Council of Unions and Student Programs Constitution and Bylaws
Updated Fall 1998
Article I
Name
This organization will be known as the Council of Unions and Student Programs (CUSP).
Article II
Purpose
To provide an avenue for advancing professional development and planning for student programs and student union management staff within member community and technical colleges. CUSP is dedicated to assisting member institutions to make significant contributions to the total campus environment, as well as enhancing the goals of student programs and union staff within the community and technical college system. CUSP goals will be realized through individuals, including community and technical college staff members and student leaders, student services administrators and other members of the campus community. CUSP is a non-profit organization dedicated to exclusively educational purposes, and is organized to accomplish the following purposes:
- To offer opportunities for members of CUSP to share concerns and to participate in cooperative problem-solving;
- To provide a means by which persons associated with member institutions can meet to stimulate a spirit of collaboration and advance the educational interests of the institutions they represent;
- To provide programs, materials, and resources designed to assist in the increased effectiveness of persons who are involved in the governance, administration, operation, and direction of student unions and programs and those involved in the planning and conduct of educational, cultural, recreational, and social programs, as well as student union management, for the campus community;
- To encourage, support and share research designed to further develop the educational aims of CUSP and its members. To publish reports, newsletters or other publications as needed (to include listserv correspondence);
- To offer encouragement and assistance to community and technical colleges in the planning and development of union facilities and campus activity programs;
- To foster and to recognize high standards of performance, service, and professionalism as demonstrated in the furtherance of the educational purposes of the educational, cultural, recreational, and social programs, and student union management provided for the academic community;
- To represent the needs and interests of the student unions and programs within the broader field of higher education and within the larger community.
The assets of CUSP are irrevocably dedicated to its educational purposes. No individual shall benefit from any income or be paid except for a reasonable compensation for their services. Designated CUSP members may be reimbursed for actual expenses incurred in the execution of their official CUSP responsibilities.
Article III
Membership
Membership in CUSP shall be open to any Washington community and technical college student unions and programs professional staff.
Article IV
Officers and Their Elections
Sec. 1: The officers of CUSP shall be the President, President-Elect, Immediate Past-President, Secretary, and Treasurer.
Sec. 2: The President-Elect, Secretary, and Treasurer shall be elected as specified in Article III of the Bylaws: Voting.
Sec. 3: Appointed positions of CUSP shall be newsletter editor and others as deemed appropriate by the members. The term of office shall be in accordance with Article IV, Section 5.
Sec. 4: The slate of officers shall be selected by a Nominations Committee (see Bylaws, Article VI) and reported to the CUSP membership at the annual spring business meeting. An opportunity for nominations from the floor will be provided before voting.
Sec. 5: The term of office for all elected officers of CUSP shall extend from the conclusion of the regular spring business meeting at which time they are declared elected through the next annual spring business meeting.
Article V
Executive Committee
There shall be an Executive Committee which shall consist of the President, President-Elect, the Immediate Past-President, Secretary and Treasurer.
Article VI
Meetings
Section 1: CUSP shall meet quarterly excluding summer quarter, or as determined by the membership.
Section 2: Robert’s Rules of Order, most recently revised, shall be the authority on questions of parliamentary procedure.
Section 3: The Executive committee will meet as needed to plan subsequent CUSP quarterly meetings.
Article VII
Amendments
Any of the articles of the Constitution and Bylaws may be amended or repealed, and supplementary articles added hereto by any CUSP member, so long as such revision shall not change the exclusively educational purposes for which CUSP is organized and operated. Any revisions may be made upon written notice to all members no less than thirty (30) days prior to a quarterly meeting followed by a majority vote of all members present during the business meeting.
*Any member may propose changes to the Constitution and Bylaws as long as they do not change the educational purposes of the Council.
Bylaws (Updated Fall 1998)
Article I
Duties of Officers
Section 1: The President shall:
- Direct the affairs of CUSP and preside at all meetings;
- Appoint, with the approval of the Executive Committee, appointed positions and any necessary ad hoc committees and commissions; and
- Oversee the coordination of CUSP quarterly meetings.
Section 2: The President-Elect shall:
- Assume the duties of the President in the President’s absence;
- Work with the President to plan and implement the spring quarter meeting;
- Chair the Nominations Committee; and
- Perform such other duties as delegated by the President.
Section 3: The Past-President shall:
- Assist the President and President-Elect as needed and determined by the Executive Committee.
Section 4: The Secretary shall:
- Maintain all CUSP minutes and correspondence of the membership and coordinate the compilation and distribution of listserv items; and
- serve as historian of CUSP. He/she will also send copies of meeting minutes and treasurer’s reports to the Dean’s Commission.
Section 5: The Treasurer shall:
- Maintain the financial records, make quarterly reports, collect quarterly registration fees and disperse funds as required to pay CUSP expenses.
Article II
Executive Committee
The Executive Committee shall serve as the policy-making and administrative branch of CUSP, consistent with the Constitution and Bylaws. It shall review and approve periodic operating statements and audit reports, make recommendations to the body regarding the time and place of quarterly meetings, fill vacancies as may occur in its membership, and prepare the agenda for meetings.
Article III
Voting
Section 1: Voting will be by one member from each institution (and/or satellite campus) in attendance at the quarterly business meeting.
Section 2: There will be no voting by proxy.
Article IV
Registration
Section 1: Registration fees for all participants in CUSP will be determined by the Executive Committee. These shall be the only fees which may be assessed in the name of CUSP.
Section 2: Registration fees shall be payable at or prior to each quarterly meeting.
Article V
Committees
Section 1:Ad-Hoc Committees
The President will establish, with the approval of the Executive Committee, such committees as are determined to be necessary to serve the goals of CUSP and its members. The President shall appoint, with approval of the Executive Committee, chairpersons and committee members for such committees. The Executive Committee will determine and outline in writing the initial charge of any committee prior to its establishment, the appointment of a chairperson, or the selection of other members of the body. All committees shall be evaluated regularly and may be retained, revised, or deleted by action of the Executive Committee. Description of the charges to and the responsibilities of all committees will be made available to members upon request.
Section 2: Nominations Committee
The Nominations Committee shall consist of three (3) members who shall be the current President, the immediate Past President and President-Elect. The Nominations Committee will solicit suggestions from CUSP membership for each vacant officer position and shall prepare a slate of nominees for each office.