UMass Medical School (UMass Worcester) Student Government Alliance Constitution and Bylaws (T11-033)

UMass Medical School (UMass Worcester) Student Government Alliance Constitution and Bylaws (T11-033)

Doc. T11-033
Passed by the Board of Trustees on June 8, 2011

Article I. Name

The name of the organization shall be Student Government Alliance (SGA) of the University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMW).

Article II. Purpose and Responsibility

  1. The SGA shall promote communication and collaboration across all UMW schools, and shall serve as an all-schools resource for communicating and working with UMW administration.
  2. The SGA shall, when appropriate, provide representation for all students at UMW in accordance with the University of Massachusetts Board's Statement of University Governance (Doc. T73-098 Sections l.b.4 and II.d.2.)
  3. The SGA shall, when appropriate, study matters of importance to students and submit recommendations expressing student views and concerns to the administration and faculty of UMW pursuant to Doc. T73-098 Sections l .b.4 and II.d.2.
  4. On matters that affect the student body, the SGA will be called on to assist and cooperate in the promoting, clarifying, and implementation of these matters.
  5. The SGA, in order to truly represent the interests, the concerns, and the wishes of the students at UMW shall, through its membership, be available and solicitous to all students, so as to become aware of and to act upon any problem or anticipation.
  6. The SGA members shall serve as their school's representative and shall present the concerns, problems, and wishes of their constituency.

Article III. Membership

The membership of the SGA shall regularly number two individuals per school and the student trustee, discussed as follows:

  1. Each school at UMW shall be entitled to two representatives on the SGA.
  2. In addition, the student trustee as elected by all the schools shall be a representative on the SGA.
  3. The president(s) of each school's Student Body Committee shall be considered that school's representative to the alliance, unless that school chooses to select their representatives in another way.
  4. The president(s) of each school's Student Body Committee shall determine the selection/selection process of the second school representative on the SGA
  5. Each term will be one year and there shall be no restriction on the number of times a representative may serve on the SGA.
  6. Substitution: An official representative to the SGA may designate a substitute from his/her school to attend SGA meetings if it is impossible for that representative to attend. This privilege should be used only in emergency or unusual situations or when the representative must be away from school for academic requirements.
  7. Election or Appointment: elections or appointments for SGA positions should be accomplished by the end of May of the Spring term.
  8. The Dean/Provost or his/her designee shall be the advisor of the SGA and serve as an ex-officio member of the SGA.

Article IV. Voting

  1. Quorum: A quorum of (4) members including representation from each school must be present to transact official business.
  2. A designated substitute is entitled to vote on all voting matters. The SGA Chairperson shall be notified in advance of the meeting of any designated substitute.
  3. On all matters with exception of constitutional and bylaw changes, action will be decided by a simple majority of voting members present. Amendments to the Constitution and Bylaws require (4) affirmative votes of the SGA, and if determined to be substantive changes must go again before the Board of Trustees.
  4. In the event of a tie, the matter will be tabled indefinitely or until the next meeting at the discretion of the members.

Article V. Meetings

The SGA shall meet regularly as prescribed in the bylaws.

Article VI. Officers of the Alliance

  1. There shall be only one officer of the SGA known as the Chairperson

  2. Chairperson rotation system: the Chairperson of the SGA shall be a rotating position determined by a rotation plan that follows the alphabetical order of the schools' names:

    1. Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences
    2. Graduate School of Nursing
    3. School of Medicine

    Ex.: When the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences holds the Chairperson position, the following year the Graduate School of Nursing holds the Chair.

  3. The Chairperson must be voted by a majority of the members then present.
  4. Responsibilities of the Chairperson
    1. Term of Office: The term of chairperson shall be from June 1 to May 30.
    2. Alteration to the rotation plan: In the event a school elects not to hold the office earned in the rotation system, the chair is passed to the next school in the rotation system.
    3. Should UMW add schools, those schools would be added to the list and represented in alphabetical order.
    4. The student trustee may not be the chairperson.

Article VII. Committees

Subcommittees are allowed in the SGA as prescribed in the Bylaws.

Article VIII. Election of the Student Member to the Board of Trustees

The SGA will lead the process for selecting the Student Trustee Pursuant to the Student Trustee Election Policy (Doc. T91-133B).

Board of Trustees Student Trustee Selection Process

The UMW Student Trustee shall be elected in a process overseen by the SGA in compliance with the University of Massachusetts Board of Trustees policy Student Trustee Election Policy (Doc. T91- 133B) and in a manner prescribed by the General Laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The trustee shall serve for the term of one (1) year, as defined in said policy.
 

University of Massachusetts Medical School Student Government Alliance (SGA) Bylaws


Responsibilities of Members

  1. Represent the interests of the students of their schools to the SGA.
  2. Communicate the interests (meeting content, questions for student feedback, etc.) of the SGA to their schools.
  3. Chair SGA committees as determined in SGA meetings (nominated, appointed, volunteer).
  4. The Scribe of the SGA shall be provided by the Office of the Provost/Dean when feasible.

Establishment and review of SGA Bylaws

  1. The SGA officers established the initial bylaws in AY2011 in conjunction with developing the SGA constitution.
  2. The SGA officers will review the bylaws at least annually and will update on an as-needed basis in accordance with Article IV, Section C of the SGA Constitution.

Meetings

  1. Meetings of the SGA shall be called by the Chairperson or the Provost's designee serving as Faculty Advisor. The SGA shall meet every two months when school is in session (fall and spring semesters).
  2. The SGA shall meet at least one time per semester (fall and spring) with the Provost.
  3. The last SGA meeting each spring semester will include all current as well as all incoming SGA representatives and should be the spring semester meeting with the Provost.

Subcommittees

  1. Campus- and Institution-wide committee representation shall continue to be determined by each school.
  2. The SGA may form committees as needed. Any committees established by the SGA will include representation from all schools on each committee to the extent possible.
    1. To the extent the committee deals with a particular school, representation from that school must be appointed.
    2. Committee chairs shall be designated by a majority vote of the SGA.
Book Category
Board Policy: Student