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1. Enrollment: Only currently enrolled students at NVC (enrolled in one or more classes) are eligible to join the computer science club.

2. Academic Standing: Members must be in good academic standing with the college or university, as defined by the institution's policies.

3. Interest: Students who have a genuine interest in computer science or related fields are eligible to join the club, regardless of their major.

4. Active Participation: Members must actively participate in club activities, meetings, and events each semester (Minimum 3)as determined by the club leadership or bylaws.

5. Non-Discrimination: The club will not discriminate against potential members on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, religion, disability, or any other protected characteristic, in accordance with applicable laws and college/university policies.

6. Code of Conduct: Members must abide by the NVC code of student conduct which outlines expected behavior and prohibits any form of harassment, discrimination, or disruptive conduct. 

Section 2: Voting Member Criteria

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Membership Revocation: Membership can be revoked for members who fail to meet eligibility criteria, violate club rules, or engage in behavior deemed detrimental to the club's goals and values. The process for revoking membership should be clearly outlined in the bylaws.

Section 2: Voting Member Criteria

State how a student becomes a voting member [e.g., attends a certain % of meetings/events, pays dues, etc] and if there are any criteria for any other membership categories. This is an important issue for your organization – you want to make sure that students listed on your voting member list are active, interested students in your group.

1. Enrollment: Only currently enrolled students at NVC are eligible to become voting members of the computer science club.

2. Membership Duration: To be eligible to vote, members must have been part of the club for at least 3 months.

3. Active Participation: Voting members should demonstrate active involvement in the club's activities, meetings, and events. o be eligible to vote, members must have attended 3 previous events/meetings or workshops.  

Section 3: Removal of Members

Membership Revocation: Membership can be revoked for members who fail to meet eligibility criteria, violate club rules, or engage in behavior deemed detrimental to the club's goals and values. The process for revoking membership should be clearly outlined in the bylaws.State the process to remove any member who is not in good standing with the club. Due process must be followed. Things to consider are: reasonable notice to the person being considered for removal, opportunity to defend their position, quorum needed to vote, timeline for the process, appeal processis stated below.

1. Official Complaint (verbal or written notice to advisor or club officer) to include specific details about the alleged violation(s) and any supporting evidence.

2. Investigation: Club Faculty Advisor is for conducting an impartial investigation into the complaint. This investigation should be conducted in a fair and confidential manner.

3. Notice and Opportunity to Respond: Once the investigation is complete, provide written notice to the member against whom the complaint has been filed. This notice should include the specific allegations, a summary of the evidence gathered during the investigation, and a designated period (e.g., 7 days) for the member to respond to the allegations.

4. Disciplinary Hearing: If the member chooses to respond, hold a disciplinary hearing to allow the member to present their side of the story. The hearing should be conducted by a neutral party or panel, separate from the investigative committee. During the hearing, both the complainant and the accused member should have the opportunity to present witnesses and evidence, and ask questions of each other.

5. Decision and Appeal Process: After the disciplinary hearing, the committee or panel should deliberate and make a decision regarding the member's removal. If the decision is to remove the member, provide an opportunity for the member to appeal the decision.

6. Notification of Removal: If the decision to remove the member is upheld or if no appeal is made within 30 days, a written notification will be provided to the member, informing them of the decision and the effective date of their removal from the club.

7. Confidentiality: Each person/member involved in the process will maintain confidentiality throughout the process to protect the privacy of all involved parties.

8. Non-Discrimination: The removal process should not be based on discrimination or bias, and should comply with applicable laws and NVC policies.

9. Reinstatement: Any request for reinstatement will be reviewed and approved/rejected by the Academic advising committee of the organization.

III. OFFICERS.

Section 1: Officer Qualifications

Identify what qualifications a student must have to be eligible to be an officer. This may include GPA, length of time in organization, previous experience, etc. All officers must be current Northwest Vista College students. See Article IV for Election procedures. 

Section 2: Elected Officers

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Section 4: Vacancy in Office

In the event a vacancy should occur (resignation or removal), provisions must be made to fill the vacancy. Officer succession/"chain of command" should be addressed (e.g., in the event that the President leaves office, the Vice President will assume those duties until a special election is held. Then refer readers to the special election section of Article IV.

Section 5: Removal of Officers

Grounds for removal of an officer must be clearly identified. Similar to the removal of members, due process must be followed. (see above) Make sure you note the role of your club advisor. One example:

A petition to remove the officer in question must be submitted to another officer. This petition must contain the signatures of x% of voting members. When such petition is received, the officer shall call a meeting of the club to determine whether or not the officer should be removed.

Grounds for removal are to presented by the officer in charge at a regular or special club meeting.

The officer in question shall be provided an opportunity to present a defense either in person or in writing.

A quorum shall be present, and a (x%, 2/3, simply majority) vote of the voting members shall decide upon removal.

Section 6: Appeal of Removal of Officers

This section clearly outlines what procedure a removed officer can take to appeal the club’s decision.

IV. ELECTIONS.

Section 1: Nomination Process

State how officer candidates will be nominated (by a current officer/member, self-nomination, etc.) and the timeline associated with the nomination process.

Section 2: Election

Election procedures, quorum present, method of voting (secret ballot, etc.), number of terms a person can serve, and when the elections will be held (Activities strongly suggests that by April 1, officer elections take place and that they are notified of the new officers).

Section 3: Special Elections

This section outlines what procedures will take place if an officer leaves/is removed from office. Clearly state the timeline for these procedures (e. g, within "x" weeks of vacancy occurring). You may use the same procedures from Section 2, with a revised timeline

V. ADVISORS.

Section 1: Selection

Indicate how your club will choose an advisor. Note: All clubs are strongly encouraged to seek an advisor who is an employee of Northwest Vista College.

Section 2: Duties

What do you want your advisor to do?

VI. MEETINGS.

Section 1: Regular Meeting/Club Activities

Address how often business meetings will occur, any regular club activities, etc., process to notify members of meetings/activities.

Section 2: Special Meetings

Identify why you would call special meetings, and the process used to call these meetings/notify members, etc. Will these meetings be run any differently than regular meetings?

Section 3: Parliamentary Authority

Will you use Robert’s Rules of Order? How will the meetings be run…

Section 4: Quorum*

What % of your membership must be present for official club business to occur?

*A quorum is a certain percentage of voting members required to be present during a vote. It is VERY important to clearly indicate what your quorum will be (often, it is 2/3 of the voting members). You want to make sure that when a vote takes place, that you have a representative sample of your voting membership present.

VII. COMMITTEES.

Section 1: Committee Structure

Include what committees (if any) that your club will have. Include responsibilities of each committee and who is responsible for each committee. Examples include Membership, Programs, Elections, Fundraising, etc.

Section 2: Special/Ad-Hoc Committees

State that special/ad-hoc committees may be formed if needed…

VIII. FINANCES.

Section 1: Student Activity Fee Monies

State whether or not your club will apply for Student Activity Fee monies and that if allocated resources, your club will follow all Student Activity Fee and institutional regulations. You may also wish to specify who is allowed to access club funds and/or who will be in charge of generating the budget proposal for Student Activity Fee.

Section 2: Honorariums

State whether or not any officers or members will receive an honorarium/stipend from the organization. Note: if honorariums are given, they must come from club generated funds.

Section 3: Dues (optional)

State here if members are required to pay dues, and if so, how much that will be.

IX. AMENDMENTS.

Section 1: Ratification

Identify the process to be used regarding proposed constitutional amendments: voting procedures, timeline, etc.

Section 2: Submittal to Department of Student Activities

Any changes made to this constitution must be submitted to the Office of Student Activities