C OUNCIL OF U NIONS AND S TUDENT P ROGRAMS C ONSTITUTION
AND B YLAWS
Updated Fall 1998
Article I
Name
This organization will be known as the Council of Unions and Student Programs (CUSP).
Article II
Purpose
To provide an avenue for advancing professional development and planning for student programs and
student union management staff within member community and technical colleges. CUSP is dedicated to
assisting member institutions to make significant contributions to the total campus environment, as well as
enhancing the goals of student programs and union staff within the community and technical college
system. CUSP goals will be realized through individuals, including community and technical college staff
members and student leaders, student services administrators and other members of the campus
community. CUSP is a non-profit organization dedicated to exclusively educational purposes, and is
organized to accomplish the following purposes:

To offer opportunities for members of CUSP to share concerns and to participate in cooperative
problem-solving;

To provide a means by which persons associated with member institutions can meet to stimulate a
spirit of collaboration and advance the educational interests of the institutions they represent;

To provide programs, materials, and resources designed to assist in the increased effectiveness of
persons who are involved in the governance, administration, operation, and direction of student
unions and programs and those involved in the planning and conduct of educational, cultural,
recreational, and social programs, as well as student union management, for the campus
community;

To encourage, support and share research designed to further develop the educational aims of
CUSP and its members. To publish reports, newsletters or other publications as needed (to include
listserv correspondence);

To offer encouragement and assistance to community and technical colleges in the planning and
development of union facilities and campus activity programs;

To foster and to recognize high standards of performance, service, and professionalism as
demonstrated in the furtherance of the educational purposes of the educational, cultural,
recreational, and social programs, and student union management provided for the academic
community;

To represent the needs and interests of the student unions and programs within the broader field of
higher education and within the larger community.
The assets of CUSP are irrevocably dedicated to its educational purposes. No individual shall benefit from
any income or be paid except for a reasonable compensation for their services. Designated CUSP
members may be reimbursed for actual expenses incurred in the execution of their official CUSP
responsibilities.
Article III
Membership
Membership in CUSP shall be open to any Washington community and technical college student unions
and programs professional staff.
Article IV
Officers and Their Elections
Sec. 1: The officers of CUSP shall be the President, President-Elect, Immediate Past-President, Secretary,
and Treasurer.
Sec. 2: The President-Elect, Secretary, and Treasurer shall be elected as specified in Article III of the
Bylaws: Voting.
Sec. 3: Appointed positions of CUSP shall be newsletter editor and others as deemed appropriate by the
members. The term of office shall be in accordance with Article IV, Section 5.
Sec. 4: The slate of officers shall be selected by a Nominations Committee (see Bylaws, Article VI) and
reported to the CUSP membership at the annual spring business meeting. An opportunity for nominations
from the floor will be provided before voting.
Sec. 5: The term of office for all elected officers of CUSP shall extend from the conclusion of the regular
spring business meeting at which time they are declared elected through the next annual spring business
meeting.
Article V
Executive Committee
There shall be an Executive Committee which shall consist of the President, President-Elect, the Immediate
Past-President, Secretary and Treasurer.
Article VI
Meetings
Section 1: CUSP shall meet quarterly excluding summer quarter, or as determined by the membership.
Section 2: Robert’s Rules of Order, most recently revised, shall be the authority on questions of
parliamentary procedure.
Section 3: The Executive committee will meet as needed to plan subsequent CUSP quarterly meetings.
Article VII
Amendments
Any of the articles of the Constitution and Bylaws may be amended or repealed, and supplementary articles
added hereto by any CUSP member, so long as such revision shall not change the exclusively educational
purposes for which CUSP is organized and operated. Any revisions may be made upon written notice to all
members no less than thirty (30) days prior to a quarterly meeting followed by a majority vote of all
members present during the business meeting.
*Any member may propose changes to the Constitution and Bylaws as long as they do not change the
educational purposes of the Council.
Bylaws (Updated Fall 1998)
Article I
Duties of Officers
Section 1: The President shall:

Direct the affairs of CUSP and preside at all meetings;

Appoint, with the approval of the Executive Committee, appointed positions and any necessary ad
hoc committees and commissions; and

Oversee the coordination of CUSP quarterly meetings.
Section 2: The President-Elect shall:

Assume the duties of the President in the President’s absence;

Work with the President to plan and implement the spring quarter meeting;

Chair the Nominations Committee; and

Perform such other duties as delegated by the President.
Section 3: The Past-President shall:

Assist the President and President-Elect as needed and determined by the Executive Committee.
Section 4: The Secretary shall:

Maintain all CUSP minutes and correspondence of the membership and coordinate the compilation
and distribution of listserv items; and

serve as historian of CUSP. He/she will also send copies of meeting minutes and treasurer’s reports
to the Dean’s Commission.
Section 5: The Treasurer shall:

Maintain the financial records, make quarterly reports, collect quarterly registration fees and
disperse funds as required to pay CUSP expenses.
Article II
Executive Committee
The Executive Committee shall serve as the policy-making and administrative branch of CUSP, consistent
with the Constitution and Bylaws. It shall review and approve periodic operating statements and audit
reports, make recommendations to the body regarding the time and place of quarterly meetings, fill
vacancies as may occur in its membership, and prepare the agenda for meetings.
Article III
Voting
Section 1: Voting will be by one member from each institution (and/or satellite campus) in attendance at the
quarterly business meeting.
Section 2: There will be no voting by proxy.
Article IV
Registration
Section 1: Registration fees for all participants in CUSP will be determined by the Executive Committee.
These shall be the only fees which may be assessed in the name of CUSP.
Section 2: Registration fees shall be payable at or prior to each quarterly meeting.
Article V
Committees
Section 1: Ad-Hoc Committees
The President will establish, with the approval of the Executive Committee, such committees as are
determined to be necessary to serve the goals of CUSP and its members. The President shall appoint, with
approval of the Executive Committee, chairpersons and committee members for such committees. The
Executive Committee will determine and outline in writing the initial charge of any committee prior to its
establishment, the appointment of a chairperson, or the selection of other members of the body. All
committees shall be evaluated regularly and may be retained, revised, or deleted by action of the Executive
Committee. Description of the charges to and the responsibilities of all committees will be made available to
members upon request.
Section 2: Nominations Committee
The Nominations Committee shall consist of three (3) members who shall be the current President, the
immediate Past President and President-Elect. The Nominations Committee will solicit suggestions from
CUSP membership for each vacant officer position and shall prepare a slate of nominees for each office.