HOME
   
  CALENDAR  
   
  APPLY FOR FUNDING  
   
  OTHER SERVICES  
   
  GSA OFFICERS  
   
  GSA CONSTITUTION  
   
  GSA BYLAWS  
   
  GSA BUDGET  
   
  GSA MEETING MINUTES  
   
  GSA NEWSLETTER  
   
  GSA HANDBOOK  
   
  GS ORGANIZATIONS  
   
  GS WEBPAGES  
   
  GS POINT SYSTEM  
   
  ADVERTISING BOARD  
   
  PHOTO GALLERY  
   
  CONTACT US  
 

GRADUATE STUDENTS ASSOCIATION

REVISED CONSTITUTION
(January 2006)

I. PREAMBLE

We, the graduate and professional students of Florida International University, in order to advance our interests, define our responsibilities and provide for a meaningful participation within the governance of the university, are hereby decreed and established as the Graduate Students Association. University officials, faculty, staff and student colleagues, in their dealings with the graduate and professional students of the university, shall respect the following Constitution.

II. NAME

The official name of the organization under this Constitution shall be the Graduate Students Association, which can be hereafter referred to as the GSA.

III. MISSION

The mission of the Graduate Students Association is to represent and promote the interests of the university's current and prospective graduate and professional student community by supporting scholarly activities and providing leadership, service, and financial and social opportunities. GSA exists to enrich the experience of all graduate students by flexibly responding to the changing collective needs of our primary constituent graduate and professional students.

IV. PURPOSE

GSA, recognized by the university as the graduate and professional students' central organization, is appropriately organized to accomplish the following purposeful functions:

• Represent the broad interests of graduate and professional students to the university's academic units; Advocate the position of the graduate and professional student body to other university and external constituencies;
• Act as a clearinghouse for, and provide services, and programs to current and prospective graduate and professional students;
• Provide a scholarly forum to promote interaction among graduate and professional students;
• Encourage and facilitate communication with and interaction among other graduate student organizations;
• Recommend graduate and professional students for appointment to faculty and university committees;
• Seek funding to support organizational activities, as well as graduate and professional students;
• Promote a sense of community among graduate and professional students.


V. MEMBERSHIP

Active membership must be entirely composed of and is open to all graduate and professional students registered at Florida International University, regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, marital status, religion, national origin, age, political views, sexual orientation, or disability.

There is no limit to the term of membership for active members.

Continued membership for graduate and professional students after graduation, including alumni, can be obtained after payment of Activities and Services (A&S) fees.

There are no further specifications for removal of members other than those mentioned in Articles 8.

Membership Dues/Fees

There are no dues/fees for membership.

VI. OFFICER REPRESENTATION AND DESCRIPTION

The GSA board shall consist of Executive Board Officers, Standing Committee Chairs, and Student Government Association (SGA) Representatives. All Executive Board Officers, Chairs, and SGA Representatives shall be registered in a graduate program at FIU and must be in good academic and financial standing. Temporary committees and liaison positions for the purpose of resolving immediate issues or communicating with other organizations, respectively, shall be created as necessary. The President of the GSA, with a majority approval, shall appoint temporary committees and liaisons by vote of the GSA executive board.

Executive Board Officers

The GSA Executive Board Officers shall consist of a President, a Vice-President, a Secretary, and a Treasurer.

President
The President’s duties shall be to preside over meetings, appoint and oversee organizational functions, and to act as the primary university liaison.

Vice-President
The Vice-President shall assist the President with his/her duties, and preside over the organization in the President’s absence, which is appointed by the President.

Vice-President- Biscayne Bay Campus
The Vice-President for the Biscayne Bay campus shall assist the President with his/her duties. The Vice President shall preside over all matters related to the Graduate Students Association on the Biscayne Bay campus. This position shall be the presiding presence on the Biscayne Bay campus and provide GSA services to graduate students on both the Biscayne Bay campus and Pines Center. This position should work in collaboration with the SGA-Biscayne Bay campus SGA Representatives to carry out the mission of GSA on the Biscayne Bay campus. This person shall be appointed by the current GSA executive board.

Secretary
The Secretary shall record, keep, and make available copies of the meeting minutes, and dispatch correspondence as directed by the President.

Treasurer
The Treasurer shall receive, dispatch, and keep accurate records of all financial matters regarding the organization, and submit the organization’s annual budget to the Budget Committee regarding the A&S allocation from SGA. This person shall work collaboratively with the Activities and Services business office and the GSA office administrator to ensure the fiscal affairs of the Graduate Student Association.

Standing Committee Chairs

The Standing Committee Chairs shall consist of an advocacy chair, a graduate student organization chair, marketing chair, and a historian or any other position deemed necessary by the current executive board members.

Student Government Association (SGA) Graduate Representatives

Representatives shall be elected in the SGA elections through the SGA process. The two representatives on both University Park and Biscayne Bay Campuses will serve as liaisons between SGA and GSA. The Graduate Student Representative will be expected to attend GSA meetings (executive board or general meetings) and or give a report on special projects and initiatives.

VII. ELECTIONS

Executive Board Officers’ terms begin May 1 and end April 30 of the following academic year. All nominations must be submitted to the GSA office and will close one week prior to the election or otherwise deemed by majority vote of the board. Candidates must be present at the election meeting in order to run for office.

Executive Board Officers

Elections for officers will take place at the April meeting of the organization.

Executive Board Offices Voting Procedures
Elections shall consist of a simple majority for each of the Executive board positions. GSA annual elections will be held for one day at an announced meeting in the Spring semester (elections can not be held later than the Student Government Association elections).

Qualifications for Executive Board positions:
1. Currently enrolled Graduate Student
2. May not be under any academic or disciplinary sanctions as detailed in the Student Code of Conduct.
3. Must maintain no less than a 3.2 cumulative graduate grade point average and a 3.0 term graduate grade point average.
4. May hold more than one position on the executive board but have only one vote during any voting proceedings.

All elections procedures are clearly defined in the GSA elections packet. Any violation of such regulations will result of a candidate’s removal. Any changes to the elections packet must be voted on by the current Graduate Student Association executive board.

Standing Committee Chairs

Elections for Standing Committee Chairs will be appointed by the general council through a majority vote and will take place at the April meeting of the new Executive board.


VIII. REMOVAL, IMPEACHMENTS AND DISSOLUTION

An Executive Board Officer or Standing Committee Chair shall be removed if the officer or chair fails to attend more than two meetings, organizational or board, without communicating in advance, except in the case of an emergency. If an officer or chair is unable to attend five meetings with proper notification, the board will need to meet to evaluate recommendation of removal of that person from the position.

Impeachment

Any officer or chair may be removed for misfeasance, malfeasance, or nonfeasance by a two-third vote of the board. This should be accomplished by the submission of an impeachment resolution at the GSA organizational meeting. All impeachment resolutions can be proposed by any member but must be introduced by a member of the board seven days prior to a general meeting. The officer or chair must receive due process including seven day written notification of the impeachment resolution (and reasons for impeachment) for preparation for defense. The impeachment procedures shall be conducted through a judicial committee setup by the GSA advisor (s).

In the event the President resigns or is unable to perform the powers and duties of the office as defined in Article 6, the Vice-President at University Park Campus shall become the President.

In the event any of the other officer positions becomes vacant for any reason, the President shall nominate and, with the advice and consent of the organization, appoint new officers.

Dissolution

The Executive Board may be dissolved after the dissolution is approved by a two-thirds majority vote of the organization, provided that notice of a vote on dissolution will be taken and furnished to the members at least thirty days before the vote is taken. Upon dissolution, the board shall utilize the assets of the GSA to pay all obligations and expenses of the GSA including those arising from the dissolution and distribution.

IX. ADVISING

The GSA shall have two advisors, one from Campus Life and one from the Graduate School and or University Faculty, and shall be full-time faculty/staff members or administrators at Florida International University. More than two advisors can be designated at any given time.

The advisors support, assist, and counsel the GSA officers throughout its various decision-making processes and governance within the university, and with regards to its external constituencies. For voting privileges please observe the following Voting Privileges section.

X. VOTING PRIVILEGES

Executive Board Meetings

Any member of the Executive Board, Standing Committee Chairs and SGA Representatives, has voting privileges. In the special case that one person fulfills more than one position within the board as defined in Article 6; he/she will only have one vote in all matters.

General Meetings

Only currently enrolled graduate students have voting privileges in general meetings.

Advisors

Advisors do not have voting privileges. They may however counsel and provide feedback to the GSA officers regarding voting issues.

QUORUM

A quorum for the purposes of voting is defined as 10 currently enrolled graduate students, not including the executive board.


XI. MEETINGS AND ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENTS

The organization shall meet at least twice a month throughout the academic year, one meeting deemed a general meeting, the other an executive board meeting. The President may request special meetings, given at least three-day publics’ notice. Meetings will be conducted using Robert’s Rules of Order, of which a copy is available in the GSA office.


HAZING AGREEMENT

This organization prohibits its members, both individually and collectively from committing any acts of hazing as defined herein:

“Hazing”, means any action or situation, which recklessly or intentionally endangers the mental or physical health or safety of a student for the purpose of initiation or admission into or affiliation with this organization. Such term shall include, but not be limited to, any brutality of a physical nature, such as whipping, beating, branding, forced calisthenics, exposure to the elements, forced consumption of food, liquor, drug, or other forced activity which adversely affects the mental health or dignity of the individual to extreme mental stress, such as sleep deprivation, forced exclusion from social contact, forced conduct which could result in extreme embarrassment, or any other forced activity which could adversely affect the mental or physical health, the safety and dignity of the individual. For the purpose of this section, any activity as described above upon which the initiation or admission into or affiliation with this organization is directly or indirectly conditioned shall be presumed to be a “forced activity”, the willingness of an individual to participate in such activity notwithstanding.

GSA agrees to abide by the Florida State Statute #240.262 regarding hazing.

ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENTS

GSA will commit itself to the following:
• Abide by all Student Activities policies as outlined in the student handbook;
• Check the organization’s mailbox on a regular basis;
• Communicate via email upon request;
• Update the organization’s records (Officer Listings Form) whenever there is a change.

XII. CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS

Amendments to this Constitution shall be enacted according to the following procedure:

Proposals for amendments to this Constitution shall be submitted in writing to the board and subsequently posted on the website fourteens days prior to the meeting that will include a vote on a proposed amendment to the Constitution. An amendment to the Constitution shall require a two-thirds majority vote of all eligible voting attendees at the meeting.