the University By-Laws, Article IX will be moving through the approval process with the UConn Board of Trustees during the summer. Once approved, updates will be shared on the Senate website.

During its regular meeting on April 7, 2025, the University Senate approved two resolutions presented by the Scholastic Standards Committee to amend the By-Laws, Rules & Regulations of the University Senate, Article II. E.9 (Attendance) and Article II.B.2 (Readmission).

Summary of Changes:

• Article II.B.12 (Readmission): language updated to match current readmission practices, which do not include criminal history as a part of the evaluation process. The full resolution is available here.
• Article II.E.9 (Attendance): language updated for clarity around how instructors are to manage class sessions affected by University closings. The full resolution is available here.