Constitution & Bylaws
Collegiate Educators Association
College of Charleston Chapter

Constitution

Article I.
Purposes

Section 1.      CEA will provide an organized source of information and opportunities that:

1. Advances appropriate Early Childhood, Elementary, Middle Level, Special Education, Physical Education and Secondary teacher preparation.
2. Provides information that concerns maintaining an organized group of students involved in education on college and university campuses.
3. Promotes and invites collegiate participation at local, state, and national level conferences.
4. Provides information about current pre-service education major employment opportunities.
5. Supports legislation, standards, and recommendations that enhance middle level concepts, practices, and ideas.

Section 2.      CEA will:

1. Support and encourage teacher candidates studying in the School of Education, Health, and Human Performance, and in all schools of the College of Charleston
2. Inform members of progress and activities of CEA via newsletters, electronic technology, and other sources of communication.

Article II.
Membership

Section 1.      Membership is open to all College of Charleston students.

1. Membership is required in order to attend more than one regular meeting.
2. To attend a national or regional event or hold office, one must be a member in good standing.

Section 2.      A member in good standing must:

1. Be a full or part-time student.
2. Attend two local CEA activities per semester.
3. Take part in at least one fundraiser.
4. No dues are asked of members.

Section 3.      There shall be the following classes of membership:

1. Active:  An active member is one who supports all functions of the organization by attending meetings, voting, serving on committees, etc.
2. Charter:  Charter members are those who are especially recognized for their part in initiating the organization.  They have the same responsibilities and privileges of an active member for life.
3. Honorary:  An honorary member is one who is recognized as having reached a level of expertise in the field of middle level students.  Honorary members shall be entitled to all privileges of active members, except voting and holding office.  The Executive Committee shall present names of prospective honorary members at regular meetings.

Article III.
Officers

Section 1.      The officers of CEA shall include a President, Vice-President, Treasurer, and Secretary.    These officers shall compose the Executive Committee.  The Committee Chairs, in conjunction with the Executive Committee, will comprise the Executive Board.

1. Executive Committee will make a commitment to attend all executive meetings and miss no more than two CEA sponsored activities (extreme situations will be handled by the executive committee on an individual basis).
2. Executive Board will 1) Conduct monthly meetings with respective committees  2) Provide a monthly report to the Executive Committee at the Executive Board meeting  3) Commit to attend Executive Board meeting every month  4) Attend all activities conducted/organized by respective committees.

Section 2.      President
Duties of the President

1. Oversees all functions of the organization.
2. Represents CEA to College of Charleston and other events/organizations.
3. Finds conferences, workshops, etc for CEA (in conjunction with the advisor).
4. Schedules and presides over general and executive meetings/brings up topics of discussion.
5. Delegates duties/projects and related follow up.
6. Provides continuous leadership for CEA and its members.
7. Acts as ex-officio member of all committees.

Section 3.      Vice-President
Duties of the Vice-President

1. Supports the President.
2. Takes the place of the President in the event that the President is not present.
3. Appoints Committee Chairs to be approved by the Executive Committee.
4. Assists Committee Chairs in achieving their goals successfully.
5. Communicates with Committee Chairs and makes sure they are on schedule/being productive.
6. Acts as program chair.
7. Maintains a program log, including an event history.

Section 4.      Secretary
Duties of the Secretary

1. Keeps minutes of all meetings.
2. Emails minutes to the Executive Board, Honorary and Charter members within two days of the meeting
3. Keeps a logbook of minutes that is brought to every meeting to be used as a reference.
4. Maintains up-to-date records of members and their contact information.
5. Keeps membership and College of Charleston informed of events and meetings via email, newsletters, posters, and signs with the assistance of the Public Relations Committee.
6. Acts as ex-officio member of Public Relations Committee.

Section 5.      Treasurer
Duties of the Treasurer

1. Maintains a record of accounts payable and accounts receivable via a non-computerized ledger system.
2. Maintains accounts receivable via a receipt book and accounts payable via documentation (i.e. receipts, invoices, etc.).
3. Presents a monthly financial statement at Executive Committee meetings.
4. Issues statements to members who are not in good standing upon approval of the Executive Committee.
5. Acts as ex-officio member of the Fundraising Committee.
6. Maintains records of attendance.

Section 6.      Committee Chairs
Duties of the Committee Chairs

a.         Regulate, delegate, and otherwise execute the duties of the specific committee with the assistance of committee members.
b.         Report monthly to the Executive Committee on the actions and progress of respective committees.
c.         Select committee members from active members in good standing to be approved by the Executive Committee.

Article IV.
Advisor

Section 1.      Duties of the Advisor will be:

1. Acts as a resource for CEA.
2. Acts as a liaison/representative of the College of Charleston Chapter of the CEA in the national organization that our chapter subscribes to.
3. Provides up-to-date information regarding CEA nationally, as well as functions, workshops, and conferences to attend (in conjunction with the President).
4. Attends CEA activities, meetings, and events to include Executive meetings.

Article V.
Selection of Officers

Section 1.      The elected officers shall be the President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer and shall compose the Executive Committee.

1. A candidate for office shall be a member in good standing for one full semester.
2. All elected positions and Committee Chairs will be selected on an annual basis.
3. No officer or Committee Chair shall serve more than two consecutive years in the same Board position.
4. The nominees for President must 1) Be accepted into the Education Program 2) Complete Semester One of the Education Program 3) Will not participate in a Clinical Practice during their term.  In addition, no individual can serve more than one year as President.

Section 2.      Any vacancy in office will be filled at the first regular meeting following the vacancy.  Nomination, voting, and announcement of the new officer will all occur at this meeting.

Article VI.
Terms

Section 1.      The officers shall have a one-year term, beginning on May 1st and ending April 30th of the same year.  The new officers will shadow the exiting officers from the election date in February until April 30th at which time the new officers will assume office.

Section 2.      No more than two consecutive terms in the same position on the Executive Board may be served.

Section 3.      The President may only hold office for one term.

Article VII.
Meetings

Section 1.      A general membership meeting will be held once a month, excluding the months of May, June, July, and December.

1. The Executive Committee will meet prior to the general membership meeting each month, with the exception of November.  In November both the old and newly elected members of the Executive Committee will meet after the general membership meeting.

Section 2.      Each standing committee will meet a minimum of once a month.  They will meet more frequently, if deemed necessary by the respective Committee Chair.

Section 3.      The Executive Board will meet once a month.

Section 4.      Additional events, fundraisers, and conferences will be scheduled to occur outside of the above noted monthly meetings.  These events, fundraisers, and conferences will be determined and announced as seen fit by the current Executive Board (in response to the fluctuating needs of the membership).

Article VIII.
Standing Committees

Section 1.      Standing committees will be:  Public Relations, Fundraising, and Conference Preparation.

Section 2.      Members of each standing committee must be:

a.         Members in good standing.

1. Selected by the Committee Chair.
2. Approved by the Executive Committee.

Section 3.      Each standing Committee Chair must be:

a.         Members in good standing.
b.         Selected by the Vice-President.
c.         Approved by the Executive Committee.

Section 4.      Public Relations
Duties of the Public Relations Committee

a.         Meet at least once a month, excluding the months of May, June, July, and December.
b.         Chair will provide the Executive Board with a written report on the group’s work at each Executive Board meeting.
c.         Assist the Secretary with communications.
d.         Promote CEA on campus and in the community.
e.         Document events via pictures, programs, etc., and maintain a scrapbook which documents the year’s events.

Section 5.      Fundraising
Duties of the Fundraising Committee

a.         Meet at least once a month, excluding the months of May, June, July, and December.
b.         Chair will provide the Executive Board with a written report on the group’s work at each Executive Board meeting.
c.         Organize, execute and staff fundraisers.
d.         Turn in a fundraising folder to the secretary after each fundraiser.  This folder should include an attendance roster, a completed event evaluation form, and documentation of all accounts payable and receivable via receipts, invoices, etc.

Section 6.      Conference Preparation
Duties of the Conference Preparation Committee

a.         Meet at least once a month, excluding the months of May, June, July, and December.
b.         Chair will provide the Executive Board with a written report on the group’s work at each Executive Board meeting.
c.         Research/present transportation, room/board, and conference fee options to the Executive Committee.
d.         Provide the membership with a detailed list of what to bring.
e.         Provide applications and an appropriate deadline, as well as follow up with conference provider to ensure that everyone is properly registered.
f.          Make all arrangements for the group after presentation and approval of options (by the Executive Committee).

Article IX.
Amendments and Changes to the Constitution and Bylaws

Section 1.      Recommendations for changes and amendments to the Constitution or Bylaws must be brought to the Executive Committee, who will then seek the advice of the Advisor.  The Executive Committee and the advisor will submit a statement regarding the proposed change at the next November general meeting.  All recommendations must be submitted thirty days prior to the November general meeting.

Section 2.      Changes or amendments to the Constitution or Bylaws will be determined by a membership vote at the November general meeting or will be dictated by a separate College of Charleston Committee in order to legitimize CEA according to College of Charleston rules as outlined in Compass.  Voting will be conducted by means of secret ballot at the same time as the election of officers.

Section 3.      Changes to the Constitution that are not mandated by the College of Charleston and/or Compass  will require a two-thirds vote of the membership present at the November general meeting.  Changes to the Bylaws will require a majority vote of the membership present at the November general meeting.

Section 4.      All changes become effective on January 1st of the following year, unless approved as especially necessary to become immediately effective according to a majority vote of the Executive Committee. The advisor will vote in the event of a tie.

BYLAWS

Article X.
Finance

Section 1.      Allocation of Funds

1. The allocation of funds will be the responsibility of the treasurer.
2. The Executive Committee must approve the allocation of funds.

Section 2.      Budget will be reviewed and approved each year at the final meeting of the Executive Committee held after the November general meeting.  At this meeting, both the exiting and new officers will be in attendance.