SAMPLE STUDENT ORGANIZATION

CONSTITUTION & BYLAWS

CONSTITUTION OF THE YOUR UNIVERSITY CHAPTER OF

THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF CIVIL ENGINEERS

ARTICLE I. NAME
1. The name of this organization shall be the Your University Student Chapter of the
American Society of Civil Engineers, hereafter abbreviated as YU ASCE.

ARTICLE II. OBJECTIVE

1. The objective of this Chapter shall be to encourage the development of a professional
consciousness, to afford an opportunity for civil engineering students to become
acquainted and to practice working together effectively, to promote a spirit of
congeniality among them, and to provide friendly contact with the engineering
professions.

ARTICLE III. RELATIONSHIPS

1. The Chapter shall be under the jurisdiction of the American Society of Civil Engineers
(ASCE).
2. Specifically, the Chapter lies in Region X, and falls under the jurisdiction of the (Check
with your Faculty Advisor) Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers.
3. The Chapter will subscribe to the Constitution, Bylaws, Rules of Policy and Procedure
and the Code of Ethics as adopted by the American Society of Civil Engineers.

ARTICLE IV. MEMBERSHIP

1. Active members of this Chapter shall be undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in
the university who are interested in civil engineering and who are in good standing as
evidenced by the payment of Chapter dues.
2. All members of the Chapter must subscribe to the Constitution, Bylaws, Rules of Policy
and Procedure and the Code of Ethics of the Chapter.
3. The following are the grades of membership in the Chapter:
Freshman
Sophomore
Middler
Junior
Senior
Graduate
Associate
4. Membership in the Chapter does not imply automatic admission as a Student Member to
the American Society of Civil Engineers. Separate application, in accordance with the
ASCE Constitution, must be made by the individual.
5. A Chapter Member shall have the right to serve on committees and participate in the
affairs of the Chapter and shall have the right to vote and to hold office except as noted in
Article IV, Section 6.

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 6. Associate Member. An Associate Member shall be a person who, because of the field of
study or particular interest, wishes to cooperate with civil engineering students in the
advancement of professional knowledge and practice. An Associate Member, at the time
of admission, shall be an undergraduate or graduate student enrolled in the university.
Associate Members shall have the right to serve on committees and participate in the
affairs of the Chapter, but shall not have the right to vote or hold office.

ARTICLE V. FEES AND DUES

1. The schedule of annual dues shall be established, and when established may be modified,
by a two-thirds favorable vote by the Board of Officers. The schedule of fees and dues
shall be set forth in the Bylaws.

ARTICLE VI. OFFICERS

1. The officers of the Chapter shall be one President, two Vice Presidents, one Secretary,
one Treasurer, two Program Coordinators, and one Publicity Coordinator. All Officers
are to be in good standing with the Chapter.
2. Officers represent both the Chapter and the University and, as such, are expected to act
with the utmost professionalism.
3. The President and Vice Presidents shall be members of the senior or junior class.
4. The officers shall be elected from the nominees chosen by a nominating committee,
composed of three active members who shall be appointed by the Chapter President.
Nominations may also be made by an active member during a general Chapter meeting.
Officers shall be elected by secret written ballot - the ballots to be distributed to and
collected from the Active Members. For each office the candidate receiving the highest
number of votes shall be declared elected. Elections shall take place during the week
prior to the last regularly scheduled general Chapter meeting of the second consecutive
in-school quarter.
5. The terms of the office of the elective officers shall be two consecutive in-school
quarters.
6. In the event that elections are not held in a timely fashion or no nominee is found for a
particular office, officers shall hold office until their successors are duly elected and
qualified.
7. A vacancy occurring in an elective office of the Chapter during the term of an Officer
shall be filled for the unexpired term as follows:
(a) President. By the senior Vice-President.
(b) All other presiding officers. By appointment of the President.
(c) Officers-Elect. By nomination and election in the same manner as
provided in Section 3 of Article VI, except that the Executive Committee
shall set the date for the opening and closing of the balloting for such an
election.
Seniority between persons holding similar offices shall be determined by priority of
admission to membership; and when these dates are identical, the selection shall be made
by lot. In the case of disability of any Officer of the Chapter, or neglect in the
performance of the duties of an office, the Executive Committee shall have the power to
declare the office vacant.

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ARTICLE VII. MEETINGS
1. The Chapter shall hold as many weekly general Chapter meetings throughout the quarter
as is deemed practical by the Executive Committee. The weekly meetings shall be held
at such times and places within the university campus as shall be determined by the
Executive Committee, and designated in a notice to the membership as provided for in
the Bylaws.
2. Weekly meetings are open to all students and faculty of the university, alumni or others
who may care to attend.
3. Meetings of the Executive Committee shall be held at such times and places as may be
determined by the Executive Committee to be necessary for the discharge of its duties.

ARTICLE VIII. PARLIAMENTARY AUTHORITY

1. Robert’s   Rules   of   Order,   Revised,   shall   be   the   parliamentary   authority   of   the Your
University Student Chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers.

ARTICLE IX. AMENDMENTS

1. An Amendment to this constitution may be proposed by presenting to the Chapter
Secretary a petition stating the desired amendment and containing the signature of at least
thirty- percent (30%) of the Active Members of the Chapter.
2. Petitions for the proposed amendment shall be presented to the Chapter Secretary not less
than five days in advance of the next regularly scheduled weekly Chapter meeting. A
proposed amendment in accordance with the intent of the petitions shall be drafted by the
Chapter Secretary and posted as to be conspicuous to Chapter Members. The petition
shall be read at the next regularly scheduled weekly Chapter meeting. The proposed
amendment shall be in order for discussion at the weekly Chapter meeting and may be
amended in any manner pertinent to the petitions by a majority vote of the said meeting,
provided a quorum is present, and, if amended, shall be voted upon by letter ballot in
form as amended by said meeting. If not amended, the proposed amendment as
submitted shall be voted upon by letter ballot.
3. For the adoption of any amendment to the constitution, three-fourths of the valid ballots
cast shall be in the affirmative. An amendment that has been adopted shall become
effective with the start of the next academic quarter.

Appendix V
 BYLAWS OF THE YOUR UNIVERSITY CHAPTER OF THE
AMERICAN SOCIETY OF CIVIL ENGINEERS

ARTICLE I. NAME
1. Abbreviation. The approved abbreviation of the Chapter, where an abbreviation is
proper, shall be YU ASCE.
2. Emblem. The design, specification, and the guidelines for the use of the emblem of the
Chapter shall be as prescribed by the American Society of Civil Engineers.

ARTICLE II. MEETINGS

1. The weekly general Chapter meetings shall be held during Activity Period each and every
Thursday of the academic quarter (Wednesday during Summer quarter) except during the
week of finals or if the university is closed.
2. The order of business for these general Chapter meetings shall be as follows:
- Introduction and Welcome.
- Minutes  of  the  week’s  previous  meeting  given  by  the  Chapter  Secretary.
- Treasurer’s  Report.
- Announcements and general concerns.
- New Business.
- Introduction of the Guest Lecturer by the Program Coordinators.
3. A schedule of weekly Chapter meetings shall be decided upon and posted conspicuously
during the first week of each academic quarter.
4. Meetings of the Executive Committee shall be held at such times and places as is
necessary, or business may be conducted by mail in lieu of meetings at the discretion of
the President.

ARTICLE III. OFFICERS DUTIES

1. Duties of the President.
The President shall:
- have general supervision over the affairs of the Chapter.
- preside over weekly Chapter meetings and Executive Committee meetings.
- represent the Chapter at all appropriate meetings at the Chapter, Section, Regional and
Society levels.
- assume overall responsibility for the Chapter and its activities.
- be ex officio a member of all committees and projects to ensure goals are met and
group rapport is maintained.
- be available to officers and other Chapter members in need of assistance.
- maintain good rapport and frequent contact with the Faculty Advisor(s), the Dean of
the College of Engineering, and the Engineers Council.
2. Duties of the Vice President.
The Vice-President shall:
- perform the duties  of  the  President  in  the  President’s  absence  in  addition  to  the
following.
- assist the President in monitoring Chapter activities and committee accomplishments.
- assist the President in decision making.
- record, consolidate, and assemble into an Annual Report all information reflecting
Chapter activities.
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 - be available to officers and Chapter members in need of assistance.
3. Duties of the Secretary.
The Secretary shall:
- be parliamentarian for the Chapter and have available at each meeting a copy of the
Chapter’s  Constitution,  Bylaws,  and  Robert’s  Rules  of  Order,  Revised.
- record proceedings of general membership meetings and Executive Committee
meetings, including a record of members, faculty, and guests present, outline of talks
by guest speakers, committee reports and appointments, all business and other items
of note.
- maintain Chapter correspondence and records in order.
- keep  rosters  of  all  committees’  and  their  members.
4. Duties of the Treasurer.
The Treasurer shall:
- keep and maintain an annual census of all members.
- be responsible for preparing the operating budget of the Chapter, take charge of all
receipts of the Chapter, keep liaison with the Civil Engineering Department
concerning funds, manage the prompt payment of bills, keep accurate records of
Chapter expenditures.
- submit   a   detailed   accounting   of   the   Chapter’s   expenditures   and   credits   to   the  
Executive Committee on a quarterly basis.
- exercise good business sense in general and perform all other duties normally ascribed
to the office.
5. Duties of Program Coordinators.
The Program Coordinators shall:
- be responsible for arranging programs and locations for general membership meetings
and other functions.
- be responsible for the development of program ideas.
- be required to contact guest speakers.
- ensure that the guest speaker is welcomed properly by arranging transportation,
parking, personally meeting the speaker at some specified location and escorting the
speaker to the lecture hall and to lunch following the lecture.
- be responsible for making room reservations and obtaining any necessary audio-visual
aids or other equipment.
- ensure that refreshments are provided at weekly Chapter meetings.
- be responsible for advertisement of weekly meetings and lectures through newsletters,
signs or other acceptable means.
- send letters of appreciation to speakers on behalf of the Chapter following their
lectures.
- compile and maintain an accurate biographical file on guests and speakers who
address the Chapter.
6. Duties of the Publicity Coordinator.
The Publicity Coordinator shall:
- be responsible for informing Chapter members of any Chapter activities.
- use at least email, voicemail, flyers, and web site to convey this information.
- be responsible for taking pictures at any Chapter-sponsored event.

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ARTICLE IV. FEES AND DUES
1. Entrance fee.
There shall be no entrance fee for any grade of membership to which an applicant is
subscribing.
2. Dues.
The annual dues payable by membership shall be as follows:
Freshman NONE
Sophomore $5.00
Middler $10.00
Junior $13.00
Senior $15.00
Graduate $17.00
Associate $5.00
3. Payment of Dues.
Dues shall be payable annually in advance of September 1.

ARTICLE V. COMMITTEES
1. The Executive Committee shall be formed of the persons elected by the Chapter as
officers.
2. No individual may serve on more than two Chapter committees concurrently.
3. The following shall be standing committees of the Chapter:
(a) Annual Report Committee
(b) Student Conference Committee.
4. All committees, unless otherwise specifically directed or authorized by the Executive
Committee, shall be governed by the Constitution, Bylaws, Rules of Policy and
Procedure and the Code of Ethics adopted by the Chapter.

ARTICLE VI. POLICY AND PROCEDURE

1. Activities and actions undertaken by the Chapter shall be consistent with the policies of
the American Society of Civil Engineers.
2. The Chapter and all members shall act in accordance with the Your University Code of
Conduct, as presented in the Your University Student Handbook. Misconduct will be
brought to the attention of the Faculty Advisor, who will take necessary action in
accordance with the Handbook.
3. A quorum of the membership shall be present for voting on any amendment to the
Chapter’s  Constitution;;  a  quorum  shall  consist  of  twenty-five percent (25%) of the active
Chapter membership.
4. An Executive Committee quorum shall consist of one hundred percent (100%) of the
committee present.
5. Before a vote may be taken on a motion, but not including amendments to the
Constitution or Bylaws which are considered separately under Article VI, Sections 2 and
3, respectively, not fewer than 15 members shall be present.
6. A majority vote shall be sufficient to carry any motion described in Section 4 of Article
VI.
7. Robert’s   Rules   of   Order,   Revised,   shall   govern  the   procedure   of   the   Chapter   Executive  
Committee and committee meetings.
8. The counting of votes on any item of business shall be carried out by a member of the
Executive Committee, provided there exists no conflict of interest.
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ARTICLE VII. AMENDMENTS
1. At any meeting of the Executive Board, a quorum being present, the Executive Board, by
an affirmative three-fourths vote, may amend the Bylaws in conformity with the
Constitution.
2. In the event that a quorum is not present, vote may be held in abeyance until the next
meeting.
3. Amendments may be initiated by any member of the Chapter, but shall not be put to vote
until the following Executive meeting.

ARTICLE VIII. OFFICIAL PUBLICATION

1. Name of your publication shall be the Chapter's official publication, for the purpose of
informing members, faculty, and alumni/ae of the Chapter's activities and
accomplishments.
2. Name of your publication shall be sent out weekly to all active members via email,
and shall also be posted on the bulletin board outside the Chapter office.
3. Name of your publication shall be sent out biannually to YUCEAO and to the
faculty members of the Department

Appendix V