Annual Report
2015-16
Graduate Student Council
School of International Service
American University
www.american.edu/sis/graduatestudentcouncil
Authors: Lucas Olson, Natasha Wheatley, Erica Benjamin, and Karen Ives
SIS Graduate Student Council—Annual Report 2015‐16 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS
4-6 Executive Summary
4 Major Accomplishments
5 Recommendations for GSC
6 Recommendations for SIS
7-8 Strategic Partnerships
7 Office of Alumni Relations
7 SIS MA Student Groups
7 Journal of International Service
8 Graduate Leadership Council
8 DC Int’l Affairs Professional Graduate Association
9 Rules and Regulations Committee Report
9 New SIS-GSC Constitution
9 Regular Meeting Schedule
10-12 Special Events and Communication Committee Report
10 SIS Leadership Dinner
10 International Affair
11 Dean in the Atrium
11 SIS Community Cricket Match
12 The SIS-GSC Forum
12 Website Update
13-16 Budget Committee Report
13 Approved Budget
14 Expenditures
15 Support for Student Groups
16 Charity
16 Journal of International Service
17– 74 Appendix
18-38 GLC Constitution
39-60 SIS-GSC Constitution and Bylaws
61-63 SIS-GSC Financial Process and Form
64-72 JIS Development Plan
73 Leadership Dinner Infographic
74 IDPSA 2015-16 Impact Report
SIS Graduate Student Council—Annual Report 2015‐16 2 Abbreviations
CRS—Comparative Regional Studies
EPGA—Ethics, Peace, and Global Affairs
GEP/NRSD—Global Environmental Policy/Natural Resources and Sustainable Development
GGPS—Global Governance, Politics, and Security
GSC—Graduate Student Council
GLC—Graduate Leadership Council
IIC/IM—International and Intercultural Communications/International Media
ID/DM—International Development/Development Management
IER/IE—International Economic Relations/International Economics
IPCR—International Peace and Conflict Resolution
JIS-Journal of International Service
MAIR—MA International Relations
MIS—MA International Service
SE—Social Enterprise
SIS—School of International Service
USFP—United States Foreign Policy
Tables and Graphs
Table 1: Program Senators and Enrollment
Table 2: Fall 2016 Budget
Table 3: Spring 2016 Budget
Table 4: Total Amount Spent by Category
Graph A: Categorical Breakdown of Expenditures by percentage
Graph B: Student Group Support by GSC
SIS Graduate Student Council—Annual Report 2015‐16 3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The School of International Service (SIS) Graduate Student Council (GSC) has evolved dramatically
during the academic year 2015-16. It has gone from an organization with patchy membership and
fluctuating engagement to the hub for graduate student community in SIS. In the rest of the Executive Summary below, you will find the major accomplishments of the year, along with recommendations for both future members of GSC and the faculty and staff of SIS.
The remainder of this report is divided into four sections: a section on strategic partnerships that
have been strengthened this year and reports from each of the three standing GSC committees. The
accomplishments of this year would not have been possible without these partnerships and the
standing committee system that was implemented this year for the first time at SIS. The hope and
aim of this report is that these partnerships and this standing committee system will continue to flourish in the future.
Major Accomplishments of 2015-16
1) A new SIS-GSC Constitution was
passed by SIS-GSC which is available
in the appendix of this report as well as
posted online at www.american.edu/sis/
graduatestudentcouncil. Four new Executive Board positions were created: Chief
of Staff, Director of Alumni Relations, Director of Community Engagement, and Director of Strategic Programming. Bylaws
were also passed for elections, legislative
procedures, and financial procedures (see
appendix).
2) SIS-GSC successfully regained three
graduate members on the SIS Graduate
Studies Committee and representation
on SIS faculty hiring committees, as
stated in the SIS Constitution. The
Graduate Studies Committee is responsible for graduate curriculum at SIS. SISGSC also successfully set the agenda of
the SIS Council meeting—the primary governance organ of SIS—to revisit the SIS
Constitution during the 2016-17 academic
year (for SIS Constitution, visit http://
www.american.edu/sis/facultyaffairs/
loader.cfm?csModule=security/
getfile&pageid=4274440).
3) The SIS Task Force on MA Education
report recommended a strong partnership between students, faculty, and
staff, including Career Services and
Alumni Relations. This report was possible with strong student representation
throughout the year on the Task Force.
The official report has been sent out via
the SIS-GSC list serve.
4) The first annual SIS Leadership Dinner
was organized by the SIS-GSC. Over 70
graduate student leaders, senior staff, and
senior faculty attended. This year’s theme
was identifying core SIS values in breakout sessions at each table in the SIS
Founders Room. A one page infographic
was created and distributed to the SIS
community (see appendix).
5) The Journal of International Service
(JIS) was successfully revived after a
two year hiatus. It now serves as a professional rather than an academic journal
and will be accepting submissions in September 2016. For more information, see
the JIS Development Plan in the appendix
of this report.
SIS Graduate Student Council—Annual Report 2015‐16 4 Recommendations for SIS-GSC
1) Build a culture of collaboration between students, staff, and faculty. After
all, this is the School of International Service. SIS-GSC and student groups should
be about giving back to your community
and peers. Remember that there are two
kinds of politics: those of division and
those of collaboration.
2) Use the GSC Constitution as a living
document in order to govern SIS-GSC
effectively. If there are parts that don’t
make sense anymore, go through the process of changing it. Bylaws should be reviewed annually by the Rules and Regulations Committee, and the GSC Constitution should be reviewed for minor changes.
3) Focus on the quality of events, not the
quality of events. Begin planning early for
core semester programming (Leadership
Dinner and International Affair), and partner with Alumni Relations. Require proposals for additional and recognize that
students frequently do not appreciate the
amount of time, energy, resources, and
volunteers required to plan a successful
event. Not every event proposed should
be implemented, but every event implemented should require some type of reporting.
4) Build the capacity of student groups by
sharing best practices and partnering
with SIS Career Services and Alumni
Relations. First and foremost this means
having a senator. Look to well established
groups like IDPSA and IPCR for best practices (e.g. see appendix for IDPSA 201516 Impact Report). Second, programs
should leverage the funds available from
GSC and use them to partner with Career
Services and Alumni Relations.
5) Submit all funding requests early. Do
not wait until the last week to ask for
funds. One month in advance is ideal.
There is a lot of AU bureaucracy around
financial expenditures, so DO NOT wait for
the last minute.
6) Further develop internal communications infrastructure. Use the official
@american.edu emails that were created
for each GSC position, including for senators, so that records can be passed on
from one year to the next. Make sure everyone has access to the GSC Google
Drive and keep the folders organized.
7) Foster good communication between
JIS and SIS-GSC. Ensure that senior JIS
staff attend GSC meetings for collaboration especially in regards to marketing and
recruitment. Encourage people to be on
the staff of both organizations. The successful functioning of JIS is one of the best
indicators of a healthy relationship between graduate students and the SIS administration.
8) Encourage the Graduate Leadership
Council (GLC) to adopt better good
governance policies and procedures.
Understand the GLC Constitution (see appendix) and make sure GLC is held accountable. SIS-GSC receives its annual
funding from GLC, and GLC governance
directly impacts graduate students
throughout American University.
SIS Graduate Student Council—Annual Report 2015‐16 5 Recommendations for SIS Faculty and Staff
1) The SIS Dean’s Office should fully implement the SIS Task Force on MA Education Report. This includes the SIS
Dean meeting with graduate students at
least once per semester. The Dean’s office should take responsibility for organizing these meetings given the high level of
tuition for graduate programs at SIS.
2) Provide the Journal of International
Service with tuition remission for its
senior staff, as per the recommendation of the SIS Task Force on MA Education report. For the last 20 years, JIS
has been a financial partnership between
SIS-GSC and the Dean’s office, though
JIS has not received funding for the last
two years. SIS-GSC has guaranteed JIS
funding in the SIS-GSC Constitution going
forward and the Dean’s office should reciprocate. A fully staffed and wellfunctioning JIS is able to provide writing
and editing workshops to the SIS graduate
community as a public good and increase
the overall level of writing of all graduate
students.
3) Recognize that SIS functions best with
a well-functioning Graduate Student
Council, and a well-functioning GSC
requires support from both faculty and
staff. Encourage graduate students to
join, be accommodating to those that do,
as they are providing a public good for the
institution, and attend annual SIS-GSC
events.
SIS Graduate Student Council—Annual Report 2015‐16 6 STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS
Office of Alumni Relations
This year SIS-GSC established a strong relationship with Alumni Relations. SIS-GSC officially sponsored Alumni in the Atrium, which
brought back a number of former Graduate
Student Council members to help advice and
mentor current students. SIS-GSC also received the Alumni Engagement Award for the
International Affair. SIS-GSC looks forward to
continuing to partner in the future and to building an equally strong relationship with the
newly etablished SIS Career Center.
groups should share best practices amongst
each other. For example, IPDSA’s Impact
Report can be found in the appendix of this
report.
Table 1: Program Senators and Enrollment
MA Program Current Senator 2015 Enrollment CRS  85 EPGA 29 GEP/NRSD  76 GGPS  103 IC/IM 60 ID/DM  115 IER/IE  47 IPCR  110 JD/MA 153 MAIR (online)  177 MIS (Execu ve)  30 SE  26 USFP  104 *See p. 2 of this report for explana on of acronyms* Student Groups, Senators, and
Capacity Building
Supporting MA student groups to maximize
their capacity and plugging them into GSC is
an important long-term goal for the graduate
community at SIS. Student groups in MA programs range in capacity, which is largely determined by the number of students, and
their activity. Some programs with small capacity are extremely active and others with
large capacity are largely used for happy
hours. Some groups are very active informally but have not developed a formal student
group nor do they have a senator. Student
Journal of International Service
The Journal of International Service (JIS)
was successfully relaunched after two
years of inactivity.
The Journal was successful was successfully converted from an academic to a professional journal and will be accepting submissions September of 2016.
For more information, please see the JIS Development Plan in this report’s appendix.
SIS Graduate Student Council—Annual Report 2015‐16 7 Graduate Leadership Council
The Graduate Leadership Council (GLC) is
the official representatives of graduate students at AU, excluding
the law school. It is
made up of the GSC
Presidents of the other
five AU schools and an
executive board. This
group manages the roughly $160,000 of the
annual graduate student fees. After paying
stipends for the GLC members and an operating budget for the Executive Board activities,
the rest of the money is divided between the
five schools based on graduate enrollment
numbers. SIS received roughly $25,000 annually.
The GLC remains incredibly important for representing graduate students with the Board of
Trustees, the AU President, and other central
offices. However, GLC continues to face a
number of challenges that due to the complexity of interfacing with the AU central administration, the extensive time requirement
associated with effectively managing GSCs,
and the relatively short 1-year terms of GLC
members relative to AU’s 10-year Strategic
Planning cycle. One issue that GLC has successfully surmounted this year is a lack of
standardized, annual programming. GLC implemented its first Fall Fest event from which
SIS took home the trophy, and created a Director of Programming position for the 201617 academic year.
Going forward, GLC should strive to follow its
Constitution and develop a strong cultural
norm in this regard. Hopefully, future years
will be able to continue making improvements
on the highly important issue of good governance, especially given the large amount of
money GLC is responsible for managing effectively.
DC International Affairs Graduate
Programs Association
The DC International Affairs Graduate Programs Association, colloquially known as the
Big 4, is a loose association of International
Affairs schools in DC including SIS, John
Hopkin’s School of Advanced International
Service (SAIS), Georgetown Walsh School of
Foreign Affairs, and George Washington’s Elliott School. The Big Four organized a kickball
league on the Mall over Summer 2015 and
each of the four schools rotated organizing
happy hours during the academic year. Partnering for academic and professional partnerships proved difficult due to the large autonomy of each of these organizations from
each other, but future GSCs should not be
discouraged to pursue such initiatives.
SIS Graduate Student Council—Annual Report 2015‐16 8 RULES AND REGULATIONS
COMMITTEE REPORT
The Rules and Regulations Committee met regularly throughout the year and assumed general responsibility for the good governance of SIS-GSC. Through this committee a new SIS-GSC Constitution was developed to replace the inadequate bylaws previously in place. Additionally, three sets of
bylaws were adopted to govern elections, legislative procedures, and financial procedures. More information is below, including general information about the meeting schedule adopted by the overall
SIS-GSC.
SIS-GSC Constitution and Bylaws
This year, GSC has created a new GSC Constitution with detailed instructions about position descriptions, standing committees, financial procedures, and more. In previous years,
the SIS-GSC has been officially run by 5 pages of bylaws which are inadequate to the task
of governing the annual SIS-GSC funds. In
addition to the GSC Constitution, three sets of
bylaws have been developed on election procedures, legislative procedures, and financial
procedures. Four new positions were created
on the GSC Executive Board this year: Chief
of Staff, the Director of Community Engagement, the Director of Alumni Relations, and
the Director of Strategic Programming.
Going forward, the Rules and Regulations
Committee should finish developing additional
bylaws for SIS-GSC and serve as a body that
reevaluates bylaws each year to make sure
they are still applicable. Areas for future bylaws include but are not limited to Senator Expectations, Executive Board Standard Operating Procedures, and Communications/
Marketing. The GSC Constitution should only
require minor modifications in the future while
the bylaws should be reviewed and modified
annually to make sure they align with current
institutional practices.
A GSC that does not actively use its governing documents is one that will inevitably result
in controversy and strife. Consequently, every
member of the GSC should be familiar with
the basics of the GSC Constitution and bylaws, and the GSC Constitution has been put
online at www.american.edu/sis/
graduatestudentcouncil for transparency. Going forward, the bylaws should also be put
online for full transparency.
SIS-GSC Meeting Schedule
One of the most important mechanisms for a
successful year was the institution of a regular
meeting schedule throughout the year to insure that business was being effectively completed. Quorum meetings occurred every other Friday for all of the GSC Senators and Executive Board. The Fridays in between were
meetings of the just the Executive Board, and
the standing committees met ad hoc twice a
month on their own schedules. Early Friday
evenings proved to be the only time on a
weekday where all graduate students did not
have class, and it is highly recommended that
these times be reserved for future meetings.
SIS Graduate Student Council—Annual Report 2015‐16 9 SPECIAL EVENTS AND COMMUNICATIONS
COMMITTEE REPORT
The Special Events Committee and the Communications Committee de-facto merged into one standing committee: Special Committee and Communications Committee (Spec-Comm^3 ). This committee completed all the regular programming with the exception of purchasing. The Director of
Communications, Community Development, Alumni Relations and Director of Strategic Planning organized these events with the support of the rest of the Senators who served as committee members. Program specific events coordinated by Senators also benefited from marketing and distribution through GSC communications channels.
SIS Leadership Dinner
The International Affair
A major highlight of the year was the first annual
SIS Leadership Dinner held a week in advance
of the Fall SIS Council Meeting. The introduction was done by Dean Goldgeier, and also in
attendance was Dean Emeritus Goodman, Associate Dean Levinson, AU Assistant Vice President President of Student Life Fanta Aw, over
half of the graduate Program Directors, Program Coordinators, and the leadership of both
the SIS Undergraduate Government and PhD
Leadership Dinner. The year’s theme was identifying core SIS values in break-out sessions at
each table (see picture on the right). This event
offers a great opportunity for the incoming GSC
Executive Board to impress the SIS leadership
by carrying out a professionally-organized event
for the whole SIS community. A good area to
expand into in the future is including senior
alumni leaders in the event and applying for the
Alumni Engagement Award.
This year the International Affair partnered with
the Office of Alumni and Development to invite
alumni to the event and fundraise. In doing so,
SIS-GSC received the Alumni Engagement
Award. This event was held in the SIS Founders
Room to save on the exorbitant costs of large
venue rentals in Washington, DC. Over 120
graduate students and alumni attended, and the
event was a great success (see bottom picture).
SIS Graduate Student Council—Annual Report 2015‐16 10 Dean in the Atriums
This year a Dean in the Atrium was hosted in
both Fall and Spring semester. Each included
Dean Goldgeier and any SIS graduate student who wanted to stop by to enjoy coffee
and snacks with the Dean. The Fall event was
themed around Dean Goldgeier’s academic
and professional experience and the Spring
event was themed around different definitions
of service found at SIS. These events are extremely important to keep a positive relationship with the Dean’s Office and to foster communications between the Dean and graduate
students. This last year, the burden of organizing these events fell on students, but it
would be a positive step forward if these responsibilities shifted to the SIS administration.
One additional private meeting did occur with the
Dean and senior graduate leadership in January
2015 in regards to the SIS Constitution. While it
was a positive step forward in building better communication between graduate students and the
Dean’s office, it was clearly the beginning of a
long process of engagement on this issue.
SIS Community Cricket Match
GSC hosted the first SIS community cricket
match. This event followed in the long tradition of
an annual SIS community baseball match that
had fallen out of practice in the past few years.
This year, it included several SIS alumni, Dean
Emeritus Goodman, and Professor Acharya on
the AU athletic field across Massachusetts Avenue. This was a fun, family-friendly event and is a
great opportunity to invite additional faculty, staff,
and alumni. The cricket equipment is currently
stored in the SIS-GSC office.
SIS Graduate Student Council—Annual Report 2015‐16 11 The GSC Forum
committee functions, major partners, and contact
information. One major hurdle for the website is
its difficulty in updating. It is recommended that
future GSC’s attempt to update it only once per
year, barring more extreme pressing needs to
update the SIS community about SIS-GSC. Another website was also created that is much easier to update: https://ausisgsc.wordpress.com.
This website is ideal for publishing short articles
such as the GSC President’s 5-10 minute
presentation at the bi-monthly SIS Council meeting—the primary governing organ of SIS. In the
future, this site should be linked to the primary
SIS-GSC website.
One of the most innovative programming series
of the year was the successful GSC Forum, organized by the Director of Strategic Programming.
This event was held three times in Spring Semester themed around: the Sustainable Development Goals (partnered with IDPSA’s Sustainable
Development Week), the US Presidential Elections, and the Syrian Conflict. These events included a cross-MA program discussion managed
under a set of debate-like rules, which also provided an opportunity for undergraduate students
to mix with graduate students. In the future, a rebranding of the SIS-GSC Forum might avoid confusion with the IDPSA Friday Forum, or perhaps In the future, the GSC should consider developthis would be an area for future collaboration be- ing its own monthly newsletter to establish better
communications channels with the graduate stutween IDPSA and SIS-GSC
dent body. Alternatively, the SIS-GSC could consider continuing to include a standing section in
Website Update
the SIS Graduate Advising newsletter as it did
during the 2015-16 academic year (contact MarOne of the highlights of GSC public relations in
ley Crutcher). Regardless, because of both the
2015-16 was the updating of the GSC website.
size and diversity of the SIS graduate student
This process included a massive overhaul, as
body, reaching the SIS graduate community with
previously the website only including the old by- timely information about SIS-GSC activities relaws and member bios. Now, the website inmains a challenge.
cludes information on regular programming,
SIS Graduate Student Council—Annual Report 2015‐16 12 BUDGET COMMITTEE REPORT
The Budget Committee carefully managed the graduate student fees that it received in 2015-16 fiscal year (ending April 2016). These fees came through the Graduate Leadership Council based on
the graduate enrollment of each individual school at American University. In 2015-16, SIS-GSC was
allocated $25,993.50, and as of April 21, 2016 had spent $16,013.42. Extra funds do not roll over to
the next fiscal year’s SIS-GSC budget, but rather go into a reserve account managed by the Office
of Student Activities. Given vocal student feedback that these funds be used to address demonstrated student needs and not be used wastefully, SIS-GSC does not view underspending its budget this
year in a negative light. Rather, it would encourage student groups in the future to take advantage of
available funds by applying for grants via their program Senator (see Appendix for form and process). I accordance with the SIS-GSC Constitution, this report covers the original budget bills, transparency, support for student groups, charity activities, and JIS.
Approved Budget
Tables 2 and 3 represent the budgets from Fall
and Spring. Expenditures were not made that did
not comply with the GSC Constitution including
votes by the entire GSC Senate quorum when required and adjustment acts for any changes to
allocation amounts and expenditures above the
approved budget. The GSC passed a budget in the Fall Semester,
an adjusted budget for Spring Semester, and two
budget adjustment acts based on changing priorities and extra funds from unused categories.
Table 2:
Fall 2016
Budget
ITEMS EXPENDITURE Beginning Balance (Spring 2016) 22193.63 3500 JIS Table 3:
Spring 2016
Budget
INCOME Income A er JIS (Actual Spring alloca on) GSC Expenditure 18,693.63 
Alumni Rela ons
650 
Student Forum
750 
Interna onal Affair
2500 
Fundraiser
3000 
Other social events

Miscellaneous
500 1946.82 Total GSC Expenditure 9346.82 Total Student Group Expenditure 9346.82 Total 22193.63 22193.63 SIS Graduate Student Council—Annual Report 2015‐16 13 Expenditures
In its commitment to transparency, the Budget
Committee has provided below a full breakdown
of funding use for the academic year. Graph A
shows the percentage of GSC’s yearly budget
that went a specific funding item. Some expenditure percentages are artificially inflated because other areas were significantly under budget and as a result, the GSC has not
spent all of the funds available in this year’s budg-
et. Table 4 details the dollar amounts that were
spent in each category.
As of 21 April 2016, the GSC spent $16,013.42 of
their originally allocated $25,993.50. The GSC is
proud to have also received several sponsorship
awards received including a $500.00 grant from
the Alumni Office for the International Affair and
$150.00 from GLC for a social event at the Mad
Hatter. A full accounting record with individual
expenditure listings is available upon request. Graph A. Categorical Breakdown of Expenditures by percentage
Table 4: Total Amount Spent by Category
Categories Total Costs Misc. Events $1,638.96 Social Event $786.63 Forums $150.00 Student Groups $3,868.16 Promotional Materials $569.40 An International Affair $3,332.40 Leadership Dinner $1,186.30 Other Donation JIS $0.00 $449.00 $3,368.99 Alumni Relations $450.60 Miscellaneous $212.98 SIS Graduate Student Council—Annual Report 2015‐16 14 Support for Student Groups
This year, the Executive Board looked to become
a better resource to individual student groups
within the GSC graduate community. After deducting JIS funding, 50% of the GSC’s budget
was dedicated to funding to student groups. A
process was established that allowed student
groups to complete a form detailing their funds
request; the submitted form was then reviewed by
the GSC Budget Committee for approval; if approved, then the GSC Treasurer would work with
student group leaders to arrange the details and
delivery of the approved resources. As of 21 April
2016, the GSC has distributed $2,968.16 to student groups. Graph B illustrates the disburse-
ment of these funds to different student groups.
While we consider this funding a huge success,
the money distributed was significantly less than
was originally allocated in the budget. This is attributed to a lack of knowledge of the resources
available to the groups through GSC as well as a
lack of need due to other funding sources. GSC
plans to continue to support student groups in future years. A restructuring by AU Student Activities means that many groups will be cut off from
AUCC funding and GSC funding will become
more in demand. Over time and through increased outreach, student groups will become
more aware of the funding options available to
them through to GSC. Graph B. Student Group Support by GSC
SIS Graduate Student Council—Annual Report 2015‐16 15 Charity The GSC proudly incorporated three fundraisers
into its activities in this academic year. At the
Leadership Dinner in November 2015, $115.00
dollars was raised for the Matt Schlonsky Memorial Fund, a fund dedicated to research to address
challenges in the Washington, DC area. In March
2016, a charity bowling event raised over $300.00
for the DC Capital Area Food Bank. Finally, the
wildly successful International Affair in April 2016
dedicated the extra proceeds from its drink ticket
sales to the SIS Alumni Association. Journal of International Service
As part of an agreement with the AU SIS Office of
the Dean, the GSC dedicated 14% of its budget to
support the Journal of International Service (JIS),
an AU SIS institution, with the Office of the Dean
matching funds. The budget called for $3,500.00
to be dedicated to JIS needs and activities. JIS
requested and was approved for an additional
$399.00 to pre-pay publication costs for next year.
As 21 April 2016, GSC has spent $3,368.99 of
that budget, with the remaining $530.01 earmarked for unprocessed purchases. Expenses for
JIS include $2,400.00 for promotional materials
which were requested by JIS to last several academic cycles, the $399.00 for pre-ordering printing, website hosting services, meeting support,
and other items.
Conclusion
GSC funds were used to successfully contribute
to the improvement of the SIS community, the AU
Community and the larger Washington, DC community. The Budget Committee recommends a
similar budget structure to the 2015-2016 in future
years. Adjustments will still be necessary but as
prepared, the budget allows for flexibility and ensures that GSC is fulfilling its responsibility to
serve the graduate students of the School of International Service at American University. SIS Graduate Student Council—Annual Report 2015‐16 16 APPENDIX
SIS Graduate Student Council—Annual Report 2015‐16 17 Graduate Leadership Council Constitution PREAMBLE The Graduate Leadership Council at American University is a student government association with these purposes: to serve as the primary representative​
​
and unified voice of the graduate population to American University’s administration, faculty, staff, trustees, alumni and undergraduate student leaders; to represent the needs of all graduate­level students at American University; and to improve graduate students’ academic, social, and professional experiences. We, the Graduate Leadership Council at American University, united in the common perpetuation of these purposes,​
encourage communication and collaboration across the entire University. ARTICLE I: NAME This body shall be known as the American University Graduate Leadership Council. ARTICLE II: GOVERNANCE A.) American University’s Student Activities office shall assist and oversee the Graduate Leadership Council’s policies, fiscal operations, and activities. B.) Nothing herein shall be construed to conflict with the rules, policies and regulations of American University’s Student Activities office. In case of any conflict between the policies or legislation of the Graduate Leadership Council and American University’s Student Activities office, that of the Student Activities office shall be supreme in every case. ARTICLE III: MEMBERSHIP All fee­paying graduate students from the College of Arts and Sciences, the Kogod School of Business, the School of Communication, the School of International Service and the School of Public Affairs shall be constituents of the Graduate Leadership Council and the recipients of all its offerings. ARTICLE IV: STRUCTURE Section 1: Formation 1 SIS Graduate Student Council--Annual Report
18
A.) The Graduate Leadership Council is a democratically functioning organization run by a President, Vice President of Finance, Vice President of Management, Vice President of Communications, Vice President of Alumni Relations, and American University Club Chair that are appointed from the American University graduate student community, and the Presidents of the Graduate Student Councils at the College of Arts and Sciences, the Kogod School of Business, the School of Communication, the School of International Service and the School of Public Affairs, who shall represent the interests of American University’s five graduate schools. B.) The Graduate Leadership Council receives guidance from the Student Activities’ Graduate Leadership Council advisors. Section 2: Voting Privileges A.) The Graduate Student Council Presidents from the College of Arts and Sciences, the Kogod School of Business, the School of Communication, the School of International Service and the School of Public Affairs shall be entitled to cast one vote on all Graduate Leadership Council matters. B.) The President shall only have voting privileges when their vote is needed to break a tie vote of the Graduate Student Council Presidents. The Vice President of Finance, Vice President of Management, Vice President of Alumni Relations, Vice President of Communications, and AUCC shall not have voting privileges on the Graduate Leadership Council. C.) If a Graduate Student Council President resigns or is removed from office in accordance with their respective council’s bylaws, they shall be automatically removed from serving on the Graduate Leadership Council as their school’s representative. Their successor shall be charged with representing that school on the Graduate Leadership Council. ARTICLE V: MEETINGS Section 1: Regularly Scheduled Meetings A.) The President, Vice President of Finance, Vice President of Management, Vice President of Alumni Relations, Vice President of Communication, AUCC, and the Presidents of the Graduate Student Councils at the College of Arts and Sciences, the Kogod School of Business, the School of Communication, the School of International Service and the School of Public Affairs, or ​
their representatives​
shall be convened by the President for regular bi­monthly[1] meetings throughout the academic year. 2 SIS Graduate Student Council--Annual Report
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B.) The Vice President of Management shall schedule regular meetings at a time and location so that the President, Vice President of Finance, Vice President of Management, Vice President of Alumni Affairs, AUCC, Graduate Student Council Presidents and the Graduate Leadership Council’s advisors can attend in person or by approval of the President remotely by conference call. All parties are strongly urged to attend in person or through representative to help foster strong and productive meetings. C.) The President may invite American University trustees, members of American University’s faculty, staff, administration and undergraduate student leadership to brief the Vice President of Finance, Vice President of Management, AUCC, and the Graduate Student Council Presidents on pressing issues or observe the proceedings of regularly scheduled meetings as he/she sees fit. D.) Official minutes shall be taken at each meeting by the Vice President of Management. Minutes shall be sent to the President, Vice President of Finance, Vice President of Communication, Vice President of Alumni Relations, AUCC, the Graduate Student Council Presidents and the Graduate Leadership Council’s advisor within 7 business days of the conclusion of the meeting. Minutes from regularly scheduled meetings shall also be made publicly available on the Graduate Leadership Council’s website within 7 business days of the conclusion of the meeting. E.) The Vice President of Finance shall present an up­to­date and forward­looking budget kept separately from the Graduate Leadership Council’s Online Financial Access System budget, detailing the current financial position of the Graduate Leadership Council and all of its anticipated expenses for the semester at each regularly scheduled meeting. F.) In between regularly scheduled meetings, the President may conduct official Graduate Leadership Council business online, when appropriate. The President may set the response and time­frame parameters for action on issues as he/she sees fit, and may call votes by e­mail when and if applicable. Business conducted online or by e­mail shall be subject to the same majority and abstention provisions as meetings conducted in person. G.) The President may cancel a regularly scheduled meeting with 24 hours notice. The cancelled meeting shall be rescheduled and shall occur no later than seven (7) days following the original meeting date. Section 2: Attendance Requirements and Regulations A.) If any member of the Council, who is required to attend meetings, must inform the President at least 48 hours in advance, and the President must approve of their absence. If a notice of 3 SIS Graduate Student Council--Annual Report
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absence is given less than 48 hours before the start of the meeting, then the party may be subject to punishment by the President or forgiven due to uncontrollable or unforeseen circumstances at the President’s discretion. Punishment shall be a recommendation for removal or freezing of assets ­ in accordance with their position. B.) All council members’ absences must be tallied and recorded by the Vice President of Management and ensure that the absence is noted in the meeting minutes. Any individual with three absences or more during a semester must be brought up for removal. C.) Absent council members shall be required to identify a proxy from their Graduate Student Council to attend the meeting in their place. The absent Graduate Student Council President shall notify the Vice President of Management, who will serve as the proxy for the regularly scheduled meeting or special session they will miss, at least 24 hours prior. D.) The Vice President of Finance shall not have proxy privileges. Section 3: Quorum and Majority A.) Graduate Leadership Council business may only be conducted in the presence of a quorum of the Graduate Student Council Presidents or their representatives, which shall be defined as the smallest whole number of Graduate Student Council Presidents or their representatives that exceeds fifty percent. B.) During voting, Graduate Student Council Presidents may choose to abstain from voting. Abstentions are to be counted as present and not­voting and shall not be factored into a majority. Section 4: Regularly Scheduled Meeting Structure A.) The regularly scheduled meetings of the Graduate Leadership Council shall include the following items, preferably in the following order: ∙​
​
Approval of Minutes (7 days after each meeting, posted to GLC website) ∙​
​
President’s Report ∙​
​
Vice President of Management’s Report ∙​
​
Vice President of Finance’s Report ∙​
​
Vice President of Communication’s Report ∙​
​
Vice President of Alumni Affairs’s Report ∙​
​
AUCC’s Report ∙​
​
College of Arts and Sciences Graduate Student Council Report ∙​
​
Graduate Business Association (Kogod School of Business) Report 4 SIS Graduate Student Council--Annual Report
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∙​
​
School of Communication Graduate Student Council Report ∙​
​
School of International Service Graduate Student Council Report ∙​
​
School of Public Affairs Graduate Student Council Report ∙​
​
When applicable: Committee Reports ∙​
​
Old Business ∙​
​
New Business ∙​
​
Final Thoughts Section 5: Needs Analysis A.) The Council must conduct a Needs Analysis of the graduate student population during the Spring semester in order to develop proper programming, agenda, and advocacy priorities in the Fall Semester. A needs analysis may take the form of a town hall, survey’s, tabling, focus groups, or other method approved by the Council’s voting members, and may be conducted by the GSC’s or the Council. Once a means to the needs analysis is decided then a committee shall be appointed to facilitate and analyze the data. ARTICLE VI: FINANCIAL ACCOUNTS Section 1: Graduate Leadership Council Administrative Account A.) Funds in the Graduate Leadership Council’s Administrative Account shall be used to benefit all currently enrolled graduate students in the College of Arts and Sciences, the Kogod School of Business, the School of Communication, the School of International Service and the School of Public Affairs. B.) The President, in consultation with the Vice President of Finance, shall manage budgeted Administrative Account funds, in compliance with the policies and procedures enumerated in Article VII. C.) The Vice President of Finance and Vice President of Management may only spend Administrative Account funds with the expressed, written consent of the President. D.) Funds from the Graduate Leadership Council’s Administrative may also be used to help fund joint events held with other student organizations. Section 2: Graduate Leadership Council Restricted Account 5 SIS Graduate Student Council--Annual Report
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A.) The Graduate Leadership Council’s Restricted Account must maintain a minimum balance of $20,000 as a safety net to meet programming needs in the case that unforeseeable circumstances arise. B.) If the balance of the Graduate Leadership Council’s Restricted Account exceeds $20,000, the Graduate Leadership Council may allocate the excess funds to address specific priorities following a majority vote of the Graduate Leadership Council. ARTICLE VII: ADMINISTRATIVE ACCOUNT BUDGET Section 1: Summer Operations A.) The President shall be responsible for operating the Graduate Leadership Council during their term, including from May 1 of the academic year he/she was elected through the first day of the fall semester. B.) The Graduate Leadership Council’s transition period shall be conducted during the last month of the Spring semester to include newly­elected Graduate Student Council Presidents and the newly appointed Vice Presidents and AUCC as well as the existing Graduate Leadership Council to ensure a proper transition. The new Graduate Leadership Council will begin to shadow the current Council during the transition period to include observing one meeting and leading the last meeting of the semester with the goal of determining the Graduate Leadership Council’s summer priorities. C.) Included with these priorities shall be an understanding of the graduate population’s needs, formulating a calendar of events, and creating committees (can be done on a rolling basis). Also, the Council must mark and record the necessary benchmarks in the Strategic Plan to include amending the strategic plan every four years using the fifth year as year one in the new strategic plan. This will ensure the further development and capacity building of the Graduate Leadership Council. D.) The President shall not be authorized to spend more than $5,000 from the Administrative Account to accomplish the approved priorities during the period from May 1 of the academic year he/she was elected in through the first academic day of the fall semester. All other Administrative Account spending restrictions detailed in Article VI, Section 1 shall be in force during summer operations of the Graduate Leadership Council. E.) As part of the President’s report during the first meeting of the fall semester, he/she shall update the Graduate Leadership Council about overall progress on the summer priorities. The 6 SIS Graduate Student Council--Annual Report
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update shall include an assessment and explanation of why the goals and metrics for each priority were or were not reached and a budget detailing summer expenditures. F.) The President shall not act in any way that contradicts the approved directives of the Graduate Leadership Council during summer operations. Section 2: Student Activity Fees A.) All graduate students shall be assessed a $30 activity fee per semester when they register. This balance shall be transferred to the Graduate Leadership Council’s Administrative Account for management. B.)26,000 of the Administrative Account for management funds may be used for stipends. 1. The President shall receive $4,000 as a stipend from the Administrative Account during the fiscal year. The stipend shall be paid according to university pay schedules and in accordance with university human resource policies. 2. The Vice President of Finance and Vice President of Management shall receive $3,000 as a stipend from the Administrative Account during the fiscal year. The stipend shall be paid according to university pay schedules and in accordance with university human resource policies. 3. Each Graduate Student Council President, the Vice President of Communication, the Vice President of Alumni Affairs, and Vice President of Programming shall receive $2,000 as a stipend from the Administrative Account during the fiscal year. The stipend shall be paid according to university pay schedules and in accordance with university human resource policies. 4. The AUCC Liaison receives a stipend from American University Club Council not the Graduate Leadership Council. C.) 14 percent of the remaining Administrative Account shall be transferred to the American University Club Council for allocation to recognized student clubs and associations. The remaining amount of graduate students’ fees shall be transferred to the Graduate Leadership Council’s Executive Office Budget (up to 35% of remaining funds) and the Graduate Student Council Budget Allocations (Up to 65% remaining funds). Section 3: Administrative Account: The Executive Office Budget 7 SIS Graduate Student Council--Annual Report
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A.)The remaining funds in the Executive Office Budget shall be allocated for supplies and administrative costs necessary to the Graduate Leadership Council’s operations during the academic year, Graduate Leadership Council events, co­sponsorship of Graduate Student Council events and any additional expenses the Graduate Leadership Council deems fit. Section 4: Administrative Account: Graduate Student Council Budget Allocations A.) Sixty­five percent of the net funds shall be allocated to the College of Arts and Sciences, the Kogod School of Business, the School of Communication, the School of International Service and the School of Public Affairs. B.) Allocations to each school’s Graduate Student Council shall be based upon the proportion of graduate students enrolled in each school’s graduate programs compared to the size of American University’s graduate student body each fall. These figures shall be calculated by the Office of the University Provost and shall be shared with the President via the Student Activities office to determine the official financial allocations to the graduate schools. Section 5: Annual Administrative Account Budget Approval A.) The Vice President of Finance shall work with the Assistant Director of Administration (Finance) in the Student Activities office to prepare the Graduate Leadership Council’s Administrative Account budget, as described in Article VII, Sections 1­4. B.) The Vice President of Finance shall submit the Graduate Leadership Council’s Administrative Account budget for approval at the first meeting of the fall semester, and no later st​
than the 1​
of October. A majority vote of the Graduate Student Council Presidents shall be required to approve the Administrative Account budget. Section 6: Administrative Account Spending Restrictions A.) The President, Vice President of Finance, and Vice President of Management shall be the only three positions allowed to sign Student Activities financial forms that the President initiates and/or fills out that authorize spending from the Graduate Leadership Council’s Administrative Account. B.) All transactions initiated by the President, Vice President of Finance, and Vice President of Management above $1,200 shall require a majority vote of the council. 8 SIS Graduate Student Council--Annual Report
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C.) To receive a majority vote, the President must notify the council about the nature of the transaction, how the proposed transaction will benefit the entire graduate student community, the amount of the transaction and any other material information that will allow a council member to make an informed decision, prior to completing any Student Activities financial forms. D.) The council shall have up to 72 hours to review the information provided by the President and reply to the President’s request in writing to the President, Vice President of Finance, Vice President of Management, and Graduate Student Council Presidents. E.) If a majority vote is received, the President, Vice President of Finance, or Vice President of Management shall be required to sign the Student Activities office financial forms authorizing the expenditure. F.) If a majority vote is not received, the proposed spending initiative shall not occur. Section 7: Funding For Graduate Student Council Events A.) Graduate Student Council Presidents shall be able to request funding from the Graduate Leadership Council’s Administrative Account to support specific programs that are beneficial to the entire graduate student community. B.) For all funding requests, Graduate Student Council Presidents shall submit a proposal document (detailing the event and its purpose) created by the President and Vice President of Finance at least ten (10) days prior to the event for review. C.) The President and Vice President of Finance will meet the Graduate Student Council President or a member of their executive board whom they designate to discuss the request. D.) The request must be approved by both the President and Vice President of Finance, who will make their decision within 7 business days of hearing the request and then inform the Graduate Student Council President or their designee of their decision, then the decision must be validated through a vote by the Graduate Leadership Council. E.) If the request is denied, the President and Vice President of Finance or voting members of the Council must cite specific reasons, and the decision can be appealed to the Graduate Student Council as a whole at the next regularly scheduled meeting. Section 8: Annual Account Closure 9 SIS Graduate Student Council--Annual Report
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A.) All Graduate Student Council accounts shall be closed on April 30th of each academic year. On that day, all remaining funds in each account shall be transferred to the Graduate Leadership Council Restricted Account. B.) The Graduate Leadership Council’s Administrative Account shall be closed on April 30th of each academic year. On that day, all remaining funds in this account shall be transferred to the Graduate Leadership Council Restricted Account. ARTICLE VIII: GRADUATE LEADERSHIP COUNCIL CHAIRPEOPLE Section 1: Positions The Graduate Leadership Council shall have the following appointed positions: President, Vice President of Management, Vice President of Finance, Vice President of Communication, Vice President of Alumni Relations, Vice President of Programming, and American University Club Chair. Section 2: Duties of Graduate Leadership Council Chairpeople A. The President shall act as the Chief Executive Officer of the Graduate Leadership Council and President of the graduate student body. They will: 1. Serve as a liaison between the four Graduate Student Councils and the Kogod Graduate Business Association and the Executive Administration of American University 2. Work with the members of the council to pass and uphold a unanimously agreed to “Shared Vision” for the academic year 3. Work with the Vice President of Finance and the other members of the council to develop a budget both for the GLC and the individual councils. 4. ​
Hold regular, published office hours in the GLC office and online. 5. Appoint a representative or serve as the official graduate representative to the following boards and committees: a. Board of Trustees & Appropriate Subcommittees b. President’s University Council c. ​
Faculty Senate d. “Breakfast Club” e. Serve as the official graduate representative to the following University offices i.
Office of the President ii.
​
Office of the Chief of Staff 10 SIS Graduate Student Council--Annual Report
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iii.
Office of the Provost iv.
Office of the Vice­President for Campus Life v. Office of the Vice­President of Development and Alumni relations vi.
Office of the Dean of Students vii.
Office of the Director of Student Activities viii.
Office of the Director of the Library f. Maintain a positive working relationship with the American University Student Government, the Student Bar Association, and the American University Club Council. g. Appoint representatives to serve as the official graduate student representative on university committees. B. The Vice President of Finance shall act as the Comptroller of the Graduate Leadership Council under the direction of the President. They will: 1. Work with the President and the other members of the council to allocate initial funding to the individual councils via the budget process described in the GLC Constitution. 2. Keep financial records of all income and expenditures in a method that is in accordance with American University’s financial guidelines and generally accepted accounting practices. 3. Apportion and freeze funds to the Graduate Student Councils in coordination with the Student Activities office. 4. Communicate the Student Activities Office’s spending request deadlines to the GLC. 5. Serve as the official graduate representative to the following boards, committees and offices: a. Office of Vice President of Finance b. Budget Committee c. Board of Trustees Finance Committee d. Student Library Endowment 6. Submit a year­end financial report to the outgoing Graduate Leadership Council’s officers and Graduate Student Council Presidents, the incoming Graduate Leadership Council officers and Graduate Student Council Presidents and the Student Activities office at the end of the year. C. The Vice President of Management shall serve as the Secretary to the Graduate Leadership Council and assistant to the President. He/she will: 1. Schedule and preside over GLC meetings and/or conference calls to be held bi­weekly (twice a month), throughout the academic year and keep minutes. 11 SIS Graduate Student Council--Annual Report
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2. Assume the duties of the President in his/her absence with his/her express written consent. 3. Update the Graduate Leadership Council calendar and maintain regular communication with the five school Presidents regarding their events to be added to the calendar. 4. Appoint university committee representatives with the President and maintain communication with those representatives. Committee updates will be reported to the Council during the Vice President of Management report. 5. Assume any additional duties expressly assigned by the Executive Chair including serving as the official graduate representative on certain boards and committees 6. Maintain the Graduate Leadership Council’s constitution, including updating appropriate sections of the document when amendments and/or referenda are passed. He/she will also be responsible for working with the Vice President of Communication to ensure that the constitution is made publicly available on the Graduate Leadership Council’s website. D. The Vice President of Communication shall: 1. Maintain regular communication with the graduate student body on behalf of the President via e­mail. 2. Send bi­weekly “Newsletters from the GLC” during the first week of each semester and continuing bi­weekly until the end of the semester, and details important news, upcoming events, and opportunities for involvement. 3. Be in charge of updating the Graduate Leadership Council website and calendar of events. 4. Be in charge of updating the Graduate Leadership Council Facebook and other forms of social media daily. This includes status updates, events, and photos. 5. Coordinate the Graduate Leadership Council’s strategic marketing efforts, including the design, production and distribution of all publicity, advertising, marketing and branding materials. 6. Work with the Vice President of Finance to ensure that the Graduate Leadership Council’s website and online publicity tools are consistent with the organization’s advertising, marketing and branding efforts. E. The Vice President of Alumni Relations shall: 1. Serve as the liaison between the Graduate Leadership Council and the Alumni Affairs Office, Alumni Board, and Young Alumni Board. 2. Attend all open Alumni events and programs as the GLC representative to ensure consistent alumni communication is occurring. 12 SIS Graduate Student Council--Annual Report
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3. Serve as a connection between the GLC’s past, present, and future. 4. Provide graduates an opportunity for alumni guidance, employment and career advice, academic assistance, and recruitment recommendations. F. The AUCC liaison shall: 1. Follow all duties and responsibilities in accordance with American University Club Council. G. Vice President of Programming 1. Responsible for overseeing and coordinating all the event planning for the GLC a. Including: i.
Plan FALL Fest every September ii.
At least one University­wide social a semester iii.
Plan a graduate Conference every Spring iv.
Community Service and Outreach/Tabling 1. If GLC pursues v. Any other events authorized by the Executive Council 2. A Liaison for joint programming/communication with the following AU entities in order to coordinate activities and address the concerns of graduate students a. Student Bar Association b. AU Student Government c. Office of Graduate Studies d. AU Library e. Academic Support and Advising Center f. Career Development g. Office of Merit Awards Section 3: Office Hours A.) The President shall hold a minimum of eighty (80) office hours per month during the fiscal year, forty (40) of which shall be held on campus. Of these forty (40) hours, twenty (20) shall be held in the Graduate Leadership Council office. B.)​
​
The Vice President of Finance shall hold a minimum of forty (40) office hours per month during the academic year, twenty (20) of which shall be held on campus. Of these twenty (20) hours, ten (10) shall be held in the Graduate Leadership Council office. 13 SIS Graduate Student Council--Annual Report
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C.) The Vice President of Management, the Vice President of Communication, and the Vice President of Alumni Affairs shall conduct office hours both virtually and in the Graduate Leadership Council office with at least 10 hours a month in the GLC office. D.)​
A
​ n office hour shall be defined as non­personal, position­specific activity being conducted on behalf of the Graduate Leadership Council. E.)​
T
​ he President shall meet with the GLC’s Student Activities advisor no less than once every two weeks to report on their activities. Section 5: Eligibility for Office A.) All Graduate Leadership Council candidates must be registered graduate or PhD students in one of the following schools: the College of Arts in Sciences, the Kogod School of Business, the School of Communications, the School of International Service, or the School of Public Affairs. B.) All Graduate Leadership Council candidates must be in good academic and disciplinary standing with American University, as determined by the Graduate Leadership Council Student Activities office advisor. C.) Graduate Leadership Council candidates shall not be eligible for office if they have been elected to a position on a school’s Graduate Student Council or to an office of a graduate student club or organization during the academic year that they apply to serve on the Graduate Leadership Council. D.) All candidates for Graduate Leadership Council office who cannot serve an entire term due to mid­semester graduation, study abroad or any other known or planned academic, personal or professional circumstance shall be ineligible for office. E.) Students are prohibited from serving as Graduate Leadership Council representative for the same position for more than one year. Section 6: Selection of the President, Vice President of Finance, Vice President of Management, Vice President of Alumni Affairs, and Vice President of Communication A.) To be considered for office, candidates shall submit an application to Graduate Leadership Council at an agreed upon time with the rest of the Council to coordinate with GSC elections. Applications must contain the following information and answers: ∙​
​
The candidate’s name 14 SIS Graduate Student Council--Annual Report
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∙​
​
The candidate’s school ∙​
​
The candidate’s student ID number ∙​
​
The candidate’s graduation year ∙​
​
The position sought ∙​
​
The candidate’s Resume or CV ∙​
​
Confirmation that the candidate can serve an entire term and will not be serving as an officer on a Graduate Student Council during the academic year that they are seeking office on the Graduate Leadership Council. B.) Candidates shall submit answers to a set of questions created by the Council. C.) Once applications are received, the Vice President of Management shall send each candidate’s information to the Graduate Leadership Council’s Student Activities advisor so he/she can verify that candidates are eligible for office and in good academic and disciplinary standing. D.) Once candidates are deemed eligible for office by the Graduate Leadership Council’s Student Activities advisor, the Vice President of Management shall distribute their applications to the outgoing Council for review. E.) The outgoing Council shall review the applications, and conduct interviews with select candidates. F.) Following all schedule interviews, the Graduate Leadership Council shall vote either at a specially scheduled meeting or by e­mail. G.) The outgoing President shall preside over the special session and lead a discussion about the merits of each candidate relative to other candidates that interviewed for the President position. H.) A 2/3 vote of the Graduate Student Council Presidents shall be required to appoint an interviewed candidate to the President position. I.) If more than one candidate receives a 2/3 vote, all other candidates who did not receive the 2/3 vote shall be eliminated from consideration. The outgoing President shall lead a discussion about the merits of the remaining candidates. At the conclusion of the discussion, another vote shall be taken. 15 SIS Graduate Student Council--Annual Report
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J.) If a 2/3 vote is received for a single candidate, the Vice President of Management shall notify the candidate about the vote. The selected candidate shall have a period of 48 hours to accept or decline the appointment. Section 9: Installation and Term in Office st​
A.) After a transitional period, the Council members shall take their positions on May 1​
during th​
the academic year they are elected and shall serve until April 30​
of the following academic year. B.) After taking office, all GLC positions shall be prohibited from accepting a position on another Graduate Student Council, an undergraduate or graduate student club, or another organization at American University during the sfame academic year without resigning from their position on the Graduate Leadership Council. C.) Newly elected Graduate Student Councils shall begin serving on the Graduate Leadership Council concurrently with the newly appointed Council members. Section 10: Vacancies in Office A.)​
​
If either the President or Vice President of Finance positions are not filled through the initial application process, the previous Council, in coordination with the Graduate Leadership Council advisor, shall determine an appropriate course of action. B.)​
​
If the President vacates or is removed from office during the academic year, the Vice President of Management shall assume the position of President, subject to confirmation from a majority of Graduate Student Council Presidents. If a majority vote is received, he/she may choose to select an individual to serve in the open Vice President of Management position. The selection must meet all of the eligibility criteria noted in Article VI, Section 5, shall not be from the same school as the President and must be approved by a majority of Graduate Student Council Presidents. C.)​
​
If the Vice President of Finance vacates or is removed from his/her office during the academic year, the President shall select an individual to serve in the open position. The President’s selection must meet all of the eligibility criteria noted in Article VI, Section 5, shall not be from the same school as the President and must be approved by a majority of Graduate Student Council Presidents. 16 SIS Graduate Student Council--Annual Report
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D.)​
​
If the Vice President of Management vacates or is removed from his/her office during the academic year, the President shall select an individual to serve in the open position. The President’s selection must meet all of the eligibility criteria noted in Article VI, Section 5, shall not be from the same school as the President and must be approved by a majority of Graduate Student Council Presidents. E.)​
​
If a majority vote is not received for the President’s selection of a new Vice President of Finance or for the Vice President of Finance assuming the role of President following his/her removal from office or resignation, the Graduate Student Council Presidents, in coordination with the Graduate Leadership Council’s advisor shall determine an appropriate course of action to fill the position. F.)​
​
If the Vice President of Alumni Relations vacates or is removed from his/her office during the academic year, the President shall take on the responsibilities until an individual is found to serve in the open position. The President’s selection must meet all of the eligibility criteria noted in Article VI, Section 5, shall not be from the same school as the President and must be approved by a majority of Graduate Student Council Presidents. G.)​
​
If the Vice President of Communication vacates or is removed from his/her office during the academic year, the Vice President of Management shall take on the responsibilities until an individual is found to serve in the open position. The President’s selection must meet all of the eligibility criteria noted in Article VI, Section 5, shall not be from the same school as the President and must be approved by a majority of Graduate Student Council Presidents. H.)​
​
Should a vacancy be filled, his/her term in office shall conclude on April 30th of that academic year. Section 11: Removal from Office A.) The Graduate Leadership Council shall have the right to remove the President, Vice President of Finance, Vice President of Management, Vice President of Alumni Affairs, Vice President of Communication or the AU CC by two­thirds vote of the Graduate Student Council Presidents. B.) Cause for removal from office shall be any action which is inimical to the Graduate Leadership Council, improper conduct as a chairperson, failure to perform duties of his/her office as outlined in this governing document, or any other charge the Graduate Leadership Council may consider. 17 SIS Graduate Student Council--Annual Report
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C.) Causes for removal may be brought against the President, Vice President of Finance, Vice President of Management, Vice President of Alumni Affairs, Vice President of Communication or the AUCC. Such charges shall be made to the President and Graduate Leadership Council advisor in writing and thereby presented to the Graduate Leadership Council at their next meeting or special session. D.) If the President, Vice President of Finance, Vice President of Management, Vice President of Communications, Vice President of Alumni Affairs or the AUCC is not in good academic or disciplinary standing at any time during their term, they shall be removed from office automatically. E.) If the President and Vice President of Finance, Vice President of Management, Vice President of Communications, Vice President of Alumni Affairs or the AUCC do not serve their full term due to their removal from office, their stipends shall be prorated to reflect the portion of the term they served. Section 12: Removal From Office Procedure A.) The person against whom the charges are brought shall be immediately notified of the time and place of his/her hearing by the President. The person against whom the charges are brought must be present at the hearing. B.) If charges are brought against the President, he/she shall not preside over his/her hearing. The Vice President of Management shall preside over the hearing instead. C.)​
​
Upon convening the hearing, the Graduate Leadership Council shall hear the charges for removal formally. Both the person being charged and the issuer of the charges shall be granted time to address the charges and provide evidence, including witnesses, to the Graduate Leadership Council. D.) At any time, Graduate Student Council Presidents shall be permitted to ask questions to either the person being charged or the issuer of the charges. E.) The period of time delegated to the person being charged or the issuer the charges will be limited to 20 minutes each. These periods can be ended by a majority vote of the Graduate Student Council Presidents. F.) After the person being charged and the issuer of the charges finish presenting their cases, the Graduate Leadership Council shall engage in a period of discussion. The period of discussion 18 SIS Graduate Student Council--Annual Report
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shall last for a period of time determined by the Graduate Student Council Presidents. The person being charged and the issuer of the charges may be present during the period of discussion, but may not participate in it. G) At the close of this period, a vote shall automatically be taken. A two­thirds vote of the Graduate Student Council Presidents shall be required to remove the chairperson being charged from office. H.) If the issuer of the charges is a Graduate Student Council President, he/she shall not be allowed to vote in removal from office proceedings. Section 13: Transition Period A.) In April, the outgoing Council and their newly appointed/elected successors will participate in transition meetings. The goal of these meetings is to share institutional knowledge about the Graduate Leadership Council as an entity with the incoming Chairpeople and Graduate Student Council Presidents. The outgoing President shall be responsible for coordinating the transition meetings. B.) The incoming President shall be responsible for scheduling at least one meeting with the outgoing and incoming Councils to learn about the school’s characteristics, needs and issues. D.) The incoming President shall be responsible for scheduling at least one meeting with the Graduate Leadership Council advisor. E.) The incoming Vice President of Finance shall be responsible for scheduling at least one meeting with the Graduate Leadership Council advisor. F.) During the transition period, the newly appointed President, the newly appointed Vice President of Finance, Vice President of Management, Vice President of Communication, Vice President of Alumni Relations, AUCC Liaison, and the incoming Graduate Student Council shall be invited to observe all Graduate Leadership Council meetings and shall be copied on all relevant Graduate Leadership Council correspondence via e­mail. G.) During the transition period, the outgoing Council shall remain responsible for the day­to­day operations of the Graduate Leadership Council. ARTICLE IX: GRADUATE STUDENT COUNCIL PRESIDENTS 19 SIS Graduate Student Council--Annual Report
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A.)​
​
Each spring, the College of Arts and Sciences, the Kogod School of Business, the School of Communication, the School of International Service and the School of Public Affairs shall elect a President of their Graduate Student Council, in accordance with their respective constitutions and/or bylaws, and in cooperation with the Graduate Leadership Council’s election timeline. B.)​
​
Each year, all Graduate Student Council Presidents shall ensure that their governance documents comply with all of the appropriate provisions of the Graduate Leadership Council’s constitution. ARTICLE X: AMENDMENTS AND REFERENDA Section 1: Amendments A.) Amendments to this Constitution may be proposed by any member of the Graduate Leadership Council. B.) All proposed amendments shall be delivered in writing to the President, who shall present them to the Graduate Leadership Council for consideration at their next meeting. C.) An amendment shall be considered ratified when two­thirds (2/3) of the Graduate Student Council Presidents approve the amendment. Section 2: Referenda A.)​
​
The Vice President of Management shall be responsible for coordinating the referendum’s publicity and administrative efforts. Information about the referendum issues shall be posted on the Graduate Leadership. B.)​
​
Council’s website and e­mailed to the graduate student body at least two weeks prior to voting. C.)​
​
The President shall convene a public, special session of the Graduate Leadership Council for students to learn about the referendum at least one week prior to voting. D.)​
​
All graduate students in the College of Arts and Sciences, the Kogod School of Business, the School of Communications, the School of International Service and the School of Public Affairs shall be allowed to cast one vote for or against the referendum. 20 SIS Graduate Student Council--Annual Report
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E.)​
​
Twenty percent of the eligible graduate students must participate in the referendum for it to be considered valid. F.)​
​
Should the twenty percent threshold not be reached, the proposed amendment, new constitution, or new framework shall be considered failed and shall not be considered by the Graduate Leadership Council for one calendar year. G.)​
​
Should the twenty percent threshold be reached, the proposed amendment, new constitution, or new framework shall be considered passed if a majority of voters vote in favor of the action under consideration. H.)​
​
This article will always be the last article of the constitution of the Graduate Leadership Council, regardless of any newly created and numbered articles. This article will remain in the same form and shall only change in article number so that it will remain the last article appearing in the Graduate Leadership Council Constitution. As ratified by the Graduate Leadership Council, 2013­2014 Last amendment agreed to on January 25, 2016 by unanimous vote of the Graduate Student Council Presidents, duly elected and installed. [1]​
In this case, bi­monthly shall mean occurring twice a month. [2]​
The Graduate Leadership Council’s transition period shall be from the day that the Vice President of Finance accepts his/her appointment through May 1st of the academic year which the President and Vice President of Finance were appointed. 21 SIS Graduate Student Council--Annual Report
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CONSTITUTION
OF THE
SCHOOL OF INTERNATIONAL SERVICE GRADUATE STUDENT COUNCIL
SCHOOL OF INTERNATIONAL SERVICE
AMERICAN UNIVERSITY
PREAMBLE
We the Graduate students of the School of International Service (hereafter “SIS”) in order to establish a
unified student body encompassing all graduate programs at SIS, respond to and raise student concerns,
represent students to the administrative body, collaborate and share intellectual resources, cultivate
and provide leadership, assist and support collaborative events, promote cooperation and dialogue
between students, faculty, and administration, do ordain and establish this Constitution of the School of
International Service Graduate Student Council (hereafter, this “GSC Constitution”).
ARTICLE I.
NAME, DUTIES & DURATION
Section 1.1
The name of this organization shall be called the School of International Service
Graduate Student Council, hereafter referred to as “GSC”.
Section 1.2
GSC shall be the representative body of all enrolled graduate students at SIS as detailed
in the Constitution of the School of International Service. GSC is fully committed to
upholding and exercising the principles of good governance, including transparency,
accountability, and responsibility, to ensure that its mission and objectives align with
and reflect the evolving demands of the SIS graduate student body. GSC shall serve as a
forum for the needs and interests of graduate students in SIS. GSC shall communicate
said needs to the SIS and university administration. GSC shall work with SIS and
university administration to promote policies to meet said needs. GSC shall foster
academic and professional development while also providing opportunities for social
interaction and community service.
Section 1.3
The GSC has been established as a permanent student organization.
Section 1.4
The GSC shall be accessible to all Graduate Students at SIS and shall work to further
their interests.
ARTICLE II.
TRANSPARENCY CLAUSE
Section 2.1
GSC shall practice prudence in reporting financial and non-financial information about
its activities, and shall be fully transparent in its manner of properly conducting its
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duties to the student body, faculty, staff, alumni, and all other stakeholders as directed
by the rules set forth in this GSC Constitution.
Section 2.2
GSC shall have the budget as allocated by the University administration through the
Graduate Leadership Council (hereafter “GLC”). Every expense from the budget shall be
accounted for. The Senators shall be free to inquire on monetary allocations at the
general meeting.
ARTICLE III.
DEFINITIONS
Section 3.1
Bills. Legislation suggested by senate representatives or executive council members
which seek to change the mandates of this GSC Constitution and/or its bylaws.
Section 3.2
Bylaws. Rules of the GSC to control the actions of the members therein.
Section 3.3
General meetings. Regularly scheduled bimonthly meetings that consist of all GSC
members. All general meetings must maintain a quorum.
Section 3.4
GSC members. Include both the Executive Council as well as all Senate Representatives.
Section 3.5
Quorum. The participation of at least three-fourths of all GSC voting members.
Section 3.6
Regular Semester. The fall academic semester, the spring academic semester, and/or
the summer between the spring academic semester and the fall academic semester.
Section 3.7
Resolutions. Legislation suggested by senate representatives or executive council
members which do not seek to change the mandates of this GSC Constitution and/or its
bylaws.
ARTICLE IV.
COMPOSITION
Section 4.1
Executive Council. The Executive Council has the purpose of managing and administering
the core functions and activities of GSC’s operations as enumerated in this GSC
Constitution. The Executive Council shall be accountable for carrying on the day-to-day
administration of the GSC and shall be obliged to perform the duties and functions as
per the bills and resolutions passed by the Senate representatives.
Section 4.2
Senate Representatives. Each graduate program at SIS shall have one senate
representative. The senate representatives shall participate regularly in the meetings of
the GSC as and when required by GSC bylaws. All power to pass bills and resolution rests
with the senate representatives.
ARTICLE V.
STRUCTURE AND ORGANIZATION
Section 5.1
Composition. The GSC shall consist of an Executive Council and Senate Representatives.
The Executive Council shall consist of three (3) elected officials and six (6) unelected
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staff members. The staff members shall be appointed by the Executive Council and shall
be approved by a majority vote of the Senators at the general meeting unless explicitly
stated otherwise in this GSC Constitution. There shall be four (4) standing committees.
Each senator must be a part of at least one committee. Additional committees may be
established as needed by the Senate.
a. Executive Council Officials:
i.
The President
ii.
The Vice-President
iii.
The Treasurer
b. Executive Council Staff members
i.
Chief of Staff
ii.
Communications Director
iii.
Alumni Relations Chair
iv.
Community Development Director
v.
Special Events/Programs Coordinator
vi.
Journal of International Service (hereafter “JIS”) Editor-in-Chief
c. Standing Committees
i.
Budget
ii.
Communications
iii.
Rules and Regulations
iv.
Special Events
Section 5.2
Term of office. All members of the GSC Executive Council shall hold their positions for a
period of one (1) year unless otherwise stated in this GSC Constitution. All senators shall
hold their positions for at least one regular semester. The members may resign before
their official term by submitting a letter to the President. The President may resign
before the senate in an official meeting. The elected executive officials may be relieved
of their duties by a two-thirds majority vote of the Senate.
Section 5.3
Elections. Elections shall be conducted at least once every year. The outgoing officers
shall bear the responsibility of training the incoming staff and transferring all
administrative duties and documents to the incoming council members.
a. Executive Officials. The elections of the executive council officials shall be conducted
before the 1st of April every year. The executive council officials may serve for a
maximum two (2) terms.
b. Senate Representatives. Senate representatives shall be elected by their individual
programs whenever necessary. Once elected senators may serve as many terms as
they are willing and able up to the maximum term limit without the need to be reelected for the next consecutive term. A senator may serve no more than seven (7)
terms of office.
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Section 5.4
Appointments. All executive council appointments must be made within thirty (30) days
from the date of elections. The senate reserves the right to remove any appointee by a
majority vote.
Section 5.5
Mandates. Each member of the executive council shall have the following mandate:
Executive Council Officials
a. The President shall:
i.
Act as the official representative of the GSC to all campus constituencies;
ii.
Advocate for and implement positive policies and programing in the interest
of SIS graduate students;
iii.
Plan and set the agenda for all GSC meetings;
iv.
Officially represent GSC and SIS graduate student interests for SIS Council,
SIS Advising, SIS Career Services, SIS Admissions, SIS Program Directors, SIS
Program Coordinators, the Dean’s Office at SIS, relevant committees, the
Board of Trustees, and other relevant bodies as necessary, or to designate a
proxy from the GSC;
v.
Maintain informal communication with said constituencies and SIS and
University administration, where necessary;
vi.
Appoint and maintain contact with appointed representatives, with the
advice of the executive council and SIS graduate students to such SIS
committees as may be constituted by the Dean, SIS Council, or other such
bodies;
vii.
Manage culture of GSC and provide vision and direction for GSC;
viii.
Manage recruitment through attending SIS Orientations of incoming
students, organizing an information table at SIS Open Houses for potential
MA students, and working with Research Assistants management in the
Dean’s Office;
ix.
Assist the Treasurer on working with Student Activities to maintain the
proper paperwork for all financial transactions as a reserve budget officer;
x.
Seek the assistance of any member of the GSC in furtherance of his
mandates when necessary;
b. The Vice President shall:
i.
Oversee the execution of duties of committee chairpersons;
ii.
Officially represent the GSC by attending meetings and/or events of SIS
Undergraduates, GLC, other American University Graduate Student
Councils, other Student Governments for the other Washington, DC
International Affairs schools, and Wesley Seminary, or to designate a proxy
from the GSC;
iii.
Work with MA program student associations to integrate them with GSC;
iv.
Officially represent GSC and SIS graduate student interests with the
President for the Dean’s Office at SIS, SIS Council and relevant committees,
the Board of Trustees, and other relevant bodies as necessary, or to
designate a proxy from the GSC;
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v.
vi.
Be responsible for recording all Executive Council meetings and general
meetings;
Provide meeting notes for all Executive Council meetings and general
meetings;
c. The Treasurer shall:
i.
Serve as the Chair of the Budget Committee;
ii.
Prepare and submit to the GSC a budget with the assistance of the Budget
Committee, either annually or at such periods as may be required by the
assent of the senate;
iii.
Monitor the implementation of the approved budget and ensure adherence
to deadlines and contracts listed therein;
iv.
Work with Student Activities to maintain the proper paperwork for all
financial transactions;
v.
Provide administrative support to student leaders and senators in
disbursement of GSC funds as and when necessary. Provided that such
administrative procedure may be expedited in the last thirty (30) days of the
fiscal year;
Executive Council Staff
a. The Chief of Staff shall:
i.
Serve as the Chair of the Rules and Regulations Committee;
ii.
Run all GSC meetings;
iii.
Train all GSC members on meeting procedures, legislation writing, and any
other relevant training measures when necessary;
iv.
Provide advice and guidance for all technical matters to GSC members;
v.
Provide legislation assistance to all GSC members;
vi.
Maintain a record of all votes and legislation passed in the GSC;
vii.
Assist the Communications Director in maintaining the GSC Senate google
drive folders. Update and organize all general google drive folders;
viii.
Assist with all constitutional and/or bylaw issues;
ix.
Interpret and administer bylaws and mitigate internal disputes;
x.
Monitor and enforce the dismissal process for all GSC member allowing for
due process as outlined in Section 5.7 and Section 8.2 herein;
xi.
Maintain a record of GSC member attendance;
b. The Communications Director shall:
i.
Serve as the Chair of the Communications Committee;
ii.
Manage GSC Listserv and maintain the website to include information and
design updates where necessary;
iii.
Manage campus room reservation system;
iv.
Manage social media and mass media for the GSC;
v.
Manage and provide content for SIS Graduate Advising Weekly Newsletter
and other relevant university newsletters;
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vi.
vii.
viii.
ix.
x.
Liaison with SIS Communications department to collaborate on promotional
and awareness activities;
Provide assistance in crafting internal and external communications to
constituents and stakeholders to include but not limited to the SIS
administration;
Ensure proper data management and maintenance of GSC data
management system(s) with the assistance of the Chief of Staff where
necessary;
Strategize, organize, execute, and monitor GSC marketing, communication,
promotion, and awareness campaigns across multiple communications
platforms in conjunction with senators and/or members of the executive
council;
Write and edit articles and other promotional content of or pertaining to
GSC and GSC-sponsored activities as needed;
c. The Alumni Relations Chair shall:
i.
Officially represent the GSC for SIS Alumni Relations;
ii.
Liaison with SIS Alumni Relations to collaborate on events;
iii.
Maintain a working relationship with SIS Alumni Relations;
d. The Community Development Director shall:
i.
Service as co-chair for the Special Events Committee;
ii.
Plan and organize all GSC social events;
iii.
Plan and organize all GSC community service events;
e. The Special Events/Programs Coordinator shall:
i.
Service as co-chair for the Special Events Committee;
ii.
Plan and organize all GSC special programs;
iii.
Plan and organize all GSC special events;
f.
The JIS Editor-in-Chief shall:
i.
Independently run JIS with the occasional support from GSC;
ii.
Attend GSC all general meetings or appoint a qualified member of JIS team
to serve as his proxy;
iii.
Formulate rules and regulation for smooth functioning of the JIS in
consultation with all JIS staff members;
Senate Representatives
a. Senate Representatives shall:
i.
Serve as a liaison between GSC and their respective programs, conveying
their constituents’ interests at GSC meetings and communicating pertinent
GSC information to their constituents;
ii.
Assist their respective program associations with funding issues, event
planning, or any other such issues that may arise when necessary;
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iii.
iv.
v.
vi.
Maintain regular communication with their program coordinator and
program student association. In the case that a student association does not
exist, they shall encourage the creation of such an association in
conjunction with the program director, program coordinator and other
relevant faculty;
Attend all general meetings and committee meetings. If unable to attend a
meeting, senators shall be held responsible for informing the Chief of Staff,
or their committee chairperson in such manner as may be required by the
GSC by-laws;
Be a member of at least one committee;
Participate in all GSC events provided that such participation does not
directly conflict with their academic or professional requirements;
Section 5.6
Meetings. The GSC shall hold at least two meetings per month during the Fall and Spring
semester. The months of December and May shall be excluded from this requirement.
The Executive Council may call a meeting during the Summer semester when necessary.
No bills can be passed without a quorum.
Section 5.7
Dismissal. Any GSC member can initiate dismissal proceedings against any other GSC
member for failing to uphold the mandate, principles, and/or integrity of this GSC
Constitution. The initiating GSC member can in the first instance unilaterally initiate a
case for dismissal in any general meeting. Voting on the dismissal for that member of
the GSC shall occur the next regularly scheduled general meeting. Any GSC member
subjected to dismissal shall have the opportunity to present their case as further
described under Section 8.2.
Section 5.8
Resignations. In the event that a GSC member is unable or unwilling to serve the
duration of their term in office, they may resign by submitting a written resignation
letter as described in Section 5.2 hereof. In the event that a GSC member is not enrolled
at SIS for the duration of their term in office, they will be automatically disqualified to
serve in any position in the GSC.
Section 5.9
Working Hours. No member of the GSC shall work more than twenty (20) hours per
week in pursuance of their mandates. If any GSC member requires additional hours to
fulfill their mandates, they may seek the assistance of another GSC member or other
qualified persons. The GSC president should not hold an off-campus position comprising
more than twenty (20) hours of work per week.
ARTICLE VI.
COMMITTEES
Section 6.1
All standing committees must be headed by a member of the Executive Council.
Section 6.2
All Senators shall serve in at least one committee.
Section 6.3
Temporary committees may be established by a majority vote in a general meeting.
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Section 6.4
Standing committees shall have the following mandates.
a. Budget Committee shall:
i.
Be chaired by the Treasurer;
ii.
Set spending priorities for GSC;
iii.
Draft the GSC annual budget;
iv.
Be responsible for allocating student group funding in the spring and fall
semesters;
v.
Be responsible for ensuring that funds are available for allocation to the JIS.
At least fourteen percent (14%) of the GSC budget shall be reserved for this
purpose;
vi.
Provide instructions and assistance for the funds allocation process;
vii.
Provide explanations for all denial of funds;
viii.
Coordinate with the Communication Committee to appoint a member of
either committee to serve as the GSC-JIS liaison;
b. Communications Committee shall:
i.
Be chaired by the Communications Director;
ii.
Suggest and maintain GSC marketing efforts;
iii.
Assist JIS with external communications and/or marketing regarding JIS
sponsored activities, events, promotions and awareness;
iv.
Coordinate with the Budget Committee to appoint a member of either
committee to serve as the GSC-JIS liaison;
c. Rules and Regulations Committee shall:
i.
Be chaired by the Chief of Staff;
ii.
Determine the proper procedure for management and oversight of all GSC
election;
iii.
Evaluate the GSC Constitution and bylaws;
iv.
Suggest relevant changes to the GSC Constitution and bylaws;
v.
Be responsible for any relevant training for bill and resolution writing for the
GSC;
d. Special Events Committee shall:
i.
Be co-chaired by the Community Development Director and Special
Events/Programs Coordinator;
ii.
Suggest and plan annual and special GSC events;
iii.
Help organize and maintain recruitment related events;
ARTICLE VII.
JIS
Section 7.1
JIS shall run separately from the GSC as its own autonomous entity with its own rules
and regulations.
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Section 7.2
The JIS Editor-in-Chief shall ensure that all the JIS governing documents are in
compliance with this GSC Constitution.
Section 7.3
JIS shall provide oral performance reports at least twice a regular semester. The senate
reserves the right to request performance reports at any regular meeting.
Section 7.4
JIS shall submit a budget proposal for GSC funds to be reviewed and approved by the
GSC senate at least two months prior to the expected date of disbursement. Any
funding requests exceeding or in addition to the approved budget may be submitted to
the GSC senate for approval in a general meeting. Approval shall require a simple
majority affirmative vote. Failure to follow proper budgetary processes may result in
requisite delays or denials subject to GSC senate approval. If the budget proposal fails,
JIS has the right to submit amended proposals until one is accepted by the GSC senate.
Section 7.5
JIS shall have the following additional mandates:
a. JIS shall:
i.
Strive to promote discussion among related disciplines and broadness of
thought centric to the study of international relations.
ii.
Provide students with an opportunity to submit their contributions to the
process of publication through a fair and transparent process as described in
the JIS governing documents. The process shall be made available on the
GSC website for ease of access. Submissions will be allowed from current
graduate students as well as recent alumni from SIS in the broad field of
International Relations.
iii.
Maintain full responsibility in recruiting editors, peer reviewers, and staff to
maintain the journal. If JIS requires additional assistance, they can request it
from the GSC senate.
iv.
Recruit editorial staff that represents the full diversity of SIS. All open
positions shall be advertised via all programs at SIS. Staff selection shall be
in accordance to professional ability independent of their association with
any one program.
v.
Publish articles that represent the full diversity of SIS. Quotas for different
program representation shall not be imposed.
ARTICLE VIII.
DUE PROCESS
Section 8.1
Official Business. All official GSC business shall require quorum.
Section 8.2
Dismissals. Any successful dismissal of a GSC member shall require a three-fourths
majority of all GSC voting members, provided quorum has been established. Voting on
dismissals of Executive Council members shall also require the participation of the all
Executive Council members. The GSC member against whom the resolution for dismissal
is brought shall not have a vote for that resolution.
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a. Any GSC member is subject to removal from GSC on any one or more of the
following considerations:
i.
Failure to perform listed duties of office;
ii.
Failure to attend two consecutive general meetings or committee meetings
without prior notice;
iii.
Misappropriation of American University funds or property;
iv.
Conduct directly violating this GSC Constitution and/or the bylaws,
subverting or counter to established strategy or position;
v.
Conduct that damages the image, negotiating position, or reputation of the
GSC, GLC, or other school entities;
vi.
Conduct unbecoming of a GSC member, including but not limited to
harassment, negligence, or incompetence;
b. Any member who fails to remain in “good academic standing” with the school is
subject to removal of office and should submit their letter of resignation in the
manner as described in Section 5.2 hereof. Failure to submit their letter of
resignation will automatically result in the dismissal process.
ARTICLE IX.
BYLAWS
Section 9.1
Purpose. The bylaws define, more specifically, the guidelines and procedures which
should be used for the implementation of this GSC Constitution.
Section 9.2
Transparency. The GSC shall maintain the accessibility of all administrative documents,
either physically or electronically, for SIS graduate students including the GSC
Constitution, bylaws, resolutions, bills, contact information of GSC members, and other
administrative documents.
Section 9.3
Amending the bylaws. Changes to the bylaws shall pass with a two-thirds affirmative
vote at a GSC meeting under a quorum.
ARTICLE X.
AMENDMENTS
Section 10.1
All parts of this GSC Constitution may be amended by the senate with a two-thirds
majority vote. No Amendment shall have the effect of suppressing the representative
spirit of the GSC Constitution.
ARTICLE XI.
INTEGRATION CLAUSE
Section 11.1
This GSC Constitution supersedes all prior constitution, bylaws, regulations, guidelines
and other similar documents relating to the matters contained herein. Provided all the
bills and resolutions passed before the commencement of this constitution shall remain
valid as long as they do not directly contravene any provision of this GSC Constitution.
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Nothing contained herein shall have any impact on the GLC Constitution and its
functioning.
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BYLAWS OF THE
GRADUATE STUDENT COUNCIL
SCHOOL OF INTERNATIONAL SERVICE
AMERICAN UNIVERSITY
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Chapter I: Election Regulations
Section 1: Elections
1. All members of the GSC shall be elected as per the regulations enacted herein.
2. These regulations are subject to interpretation by the Chief of Staff and shall be binding on all
present and future members of the GSC.
Section 2: Eligibility Requirements
1. A candidate shall be a graduate student currently enrolled in the School of International Service
to be eligible for any GSC position.
2. A candidate shall be in good academic standing and continuing students must have a minimum
GPA of 3.00 or above. Recently enrolled students shall be held to the minimum GPA
requirement in the following semester.
3. A senatorial candidate must be enrolled in the program that they wish to represent.
4. An executive council member may be enrolled in any program within the School of International
Service.
5. Dual degree students are eligible for GSC elections.
Section 3: Election Schedule
1. Executive Council elections shall be completed at least four (4) weeks prior to the end of the
Spring semester.
2. For executive council elections there shall be no less than one (1) week of marketing to the
entire SIS student body prior to one (1) week of voting.
3. Senatorial elections shall occur following a program vacancy.
a. Attempts to fill an empty senate seat shall commence within seven (7) days from the
date on which such a vacancy arises.
b. If there is not adequate time left in the semester to fill the vacancy then the election
may be held at the beginning of a next regular semester.
Explanation – A regular semester for the purpose of this clause shall mean either Fall or
Spring semester.
4. The length of a senatorial election shall be decided by program coordinator in consultation with
the program director. Elections should last no less than six (6) days.
Section 4: Executive Council Staff Appointments
1. Elections for editor-in-chief shall be conducted by the staff of JIS in an internal process.
a. The editor-in-chief shall not be appointed by the executive council, however, the editorin-chief elect shall establish a line of communication with the GSC President and GSC
executive council.
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b. The editor-in-chief shall re-affirm their commitment to abide by and uphold the GSC
Constitution at the general meeting directly following their selection.
c. The process of appointing a new editor-in-chief shall be made within thirty (30) days
from the date on which such vacancy arises provided no such period shall exceed fifteen
days (15) before the end of the Spring semester.
2. All other appointed executive council position shall be filled within two (2) weeks following the
executive council elections. Said period may be extended by a vote in the general meeting.
3. All staff members appointed by the Executive Council shall be approved by a majority vote of
the senate.
Section 5: Campaign Regulations/Election Administration
Senators
1. An outgoing Senator shall notify their program coordinator of a vacancy within six (6) days from
the date on which such vacancy arises.
2. All members of the senator’s program shall be made aware of the election process by the
outgoing senator with the assistance of the program coordinator.
3. All members of the senator’s program shall have a chance to participate in the election process
to include self-nomination.
4. All other campaigning requirements shall be left to the discretion to the individual programs.
Executive Council
1. Vice-President shall oversee the elections unless campaigning and/or running for an executive
council position themselves.
2. Chief of Staff shall oversee elections if the Vice President is campaigning and/or running for an
executive council position.
3. If both Vice-President and Chief of Staff are campaigning and/or running for an executive council
position, then the GSC shall vote on a senator to oversee elections at the earliest possible
opportunity.
4. Election oversight shall be confirmed prior to the start of executive council elections.
Section 6: Electoral Procedures
1. Every SIS graduate student shall be notified by email at least a week prior to the elections so
that they are given a chance to participate in the nomination process.
2. The Communications Director shall make the election and nomination process available to every
SIS graduate student via e-mail and GSC website.
3. In the event of a tie, all GSC members excluding the candidates shall vote on the most qualified
candidate. An opportunity shall be given to both candidates to present their case in a general
meeting and the tie shall be broken by a majority vote.
Section 7: Start of Term
1. Executive Council. The new council shall begin their term of service from the date of the last
general meeting of the Spring Semester.
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2. Senators. Newly elected senators shall begin their term immediately following the election.
Section 8: Length of Term
1. Executive Council. One (1) year term beginning in the last general meeting of the Spring
semester.
2. Senators. A senate term shall last one (1) regular semester. A senator may serve as many terms
as they are willing and able up to the maximum term limit without the need to be re-elected for
the next consecutive term.
Section 9: Executive Council Elect Mandates
1. All elected executive council officials shall:
a. Actively participate in mandatory transition training of a period no less than four (4)
weeks.
b. Appoint all members of the executive council staff excluding the editor-in-chief. The
editor-in-chief shall be appointed as needed through the process as described under
Section 4, Paragraph 1 of this regulation.
c. Attend at least one (1) general meetings prior to the last meeting of the Spring
semester. Exceptions shall require the prior written approval of the outgoing executive
council.
2. The Chief of Staff and Communications Director appointed by the executive council officials
elect shall also be required actively participate in mandatory transition training of a period no
less than two (2) weeks.
3. Failure to adhere to these mandates shall be cause for reprimand from the GSC voting
members.
Section 10: Changes, Transparency and Integration Clause
1. All documents related to elections shall be made available on the GSC website within fifteen
(15) days from the date of election.
2. Changes to the bylaws shall pass with a two-thirds affirmative vote at a GSC meeting under a
quorum.
3. No part of this chapter of the bylaws shall contravene any provision of the GSC Constitution.
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Chapter II: Legislative Procedures
Section 1: Legislation
1. All legislation shall be passed as per the regulations enacted herein.
2. These regulations are subject to interpretation by the Chief of Staff and shall be binding on all
present and future members of the GSC.
Section 2: Composition of the GSC
1. General Body. The GSC shall consist of an Executive Council and Senate Representatives.
a. Executive Council. Shall consist of three (3) elected officials and six (6) unelected staff
members.
i.
Elected officials. Shall consist of the President, the Vice-President and the
Treasurer. Each official shall be elected in a process as described in Chapter I:
Election Procedures of these bylaws.
ii.
Staff members. Shall consist of the Chief of Staff, the Communications Director,
the Alumni Relations Chair, the Community Development Director, the Special
Events & Programs Coordinator, and the JIS Editor-in-Chief. Each staff member
shall be appointed in a process as described in Chapter I: Election Procedures of
these bylaws.
b. Senate Representatives. Every graduate program at SIS shall be entitled to one senate
representative. There shall be no minimum qualifications required of a program such as
but not limited to size of the program, primary location of the students in the program
or age of the program. Each senate representative shall be elected in a process as
described in Chapter I: Election Procedures of these bylaws.
2. Meetings. The GSC shall hold at least two meetings per month during the Fall and Spring
semester. The months of December and May shall be excluded from this requirement.
a. No general meeting can start without a quorum.
i.
If quorum is not met fifteen (15) minutes after the official start of the meeting
as dictated in the meeting agenda, then the quorum meeting will be cancelled.
A make-up meeting shall be schedule at a later date;
b. The Executive Council may call a meeting during the Summer semester when necessary.
c. No legislation shall be passed without a quorum during the Fall and Spring semester. No
bill shall be passed without a quorum during the Summer semester.
d. GSC general meetings shall be facilitated by the Chief of Staff.
i.
In the event that the Chief of Staff is unable to facilitate the meeting, then the
Vice-President shall facilitate the meeting.
ii.
In the event that the Vice-President is also unable to facilitate the meeting, then
another member of the general body shall facilitate the meeting. In order for a
senate representative to be eligible to facilitate a general meeting, they shall
first forfeit their voting privileges for that meeting.
3. Voting Members. Each Senator has one vote. Should a tie occur, all the Executive Council
members shall be included in the vote to determine the results.
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4. Agenda. The Chief of Staff shall assemble the agenda for all general meetings. Any member of
the GSC can submit an item to the Chief of Staff to be added to the agenda. Items shall be added
to the agenda in a process as described in Section 3 of this chapter of these bylaws.
Section 3: Introducing Legislation
1. Open Floor Procedures. All members of the senate and the executive council shall be given 30
seconds to express themselves during open floor discussion.
2. Postponing Legislation. Any piece of legislation once brought forward to the floor may be
postponed for a vote at a later date. Once postponed, it may be voted on via any approved
platform to include but not limited to the next general meeting, email or other online or digital
platform.
3. Introducing Legislation
a. By adding it to the Agenda. All bills and resolutions shall be sent to the Rules and
Regulation Committee at least twenty-four (24) hours prior to the start of the general
meeting of in order for it to be added to the agenda.
b. Without adding it to the Agenda. All bills and resolutions for the new business section of
general meetings must be emailed to the Chief of Staff so that it may be disseminated to
the general body. They may be emailed during the general meeting.
4. Passing Legislation
a. Resolutions shall be passed by a simple majority vote
b. Bills shall be passed by a two-thirds majority vote
5. Amending Passed Legislation. Changes to the passed legislation shall require a two-thirds
affirmative vote at a GSC general meeting.
Section 4: Voting Protocol
1. After introduction of legislation, Senators may proceed with vote facilitated by the Chief of Staff.
a. Affirmative votes shall be represented by a Senator raising one hand.
b. Negative votes shall be represented by a Senator not raising one hand.
2. The senate reserves the right to call for an alternative method of voting for any reason such as
but not limited to a voice vote, an online vote or a secret ballot.
Section 5: Alternative Voting Measures
1. Any previously approved piece of legislation may be brought forward to the GSC senators for
consideration via online or other digital means.
a. In order to gain approval a piece of legislation shall be sent to the Rules and Regulation
Committee via the Committee Chair for review to ensure the quality of the legislation.
b. Once approved the Chief of Staff shall disseminate the piece of legislation for a vote to
all GSC members within twenty-four (24) hours.
c. All voting members shall respond in an email separate from the email sent by the Chief
of Staff jointly to the Vice-President and the Chief of Staff with either ‘yah’ or ‘nay’.
d. Any questions concerning the piece of legislation shall be sent as a ‘reply all’ to ensure
full transparency.
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2. In order to pass the piece of legislation there shall be one hundred percent (100%)
accountability from voting members achieved within seventy-two (72) hours. Failure to receive
full accountability for a vote will nullify the vote and the piece of legislation shall be brought to
the floor at the next regularly scheduled general meeting.
Section 6: Changes, Transparency and Integration Clause
1. All passed legislation shall be made available on the GSC website within fifteen (15) days from
the date of passage.
2. Changes to the bylaws shall pass with a two-thirds affirmative vote at a GSC meeting under a
quorum.
3. No part of this chapter of the bylaws shall contravene any provision of the GSC Constitution.
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Chapter III: Financial Procedures
Section 1: Financial Procedures
1. All financial procedures shall be adhered to as per the regulations enacted herein.
2. These regulations are subject to interpretation by the Chief of Staff and shall be binding on all
present and future members of the GSC.
Section 2: General Regulations
1. The fiscal year for the purpose of this bylaw shall mean the fiscal year as defined by the
University.
2. As per University policy unused funds shall not be rolled over into the next fiscal year.
3. Funding allocations that require administrative support from the GSC shall be proposed no less
than thirty (30) days prior to the date of the event. Exceptions may be made with a majority
vote in the Budget Committee.
4. GSC shall have the budget as allocated by the University administration through the duties to
the student body, faculty, staff, alumni, and all other stakeholders as directed by the rules set
forth in this GSC Constitution.
5. Every expense from the budget shall be accounted for.
6. The Senators shall be free to inquire on monetary allocations at the general meeting.
Section 3: Role of the Treasurer
1. The Treasurer shall be an elected official position of the Executive Council. The Treasurer shall
be elected in a process as described in Chapter I of the bylaws.
2. The Treasurer shall adhere to the following mandates as defined in the GSC Constitution and
reiterated herein. The Treasurer shall:
a. Serve as the Chair of the Budget Committee.
b. Prepare and submit to the GSC a budget with the assistance of the Budget Committee,
either annually or at such periods as may be required by the assent of the senate.
c. Monitor the implementation of the approved budget and ensure adherence to
deadlines and contracts listed therein.
d. Work with Student Activities to maintain the proper paperwork for all financial
transactions.
e. Provide administrative support to student leaders and senators in disbursement of GSC
funds as and when necessary. Provided that such administrative procedure may be
expedited in the last thirty (30) days of the fiscal year.
3. The Treasurer with the assistance of the Budget Committee shall be allowed to re-allocate funds
without a vote in a general meeting within the last fifteen (15) days of the fiscal year.
Section 4: Internal Financial Regulations
1. An annual GSC budget shall be drafted by the Budget Committee at the beginning of the Fall
semester at the direction of the Committee Chair.
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2. A spending priority list for the GSC shall be drafted by the Budget Committee at the beginning of
each semester.
3. Budgetary Allocations
a. There shall be an established budget for the GSC with funding allocation to each of the
following categories: General Use, Alumni Relations, Promotional Materials, Office
Supplies, Journal of International Service (JIS), Social Events, Forums, and Student Group
Allotments, Summer Allocation, Other.
b. The JIS budget item shall amount to no more than fourteen (14) percent of the overall
GSC budget. The GSC shall be responsible for ensuring that these funds are available for
allocation to the JIS.
i.
JIS shall submit a budget proposal for GSC funds to be reviewed and approved
by the GSC senate at least two months prior to the expected date of
disbursement.
ii.
Any funding requests exceeding or in addition to the approved budget may be
submitted to the GSC senate for approval in a general meeting. Approval shall
require a simple majority affirmative vote.
iii.
Failure to follow proper budgetary processes may result in requisite delays or
denials subject to GSC senate approval. If the budget proposal fails, JIS has the
right to submit amended proposals until one is accepted by the GSC Senate.
c. The summer allocation shall be set at US$1000 for the summer regular semester and
can be used for any matter as decided by the Executive Council. The remaining amount
from the Summer allocation shall be merged to the GSC budget at the beginning of the
semester.
d. All funds under the authority of the GSC shall be split equally between the GSC
Executive Council and Graduate Students’ Groups at SIS. Provided that the reserved
funding for the JIS shall not be affected by this provision.
e. If more than twenty-five (25) percent of a budget item is to be spent on a single
expenditure, the GSC Senate shall need to approve the expenditure in a general
meeting. Approval shall be met at the maximum voting standard as defined by a twothirds majority.
4. Specific Fund Allocations
a. For every major event hosted or co-hosted by the GSC and approved by the GSC Senate
during a general meeting, a specific budget shall be created no less than thirty (30) days
prior to the scheduled event date. A separate expenditure category shall be created for
each individual event if necessary.
i.
A major event shall be defined as an event which requires funding of US$500 or
above from the GSC Executive Council budget.
b. The GSC may choose to support an event hosted by another organization with its own
funds. Provided that the GSC Senate approves the funding for such event in a general
meeting.
c. The GSC may pass legislation to re-allocate funds from one or more categories in order
to supplement funding for another category or for the creation of additional category.
Section 5: Student Group Regulations
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1. A graduate student group at SIS may submit requests to the GSC to fund their operations and
events.
a. To be eligible to receive funding, a group must be represented by a program senator
who has completed both financial and SIS handbook training as well as at least one
additional group leader.
i.
Representation by a program senator shall be defined as at least seven (7) days
prior to the funding request as well as at least thirty (30) days following the a
the program receiving the funds. Exceptions to the thirty (30) day requirement
may be waved for graduating senators.
ii.
The senator requirements may be waived with prior approval by a two-thirds
majority vote at a general meeting if the program has been working in good
faith to meet the requirement.
iii.
An additional group leader shall not be required if the program senator is a
member of the group.
iv.
Student Activities shall lead the official financial trainings.
v.
The Chief of Staff shall facilitate the SIS handbook trainings.
vi.
The Treasurer shall be responsible for scheduling a financial training session
within fifteen (15) days of a senator’s election.
b. A senator shall present the Budget Committee with a completed Student Activities
Financial Request Form (Treasurer/President signature left blank) and a completed
application for SIS GSC Student group funding.
c. All requests shall be submitted at least seven (7) days before paperwork is needed by
Student Activities as outlined in their Procedural Document (see pg. 12).
d. The GSC Budget Committee shall review all application material and approve, deny or
request resubmission within seven (7) days of receiving the application.
e. If any single request is above US$500 or the total allotment to the student group will
exceed US$1000 for the semester, then the application shall be reviewed and ruled on
by the GSC Senate in a general meeting. Provide that time sensitive funding requests be
put to an online vote as described in Chapter II of the bylaws.
f. The summer allocation for student groups shall be set at US$500 for the summer regular
semester. The remaining amount from the Summer allocation shall be merged to the
GSC budget at the beginning of the semester.
g. If approved, the program Senator shall be responsible for turning the appropriate
paperwork over to Student Activities, collecting and using the funds, and submitting the
necessary receipts and material to Student Activities and the GSC within a reasonable
amount of time. The senator may delegate these responsibilities to any member of the
student group who has duly received the required financial training.
h. Clarification for student groups on the GSC funding process shall be made available on
the GSC website.
i. Senators and Student groups who fail to follow these rules, are misleading in the use of
their funds, or who do not abide by the guidelines set out by student activities, can be
suspended by a vote in a general meeting of the GSC and barred from receiving
additional funding for the remainder of the fiscal year.
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2. The Budget Committee shall provide explanations for all denial of funds. Student groups may
adjust their funding requests using the Budget Committee suggestions and resubmit revised
requests for approval.
3. Student groups shall be able to apply for funding from GSC’s student group budget allocation up
to a maximum amount that is set by proportional allocation of ninety (90) percent of the total
student group allocation.
a. Exceptions to this maximum funding allocation shall be made by a vote in a general
meeting, unless the amount in question is less than $250.
b. Proportional allocation shall be defined as the ratio of the number of the total
enrollment of graduate students within SIS to the total number of enrolled graduate
students within a given program. Enrollment numbers shall be obtained through the
Office of Student Activities.
c. The maximum allocation shall be a percentage of the ratio as described in Section 5,
paragraph 3(b).
Section 6: Transparency Clause
1. All approved budgets shall be made available on the GSC website within fifteen (15) days from
the date of approval.
2. An up to date balance of GSC funds shall be maintained in proper files for GSC members to
review at their convenience.
3. A record of all credits and expenditures in each semester shall be made available on the GSC
website within fifteen (15) days of the semester’s completion.
a. Each record will include the amount debited/credited, the recipient/source, the date,
the category of expenditure, the GSC member in charge of the transaction, and a short
explanation of the transaction.
4. At the conclusion of each semester, the GSC shall publish a report available to all students
detailing the expenditures of the committee and informing all of their purposes and expenditure
breakdown.
5. The GSC will submit itself to regular audits by the Graduate Leadership Council of American
University.
Section 7: Changes and Integration Clause
1. Changes to the bylaws shall pass with a two-thirds affirmative vote at a GSC meeting under a
quorum.
2. No part of this chapter of the bylaws shall contravene any provision of the GSC Constitution.
3. No part of this chapter of the bylaws shall contravene any policy issued by Student Activities.
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Student Group Funding Application
Student Group Information
Funding Details
Student Group
Amount Requested
Group President
Total Cost
Program Senator
Other Funding Sources
Phone
Purpose
Email
Event Date (if applicable)
Total Membership
Desired Availability Date
WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OR MISSION OF THE GROUP?
WHAT SPECIFIC PURPOSE WILL THIS FUNDING SERVE? (Describe event or acquisition)
HOW WILL THIS FUNDING CONTRIBUTE TO YOUR PROGRAM, SIS, AU, OR THE BROADER COMMUNITY?
CERTIFICATION
I hereby certify that this request was made for a legitimate AU SIS program group purpose and agree to submit all receipts pertaining to this
request to GSC and AU Student Activities immediately after use.
Submitted by (Program Senator)
Date
1
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BREAKDOWN OF FUNDING USE
LIST OF MATERIALS AND COSTS
Item
Description
Vendor
Cost
$1.00
$1.00
$1.00
$1.00
$1.00
$1.00
$1.00
$1.00
$1.00
$1.00
$1.00
$1.00
$1.00
$1.00
$1.00
$1.00
$1.00
$1.00
$1.00
$1.00
$1.00
$1.00
$1.00
1
$1.00
2
Subtotal
$0.00
3
Tax rate
7.50%
4
Tax
$0.00
5
Grand total
$0.00
INFO: Adjust the tax rate as desired. If
shouldn't be added to the bid, enter a zero in
the Tax rate cell.
BREAKDOWN OF MATERIALS AND COSTS
TOTAL
0
0
Additional Comments
$0.00
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APPENDIX A
Financial & Handbook Training
•Voting Rights withheld until training is
completed
Senator-Stewards Elected
Funds Application Written
•Joint effort by S-S and SG leadership
•Two Required Forms
•SIS GSC Funding Application
•Student Activites Financial Request Form
Application Returned to SenatorSteward
•If approved, S-S submits SA form to Student
Activities
•If rejected, S-S and SG can edit application
and re-apply
Senator-Stewards connect to
Student Groups
•S-S contact info posted in program office
•S-S meets with Student Group leadership
Application Submitted to Budget
Committee
Application Reviewed by Budget
Committee
•Application Submitted by S-S at least 10 days
before needed funds
•Reviews application within 72 hours of
submission
•Votes on approval in-person or electronically
•If approved, Treasurer signs SA Form
•Copy of both document kept for records
Submitted by Senator-Steward to
Student Activities
Senator-Steward pick-ups approved
funds
•S-S responsible for submitting approved
request to Student Activities
•S-S informed by Student Activities of
availability
•S-S is responsible for pick-up of necessary
materials and for responsible management
of funds
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27 March 2016
Journal of International Service: Development Plan
Executive Summary
This development plan proposes a return to the Journal’s basic goal: to publish highquality articles. Leading from this focus, we propose five (5) semester objectives
supported by an organizational structure of eight senior staff positions. These five (5)
objectives include:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Increase the total number of submissions per semester, to 30.
Increase the total number of requests to join per semester, to ten (10).
75 percent of editors and peer reviewers must attend editing workshops.
100 percent of editors and peer reviewers must be properly on-boarded.
Five to ten (5-10) authors must attend writing workshops each semester.
Review processes and procedures will occur three to four (3-4) times per
semester by full staff, and two to three (2-3) times per semester by core staff.
Create three short reports per year (prospective report, mid-semester update, and
final report).
These objectives will support our primary target objective, which is to publish 15 highquality articles per semester.
Introduction
The Journal of International Service (JIS) is a work-in-progress, as we strive to be ever
responsive to the changing needs, resources, and capacities of the School of
International Service. (SIS) The current situation of JIS is particularly vulnerable, as it is
in recovery from a period of inactivity and changes to core leadership.
In order to address the struggles of the JIS and to help us build a strong foundation
from which the Journal can grow, we propose returning to the fundamental goal of
publishing high-quality articles and applying a service-oriented focus. All the other
benefits of the Journal (skill-building for the JIS editors and peer reviewers, publishing
opportunities for SIS students, increased reputation for SIS) can be tied to this one goal,
and we believe a service-oriented methodology can help us achieve this in a
sustainable, compassionate, and inclusive way.
Starting from a Core Goal
Our core goal is to publish high-quality articles in international relations and
international affairs, authored by the SIS graduate community. We have identified three
(3) requirements for achieving this outcome:
•
•
•
The JIS has knowledgeable and skilled editors and peer reviewers trained to
provide constructive feedback.
Potential authors at SIS are aware, informed, and empowered to submit quality
articles.
The JIS is equipped with resources that allow the publication of journal articles.
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27 March 2016
In order to create a situation in which these requirements are met—and by extension a
situation in which the JIS is able to achieve this intended outcome—we need to engage
in activities that support our meeting these requirements, which include:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Recruitment of dedicated and reliable editors and peer reviewers;
Editing workshops and training (i.e. on boarding);
Editing guidelines (editing handbook) and style guide;
Article-writing workshop (turning term papers into publishable articles);
Wide-reaching marketing campaign for submissions;
Comprehensive and responsive processes and procedures; and
Creating an online platform for digital publishing.
In order to effectively and efficiently manage these and other supporting activities that
contribute to a successful journal, we require the following eight (8) senior staff
positions:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Editor-in-Chief
Director of Operations
Director of Outreach
Editorial Director
Director of Peer Reviewers
Director and Data and Analytics
Director of Training and Resources
Director of Publishing
These positions make up the senior staff, and each member is directly responsible for
ensuring the implementation of the supporting activities that contribute to the
requirements of our desired outcome.
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27 March 2016
Director of Outreach
The Director of Outreach will work in conjunction with the Editor-in-Chief to provide
the following support: “Recruitment of dedicated and reliable editors and peer
reviewers” and “Wide-reaching marketing campaign for submissions.” In the spirit of
providing this support, this unit will mobilize the editors and peer reviewers to achieve
a number of tasks, including:
•
•
•
•
Participation in new student orientation twice (2) per year (Fall and Spring
orientation)
Tabling in the SIS Atrium, with the help of other staff members, four (4) weeks of
the semester (1st, 2nd, 9th, and 10th weeks)
Maintenance of relationships with all SIS academic programs and offices (Career,
Alumni, Admissions, etc.) with the help of other staff members to ensure JIS
remains responsive to the changing needs of SIS
Development of the following materials to assist with recruitment efforts:
o Banner
o Printed/digital flyers (renewed every month)
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27 March 2016
•
o Business cards
Coordination of class announcements with the assistance of other staff members
These tasks of the Director of Outreach will translate into two specific objectives for the
Fall 2016 semester:
•
•
Increase the total number of submissions for the semester to 30
Increase the total number of requests to join for the semester to ten (10)
Director of Resources & Training
The Director of Resources & Training works closely with the Director of Operations, the
Editor-in-Chief, the Editorial Director, the Director of Peer Reviewers, and the editorial
staff at large to create opportunities for students to develop the skills needed for the
Journal to run successfully. This means providing “Editing workshops and training (i.e.
on boarding)” and “Editing guidelines (i.e. editing handbooks) and a style guide,” to
benefit editors and peer reviewers. It also means providing “Article writing workshop:
Turning term papers into publishable papers.” To support the Journal, the Director of
Resources & Training will have a number of other tasks, including:
•
•
•
•
Organizing two (2) writing workshops per semester (3rd and 11th weeks of the
semester) with the assistance of the Editor-in-Chief and Director of Operations,
and in cooperation with the Writing Center
Organizing one (1) editing workshop and training per semester (4th week of the
semester) on Chicago style, open to JIS editing staff and the wider SIS
community
Developing easily navigable editing guidelines
Developing on-boarding process for new editors and peer reviewers
These tasks of the Director of Resources & Training will translate into two specific
objectives for the Fall 2016 semester:
•
•
•
75 percent of editors and peer reviewers attend editing workshops
100 percent of editors and peer reviewers are properly on-boarded
Five to ten (5-10) authors attend writing workshops per semester
Director of Data & Analytics
The Director of Data & Analytics develops, maintains, supervises, and troubleshoots the
Journal’s tracking system. The development and maintenance of this system translates
into data that allows the JIS to be responsive to the staff and wider SIS community,
thereby supporting “comprehensive and responsive processes and procedures.” This
position will be in charge of:
•
•
•
•
Supporting the creation or revision of processes and procedures (as necessary)
Ensuring that submissions move through the system in a timely manner
Generating data for the mid-semester and end-of-semester report
Providing alterations to the tracking system as necessary
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27 March 2016
These tasks of the Director of Data & Analytics will translate into two specific objectives
for the Fall 2016 semester:
•
•
Review processes and procedures three to four (3-4) times per semester with full
staff, and two to three (2-3) times per semester with core staff
Create three reports per year (prospective report, mid-semester update, and final
report).
The Director of Operations
The Director of Operations works closely with the Director of Data & Analytics, the
Editorial Director, and the Director of Peer Reviewers to assure that the written
processes and procedures match current needs and practice. The position therefore
supports the Journal through “comprehensive and responsive processes and
procedures.” To facilitate this support, the Director of Operations is in charge of:
•
•
•
Creating processes and procedures (as necessary)
Organizing regular meetings to discuss the effectiveness of the current processes
and procedures, and ensure that they reflect most effective practice. Meetings are
to take place along the following schedule:
o Full staff (week 0, week 7 or 8, and week 14)
o Core staff (week 3, 6, and 13)
Create semester objectives (week 1-2), mid-semester update (week 6), and endof-semester report (week 14)
These tasks translate into two primary objectives for the Management & Reporting unit
for the Fall 2016 semester:
•
•
Review processes and procedures three to four (3-4) times per semester with full
staff and two to three (2-3) times per semester with core staff
Create three reports per year (prospective report, mid-semester update, and final
report) in cooperation with the Editor-in-Chief and with the support of all other
core staff members. These reports should include:
o Number of editors/peer reviewers on boarded
o Number of editors/peer reviewers trained
o Number of submissions received
o Number of submissions completing the peer review stage
o Number of submissions completing the editor stage
o Number of submissions published through the online platform
o Number of authors attending workshops
o Number of tabling sessions (including total hours tabled)
o Funds spent (list of expenditures) and funds remaining (list of expected
expenditures)
Director of Publishing
The Director of Publishing is tasked with ensuring the Journal is equipped to publish
through an online platform, and supporting efforts to produce a print journal. He or she
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27 March 2016
is also responsible for all formatting and uploading of articles to the online publishing
platform. He or she is also responsible for ensuring the quality of the published work
and maintaining the look and feel of the Journal’s digital presence. This supports an
“online platform for digital publishing.” To ensure this, the Director of Publishing:
•
•
•
Reviews and uploads all approved articles to the site
Closes and opens submissions as needed
Posts important announcements to the website
By achieving these activities, the Director of Publishing supports the primary objective
of:
• Publishing 15 high-quality articles per semester
Editorial Director
The Editorial Director manages all the editors on the JIS team and helps to ensure the
quality of published materials. The work of the Editorial Director is critical to the basic
functions of the Journal as he or she:
•
•
•
•
•
Manages editor workload
Ensures proper transition of submission from Peer Review Stage to Editor Stage
Reviews the work of editors to ensure quality
Reports to the Editor-in-Chief any issues regarding staff or processes
Helps ensure the quality of articles before they are sent for review by the
editorial board
By achieving these activities, the Editorial Director supports the primary objective of:
• Publishing 15 high-quality articles per semester
Director of Peer Reviewers
The Director of Peer Reviewers manages all the peer reviewers on the JIS team, and
helps to ensure all submissions meet the basic requirements and are prepared for peer
review. The work of the Director of Peer Reviewers is critical to the basic functions of
the Journal as he or she:
•
•
•
•
•
Manages peer reviewer workload
Ensures all submissions meet the basic requirements and are properly prepared
for blind peer review
Reports to the Editor-in-Chief any issues regarding staff or processes
Reviews the work of peer reviewers to ensure quality
Communicates with the Editorial Director regarding submissions under
consideration for passing the Peer Review Stage
By achieving these activities, the Editorial Director supports the primary objective of:
• Publishing 15 high-quality articles per semester
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27 March 2016
Editor-in-Chief
The Editor-in-Chief provides the organizational visions, determines organizational
priorities, supervises all positions, determines any staff adjustments, and monitors all
organizational functions. The Editor-in-Chief is also responsible for the following:
• Sets objectives for the semester/year, and revises based on data
• Develops and revises yearly budget and ensures the budget is approved by the
Graduate Student Council (SIS-GSC)
• Works with the Director of Operations to write reports in conjunction with all
other core staff members
• Makes final decisions regarding hiring, firing, promotion, and probations for all
staff
• Communicates on a regular basis with all staff members
• Ensures all the JIS functions are working effectively and efficiently
• Heads all full staff and core staff meetings
• Attends regular meetings of the SIS-GSC and other leadership across campus
These tasks directly touch the objectives of all other positions.
Primary Objective
Together, these units support a primary objective of publishing 15 high-quality articles
per semester.
Position within SIS
JIS has traditionally been a team of editors who accepted strong academic research
papers, rejected all other submissions, and oriented around the publication of a print
journal. JIS is now a team of editors, peers reviewers, and staff committed to serving the
SIS community by providing an opportunity to increase one’s writing skills, experience
the publication process, and share one’s ideas with the wider SIS community through
publishing professional articles.
JIS will support the community by providing:
• Opportunities to reflect on current issues and policies in light of theoretic models
and frameworks to more intelligently and substantially contribute to current
practice;
• An incentivized system of professional skill development for graduate students,
specifically with regard to improving professional writing—a critical skill in the
current job market;
• Professional skill development through editing and Chicago style guide training
for all SIS students;
• Open writing workshops for SIS graduate students in cooperation with the
Writing Center, focused on professional rather than academic writing; and
• Experience in the publication process.
A successful investment in the JIS will also produce direct benefits to SIS in the
following ways:
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•
•
•
•
•
27 March 2016
Increasing the conversion of admitted students by offering the promise of a place
on the Journal as part of admitted students award packages;
Increasing conversion of admitted students by including a copy of the Journal in
the acceptance packet for admitted students;
Increasing teaching tools by providing JIS articles as additional material for
coursework;
Increasing the level of writing by supporting Admissions’ Boot Camp for
incoming students by providing training materials; and
Increasing the level of writing for current students, while raising the quality of
academic work produced at the school.
Calendar
The semesters are generally comprised of 14 weeks of classes. In order to be effective,
the schedule of the JIS meetings and programming should be responsive to the balance
and patterns of the typical semester:
Week 0: Full staff meeting (retreat)
Week 1: Tabling in SIS Atrium (recruitment, submissions)
Week 2: Tabling in SIS Atrium (recruitment, submissions)
Week 3: Core staff meeting, writing workshop
Week 4: Editing Workshop
Week 5:
Week 6: Core staff meeting
Week 7: Full staff meeting
Week 8:
Week 9: Tabling in SIS Atrium (submissions)
Week 10: Tabling in SIS Atrium (submissions)
Week 11: Writing workshop
Week 12:
Week 13: Core staff meeting
Week 14: Full staff meeting
Planning for Expansion
The goal of producing high-quality published articles will continue to be the most
important goal for the Journal. As the Journal grows and gains support, particularly
through the support of students and the school at large, I hope to augment this goal by
providing other media through which to distribute the content of our high-quality
published articles. Specifically, this would include a print journal and a public
symposium. In order to reach these goals, we will require:
•
•
•
Increased writing capacity, where we have enough quality articles to justify a
print journal that will add to the positive reputation of both the school and the
journal
Increased editorial capacity, where we have a solid group of editors and peer
reviewers highly skilled in editing and providing feedback
Increased budget to allow us to fund a print journal and a symposium
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While the budget is an important component, no argument can be made for a print
journal or a symposium until the first two qualifications are met. Because these
qualifications relate to capacity, they feed directly into achieving our primary goal of
high-quality published articles.
Conclusion
This Development Plan represents the first step in the conversation about how to move
the JIS forward in a way that will ensure growth and service to the SIS community as a
whole. By building capacities and taking a human-centered approach to what we do at
the JIS, we have the opportunity to not only bring prestige to the school, but also to
serve students by equipping them with invaluable skills for their future careers. I
believe this focus on service to the SIS community is the heart of everything we do at
the Journal, and we must embrace this commitment as best practice moving forward.
Regards,
Karen Ives
Editor-in-Chief
Journal of International Service
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