Proposed CoSIDA Constitution amendments

Proposed CoSIDA Constitution amendments

There are three proposed CoSIDA Constitutional amendments being proposed. They are published below, per CoSIDA constitution bylaws, and will be voted upon at the 2013 CoSIDA Convention at the Marriott World Center in Orlando during the Thursday, June 13th business meeting. That business meeting - open to all convention attendees - takes place at 5:15-5:45 pm in Salon H.


PROPOSED CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT #1

PROPOSED BY CoSIDA BOARD OF DIRECTORS:

Article 11: Dues, Fees, Financial Policies

Section 3 currently reads: The fiscal year of the Association shall begin on July 1 and continue through June 30 of the next year.

Proposed change to Section 3 to read: The fiscal year of the Association shall begin on January 1 and continue through December 31 of that calendar year.

Rationale: Changing the designation of our fiscal year will 1) assist us in more easily filing appropriate IRS reports; and 2) will better match the fiscal cycles of many of our revenue streams.



PROPOSED CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT #2

PROPOSED BY SHELLY POE and CoSIDA BOARD OF DIRECTORS:

Article 9: Meetings

Section 1: There shall be an Annual Business Meeting of the Association, to be held at the site of the annual convention at a time to be determined by the Board of Directors.

Section 3: For the purpose of transacting business at the Annual Business Meeting, a quorum shall consist of a majority of the active members attending the business meeting. Items for vote at the Annual Business Meeting will be ratified by majority vote.

Proposed change to Section 4 to read: For the purpose of transacting business outside the Annual Business Meeting, a quorum shall consist of at least 10% of the Association’s active members for an online vote. A positive vote by 60% of those active members voting would be required for an online issue to pass.

Rationale: This will allow CoSIDA to transact business year-round. This will allow input from all active members, not just those attending the annual convention. This should be easily transacted by using mechanisms members currently use for Academic All-America voting; perhaps items for vote could be attached to an AAA ballot throughout the year when timeliness is necessary.

Also, since only active members can access online voting, it will not be necessary to put additional passwords/codes in place for any ballot issues.

The threshold for passage will be higher (60% vs. 50%) in an online vote to combat any perception of trying to push anything through by not waiting until the convention to vote.



PROPOSED CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT #3

PROPOSED BY DEBBIE COPP, CHAIR OF CoSIDA COMMITTEE ON COMMITTEES

CURRENT

Article 8 – Committees, Section 2: Any member of CoSIDA may hold committee membership. Committee chairs must be active members of the Association. The Committee on Committees shall survey members annually to determine their willingness and/or preference for committee service.

PROPOSED (New language in italics)

?Article 8 - Committees??Section 2: Any member of CoSIDA may hold committee membership. Committee chairs may be active or associate members of the Association and serve with Board of Directors' approval. There is an understanding that certain committee chairs must be active members of the Association and, if the chair is an associate member, then the co-chair or the vice chair must be an active member of the Association. The Committee on Committees shall survey committee chairs annually to determine the need for additions to the committee. The Committee on Committees shall survey members annually to determine their willingness and/or preference for committee service.

RATIONALE

The rationale behind this is it would give the organization more flexibility to select chairs because, quite frankly, we do not have people lining up to be chairs. Depending on the committee, a member who agrees to be a chair may devote a significant amount of time and there really aren’t benefits to being a chair. Associate members pay dues at a higher rate than active members and still have an involvement with our profession. The amendment includes language that refers to the committees which must be chaired by an active member and that is already a part of the Constitution. Finally, the board would still have the option to say "no" to a proposed committee chair.