Student Government Association

SGA CONSTITUTION

PREAMBLE
We, the students of Rowan-Cabarrus Community College, (North and South Campuses), in recognizing the need for unity and the need for an orderly form of government through which the individual voice may be expressed, do hereby accept this constitution for a democratic student government of Rowan-Cabarrus Community College.

ARTICLE I
Name: The name of the organization shall be The Student Government Association of Rowan-Cabarrus Community College.

ARTICLE II
Purpose: The purpose of this organization shall be to set a basic forum for student government and to strive for unity; to promote good citizenship; to carry on the business of the student body; to permit student participation in the organization and control of student affairs; to provide an official voice through which students' opinions and actions may be carried out. A further purpose shall be to encourage in the minds of the students of Rowan-Cabarrus Community College that they are mature adults and it is expected of them to conduct themselves at all times in order to be a credit to the Association, to Rowan-Cabarrus Community College, and to the community as a whole.

ARTICLE III
Membership: All students paying an activity fee and in good standing (see Appendix A) with the college are automatically members of the Student Government Association of Rowan-Cabarrus Community College.

ARTICLE IV
Voting membership: Voting members shall be composed of one first-year and one second-year delegate, or their respective alternates, from each academic department division on the North and South Campuses. These members and elected officers shall from this time forward be known as the Student Government Association Senate.

Duties of the Senate:

Regulate campus elections
Establish a nomination committee
Grant or revoke club charters (see Appendix B)
Organize student activities
Establish campus regulations for clubs and student activities
The Senate for the North and South Campuses will meet once each month at the designated time, with the Senate President having the right to call a special meeting when he/she deems it necessary. Meetings will be held using the Distance Learning Center at North and South campuses.
Committees of the Senate will meet the third Tuesday of each month at the designated time as necessary
Actions and activities of the Student Government Association must be voted on by a quorum consisting of the members present.
All actions of the Student Government Association are to be approved by the Advisory Committee.
Are eligible for monetary compensation in the form of a leadership scholarship paid from the student activities fees in the amount of $8 per official Senate meeting held. Scholarship monies will be awarded at the end of each semester

Attendance policy: A Senate member is subject to dismissal from the Student Government Association Senate after two (2) unexcused absences in a semester.

Absences are accepted as excused if:

An alternate is sent in place of the representatives.
The delegate contacts the Membership Officer or an Advisor before the meeting in the event that an alternate representative is not available.
The delegate contacts the S.G.A. President as soon as possible after failing to reach the Membership Officer or an Advisor.
The absence is due to unavoidable circumstances.

Delegates with more than two (2) unexcused absences are subject to the probation terms outlined in item 3, sections A through F, under the Duties of Delegates. If a delegate is dismissed due to excessive absences, he/she must be replaced by election of another delegate from within the delegates' curriculum.

All delegates or their alternates are required to be at meetings requiring a quorum vote.

Duties of delegates:

Attend all meetings of the Associations or Senate and to express their ideas.
Participate in S.G.A. Activities and inform the members of their curriculum of S.G.A. activities.
Maintain a Grade Point Average (G.P.A.) of 2.0 or higher per semester during his/her term as a representative. If his/her G.P.A. should fall below 2.0:
1. Delegate is placed on probation for one (1) semester
2. Delegate must inform head instructor of his/her curriculum of terms of probation.
3. Alternate will become curriculum delegate.
4. If no alternate is available, a new delegate must be elected by the curriculum.
5. At the end of the probation, prior delegate is eligible for reinstatement into S.G.A. Senate if his/her G.P.A. is raised to 2.0 or higher and maintained.
6. At the time of reinstatement, the prior delegate becomes an Alternate/At Large delegate.

ARTICLE V
Officers and their qualifications: All officers must pay the student activity fee and be in good standing with the college. An officer must maintain a 2.5 or higher G.P.A.. Should his/her average G.P.A. fall below 2.5 he/she shall be put on probation for one (1) semester.

President - A second year student
Vice President - A first or second year student who attends the opposite campus of the President.
Secretary/Treasurer - A one or two year program student.
Public Relations Officer - A one or two year program student.
Assistant Public Relations Officer – A one or two year program student who attends the opposite campus of the Public Relations officer.
Membership Officer - A first or second year student in a one or two year program.
Parliamentarian - A second year student.
Intramurals Chairperson – A one or two year program student.

Duties of Officers:

President:

Shall preside at all meetings of the Association or Senate.
Shall be an ex-officio member of all appointed Association committees.
Shall lend counsel and advice where needed.
Shall represent the school on all occasions, functions and relations connected with other S.G.A. area conferences.
Shall issue, read, and discuss the copy of the Student Government Association Constitution to all new Senate members.
Shall preside over general meetings.
Shall attend all official Rowan-Cabarrus Community College Board of Trustee meetings as a non-voting member.
Shall acquaint all new Senate members with proper parliamentary procedures.
Shall be an ex-officio member of the Senate during the Summer Semester if he/she is enrolled.
Shall in association with delegates develop a tentative yearly calendar of activities for his/her term of office. This calendar of activities must be approved by a quorum vote by S.G.A. representatives.
Shall maintain 10 office hours per week including hours at both campus locations and will be eligible for the leadership scholarship in the amount of $1,200/semester, excluding summer. Eligibility is determined by evaluation of SGA Advisors and VP of Student Services.

Vice-President:

Shall assume all the duties of the President in his/her absence.
Shall be an ex-officio member of all appointed association committees.
Shall assist the President in planning the agenda for each Student Government Association meeting. He/she shall issue a copy of the agenda to all delegates and officers.
Shall maintain 7 office hours per week and will be eligible for the leadership scholarship in the amount of $784/semester, excluding summer. Eligibility is determined by evaluation of SGA Advisors and VP of Student Services.

Secretary/Treasurer:

Shall keep minutes of all Association and Senate meetings and place these in a permanent S.G.A. file. Shall issue a copy of these minutes to all delegates and officers on request and post these minutes on the S.G.A. bulletin board for all students to review on both North and South campuses.
Shall be responsible for Association correspondence.
Shall keep an accurate record of all Association correspondence and business.
Shall prepare, prior to each meeting, an order of business for use by the presiding officer, showing in exact order, under each heading, all the matters known in advance that are due to come up.
Shall keep an accurate record of all finances of the Association and place these records in a permanent file.
Shall present a semester financial report.
Shall maintain 5 office hours per week and will be eligible for the leadership scholarship in the amount of $560/semester, excluding summer. Eligibility is determined by evaluation of SGA Advisors and VP of Student Services.

Membership Officer: (Over Council Membership)

Is responsible for contacting each curriculum head for a one and/or two year student to fill Senate membership.
Is responsible for keeping accurate records of each Senate member's phone and school schedule.
Is responsible for contacting Senate members after an unexcused absence.
Shall after two unexcused absences, be responsible for replacing the delegate with a new Senate member.
Shall keep the Association's official membership roll and to call the roll where it is required.
Shall maintain 5 office hours per week and will be eligible for the leadership scholarship in the amount of $560/semester, excluding summer. Eligibility is determined by evaluation of SGA Advisors and VP of Student Services.

Parliamentarian:

Is responsible for maintaining Robert's Rules of Order at all meetings.
Is responsible for parliamentary procedures and knowledge of such.
Is responsible for educating other members as to how each meeting shall be conducted.
Shall maintain 5 office hours per week and will be eligible for the leadership scholarship in the amount of $560/semester, excluding summer. Eligibility is determined by evaluation of SGA Advisors and VP of Student Services.

Public Relations Officer:

Shall be responsible for coordinating information with all parties within the faculty, Administration, and student body.
Is responsible for contacting the area newspapers about scheduled events through RCCC advisor responsible for Public Relations.
Is responsible for publicizing functions at the school well in advance of upcoming events.
[***Any other duties determined by S.G.A. Senate.***]
Shall maintain 5 office hours per week and will be eligible for the leadership scholarship in the amount of $560/semester, excluding summer. Eligibility is determined by evaluation of SGA Advisors and VP of Student Services.

Assistant Public Relations Officer:

Is responsible for publicizing functions at the school well in advance of upcoming events.
Shall be responsible for coordinating information at the campus opposite of the Public Relations Officer.
[***Any other duties determined by S.G.A. Senate ***]
Shall maintain 5 office hours per week and will be eligible for the leadership scholarship in the amount of $560/semester, excluding summer. Eligibility is determined by evaluation of SGA Advisors and VP of Student Services.

Intramural Chairperson:

Shall coordinate all events related to intramurals.
Shall supervise or have a designee to supervise all intramural or related events.
Shall chair a committee or assist in coordinating all events related to intramurals.
Shall maintain 5 office hours per week and will be eligible for the leadership scholarship in the amount of $560/semester, excluding summer. Eligibility is determined by evaluation of SGA Advisors and VP of Student Services.

All officers are required to write a summary of all activities during their term of office with advisory notes on problems and suggestions of improvements to be made. These notes will be shared with the S.G.A. officers elected for the next academic year.

ARTICLE VI
Nomination of Officers: The President and Public Information Officer are to be nominated before the last four weeks of the Spring semester. All other officers shall be nominated by the third week of the Fall semester. Nominations are to be made by: (1) the nominations committee (see Appendix C) or (2) the S.G.A. Senate. Nominations must be seconded to be accepted.

Election of President and Public Information Officer: These positions are to be elected in a campus-wide election by majority vote. The election is to be held within two weeks following the nomination. If necessary, a run-off election between the two candidates having the highest number of votes will be held after the initial balloting.

Guidelines for voting:

All students who pay an activity fee may vote.
Morning and evening voting hours will be scheduled.
No delegate at the ballot box may wear anything or carry anything that endorses any particular candidate, or make remarks that may influence the vote.
Voting students must identify themselves by signing their name or Social Security number on a student manifest. Ballots will only be given to students who have followed these guidelines.
Members of S.G.A. Senate will be responsible for monitoring the ballot box with assistance of Student Services, if needed.
Votes will be tallied by the Vice President of Student Services, a student representative and a staff or faculty advisor.

Term of Office: President will be installed into office at the end of Spring semester and his/her term shall end at the close of Spring semester one year hence. He/she will remain as an ex-officio member of the Senate during the Summer semester following his/her term of office to assist the new President during transition. All other officers are elected in the Fall semester and will remain in office until the end of Spring semester.

Installation of Officers: The oath of office shall be administered to the new officers during the first month of Fall semester.

Oath of Office: The oath shall be administered by the President of Rowan-Cabarrus Community College or his/her designee.

Dismissal or Resignation of an Officer: The President's office is to be filled by the Vice President. In case any other offices are vacated due to probation, dismissal, or resignation, the S.G.A. Senate shall be charged with filling the vacant office with a member from the existing group of S.G.A. delegates within two (2) Senate meetings.

ARTICLE VII
Impeachment procedures: Upon receiving written complaint against any Senate member, a committee shall be formed to investigate and determine if such actions warrant the calling of that member before the entire Senate for disciplinary actions.

Charges for which a member may be disciplined:

Lack of attendance at Senate meeting (officers only).
Repeatedly not completing duties assigned.
Embarrassing the Student Government Association through personal actions or spoken words.
Lack of attendance at Senate sponsored activities.

Dismissal requires two-thirds of the S.G.A. Senate present and voting. Charges are to be dismissed when votes are insufficient to convict.

ARTICLE VIII

Club Responsibilities:

A club shall have a president or designated representative attend each monthly SGA meeting. Failure to attend the SGA meetings will result in a written warning first, followed by a forfeiture of fundraising status (this sanction does not affect the club recognition status or its ability to conduct regular meetings).
Each club shall maintain contact with the SGA President concerning current club and SGA agendas and activities.
To receive the $250/semester club scholarship money, each club must submit a current club constitution, club officers and advisors list, and planned campus service and community service projects for the year.

ARTICLE IX

Advisory Committee: The Advisory Committee shall consist of five members of the Faculty-Administration. These members shall be one member appointed by the President of Rowan-Cabarrus Community College, one member appointed by the Faculty, two members appointed by S.G.A. officers, and one advisor from Student Services. This committee along with the S.G.A. officers shall from this time forward be known as the Executive Council.

Duties of the Advisory Committee:

They shall review agenda items prior to submission to the Association's Senate membership or the President of Rowan-Cabarrus Community College.
Shall assist the S.G.A. Senate in any capacity needed.
The advisor from Student Services shall be responsible for checking the academic standing of the Senate membership and elected officers and supply any needed information from Student Services that the Association may need in preparing student activities.

ARTICLE X
The Student Government Association is responsible for activities that are the concern of the student body. The S.G.A. shall decide what activities are to be undertaken and shall present its planned activities to the Vice President of Student Services for approval. Should the Student Government Association and the Vice President of Student Services not be able to agree on a scheduled activity, the matter shall be presented to the Senior Vice President for arbitration. In the event that the Senior Vice President cannot solve the conflict, the S.G.A. may appeal to the college President for a final decision.

ARTICLE XI
This constitution may be amended by a two-thirds majority vote cast by the present members of the S.G.A. Senate and a written acceptance of the administration of Rowan-Cabarrus Community College. Amendments may be proposed by: (1) the Executive Council, (2) a committee appointed by the Executive Council for such actions, or (3) petition from 20% of the student body.

ARTICLE XII
The constitution is ratified by a two-thirds vote cast by the members of the Student Government Association Senate and written acceptance of the Administration of Rowan-Cabarrus Community College.

ARTICLE XIII
Robert's Rules of Order shall guide all parliamentary actions where the same is not covered by this constitution.