Article I. Name
The name of this organization shall be Texas A&M Student Chapter of the Institute of Transportation Engineers.
Article II. Purpose and Goals
The purpose of this organization shall be to promote the advancement of transportation engineering. The goals of this organization shall be to foster the closer association of students with the transportation profession and the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE), to promote the development of professional spirit, and to identify and address common transportation interests among the student members. This organization is a student chapter of the Texas Section of the Institute of Transportation Engineers (TexITE).
Article III. Membership
Membership in this organization shall be open to all students at Texas A&M University.
Section A. Recruiting
Recruitment of members shall focus on students enrolled in transportation classes or in classes of related disciplines.
Section B. Fees
Membership fees shall not exceed $5.00 per calendar year, and shall be collected at the time of application or renewal of membership. Chapter dues shall not be required of persons who are international ITE members.
Section C. Disciplining and/or Removal
In the event that a member displays conduct that is in violation of Texas A&M University’s Student Conduct Code, or the Canon of Ethics for Members of the Institute of Transportation Engineers, and the officers unanimously agree on the intent for removal of the member, the member will be notified in writing of the officers’ intent to remove the member from the organization. The written notification will provide the member an opportunity to share his/her perspective on the violation, specifically to meet with the officers within two weeks of the written notice. If the member fails to adequately account for the violation in this meeting, or fails to contact the officers within this time period, the officers will meet to vote on final removal of the member. If during the second meeting, the officers unanimously agree on the removal of the member, the member will then be notified in writing of their final removal and their forfeiture of dues.
Article IV. Officers
Section A. Titles
The elected officers of this organization shall be President, Vice President for Technical Activities, Vice President for Outreach, Corresponding Secretary, Membership Secretary, Treasurer, Public Relation Director, Chapter Librarian, and webmaster.
Section B. Requirements
The officers of this organization must meet the following requirements:
a) Be an active member registered at the international ITE for the semesters under consideration.
b) Have a minimum grade point ratio (GPR) as stated below and meet that minimum GPR in the semester immediately prior to the election/appointment, and semesters during the term of office.
1) For undergraduate student, the minimum GPR is 2.00. In order for this provision to be met, at least six hours (half-time credits) must have been taken for the semester under consideration. In one limited circumstance, summer semester hours may be applied to this provision. In order for summer coursework to qualify toward a grade point ratio prior to election/appointment, at least six credit hours must have been taken during the course of either the full or two summer session(s).
2) For graduate level students the minimum GPR is a 3.00. In order for this provision to be met, at least four hours (half-time credits) must have been taken for the semester under consideration. In one limited circumstance, summer semester hours may be applied to this provision. In order for summer coursework to qualify toward a grade point ratio prior to election/appointment, at least four credit hours must have been taken during the course of either the full or two summer session(s) unless fewer credits are required as they complete the final stages of their degree.
c) Be in good standing with the university and enrolled:
1) at least half time (six or more credit hours, if an undergraduate student (unless fewer credits are required to graduate in the spring and fall semesters) during the term of office, and
2) at least half time (four or more credits), if a graduate level student (unless fewer credits are required in the final stages of their degree as defined by the Continuous Registration Requirement) during their term of office.
d) Be ineligible to hold an office should the student fail to maintain the requirements as prescribed in (a), (b) and (c).
Section C. Terms
The terms of all officers shall be one year, or three academic semesters (fall, spring, summer). Officers may serve multiple terms but formal election procedures shall be followed at the end of each term.
Section D. Elections
General elections shall be held at the last official meeting of the spring and/or fall semesters. Supplemental elections may be held at official meetings to fill vacant offices. Elections held at official meetings shall be announced at least one week prior to the designated meeting. A quorum of 30 percent of the membership must be in attendance to conduct an election. Members of this organization, excluding the current President and Vice Presidents, shall nominate members and second such nomination. All members, including the Vice Presidents, shall cast a single vote per office election. The nominee receiving the majority vote will fill the office. In case of a tied vote, the President shall cast the deciding silent vote.
Section E. Vacancies
In the event of a vacancy occurring in the office of President, the office shall be filled by the Vice President for Technical Activities until such time that an election can be held to fill the office. In the event of a vacancy occurring in the office of the Vice President for Technical Activities, Vice President for Outreach, Corresponding Secretary, Membership Secretary, Treasurer, or Chapter Librarian, the President shall appoint an officer to fill the office until such time that an election can be held to fill the office.
Section F. Duties & Responsibilities
1) President: Shall serve as official representative of this organization. Duties and responsibilities include submissions for TexITE Newsletter, reports for TexITE Executive Board, annual report, annual student chapter competition, officer meetings, Chapter meetings, and publicity. The President shall have the authority to appoint selected Student Chapter members to Chair committees (see Article V).
2) Vice President for Technical Activities: Shall serve as official representative of this organization in absence of the President. Duties and responsibilities shall include the Project Committee, technical projects and field trips, safety training, TexITE meeting and other professional conference arrangements, meeting organization and publicity.
3) Vice President for Outreach: Shall serve as the primary officer responsible for activities between the organization and other organizations in the Department, College, University, the Institute, and the community at-large. Duties and responsibilities include the Student-Faculty Liaison Committee, the Service Committee, fostering relations with outside individuals and other organizations, meeting organization and publicity.
4) Corresponding Secretary: Shall serve as the official correspondent for the organization. Duties and responsibilities shall include keeping meeting minutes, maintaining files, career services, meeting organization and publicity. Shall also serve as Society Member on the Student Engineers’ Council.
5) Membership Secretary: Shall maintain official membership records and serve as the official correspondent for the organization in absence of the Corresponding Secretary. Duties and responsibilities shall include membership drives, membership dues, career services, the listserv, member nametags, meeting organization and publicity.
6) Treasurer: Shall maintain the official financial records. Duties and responsibilities shall include relations with the Student OrganizationFinance Center and/or Fiscal Office, membership dues, fundraisers, meeting organization and publicity.
7) Chapter Librarian: Shall maintain the library, and make photo records of every Texas A&M ITE (TAMUite) sponsored or participated event. Duties and responsibilities include the library, meeting organization, publicity and photo taking/archiving. In his or her absence, the librarian shall delegate the work to either an officer or a member to ensure the event has a photo record.
8) Public Relation Director: Shall work to promote the chapter through publicity. Duties and responsibilities shall include posting fliers about upcoming activities, announcing upcoming meetings in transportation related undergraduate classes, and maintaining a facebook group for the chapter.
9) Webmaster: Shall maintain the TAMUite website. Duties and responsibilities shall include posting updates of the upcoming activities, posting records of meeting minutes and event photos supplied by corresponding secretary and librarian respectively, and being in charge of major website improvements.
Section G. Removal of Officers
In the event that an officer continually fails to perform the duties of his/her office as outlined in the Constitution, abuses the powers of that office, or fails to accept the responsibilities of that office, removal of the officer shall require unanimous agreement from all remaining officers. The delinquent officer will be notified in writing of the remaining officers’ intent to remove the officer from his/her office. The written notification will provide the officer an opportunity to share his/her perspective on the failure to perform the duties of his/her officer, or to justify the violations in terms of abuse of power, or failure to accept responsibility of the office. The remaining officers will review the situation after hearing from the officer in question and a decision will be made as to the outcome of the situation. If, after hearing from the officer in question, the remaining officers unanimously agree that the officer should be removed, a vote of the membership will be called. A quorum of 30 percent must be present at the meeting and a two-thirds vote must be obtained in order to remove the officer from his/her position.
Article V. Committees
Committees are established to accomplish particular tasks beyond the scope of the officers’ responsibilities.
Section A. Chairs
The President will be responsible for selecting non-officer committee chairs and determining the level of activity within each committee. Those members who have paid membership dues for the organization and uphold the integrity of the organization are eligible to Chair or be a member of a committee.
Section B. Project Committee
The Project Committee shall oversee all transportation-related technical projects. The Vice President for Technical Activities shall Chair the committee. It is the duty of the Vice President for Technical Activities to establish the project with clients, organize meetings and establish individual project managers. The project manager will oversee the progress of the individual projects, establish a budget, prepare the report if necessary, and conduct the safety training for all Student Chapter volunteers. The Treasurer will disburse payments for work completed.
Section C. Student-Faculty Liaison Committee
The Chair of this committee, the Vice President for Outreach, will act as a representative of the students and serve as a liaison between student and the faculty, voice concerns of the students to the faculty, and inform students of relevant information.
Section D. Service Committee
The Chair of the committee, the Vice President for Outreach, will actively search for service projects each year for the organization to be involved in.
Section E. Welcoming Committee
The Chair of this committee, to be appointed by the President, will be responsible for coordinating the new student programs for prospective and incoming graduate students.
Section F. Government Committee
The Chair of this committee, to be appointed by the President, will be responsible for investigating and reporting governmental activities, inWashington DC and Austin Texas, related to Transportation Policy and other Institute of Transportation Engineers interests.
Section G. Web Page Committee
The Chair of this committee, the webmaster or alternative personnel appointed by the President with approval of the webmaster, will be responsible for maintaining, updating, managing and adding new features to the TAMUite Web Page.
Article VI. Meetings
Section A. Regular Meetings
Regular meetings of this organization shall be held at least three times each semester.
Section B. Special Meetings
The President or Faculty Advisor may call special meetings at any time.
Section C. Conducting Business
A quorum of 30 percent of voting membership is required to conduct official business.
Section D. Meeting Agenda
The agenda at regular meetings shall be as follows:
1) Old business
2) Current or new business
3) Officer reports
4) Actual purpose of meeting (presentation, discussion, field trip, etc.)
5) Adjournment
Article VII. Finances
All monies belonging to this organization shall be deposited and disbursed through a bank account established for this organization at the Student Organization Finance Center (SOFC) and/or the Fiscal Office. All funds must be deposited within 24 hours after collection. The advisor to this organization must approve and sign each expenditure before payment.
Article VIII. Amendments & Ratification
This constitution may be amended at any time by a vote of the membership at an official meeting. A quorum of 30 percent of the current members must be present at the meeting and a two-thirds vote must be obtained to amend the constitution.
This constitution may also be amended at any time by a vote of the membership via e-mail balloting. E-mail ballots requiring a “yes” or “no” response to each proposed amendment shall be sent to the membership. Members shall have one week to cast their ballots before results are tabulated. A minimum response rate of 30 percent of the membership and a two-thirds vote must be obtained to amend the constitution.
A minor amendment to this constitution may be made at any time but not more than twice per calendar year by unanimous agreement from all current officers at an officer meeting. The amendment shall be reviewed by all officers before the meeting, and passed during the meeting. The presence of the chapter adviser is not required at the officer meeting, but a written approval of the proposed amendment from the adviser must be obtained via email or letter to amend the constitution.
Article IX. Advisor
Section A. Requirements
The advisor of this organization shall be a Texas A&M University employee and shall be a faculty member, professional or associate staff member, or graduate assistant.
Section B. Interaction
The advisor should meet with the officers of the organization to discuss roles and responsibilities, attend regular meetings, and assist in developing realistic goals.
Section C. Leadership
The advisor should facilitate opportunities for student to exercise initiative and judgment when planning events and activities, and attend such events when possible.
Section D. Finances
The advisor should be aware of the organization’s financial status.
Section E. Policies
The advisor should be aware of the University Student Rules and other institutional guidelines and ensure the officers and the members know where these rules and guidelines are published.
Section F. Replacement
If for any reason the advisor is no longer willing and/or able to fulfill the responsibilities, he/she will formally communicate this to the student organization and the Department of Student Activities in writing. The organization will then determine the appropriate course of action for replacing the advisor.
This constitution is reviewed annually be a representative of the Department of Student Activities. If changes are made to the constitution following the annual Department of Student Activities review, the amendments will be promptly submitted to the Department of Student Activities for approval.