Student Association Bylaws

Section I: Name

1. The name of this organization shall be the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences Student Government Association, hereafter referred to as the "CAHSS SGA."

Section II: Definitions

In these Bylaws, unless otherwise specified:

1. "Association" defines all students enrolled in CAHSS programs.
2. "Officer" defines an elected member of the CAHSS SGA Executive Board, which includes the President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer, and the CAHSS SGA Representative Council, consisting of officers from each department, the International Student Representative, and the Online Student Representative.
3. "Student" defines any activity-fee-paying CAHSS doctoral, masters, or graduate certificate student in good standing with CAHSS and NSU.
4. A student in "good standing" is one: a) who is enrolled in an CAHSS doctoral, masters, or graduate certificate program and b) who is not in default of any prescribed obligations to NSU.
5. "Student Body" defines all doctoral, masters, and graduate certificate students of NSU enrolled in a graduate program of the CAHSS.
6. "Student Committee" defines a group of students constituted to address current CAHSS student issues.
7. "Elections" defines an election of the Executive Board and Representative Council members.

Section III: Purposes

1. To offer a structure that fully represents the student body in all such governing matters, and, through this structure, advocates the concerns of the student body, promotes the objectives of the CAHSS SGA, and communicates its concerns and actions to the student body.
2. To represent, as well as, facilitate the exchange of information and ideas among the students, faculty, and administration.
3. To build and enhance learning communities and peer support groups in CAHSS.
4. To promote the highest standards of learning, training, and practice in the fields of the arts, humanities and social sciences.
5. To establish and maintain channels of communication between students, faculty, graduates, and administration, and
6. To evaluate the quality and overall effectiveness of the CAHSS SGA and the programs offered by CAHSS.

Section IV: Uniformity

1. Subject to other provisions of these Bylaws, every activity fee-paying student has the same rights, privileges, and responsibilities within the CAHSS SGA.

Section I: Executive Board and Representative Council

1. The general affairs of the CAHSS SGA shall be managed and supervised by an Executive Board and Representative Council composed of the officers of the CAHSS SGA under the advisement of the Faculty Advisor.
2. The CAHSS SGA shall fund its operation from the student activity fees collected from each student at the time of registration.
3. The Executive Board, Representative Council, and the Account Office of Student Affairs oversee the budget of the CAHSS SGA.
4. No one individual shall concurrently hold more than one (1) office in the CAHSS SGA.
5. No student shall hold the same position as an officer for more than three (3) academic years.
6. If, during the course of their term, any officer(s) change(s) their program of study, they are required to relinquish their position and said office(s) becomes vacant.

Section II: Officers

1. The elected officers of the CAHSS SGA shall be the President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, the Department Representatives, International Student Representative, and the Online Student Representative. The Executive Board will be comprised of the President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer. The Representative Council will be comprised of the student representatives from each department, the International Student Representative, and the Online Student Representative.
2. Only currently enrolled students who are in good standing with NSU shall be eligible to hold offices on the Executive Board and Representative Council. All Board members, with the exception of the President, may physically attend meetings or may attend via electronic media. The President must be physically present in board meetings.
3. All board member shall attend all general board meeting, participate and work CAHSS Graduate SGA sponsored events, participate in committees as delegated by the President, and fulfill their position duties.

The Executive Board Officers:

The President

1. Shall be the chief officer of the CAHSS SGA and s/he shall preside over meetings of the Executive Board, the Representative Council, and the student body.
2. Shall have the power to delegate any power granted to her/him pursuant to the CAHSS SGA Bylaws.
3. Shall oversee the activities of the Representative Council so as to ensure that the Representative Council functions effectively.
4. Shall be the student representative of the CAHSS SGA to University committees and activities.
5. Shall be the tie-breaking vote in all meetings.
6. Shall form committees of the Executive Board as the need arises.
7. Shall sign, in conjunction with the Treasurer and Accounts Office of Student Affairs, all disbursements.
8. Shall meet regularly with the faculty advisor of the CAHSS in order to exchange ideas and facilitate communication with the faculty and administration.
9. Shall have the sole power to call for emergency voting on matters that necessitate immediate action between duly scheduled and announced meetings.

The Vice President

1. Shall assume the duties of the president in his/her absence.
2. Shall coordinate all annual election proceedings.
3. Shall attend and be a voting member of all Executive Board and Representative Council meetings.
4. Shall oversee all CAHSS SGA committees including the Bylaw Committee.
5. Shall perform other duties as may be assigned by the President.

The Secretary

1. Shall be responsible for all official correspondence between CAHSS SGA and all other outside parties.
2. Shall keep all records, including record of the CAHSS SGA Bylaws and the minutes of all Executive Board and Representative Council meetings.
3. Shall post the minutes of all Executive Board and Open meetings within two weeks as well as Student Association announcements.
4. Shall attend and be a voting member of all Executive Board and Representative Council meetings.
5. Shall be responsible for overseeing the upkeep of the CAHSS SGA website.
6. Shall ensure that all Executive Board and Representative Council members are provided with a copy of the CAHSS SGA Bylaws.
7. Shall perform other duties as may be assigned by the President.

The Treasurer

1. Shall be responsible for accounting and distribution of all CAHSS SGA funds.
2. Shall manage the Student Activity Fund; propose the CAHSS SGA budget; and sign, in conjunction with the President and Accounting Office of Student Affairs, all disbursements. Will ensure the Accounting Office of Student Affairs has signed-off all expenditures.
3. Shall attend and be a voting member of all Executive Board and Representative Council meetings.
4. Shall present a summary of budget expenditures to the Accounting Office of Student Affairs and post a copy on the CAHSS SGA website and bulletin board for students at the conclusion of the fiscal year.
5. Shall perform other duties as may be assigned by the President.

The Representative Council Officers:

1. Shall be the delegated spokesperson between their students and the CAHSS SGA.
2. Shall be responsible for gathering information, requests, suggestions, and sentiments of their students and accurately reporting such information to the Executive Board and Representative Council.
3. Shall attend and be a voting member of all Executive Board and Representative Council meetings.
4. Shall perform other duties as may be assigned by the President.

Section III: Executive Board and Representative Council Meetings

1. The Executive Board and Representative Council shall meet at least once per a month, at a mutually agreeable time and place.
2. The Executive Board and Representative Council may perform the functions that are assigned to it by these Bylaws and may take action upon any matter that warrants attention.
3. A simple majority of officers constitutes a quorum to transact any business.
4. Consensus building will be encouraged with regards to deciding questions that properly come before the Executive Board and Representative Council; however, in the event of gridlock, a simple majority vote will decide the issue with the President voting only in the case of a tie.
5. A copy of the minutes of every Executive Board and Representative Council meeting shall be posted within one (1) calendar week of the approval of said minutes.
6. No Executive Board and/or Representative Council meeting shall be convened or recognized as being convened unless the President is present or gives prior approval to a designated representative. Any meeting convened without the presence of the President will be considered invalid. Any and all CAHSS SGA business conducted in said meeting will be considered null and void.

Section IV: Order of Business

The order of business at regular meetings shall be as follows:

1. Report from committees.
2. Pending business.
3. New business
4. Announcements
5. Adjournment

This order of business can be altered according to need. Meetings will be kept to a time limit according to need of agenda.

Section V: Committees

1. The Executive Board and Representative may establish, dissolve, and give direction to such committees, as it considers expedient.
2. A committee may not perform any function of the Executive Board or Representative Council, but, subject to the direction of the Executive Board, may give advice and make recommendations to the Executive Board without limitations.

Section VI: Advisor

1. The faculty member appointed by the Dean, will serve as the co-curricula advisor(s) to the CAHSS SGA.

Section I: Election Procedures

1. The CAHSS SGA led by its Vice-president and overseen by the Faculty and Administrative Advisor will conduct the election, and enforce the election regulations and campaign procedures.
2. The Election Board shall supervise the voting process to ensure honesty, integrity, and compliance with the established rules, regulations, and procedures. Any candidate from the election whom the Election Board adjudges to be guilty of an infraction of the established rules and regulations shall be disqualified from the election.
3. For every election, the officers shall send to every student an announcement of the election and a "Call for Nominations" of candidates depending on the academic calendar, allowing for at least two full business weeks for both nominations and elections (five [5] business days each).
4. Students in good standing, who are currently enrolled in CAHSS programs, may nominate themselves or any other student.
5. Elections for new officers will be held in April.
6. The position of president will rotate between all CAHSS departments on a yearly basis. No program will have a student in the position of president for more than one year. A program will only have a student in the president position during the assigned turn in the rotation.
7. If no student is nominated for the president position in the year of that program's rotation, the president position will move to the next program in line in the rotation.
8. One nomination shall warrant inclusion on the final ballot.
9. One week after the "Call for Nominations" the officers shall close the nominations and shall prepare a ballot, including the names of the candidates, for the final election.
10. The ballot may also contain a list of current issues of interest to students and will ask the latter opinions regarding those issues.
11. Officers, in the presence of a CAHSS administrative staff member, will tabulate the ballots and post the results within 24 hours. The Election Board for the purpose of investigating voting irregularities may delay posting of results.
12. When two (2) or more candidates receive the same number of votes, the President will decide between the candidates.
13. When there is only one validly nominated candidate for an office, the President shall declare that candidate elected by acclamation.
14. The tenure of all officers begins on June 1st of the election year and ends on May 31st of the following year.
15. If an Executive position receives no nominations during the nominating period, the newly elected President, or, in the absence of a newly elected President, the newly elected Vice President, shall appoint students to these positions after taking office.

Section II: Candidate Eligibility

1. Only activity fee-paying students in good standing who are currently enrolled in CAHSS programs and who can physically attend CAHSS SGA meetings shall be eligible to hold offices within the Executive Board and Representative Council. The exception is the Online Student Representative, who may attend meetings either physically or via electronic media.
2. A student running for program, online, or international Student Representative must be classified as such.

Section III: Voting Eligibility

1. A CAHSS Student who is in good standing is qualified to vote in any election for officers.

Section I: Resignation

1. An officer may resign from the Executive Board or Representative Council by delivering a written resignation to the President, or if the resigning officer is the President, then the President shall submit the resignation to the Vice President. Then that office is thereupon deemed vacant.

Section II: Removal

1. An officer may be removed from the office before his or her term would have otherwise expired by a two-thirds (2/3) majority of votes cast at a closed Executive Board and Representative Council meeting; or at an open CAHSS SGA meeting; or by the student body in the form of a petition; and at least one of the following conditions must be met before said removal can take place:
   
   a. Appropriate grounds leading to the termination of that office due to an unexcused absence from more than two (2) Executive Board and Representative Council meetings within a Semester will cite that officer for removal, and that office becomes vacant upon said removal; or
   b. Appropriate grounds leading to the termination of that office due to a blatant disregard of one or more of the provisions of these Bylaws, or of a blatant disregard for said office characterized by a lack of "good faith" effort to carry out the necessary and appropriate duties and responsibilities of said office, will cite that officer for removal, and that office becomes vacant upon said removal.
   c. The office of an officer who ceases to be in good standing automatically thereupon becomes vacant.

Section III: Filling Vacancies

1. If an officer's position becomes vacant, the vacancy will be filled within one month of said vacancy by appointment by the Executive Board with the final approval granted by the President. The process will be executed in consultation with Faculty Advisor and/or Administrative Advisor
2. If the President's office becomes vacant, the Vice President shall fill the vacancy. The Vice President's office will then automatically become vacant, at which time the above procedure for filling vacancies shall be followed.

1. All officers of the Executive Board and Representative Council shall take the following Oath of Office:
   
   "I do solemnly affirm that I will, to the best of my ability, preserve, defend, and enforce the provisions of the Bylaws of the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences Student Association of Nova Southeastern University. I solemnly affirm that I will exercise the utmost care to uphold the good name of our school by diligently, faithfully, and conscientiously performing all my duties as an officer of the CAHSS SGA”

1. In all instances when they are applicable and not inconsistent with these Bylaws or any other special rules the organization shall adopt, the rules contained in the current edition of Merriam Webster's Rules of Order, by Laurie Rozakis, shall govern the CAHSS SGA.

Section I: Annual Audit

1. The financial records of the CAHSS SGA shall be audited annually and at such times as may be requested by Executive Board, Representative Council, or the Accounts Office of Student Affairs.

Section II: Financial Requests

1. CAHSS graduate students, and clubs and organizations may requests financial funds from the CAHSS Graduate SGA.
2. All requests must be officially requested utilizing the Fund Request Form and sent to the president of the CAHSS SGA.
3. CAHSS SGA Executive Board will review the request and present a proposed amount to the SGA General members.
4. All requests will be voted on during an official CAHSS Graduate SGA meeting by voting members.
5. Approved requests will be fulfilled by the Treasurer.

Section III: Conducting Business by Mail

1. The Executive Board and Representative Council may submit proposals for consideration and approval by the student body in mail referendum. A simple majority of members voting shall be necessary for approval of the proposals with the review of the Faculty Advisor.

Section IV: Conducting Business by Telephone

1. In case of emergency, action may be taken by the Executive Board and Representative Council by telephone (conference) call. There must be concurrence of a majority of the members of the Executive Board and Representative Council and such action shall be noted in a special memorandum placed in the minutes book and signed by a person obtaining such concurrence and shall be reported in the minutes of the next meeting.

Section V: Conducting Business by Email or Online meeting

1. In case of emergency, action may be taken by the Executive Board and Representative Council by email or online meeting. There must be concurrence of a majority of the members of the Executive Board and Representative Council and such action shall be noted in a special memorandum placed in the minutes book and signed by a person obtaining such concurrence and shall be reported in the minutes of the next meeting.

Section I: Purpose

1. Amendments to these Bylaws may be necessary in order to maintain consistent and impartial service to the students of the CAHSS.

Section II: Process

1. Proposed amendments to these Bylaws may be initiated by any student and presented to the CAHSS SGA President.
2. Proposed amendments to these will be placed on a ballot for referendum.
3. Amendment(s) to Bylaws must receive a majority roll-call vote from the CAHSS SGA Executive Board and be reviewed by the Faculty Advisor.

Section III: Ratification

1. If approved by the referendum, the amendment shall be incorporated into these Bylaws.
2. The Executive Board must ratify annual Bylaws and any amendments before incorporation.