Bylaws of the Dakota ACAC - ND Council.

(Approved February 1, 2004)

Article I.        NAME

The name of this organization shall be the Dakota Association for College Admission Counseling - ND Council.

Article II.     PURPOSE

Mission Statement: the mission of Dakota Association for College Admission Counseling - ND Council is to establish and adhere to professional and ethical standards serve as a resource and provide guidelines for all institutions, agencies, and other professional groups whose interests relate to post-secondary education in the State of North Dakota.

To that end, the objectives of the organization are:

A.   To promote high professional standards of those involved with advising people about post-secondary educational opportunities.

 B.  To establish and promote a code of ethics for those involved with advising about post-secondary educational opportunities.

 C.  To create an awareness of important issues relating to post-secondary education.

 D.  To coordinate career/college fair programs.

 E.  To encourage communication among institutions, agencies, and other professional groups whose interests relate to post-secondary education.

 F.  To support and adhere to the purposes, goals, objectives and Statements of Good Practice of the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) and the Dakota Association for College Admission Counseling (DACAC).

Article III.   MEMBERSHIP

 A.  There will be two classifications of membership:

1)  Voting members: Voting membership may be held by institutions which are located in North Dakota and paying a membership fee established by the voting membership. 

a)  There will be one vote per voting member institution on all official Council business.

b)  Voting members shall have one representative in attendance at one meeting per fiscal year in order to remain active as a voting member. Voting members who do not meet this requirement shall serve as Associate Members for the fiscal year following the fiscal year of inactivity, assuming all associated rights and responsibilities of that group.

c)  All post-secondary educational institutions seeking membership in the Council must be accredited by the appropriate regional or national body.

 2)  Associate members: Associate membership may be granted to any person whose institution/organization is chartered outside the State of North Dakota or who wants an individual membership and pays an annual membership fee established by the voting membership.  A branch office of an institution/organization that has its main office located in another state would be defined as an out-of-state institution/organization.  All military participants are defined as being out-of-state with the exception of the following: North Dakota National Guard, North Dakota Air National Guard, and any North Dakota ROTC unit.

 B.  Members will receive updates regarding the membership and member responsibilities annually.

Article IV. OFFICES

A.  The chief officers will be chair, chair-elect, executive director/treasurer, and secretary. The term of office shall begin after election at the annual meeting and run through the annual meeting the following year.  Officers may be elected to successive terms.

 1)  Chair - The chair shall preside over all business meetings.  The chair and executive director/treasurer shall sign any business transactions necessary for running the organization. The chair is also responsible for planning and coordinating the annual meeting. 

2)  Chair-Elect– The chair-elect shall perform all duties and powers of the chair in the absence of the chair and automatically becomes chair at the end of the chair’s term of office.  The chair-elect serves as the DACAC - ND COUNCIL representative on the Board of Directors of NDCA.

3)  Executive Director/Treasurer – The executive director/treasurer shall be responsible for handling the organization’s funds.  The executive director/treasurer’s signature shall be required on all checks drawn from the organization’s accounts.  The executive director/treasurer is also responsible for membership contracts, correspondence, enforcement of the Code of Ethics, maintaining contact with Site Coordinators, reimbursement of appropriate fees, fiscal accounting of the organization’s funds, and shall allow any member to inspect the books. This position shall be a paid position, with pay determined by voting members.  Executive Director shall be hired by the Chair and Chair-Elect for the term of one year.  Consecutive terms are permitted.  The Executive Director, if the only voting member for a campus present at a meeting, may vote on any issue (other than on Executive Director salary) on behalf of their voting institution.  The job description for this position shall be approved by voting membership annually.

4)  Secretary – The secretary shall keep minutes of the proceedings of business meetings or Executive Board meetings, notify the membership of meetings, and keep a record of all members and their addresses.  Such minutes and records must be kept open for inspection by the membership.

5)  Ex-Officio member – Chair of NDCA or that chair’s designated representative shall be an ex-officio, non-voting member of all committees.

B.  Election of Officers – The voting membership will elect the vice-chair and secretary at the annual meeting by a majority vote for that position.

C.  The chair may appoint a replacement for an officer who resigns.  If the chair resigns, the chair fills in that position, and the chair-elect position is vacated until the membership at-large can vote once again.

 D.  The Executive Board shall consist of the four elected officers and the ex-officio member and shall function as the administrative unit of the organization, meeting to discuss items of interest to the membership and organization.  The Board may also call a meeting of the membership, plan meetings, hear complaints of violations of ethics, and make decisions on behalf of the membership between meetings.

 E.  Offices shall be held by representatives from voting members institutions.

Article V.    COMMITTEES

The chair may appoint members to serve on committees, which carry out specific assigned tasks designated by the chair and report activities at the annual meeting.

 A.  The standing committees shall be:

1)  Public Relations

2)  College Fairs

3)  Scholarship

4)  Professional Development

 B.  The duties of the committees shall be:

1)  Public Relations-This committee works to promote the DACAC-ND Council and helps create awareness of the Association. The committee is charged with creating a membership directory annually and promoting the Association-sponsored career fairs with both students and high schools.

2)  College Fairs-This committee is responsible for the annual career fair schedule. The committee works on promotion and annual review of the sites and scheduling.

3)  Scholarship-This committee executes the promotion, selection and awarding of DACAC-ND Council scholarships. The committee is responsible for creating awareness of the scholarship program in North Dakota high schools.

4)  Professional Development-The task of this committee is to develop and implement professional development programs for the membership. The committee also assists in arranging speakers and presentations for the Annual meeting of the North Dakota Counseling Association.

 C.  Committee Composition

1)  Committee Member Selection-Volunteers for each committee will be requested at the annual meeting.

2)  Committee Leadership Selection-The committee membership will select one leader for the committee who will serve for the term of at least one year.  In the event that a decision regarding leadership can not be reached, the DACAC-ND Council Chair shall select a leader.

3)  Change in the ability of volunteers to serve-In the event that any member of the committee is unable to complete his or her one year service term, the Executive Director will announce vacancies.  If the committee leader is unable to complete the term of service, the remaining volunteers shall select a new leader. 

4)  Broad committee representation among campuses:  Committee involvement should include broad representation among all DACAC-ND Council members.  Concerns about unequal campus representation for committee service should be presented in writing to the DACAC-ND Council Chair for review by the Board.

Article VI. FINANCES

A.  The fiscal year shall begin July 1 and end June 30.

B.  The annual report shall be made to the membership at the annual meeting.

C.  Member fees shall be determined at the annual meeting.

D.  The voting membership may establish and assess membership fees upon majority vote.

Article VII.  MEETINGS

A.  Meetings can be called by the chair for such purposes as he/she determines.

B.  There shall be a minimum of two meetings each fiscal year, including the annual business meeting at the DACAC annual conference. The mid-year meeting shall be scheduled by the voting membership.

C.  Notice of annual meetings, including an agenda, should be sent out by the secretary at least one month in advance of the meeting.

D.  A quorum consists of thirty-three percent (33%) of the voting membership.

E.  Quorum shall be required for all council business requiring a vote of the membership.

F.  Robert’s Rules of Order as revised shall govern the conduct of all Council meetings, except where such rules conflict with the By-Laws.

Article VIII.  AMENDMENTS

The membership may amend this constitution by a majority vote at a duly called and noticed meeting.