Amendments: Student Council Bylaws
Preamble
The following are the Student Council Bylaws. They state how the Student Council works, and are flexible and tentative, meaning that they can be changed and are meant to change with the times and can be evaluated at every General Assembly.
The Bylaws are set in place to make sure that any abuse of the members or the organisation can be avoided or efficiently tackled if needed.
When updating the Bylaws be mindful that any addition can result in a higher workload for the elected members, therefore it is recommended to be pensive about if the addition should be added to the Bylaws or if it is better to let the elected members decide how to proceed. It is recommended that any addition is tested in practice before adding it as a permanent Bylaw, if possible.
The Bylaws are important to ensure transparency and fairness but it is equally important to have elected members within whom you can place your trust in.
The Bylaws are set in place to make sure that any abuse of the members or the organisation can be avoided or efficiently tackled if needed.
When updating the Bylaws be mindful that any addition can result in a higher workload for the elected members, therefore it is recommended to be pensive about if the addition should be added to the Bylaws or if it is better to let the elected members decide how to proceed. It is recommended that any addition is tested in practice before adding it as a permanent Bylaw, if possible.
The Bylaws are important to ensure transparency and fairness but it is equally important to have elected members within whom you can place your trust in.
We strive to follow the advice from the following guides when writing our bylaws:
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This document was approved during the General Assembly on ???
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Contents
§ 1 - Name and location
§ 2 - Purpose
§ 3 - Membership
§ 4 - Organisational structure
§ 5 - University Elections
§ 6 - Activity Fund
§ 7 - Board
§ 7.1 - Constituting the Board
§ 7.2 - Working in the Board
§ 7.3 - Compensation for Board members
§ 8 - General Assembly
§ 8.1 - General Assembly Agenda
§ 8.2 - General Assembly Election Rules
§ 8.3 - Extraordinary General Assembly
§ 9 - Bylaw Amendments
§ 9.1 - Bylaw Amendment Deadlines
§ 10 - Budget
§ 11 - Accounting
§ 12 - Auditing
§ 13 - Validity of Contracts
§ 14 - Dissolution
§ 1 - Name and location
The name of the organisation is the Student Council of ITU, abbreviated Student Council.
We are a non-profit organisation, situated at the IT University of Copenhagen.
§ 2 - Purpose
The Student Council’s purpose is to improve the condition of students enrolled at ITU, by promoting the students’ interests and representing them through a united voice.
§ 3 - Membership
The members of Student Council consist of every student currently enrolled at ITU. As well as the currently elected board members.
§ 4 - Organisational structure
Student Council is divided into a Advisory Board and Daily Management. This is to ensure transparency of the tasks and work of the Student Council as a whole.
The entire Daily Management and part of the Advisory Board are elected at the General Assembly and act on a mandate from the General Assembly and the members of the Student Council.
The Advisory Board
The Advisory Board consists of a total of five members, with one Chair role.
The Advisory Board members consist of the following representatives:
Default members:
The entire Daily Management and part of the Advisory Board are elected at the General Assembly and act on a mandate from the General Assembly and the members of the Student Council.
The Advisory Board
The Advisory Board consists of a total of five members, with one Chair role.
The Advisory Board members consist of the following representatives:
Default members:
- Chair of Scrollbar
- Chair of Analog
Elected members at General Assembly:
- One other elected Chair or head of a student organisation at ITU
- Two members that must be members of the Student Council, who do not currently hold a management or board position of any student organisation at ITU.
Responsibilities of the Advisory Board
The Advisory Board meets a minimum of one time per semester, and Daily Management must be present.
They are responsible for the evaluation and approval of the applications to the Student Activity Fund.
At the Advisory Board meetings the Daily Management present the projects they would like to work on. The Advisory Board has the right to veto a project, if they believe the project does not align with the best interest of the students.
Approval of the budget-report.
Daily management
Daily Management administers the daily work of the Student Council in all organisational, day-to-day financial and administrative matters and acts on a mandate from the General Assembly and the members of the Student Council.
Daily management must consist of a President, a Treasurer and two to five additional members.
The Advisory Board meets a minimum of one time per semester, and Daily Management must be present.
They are responsible for the evaluation and approval of the applications to the Student Activity Fund.
At the Advisory Board meetings the Daily Management present the projects they would like to work on. The Advisory Board has the right to veto a project, if they believe the project does not align with the best interest of the students.
Approval of the budget-report.
Daily management
Daily Management administers the daily work of the Student Council in all organisational, day-to-day financial and administrative matters and acts on a mandate from the General Assembly and the members of the Student Council.
Daily management must consist of a President, a Treasurer and two to five additional members.
Responsibilities of the Daily Management
Daily management meetings should be held on a more regular basis. The President is responsible for the operation of the management team. The Financial Manager is responsible for daily financial management, such as making sure the approved application of funds to Student Activity Fund is made available to the applicants.
Sending the application for the new budget to the administration of ITU.
The Daily Management is furthermore responsible for
Daily management meetings should be held on a more regular basis. The President is responsible for the operation of the management team. The Financial Manager is responsible for daily financial management, such as making sure the approved application of funds to Student Activity Fund is made available to the applicants.
Sending the application for the new budget to the administration of ITU.
The Daily Management is furthermore responsible for
- Chairs Guild
- Our Student Representatives
§ 5 - University Elections
It is ITU's legal responsibility to facilitate elections, but since we consider it important that all students are both represented in and informed about the University Elections, we strive to make sure that every spot in the election has at least one candidate.
After the elections we strive to support the representatives in their work, in part by making them visible to the students they represent.
§ 6 - Activity Fund
A part of our budget is allocated to the Activity Fund, where students or student organisations can apply for funding for their events.
The criteria for funding is that the event has social or educational value and is open to every student at ITU.
The approval of applications is determined by the Advisory Board. The Advisory Board should be in regular dialogue with the Chairs’ Guild and Daily Management to ensure a fair and balanced distribution of funds.
§ 7 - Board
§ 7.1 - Constituting the Board and Daily Management
After being elected at a General Assembly, the new Daily Management and Advisory Board will hold respective constituting meetings.
The Advisory Board will decide on at least their Chair role.
The Daily Management will decide on at least at least their President and Treasurer roles.
Additional positions may be added at the discretion of the respective teams.
All positions should be publicly announced no later than two weeks following the assembly.
The Advisory Board will decide on at least their Chair role.
The Daily Management will decide on at least at least their President and Treasurer roles.
Additional positions may be added at the discretion of the respective teams.
All positions should be publicly announced no later than two weeks following the assembly.
After an election, the previous Daily Management should meet with the newly elected Daily Management regularly to hand over any work and experience that might be relevant.
§ 7.2 - Working in the Daily Management
The Daily Management meets regularly throughout the semester to coordinate work, and it is the President's responsibility to maintain an operational team.
The Daily Management can act within the budget that has been approved according to § 8.1 pt. 3
In case of disagreement within Daily Management, matters can be settled by a vote, where all members votes are equal.
The Daily Management can act within the budget that has been approved according to § 8.1 pt. 3
In case of disagreement within Daily Management, matters can be settled by a vote, where all members votes are equal.
It is optional to keep minutes of meetings, and the Daily Management is free to use other tools to make their current work public. The Daily Management must strive to keep all affairs and actions as transparent as possible.
§ 7.3 - Compensation for Daily Management
Compensation is provided for all Daily Management members, with an hourly pay of 180 kr per registered work hour.
The Daily Management can register at most 50 hours of work per week for the entire team combined. The work amount has to be coordinated regularly to ensure a fair distribution.
The President and Treasurer can register up to 20 hours per week each, and regular team members can register up to 10 hours per week each. The team can agree to suspend the individual registration limit.
§ 8 - General Assembly
An ordinary General Assembly must be held at most 14 months after the previous one and is the highest authority of the Student Council. The Daily Management must announce an assembly with at least two weeks notice using the organisation's commonly used means of communication.
The budget and financial report needs to be public 2 weeks before the assembly. Amendments to the budget and financial report must be received by the Daily Management 1 week before the assembly.
The budget and financial report needs to be public 2 weeks before the assembly. Amendments to the budget and financial report must be received by the Daily Management 1 week before the assembly.
All members at the assembly have the right of speech and their vote counts for one. External participants can be granted a right to speak by the assembly.
Voting is done by show of hands, except for elections, where written voting is applied. Simple majority is used, which is one vote more than half of the valid votes.
§ 8.1 - General Assembly Agenda
The agenda for an ordinary General Assembly must include
- Election of a moderator and minute taker
- Annual report from the President of Daily Management
- Presentation and approval of the current finances from the Treasurer
- Debate and vote on proposed bylaw amendments
- Election of
- 4 to 7 members of the Daily Management
- 3 members of the Advisory Board
- Election of 2 auditors
- Any other business
§ 8.2 - General Assembly Election Rules
All positions are up for election at the General Assembly.
Up to 7 Daily Management members can be elected at the General Assembly. If there are more candidates than 7, a written anonymous election will be held. Each member has 7 votes, which is equivalent to the number of possible board members. A vote can either be a named candidate or blank. The 7 candidates with the most votes are elected members of the new board.
Up to 1 Board member can be elected for the position of Chair or head of a student organisation at ITU. Up to 2 Board members can be elected as the position of student who do not currently hold a management or board position of any student organisation at ITU. In case of more candidates, an anonymous election similar to described above will be held.
Up to 1 Board member can be elected for the position of Chair or head of a student organisation at ITU. Up to 2 Board members can be elected as the position of student who do not currently hold a management or board position of any student organisation at ITU. In case of more candidates, an anonymous election similar to described above will be held.
In order to be eligible to run, a student must be enrolled at ITU at the time of the assembly.
§ 8.3 - Extraordinary General Assembly
A group of at least 4 members can call for an Extraordinary General Assembly.
The group of members calling for the assembly needs to provide the President with the agenda at the same time as the call. Up to 7 days before the meeting, any member is welcome to submit additional items to the agenda.
The meeting must be held within four weeks after the request has been made, and must be announced with 2 weeks notice.
§ 9 - Bylaw Amendments
Bylaw amendments can only take place at either an ordinary or extraordinary General Assembly. They take effect immediately after they are passed.
As a default, amendments pass with simple majority.
As a default, amendments pass with simple majority.
However, amendments to our name and address (§1), purpose (§2), membership (§3), compensation (§7.3), dissolution (§14) and bylaw amendments itself (§9) can only be changed by a 2/3 majority.
§ 9.1 - Bylaw Amendment Deadlines
Amendments must be received by the board at least 7 days before being voted on, and should be published by the Daily Management at least 6 days before.
Amendments to the proposed amendments can also be submitted. These must be received at least 3 days before voting, and published at least 2 days before.
§ 10 - Budget
The vast majority of the Student Council's budget is from ITU donations. The Board offically applies for funding every autumn, which is transferred the following January if approved by ITU. The board, together with Daily Management, should therefore strive to set a budget that allows for freedom for the next Daily Management to operate, while at the same time being reasonable and within the purpose of our organisation.
One month before the budget proposal is sent to ITU, the Daily Management and Advisory Board must publish it, so members can propose changes.
The final budget must be made available for the public at the Student Council website after it has been approved by ITU. The previous three years of budgets should always be available.
§ 11 - Accounting
It is the Daily Mangement treasurer's responsibility to keep track of the organisation's financial records. The Advisory Board has access to review the finances.
The organisation’s fiscal year runs from 1st of January to 31st of December.
The organisation’s fiscal year runs from 1st of January to 31st of December.
The deadline for making the financial report public follows the legally mandated deadline for businesses. Currently, this is six months after the end of the fiscal year, meaning the 1st of June.
§ 12 - Auditing
The accounts are audited by the elected auditors, who must be provided with a full account of transactions two weeks before any financial presentation to the organisation.
Auditors must be members who are not part of the Advisory Board or Daily Management.
§ 13 - Validity of Contracts
The organisation is legally bound by the signatures of the President and at least one Daily Management member. Any contract without these signatures is void.
The signatures of all the board members are required to make a loan for the union, and/or sell or pawn the organisation’s properties.
§ 14 - Dissolution
Dissolution of the Student Council can only take place with 2/3 majority at two consecutive General Assemblies, at least one month apart. One of the general assemblies must be ordinary.
In the event of dissolution the Student Council's assets should be used in accordance with the organisation’s purpose. It is the responsibility of the disintegrating General Assembly to make sure that it happens, in cooperation with ITU.