BYLAWS

THE BYLAWS TO THE CONSTITUTION OF

THE TEXAS ASSOCIATION OF COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY

STUDENT PERSONNEL ADMINISTRATORS

ARTICLE I - ELECTION OF OFFICERS 

Section 1. In January, the President shall appoint an Election Committee, which shall be chaired by the Past President. The Election Committee shall conduct the election of officers prior to June. 

Section 2.  The election ballot shall be made up of those nominees receiving the largest number of nominations. No candidate’s name may appear for more than one position. 

Section 3. The Election Committee may modify the ballot to achieve a balance between candidates and positions in the case of ties and duplication of nominees in the nominating process. 

Section 4. The Election Committee shall ascertain the eligibility of each nominee. 

Section 5. The Election Committee shall ascertain from each nominee a willingness to stand for election. 

Section 6. The Election Committee shall solicit from the candidates and provide to the membership information relevant to the qualifications of each candidate. 

Section 7. Elected officers shall be those candidates who receive the greatest number of votes cast. 

Section 8. In the case that two candidates receive an equal number of votes, the Board of Directors shall vote to break the tie. 

Section 9. Voting Scope. 

A.     The President-Elect, Vice President for Administration, Vice President for Marketing & Membership, Vice President for Education and Professional Development, Director of Technology, Treasurer, and Secretary shall be elected by the membership at large. 

ARTICLE II – BALLOTING 

Balloting on the Constitution, officers, and dues shall be by electronic and/or mailed ballot as determined by the election committee. 

ARTICLE III - DUTIES OF OFFICERS 

Section 1. General Duties 

All officers shall: 

A.     Attend all Board of Directors meetings; 

B.     Accept committee responsibilities as assigned by the President and the Board of Directors; 

C.    Approve the general and conference budgets; 

D.    Act as resource person for TACUSPA; 

E.     Provide vision and direction for TACUSPA;  

F.     Contribute, as necessary, to the TACUSPA Newsletter articles that are pertinent to the Board of Directors member’s area of responsibility;

G.    Carry out voting responsibilities; 

H.    Maintain, evaluate, and revise as needed TACUSPA’s strategic plan; and 

I.      Officers are expected to file an Acceptance Agreement for Volunteer Leadership form with the President. 

Section 2. Specific Duties 

A.     President 

Responsibilities of the President:

• shall preside over all state meetings and conferences;

• will prepare meeting agendas for all Board of Directors meetings;

• will schedule and coordinate all necessary arrangements for the board of directors meetings;

• shall preside over all board of directors meetings;

• serves as an ex-officio member of all committees and commissions;

• coordinates the training of all elected officers;

• administers all oaths of office to new and continuing officers;

• oversees all policies and procedures of the organization;

• must prepare an annual report and present the report at the fall conference each year;

• shall directly oversee the chairs for each conference committee;

·  shall serve as an ex-officio member of the TACUSPA Foundation; and

• acts as the liaison with state, regional, and national organizations and agencies. 

Authorities of the President:

 •is a full voting member of the board of directors;

· may appoint committees and commissions;

• may appoint a chairperson for a committee or commission;

• shall open nominations for awards that are offered by the organization; and

• has the right to create new awards or special recognitions. 

Accountabilities of the President:

• The appropriate use of all organizational funds; and

• The continued success of the organization. 

B.     President-Elect 

Responsibilities of the President-Elect:

• recommends the sites for future conferences;

• appoints the conference committee chairs for conferences taking place during their term of office;

• appoints a coordinator for the New Professionals Institute for their term in office;

• is responsible for recognition of the out-going president and other outgoing officers and conference chair at the fall conference at which they will begin their term of office;

• is responsible for the preparation and delivery of a TACUSPA operations manual to each new officer upon election;

· shall serve as an ex-officio member of the TACUSPA Foundation; and

• shall perform other duties as assigned by the president. 

Authorities of the President-Elect:

• is a full voting member of the Board of Directors;

• will assume the role of president the following year; and

• will assume the role of president if the current president is unable to fulfill the duties during their term of office. 

Accountabilities of the President-Elect:

•  The negotiation of contracts for upcoming conferences.

C.    Past President 

Responsibilities of the Past President:

• shall coordinate all nominations and elections of organizational officers;

• shall provide direction for the organization’s newsletter editor;

· shall serve as an ex-officio member of the TACUSPA Foundation; and

• shall coordinate the Dr. James E. (Jim) Caswell Distinguished Service Award nomination and selection process. 

Authorities of the Past President:

• is a full voting member of the board of directors. 

Accountabilities of the Past President:

• The integrity of the officer election process. 

D.    Vice President for Administration (2 year term) 

Responsibilities for the Vice President for Administration:

• shall maintain the constitution and By-laws;

• will present all proposed changes to the constitution and By-laws to the appropriate parties for a vote;

• will verify the final vote tally for all propositions relating to the constitution and By-laws;

• shall coordinate the activities of the awards and recognitions committee;

• shall provide leadership and supervision to the special projects committee;

• shall provide support for the coordinator of legislative affairs;

• is responsible for maintaining the TACUSPA Operations Manual; and

• shall perform other duties as assigned by the president. 

Authorities of the Vice President for Administration:

• is a full voting member of the Board of Directors;

• recommend appointments for committees and commissions to the president; and

• serves as the parliamentarian for the organizations and enforces all rules of order during organized meetings.  

Accountabilities of the Vice President for Administration:

• The annual review of the organizations constitution and By-laws; and

• The maintenance of the TACUSPA Operations Manual.

 E.     Vice President for Marketing & Membership (2 year term)

 Responsibilities for Vice President for Marketing & Membership:

• coordinates the annual membership drive;

• develops an annual marketing plan for the organization and shares this plan at the annual fall conference;

• shall maintain and supervise the database of all student personnel staff in Texas;

• shall maintain and supervise the database of all organization members, institutional and individual;

• shall prepare and distribute a membership directory;

• shall respond to all requests for membership directory information from current members and outside agencies;

• shall be responsible for the recruitment, coordination and recognition of volunteers; and

• shall perform other duties as assigned by the president.  

Authorities of Vice President for Marketing & Membership:

• is a full voting member of the Board of Directors;

• can change the content of the organizational web site; and

• may recommend appointments for committees and commissions to the president. 

Accountabilities of Vice President for Marketing & Membership:

• The development of a comprehensive marketing plan for the organization;

• The integrity of the data maintained in the database;

• The safe storage and backup of data files; and

• The recruitment, coordination and recognition of volunteers.

F.     Vice President for Education and Professional Development  (2 year term)  

Responsibilities for Vice President for Education and Professional Development:

• oversees the actions of the graduate education and research committee and graduate student caucus;

• oversees the creation and development of knowledge communities;

• oversees the creation and development of new educational programs for members;

• serves as a member of the programming committee for the fall conference;

• shall give direction to the fellowship and scholarship committee; and

• shall perform other duties as assigned by the president.  

Authorities of Vice President for Education and Professional Development:

• is a full voting member of the Board of Directors; and

• may recommend appointments for committees and commissions to the president.  

Accountabilities of Vice President for Education and Professional Development:

• The development and activities of knowledge communities, GEAR and Graduate Student Caucus.

G.    Secretary (3 year term)  

Responsibilities of the Secretary:

• shall record and distribute the minutes of all business meetings; and

• shall deposit a copy of all approved meeting minutes, pictures of TACUSPA events, and a copy of the President’s annual report with the archivist at the Barker Texas History Center (Austin, Texas) each year. 

Authorities of the Secretary:

• is a full voting member of the Board of Directors; 

Accountabilities of the Secretary:

• must submit all appropriate documents for the archives. 

G. Treasurer (3 year term) 

Responsibilities of the Treasurer:

• shall be the custodian of all TACUSPA funds;

• shall deposit all funds collected and disburse all funds expended;

• shall submit quarterly financial reports to the President and Board of Directors;

• shall provide annual income and expenditure statements to each officer;

• shall complete credit, tax, and all other appropriate financial documents and applications relating to the operations of the organization;

• insures that all accounting and IRS guidelines are met;

• will contract for the audit of accounts once during their term in office;

• shall track and report on all investments;

• is responsible for the establishment of an organizational budget for each fiscal year (September 1 to

August 31); and

• shall provide a year-end financial summary at annual business meeting. 

Authorities of the Treasurer:

• is a full voting member of the Board of Directors; and

• has signature authority on all financial matters. 

Accountabilities of the Treasurer:

• appropriate use of all organizational funds;

• financial management of all investment funds;

• audit of all accounts; and

• preparation of an annual budget. 

H. Director of Technology (2 year term) 

Responsibilities of the Director of Technology:

• shall oversee the development and maintenance of the web-site and all social media used to market and communicate to the membership;

• shall maintain the association’s list-serv;

• shall support all association initiatives as related to technology;

• shall provide direction to the technology committee; and

• shall contract with a web site coordinator; 

Authorities of the Director Technology:

• is a full voting member of the Board of Directors; and

• can change the content of the organizational web site. 

Accountabilities of the Director of Technology:

• safe storage and backup of data files. 

ARTICLE IV - CONFERENCE, COMMISSION, AND CHAIRPERSONS 

All conference, commission, and caucus chairs shall be professional members in good standing with TACUSPA and shall reside in the State of Texas during the term of their office. 

ARTICLE V – MEMBERSHIP 

The annual membership calendar is from January 1st to December 31st. There are three levels of membership: professional, student and institutional. 

Section 1. Professional Membership - Membership shall be open to all student personnel administrators, to those persons employed within the area of student affairs, to educators who train student personnel workers, and others interested in student development. Professional members are entitled to the following rights and privileges:

A.     Nominating and voting privileges; 

B.     Participation in meetings and conferences; 

C.    Use of placement services; 

D.    Subscription to all TACUSPA publications and all regular communications; 

E.     Membership on committees and commissions; 

F.     Research grant opportunities; and 

G.    Holding elected office in TACUSPA. 

Section 2. Student Membership - Membership shall be open to all matriculated students (undergraduate or graduate) who are interested in student personnel work upon the recommendation of a professional member. Student members are entitled to the following rights and privileges: 

A.     Nominating and voting privileges; 

B.     Participation in meetings and conferences; 

C.    Use of placement services; 

D.    Subscription to all TACUSPA publications and all regular communications; 

E.     Membership on committees and commissions; and 

F.     Research grant opportunities. 

Section 3. Institutional Membership - These memberships are optional and exist solely as a service to institutions.

    There are five levels of membership that an institution may select from. They are described below: 

Option 1         3 Memberships Included: SSAO plus two additional members 

Option 2         6 Memberships Included: SSAO plus five additional members 

Option 3         9 Memberships Included: SSAO plus eight additional members 

Option 4         12 Memberships Included: SSAO plus eleven additional members 

Option 5         15 Memberships Included: SSAO plus fourteen additional members 

Institutions may substitute two student memberships for each professional membership that accompanies their institutional membership. 

ARTICLE VI- CONFERENCES 

Section 1. Fall Conference. A conference, which is generalist in nature, shall be held in the fall semester of each year and shall serve as the regular annual conference for TACUSPA. 

A.     The exact time and site of the Annual Conference shall be approved by the Board of Directors, based on recommendations from the President-Elect and Conference Chairperson. 

B.     The Conference Chairperson shall be appointed by the President-Elect and approved by the Board of Directors, and shall be responsible to the President-Elect for planning and coordinating activities and programs for the Fall Conference. 

C.    The Annual Business Meeting shall be conducted as a formal part of the Fall Conference. A full financial report, a report of TACUSPA activities, and presentation of all TACUSPA awards shall be made at this meeting. 

Section 2. TACUSPA may sponsor or co-sponsor other professional meetings and conferences, such as a Summer Theme Conference or law conference, each year as deemed appropriate by a majority of the Board of Directors.