Updated 01/07/2004
The By-Laws
of the Northern Illinois University
Interfraternity Council
ARTICLE I
Finance
The Vice President of Administration shall develop a semesterly budget for the Interfraternity Council. The
total amount of the budget will be divided by the number of men affiliated with a member fraternity of the
Interfraternity Council. The chapter rosters that are monitored and updated by the University Programming and
Activities staff will determine the number of men affiliated. Chapters are required to pay dues on the assigned
due date. Chapters that pay dues after the due day will be assessed a dollar per member each day the fee is not
paid.
ARTICLE II
A.
B.
C.
Election of an Officer
Applications will be available on the web site early in the fall semester. A due date will also be
on the web site. All men running for executive board positions must fill out an application.
Only applications turned in by the deadline will be accepted and able to run during election (no
one may run from the floor). All applications will be forwarded to each chapter president so that
he may share them at the next chapter meeting and decide as a chapter which candidate they
want to vote for. If any position is not filled during the regular election another election will be
held the following week where people may run form the floor (as long as they meet the academic
requirement a semester and cumulative GPA of 2.3)
ELECTION PROCEDURES:
1. Each candidate will have 3 minutes to give a short speech.
2. After the speech each candidate will be asked one question developed by the current
executive council.
3. After that questions chapter delegates will have 2 minutes to ask questions of that delegate (it
is encourage that if you ask a question of one candidate that you ask it of everyone running
for that position). NO council officer may ask any questions. If a council officer wants a
question to be asked, s/he needs to ask a delegate to ask it for them, prior to the elections.
4. After all candidates, for a given position, are finished the council will deliberate for 5
minutes and discuss the candidate(s). Equal time will be given to each candidate, but if there
are two (or more) candidates, and there is no discussion for one of them we will allow the
entire time to be spent on the other(s).
5. Voting:
a. Ballot voting will be used (ballots will be collected and counted by the Executive Vice
President and the VP of Administration, in case of their absence the VP of Membership
Selection/Recruitment will fill in)
b. Each chapter, in good standing, will have one vote
c. Each chapter delegate will be asked to put their name on the ballot next to their chapter’s
name along with the name of the candidate they are in favor of (the chapter does not have
to put the name of a candidate down, if they feel there are no qualified candidates running
they would put down “NONE”)
d. A candidate will need a majority of the chapters voting to get elected
e. In the event of a tie, the council will re-discuss the candidates for an additional 2 minutes
(and hopefully new information will come about), another ballot vote will be taken, if
there is still a tie, the council President will cast the tie-breaking vote
Updated 01/07/2004
f. In the event that more than two candidates run for the same position and no majority is
achieved the person with the least amount of votes will be dropped and the top two will
have a run-off (any ties will go through the same procedure as stated above)
g. Any unfilled positions will be re-opened for candidates to run from the floor the
following week (candidates from the floor will still need to meet all the requirements to
be an officer)
6. After the voting has concluded the candidates will be brought back in and the winner will be
announced.
7. Any candidate who is not elected may be considered for another position that has not yet
been filled as long as they agree to.
ARTICLE III
Officer Duties
A.
President
1. Shall have overall responsibility for the operations of the IFC/CPC of Northern Illinois
University, its programs, and officers;
2. Shall call and preside at all regular and special meetings of Northern Illinois University IFC;
3. Shall chair all President’s Councils and IFC delegates;
4. Shall report as required to the National Interfraternity Conference;
5. Shall serve as the liaison to and schedule appropriate meetings with various university
administrators;
6. Shall hold and chair the election of IFC elected officers for the following year;
7. Shall insure the implementation and completion of IFC/CPC officer training, evaluation, goal
setting, reports and program development as outlined in the job descriptions, constitution
bylaws, officer expectations, officer goals and council goals;
8. Shall appoint a representative to serve as the official liaison of IFC to various student and
community groups;
9. Shall work annually with the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs and IFC/CPC
Administrative Assistants to develop both NIU Student Association budget requests and
regular IFC budget;
10. Shall maintain a complete and current president’s file which will include: a copy of the
current IFC Constitution, bylaws, standing rules, IFC budget, IFC resolutions, current
correspondences, officer reports, chapter reports, goals and evaluations, etc;
11. Shall review, approve, and sign as necessary all appropriate contracts involving the IFC/CPC
(no other council officers are authorized signers);
12. Shall meet with chapter presidents twice yearly to evaluate chapter’s status and to discuss
any current concerns facing the chapter, IFC or Greek community;
13. Shall perform all other duties pertaining to council goals and specific officer goals;
14. Shall attend every IFC/CPC Executive Board meeting, President’s Council meeting and
delegates meeting and all other appropriate meetings as necessary;
15. Shall provide support including attendance at appropriate council-sponsored and cosponsored
events (unless excused);
16. Shall proactively provide support to chapters seeking Greek Life Standards Board (GLSB)
Accreditation;
17. Shall meet regularly with the Greek Advisors and shall maintain weekly office hours
preferably with co-council officer in addition to meeting weekly with the co-president to plan
and implement all aspects of IFC;
18. Ensure all officers utilize the IFC office space;
Supervise the transition by outgoing officers to new officers including passing on notebooks
and resource material, end of semester/year reports, etc;
19. Appoint and disband special committees;
Updated 01/07/2004
20. Prepare a semesterly evaluation of IFC officers and of IFC (for president).
B.
Executive Vice President
1. In the President’s temporary absence, perform the duties of that office;
2. Serve as the liaison to the IFC and NPHC
3. Serve as a liaison with the IFC Judicial Board as an ex-officio member;
4. Coordinate the MGCA/Jellison awards;
5. Serve as internal affairs for the IFC executive board.
C.
Vice President of Administration
1. Serve as secretary and take the minutes of each session of Interfraternity Council and each
meeting of the Officer;
2. Maintain copies of all minutes and distribute to the following: CPC president, NPHC
president, IFC chapter presidents and delegates;
3. Disseminate information of all member fraternities as requested by the officers or deliver
mail that a member fraternity may receive at the IFC office;
4. Be responsible for scheduling rooms for IFC meetings and events and fraternity chapter
events;
5. Prepare a budget to submit to the delegates;
6. Develop executive board and delegate phone lists;
7. Regulate the finances of the IFC in strict line with the budget;
8. Cooperate with the Student Association and apply for annual funding;
9. Collect all payments owed to IFC and notify the President of IFC when a member fraternity
is in arrears;
10. Pay all bills owed by IFC.
D.
Vice President of Community Events
1. Promote Greek unity through events geared toward including the entire community;
2. Coordinate in conjunction with the College Panhellenic Council, National Panhellenic
Council one all Greek philanthropic or community service project a semester;
3. Serve as a liaison with the Greek Week committee;
4. Serve as a liaison with the Office of Campus Recreation to assist in coordinating Greek
intramural teams;
5. Keep All Sports Points and award All Sport Trophy annually.
E.
Vice President of Public Relations
1. Assist the Panhellenic Vice President of Public Relations in developing a Greek newsletter
twice a semester and distribute it to the appropriate people;
2. Design pamphlets or any special interest booklets that may be beneficial to the fraternity
community;
3. Place ads in the Northern Star about IFC sponsored events;
5. Oversee the maintenance of IFC website.
F.
Vice President of Membership Education
1. Coordinate New Greek Council educational programs;
2. Schedule and oversee monthly scholarship chair roundtables;
3. Coordinate presenter list of educational programs for the chapter;
4. Assist with the coordination of the Dr. Tony Fusaro Leadership Institute.
Updated 01/07/2004
G.
Vice President of Recruitment
1. Coordinate all system-wide recruitment programs;
2 Recommend programs to the Executive Board that may be beneficial to fraternity recruitment
efforts;
3. Make himself available to aid member fraternities’ with their own recruitment programs;
4. Meet once a month with all member fraternities’ recruitment chairmen as a group discus
policies and ideas of recruitment;
5. With the Greek Life Standards Board coordinate any efforts at fraternity expansion at
Northern Illinois with the incoming group;
6. Develop recruitment calendar;
7. Collect any data through surveys and evaluations on how to improve recruitment from year
to year.
H.
Vice President of Risk Management
1. Coordinate Social Policy Training and risk management workshops in conjunction with his
CPC counterpart;
2. Organize and train the Greek Activities Patrol (GAP);
3. Collect event registration forms each Tuesday after noon, call chapters to verify their event,
e-mail schedule of events to Advisors, and monitor the number of events each chapter
sponsors so that they do not exceed their limit.
ARTICLE IV
Executive Board
Executive Board of the Interfraternity Council shall consist of: President, Executive Vice President, Vice
President of Recruitment, Vice President of Administration, Vice President of Public Relations, Vice President
of Membership Education, Vice President of Rick Management and Vice President of Community Events.
The Executive Board shall:
1. Appoint all standing and special committees and their chairperson and in making these
appointments, recognize representation from all member fraternities.
2. Administer routine business between meetings of the IFC when advisable and such other
business as has been approved for action by IFC vote.
3. Report all action taken by the executive board at the next regular meeting of the IFC through
the VP of Administration and record the actions in the minutes of the meeting.
4. Not miss more than two of any IFC meetings of any kind. If more than two meetings are
missed the IFC exec shall take a vote to determine if the officer shall remain in his position.
If more than three unexcused meetings are missed, the officer shall forfeit his position.
5. For an absences to be excused it must be approved by the IFC President no less than 24 hours
in advance unless in an emergency situation.
A.
B.
C.
D.
A.
ARTICLE V
Roundtables
At least one roundtable shall be held by each officer each semester.
At least one member from each chapter must attend each roundtable.
Chapters shall be notified at least one week in advance about the date and location of a
roundtable, or a change in a previous announcement.
If a chapter does not send a representative they shall be fined$25.00.
ARTICLE VI
Hazing
All forms of hazing, “Pledge day”, any new member activity that includes alcohol, and/or preinitiation activities, which are defined as hazing shall be banned.
Updated 01/07/2004
B.
Hazing is defined as any action taken, or situation created, intentionally, whether on or off
chapter premises, to produce mental or physical discomfort, embarrassment, harassment, or
ridicule. Such activities and situations include creation of excessive fatigue, physical and
psychological shocks, publicly wearing apparel which is conspicuous and not normally in good
taste, engaging in public stunts and jokes, morally degrading or humiliating games and activities,
and any other activity which is not consistent with the regulations of policies of the education
institution.
ARTICLE VII
Extension
Any group interested in forming a new fraternity at Northern Illinois University (NIU) must comply with
University procedures, guidelines, and policies, the Interfraternity Council policies and procedures including the
expansion guidelines, and the Student Association guidelines. Additionally, the codes of the City of De Kalb
and the laws of the State of Illinois must be followed.
A.
Any group interested in re/colonizing at NIU must submit a written letter from their national
office (or alumni in absence of a national structure) to the Chair of the Greek Life Standards
Board (GLSB), which should be the Activities Advisor for Fraternity and Sorority Affairs. Upon
receipt, the Chair will present the request to the GLSB and begin the approval process (pg. 26,
Part II, Sec. G, G-2, of the Greek Life Standards Document).
B.
The Activities Advisor for Fraternity and Sorority Affairs and the Program Coordinator will
assist the GLSB, the Interfraternity Council (IFC) Executive Board and the Director and
Associate Director of University Programming and Activities, whenever they request
information regarding the formation of new organizations and the current climate of Greek life
regarding to re/colonization. The aforementioned parties will make a decision about the need for
fraternity expansion and apply it to the current situation.
1. EXPANSION NOT PERMITTED: should the aforementioned parties decide fraternity
expansion is not necessary, new men’s fraternities will not be permitted to begin colonization
at NIU for a period of time to be set by the GLSB. They Board will keep the organizations
request on file for future consideration.
2. EXPANSION PERMITTED: should the aforementioned parties decide fraternity expansion
is desired, decisions for permission to begin re/colonization will be made based on the
following steps.
C.
An initial screening meeting is arranged between the Activities Advisor for Fraternity and
Sorority Affairs, the GLSB and the fraternity headquarter representative(s). The following
parties will be invited to participate in this meeting, the IFC President and the Director/Associate
Director of University Programming and Activities.
D.
An assessment/evaluation from the initial screening meeting will be made by the members of the
GLSB immediately following the meeting with the headquarter representative(s).
E.
If the GLSB approves a petitioning group, a formal letter will be drafted by the Activities
Advisor for Fraternity and Sorority Affairs and sent within five business days of the decision and
sent to the headquarter representative(s). This letter will indicate that NIU has granted them
interest group status and allowing them 30 calendar days to complete/review the following
material:
1. Interfraternity Council Constitution
Updated 01/07/2004
2. Northern Illinois University Student Judicial Code
3. Become a recognized student organization through the Student Association
4. Letter of commitment/acceptance from inter/national headquarter
F.
If the GLSB does not lend approval to a petitioning group, the inter/national office will be
notified within five business days of the decision and the group may begin the process in the next
cycle of approved expansion.
G.
Recognition as an Interest Group: An interest group is defined as a recognized student
organization designed for recruitment and comprised of student members with an identifiable
national or international fraternity affiliation.
H.
All interest groups must follow the Interfraternity Council Constitution and by-laws.
I.
All interest groups are required to meet with the Activities Advisor for Fraternity and Sorority
Affairs once a month.
J.
The interest group is responsible for knowing all University policies, procedures and other
materials required with becoming affiliated at the University.
K.
Interest Group members must be full-time NIU students.
L.
Moving from Interest Group to Colony status:
1. A meeting will be arranged with the Activities Advisor for Fraternity and Sorority Affairs,
Director/Associate Director of University Programming and Activities, the IFC President,
local alumni and the headquarter representative(s) to review the following requirements:
a. The Interest Group must provide a copy of its constitution, by-laws, membership list,
grade release cards, officers, faculty advisor, and other materials required by IFC.
b. The Interest Group must have a membership that is half the average IFC fraternity
chapter size.
c. They must have a minimum grade point average of 2.25
d. They must regularly scheduled meeting time and place.
2. The Activities Advisor for Fraternity and Sorority Affairs and the IFC President will present
the finding to the Interfraternity Council for final approval. The interest group may receive
colony status upon receipt of two-third (2/3) vote of the Interfraternity Council.
3. A formal letter will be drafted and sent within five business days of the decision. This letter
will indicate that NIU has granted them colony/associate member status.
4. Colony status will officially begin once the University receives a written letter of response
from the headquarter representative(s) acknowledging the University’s decision.
5. If the Interest Group is not approved for Colony status, the headquarter representative(s) will
be notified within five working days.
M.
Recognition as a Colony: A colony is defined as a group that has received approval as outlined
above to form a chapter of a local, inter/national fraternity at Northern Illinois University. A
minimum of one full semester is required for the completion of the colony status and before full
chapter status can be achieved.
N.
A colony must maintain a 2.25 grade point average.
O.
A colony must pay all IFC dues, abide by all IFC rules and regulations, and must be in good
standing with IFC.
Updated 01/07/2004
P.
The colony leadership should meet with the Activities Advisor for Fraternity and Sorority
Affairs twice a month.
Q.
Colony status as the rights of an Interest Group and member fraternities, except the right to vote
or hold an office on IFC.
R.
Moving from Colony to Chapter status:
1. The colony must submit a formal request for full membership/chapter recognition to the
Activities Advisor for Fraternity and Sorority Affairs. The formal request must include the
following information:
a. local groups constitution and by-laws
b. colony scholarship (academic) statistics during colony status
c. scholarship program
d. risk management policies
e. social and alcohol policies
f. pledge/associate member program
g. financial status
h. proof of liability insurance
i. commitment letter from alumni and faculty/staff advisors
j. philanthropy programs
k. other colony projects/activities
2. A formal letter from the Interfraternity Council indicating a vote was taken and
the colony has been granted membership.
3. A formal letter of endorsement from the inter/national fraternity
recommending the approval of the establishment of a chapter is submitted to the
Activities Advisor for Fraternity and Sorority Affairs.
4. If a colony fails to achieve the necessary IFC or inter/national approval, its term of colony
status may be extended for one sixteen week semester. At this time a colony may repetition.
If a colony fails for a second time, the colony may not repetition for membership for at least
one school year (two sixteen-week semesters).
5. A formal letter will be drafted and sent within five business days of the decision. This letter
will indicate that NIU has granted them chapter status.
6. Chapter status will officially begin once the University receives a written letter of response
from the headquarter representative(s) acknowledging the University’s decision.
A.
B.
C.
D.
ARTICLE VIII
Philanthropies
All philanthropies will be registered with the VP of Community Events.
Philanthropy dates will be approved on a first come first serve basis.
Fraternities should not hold a philanthropy event on the same day as any other Greek letter
organization.
Alcohol is not allowed at any philanthropy event.
ARTICLE IX
Rules of Order
The NIU IFC shall be governed by Robert’s Rules of Order, Newly Revised, except for matters specifically
provided in the Constitution or By-laws.