ARTICLE 1: Name
ARTICLE 2: Purpose
ARTICLE 3: Membership
ARTICLE 4: Officers
ARTICLE 5: Administrative Advisor
ARTICLE 6: Faculty Advisor
ARTICLE 7: Meetings
ARTICLE 8: Finance and Budget
ARTICLE 9: Committees
ARTICLE 10: Jurisdiction
ARTICLE 11: Amendments and Adoptions
ARTICLE 12: Student Referendums
The bylaws establish the Student InterCouncil at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHSC-H) and the procedures for the conduct of its business.
ARTICLE 1 Name
The organization shall be known as the Student InterCouncil (hereinafter referred to as the InterCouncil).
ARTICLE 2 Purpose
The purpose of the InterCouncil shall be to improve the quality of student life in the UTHSC-H by providing an opportunity for the voice of the student body to be expressed and for student-based solutions to be advanced in coordination with administration policies.
ARTICLE 3 Membership
The InterCouncil shall consist of registered students in good standing; there shall be three representatives from each component school of the UTHSC-H; special groups may be represented as decided by the InterCouncil.
Members must be elected from the student body. Three representatives must be elected from each component school of the UTHSC-H . If elected as an InterCouncil officer in a prior year, the member must be allowed to serve in that capacity for the duration of the term of office. It is recommended that one-third of the representatives should serve at least a two-year term, and one-third should be new members, thus ensuring continuity of the InterCouncil from year to year.
Three representatives shall be appointed by the Office of Academic Affairs to represent minority students.
Three representatives shall be appointed by the Office of International Affairs to represent the international students.
It is recommended that each representative complete one semester of enrollment at their school prior to representation on the InterCouncil.
Election of representatives shall be conducted once a year by each individual institution. The President of the InterCouncil shall be notified of the elections by June 1. Schools without representatives in place by June 1 shall forfeit representation until such time as representatives are elected.
Given that an elected or appointed member of the InterCouncil has chosen to serve his/her constituents and that said service cannot be adequately performed when the representative is absent from InterCouncil meetings, a new representative may be appointed after any representative misses more than two regularly scheduled meetings in the course of the year. The president of the InterCouncil may grant an excused absence with appropriate cause at his/her discretion. Excuse from a meeting should be attained from the president via phone or email no later than 48 hours prior to the meeting, when possible. There is no limit to the number of excused absences an InterCouncil representative may receive from the president, however, if he/she exceeds two unexcused absences, a new representative may be appointed. Furthermore, the president of the InterCouncil shall submit written notice to the representative’s school informing the dean of the need to replace said representative. Should a student need to be replaced mid-year, the secretary of the InterCouncil shall advise the school's governing body of the need to fill that position.
Each representative shall formally participate in at least two standing, ad-hoc, or affiliated committees.
ARTICLE 4 Officers
a. Elected Officers The elected officers of the InterCouncil shall be president, vice president, secretary, treasurer, historian and three UT System Student Advisory Council (UTSAC) representatives.
b. Non-elected Position Previous InterCouncil president, ex-officio (non-voting position).
a. All officers shall be duly elected or appointed representatives of schools, a minority student representative, or an international student representative in the UTHSC-H.
b. The president shall have served on the InterCouncil for at least one year prior to election.
c. There shall be no more than two officers from each school or constituency of the UTHSC-H.
All officers shall be elected to a one-year term at the April meeting of the InterCouncil. Two of the three UTSAC representatives shall be elected for a one-year term, and the third UTSAC representative shall be elected for a two-year term. The two-year representative will serve as an alternate during the first year of the two-year term. Voting shall be by written ballot except when there is only one nominee, in which case a voice vote may be taken. Election shall be by plurality vote.
When a vacancy occurs in any office of the InterCouncil, the president shall call a special election to fill the office. When a vacancy occurs in the office of president, the vice president shall fill the unexpired term.
a. The president shall: - be the voice of the InterCouncil in all matters pertaining to the organization; - prepare the agenda for InterCouncil meetings; and - preside at the meetings.
b. The vice president shall: - assume the duties of the president in his or her absence; and - chair the InterCouncil Operations Committee.
c. The secretary shall: - assist in preparation and distribution of the minutes; - be responsible for maintaining records of attendance at InterCouncil meetings; and - chair the Scholarship Committee.
d. The treasurer shall: - prepare a budget for the InterCouncil based on the program activities; - present a treasurer's report at each meeting; and - chair the Project Funding Committee.
e. The historian shall: - oversee Editor(s) of UTHSC-H Student News and Views; - insure photographs are taken at all InterCouncil functions and events; - compile the yearly scrapbook; and - chair the Public Relations Committee.
f. The UTSAC representatives shall: - represent UTHSC-H at the quarterly meetings of the UTSAC in Austin; and - present a report at the next meeting following a UTSAC meeting.
ARTICLE 5 Administrative Advisor
A representative to the InterCouncil shall be appointed annually by the president of the UTHSC-H from the staff of the UTHSC-H. This representative may serve for an indefinite number of terms. His/her function shall be to maintain communication between the president of the UTHSC-H and the InterCouncil. Specific duties shall be to assist with preparation and distribution of agendas and minutes and to provide administrative support necessary to forward the work of the InterCouncil. The administrative advisor shall have privileges of the floor.
ARTICLE 6 Faculty Advisor
A representative to the InterCouncil shall be appointed annually by the president of the UTHSC-H from the faculty of the UTHSC-H. His/her function shall be to maintain communication between the UTHSC-H president and the InterCouncil. This representative shall serve a one-year term rotated among the schools. The faculty advisor shall have privileges of the floor.
ARTICLE 7 Meetings
Regular meetings shall be held monthly, October through May, at a time specified during the first regular meeting each October.
Special meetings may be called by the InterCouncil president or by written request of four or more members of the InterCouncil to the InterCouncil president, but must be scheduled at least 72 hours in advance and on a regular school day.
The agenda for regular meetings shall include call to order, introduction of guests, determination of the presence of a quorum, approval of minutes of previous meetings, committee reports, unfinished business, new business, announcements, and adjournment.
A quorum shall be a majority of the voting members present unless the rules of order are suspended by the InterCouncil.
Voting may be by voice or by written ballot.
Robert's Rules of Order, newly revised, shall be the parliamentary authority, but may be suspended by the president with a two-thirds vote of concurrence by the representatives present.
The administrative advisor's office shall provide for the keeping of the minutes.
Visitors may attend and may make presentations and have the privileges of the floor (except the vote) upon invitation of the InterCouncil president.
Motions that come out of the InterCouncil committees or that are presented by any student or outside student committee must be sent via email to all of the InterCouncil representatives at least two working days prior to a general meeting. Written versions of the motion must be supplied to each InterCouncil member at the meeting. Procedural motions and motions concerning new business may be presented from the floor at a general meeting.
ARTICLE 8 Finance and Budget
Operating funds for the InterCouncil shall come from a portion of the Student Services Fee collected each term through the registration process. The portion designated for use by the InterCouncil shall provide the source of funds for the budgetary planning and fiscal operation of the InterCouncil. No financial obligations shall be incurred by any officer or committee except as authorized within annual budgets, or under authority of special interim action, approved by the InterCouncil. The fiscal year shall conform to the academic year. Because the operating funds for the InterCouncil come from a portion of the Student Services Fee, the treasurer of the InterCouncil shall publish a budget report in the first and last issues of the UT-Houston Student News & Views stating at the outset the funds available and in the end giving an account of how funds were distributed during the course of the year. At a time no later than the first regularly scheduled meeting, the InterCouncil treasurer shall present the proposed budget to the general membership. The budget shall be accepted by a two-thirds majority vote of the representatives present.
ARTICLE 9 Committees
The president shall be empowered to appoint from time to time ad hoc committees on any of a variety of issues. All functioning committees shall be automatically dissolved at the termination of the last meeting each year, but may be reappointed by the incoming president.
The InterCouncil president shall respond to requests from the president of the UTHSC-H seeking names of InterCouncil representatives to sit on standing and special committees.
a. The Operations Committee: This committee oversees the administrative operations of the InterCouncil. The duties of this committee should include, but are not limited to, planning the meetings, overseeing, amending and upholding the bylaws of the InterCouncil, and receiving nominations for officers. Reports from each committee chair will be received and compiled by the Secretary. Committee reports will be presented to the President at each InterCouncil meeting. It shall be chaired by the InterCouncil vice president.
b. The Scholarship Committee: The duties of this committee should include, but are not limited to, overseeing the planning and implementation of special projects to support student scholarships and making recommendations for disbursement of scholarship funds. It shall be chaired by the secretary of the InterCouncil.
c. The Public Relations Committee: The duties of this committee should include, but are not limited to, managing the UTHSC-H Student News & Views. It shall be chaired by the historian of the InterCouncil. The committee shall publicize InterCouncil activities, meetings and events and improve communication between UTHSC-H constituents. The committee also is charged with the duty of overseeing that projects funded by the InterCouncil include recognition of the InterCouncil support.
d. The Project Funding Committee: The duties of this committee should include, but are not limited to, making recommendations regarding the disbursement of InterCouncil funds to student-sponsored activities, and its members will be responsible for keeping historical records. It shall be chaired by the treasurer of the InterCouncil.
e. The Student Activities Council (SAC): This council is charged with promoting social life at the UTHSC-H with an emphasis on school interaction. It shall be co-chaired by the two members of the InterCouncil.
This council is made up of representatives from institutions within the Texas Medical Center. The InterCouncil shall select one InterCouncil representative to serve on the TMC/SAC for a one-year term. The term will extend through the non-academic year to the beginning of the next academic year.
The duties of this committee will be to provide student input into all proposed fees from all schools, incidental fees, lab fees, and any changes to student services fees or general use fees. Its recommendations will be taken to the President and the Executive Council. Membership shall consist of two representatives from each school and two InterCouncil members. It will meet as needed.
The chair of each committee will present a report on the committee's activities to the Chair of the Operations Committee. Each committee member will be held accountable to report on issues related to committee findings during official InterCouncil meetings. It is the responsibility of the committee members to stay informed on topics relating to their committees.
ARTICLE 10 Jurisdiction
The InterCouncil shall be advisory to the president of the UTHSC-H. It may elaborate a position or positions on matters within any of the constituent schools; or on matters generated within the InterCouncil. Its recommendations, if any, shall be forwarded to the president of the UTHSC-H in writing.
ARTICLE 11 Amendments and Adoptions
Proposed amendments to the bylaws must be submitted for inclusion on the agenda and for distribution to all InterCouncil members prior to the meeting in which they are considered. Amendments to the bylaws shall be adopted by a two-thirds majority vote of the InterCouncil membership.
ARTICLE 12 Student Referendums
An InterCouncil representative, or any student through his or her representative to the InterCouncil, may request a referendum on issues pertaining to students. The issue of a referendum shall be placed on an InterCouncil agenda and a majority of the voting representatives shall vote to hold the referendum. InterCouncil representatives shall be responsible for polling their respective schools. The referendum shall be passed if approved by a two-thirds majority of those students voting.
Updated 04/2005
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