I. MISSION

A. The mission of the Utah Student Association (USA) is to represent the interests and preserve the rights of the students of higher education in the State of Utah. The USA is dedicated to working with the Utah State Board of Regents, the Commissioner of Higher Education, the Utah State Legislature, and the Institutional Presidents of the Utah System of Higher Education (USHE), the Utah Professionals in Student Involvement and Leadership (UPSIL), and Chief Student Services Officers (CSSOs) at each institution, as well as other community and governmental agencies to initiate positive changes and be a voice for the students of Utah. The USA aims to promote citizenship and civic responsibility among students statewide and fostering the educational goals of the students of Utah

II. Structure

A. The Executive Board of the Utah Student Association

1. The USA will be directed by the Executive Board, which will include one Student Body President from each of the member institutions. The Student Body Presidents will represent the interests of the students from their respective institution on the UCSP. Only the Student Body Presidents will have voting power in the USA and each will be given one vote. The USA President, the USA Executive Vice President, and the USA Legislative Vice President will be chosen from the Executive Board.

B. The USA Support Staff

1. The USA staff shall include the USA Executive Director and the USA Student Advocate(s), who will not be members of the Executive Board but will work under their direction. The Executive Board may create any other staff positions as deemed necessary by a simple majority vote.

C. The Student Regent

1. The Student Regent will serve as a liaison between the UCSP and the Board of Regents. Something about training…

D. The USA Presidency

1. The Presidency of the USA shall consist of the USA President, the USA Executive Vice-President, and the USA Legislative Vice-President. Any expenditures of the USA must be approved by the USA Presidency. The USA Presidency will approve any distributed materials and public statements to assure that they coincide with decisions made by the Executive Board. The USA Presidency will interpret this Constitution when questions of constitutionality arise. Any decision made by the USA Presidency will require a two-thirds vote of the USA Presidency.

E. Utah Student Association Board of Directors

1. Utah Student Association Board of Directors shall consist of the Executive Board, the Student Regent, a representative of the Commissioner’s office, two representatives from UPSIL, and an alternating representative from the CSSOs. The objective of the USA Board of Directors is to meet annually and review the progress, the strategic plan, and the budget of the USA. Additionally, the Board of Directors shall evaluate the performance of the USA Coordinator based on the duties and responsibilities set forth in the constitution and the bylaws, though voting rights lie solely with the Executive Board.

III. Membership

A. Accredited state or private institutions of higher education in Utah are eligible for membership. An institution will be admitted or removed by a three-fourths vote of the Executive Board.

B. The voting member institutions are:

1. University of Utah

2. College of Eastern Utah

3. Dixie State College of Utah

4. Snow College

5. Southern Utah University

6. Utah State University

7. Utah Valley University

8. Weber State University

9. Westminster College

10. Salt Lake Community College

C. The non-voting member institution is:

1. Brigham Young University

2. LDS Business College

IV. Duties and Responsibilities of Elected USA Positions

A. Duties of the Members of the Executive Board:

1. Direct the activities and determine actions of the USA;

2. Determine policies and procedures for the USA;

3. Communicate the actions of the Executive Board to UPSIL, the CSSOs, and other necessary individuals and organizations on their respective campuses;

4. Attend all Executive Board meetings;

5. Nominate candidates for the Student Regent position to the Governor of the State of Utah in accordance with state law in §53B-1-104 of the Utah Code Annotated;

6. Select the Student Advocate(s), assistants, and staff for that year;

7. Hire and direct the Executive Director and develop the duties of this position;

8. Aide in the selection of the Utah Higher Education Assistance Authority student board member (UHEAA); and,

9. Any other responsibilities as they arise.

B. Duties of the USA President:

1. Chair the meetings of the Executive Board;

2. Be the spokesperson for the Executive Board and the USA;

3. Give direction to the USA Executive Director in accordance with the desires of the Executive Board;

4. In conjunction with the Executive Director, communicate the opinions and decisions of the Executive Board to the Student Regent as well as obtain information from the Student Regent about past and upcoming Board of Regents meetings;

5. Serve as Chair of the USA Presidency;

6. Maintain lines of communication with all members of the Executive Board;

7. Work to maintain involvement of all members of the Executive Board; and,

8. Perform other duties as assigned by the Executive Board.

C. Duties of the USA Executive Vice-President:

1. Perform the duties of the President in his/her absence;

2. Be responsible for the finances and budget of the USA with the assistance of the USA Executive Director;

3. Serve as a member of the USA Presidency;

4. Assist the President in his/her duties; and,

5. Perform any other duties as assigned by the Executive Board.

D. Duties of the USA Legislative Vice-President:

1. Perform the duties of the Executive Vice-President in his/her absence;

2. Be responsible for planning and executing the USA Convention;

3. Serve as a member of the USA Presidency;

4. Serve as Parliamentarian in the Executive Board meetings;

5. Assist the President and Executive Vice-President in their duties; and,

6. Perform any other duties as assigned by the Executive Board.

V. Sucssesion of USA Offices

A. Should the office of the USA president become vacant, the USA

Executive Vice President will succeed as president. If the USA Executive Vice President cannot or chooses not to accept the position of USA president, the USA Legislative Vice President will succeed as President. If both vice presidents cannot or choose not to accept the office of USA president, the Executive Board shall elect the new USA president.

VI. Impeachment

A. Any member of the USA presidency may be removed from office by a ¾ vote of the Executive Board.

VII. AFFILIATE ORGANIZATIONS

A. Campus Compact

VIII. AMMENDMENTS

A. Once enacted, this Constitution may only be amended by a written proposal of a member of the Executive Board and passed by a three-fourths vote.

B. Neither the Executive Board, any subdivision thereof, nor any affiliate organizations may enact any rules, policies or procedures inconsistent with this Constitution.

Bylaws of the Utah Student Association

I. DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE USA STAFF MEMBERS

A. Duties of the USA Executive Director:

1. Manage all aspects of the affairs of the USA, subject to the provisions of the USA bylaws and any other rules and policies as well as any directives of the ;Executive Leadership of the USA (President, Executive Vice President, Legislative Vice President.) and Board of Directors.

2. Provide the USA with monthly evaluations on the progress of the association’s strategic plan.

3. Provide the Utah Professionals in Student Involvement and Leadership (UPSIL), the Commissioner’s Office, and the Utah State Board of Regents, and each institutions Student Associations Director or respective position, with monthly evaluations on the progress of the association’s strategic plan and any pertinent updates.

4. Coordinate and assist the members of the USA in managing and implementing any advocacy efforts.

5. Perform all necessary office management tasks, and fulfill weekly office hours as required by the Association and authorized by the Executive Team.

6. Prepare the annual budget requiring USA approval.

7. Keep accurate records of receipts, disbursements, and provide quarterly reports and an annual report of such accounts to the USA Executive Team and the Board of Directors.

8. Act as the Association’s liaison to the state legislature and advocate on behalf of the Association during the legislative session and at all interim and special sessions. This includes but is not limited to attending the meetings of the Higher Education Appropriations Subcommittee, the Higher Education Caucus, the Executive Appropriations Committee, the Senate Education Committee, the House Education Committee, UHEAA Board meetings and any other meetings pertaining to the status of higher education in the state of Utah.

9. Organize, coordinate and provide support staff for all UCSP meetings, USA meetings and the annual Executive Board meeting.

10. Address any issues, concerns, or duties as assigned by the Executive Team and or the Executive Board.

B. Duties of the Student Advocate:

1. Represent the USA;

2. Assist in the development of materials to educate and inform the students of Utah concerning relevant issues and candidates;

3. Establish relationships with the State Legislature, the Board of Regents and other government or private entity to convey the desires of the Executive Board;

4. Attend the Executive Board meetings and give advise and opinions as needed;

5. Assist and advise the Executive Board on civic awareness initiatives and opportunities; and,

6. Perform any other duties as assigned by the Executive Board.

C. Duties of the Student Regent, Utah State Board of Regents:

1. Shall be a student attending one of the public USA member institutions at the time he or she serves as Student Regent;

2. Represents students issues, opinions and concerns to the Board of Regents under the direction of the Executive Board;

3. Attend the Executive Board meetings and give advise and opinions as needed;

4. Attend every Board of Regents Meeting;

5. Report to the Executive Board the events of past meetings and inform them of important items on the agenda of upcoming meetings; and,

6. Perform any other duties relating to the relationship of the Executive Board and the Board of Regents as assigned by the Executive Board.

D. Duties of the UHEAA Student Board Members:

1. Represent the students’ voice on issues regarding financial assistance for Higher Education in the State of Utah under the direction of the Executive Board;

2. Report regularly to the Executive Board regarding UHEAA business;

3. Advise the Executive Board of issues pertaining to financial aid and student loans; and,

4. Perform any other duties related to the advancement of financial assistance opportunities as assigned by the Executive Board.

II. POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

A. The Executive Board shall meet monthly to conduct business.

B. The meetings shall be conducted by Parliamentary Procedure according to Robert’s Rules of Order, latest edition.

C. Members of the Executive Board may send a voting proxy in their absence.

D. Members of the Executive Board may miss up to two meetings without sending a proxy in one academic year without penalty; however, any institution missing three meetings in the same academic year will lose voting rights. Voting rights will be reinstated only after that member has attended two consecutive Executive Board meetings or has sent a proxy in his/her absence and the USA Presidency votes to reinstate those voting privileges.

E. The outgoing and newly elected Student Body Presidents shall meet together at least once before interviewing the Student Regent applicants. This meeting should be a time to familiarize and train the new presidents on the operations, duties and procedures of the USA

F. At least one member of the USA Presidency must be present to hold an official USA meeting.

III. DUES AND FINANCES

A. The Finances of the USA shall be carefully monitored by Executive Director under the direction of the Executive Vice President and the USA Presidency.

B. The USA Presidency shall create a budget proposal and present it to the Executive Board for ratification before June 30th.

C. The amount of dues collected from each institution should be included in the budget proposal for ratification.

D. The institutions are encouraged to build the USA dues into the institution’s fee structure and/or budgets.

E. The budget must be ratified by a two-thirds vote of the Executive Board.

F. The budget may be amended throughout the year at any meeting by a two-thirds vote of the Executive Board.

G. Dues collected by institutions are based upon the previous year’s average FTE’s as reported by the Commissioner of the USHE for the public institutions. The private institutions will provide their own FTE in order to process their dues.

H. If an institution has not paid its dues by the last day of September they will forfeit their vote with the USA until paid.

IV. SELECTION OF THE USA POSITIONS

A. Selection of the USA Elected Offices:

1. The President and Vice Presidents shall be elected from the Executive Board no later than the second meeting.

2. Selection of these offices will be overseen by the Executive Director.

3. The USA President shall be elected first, followed by the USA Executive Vice President, concluding with the USA Legislative Vice President.

4. Election Procedure

a. The body will be open for nominations until voted closed by a simple majority vote.

b. The body will determine the length of time the nominees will be allowed to speak to the nomination. The body may determine the length of time for questions and answers of each nominee. All candidates will be allotted equal time for speaking to the nomination as well as answering questions.

c. After each nominee has spoken, the body will move to vote. Voting will be performed by secret ballot.

1. If more than two candidates are nominated, a vote will be held to narrow the candidate field to two nominees by having each member vote for two candidates. The candidate receiving the lowest number of votes will be eliminated. This will continue until the field as been narrowed to two candidates.

d. A member is elected to office by receiving a simple majority of votes.

e. Once the USA President has been elected the body will be open to nominations for USA Executive Vice President following the procedure listed above. The process will continue until all elected positions have been filled.

B. Selection of the USA Student Advocate:

1. Applications for the position of the Student Advocate shall be disseminated at each school by the last day in February. The USA Presidency will collect the applications and interview the candidates. The USA Presidency will then recommend a candidate to the Executive Board . The candidate will be appointed by a two-thirds vote of the incoming members of the Executive Board .

C. Selection of Student Regent Candidates:

1. Executive Board will nominate candidates for the Student Regent position to the Governor of the State of Utah in accordance with state law in §53B-1-104 of the Utah Code Annotated. The selection process will be as follows:

2. The candidates will submit applications to the Regents’ Office who will compile them and provide them to Executive Board. If more than two students from the same state member institution apply, the incoming student body president from that institution will determine the process to narrow down the pool of applicants to two.

3. Outgoing student body presidents may be candidates for the Student Regent position subject to the limitations of state law. Any such candidate may not participate in the selection process other than as a candidate.

4. The Executive Board may choose to allow candidates time to make a presentation and will determine the length of time the candidates will be allowed for that presentation. The Executive Board may choose to allow candidates time to answer their questions and will determine the length of time to allow the candidates to answer those questions. All candidates will be allotted equal time for giving their presentation as well as answering questions.

5. Each state member institution will have two members voting for the Student Regent position. In the absence of one of the voting members from an institution, the newly elected student body president from that institution will assign a representative from his/her institution to fill the voting position.

6. Any outgoing or current student body president who chooses to be a candidate for the Student Regent position may not attend or participate in the presentation by any other candidate. Nor shall any such candidate student body president attend or participate in any USA discussion, questioning, or deliberations regarding the candidates at which any other candidate is excluded.

7. The Executive Board may exclude the current Student Regent during the candidates’ presentations, questioning, or deliberations. However, the current Student Regent shall be available during this process, at the request of the Executive Board, to answer their questions.

8. Following the candidates’ presentations and questioning, if any, the Executive Board will deliberate after which each voting member will vote for three candidates to be considered for the Student Regent position. After the Chair tallies the results, the one or two candidates receiving the fewest votes will be eliminated from further consideration.

9. This process will continue until three candidates remain. The Executive Board will consider the final three remaining candidates as their nominees for the Student Regent position.

10. The USAwill submit the nominees to the Governor of the State of Utah no later than the last day in May.

11. If any member of the Executive Board is dissatisfied with a voting result, he or she may motion the Executive Board for a reconsideration of its vote.

D. Selection of the USA Executive Director:

1. Selection of Hiring Committee.

a. When the need arises to hire a new Executive Director, the Executive Board will choose two members of the body to accompany the USA Presidency in the selection process of the new Executive Director;

b. Additional non voting members of the selection committee may be invited, as deemed necessary, by the USA Presidency to aid in the selection process.

2. Responsibilities of the Hiring Committee

a. This committee will review all applications and resumes. If there are more than ten applicants, the committee may do a paper screen of the applicants to reduce the pool of applicants to six. In either case, the Executive Director Selection Committee will then interview the applicants and deliberate until one applicant is selected to be recommended to the Executive Board, who will be hired by a two-thirds vote of the Executive Board.

b. The USHE Hiring Policy will be followed.

E. Selection of the USA Staff:

1. If the Executive Board creates any other staff position, the USA Presidency will select these staff members in the manner that they deem appropriate. These appointments shall be chosen quickly to maximize productivity. The USHE Hiring Policy will be followed.

F. Selection of the Student UHEAA Board members:

1. The UHEAA student members will be appointed in accordance with the UHEAA policy and procedure.

V. AMMENDMENTS

A. Once enacted, these Bylaws may only be amended by a written proposal of a member of Executive Board and passed by a two-thirds vote of the Executive Board.

B. Neither the Executive Board, any subdivision thereof, nor any affiliate organizations may enact any rules, policies or procedures inconsistent with these Bylaws.

IX. ENACTMENT

A. Upon enactment of this Constitution and these Bylaws, all previous Utah Student Association Constitutions, Bylaws, and copies thereof are declared null and void. By the hands of the undersigned members of the Executive Board, this Constitution and these Bylaws is hereby enacted this twenty seventh day of July 2006.