How to revise regulations that are “General Provisions”
The first section of UCLA Senate regulations [A-301-A-350], “General Provisions,” are approved variations to systemwide regulations (the “A-“ prefix indicates an approved variation). Proposals to change these regulations would follow the same procedures as bylaws, with the following exceptions: (1) they will need to be reviewed by the Undergraduate and Graduate Councils; (2) they only need a simple majority to pass; (3) because they are variations of systemwide regulations, they will need review by the Systemwide Academic Senate.
How to revise or propose degree regulations
The remaining regulations are degree-specific curricular regulations. Therefore, proposals for revision may involve a parallel or sequential review with the Undergraduate and/or Graduate Councils if they represent curricular changes.
Step 1: Creating the regulations proposal
Proposals to revise regulations may be
- Revisions to existing degree regulations; or
- New regulations for new degree proposals
Unless they involve non-curricular changes, proposed new or revised degree regulations should be developed together with any new or revised degree proposal and should be consistent with the content of that proposal.
- A statement of the purpose and rationale for the proposed changes. (If for a new degree, the statement can simply cite the proposal.)
- A side-by-side presentation of the proposed changes. The left column should show the current text and the right column the proposed strikeouts and/or revisions. See this guide.
- A clean copy of the proposed final, revised (or new) text of the regulation.
Step 2 (OPTIONAL): Pre-Review
Before the required vote, the proposing unit can submit the proposed regulation revisions to the Committee on Rules and Jurisdiction for a preliminary review.
Step 3: Faculty Vote
Proposals to revise degree regulations may start in departments or with the FEC of the College or School. The FEC typically votes on the proposed curricular revisions before they are submitted formally to the Undergraduate or Graduate Council, but the proposed regulations (as well as the proposed curricular proposal) must be put to a vote of the whole faculty. The Faculty of the College or School must take a vote on the regulations, distinct from any vote to approve the proposal. Quorum rules apply to assessing if the regulation passed by the required simple majority.
Step 4: Council Review
If the regulation revisions are part of a curricular proposal, the originating body should submit the proposed regulations with a report of the faculty vote along with the curricular proposal to the Undergraduate Council and/or Graduate Council.
Step 5: Formal CR&J Review
CR&J will review the proposed regulations or regulation revisions. If CR&J recommends any revisions, that recommendation will go to the Undergraduate and/or Graduate Council as needed as well as to the proposing unit.
Once CR&J determines the proposed regulation revisions conform to the Academic Senate Manual, CR&J will notify:
- The proposing Council (Undergraduate or Graduate) for routing to the Legislative Assembly for approval.
- The proposing unit should also receive a letter notifying of R&J approval. [with a copy of the letter to the Council(s).]
Step 6: Regulations are routed to the Legislative Assembly
If the regulation proposal involves curricular changes, they will be routed to LgA by the Undergraduate Council or the Graduate Council along with the related curricular proposal.
Step 7: LGA Vote
Because all regulations are part of UCLA legislation, they must be separately approved at a Legislative Assembly. Approval requires simple majority vote for adoption.
Step 8: Notification of Legislative Assembly Actions
All Senate members are notified of final review of legislation by the published Legislative Assembly agenda and of the final approval by way of the Legislative Assembly Notification of Actions, which are distributed no later than 15 instructional days following any meeting of the Legislative Assembly. See Bylaw 140(B).
The regulations go into effect 10 instructional days after the Notification of Actions is published and are posted on the Web site. See Bylaw 155 (B)(2). If the regulations are enacted as part of a new degree proposal, they will be posted on the Senate manual web site at the same time with a notice that the regulations are provisional pending final approval of the degree proposal.
