| rasc |
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| Rhodec ASID Student Chapter |
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| Rhodec Chapter RASC Policies and Procedures Last Updated: July, 2007 |
| General Information: ASID headquarters gives student chapters the freedom to organize and run their chapter any way they like. This is especially convenient for us, considering we operate differently than the traditional chapter. Because of our global and virtual nature, organizational efforts took longer to develop be we are confident that our methods and procedures are suitable for a successful and productive online student chapter. Our dedicated Executive Board works hand in hand to run the chapter and continues its growth and development. Also, the numerous volunteer positions help in areas not covered by board officials and assists with daily responsibilities and chapter functions. As the chapter continues to grow, changes, additions and new policies and procedures may be necessary to reflect the times. All changes should be documented and approved and maintained within the chapter (its forum and/or website) to keep it up to date and accessible for future officials. |
| Nominations and Elections: All board members are nominated and voted on each year and serve a 1 year term. This term may be extended to a total of two consecutive years in any one position. Voluntary chapter positions are not limited to any term and are not voted. Board positions include: President, President-Elect, Secretary, and Webmaster. Voluntary positions include: Newsletter Chair, Public Relations/Student Relations (PR/SR), Historian, Travel Chair and Legislative Chair. Nominations are taken in January of each year. Elections are then held in February for any positions with more than one interested student (single nominees do not require election). Newly elected officials take office on March 1st each year, after a two week training period under the guidance of current officials. RASC terms run March through the end of February each year. All current board members and volunteers must pass along all relevant notes and information (including all internet controls, usernames and passwords, and administrative duties) to the newly elected officials. This can be done via email and/or website. The current officials shall assist new officials by helping them get acquainted with chapter procedures and to understand their duties and responsibilities fully, through various training methods and opportunities. This should be done during the 2 week training period, so that new officials are ready to take office on March 1st. Officials' Duties and Responsibilities: Chapter officials must take their duties and responsibilities seriously, as the chapter's continued development and future growth greatly depend on it. Our chapter is completely virtual; by no means should this insinuate that there is not work to be done. Every official position has established duties, policies and procedures, which must be adhered to ensure that the chapter runs smoothly and continues successfully. If an elected or volunteering student does not perform their duties as described, they may be asked to step down and replaced by someone who will. The President shall reprimand any official who does not meet the requirements of their position and will give sufficient warning for their dismissal. The President shall seek guidance from other board members, our faculty advisor and our professional liaison upon making the decision to dismiss any chapter official for any reason. Officials will occasionally need to take time off from their duties for family vacations or other personal priorities. In this event, the official shall inform the President and fellow board members of their anticipated absence in advance. If necessary, the President and official shall work together to seek other officials of volunteers to perform their duties during this time period. Board Member Communications: Officials may visit our Chapter Forum regularly and may participate in board member discussions and developments. Emails play a vital role in our chapter functions and daily duties, thus board members are requested to check their mail regularly and copy all chapter related emails to all board members. All chapter decisions shall be made by the Executive board as a whole, as no one person shall ever have total control over the chapter. In some cases, the President will have to make the final decision on issues. These decisions shall be based on the majority vote from chapter officials and student members and other resources pertaining to these issues and always in the best interest of the chapter and its members. Chapter Meetings: All board members are required to attend all chapter meetings and to keep up on current chapter news and activities. Chapter meetings are currently held the first Tuesday of every month and will be announced, using our meeting announcement template, by our Secretary via email and evite (www.evite.com) to members, on the Rhodec Bulletin Board (BB), on Facebook Events Calendar (Rhodec International Group) and in our forum at least 1 week in advance. The Secretary will assist the President to make an agenda, using the meeting agenda template, for each meeting and request reports for any news or activities from project committee chairs at least one week in advance of each meeting. When possible, the project committe chair shall give the report at the meeting, to encourage member participation in chapter meetings. The President shall also send the meeting agenda to all board members for suggestions, ideas and feedback on all topics to be discussed. All chapter meeting minutes are taken by the Secretary and published in our Forum for member review and for record keeping. Board Meetings: Board members usually stay in close contact and discuss chapter business on a routine basis, the forum and emails are important tools for this purpose and members should conduct business in either or both of these methods. Board meetings should be regularly scheduled and announced, by the President and all board members are required to attend. Meetings are currently held in a private location which accommodates PC and MAC users and free from lurkers or unwanted/uninvited guests. If passwords are required to enter meetings, these will be distributed to members via secure emails or within the forum (never on the Bulletin Board due to its public nature). Chapter Funding: Our global nature lends itself to certain limitations, especially when it comes to funding. At this time our chapter cannot raise or house any funding because of tax limitations and international issues. It is hoped that one day these issues will be resolved and the chapter will be able to obtain funding for events, better internet tools and other resources that would benefit our chapter and its members. Until then, our chapter has no need for a treasurer or banking accommodations and must depend on donations for competition prizes, donated time from professionals for events and workshops and free online tools for our website and forum. Rhodec has provided our student chapter with a generous yearly budget of $1000. This is to be split evenly between 2 student board members for attendance at ASID events each year. The money can be used for travel, hotel, registration or any other expenses involved in attending these events. Rhodec will reimburse the attending students up to $500 each, after they have attended the events. To receive reimbursement, attending officials are required to provide accurate bookkeeping. Any remaining funds can be used towards other events during the year. Each year, the President shall request the upcoming President-Elect attend the annual ASID Leadership Conference in the summer and one other board member to attend the ASID University Campus in the spring. The President shall appoint the selected position each year, then request their attendance. If, for any reason, the chosen Board members cannot attend these events, the President shall select another student member, based on their active participation and dedication to the chapter. The President shall also inform Susi Santorelli, our Faculty Advisor, of the students who will attend these events and when they will take place. Chapter Registration: Chapter Eligibility Requirements: To register with our chapter students must be enrolled in the Rhodec Diploma Course and have a current ASID Student Membership. ASID Registration: To register with ASID the organization, send in your completed ASID student application. Be sure to put our chapter number (#132) on your application. A copy of the ASID application can be downloaded from our webpage, click here; or apply on line at: https://www.asid.org/ASID+Online.htm Membership fees are $45 each year (effective Jan. 2008) and student membership cards can take 5-7 weeks to process. Monthy Newsletter: The chapter newsletter shall be planned, organized and developed by the chapter Newsletter Chair, monthly, using our official chapter newsletter website. A rough draft shall be presented to all board members by the 15th of each month for feedback, suggestions and ideas. The Newsletter Chair will then finalize the newsletter and provide the Secretary with the link by the 20th of each month for email delivery to members. In an effort to develop the chapter and its members, the newsletter should address relevant and important issues relating to the field of Interior Design, ASID and board members should contribute material. Student members should also be featured; their acheivements honored and/or encouraged to contribute articles each month. Newsletter links should be posted in our forum and also our website (in an easy to find location) for each calendar year, archiving all other years on our website to document our chapter's history. Email and Announcements to Members: Our Secretary will maintain our chapters Roster and mailing lists and will not distribute members' information to anyone. All Board members wishing to make announcements should provide the test to the Secretary to mail to our members from one of our chapters email accounts. All announcements and emails sent to members shall include a disclaimer at the bottom, to allow for easy removal from chapter announcements if they so desire. Website: Our Website is an important tool for our chapter and it's members. It should be used to provide information about our chapter to members and perspective members, to provide information about ASID, store chapter tools and chapter documentation, for chapter communications, announcements, and the chapters' calendar of events. Additionally it should be used for the purpose of providing easy access to the ASID member application, to join our chapter, to feature chapter accomplishments and to spot light member accomplishments. The website shall also be used to archive past newsletters and other important information about our chapter. Strategic Plan and Caledar of Events: In April of each year, the President shall initiate the planning and organizing of our new strategic plan and calendar of events for the new academic year. The academic year begins in August and runs through the end of May. The new plan shall be posted in our forum by May and our calendar of events shall be posted on our website by August each year. The Strategic Plan is a guide for the chapter working 5 years out; each year the chapter will adjust the plan to reflect the current path of the chapter and to extend another year out. This means the chapter will always have a 5 year plan in place which only needs adjusting to meet the current direction. Chapter Activities and Events: All chapter activities, projects, events, trips and competitions shall be developed and organized by a committee of volunteers as needed. The President shall initiate volunteer sign up and appoint a chair to each project committee. The committee chair shall lead the group, recruit volunteers and ensure the project is completed as scheduled. Project committees serve until the project is completed and the event is carried out. All chapter activities, projects, events, trips and competitions shall be highlighted on our website. Committee chairs shall provide the chapter Webmaster with the necessary write ups, descriptions, photos, and any other needed information for these publications and announcements on our website. Preserving our History: Since our chapter and its events and activities are virtual, it's important to remember that the only record future boards and members will have is through documentation on our newsletters, website and forum. Through a combined effort with the Board and Historian (if applicable) the current year's activities and events should be well documented and past events/activities archived by using PDF or whatever means available. This will also aid in documenting and presenting for ASID chapter awards. |