University of Missouri Kansas Cityhigher Education Student Association

University of Missouri – Kansas CityHigher Education Student Association

CONSTITUTION

Higher Education Student Association (HESA)

Article I

Name

Section A: The name of the organization shall be Higher Education Student Association (HESA) of the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC).

Article II

Purpose and Preamble

Section A: The purpose of the organization shall be to serve the specific and current needs of students enrolled or interested in Higher Education Administration at UMKC by:

i. Creating community among higher education administration students, faculty, and alumni;

ii. Providing a forum for the exchange of ideas on current issues in higher education;

iii. Providing opportunities for professional and personal development for members;

iv. Offering professional experiences in conference participation, planning and organization;

v. Networking with other student associations;

vi. Assisting in the professional advancement of members.

Article III

Membership

Section A:Membership in the Higher Education Student Association shall be open to all duly enrolled students at the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) and on the active Higher Education Student Association active roster. Membership and activities are open to all currently enrolled students regardless of race, color, creed, sex, sexual orientations, age, national origin, disability, or veteran status.

Section B: Executive board positions in this organization are open to all qualifying graduate students currently enrolled in the Higher Education Administration program at UMKC. (See Article VI Section C)

Article IV

Meetings

Section A: Officer meetings will be held monthly and as needed. General membership meetings shall be held regularly, and at the discretion of the officers during the academic year. No mandatory meeting will be held during semester breaks. All official meetings will be run in accordance with the most recent version of Roberts Rules of Order.

Article V

Committees

Section A: Committees shall be determined and administered by the HESA executive board as needed on a semester basis.

Article VI

Executive Board Officers

Section A: Officers of this organization shall consist of President, Vice President, TreasurerandSecretary. Each officer will serve a term of one academic year. New officer elections will be held in the spring semesterno later than March 1stand will be based on a majority vote of the active membership. If at time of the annual elections the office of President-Elect is vacant, the Office of President will be open to election and thereby, utilize the current election format of the Higher Education Student Association.

Section B: Nominations of officers are to open one (1) general business meeting prior to the election meeting. Nominations are to remain open until the start of elections.

Section C: Qualifications for the office of President must have attended two (2) general business meetings with the election meeting counting as one (1).

Section D: Election of Officers of this organization must be chosen in an election format held annually in the spring semester and is open to all current graduate students in the UMKC Higher Education Student Association Chapter. Reasonable effort will be made to notify all Higher Education students of said election and, further, to reasonably accommodate the needs of all members desiring to participate.

1. Elections shall occur by March 1st and Incoming (newly-elected) Officers shall assemble as a budget committee after March 1st for the sole purpose of creating and submitting a budget for the following academic year. Incoming (newly-elected) officers will assume their respective positions on May 1st,and serve a one-year term. All positions will be held for a term of one year which shall expire on April 30th of each following year, regardless of when the term of office began. Officers may be re-elected consecutively to the same office for an additional one-year term.

iii.The officers shall be elected at large by the UMKC Higher Education Student Association chapter during the designated election. In no case may an election be held without notice of at least 3 (three) business days prior to said election. The date of election will be set by the Higher Education Student Association.

iv. Officers of this organization must be chosen in an election format open to the active UMKC Higher Education Student Association chapter. Every effort will be made to notify all members of said election and, further, to reasonably accommodate the needs of all members desiring to participate.

v. Officers must meet minimum eligibility requirements, including cumulative GPA of 2.5, six credit hours of current enrollment, and must not be on student conduct disciplinary or honor code probation. The requirement to be enrolled in six credit hours will be waived for Doctoral students who have completed their formal degree coursework, have passed their comprehensive or matriculation examination, and are continuously enrolled in at least one hour of research in the fall and spring semesters.

Section D: Vacancies

1. Any executive officer vacancy may be filled at a regularly scheduled general meeting at which time a replacement may be elected by a majority vote of the members presentat the next official business meeting after the vacancy has been announced and approved by the general body. Any replacement officer will only finish out the remainder of original term, but may run for an officer position officially at the next election.

Article VII

Advisor

Section A: A qualified faculty, staff, or community member must be selected by the membership as an advisor. The advisor of this organization shall be decided by the executive board of the organization, and approved by a faculty member of the Division of Educational Leadership, Policy & Foundations (ELPF) in the School of Education at UMKC.

Article VIII

Finances

Section A: Provisions will be given for dues, fines, and initiation fees. The books of account shall be kept up to date and open to inspection of the University auditor. An annual budget must be submitted to the School of Education Student Government (SOESG) by April for the following academic year.

Article IX

Amendments

Section A: This constitution may be amended by a 51% majority of members present at any regularly scheduled meeting of the association provided the amendment is submitted in writing to the association in advance. It is understood that if the organization desires at any time in the future to change any of the provisions of this chapter, that before such action is taken, the organization will submit for approval to the Student Government Association and the Office of Student Involvement(OSI)every detail of the desired changes to be made.

Article X

Operations and Responsibilities

Section A: By-Laws: Duties and Responsibilities of Officers:

i. President:

a. Responsible for planning and organizing meetings;

b. Motivating/supporting committee leaders and members;

c. Communication between faculty and student body;

d. Approving expenses proposed by members;

e. Taking students concerns before faculty and HESA members;

f. Attend OSI Funding workshop held in the Fall semester or assign a delegate;

g. Over-see the following academic year’s budget planning in the spring semester.

ii. Vice-President:

a. Responsible for planning and organizing meetings in president’s absence;

b. Motivating and supporting committee leaders and members;

c. Responsible for taking over presidents duties if absent;

d. Responsible for coordinating with all committees and will serve as the parliamentarian of the organization during the spring semester.

iii. Treasurer

a. Responsible for chairing budget committee in accordance of Article VIII, section A;

b. Keeping budget book up to date at every meeting;

c. In charge of fund raising;

d. Processing Budget requests;

e. Power to approve requests up to $100, requests from $101-$250 with joint approval of the president. All requests of $251 and above needs majority approval of voting body;

f. Handle all funding requests with OSI;

g. Attend OSI funding workshop held in the fall semester, or assign a delegate.

iv.Secretary:

a. Responsible for sending out meeting reminders before all general meetings, organizing meeting minutes and submitting appropriate information to list-serve;

b. Collects and maintains all contact information of the membership;

c. Responsible for organization newsletter.

v. Public Relations Chair:

a. Responsible for running/maintaining social media outlets;

b. Promote H.E.S.A. activities as fit;

c. All other duties assigned as public relations duties.

Article XI

Hazing

Section A: Membership to the HESA shall not be contingent upon hazing activities of any kind. Hazing is strictly prohibited in the state of Missouri and by the University. Hazing is defined as any willful act, occurring on or off the campus of an educational institution, directed against a student or prospective member of an organization operating under the sanction of an educational institution, that recklessly endangers the mental or physical state of health of a student or prospective member for the purpose of initiation or admission into or continued membership in any such organization. The HESA, as an organization operating under the sanction of the University of Missouri-Kansas City, will not condone hazing activities of any kind, including but not limited to:

1. Any activity that recklessly endangers the physical health or safety of the student or prospective member, including but not limited to physical brutality, whipping, beating, branding, exposure to the elements, forced consumption of any food or liquor, drug or other substance;
2. Any activity that endangers the mental health of the student or prospective member, including but not limited to sleep deprivation, physical confinement, or other extreme stress-inducing activity;
3. Any activity that requires the student or prospective member to perform a duty or task which involves a violation of the criminal laws of this state or any political subdivision in this state.
4. Hazing is a class C felony.

Last Edited on February 12, 2014

August 20131 | Page