The Academic Senate is the body representing the faculty in business and professional matters. Its elected members come from full time and associate faculty ranks, from both campuses, and from a broad array of programs. It is the only body in the district that represents both full time and associate faculty. In creating the California Community College approach to shared governance, state statutes indicate that the faculty shall be incorporated into college deliberations regarding a variety of issues, ranging from curriculum to budget allocation processes and administrative evaluation. The Senate is body representing the faculty in such issues, and it is the body that appoints faculty to committees, task forces, hiring procedures, and the like.
All faculty are members of the senate, by definition.
A three-member judiciary committee conducts elections and ensures that the MSJC academic senate operates in accord with its own constitution. While the executive senate responds to basic operational demands in college operations, all policy proposals and changes to the MSJC's shared governance agreement must come to the congressional senate. Periodically, the senate takes sounding of opinion on matters before it, either through hearings or by distributing pending issues for comment. All changes to the senate constitution must be approved by a vote of the faculty.