RYERSON COMMERCE SOCIETY: SAMPLE CONSTITUTION
The following document outlines the basic structure of a Student Group
constitution. For the purpose of the Ryerson Commerce Society, a Student
Group constitution is viewed as a written body of fundamental principles in which
will be in accordance to the policies and procedures of the Ryerson Commerce
Society.
I.
Name of Organization (include full name, and acronym)
It is important to state the full title of an organization so that the general
membership may understand the purpose of a group.
II.
Objectives of the Organization
State the general objectives of the student group.
Course Union: To promote the interests of the students who are
registered members of the course major (e.g Accounting students
are automatically members of Ryerson University Accounting
Society)
Special Interest Group: To advance the particular interests of the
group; to promote the interests of the students belonging to the
group; to promote an understanding of the special interest of the
group to the Ryerson Commerce community.
III.
Relationship to RCS
It is important to state the relationship to the Ryerson Commerce
Society, as the proposed group will be in affiliation to the RCS. For
example:
RCS will not normally interfere in the activities and day-to-day
operations of the organization. It does, however, have the right to
investigate complaints made by any member of the organization
and its affiliates concerning alleged violations of this constitution.
IV.
Membership
Outline the scope of the proposed Student Group membership.
Course Union: Membership is automatically extended to all full-time
students registered within the program.
Special Interest Group: Membership is open to all RCS members
(full-time, undergraduate students registered in a commerce degree
program at Ryerson University).
Note: No non-RCS member may hold Executive office. No faculty
or staff may be a voting member.
V.
Structure
Provide a list of the Executive officers who will compose the group.
Executive officers will be elected annually, who are responsible to
the membership of the organization (list specific titles of officers –
must be no less than three)
VI.
Meetings
Outline the minimum meeting expectations for the group.
i. Executive Meetings will be held (list frequency, e.g., once a
month).
ii. A majority (i.e 2/3) of the Executive will form quorum.
iii. Executive meetings are open to all members of the
organization, but they may not vote.
iv. General Members Meetings will be held (list frequency, e.g.,
once a month, once per year).
VII.
Roles
Clearly state the role of the Executive members. At minimum, the
Executive is:
Responsible for planning activities and projects, and ensuring that
RCS and Ryerson University policies are adhered to.
State the number of Executives for the organization, the official titles
and the length of term of office (i.e. one year, commencing on this
date, terminating on this date)
i. e.g. Three executives (list titles) shall be the signing officers
for the organization.
ii. No faculty, staff or NON-RCS members may be on the
Executive table.
Be sure to:
State the limits of power of the Executive
State who will be the signing officers (i.e. President, VP Finance)
iii. Manager, Undergraduate Student Relations and
Development is always a signing authority
State who will be responsible for liaison between new group and
RCS
Discuss the specific roles of each Executive member detailing
specific duties and responsibilities
For Example:
President
a. Is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations
of the Executive table on a macro level
b. Will act as a liaison between RCS and the organization,
and is responsible to the members of the organization,
and is responsible for advising the RCS of any changes
in the executive or signing officers
c. Shall chair all Executive meetings
d. Is responsible to the RCS and its membership for all
monies allocated to the organization
e. Is responsible to members of the organization for all
other monies (i.e. fund raising, donations and
sponsorship revenues)
VIII
Executive Vacancy
In the event that an Executive position becomes vacant, it is very
important to outline the expected protocol. For example:
Should an Executive position become vacant for any reason, the
remaining Executives may, by majority vote, appoint someone from
within their membership to fill the vacancy until an election can be
hosted.
IX.
Committees
Clearly define the role of the group committee members.
State the type of committees (i.e. social, academic, etc)
Establish the purposes of the committees (roles, responsibilities,
how members will be selected, and what channels of
communication and reporting procedures will be)
X.
Elections
All RCS affiliate special interest groups/course unions are responsible to
conduct a general election, open to the general membership, once every
academic year.
Executive members must be elected by the membership at large.
Elections must take place by the last Friday in March.
XI.
Election Procedures
It is important to set procedures for:
i. Giving notice to all members regarding the election and opening of
nominations.
ii. How one may be nominated, e.g., person must be nominated by
two members of the organization
iii. The period of time during which nominations will be accepted,
e.g., 2 weeks.
iv. The date the election will be held, and the amount of notice that will
be given prior to this meeting, stating clearly that the election will
be held at that time.
v. Establish who will be responsible for collecting nominations and
acting as chief returning officers for the elections (ideally an outgoing executive, provided s/he is not running for election).
XII.
Removal from Office
Clearly outline the impeachment process of your proposed group.
i.
Determine the reasons for which an executive may be removed
from office, and the method of impeachment.
Note: This is a serious matter, and an executive should only
be impeached for serious offenses. In the event of
impeachment, the Student Group Coordinator should be
notified.
ii.
XIII
The chosen method of impeachment should ensure that a
significant proportion of the general membership is agreement with
the executive’s impeachment (e.g., a petition signed by 25% of the
student group membership requesting that a general meeting be
held to discuss and vote on the impeachment)
Amendments
Remember that this is an official, legally binding document. It is very
important that any amendments be officially tracked, documented, and
revised in an appropriate matter.
iii.
Establish a means of amending the constitution
a. For example: 2 weeks' notice must be given to the
membership regarding the proposal to amend the
constitution, which will require a two-thirds vote in favour of
the amendment in order for it to be ratified.
*This must be done at a General Meeting (where meeting minutes must
be taken, recorded, and documented)
XIV Adoption of the Constitution
State the terms by which the constitution will be adopted by the proposed student
group.
iv.
The constitution must be approved by RCS.
a. For Example: For this document to be in effect, it must be
ratified by a majority of the student group membership in
attendance at a legally constituted General Meeting