National Pan-Hellenic Council Incorporated at UCF By-Laws Approved Fall, 2003 Revised Spring 2005 Revised Fall 2005 Revised Spring 2008 Revised Spring 2010 Revised Spring 2013 Revised Spring 2014 By-Laws Article I – SESSIONS/MEETINGS Section I Roster A. The NPHC-UCF shall submit a list of current officers/members twice a year, in September and January, to the Office of Student Involvement, the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life, and the NPHC-UCF advisor. B. Its affiliate members shall submit a list of current officers/members twice a year, in September and January, to the Office of Student Involvement, the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life and to the NPHC-UCF advisor and NPHC-UCF president (or his/her designee). Section II Meetings A. The NPHC-UCF shall meet bi-weekly starting the second week of the new calendar/academic year, beginning with the Fall semester and ending with the Spring semester. B. Members of the Executive Board and delegates must inform council President and Parliamentarian of a potential tardy or absence: a. Tardy: At minimum two hours in advance b. Executive Board absence: At minimum 48 hours in advance c. Delegate absence: At minimum 24 hours in advance C. A “strike system” shall be in place for attendance purposes: a. Executive Board members: 1 strike = 2 tardies, 1 unexcused absence, or 2 excused absences b. Executive Board members: 3 strikes are subject to the process of removal from office. c. Chapter Delegates: 1 or more unexcused tardies or absences are subject to the following strike system: 1 strike = warning, 2 strikes = fine of $50 to NPHC (provisions of the money are to be determined at each chapter’s discretion), 3 strikes = loss of 1 chapter calendar day d. After a chapter has reached 3 strikes, the system starts back at the fine of $50 and if necessary, the consequences will be repeated. Section III The calendar for all meetings and activities shall coincide with the UCF calendar/academic year, beginning with the fall semester and ending with the end of the spring semester. Section IV A mandatory retreat shall be conducted after commencement ceremonies at the conclusion of the spring term. If an officer-elect cannot attend the retreat, he or she may be removed from office immediately, and another 2 officer will be appointed to said position by the President if the board sees fit. Article II- EVENT PLANNING Section I Calendars A. The NPHC-UCF shall have priority in choosing calendar dates over all other affiliate members’ dates, excluding annual events and founders’ days. B. The NPHC-UCF shall host the following events each academic year a. NPHC Week (reserved to five calendar days) b. NPHC Greek Expo (Fall and Spring) c. NPHC Fall retreat ( Prior to the first general body meeting) d. NPHC Mid-year retreat ( Prior to the first Spring, general body meeting) e. NPHC Greek Extrav f. NPHC Study Nights (To be held once per semester and organized by the Scholarship Director) g. 1 closed community service event per semester (only NPHC members may attend) h. 1 open community service event per semester (public event) i. 1 event in conjunction with a different council on the university campus per semester (IFC, NPC, DGC) C. Lack of participation from each chapter (missed event, less than required percentage or less time than required) will automatically be counted as 1 strike against the chapter. D. Each active affiliate shall have the opportunity to choose calendar dates at the last general body meeting. E. Priority for choosing calendar dates is given to the organization with the highest Standards of Excellence level status. F. Each founding date is automatically reserved but will not count in the designated number of dates assigned to each chapter. G. Organizations will be awarded up to three annual events on the calendar. Annual events will be counted as part of the total number of days designated to each chapter. a. The annual event will be defined as an event that has taken place for the previous three years, is consistent in name and theme, and is registered with OFSL as an annual event. b. No chapter’s annual event shall be duplicated by another NPHC organization. c. In the event of a discrepancy based on academic/NPHC calendar, the organization with the highest GPA, will have priority. 3 H. Each organization will be allotted 13 reserved calendar days per academic year. Each organization will be limited to a maximum of 7 days of events per semester (which includes their founder’s day). I. An organization may not make changes to their calendar day selections after the first 21 days of the semester (14 days after Last day to drop classes); this includes date changes and cancellations. Proper Calendar Date Request Form must be filed in order for the request to be processed. a. If a chapter finds it necessary to make a date change after the 14 days following Last day to drop classes, a fine of $35 must be paid within 72 hours of the properly filed request. If the fine is not received the request will not be filed. i. Changes must be requested at minimum 15 days prior to the earliest date the chapter switches. J. An organization may switch dates with any other affiliate member after written permission is filed in the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life. The NPHC President must receive this permission form at least 15 calendar days prior to the earliest date being switched. All organizations must be made aware of the calendar change. a. If chapters choose to exchange dates the $35 fine will not be enforced. b. If the proper paperwork is not filed in a timely manner, a fine of $100 will be assessed to the soliciting organization. If the organization does not pay this fine within 7 business days, the fine will be assessed a 25% late fee. If after another 3 business days the fine is still not paid, the organization will forfeit the requested date. K. If a chapter does not host an event on their calendar day they will be fined in the amount of $100. This shall be enforced if the chapter does not file proper paperwork within 15 days of the cancellation. L. An organization may not host a public event on any calendar date other than their reserved dates without written permission from the organization that holds the calendar date. The permission form, titled NPHC Collaboration Form, must be turned in to the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life at minimum, one week (7 business days) prior to the event that is taking place. M. If a UCF NPHC chapter holds a public event on a day reserved to another organization, the organization entitled to that day has the ability to fine the organization a fee of $200 for any non-profit event and $500 for a profited event. a. The organization being fined can: pay the fine(s) listed above or go before the Judicial Board. b. To file this infraction, pictures and flyers of/from the event must be turned in to the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life within five (5) business days following the event that has taken place by any member of the 4 organization that originally held the calendar date. A fine will be imposed if found guilty. Half of the fine will go to the organization that originally had the date and the other half to the NPHC. The fine will be determined by the Judicial council, and will not exceed $1000. Article III- SPECIAL MEETINGS Section I Section II Section III Section IV All special meetings shall be called by the president of the NPHC-UCF, the General Body of the NPHC-UCF (through use of majority vote), or the Director of Fraternity and Sorority Life. All special meetings shall be held on the campus of the University of Central Florida to be considered an official meeting of the NPHC-UCF. All special meetings shall be called and all persons involved must be notified within forty-eight (48) hours prior to the meeting being scheduled. Organizations that are not notified forty-eight (48) hours in advance and thus are unable to have representation at special meetings shall not be subject to sanctions for their absence. Article IV- RULES OF PROCEDURE Section I The rules of procedure shall stand amended by a simple majority vote taken at a regular meeting of the NPHC-UCF. The Executive Committee shall construct Rules of Procedure prior to the first general body meeting each semester, in order to address any temporary changes in regards to representation and conduct at meetings. These Rules of Procedure are binding after a simple majority vote. Article V- VOTING PROCEDURES AND ELECTIONS Section I All procedures for voting on any motions and measures shall be in compliance with the Robert Rules of Order. A. Voting shall take place by those members deemed delegates at the start of every meeting. B. Representatives of a chapter with three (3) strikes will be noted as present but will lose voting privileges for that meeting. C. It shall take a simple majority vote to pass any motion within the body. a. Motions may include but are not limited to; i. Vote ii. Participate in any NPHC-UCF activities, forums, service events, meetings, and other NPHC-UCF involvement. D. Seventy five (75) percent (%) of delegates must be present to vote for: a. Constitution and Bylaw changes 5 b. Elections c. And other matters deemed major by the NPHC Executive Board and the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life E. The Executive Board may not participate in voting for newly elected officers (elections) a. In the event that the chapter consists of two (2) or less active members and one (1) or more of its’ members holds an Executive Board position, up to two (2) members may participate in voting. F. The Judicial body shall use the same method when implementing sanctions or disciplinary action. G. During elections each chapter must have an attempt for representation on the Executive committee. In the event that the chapter cannot be represented on the committee, a representative from the chapter must Chair an event during the school year. Article VI- RISK MANAGEMENT Section I All organizations shall be responsible for following the 5-Star risk management policies. Failure to abide by the 5-Star Risk Management Program will result in penalty, according to the 5-Star Risk management policies. A. All organizations must comply with the University of Central Florida’s Golden Rule Handbook and the Standards of Excellence guidelines for proper risk management. B. The Director of Risk Management must host/plan at least two (2) events for risk management during each semester. They shall be held during general body meetings. Failure to abide by this policy will result in but is not limited to removal from the position. Article VII – SUCCESSION OF PRESIDENCY Section I The President shall be nominated through the use of the procedure as stated in Article 1, section III of the NPHC-UCF By-Laws. Members of an inactive organization are not eligible for nomination. No one organization can hold office of president for two consecutive years. Presidential nominations must have served on the Executive Committee for at least a semester prior to running for office. 6 In the event a previous committee member will not accept the nomination, a general member may run for the position. They must have served a minimum of one semester in their respective organization and have attended a minimum of four (4) general body meetings. If no one accepts the nomination or meets these qualifications, we will revert back to succession as stated in the current constitution. Article VIII- REMOVAL FROM OFFICE Section I The general body may devise a separate list of grievances against any or all officers on the Executive Committee. The general body may then, at a second meeting bring to a vote that the list of grievances be filed as grounds for impeachment of an officer. This must pass by a 2/3 vote of active members in favor of the grievances as expressly written in the list. If the general body voted by 2/3 active members to impeach an officer, the Judicial Council will then hold an impeachment hearing. The Judicial Council will consider each separate list of grievances from the general body. The Judicial Council will rule either in favor or not in favor of impeachment. Either judgment entered must pass by 2/3 vote of the Judicial Council. The President is the only officer with the ability to remove committee Chairs from their position. Article IX- SANCTIONS AND CHARGES Section I An organization reserves the right to charge another organization with misconduct and violation of the NPHC- UCF Constitution and By-laws through a written letter and any available documentation and evidence. All charges/sanctions adopted by the NPHC-UCF shall be remanded to the Judicial Board. All sanctions are to be determined by the rules and policies as defined by the Judicial Board procedure. Section II Section III ARTICLE X – AMENDMENTS Upon changing these By-laws, the following actions shall be made: The updated By-laws shall reflect a date of change and replace the current version of the By-laws available through all NPHC communication organs. 7 A copy of all former Constitutions and By-laws shall be filed within the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life, for historical and documental purposes. 8
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