NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY
SAMPLE CLUB CONSTITUTION
For Undergraduate Student Organizations
Areas in BOLD are mandatory for club recognition,
Items in italics are suggested for more efficient club functioning.
Remember that your constitution should be a timeless document.
Anything that would/could change on a regular basis should be part of the by-laws, should you
decide to create them.
Your constitution MUST be reviewed by your assigned liaison to the Student Involvement
Board PRIOR to your presentation to the board for full recognition. Please email
sgastudentinvolvement@gmail.com with any questions.
Article 1:
Name
Section 1:
The name of this organization shall be the ____________ of Northeastern
University; hereafter referred to as ___________.
Article 2:
Purpose
This section MUST briefly describe the purpose of your organization. It should describe what
your organization does on a more broad scale and is not a place to describe specific programs and
initiatives of your organization.
Article 3:
Affiliation
This section must describe any affiliation your organization has with other regional, national, or
international organizations. If you are not affiliated with any other group outside of Northeastern
University then omit this section.
Article 4:
Membership
Section 1:
_____________ does not discriminate on the basis of race, national origin,
color, gender, gender identity, religion, religious creed, genetics, sex, age,
ancestry, veteran status, disability, or sexual orientation.
Section 2:
Membership will be open to all full-time undergraduate students.
Section 3:
Graduate students, part-time undergraduate students, College of Professional
Studies students, and non-Northeastern affiliates may become associate
members by paying a (amount) membership fee. Associate members are not
eligible to vote or hold office.
[NOTE: Some groups choose to say “…by paying a membership fee not to exceed (amount) to be
determined by the executive board”]
Section 4:
__________ will maintain a membership of at least twelve (12) members at all
times.
Article 5:
Officers
Section 1:
All officers will be responsible for knowing and understanding the
information in the Student Organization Handbook, the Code of Student
Conduct, the Guide to Residence Hall Living, and all other published
university policies.
Section 2:
All officers must be full-time undergraduate students at Northeastern
University.
Section 3:
The officers of _________ shall be President, Vice President, Secretary, and
Treasurer. [NOTE: Additional roles may be created as the group deems necessary.]
Section 4:
Officer Roles
In this section, the roles of each officer should be as specific as possible and encompass all of the
officers’ responsibilities. These can be listed. Some examples include:
President: scheduling and running meetings;
Vice President: Assisting president with high-level initiatives, running meetings if President is
unavailable;
Secretary: taking minutes at each meeting, keeping attendance records, etc;
Treasurer: in charge of finances, fundraising, attending all Student Activities
Business Office required meetings;
Any officer can fulfill the role of serving (or designating a representative) on the
respective Student Organization Leadership Council.
Article 6:
Advisor
Section 1:
The advisor to the club must be a full-time faculty or staff member at
Northeastern. The advisor will be an ex-officio, non-voting member on all
committees of the organization.
Section 2:
The advisor will be responsible for financial oversight by signing all financial
forms for the Student Activities Business Office.
Section 3:
The rest of this section should discuss the role of the advisor. (E.g. are they at meetings? How often
do they meet with the executive board?) Do not require anything specific of advisors, such as “will
meet with officers weekly.” Instead, say “can meet with officers, as needed.”
Article 7:
Election of Officers
Section 1:
Elections shall be sufficiently publicized to all members ____ weeks in advance.
Section 2:
The nomination process will take place [day of elections, week before elections, etc]. Members may
nominate others or themselves, with self-nominations requiring a second.
Section 3:
The election process will take place during the spring semester.
Section 4:
Each position will be voted on separately. The voting process will begin with the office of the
President, the Vice President, then the Treasurer, and then the Secretary. A nominee who is not
voted into the original office for which he or she was nominated, may then be nominated for any of
the remaining offices.
Section 5:
A nominee is voted into office with a simple plurality vote of the current membership.
Section 6:
A voting member is defined as one who has met a participation requirement
including attendance at (usually 50%) of meetings and functions. [NOTE: actual
requirements for voting membership status are up to the student group.]
Section 7:
The term of office shall be one year, from the beginning of summer I to the end of the spring
semester of the following year.
Article 8:
Parliamentary Authority
Section 1:
Robert’s Rules of Order will be the guide for all organizational procedures not
specifically defined in the constitution or by-laws.
Section 2:
Quorum will be (typically 50% plus 1) of total current membership.
Article 9:
Amendments
Section 1:
The by-laws and constitution may be amended by a 2/3 majority vote of
present members.
(Generally, it is a 2/3 majority, but the necessary vote is at the discretion of the organization.)
Section 2:
Notice of the amendment must be presented in writing at least one meeting
prior to the vote.
(Generally, notice must be given one meeting prior, but the exact length of time is left to the
discretion of the student organization.)
Section 3:
After a constitutional amendment is approved by the organization, the
amendments must be presented to the Student Government Association’s
designated approval body.